The August Break Non-Writing Challenge

#TheAugustBreak2018  Month of Mindfulness "Challenge"

This isn't so much a challenge as it is an encouragement. That's one of the reasons I chose it. I can use the prompts -- or not. I can post every day -- or not. The choice really is up to me. But it's a photo challenge and I'm looking forward to it. (Please also check out Susanna Conway who originally posted the challenge.)

8/2/2018 - Day 1 - This is a photo challenge, specifically to post one photo every day to Instagram. It sounded so peaceful. I couldn't help but join in. Yesterday's prompt was 'morning light' but I missed that in my haste to get to an early appointment. Instead I shared a video of one of my writing buddies sitting in a post-it note lotus my eldest daughter made for me. It's too cute! I'll just share the photo with you here, though. I thought after I'd already posted the video that it might cause some people trouble. I hope it doesn't but I'm not sharing the video anymore. The photo is just as cute. :)

8/3/2018 - Day 2 - The prompt for yesterday's photo challenge was "ground." To me, there's nothing quite so grounded, quite so Zen, as a cat. LOL I just happened to catch ours in cooperative moment. Sir Olly Ox'nfri Toebeenz is almost always chill. Twice a day he goes for a mad romp all over the house. (Actually, you can see it in his eyes in this photo. He was intent on the tips of my fingers as I held my tablet for the photo.) He makes me smile and usually, he's my calm writing buddy. He'll sit somewhere in my writing area and patiently wait for me to be done for the day. If I take too long, he'll come and sit on my papers or on my keyboard. LOL I guess I should listen to him, then, because he is super patient...unless he's hungry. Isn't he on his way to being majestic? :) Now I need to get back to work! I'm still working on school planning but I'll be writing again soon.

8/6/2018 - Day 3 - Day 3's challenge prompt was 'skin.' At first that was a scary thought. I don't usually show much of my skin, even to the sun! LOL Then I remembered the prompts were pretty organic.

Day 4 - Day 4, 'bookshelf,' was a miss, but if I had posted something, it would probably have looked like this picture I took later of my bookshelf.

Day 5 - Day 5 was kinda interesting. Storms have been popping up every afternoon lately. Since we are storm spotters, my husband and I went out to keep an eye on yesterday's storms. I kept trying to figure out how to work my storm photos into the prompt for the day, which was 'crush.' I finally decided it was OK to use any of them because I was spending time with my crush while taking the pictures. LOL

Day 6 - I had originally planned to take a photo of the sky. And the photo I finally shared did include the sky, but it was so gray. The gold of the fields and green of the levees added such a nice punch of color. I honestly can't think of anything on earth more spacious than farmland, at least around here.

Day 7 - Yesterday, I chose to skip posting for this prompt, at least on Instagram. I've done it several times before and I don't like to repeat things so much. But I thought I could certainly share a few more things about myself on my blog. So here it is...

Five Facts About Me

1. I have trouble sticking to schedules.
2. I don't mind going without if I can't get the exact item I want. (Except in the case of necessities, of course.)
3. I like cats better than dogs most days.
4. More than half the year, I feel good about myself and my work.
5. I wish I could go to sleep right now.

Day 8 - This photo was not so much a challenge in itself. The clouds have been putting on quite the daily show for us. It was more a question of which ones I wanted to photograph.

Day 9 - For me, happiness is getting enough rest, being myself, and family.

Day 10 - Nothing pink inspired me today so I took a picture of the lilies my husband brought home for me earlier in the week. Almost all the buds have blossomed. Aren't they lovely?

Day 11 - I skipped another day for the photo challenge. I just drew a blank on the Day 12 prompt "raw." But I did manage a photo for day 11 that I'm happy with. I snagged a video while I was out there. I love the sounds of a Louisiana evening, especially in summer. What a magical symphony! I'll share the video on my YouTube channel for anyone interested in hearing it. I've shared the photo below. (PS I was so out of it on Saturday, what with my major dietary changes, that I don't think I shared either the photo or the video! Oh, well. You guys get to see it, anyway.)

Day 13 - I've been up since about 7:30 and I haven't accomplished anything besides house chores and working my way through a Bible study. So, as you can imagine, today's post is simply a photo. But it's not just any photo. It's a collage of the 9 most-liked/commented on IG posts from last year. When I look at the variety of photos and remember what was going on during each snapshot, I can't help but think how many things can happen in a year. Do you ever think about that? Last year, I attended my first real art gallery exhibition. Last year, I wrote book three of my Tales of Y'Dahnndrya. Last year, I let go of some activities that were taking more of my time than I could allow. Last year, I got to play keyboard for my church worship band. Last year, my youngest daughter started making slime and I got to watch her experiment and smile a lot. We still have to take the days one at a time, but shouldn't we treasure them more?
What does this have to do with writing? Well, they do say write what you know. Memories are made up of what we know and what we've experienced and observed. I could use each of these photos below as writing prompts for flash fiction (if I knew how to do that properly). They're all pretty expressive, except for my Camp Nano shot and my meditative coloring one, though I think I could figure something out for those cherry blossoms. Maybe one day, I'll try that. I'd love to practice writing using photo prompts. It would be something new for me.

Day 14 -

As a church-goer, we often have discussions about the word 'love'. It falls off our lips so easily. 'I love my new shoes!' 'Oh! I love that new TV show with that cool actor/actress.' 'I love a sunshiny day.' I could go on. But truly, what or who do you /love/? I love God but He's camera shy these days. And then, I love my family. Real love, not flippant love is, is what I'm talking about here. So, yeah, I chose to go with a deeper meaning for this challenge prompt.

#AugustBreak2018 - Day 14 - I Love...My Family

I took this photo with my oldest phone that had a camera. The quality isn't the best, but it's probably my most favorite family photo because each of them was being themselves. No fake smiles. No bravado. Just having fun their way.
Family is so big a deal for me. For years, I was childish and wanted to run away from mine (my extended family, never my five). I forgot that they are humans, too, with the same capacity for victories and failures, doling out pain and being harmed by it. I forgot that in spite of arguments and disappointments, they love me and I love them. I forgot that I couldn't heal if I didn't let go of past hurts. I'm glad we're able to meet for family reunions now and I can smile for real -- and breathe. You'll see a lot about family in my writing.

Day 15 - The prompt for yesterday was cat. And while I love trying to get photos of Sir Olly Ox'nfri Toebeanz, he's not always cooperative. I had to wait until he was napping yesterday because he was so active. This photo kind of reminds me that we should always try to get plenty of rest. -.-

Day 16 - My photo for this was a picture of the western horizon. I truly long for the day we'll be able to return to Texas and live there. Louisiana has its perks...but most of them are reserved for visitors. *shrugs* It is what it is.

Day 17 - I absolutely love the fact that I got to post pictures of us in costume with some of our friends for this 'real life' challenge.

Day 18 - And this photo is one my husband took of me back in 2012 or 2013. Yes, I do play guitar, but only enough for me to sing along to my own stuff or some of the songs my family likes to sing together.

Day 19/20 - Please don't count the numbers in my titles. <sigh> I was just commenting to my daughter yesterday on how irritating it is when you're reading chapters in a sequence and a chapter is skipped for some strange reason. I promise you, no 'chapter' was skipped! I've no excuse for missing the 19th as I had my photos stored in my tablet and could've shared them easily for the 'makes me laugh' prompt. I just forgot. I opted out of posting on day 20. The prompt was 'dog' and I was unmotivated to dig for a photo response. I was also adjusting to our return home and trying to get back into my routine. I'm still not quite there yet but I'm working on it. Today's prompt was no problem at all, though.

Day 21 - I would never have thought using a printed manuscript would make editing so much easier. Wow! I was blown away by my sudden ability to concentrate. In about one and a half to two hours on the road, I was able to edit three chapters. I kicked myself for not printing out more. So that's how I'm working through the final edit now. And that's my photo response to today's prompt.

Day 22 - The prompt for today is 'hands'. It would be hard, though not impossible, to write without hands. I'm the type to think of weird things, I guess, but what would life be like without my hands? I'd have to learn new ways to cook, play the piano, and read books. I'd probably purchase new computer programs that allowed me to input information via voice so I could keep writing. A great many changes would come about if I suddenly lost the use of my hands.
Or what about this thought - Different workers have different types of hands.

• Farmers have rough, sometimes cracked fingers. As they age, the knuckles stand out more. (At least, I've seen this in my family.) They'll often be tanned, as well, from all the time they spend outside.
  
• Mechanics often have bruised knuckles and nails, and hands roughened by wear and tear. The skin may also be permanently stained from exposure to different substances. Never assume their hands are dirty simply because they are discolored!
  
• Guitarists offer a wide variety of hands to observe -- small, smooth, rough, large, delicate bones, larger bones -- but one thing they all have in common is the callous that sits at the tip of each finger of the hand they use to press the strings.
• Pianists and guitarists who take their craft seriously won't let their nails grow long because they hinder the range of their abilities. Most will also keep their hands well groomed, too, because people are going to be watching their hands.
  
• Seamstresses will often have several callouses where they constantly prick their fingers with pins/needles, or where they constantly run thread through their fingers.
  
• Office workers may have some of the softest hands since they are inside most of the day. But if they write with pen and paper, they may have the callous that comes with using a pen often. The older they get, the more their hands may tell how often they sit at a computer. Some wear wrist braces to help relieve symptoms of Carpel Tunnel Syndrome.
  

One of the best things all of these folks could do with their hands is turn the pages of a book. And that's the photo I shared yesterday -- my daughter reading one of her favorites: The Ultimate Herb Book by Antony Atha. She's been interested in herbs for years, enough to consider a career in the field of toxicology at one point. This is the book that fanned the flames of that interest.
One thing every writer needs to do is read. Read mostly in your writing genre, but don't forget to branch out into research topics, too. For a writer, reading a wide variety of books is never a bad thing.

Day 23 - Yesterday's prompt was hope. Isn't that a great starting point? For photos, for writing, for art... There are so many creative works based on 'hope'. Hope is a word gravid with promise. For a Christian, our hope rests in our Savior, the Messiah Yeshua. For those in other religions, or those without a religion, hope rests elsewhere. But hope is important to us all, I think.

When writing, I think it's safe to say a character without any hope at all can be interesting and call to the softer parts of our hearts. But most characters have hope in something. I'll give you a run-down of the characters in Ripples and their current hopes. If you find any of it calling to you, try checking out the book (in a revised state, not its final edited state) on Wattpad. The link is on my home page or you can click here to read at the site.

• Yetsye Shirasdatir - She hopes to be able to convince the humans of Y'Dahnndrya they stand on equal footing with the beasts and plants. All must for the good of Y'Dahnndrya.
  
• Ya'el Shirasdatir - Her hope lies in gaining knowledge. If one reads the right book, one can solve any problem.
  
• Yuvahl Shirashoneh - He hopes in Azilet'zal (the Creator's name in M'Neshunnaya). He believe that if one trusts in the Holy Voice, one can accomplish any task, overcome any obstacle.
  
• Tsadok Akal'a - Much like Yuvahl, he places his trust in Kai'yanga (the Creator's name in D'Koruyi). But he doesn't stop there. He carries this hope over into every action he takes.
  
• Leila Muenbruk - Her hope rests in the elders of Shinnoah, and in Tugansol (the Creator's name in Shinnoah). She is content to let things be handled by them. This way, she can focus on doing her work well.

Day 24 - I love shots that show a long stretch of road that narrows into the distance. :)

Day 25 - I forgot I posted this photo for the challenge! LOL It's been a crazy month. Don't you love sitting in a place surrounded by sounds and people you love? We do!

Day 26 - I didn't even edit this one. You can probably tell it's not very well focused, either, but I'm so happy with how the colors came out. Cotton candy sky!

Day 27 - Weather spotting is like reading the sky. And yesterday offered this excellent topic. Isn't it a beautiful thunderstorm?

Day 28 - I love vines, but I prefer the ones with flowers. I wanted a morning glory and (I think) we only have a colt's foot vine.

Day 29 - I had this cute little notebook up on the shelf closest to my desk. It's covered with owls. :)

Day 30 - I'm thankful for a lot of things. I'm thankful I serve a faithful God who keeps His promises. I'm thankful for rainbows and storm clouds and the beauty particular to each.

Day 31 - August was...BUSY! I put my book trailer together, finalized school planning and began school, and I'm still working on that final edit of Ripples. On top of that, we have several standing appointments each week. This past week, we enjoyed a field trip. I still love field trips. Who's with me?
Anyone?
Are those crickets chirping? <sigh>

In the middle of preparing to launch my first book, school began. I love teaching our kids at home, though it can sometimes be overwhelming. Like now. When there's a serious deadline looming. But it's all going to work out.

And now for the slideshow...