SciFi & Fantasy Artwork by Barbara J. Wickham

The cooler weather is wonderful for exercising in. I was very bad during the hot spell in July and didn’t keep up to my usual running/weights schedule. So I’ve got to make up for it now. My friend and I gave each other a month long challenge. She has to try being a vegetarian for a while - sparked by a random comment she made wondering if her insomnia would go away if she was vegetarian ... she was poking fun at me because I’m constantly falling asleep if I’m in a comfy place. So I told her she should try being vegetarian for a month and see if she can do it. So my challenge is to work out every other day and eat veggies and fruit for snacks. So far it’s going according to plan. And it’s nice to have someone to be accountable to, makes it easier to say no .

I love the summer rainstorms where it’s sunny at the same time as it’s raining and thundering. Those ones are always fun. As kids we’d usually be playing in the sprinklers when it would happen.

It’s good to hear that they can also take pleasure in still being indoors. It would be hard to keep them in if all they ever wanted was to be outside. A friend of mine has a cat like that. He hates being indoors now after she let him out and he starts tormenting her other cat if she has to keep him in.

At school I always loved going out and sitting to watch the dogs play in the fenced compounds together. It’s so neat just studying the different behaviors. And we also had a huge window along the wall of our student commons that looked into the cat playrooms so whenever we were studying we had entertainment watching them play together.

It seems my writer’s block hasn’t affected my writing for comments, heh heh, more to follow!

Barbara J. Wickham replies: "I once drove cross-country with a friend as she was moving from California to Florida. We took the southern route in late summer and what I remember most about the trip are the Waffle House restaurants (cinnamon toast & coffee-yum!) and the thunderstorms. Because of the heat (no a.c. in her car) we drove mostly late evening and early morning and these storms would roll in suddenly, exploding with thunder and lightning and clear as suddenly as they came. It was spectacular!

Living in the bay area, we hardly ever get any significant weather. I guess I should consider myself blessed to get so many mild days, but it can get boring. However, I have definitely learned to appreciate the small things, like the morning sun breaking thru the fog, the gorgeous sunsets and the ever-present breeze off the bay.

It’s great that you have a partner for your healthy endeavors. I have my sis-in-law and a couple friends to keep me on track with healthy eating and activity. We make the perfect support system for each other because our respective strengths create a good balance. I’m the food explorer and one of my friends tends to get stuck in ruts a lot, so she uses my eating style as inspiration to liven up her own menu. I know we are more likely to be successful towards our health goals because of each other. The best part is that we all agree that there will be NO DEPRIVATION! Indulgence is not only allowed-it’s required! It’s a sweet deal. *hehehe*

Time has gotten away from me and I need to go to work now. I’ll respond to the rest as soon as I can get back on the computer.
"

Part 2/3

I’m glad that Reese has his gang of buddies because I think that since Mina’s degenerative myelopathy got to the point where she couldn’t stand with her back end, she hasn’t been able to race around and play with him so he’s become more of a people dog and isn’t as interested in playing with other dogs. Now he’s got these guys he’s starting to show signs of playing again. I think I need to get a puppy to wear Reese out and keep him playing with dogs. But it always ends up that we have one older dog with a younger one .... and the older ones don’t want to play as much anymore. We had Mina and then got Blue, who was 5 years old, when Mina was a year. They had a few years where they got some play time in but it was always very polite, usually with a toy as a safety between them. Then we got Reese when Mina was 8, so she was already considering herself an ’old lady’. And she did the same where she’d only play with him with a toy as a boundary between the two of them. One of these days I’ll get it right and get two dogs when they’re still in the "puppy-ish" stages so they can have really good romps with each other.

Reese was so funny following me around the house when I got home from church and as I took Mina out to go to the bathroom and made myself some lunch. He just couldn’t wait for me to sit down on the couch so he could get some cuddle time in. And now he’s sprawled across my lap sleeping, happy as a clam. Op, just got a "puppy sigh". I love that sound.

And the older the house, the less square it is! We found that out last summer while putting new siding, windows, and doors on the house. The trim was what really confirmed that it wasn’t square.



Barbara J. Wickham replies: "Sorry it has taken me so long to finish responding! I am such an airhead these days.

I have always had multiple pets and I think it makes for a very balanced life for the animals and their human family. I never have to worry about my kitties getting lonely because they have each other when I’m gone.

Saying that, it can be hard when the pets don’t match up in age/energy level. However, it is cute to see older pets perk up with a younger companion and I love to see how some young pets seem to know their elders are not as resilient as they are and how they seem to treat them more gently.

One of my friends has an elderly lab and she ended up rescuing a golden retriever pup. The pup had a ton of energy and endlessly bound around the house and yard yapping his head off. My friend worked and worked with him, but he just couldn’t seem to control himself. For the first time ever my friend found herself getting annoyed with a dog.

Just as she was reaching her limit, her old lady lab stepped in.

Up to that point the older dog had just watched the chaos from her bed between the living room and kitchen, but one day as the pup teared past her, she barked just once. The pup instantly stopped, looked at her and sat down. From that point forward, the pup became more manageable! Seriously! It’s as if she told that pup, "Enough!" My friend took advantage of the situation and made sure her old lab took part in all the pup’s training. She even learned to mimic what she now calls the, "mommy bark". *lol*

Needless to say, she ended up keeping the pup. Unfortunately, the lab’s age caught up with her and the bit of renewed energy she had seemed to drain out of her. The pup was patient with her, but it became very clear that he was getting bored sitting around with her. Reluctantly, my friend fostered another pup and this turned out to be best for all. The first pup had a companion that could keep up with him and the old dog had all the peace and quiet she could want. She seemed content to watch the two young dogs play, so my friend moved her bed to the sliding doors leading to the backyard so she could lay in the sun and watch the pups. So sweet!

*also loves puppy sighs* "

Part 3/3

I’m the same way with my writing as well ... quite anal retentive about it if truth be told. I usually have to write things in chronological order and can never write the end of something before it’s supposed to be finished. Thankfully in this case it was the ending for the book summary, so I haven’t actually written the scene out, just glossed over the events. I’m hoping that it doesn’t count against me though, as it feels like I’m still looking forward to writing it. The only way I could conceivably write something out of order is if I have a very clear picture in my head of how it goes with exact wording. And then I convince myself that I’m just capturing a snapshot and not the actual event and that I’ll write it out better when I get to it within the story.

It’s so much fun to write! School-like stories seem to be my favorites. The second book after King’s Rider in the WestFall series is a school-like story where Alexa is going to disguise herself train to become a knight... and all the fun and mischief she can get herself into at the palace. I’m really looking forward to writing that one but as with writing a book in chronological order, I find I also have to write series’ in chronological order as well Go figure! lol.

*sends muses over with coffee cake muffins baked with a healthy dose of muse-inspiration spice in the center*

Barbara J. Wickham replies: "I find that I am always tempted to write/draw the most exciting parts first, but that can really take the wind out of my sails. However, it’s not always the case. There have been times when starting on the best part first has increased my inspiration and motivation.

I’ve been thinking that maybe I should write out some of the more climactic moments in M’hali just to see if that will reinvigorate my writing. I have been pondering the same tactic for my art as well.

I have to do something to light that fire again. I didn’t realize how important my art was for my mental health, yet all the fatigue and stress lately has seemed to kill it, which causes more stress. *sigh* It’s become a vicious cycle! Blah!

Never fear, I will not give up and I will get past this block, or what ever it is. *fist pump*

I love stories with characters "in hiding", especially when the main character is a girl infiltrating a man’s world. That’s me all over! *lol*

I wanted to join boy scouts, but they wouldn’t let me. If I could have gotten away with it, I would have disguised myself as a boy and joined anyway. I joined girl scouts instead and hated it. All they did was "girlie" things. Boooooring! *lol* Fortunately, I discovered 4H and found an organization where boys and girls could do the same thing. Ha!

"

I’m 21 and still haven’t managed to get out of school
I completely understand not wanting to be forced to keep working till you collapse. I’ve never really understood todays society and I don’t think I ever will.

Barbara J. Wickham replies: "It’s frustrating that I fell into that trap and how hard it is to get out of it.

It will be tough getting thru the next 5 years, but at least I work at a job that is meaningful and I get to help animals and people. I still love my job, even though I feel burnt out. My hope is that things will be better as time goes by. This is just a very bad time with the poor economy, so it’s no wonder that I’m really feeling the years these days.

Never the less, I am optimistic and I really look forward to the future.

Don’t hurry to leave school. It is totally respectable to be in an environment where learning is the focus and you can carry that spirit into your work later. I think everyone should keep some kind of schooling in their life. I can’t wait to get back to it! "

Hi Barbara. I have some military aircraft photos in my gallery, in the Other Works tab.

B-17 Flying Fortress

B-52 Flyover

P-51 Mustang and F-16 Formation

F-100 Super Saber

F-16 Flyover

Two World War II "posters"

Barbara J. Wickham replies: "Ooo! Those posters sound neat. I’ll stop in soon! "

As long as I’m here. When I write a long story, I like to make an outline of the things I want to say or cover. This avoids dead spots and long data dumps. Then I put in the main parts of the story, and worry about getting to each section later, sometimes without a lot of un-necessary fillers.

Barbara J. Wickham replies: "I like having a basic outline as a guideline to the major turning points in a story, but my downfall always comes as I start to fill in the story.

More often than not, my characters take over and the plot takes a turn away from the map of the outline. I find that if I try to force the story along a rigid course, it starts to feel static and lifeless.

I do better letting the story form on it’s own and allowing for open endings. It’s just like with my drawing. I start with a basic premise, but the finished product (not that I’ve finished anything lately *cry*) only remotely resembles the original concept.

This is probably one of the reasons why it’s so hard for me to write. Each new plot point sparks brand new ideas and the story can veer so far off course that the idea that inspired the story in the first place gets totally lost. *sigh*

Maybe I should try children’s books. The shorter the story, the less time I have to ruin it! *lol*"

What I’ve done is keep writing the story even if it’s off tangent. Then I keep the part(s) that don’t fit. Cut and copy them to a new document, and use them for the seed perhaps of another story or two. Who knows, maybe that part you go off tangent on, is the story(s) that you really want to write.

I find that the character often writes the story. Even changing the name of a character, changes the entire attitude and nature of the character.

Barbara J. Wickham replies: "Me too! That’s why I’ve ended up with a lot of fragmented stories! *lol* The good thing is that all those unfinished stories are a good source when I need inspiration.

I just lack the discipline and focus to write these days, but I really want to get back to it. All this talk about writing is motivating.

One time I tried changing the gender of the main character, just to see what it would do to the story. It actually worked out for the better and made the character a lot more interesting. "

Hello there
I finally managed to get up a new story on my library shelf. Feel free to drop by if you like.

Barbara J. Wickham replies: "Yay! I will definitely stop by for a read very soon! "

Wow, your gallery is so extensive but also so WONDERFUL! Very often when I see large galleries I quickly see that half of the work is not work that the artist is particularly proud of, or even representative of their talent. But wow, all the pieces I viewed are exceptional! I will have to return soon to look at the rest You have amazing talent!

Barbara J. Wickham replies: "Thank you so much for so many thoughtful comments. It made my day!

I may pick at my art mercilessly at times, but I can’t say I’ve actually drawn something that I hated. Even my mistakes are just a way of figuring out what I really want, so it’s all good.

I’m so happy that you enjoyed my gallery and I hope you continue to have fun going thru the rest.

I’ll make sure to stop by your gallery very soon! "

Hi Barbara, I have three new updates:

http://www.elfwood.com/~johntex/Faery-Aircraft.3577481.html

http://www.elfwood.com/~johntex/Machine-Gun-for-Spacecraft.35- - 77683.html

http://www.elfwood.com/~johntex/Land-Rover-Two.3578566.html

Barbara J. Wickham replies: "Sorry for the late response! I’m really excited to get back on and see what everyone’s been up to with their art. I’ll stop in very soon!"