So, last week we got about an inch and a half of snow on Saturday, and 40-50 mile an hour winds (blizzard) on Sunday.
What does an inch and a half of snow look like after a day of blizzard winds?
Glad you asked.
The building beyond, that you can just see over the top of the drift, is a metal pole barn we call the machine shed, because that is where the previous owners would keep farm equipment. The mound in the middle of the drift is our brush pile/burn pile. Overall, I would estimate the drift is more than 8 feet high. The distance between the grove and the silo is probably 60 feet or more.
Sooo tired of snow. On the bright side, it’s not supposed to snow again for a few days. I know; after the past month, I’m not sure I believe it either. š
Promo stuff. Ugh. I did order some bookmarks and flyers/posters. They didn’t turn out too bad.
Next up is my author website. I decided to leave the blog alone, and just link it to the author site (and vice versa). That way I don’t have to work the blog into the site. I have to keep reminding myself to keep it simple.
At this point I’m wondering when I’ll get a chance to write again. Seriously. But once everything is set up, it should be pretty easy to maintain. Especially if I don’t have to monkey around with the blog.
I have a workshop for my Sisters in Crime chapter to work on. It’s scheduled for Saturday, March 9, which so far is forecast to be snow-free.
Please don’t let it snow. Heck, as long as you’re at it, how about a whole week or two without snow? The solstice is three weeks away!
Daughter and I are going to see the new How to Train Your Dragon movie tonight. I don’t go out to see movies very often; I usually wait until they come out on DVD and get them from the library, but there are a select few I’ll see in the theater. Can’t wait! (Hopefully we can still get out the driveway; we got 2 1/2 inches of new fluffy snow. We should be fine as long as the winds don’t kick it around too much).
Have a great weekend, all!
My chair. Seriously. Go sit somewhere else.
Facets of a Muse 
March 2, 2019 at 7:49 am
I really like your promo materials! They’re nicely done. And I’ll bet your website will be great. Hopefully the weather will ease soon – that snowdrift is something!
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March 2, 2019 at 2:24 pm
Thank you, Margot! I’m hoping the weather will finally concede to an approaching spring. Today is sunny but cold again, all of 12F. And the weather geeks say the sun is at the same angle it is in October (September now??), but it certainly is nowhere near as warm as it is in the fall.
Have a great weekend!
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March 2, 2019 at 8:02 am
Your cat looks like it knows a lot!
Good luck with your book.
Neil
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March 2, 2019 at 2:31 pm
Thanks, Neil! And I’m certain she thinks she’s in charge. š
Enjoy your weekend!
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March 2, 2019 at 9:53 am
That’s way too cold for me, Julie. Yikes! I’ve considered the bookmarks etc (for marketing) but so far, couldn’t figure out where I’d use them. I will be curious to see how they go for you.
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March 2, 2019 at 2:41 pm
You wouldn’t be enjoying this winter here in MN. It’s brilliantly sunny out today, but the high right now is 16F (but it feels like 3 above). The average temp this time of year is supposed to be close to 30. Boy, that almost sounds like a heat wave! The bookmarks are nice to leave around, and for people to pick up at book fairs. I’ve noticed a number of other authors use them as promo swag.
Have a great weekend, Jacqui! Less than a week before Survival of the Fittest is out!
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March 2, 2019 at 10:23 am
Promo materials look terrific, Julie! Youāve been making great progress. I hope you donāt get snow for a few days. Nice to have a reprieve. We are on track to get 7-15 inches Sunday into Monday. Sigh. It will end, right?
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March 2, 2019 at 2:44 pm
Me too, Molly! I have a SinC meeting on Tuesday, and the workshop next Sat. Crossing my fingers we will have an entire week without snow! Ugh, 7-15 inches? Ick. Stay safe! They keep telling me it’ll end, but it sure seems like a long shot at this point š
Enjoy today, and hunker down tomorrow during the snowstorm Great opportunity to either write or read š Or just binge watch a favorite TV show. š
Have a good weekend!
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March 2, 2019 at 11:25 am
Nice marketing materials.
For the record, that’s how I have my site/blog set up. It’s super simple that way, and there’s some algorithm somewhere that seems to make the blog more searchable/viewable that way. When I migrated my WP blog to my site, I lost all my viewers despite asking them to follow me and copying them over manually. When I came back, I recovered a lot of them with zero effort on my part. I think you’ll be happy with that set up.
Praying for a break from the snow for you.
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March 2, 2019 at 2:47 pm
Thanks, Staci! The more I thought about it, the more it made sense to just leave what works alone, and link back to it. Makes the author site so much easier to contend with.
And the snow! So bright and sunshiny today, but all of 16F. And tomorrow is a wind chill advisory all day long. Ugh. I am so beyond ready for spring! Then I look at all the snow and wonder just how long it’ll take for it to melt (and how much water we’ll have in the yard before it dries up).
Enjoy your (snow free) weekend!
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March 3, 2019 at 9:06 am
Nope. Wasn’t snow free. It started last night. I thought I could beat the worst of it by going to the 7:00 a.m. Mass, but the snow was worse there than where I live. (The church is about twenty minutes away from me.) I slid a few times, but nothing serious. (One of the perks of growing up in the north is that I actually know how to drive in the snow. Most people here don’t.) Then I had to go to the stupid store. I hate grocery shopping. Especially when people are doing the toilet paper-water-bread panic shop. But I’m home now, safe and sound. And considering going back to bed!
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March 3, 2019 at 5:03 pm
Whaaa? Snow in AR? Ick. And I’m with you about grocery shopping. Glad you managed your travels safely. Yep, definitely a nap day!
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March 2, 2019 at 1:04 pm
Love your poster Julie:)
That is a lot of snow! Ours is melting away fast with a week of rain, but we aren’t out of March yet or snow. I’m ready for the tulips.
I took the grandkids to see How to Train your Dragon last weekend. Toothless reminds me of my cat Coco. I love these movies and this didn’t disappoint. Enjoy and have a great weekend.
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March 2, 2019 at 2:52 pm
Thanks, Denise! I think the poster turned out pretty good. Man, it would be great if the snow started to melt, but at 16F, it’s going nowhere fast. I’m a little apprehensive about when it will start melting. That’s a lot of water to have to go somewhere!
I love Toothless! I’m anxious to see the next one–with another Fury dragon (light fury??). Love Toothless’ antics with Hiccup and the other dragons.
Have a wonderful weekend!
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March 2, 2019 at 1:15 pm
“I don’t go out to see movies very often; I usually wait until they come out on DVD and get them from the library, but there are a select few I’ll see in the theater.”–I could’ve written that exactly. I hope the movie is worthy of the drive. Probably will be.
I wonder if Zoey is starting to wonder why you keep taking her picture. I hope she doesn’t start to protest. Or start putting on make-up first.
The promo items–is the publisher making those for you, or have you had to create and print them yourself through some other company? Curious for future ref. š
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March 2, 2019 at 3:03 pm
LOL! Fortunately, our small (tiny? about 2200 people) town still has its theater, so the drive is only about a mile and a half into town. They only show one film at a time, and only from Friday night through Monday night. One showing every evening. And they sometimes manage to get movies on opening weekend. It is convenient!
Heh. If Zoey starts putting on makeup, it’s time to call those nice young men in their clean white coats to come and take me away š
Funny thing about my publisher: according to the info packet, they will design the poster and bookmarks. Yet when I asked for them about a month ago, they said they didn’t know if they had a designer with time to work on my stuff (since I should have magically known to ask for this stuff months ago). Not knowing if they would be able to do anything for me before release, I decided to design them myself (I love Canva!). In any case, I would have to order any bookmarks and stuff myself; they don’t supply them, just the design. There are a number of companies that will print bookmarks and the like, and I probably could have checked the local paper (they do custom printing stuff), but I used Vistaprint. They seem pretty reasonable pricewise, and I got them sooner than I expected.
Have a great weekend, Betsy!
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March 2, 2019 at 5:06 pm
Great about the theater. Bummer about the publisher. Today I’m reading my story for the milionth time, getting it ready to send back to the editor who saw it at the conference. She wants to see it again before she recommends an agent she has in mind for me. One of her changes was to put all Ana’s thoughts in past tense. It’s not really working, though. Sometimes it just doesn’t make sense that way, but I fear she won’t hand over the name if she doesn’t approve of the writing. So I’m moving some stuff to past tense with the intention of moving it back after I send it to her. Pain. Do you have any idea of the proper protocol here? This woman’s explanation was that we think in past tense. I totally disagree, but I’m in a tough spot.
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March 2, 2019 at 6:22 pm
Hmm. I have some thoughts. I’ll shoot you an email š
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March 2, 2019 at 1:38 pm
That is A LOT OF SNOW! You poor thing. At least you’ve been able to continue working on your launch. Posters look good, bookmarks are fun. š I’m curious to see your author’s website and how it works for you. I have one, but honestly, the blog is where all the action happens. Keep plugging away. I’m looking forward to the launch!
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March 2, 2019 at 3:08 pm
Well, on the bright side, I don’t have to mow the lawn anytime soon š I’m hoping to get the author website finished this weekend and turned on. We’ll see how things go. The kids are home for spring break, so that always seems to disrupt things. And I have to get that workshop put together. Don’t know what I was thinking….
Have a great weekend, Diana! And no snow!
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March 2, 2019 at 3:42 pm
I hope you let us all know when it’s up. Then we can head over and explore. š
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March 2, 2019 at 3:44 pm
Absolutely!
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March 3, 2019 at 6:37 pm
It’s snowing as I type this.The white stuff is supposed to continue through the night. Originally, the forecast was for 5-10 inches We’re now down to 4-6 so I suppose there is a silver lining. Compared to what you’ve been hammered with, we’ve gotten off easy (or may get off easy if the forecast doesn’t worsen). But–seriously–this is MARCH! Spring is only a few weeks away.
Winter. Must. End—Now.
Congrats on the new swag. It all looks great. I was going to work on my website today but got distracted writing the opening scene for my next book. I’ve been working on plot notes and an outline, then Mr. E. showed up and pushed everything into actual writing, A mere 500 words or so, but at least I have my jumping off point.
Stay warm. Raven sends hugs to Zoey! š
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March 4, 2019 at 6:40 am
I. So. Agree! Enough with the winter stuff. It’s going to take a month to melt the snow we have (unless it is suddenly summer, in which case we’ll just have standing water everywhere).
Oh, man. If E showed up, that means they’re back from their extended pub crawl. Or maybe they spent time in New Orleans for the festivities. Anyway, congrats on getting the next book started! I’m almost done with my website; I just need to get the whole contact list email thing figured out, then I should be able to turn it on. One more thing off the list!
Hopefully you didn’t get as much snow as they predicted. We’re supposed to get hit again this weekend, when I’m supposed to hold my workshop. We’ll see how the forecast changes through the week. Crossing my fingers that we won’t have to cancel and try to reschedule.
Zoey sends hugs back!
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March 3, 2019 at 6:52 pm
So looking forward to the release of your book. I’m glad I live where we don’t have a lot of snow (I’m fussy because it’s been rainy and cold today.) Good luck on the website. I keep a separate blog but unless someone looks at the URL they wouldn’t know when they’re out of one site and in the other. I’m forever changing things, but I think I’ve got both almost like I want them.
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March 4, 2019 at 6:46 am
Thanks, Joan! Lucky you–I can send you some snow if you like š I’ve just got a few things left to tweak on the website, then I can turn it on. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense to just link back to the blog. Less fuss. And simpler.
Have a warm and dry week!
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March 7, 2019 at 2:08 am
Julie, I canāt get over all that snow and the drifts are huge! The white stuff seems to be everlasting for you this winter! I hope you managed to get out and see the film … you need a total break and I loved the first of these films! Itās funny how as adults one rarely goes to the cinema anymore! My husband and I managed to get round to seeing Bohemian Rhapsody…but only at the urging/recommendation of my son!
Wow! Iām so impressed with all your promotional leaflets etc, they look very professional and enticing … a lot of work but it will be worth it! And donāt worry… you will write again! š xx
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March 8, 2019 at 7:18 am
Yes, the drifts. And the snow. And more coming this weekend. And still more on Tuesday. Ugh. Didn’t get to see the movie, though; my daughter was sick the day we chose to go, so I’ll just wait for it to come out on DVD and get it from the library. I used to keep a list of the movies I wanted to see, but even that seems to have disappeared. The library is so convenient–might have to wait a bit to get a movie, but then I can watch it as often as I like for a week before it’s due.
My publisher finally sent me their design. Not as colorful as mine, though! I’ll wait until I go through my stock before I run with their design. Needs some tweaking anyway š
May you see spring soon–or maybe you already have spring. Man, I miss spring!
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March 10, 2019 at 8:10 am
Cat are very smart, mine tells everything she does by chatting for hours when I come home. The very best for your book š„
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March 10, 2019 at 12:16 pm
Yes, cats can be talkative! Sometimes I think mine wants to communicate psychicly. š Thank you! Have a great week!
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March 10, 2019 at 2:49 pm
You too Julie š»
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