Keep Calm And Carry On

October 3, 2018October 3, 2018 / Diane Henders / 26 Comments

You know how you get organized at the beginning of each week so you can sail through the upcoming days happy and relaxed because everything is under control?

I hope I’m not the only one laughing helplessly right now.

What’s even funnier is that sometimes I actually delude myself into thinking I truly do have everything under control. That’s when Fate lets out a derisive laugh and upends my plans with unexpected detours, unavoidable delays, and unmet expectations.

I just try to keep calm and carry on. (And sometimes I lie awake stewing for hours in the middle of the night because everybody knows that helps…)

Anyhow, it’s been one of those weeks. Nothing bad has happened; but every time I’ve tried to get my shit together, it’s ended up hitting the fan. So since putting together a coherent post is beyond my ability at the moment, here are the highlights of my week in pictures:

Remember how several months ago I was chuckling about the eccentricities of the locals when I saw a woman leading a goat across the Canadian Tire parking lot? Well, that’s not the only oddball animal on the loose around here. Last week I was driving through the middle of nowhere when I saw this:

Two peacocks, just hanging out in the middle of the woods. Go figure.

I’m used to seeing deer by the dozens around here, but peacocks were a new sight for me. And speaking of deer, these cuties were taking their ease right in the middle of town:

Mom and babies weren’t worried even when I walked up about fifteen feet away.

The rest of Canada is already getting snow (yes, Calgary, I’m looking at you with heartfelt sympathy for yesterday’s sixteen inches – blech!), so we’re starting to feel the pressure to get some last-minute gardening done around here. I’m making slow progress on our landscaping:

Only a few more tons of rock to move. To give you a sense of scale, the post at the far right is almost 5′ tall.

But around here autumn is just starting, and with gorgeous colours like these, I might reconsider my vendetta against the fall season. Almost. Kinda. Maybe…

This golden gorgeousness is a katsura tree, which smells deliciously (and unbelievably) like caramel in the autumn. The beautiful bark behind it is a giant Douglas fir.

How was your week?

Book 14 update: I managed to squeak into Chapter 20 this week despite the craziness. Fingers crossed for a more productive upcoming week…

So I Booked A Photo Session…

February 4, 2015 / Diane Henders / 53 Comments

Yes, this is the beginning of a joke. Last week I decided to set up a photo session, with predictable results:

Okay; it wasn’t quite that bad. I didn’t actually break my ankle; I just twisted it. I think I remembered to suck in hard enough to hide the evidence of my Superbowl excesses, and the zits were mostly hidden by makeup. I hope. (Yes, I wore makeup. Bleah.) And my hair, bless it, behaved.

Fortunately I was working with the funny and talented Rick and Sandra Hand of Hand Crafted Images. They made the session easy and fun, and I know the quality of the photos will be top-notch. But with me as a model, there’s only so much their talent can overcome…

Does the camera hate you as much as it hates me?

* * *

I’m off for an arthrogram on my ankle this morning (an old kickboxing injury; not photo-session-induced), so I’ll be incommunicado until this afternoon. “Talk” to you then!

Season’s Greetings!

December 24, 2014 / Diane Henders / 29 Comments

I finished the final draft of Book 9, SPY HIGH, on Sunday and the first beta reader is already finished – woohoo! Now I’m looking forward to a week of family, food, and festivities. Merry Christmas if you celebrate it, and general merriness to you if you don’t!

What My Library Says

October 16, 2013 / Diane Henders / 29 Comments

A little while ago, I ran across a link to the website of artist Nina Katchadourian, and I was instantly captivated by her Sorted Books project.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so I decided to play, too.

But first, a disclaimer: Obviously, she’s an artist and I’m not. Her books are beautifully arranged and photographed, the subjects are carefully chosen, and the whole thing is a meaningful artistic expression.

I’m just a copycat, and a poor one at that. My photography sucks, my arrangements look like they were stacked by an inebriated orangutan, and my subjects are distinctly low-brow.

But I’m a rabid book lover, and I’m endlessly fascinated by the variety of titles we all have stockpiled on our shelves. And besides, this was fun!

Here’s what I came up with from my personal shelves:
In the “Philosophical” category…