Ramblings-n-Writings

Archive for October, 2007

I just did something totally off-the-wall. I have no earthly clue (but possibly a heavenly one) why I just did what I did. So, you ask, what did I do?

I created an account on NaNoWriMo. What’s that? It stands for National Novel Writing Month. What’s the big deal? NaNoWriMo is a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. The challenge starts at 12:01 a.m. on 11/1/07 and ends at 11:59 p.m. on 11/30/07. The reward – nothing other than being able to say that I wrote a novel in a month.

So, what’s my novel about? Don’t ask, because I don’t know! (Should I?)

Since I discovered the site earlier in the week, I’ve toyed with the idea and finally decided, why not? I have nothing to lose and everything to gain from it. I poked my nose into one of my writing books tonight and highlighted the most important line in the book …. God is in control of the outcome.

In the last few months, I’ve had a number of people tell me I should try writing a book. I believe God used those people to plant the seed in my heart for the day I found NaNoWriMo. Well, here goes….

And for all those of you who have told me to write – give me an idea for a book, please!!!!!! What would you like to read about? I have a leaning towards historical fiction because that’s my favorite genre. But, I also find contemporary books, particularly by Dee Henderson and Mindy S. Clark, to be intriguing and relevant too. Hmmmm…decisions. Somehow I think I’ll be making a lot of those in the near future.

I know I promised more photos of our beautiful autumn colors, but….. the rain has finally arrived. We’ve had almost 3 inches of rain in the last 3 days!!! Of course, all summer we whined, begged, pleaded, kicked, screamed and everything else under the sun for rain, but now that it’s here….it can leave. I don’t mind a rainy day every week or so especially if it prevents a drought. I do start to mind (mainly because I find gray skies highly depressing) three days of cold, damp, wet weather.

Wednesday we had to take a trip to Huntington, which is a little over 100 miles away, for a doctor’s appointment. Inevitably, just about every trip that we’ve made there (at least a dozen) has been in bad weather. In the winter, it was snow and ice including one trip that forced us to drive about 15 miles per hour on the interstate – not fun. Could we have nice weather on Wednesday to enjoy the fall leaves? Not a chance! It rained the entire 100 miles there and the 100 miles home. Yuck. It hasn’t rained like this since April (probably the same day we had another doctor’s appointment). After we were on the interstate for about 10 minutes, my husband commented about how much he wanted to complain about the rain and driving in it but he was too grateful for the rain and its benefits. I wonder if we’ll remember to be grateful again next time…

“This is trust: doing what you believe you are called to do and trusting that God will provide.”
~Amy Grant, Mosaic

“But I am convinced that each of us is given his talent for a reason. And that having talent, any talent, but particularly one for writing, imposes two responsibilties: to use it, and to use it for good.”
~ Marjorie Holmes, Writing Articles from the Heart

“A calling is simply God’s shaping of your burden and beckoning you to your service to him in the place and pursuit of his choosing. Finding your home in your service to Christ is key to noticing the threads designed just for you. It gives you that hand-in-glove sensation and provides the security of knowing that you are utilizing your gifts and your will to God’s ends first, not yours. When your will becomes aligned with God’s will, his calling upon you has found its home.”
~ Ravi Zacharias, The Grand Weaver

“In a very real sense not one of us is qualified, but it seems that God continually chooses the most unqualified to do His work, to bear His glory. If we are qualified, we tend to think that we have done the job ourselves. If we are forced to accept our evident lack of qualification, then there’s no danger that we will confuse God’s work with our own, or God’s glory with our own.”
~ Madeleine L’ Engle, Walking on Water

This is today’s view from the top of the hill. Aren’t the colors amazing?

I also found a delicious recipe yesterday for baked pork chops that reminded me of autumn. Here it is….

3 thick pork chops (I used 4 thin chops)
2 baking apples, cut into slices
1 onion, cut into chunks
salt
pepper
paprika
1/3 cup mustard
1/3 cup honey

Rub the pork chops with the salt and pepper then coat with mustard. Place the pork chops in a baking dish and sprinkle with paprika. Top with onion chunks and apple slices. Pour the honey on top. Bake 1 hour, uncovered, at 350 degrees.

For those of you following our story online, you’ll know that I’ve been without my camera for a couple of weeks. (Hence, the reason why I haven’t been posting pictures.) Something went wrong with my PowerShot S1 IS in September and after a little research, I discovered that the problem was a manufacturing defect that would be fixed for free even though the warranty had expired. So, I called Canon and received the necessary paperwork for submitting my camera for repair.

While talking to the customer service representative, I was offered the opportunity to upgrade my camera to the next model for $135. To me, that wasn’t a good deal because the next model was 3 years old (my camera was about 3-1/2 years old). Needless to say, I opted for the free repair. And I mentioned in the follow-up customer service survey that the deal really wasn’t all that good for an upgrade since there are two more recent models after the one they offered me.

The UPS man picked up my camera on Tuesday, October 2, and I received confirmation of receipt on Monday, October 8. The information said that the camera was covered under the free repair and they were waiting on a part to arrive. However, there was no estimated time of arrival for the part.

Yesterday (October 17), the FedEx man delivered a box. I was excited because I thought it might be my camera. The labeling was non-descript so I sliced into the box. Inside was a Canon box with a sticker. The sticker said “PowerShot S3 IS – refurbished.” (My camera was a PowerShot S1 IS.) My initial thought was “Hmmmm…They must recycle boxes.” I opened the box to find a NEW camera, not my camera!!!

Apparently, 15 days is too long in Canon’s opinion for someone to be without her camera. So, for my inconvenience and due to the fact that the necessary part was not available and they had no time of availability, they upgraded my camera for me free-of-charge (not even shipping costs)!!! I’m now the proud owner of a refurbished, less than two-year-old camera (this model hit the market in Feb. 06)! Big deal? YES! These cameras are still available in stores and cost about $300. Talk about a HUGE blessing!