Mulling over the bigger queries

-
My latest quilt prepped for basting.

Writing science fiction isn't my usual gig, but it is beneficial for stirring within my gray matter questions I rarely ponder, the Why am I here and What does human culture mean in the grand scheme and What if there is life beyond our planet, those sorts of notions. Especially when I wake early and the house is quiet and it's dark outside and for all I know in those brief (or lengthy) minutes perhaps I am alone in this big wide universe, or all that I am is merely a curious soul wishing for answers.

Not that I mean to go off on some tangent, lol, but there's life as we all see it, then there's our imaginations or ruminations or whatever one ponders when all the usual flies out the window. My current novel is set in 1971, but a main character is from a distant galaxy, and despite being human, she has little in common with those she now associates. Putting myself in her shoes, I can't help but wish to push the boundaries, as she is finding her life hemmed in considerably not only by standards from over fifty years ago, but limitations due to her gender.

Wow, that's a lot to chew on so early in the week! Yet these ideas are worth at least a smidgen of my time, if only to better flesh out my character, and what about Present Me? Future Me grimaces, as I have put here a spoiler for the series, and Past Me is just happy I'm not bothering her. Well gals, this concerns all of us, because I'm quickly becoming Past Me as the seconds tick by, and Future Me, you need to get over yourself as the gatekeeper, hah! Yeah, it's that kind of day, maybe just from getting up well before dawn appeared, although daylight is growing so limited that dawn doesn't arrive until well after seven a.m.

What would someone from another cosmos think of us, not just those like me dwelling on North America, but humans in general. Would we look barbaric, civilized, boring... Of course it would heavily depend on from where said being traveled, their experiences butting up against ours. Yet we think we've come a long way, and in comparing 1971 to 2023, yes we have technologically. But wars still rage, illnesses ravage, people go hungry, die needlessly.... The human condition is better off overall, but in the grand scheme I don't think cell phones and infinite television channels are good indicators of a decent society.

Yet, maybe all this navel-gazing provokes me to be a more thoughtful writer. To bring to this story an element that matters deeply. Or maybe it's not about the writing at all, just some personal growth that may or may not end up touching a story or a quilt. I really don't know, other than more now than ever before I am trying to look outside the box, think creatively, set aside what I know. I want to grasp my perception of life and shake it like a snow globe until not merely does the fake snow swirl, but what's inside the globe alters. And I'd like to do it free from hallucinogens or other external stimuli, lol. Just permitting my mind to wander, to ponder, and to keep doing so, at least until another shiny idea appears.

Popular posts from this blog

Fits, starts, and restarts

-
Image
Two examples from two different skeins of yarn where breaks in the colour scheme occur. Very indicative of my current mood, lol. This is a funny novel, for all the hemming and hawing going on. Never before have I written, then purged scenes with somewhat of an abandon. I truly don't know what to make of it, chalking it up to age, grieving, the weirdly long winter (even though it's spring), or my new computer keyboard, which is small but adequate in a strangely truncated manner. I'm enjoying the writing, but the story keeps veering off on tangents I'm not comfortable with, in that too much is being revealed too soon, bleh. Future and Past Me's are steering clear of this manuscript, perhaps because what came before it was so out of the blue, so cathartic, and this prequel is just as outta my backside as any I've ever written. But I am writing, let me restate that, despite restarting a chapter here and there. I'm not getting much else accomplished, other than s
Read more

Orphan blocks are not like unfinished novels

-
Image
It's a busy day, getting ready for guests that will enlighten our lives for the next week. However my feet are a little weary, so why not ramble here for a bit, giving those dogs a rest as well as set upon a discourse about the above title before I forget why I thought it was important (lol). I don't even know why I first pondered this, maybe an IG poster mentioned them, which made me think of my orphan EPP blocks. I don't have many machine sewn blocks without a home, but plenty of English paper pieced designs linger in a tote, patterns I liked and HAD TO MAKE. I used plenty of them on a Turning Twenty quilt, decorating some plain tone-on-tone prints and that was a great manner in which to employ less than a quarter of what remains, ahem. Oh and I used some on a t-shirt quilt that I made in conjunction with a friend, who had lived in Hawaii for a few years and wanted to put her aged shirts to quilty use. But still many remain, although I have a plan for them, hehehe. I am h
Read more

Following one's heart

-
Image
Fascinating from the back, as though a map to an unknown destination. It was an early start today, half a chapter written, then texting with my youngest daughter and enjoying photos of her sunrise a few hours east of us. I woke to clear, starry skies, but clouds have since moved in, rain forecast for the next few days. Maybe in a few days I'll have completed my novel; it's VERY CLOSE to being done, but I said that in a recent post, The End dangling like a carrot merely an arm's length away. Meanwhile I've been stitching together Cornflower blocks each evening. The photo above was snapped last night, what I see as I sew. MANY papers to remove, but I'll deal with that later, lol. I'm also working on another quilt, hehehe, more about that in a day or two. And the last ones for this year are washed and waiting to be given to my granddaughters on Christmas, which is just a little over a week away! I considered today's title right after reading through the sevente
Read more