Busy is an understatement!
On the flip side though, there’s this:
Isn’t she a beauty?!
See you next month, dear Reader!
- KRidwyn
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Category: More about me
So… I did it!
Not quite on the 16th, admittedly, but on the 25th. And that was pretty much all because I was directing a production of The Velveteen Rabbit, whose opening night was the 16th. Yeh, I didn’t particularly time that one very well, did I…
Still, the querying started on the 25th, and I’ve averaged 2-3 queries per day since then. So I’m happy with that. Some fairly immediate form rejections, which is sad but par for the course, I know.
And I’m enjoying learning LOTS. Last time I queried (years ago now) it was *way* too early. Now I’m feeling a lot more ready, but I’ve revised my query letter twice, my biography about five times, and I’m not even going to mention the numbers of times I’ve reworded my answers to the ‘target audience’ and ‘similar works’ questions! Hence the spinning hamster wheel. Am I doing this right? Should I be writing this? Or this? Or even… this?
I’m quite liking the Query Manager / Query Tracker side of things though. It’s a very impressive site! And researching agents and agencies is also fun. I’m constantly wondering ‘who will I be lucky enough to end up working with’?
So that’s my “Ceridwyn is now an #amquerying writer” story. It took a while to actually happen, but it’s happening now! Praise God š
And speaking of God, have brilliant Easter weekends, dear Readers!
Yours,
KRidwyn
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Excuses and a photo
Yes, I know. Itās been a while. Life, you know?
On the homefront, Master12 started High School this year, meaning all three cherubs are at the one school again. What a relief! The school notes, the synchronising of term calendars, the transport issues – all cleared up! But yes, settling him into High School was more problematic than Iād expectedā¦ but thatās more my excuse for the dearth of blogposts, rather than the reason Iām putting fingers to keyboard today.
Because check this out!
Yup, thatās me! Third on the list of āTop Contributorsā for the conference I attended, the last two days. #NESB2021 – the National Educators Summit, Brisbane, 2021 – was absolutely brilliant, and helped me get my tweeting mojo back again, something I secretly hoped for.
Plus, oh! The learning! Getting back to a space where I can hear latest research on issues from Evidence Based Practice to ensuring diversity in the Library collection, not to mention the joy in listening to authors Aleesah Darlison and Peter Carnavas, and (of course) the networking opportunities presented – wow! So it was a stuff-as-much-information-as-possible-inside-your-brain kind of two days, and now Iām exhausted and happy and eager to start planning what ideas Iāll be implementing first. Because there were just SO many!!!
Thank you to all the presenters for giving up their time and sharing their cumulative wisdom; thank you to the organisers ensuring it all ran smoothly, and also a huge thank you to my boss for covering my classes on Friday, and agreeing to the cost from the PD budget. It was well worth the money š
And now, letās see if I can keep up this whole ābloggingā thing which Iāve wrestled with for over a decade now. Hopefully more regularly than has been, so far this year!
Have a wonderful week, dear Reader š
– KRidwyn
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Holiday happenings…
So it would appear that the last three weeks of December slipped by without my blogging. Whoops! And we’re at January 4th already, and the holidays are waning quickly. Sigh.
I’ve spent a bit of time at the beach / out in the sun in my garden over the past several weeks. I’m browner as a result (I had photos of both these but for some strange reason WordPress is declining to upload them.) and I also found out from my hairdresser that I should part my hair on the other side. One: it covers the greys and faded hair in my normal part, and two: it still has colour on that side, so I’m looking younger! On the down-side though, it feels REALLY weird and I’m not liking it much at all.
Well, that’s me. I’m off to work out why photos aren’t uploading, because I was planning on using them a LOT this year.
Wish me luck, dear Reader!
- KRidwyn
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Final milestones
Years ago, prior to children, I couldn’t imagine myself as a mum. Truth be told: I still can’t! And yet, I am. Muddling through as best as I can, and making mistakes left, right and centre. Sorry, kids.
But time passes and things get easier (or, at least, more routinized) and then you realise you can’t remember what life was like before the kids were around. Or in primary school. Or in high school. Or university, et cetera.
Me and my family? Well, Master almsot-12 – my youngest – is about to graduate Primary School. Seven scant weeks after, he’ll be the only pre-teen in my house. And just 16 months after that, all three will be teenagers (and yes, I’m already noticing the grocery bill…) and the eldest will be driving and in her last seven months of school.
Wait, what? Seriously?
Life’s going too fast!
Yup. Breathe. It’ll all happen, and it’s all survivable.
*deep breath* *take a moment*
Well, back to my point – because it’s been quite a rambling one this morning – my little man graduates from Primary School in two weeks. Hip hip, hooray!!
Well done, little man. Congratulations – you made it! I love you.
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Gym buddies…
Hubby started gym first, several years ago now. Initially, it was a ālose weightā thing – but then the endorphins kicked in and he quickly transformed into a gym junkie.
It took a couple of years listening to his convincing and cajoling for me to try it before I joined tooā¦ but for me, it was the early-morning kid-free time that I got hooked on. I took time off when redundancy meant uncertainty, July 2019 – but then rejoined several weeks ago when I was blessed with permanent work again.
And now Master almost-12 has joined me. Heās done three sessions now, and is happy to continue. In spite of the 4.45am leaving home time! So thatās pretty impressive.
Not only that, but Miss15 is clamouring to go, and Miss almost-13 is making some noises along a similar vein too. Sigh for the loss of kid-free timeā¦ but as theyāre quickly getting older, Iām going to enjoy these last few years while I still have them.
So I collected two more membership application forms this morning, and the gym owner mentioned setting aside an hour for just my family on a daily basis! Iām pretty sure he was jokingā¦
Anyway, weāll see how that all pans out. Have a energetic day yourself, dear Reader š
– KRidwyn
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Angel at my place
My house is surrounded by trees. I love it! But sometimes it can be a little dangerous. When the tree which is closest to your house dies and then falls over, for example. Which is exactly what happened last week.
Fortunately, we had an angel at my place when it fell. No, we have no human witness to this fact, but I’m convinced of this fact nevertheless. The tree, you see, hit the ground.
As in, just the ground. Not the house, not the large green water tank nor the small one behind it, not the clothes line behind the tanks, not even the garden! There was one angle and one angle only at which this tree could fall and not hit anything – and this angle is EXACTLY where the tree fell.
It hit the ground in the best possible place. And our dogs and birds got to enjoy the show (and werenāt hit either!)
So, THANK YOU Lord for the angel who was at my house… and have an incident-free day yourself, dear Reader!
- KRidwyn
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Happy “World Teachers’ Day”
… to me!
It was last Friday, a celebration worldwide – apparently – of teachers and everything we do. Check out the colourful, covid-safe meal and card (the large poster-sized card signed by the all the students didn’t fit in the photo) and especially the PERSONALISED BISCUIT which I was given on the day! Woohoo!
Have a celebratory day yourself, dear Reader!
- KRidwyn
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Grammar rules :)
My childhood memories are few and far between. Iām not entirely sure why, just that they are. But a couple of things stand out from Primary Schooling: learning how to thread a sewing needle in Grade Four, and – even more significant – spending several weeks in Grade Five, copying down spelling rules from the board and listening intently to my teacher as she explained them, and gave us examples. I remember thinking, āThis is it! The key to getting things correct from now on! This is what I need to know!ā I was so pleased. Iād figured it all out – and I was only 10 years old.
Those lessons were so clear, so concise. āI before E except after Cā and so on. Later, in University, when I realised Iād need to teach grammar to my high school English students, oh! How I wished Iād had similar instruction in grammar!
Well, wish no more. Iāve found it. Short, easy, and – most excellent of all – a detailed study of the parts of speech. And the best bit? Itās an online textbook which my students already have access to! So Iām kinda mandated to teach from it, so the parents get their moneyās worth. Cool, huh?
So here I am, week by week, learning about classifying adjectives and participles, gerunds and articles, so I can teach them with some authorityā¦ and Iām loving it! Finally, something in the world makes sense again!
Now I know youāre all thinking: well, sure. āI comes before E except after Cā, exceptā¦
ā¦ except when your foreign neighbour Keith leisurely receives eight counterfeit beige sleighs from feisty caffeinated atheist weightlifters. Weird.
ā¦ unless the efficient concierge of the priciest Ancient Glacier Hacienda serves a society of proficient scientists studying a species with insufficient consciences leading to racier piracies. Lunacies.
ā¦ unless you leisurely deceive eight feisty caffeinated foreign heirs to forfeit their heinous sovereign conceits, and (of course)
— unless youāre an eight-year-old planning a heist to seize a surveillance sleigh owned by a sheik at a reindeer farm. [@jjhartinger]
So yes, I agree: there are many exceptions to spelling rules. And little KRidwyn wasnāt to know that the dozen or so spelling rules I was taught in Grade Five werenāt the be-all and end-all to life. That disappointment came later.
So until this crushing disappointment arrived, I was happy in the knowledge that regarding the correct spelling of all words, there was boundary line there; that I knew where it was; and the learnings I’d been taught fit nicely and neatly inside that area. It was good, life was good, and the world made sense.
It was only afterwards I realised exceptions existed. “I comes before E except after C” oftenā¦ but not always. There were limits to what I’d been taught. The learning was adequate, but it didn’t cover all possibilities, all potential situations. There was more learning there which I needed to know.
Aside: according to Kris Spisak:
At the moment, Iām sitting in a similar ‘sweet spot’ regarding the online grammar program I’m teaching my students. I donāt yet know its limitations; it seems comprehensive enough, and thatās just hunky-dory by me. If I donāt know it, I donāt miss itā¦ until my horizons expand again, either willingly or unwillingly. But at the moment, Iām happy – and thatās enough for me!
Have a happy day yourself, dear Reader!
– KRidwyn
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Weighty matters
I read Scott Pape’s column from time to time. “The Barefoot Investor”, he calls himself, as he comments in a down-to-Earth, no nonsense manner on all matters financial.
One particular column stood out recently, on “investing in a good night’s sleep” where he hummed and hawed about purchasing a weighted blanket, did lots of research, then finally shelled out the money for one. And the results – much better sleep – were surprising.
So I did the same. I’d heard of them, and been pondering looking into the idea for a while, however Scott Pape’s article had me thinking ‘if it’s good enough for him…’ so I copied his process. Did my research, bought the blanket I thought was best… and I am literally AMAZED at my sleep now! It’s been 6 nights and I feel like I’m sleeping better than I have in decades. Seriously. It’s like I’ve reverted to my sleeping habits from my early twenties, when I’d fall asleep quickly, stay asleep (or fall asleep in minutes if woken up) and then awaken refreshed. It’s crazy!
It’s made me happy about the idea of sleeping again. And I can honestly say this is the one. I shan’t be buying another blanket ever again.
Have a restful day yourself, dear Reader!
KRidwyn