Plant Overlords

            Have you ever stopped to wonder at how remarkable our world is? I mean, take plants, for an example. They draw nutrients from dirt, water, and the sun. They then rearrange those nutrients to form building blocks to make the plant larger – and they may seem like they grow pretty slow, but if you compare them to humans they grow at an alarming rate. They also just happen to filter the air into something other life forms need to breathe.

            Of course, plants then become food for animals. The animals draw nutrients from the plants they eat, once again converting them into the building blocks they need to grow. And then other animals eat those animals, and so on.

            And then they all die. Bugs eat them (and are, in their turn, eaten) and turn them all into nutrient-rich dirt – which goes on to feed the plants.

            As if that circle of life wasn’t remarkable enough, just look at how life symbiotically helps each other. Look at plants, once again. By providing pollen and nectar, they feed creatures that can then spread that pollen, helping the plants to reproduce and spread their populations. Plants are so useful as a food source and as building materials that humans plant vast fields of them and raise them with great care.

            In fact, it’s so convenient that it almost seems orchestrated. I mean, we actively raise plants, spread them, feed them, protect and nurture them, and exhale the carbon dioxide they need. Then, when we die, we (eventually) become a rich food source for them.

            It’s almost as if our whole existence revolves around serving the plants. Like the plants are farming us and keeping us dependent upon them by feeding us (or our food) and granting us breathable air.

            All hail our beneficent plant overlords.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

2016

            I feel like the end of 2016 was a combination of “Woah, it’s over already?” and “Finally, it’s over!” On a global scale, the year has been quite the circus with rather a lot of tragedy – but hey, why talk about that? We’re going into the new year with plenty of hope and motivation to make it better than the last.

            For myself, I find that 2016 was measured in my wife’s achievements. Any time someone asked me what was happening in my life, my response went something like this:

            Well, you know. I’ve been writing – I’m quite happy with my latest book and I have very high hopes for it. And I’ve made some chainmaille, that too. Oh, but Colleen...!

            Colleen got her driver’s licence. She finished her coach training and started her own business! She’s got clients! She’s going off to talk at events. Colleen’s working hard to build her business while still working with me on Ringcrafts and helping me edit, isn’t she amazing!? Oh, and we just hired this marketing company and....

            Yes, this was definitely Colleen’s year. It’s been thrilling to take a backseat (‘cause she can drive now so I don’t have to) and watch her rocket towards her dream, helping others all along the way.

            Overall, I feel like 2016 was a transitional year, laying a lot of groundwork for the future. Now it’s time for us to step out into 2017 and see what we can achieve during this trip around the sun.

            Happy New Year!

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her life coaching website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Making the Best of It

            Today brought a relaxing end to a busy weekend that could have been a lot worse. Looking back at it, it’s really hard to believe that – in spite of unexpected problems – Colleen and I took everything that happened in stride.

            Saturday was the day of the Royal Medieval Faire, one of the events we’ve been selling our chainmaille at since we started Ringcrafts. For me, it was a 16 hour work day, starting with a 5am alarm so we could get to the park in time to set up our tent, table and wares.

            The weather was looking rather iffy, and we fully expected it to be raining when we arrived. To our delight, it wasn’t (two years ago we had to set up in the rain – it was awful). In fact, the day was looking far better than we expected.

            Little did we know, the rain had adjusted its schedule to visit us later. The festival was going very well and was in full swing when the deluge hit. The rain poured down. Luckily, our tent held out – as it has in the rain before – with only one spot dripping inside. Thankfully not on top of anything (or anyone – since people came in to get out of the rain). The bad weather didn’t last too long and we were able to relax a stop fretting about how long the tent could withstand the onslaught.

            Next came the wind. Not too bad, at first, but getting worse. It got to a point where we had to take down parts of our display that kept blowing over. It was frustrating, but that’s just part of outdoor shows (one of the reasons we do so few of them). Besides, it was close to the end of the day.

            Then came the clean-up. We’re fairly efficient at packing up usually, but being outside always throws in snags to slow us down. Firstly, there’s taking down the tent added to everything else and this time around it was a disheartening task – because of when the rain came, it was still wet, meaning we’d have to set up the tent again (soon) so it could dry out properly. Next, there was the wind that started blowing over displays the moment the chainmaille wasn’t weighing it down. Then we had our newest problem – the wind flipped our tent right over, breaking one of its joints.

            Well, there wasn’t anything we could do about it, so we just kept packing up – although it slowed us down even more. It ended up being a day where we the first to arrive to set up and the last to leave. Still, it could have been worse. We could have had to set up in the rain and had it falling and windy all day. The tent could have flipped during the festival instead of after. The day’s sales were good, in spite of the weather, and we even traded some products with another vendor.

            So, we went home in high spirits without fretting about all the problems that had happened. After all, there was nothing we could do about them.

And today turned out to be a sunny day, so in spite of how tired and sore we were, we put up the tent first thing in the morning to dry – using a bandage to hold together the broken part. Then, since it just happened to be there and with the weather so nice, we decided to spend the afternoon just relaxing and hanging out in the tent with my sister-in-law, all of us working on various writing and art projects (there was also this orange fuzzy caterpillar climbing all over the tent that provided ample entertainment). It felt like a mini vacation.

            So, in spite of all the troubles, we went with the flow and everything turned out fine in the end. It makes me wonder why anyone ever bothers getting upset by anything. The past can’t be changed, after all, so all you can do is make the best of it.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Cottage Time

            Once in a while, my wife and I get invitations to visit a cottage, but we rarely are able to accept – actually, this is the first vacation we've had since our honeymoon, two years ago. I suspect that this trip was partially planned around us, since we left for the cottage on Wednesday, shortly after our last show before the end of September – in other words, the first free time we've had all year.

            This particular cottage is owned by some family friends and I've come up here a couple times before with my in-laws. It is a wonderful, relaxing place to come – if I could, I’d live up here. Oh, and the view is great.

            Not that this is the exact view I've had the whole time I've been here. It is accurate for my previous two visits, however today is the first day I've really gotten a chance to enjoy being outside. It’s also the first time the first day that the sun has come out to play (it’s back behind a cloud again now). Much of the time here looked more like this:

            In spite of the weather, it’s still been a great vacation. The friends and my in-laws are a delightful to spend time with, even cooped up inside by the rain. Plus, during the precipitation, we got to hear and see this lovely loon:

            It’s kind of funny, though, because even though I'm on vacation, I'm still working away. My wife and I brought chainmaille to make while here and I, of course, am writing every day. Actually, of my five books (including my current work in progress), this is the third one I've worked on at this cottage. Without all the distractions of regular life, I get far more done here than I do at home, while, at the same time, being more relaxed.

            I can’t help but think how wonderful it would be to live like this all the time, without the hubbub of every-day live interfering with... just living. I wish everyone could live like this and experience the simple joy of slowing down and enjoying life for what it is, rather than what we've made it.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.