I had a truly wonderful weekend. I skipped my writing group meeting because I wanted to write more than I wanted to talk about writing, and I actually got something accomplished. Then Sunday I went with some friends to a British car show and to the Japanese festival at the botanical gardens, which was a great way to be outdoors on a glorious fall day. This morning, I went over to the library coffee shop for some brainstorming and discovered that they have a lovely cinnamon tea, and I had a nice chat about tea with the guy working there, who gave me a sample tea bag of white Earl Grey to try at home. I then sat on the patio by the canal to do some brainstorming on what I need to write next before I walked home. Along the way, there was a guy working on his car with the stereo blaring, but instead of the usual rock or rap you tend to hear in cases like that, it was Bollywood music, so it was happy music that enhanced the whole mood of the day. Now I need to sit down and actually get some work done.
Thanks for all the chai input. It did turn out that the previous kind of chai I'd bought was what I wanted (Stash), and I found a box of it when I went out (finally) to get milk. Now I know which store I need to go to when I need it, as my other grocery store didn't have that flavor in that brand, which was why I'd bought the other that wasn't as good. I guess it still tasted good, but it wasn't what I wanted it to be, so I was disappointed. I imagine this other stuff will be fine when I want something mellower. The British import shop where the car show was has the brand they sell at the library, but I may keep that as a library treat because I like the atmosphere there, and if you're going to go out for something, it should be something you don't have at home. I think I may become a regular at the library coffee shop because I like the idea of being a regular somewhere and knowing the staff. I also find it easy to think there, and it's a pleasant walk to get there.
It's funny how everyone else seemed to get caught up in the long skirt issue. Really, that all started just because I was trying to weave description into the story instead of doing a paragraph just describing the character. She's pretty short, and I wanted readers to know that, but I didn't want to just say "she was short." Instead, when she had to borrow clothes to go under cover, I mentioned that the skirt was too long, and then when the person who got the clothes for her apologized, she said she was used to it, and she'd just hem it when she got a chance. I thought that one little bit of dialogue/action did a lot of work, giving some physical description (she's short enough that she's used to having to hem everything), as well as her attitude, since instead of complaining, she thinks of a way to fix it and doesn't expect anyone else to do it for her. But then that detail got stuck in my brain so the long skirt kept bothering me. I think I have the solution for it, and it's a lot more interesting than a scene of her sewing.
I really want to finish the book this week because this is my favorite time of year, and I want to be out enjoying it instead of cooped up indoors, working. Now that I've discovered the botanical gardens, I have another place I can go when I want to be outdoors.
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