The Town Square II

[coracle]

Happy April 1st everyone!

[johobbit]

Hey, fantasia, what are you doing up there? I'm fantasia!

Spring is in the air big-time today! And so is April Fool's!

[The Rose-Tree Dryad]

So... many... watchful... EYES...

*wonders if she is in one of those fun houses with dozens of mirrors reflecting the same image*

(Happy April Fool's, y'all. )

[You Will Find Me Bigger]

Hi Ditto Town. I can't stay long, but I wanted to drop in on the forum for a minute in commemoration of my unnecessarily dramatic return a year ago. ;-)

I see that mischief is afoot as usual. Don't have time to unravel it completely, but I got an inkling by scanning the last page and noting that "fantasia_kitty5" is updating folks on her riding lessons and therapeutic riding instructor certificate... Well played.

[stargazer]

Happy April Fool's Day, everyone! I seem to have missed the fun as I was out and about sight-seeing. We stopped briefly at Olympic National Park but the interior roads are still closed despite a lack of snow. A bit of snow did fall while we were there, however.

Nice to see you, Willow!

[Ryadian]

Hello, all! Sorry I missed out on the April Fool's Day shenanigans; my new work schedule is still taking some getting used to. Especially since I'm more or less permanent overtime until they hire another person.... But, it's the weekend - and Easter Weekend, no less - so on to new subjects!

What's everyone's plans for tomorrow? My sister, brother-in-law, and nephew are coming to visit tomorrow after church, which will be a lot of fun. My nephew isn't quite old enough for an Easter Egg hunt (he's almost 2 1/2) and I would probably be the only one interested among everyone else, so we're likely not going to do that. Oh well; I'm sure we'll still dye Easter Eggs.

In August of 2013 I thought it was done. Then I spent several months trying to write a companion novel... only to realize that it wasn't really working out and what I should do is combine the two.

Don't you just love it when that happens? Granted, it's nice when you end up with a stronger overall product, but when you're still in the "This just isn't working" stage.... At this point, I'm at that point with so many of my story ideas (no, I have not learned to devote myself to just one or two stories, but at least I tend to only work on one or two at a time ) that my goal right now is to spend a half-hour a night writing anything. More accurately, I have one story where I just say, "I don't care if there are plot holes or if the story is ridiculous, I'm going to do whatever I feel like", which I will turn to if I'm stuck on my other stories. My problem is, mainly, I overthink everything, and I'm hoping to get myself back to the place where I just wrote to tell the story I had, instead of manufacturing everything to death by trying to make it perfect

Hi Ditto Town. I can't stay long, but I wanted to drop in on the forum for a minute in commemoration of my unnecessarily dramatic return a year ago. ;-)

As if any of us could have forgotten that. I considered coming in towards the end of the day and making my own "big announcement" (namely, no longer using colored text in my posts, which I actually have considered), but by the time I got home from an exhausting day of work, I pretty much ate and spent the rest of the night vegetating. Gotta love weekends.

*Ryadian takes the time to smell the Ditto flowers that are blooming just in time for Easter* I can't believe it's Easter already - what happened to March??

[You Will Find Me Bigger]

Speaking of writing...

I went to a Christian writers' conference yesterday with my sister (the Narniawebber formerly known as Alenta). I hadn't really done that before. It was inspirational, but a little overwhelming too, especially when it comes to what it takes to get published. I'm on the second chapter of a novel I'm writing, which is a big deal for me because I don't tend to produce large volumes of words, but I'm very interested in this project. We'll see where it goes.

Also, as it happens, I ran into coraline (remember her?) on my way in to church this morning, and she mentioned that the writing bug has been biting her too lately. She's thinking of something to do with her old Ditto Story character Lianna. I told her I'd be interested to read it.

[johobbit]

but I wanted to drop in on the forum for a minute in commemoration of my unnecessarily dramatic return a year ago. ;-)

Best April Fool's joke evuh! (one of my personal favourites, anyway )

Hope you had a great Easter, Ryadian. Sounds like a lot of fun with the family. (Whoa, I don't think I could handle it if you didn't use your lovely pink font, Rya! )

*waves to stargazer, coracle, and Rose too*

Cool about the Christian writers' conference, Willow!

The snow has finally gone here, so I'm beginning spring yard work ... of which there is a lot. But it's very satisfying, so I'm not complaining!

I've got some sweet and sour chicken in the oven now and, boy, am I salivating. Yum!

*shares some around*



Well, my plate doesn't look exactly like that, but it still tastes delish!

[stargazer]

Hi Willow! Glad you could stop by. That writers' conference sounds like a lot of fun. And running into coraline! Meeting her (and everyone else) at an early NarniaWeb gathering sure was a lot of fun. I'd be interested in reading about the further adventures of Lianna as well.

I've been visiting family in the Seattle area the last couple weeks. So fun! Everything here is green while back home there was snow when I left. We've had some picnics on the beach and trips to the mountains. I'll be returning home early next week. Maybe things will be a little greener there now.

That looks quite tasty, jo, and if I hadn't eaten recently it would be even more tempting.

[johobbit]

Nature's spring green is just beginning to show here. Quite the contrast from even two weeks ago, when many parts were still snow-covered. But this week I accomplished some productive yard work, yay! Although, my upper legs were quite stiff the following day. Muscles I didn't even know I had.

Your trip sounds simply lovely, stargazer: trips to the beach and the mountains—very, very nice! Enjoy your last few days there, and safe traveling home.

[Ryadian]

I went to a Christian writers' conference yesterday with my sister (the Narniawebber formerly known as Alenta). I hadn't really done that before. It was inspirational, but a little overwhelming too, especially when it comes to what it takes to get published.

Wow, now I wish we had an event like that going on in my area. It might be the kind of kick in the pants I need to get writing again, since I've been so lax lately. Plus, it's always nice to be able to talk about writing in the context of faith. I'm curious - was the conference mainly about writing Christian works, or more "being an author as a Christian"?

And running into coraline! Meeting her (and everyone else) at an early NarniaWeb gathering sure was a lot of fun. I'd be interested in reading about the further adventures of Lianna as well.

Ditto that! If you see her again, be sure to tell her we said hello!

Nature's spring green is just beginning to show here. Quite the contrast from even two weeks ago, when many parts were still snow-covered.

Despite the fact that we actually had snow a couple days ago (the variety that melts instantly upon touching ground ), that's what it's beginning to look like around here, too. We're finally getting enough rain that the grass is turning green again, and now I'm in a camping mood again. Which reminds me - none of my groups have set a camping date yet, so we need to get on that.... In the meanwhile, next weekend I'm going to try to convince my family to go to the zoo or a park or something like that, provided that the weather is nice.

Meanwhile, speaking of writing, one of my characters has been flooding me with ideas lately - usually while I'm working or driving, of course. But hey, if she gives me ideas for stories with her, all the better. This particular character is a superhero in the shared universe my brother and I write, so ideas for individual adventures are always welcome.

Well, I have to get some housework done (since Saturday is pretty much the one day of the week I have time these days), so I'd better get on that. Good mortereve, all!

[Outcast]

Good mortereve, everyone! Wow, it's been a while since I've typed that out. I decided to load up Narniaweb.com in a fit of nostalgia, and couldn't help but leave a post while I was here.

I joined NarniaWeb along with plenty of others when the first movie came out. I somehow found my way into Ditto Town and spent an impossible amount of hours goofing off there and having way too much fun. I have lots of good memories of this place. It looks like this place has died down some since I was here, but hopefully not too much. Ditto Town needs maintain at least a little bit of craziness!

I recognize a few usernames here and there, so I suppose this is mostly to you folk. I just want to give a belated thanks to all the people who made (and make!) this place what it is. You're all awesome!

[TheGentleWarrior]

*sidles in*

Hello everyone! I was browsing the internet in my overheated and bored state and decided that I was long overdue with a post on the board so why not pop myself in for a greeting?

It has been a long while! I miss it here, there's been many good times since I joined. I do wish we could get another Narnia film. It's been quite some time and it seems to have gotten pretty quiet here these days...

So, to start off... how is everyone?

*sits down in a corner with her homework and watches the square in the hopes that someone should wander by. Why? Because she is terrible at small talk*

[ValiantArcher]

Hey, TGW! It's good to see you again! How are you doing? I take it school is still going if you're doing homework? When do you finish?

Hope everybody has a great Memorial Day!

[Ryadian]

I agree, TGW - it'll be wonderful when we get another movie or bit of news. Until then, though... well, at least the slower pace makes it a little easier to keep up, even with real life constantly butting in.

Hello, everyone! We just got back from a trip to pick up my brother from his National Guard training, just in time for Memorial Day. Yesterday at church, we had the customary "would all veterans, past and present, please stand" moment, and... seeing my brother standing up next to me... made me realize how insanely proud of him I am. But, most of all, I'm just happy he's home - he was gone for just about six months, not counting the two weeks he came home for around Christmas, and we are all so, so happy to have him home!

Plus, we got to visit a few states I've never been to before. Until last week, I'd never been farther east than Kentucky (Minnesotan born and raised and all ), but this time we also went through Tennessee and Georgia. I loved the mountains in Tennessee - well, watching 'em, anyways. Driving through them was less fun, if still exhilarating. Georgia was also very nice, though it hit the low 90's by the time we arrived, so I'm glad we weren't there long. (Not a heat person!) So glad I decided to cut my hair before we went, even if it did mean I kept going "WHERE IS THE REST OF MY HAIR oh right" for most of the first few days. (I had 12 inches cut off for Locks of Love, so it took a bit of getting used to. )

But, now we're back, and I've been trying to get a lot of stuff done today. We were babysitting my 2 1/2 year old nephew this morning, which made that a little more interesting, but I did still manage to get some dishes, reading, and e-mails done. Unfortunately, that does mean that I have to go back to cleaning up after I'm done here, but hey, I just cleaned up all of his toys, so I deserve a break. My brothers and dad also just saw Avengers: Age of Ultron, so now I can finally talk about it freely in my house without giving away spoilers! (My mom and I saw it opening night, but my dad and older brother decided to wait until my younger brother got home from training.)

And, I just remembered I also have to go to the store, so I guess I'll be signing off. Good mortereve, all! And have a great Memorial Day!

*Stops by the Cup & Platter for a quick bite, waving at those in the Town Square as she passes by doing errands*

[Lady Arwen]

* trundles into the Square *

There's....PEOPLE.

Welcome back, TGW! How is the dancing life going? How many dances are you working on right now?

Rya! It sounds like you had a wonderful holiday. And what great news about your brother! Congrats to him on finishing training. That's a tough road. If he were my brother, my buttons would be bursting. Your nephew is growing up fast--or do you have more than one? It seems like just a couple months ago you were talking about holding him as a baby (Or I'm just getting old and compressing time...).

Going back a page...yeah, Resident Advisor sounds about right. Silly me. I guess that comes from always having my own place....

In other news, school is done (yay!), and my students have finished up their work for the semester, too, so they're all done, which is nice, because I don't have to drive as much each day, but is sad because, well, no more income until next fall. I'm still trying to decide if I want to pick up a summer job, or just bury myself in researching and writing. I'm working on a couple research proposals for funding right now, but I also have a couple private projects that I'm working on, and it would be nice to get something published.

My place is getting re-roofed this week and next, so I'm basically going to be living at coffee shops between now and then. I'm getting the bug to travel again, but without a summer job I should be pinching pennies and keeping costs down until both my jobs start up again in the fall. Someone put together a wonderful map of how to drive the US and visit all of the major landmarks in the 48 contiguous states, and I'm very tempted to try it at some point. Maybe next summer, though.