A new 'do

I finally got sick and tired of my hair and managed to get an appointment for a haircut yesterday. Called around 12:30 was in there at 2:30. The first thing my hair stylist asked me about was my college reunion. That meant I had not been there since the beginning of October. Yikes! No wonder I was having so many bad hair days and had resorted to a ponytail. I really have no concept of time when it comes to some things. My hair being one of them. The kidlets noticed the new 'do before hubby. Not sure if that's a good sign or not. But he says he really likes it. She left the length and did a lot of layering. I'm just happy the ponytail is gone!

More pages written! I rewrote a couple of things in the Christmas book scene after consulting with my SAR expert. I also worked on the second scene in the Wedding Dress book.

I managed to connect with the Forest Service person in Idaho and talk about the wilderness setting for the Wedding Dress book. She gave me a great description of the cabin. It has a wood stove so I won't have to worry about Serena and Kane becoming hypothermic! There are also bunk beds. Not exactly romantic, but I'll make it work. She also provided me with a website with pictures that I still need to check out.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, I love researching things. I go totally overboard, but I've learned that a lot of the good stuff in my stories and especially my characters come from things I find out in the research phase. Some little tidbit sends the gears in my brain off in a totally new and unexpected direction. I love when this happens.

My research notes are usually hand-scribbled. I go over them a few times filling in the blanks. Sometimes I transcribe them. More often not. For the race book, I would cut and paste things into my manuscript so when I got to that part of the story I'd have everything I'd need.

Speaking of research, I watched an amazing movie last night. Touching the Void, based on the book by Joe Simpson. An epic climb flick, but it's more about the will to survive than it is about climbing. The ultimate in man against himself. Climbing, at least from what I've learned so far having never tried it myself, seems to be more about challenging one's self than anything else. A climber cannot conquer a mountain any more than a sailor the sea. Both are merely guests and should treat their hosts with the respect they deserve. The one part of the film I found most disturbing was when Joe, raised Catholic, talked about his lack of belief in God. Still I highly recommend the film whether you like climbing or not.

We're heading north to the land of the original Starbucks and the Space Needle. Have a fun weekend! I'll talk to you on Monday!

Link for the day: The trailer for Touching the Void!