The Talking Trellis

Anklevine now has a Garden!!!

And it is no longer a secret…

After many attempts to kill the computer and several expletives being shared out loud- The Garden of the Atrium (which also has a new front page!) is up and ready for all to take to stroll within, around, back again. Many trinkets and all sustainable, reused, recycled and re-imagined. Even drop down menus for some of the cart buttons- yes we are that crafty.

Hope you enjoy!

In other words- literally, I have been participating in NaNoWriMo this year. It is all A’s fault as she signed me up. Truthfully, I am enjoying it more than I ever thought I would. My word count is currently in 30,000 range and I wholeheartedly applaud the people who came up with this process. I was unsure I would have enough to flush out to 50,000 words- let alone in a month- but then soemthing clicked right after the halfway point. I hit 25,000 words and suddenly I understood why it is so important to just get the words down while not  looking back. Looking back equals editing and you cannot edit if you don’t have something to work on. After the halfway mark I could see the whole thing and started to think I had too much, or rather more than 50,000 words in the scope of my novel. Now, as I write, it is all the good stuff- the stuff you want to write first but you can’t because there has to be characters and why they are there. Endings are easy, at least for me, so learning and understanding this process to build to that ending has been worth every word!

I’ll keep you posted as to how it turns out and when I finish. Though if I am absent for the next 10 days- you can blame it on NaNoWriMo!

anklevine.com has been re-focused, re-vamped and re-stocked!!!

Click on over to see the new vision.

Anklevine is the home of:

this Blog, The Talking Trellis
–Which I promise to Update more frequently. I mean, come on, the world needs to know what I am thinking! This is clearly an imperative.

a Shoppe, The Atrium
–That now offers Forever Wrap! You will really want to check that out. New Crops within in The Atrium will be added, hopefully, on a weekly basis- so keep checking in.

and a new Platform entitled, SHE Writes Letters!
–It is an answer, a solution, a sounding board, a venting place, an all around good time.

When I first approached the concept of anklevine, I brought with me all of my past cyber experience, which may have made the original design a bit too muddled for my taste. I am much more pleased with the revamping (and not just because I like using that word!) and hope the focus is more clear in the new design.

I’ll be working away this month to “re-grow” the Crops for The Atrium. I have so many exciting ideas and plans, I cannot wait to see how they all turn out. Naturally, I will keep you all posted- whether it be an official post or through my kvetching here within other posts perhaps not one hundred percent on topic.

Thank you all for sticking by me- the best is yet to come!

I have been having the sense of drowning lately, yet there is nary adrop of water anywhere near. Life is all encompassing and though I know I have so very much to be grateful for- I still feel that the nuances and stresses are getting the better of me.

How do we rise above the mundacity, how do we get ahead? When is the time in life when all these concerns are behind us and we move forward safe, happy and secure? Or are these dreams, delusions?

Normally, I am an optimist. I am a cheerleader. I am the one to look at the bright side, to walk on the sunny side, to let someone in the lane in front of me because I still know I will get there even if it is 30 seconds later. I am the one who holds it all together. So why am I drowning? Has the time come at last for someone else to throw the life boat? If so- I welcome it whole heartedly.

I kissed you good bye in the earliest am, only to miss you as soon as you left.

I got my nails done, put together my flowers, tried to eat lunch, made it to the mansion without running into you. You sent me the sweetest text and I cried.

I fought my way through my tiny bridal room with its overflowing people- how many people can you fit in a dressing room anyway? I held it together until I put on my dress and turned around to see the faces on my Mom, Aunt and Mindy- they were glowing and crying and I knew I had officially become a bride. I didn’t even need the mirror to tell me I had finished my trousseau. I took a sip of the pelligrino my Dad had left for me and headed downstairs.

I saw you before I started to descend and pulled everyone back up the stairs to use the other staircase so you wouldn’t see me. I made it downstairs to see our wedding party in the hall at the ready with the separate parts of our Maypole- it was the first time I had seen some of them and the first time they had seen me! I started to cry, My Dad lead me into the washroom for some tissue and I heard our music. I gathered myself to walk down the aisle toward you.

I stepped into the doorway and saw you, standing there, waiting for me, and I couldn’t stop smiling and crying. Everyone we had invited was there, no one stood, they all were mesmerized by our love, by the excitement and the sweet calm in the air, and crying and smiling as well. Our ceremony and reception were beautiful! The vows, our closest friends surrounding us in a quote circle, our nieces and nephews taking it all very seriously, our toddling over the broom, the May Pole, the cake pull, the food, the petite fours, the music, the people, the weather, our celebration!

I meant it, I mean it, I live it- I DO!

I love you baby- My Lock, My Soul, My One,
Your Key

Dan the Man!

Hope it is a swell Day and joyous New Year!

Organizing never ends. I have made or taken tiny baby steps- yet it seems with every step I think of 300 more that need to be taken. I am working toward better time management to accomplish all these steps. Wish me luck.

My thyroid keeps on. I have been trying to improve my sleep patterns in the hopes that this, along with the medication, will help. Also- now that I am taking the medication properly- I am hoping to see improvement. My face is slimmer, that is about all I can report on that topic.

Does anyone know of an inexpensive place to live in California where A and I could both get jobs? A originally said no to CA, but we would be legal there and we are both so tired of fighting so hard. Another criteria is that we do not want to deal with winter so much so this is why CA is coming back into my brain as the only other state we would be recognized fully is MA and I’d rather stick with this winter in CO than trade for harsher winters in MA. Portland was number one on our list for quite some time, yet this morning it is bothering me that we would have the same rights but still not be able to call it what it is- MARRIAGE. Also, it is expensive and hard to find jobs. Any suggestions? Anyone?

On Sundays nothing gets done. This isn’t to say that we don’t have grand plans- we do, lots of them. Usually in the form of cleaning and organizing and going to the movies and going for a bike ride and talking Murphy for a walk. Lots of lovely plans, zero activity.

Sundays are the only day we have together and I think we save up all of our exhaustion for Sundays. Sleeping in, snuggling, not getting dressed, watching silly TV, playing on-line, going out only to satisfy cravings- even then it is rare. Still, Sundays are swell. We talk, we make plans that will eventually get done later in the week, we dream out loud, we reaffirm our bond and thereby making it stronger.

I love Sundays. My go get ‘em guilt sometimes clouds my love, yet it is momentary and passes little by little with each hug from my love.

How do you all spend Sundays?

I once wrote in a story, though I cannot remember which one at this exact moment (is it possible I am that prolific?!), that you can take the girl out of Austen but never Austen out of the girl. I belive this to be true. If one devours and falls in love with Austen, even if it is only one or two of her novels, this love stays with you and empowers many aspects of your life.

Hence, my being slightly lured into obtaining a Betta by one very loving spouse.

“Hey we could get a Betta and name it Mr. Darcy?”

Now I ask you, what Austen Fan- no matter how slight- could resist that?

I couldn’t. I am weak and proud. When we got to the store, I was entranced by a female Betta and suddenly we had two fish!

Mr. Darcy and My Pearl are a delight to have as part of our family. Swimming happily and somewhat camouflaged in our ‘Fish in Space’ aquariums as the space background is comprised of various shades of blue and our Bettas are the radiant blue ones. I am all for giving everyone privacy, so this works out fine. We have decided that these tanks are great for their infancy but we may need to upgrade to something more elegant as they mature. The minuscule price and the cuteness of the aquarium may have clouded our judgement as to their practicality. The opening is tiny- the fish net doesn’t even fit! A was great in getting Mr. Darcy and My Pearl into their new homes but I worry about getting them out during cleanings. I am such an over protective mother!

A Happy Home is a Fish Home- that doesn’t sound right, yet the sentiment is true.

And so it goes that Saucy Chicks is closed, over, finished. Those who know me may think that it had closed long ago, but today it is official. It feels okay, not sad, not  numb- simply okay.

To have had that cyber existence for almost a decade, not to mention the e-mail, is somewhat surreal. Such a great concept- so alive and with so many possibilities. It thrived as it should and sadly lay dormant for great portions of its existence. I learned so much from Saucy Chicks. I am better for having been an intimate member of that dot com.

For shame the true meaning of its name didn’t quite have a chance to surface. To wit, no one wanted to know about its root in literature and its cross cultural path in modern nomenclature. It was a combination of both and a blend that elicits so much of what I believe in. From Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, “…she had many faults to foible her gifts- a propensity to be saucy was one,” matched up with a witnessed account of true admiration that propelled a young man to run after a young woman- when asked why, the young man answered, “she’s saucy!” These two seemingly nonsensical thoughts paired with reclaiming the word chick on our own terms to extrapolate all of its meanings with a positive empowerment. At the very least, that’s what the name meant to me.

What I won’t miss is the Spam. The incredible amount of spam received to that e-mail in-box was deplorable. I will not miss the amount of time waiting for it all to download just for me to delete it in one fell swoop. Not that I would mind having an in-flux of mail into my new mailbox, for I do adore mail! Though I prefer it to be sincere and not trying to enlarge my penis. I know, I know- I am so picky.

Farewell, Saucy Chicks- you will be in my heart and soul forever.

…but it went on too long!

That’s not me, that’s the irreverent Ogden Nash. What a pill, but I have been thinking about progress today. Our apartment is small- much smaller than our belongings and ourselves combined. This means some severe organizing has to happen. When we first got here there was no time, then when there was time we were so exhausted from not having time, and then we just got used to it and did the best we could.

Now, I have reached my limit and have been taking action. Of course I want everything done right now- which is impossible. I have been doing the best I can to chip away at it little by little. Progress has been made, but by golly, it takes so long! Why can I not snap my Merry Mary Poppins fingers and have it all done in a jiff with a song?! I would love that so much.

Today, the kitchen looks better and I have a Vanity Area- two things we didn’t have yesterday!!! So I am pleased. It is hard but I am learning that sometimes, not everything has to get done in one sitting. While I unearthed the vanity from the piles and piles of things placed upon it that were rendering it non-usable, part of that hindrance was my jewelry collection. This collection is now safely in the drawers of the vanity and some jewelry boxes and some hanging organizers- but not actually organized; to do this it will take a good concentrated day or weekend or week. Yes, I have a fair amount of costume jewelry. The collection has a tiny bit of fine jewelry, but mainly I am attracted to clunky 50’s and 60’s reminiscent jewels. This will be a project for the future- not to worry, I will keep you posted.