Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Category: Ideas (page 18 of 20)

IWSG Writing Update – February 2017

February 1, 2017 / / 41 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) encourages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement or anything really about their writing.  Since August 2016, the IWSG offers a particular question as a writing prompt for their members. Answering it is optional. This month that question is “How has being a writer changed your experience as a reader?”

January has been a month with little progress on the book writing front for me. Mark and I wrapped up a three-month pet sit in the Sacramento suburbs mid-month, followed by a week-long house sit in Fairfax, CA. Then, we drove all the way south, past LA, for a two and a half week puppy sit in Costa Mesa. All that moving around and “re-settling”, plus the care for a 7-month pup always looking for trouble, the attraction of sunny weather to be outdoors and my commitment to writing a few articles, leaves little time to concentrate on writing a book. Sure, my memoir is always brewing in the back of my head, but I have not put down any more words, except for trying to understand what thread I should follow. As I mentioned last month, I could use your help. But first, I’ll answer the IWSG question, since it is somewhat related. Continue reading

IWSG Writing Update – January 2017

January 4, 2017 / / 28 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) encourages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement or anything really about their writing.  Since August 2016, the IWSG offers a particular question as a writing prompt for their members. Answering it is optional. This month that question is “What writing rule do you wish you never heard?”

December has been an interesting month, what with the “holidays” (do writers – or their heads – ever take holidays?) and our time in Rocklin, California dwindling down. During this recent three-month house sit, Mark and I lived in the suburbs of Sacramento. Due to the “boring” surroundings and less than ideal weather, I happily sat behind my computer every day, all day. I worked a lot on my memoir and think about it constantly when away from my temporary desk. Continue reading

Wordless Wednesday – Path

December 28, 2016 / / 27 Comments

I have decided to post photos of past travels in general and our eight year sailing adventure on SV Irie in particular for Wordless Wednesdays.  Also, I can’t manage “completely wordless”, but I’ll try my best at “almost wordless”. 🙂

With thousands of photos haphazardly archived over the years, I can’t easily pick what to post, so I use the weekly prompt of the Daily Post to inspire my Wordless Wednesdays. This week’s Daily Post photography theme is “path“.

This theme is very appropriate, because it is thanks to the paths we take that we are where we are today, physically and mentally. We live our lives and arrive at intersections. We stop. We think. We contemplate. Sometimes, there are multiple roads to pick from. Where do we go? Which direction do we choose? Which path do we take? Will we get lost?

Continue reading

Wordless Wednesday – Anticipation

December 21, 2016 / / 6 Comments

I have decided to post photos of past travels in general and our eight year sailing adventure on SV Irie in particular for Wordless Wednesdays.  Also, I can’t manage “completely wordless”, but I’ll try my best at “almost wordless”. 🙂

With thousands of photos haphazardly archived over the years, I can’t easily pick what to post, so I use the weekly prompt of the Daily Post to inspire my Wordless Wednesdays. This week’s Daily Post photography theme is “anticipation“.

Anticipation is an interesting theme. It lifts the spirit, makes your heart jump, creates excitement, and can be fun, unless reality turns out to be nothing like you predicted. Anticipation does not prepare you for what will actually happen, which can be better, or worse. Anticipation can create dread if faced with something you don’t look forward to. When the situation is entered, things might turn out better than expected, leading to relief.

Anticipation’s big brother is expectation. Continue reading

Wordless Wednesday – New Horizon

December 14, 2016 / / 22 Comments

I have decided to post photos of past travels in general and our eight year sailing adventure on SV Irie in particular for Wordless Wednesdays.  Also, I can’t manage “completely wordless”, but I’ll try my best at “almost wordless”. 🙂

With thousands of photos haphazardly archived over the years, I can’t easily pick what to post, so I use the weekly prompt of the Daily Post to inspire my Wordless Wednesdays. This week’s Daily Post photography theme is “new horizon“.

What is to be found across the new horizon?

What is to be found across the new horizon?

Now this is a theme I can resonate with, since one of my mottos is “Expand your horizons!” Continue reading

IWSG Writing Update – December 2016

December 7, 2016 / / 24 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) encourages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement or anything really about their writing.  Since August, the IWSG likes to see a particular question answered in each blog post of their members. This month that question is “In terms of your writing career, where do you see yourself five years from now, and what’s your plan to get there?”

Last month, I hinted at maybe trying to add 50,000 words to my memoir in November. That would mean write, write, write, and don’t look back, don’t edit, don’t improve, don’t polish and don’t criticize. While this is a good way to “get it all out there”, it is not really how I have been working recently, so I chose to maintain my current goal of writing one chapter every week. Continue reading

In Memory of Darwin, Our Cute Boy

November 30, 2016 / / 27 Comments

My Wednesday post this week is a bit different. First, it is even less wordless than usual. Second, the WordPress theme does not resonate with me. “It’s Not This Time of Year Without..” is supposed to be the topic of our photo(s). The one thing without which my holiday season could never be complete is … my husband, Mark. I know this sounds cocky and very unimaginative. And, I am sure he would not appreciate being the center of my blogging attention this week, having his face (or both of ours) splattered all over this page. He already cringes when I take photos of him and, this week, I just happen to create a 2017 calendar for our parents and my oma with a different photo of us livening up every single month. 🙂

Why does the holiday period not resonate with me? Continue reading

Election Day in the USA – 17 Propositions in California

November 7, 2016 / / 10 Comments

Tomorrow, November 8th 2016, is a day that many Americans have been waiting for. It is the day when the 45th president of the United States will be elected by its citizens. Too much has been said about this election and its candidates. We will all let out a sigh of relief when Wednesday comes around. I have no idea what the media will focus on then. I can’t believe Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have any energy left after these grueling last months. We lost our fierce energy for caring and being upset a while ago. Following all the pre-election news, debates and arguments is exhausting and, since this is the first time Mark and I are in the States during this period, we wonder whether it is always like that leading up to a presidential election. We hope not! Life was less hair pulling on our sailboat… We could be happily politically ignorant there. 🙂

Since I am a Belgian citizen, I cannot vote, but Mark cast his ballot by mail a little while ago. People familiar with our lifestyle and ideals, will surely know who he voted for. As a Belgian, I am not a fan of the “two party” system. Not everyone fits in just one defined box. But, this blog post is not about the presidential candidates or anything that surrounds them. It is about the Official Voter Information Guide I stumbled upon, here in California. Continue reading

IWSG – Writing Articles

August 3, 2016 / / 21 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) encourages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement or anything really about their writing.  Last month, I gave a summary of my book project. The question IWSG would like to see answered this month is “What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer and where is it now?” Since my only success as a freelance writer is getting articles published in boating magazines, I would like to share some insights about article writing.

Caribbean boating magazines

Caribbean boating magazines

Continue reading

My Most Cherished Object; My Daily Companion

July 29, 2016 / / 28 Comments

As a frugal, down-to-the-basics kind of girl, I don’t own much and I don’t value material goods like most people do. This has been a trend my whole life and allows me to be free. I love downsizing – from not much to even less – to keep things organized and manageable. I enjoy making my life as simple (and cheap) as possible. Decent health, love from (and for) my husband, enough money to put food on the table and live a relatively comfortable life, and the right dose of excitement and adventure is all I need. Of course, I have some clothes as well, even though most of them are 10+ years old. At the moment, we have a car which holds everything we need, and we each have a computer, which is required to make money (and post blogs :-)). My camera is my most important gadget, with my iPad coming in second. Oh, and I do have a Fitbit, but don’t tell anyone! When asked about my most cherished object, however, the answer is the one thing I have held onto and used every single day for over 25 years. It is my most intimate and valuable companion, the only one that knows me through and through, contains all my secrets and has been by my side from the age of 14 forward, for better or for worse, for richer, but mostly for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. I am talking about my diary.

Diary old and new

Diary old and new

Continue reading

Older posts Newer posts

© 2024 Roaming About

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑