I’m thinking of doing some nose work classes with Jack. There are classes locally at Leaps and Bounds Agility. The owner/trainer invited me to observe a class before participating. She seems very enthusiastic. She also has a border collie who is the same age as Jack, who she has trained to do nose work.
Anyone familiar with this training center or with doing nose work classes?
Jack and I spent some time Sunday afternoon working on some scent work.
Jack enjoyed himself. He came home and took a nice nap.
Over the past few months I’ve learned many things about living gluten free, not the least of which is that learning to bake gluten free takes patience and a sense of humor. Thankfully I have both where baking is concerned.
These photos are items I made for Christmas.
In our Sunday night Bible study Pastor Jon asked a question which has camped out in the back of my mind all week. He asked “What do you believe is the work God gave you to do on the earth?”
I should pause here to tell you we’re studying Ecclesiastes. Um, yeah. It’s one of the books I’ve always kind of skimmed over. Mostly because it brings me down and I don’t really get it.
Back to the question. The verse on which this question was based is Ecclesiastes 3:10. It makes a difference which translation you use:
The Message: I’ve had a good look at what God has given us to do-busywork mostly.
New King James: I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.
I get two very different pictures of this verse from these two translations. Most of the time my day job feels like busy work, like a way to pay the mortgage and buy groceries. It doesn’t feel God inspired at all.
But sometimes when I’m writing it feels like the second translation, like it’s a God-given task.
Maybe I’ve just stumbled on my answer.
Saturday, Daniel and I took our dog, Jack, to meet a couple of our friends and their dogs to work at Happy Dog Ranch. We had a great time and learned a lot. Mostly I learned that training a dog is really, really, really hard work for the humans and the dog. Thankfully, Jack is smart and wants to please us. The biggest hurdle seems to be me learning to speak fluent Border Collie. I’m not gifted at languages, especially not Border Collie. But Jack’s very patient with me, and I’m learning.
Daniel and Jack at Happy Dog Ranch
If you’re sitting at a local coffee shop having a cup with a friend do you tell her she needs to wipe her nose? What about if you notice your co-worker’s pants are unzipped after he returns from a break, what do you say? Do you tell your BFF if her jeans really do make her butt look bigger?
Okay, just to make this clear, if you see me and I need to wipe my nose, please tell me. Please.
Maybe the trickier situation is when your friend is an artist, let’s say a singer, and she sings a song that just isn’t suited to her voice. How do answer that when she asks your opinion? Or what if she doesn’t ask your opinion?
In the world of hypothetical situations or vague blog posts it’s easy to decide. But in reality? It’s hard for me. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. It’s especially hard when the event is already public, when the embarrassment factor multiplies exponentially.
October ended with my word count for the month at 12,469. I never thought I’d write that much in a month.
But we’re in a new month now and I have a new goal. I plan to write at least 15,000 words in November. If I meet that goal, I’ll aim for 20,000+ in December.
I’d like to write considerably more words because I would like very much to finish the rough draft of my WIP by the end of the year. I’m guessing I need about 50,000 words to do that.
Several friends are participating in NaNoWriMo this year. I thought about it, but decided I’d rather finish the current WIP than start something new.
Off to start November’s word count. Happy Tuesday! 
My sister, Melissa, nephew, Puya, and Melissa’s boyfriend, David came to our house Friday night at 10:30 and spent the night. Saturday morning we took them to Athens Family Restaurant for brunch. Then we went to the Bicentennial Mall. Bicentennial Mall is one of my favorite parks, combining state history with nature’s beauty. Here are some pictures from a really fun morning.
Melissa and David at Athens Family Restaurant
Daniel and Puya talking about who knows what.
Love the colors of the fall leaves.
Puya at Athens Family Restaurant
Our local writers group, Middle Tennessee Christian Writers, has a marathon month every October. At the end of September each of us participating lists our goals for marathon month. Then we cheer each other on. It’s a month of just writing, just being creative, kicking the infernal internal editor out of the house. It’s our version of NaNoWriMo.
I’ve never met my goal before.
But I decided to set one anyway. At least it would give me something to shoot for. My goals were to attend at least one MTCW meeting for October and to add 10,000 words to my WIP. At the time I set my goals I had not attended a meeting in probably a year. I have not written 10,000 words in the past 3 or 4 years, let alone a month. But what the heck.
I made it to both October meetings. And as of yesterday at 7:45 pm I have written 10,102 words on my novel in October. Talk about Snoopy dancing. I’m still pretty excited about it this morning.
But I can’t stop here. This is just a launching point. This is just the kind of month I needed to help me feel like a real writer again. Real writers write. Real writers have goals. And meet them most of the time.
So in the spirit of a real writer I want to share my goals for November: attend both MTCW meetings; write 15,000 words.
Carie Lawson
Carol Bruce Collett
Dolly Chandler
Esther Gross
J. M. Hochstetler
Jason Wert
Jen Stephens
Justin Burleson
Karen Wevick
Kate Shiloh
Kaye Dacus
Krista Phillips
Kristi LaPointe
Meredith LeBlanc
Michael Snyder
Nicoll Burleson
Patrick Carr
Ramona Richards
Rebeca Seitz
Shannon Brown
Tamara Leigh
