I Woke Up On Mars

I woke up on Mars this morning. Some how I slept through the entire journey. Upon opening my eyes I thought it 6:30 am as the dim light filtering into the bedroom was subdued. Once up and having opened the blinds, I saw the sky was an intense red-orange as I had never seen before. The clock revealed it was actually 9:30 a.m.

Now it is 11:50 a.m. and the red-orange sky is even darker than before. I've had to turn on synthetic lights just so I can see in the house.

Photos have not been color changed. These were taken without a flash.

My Beautiful Empress Tree

Last year my Empress Tree was huge and in full bloom. The tree looked amazing and many people stopped to take photos of it (and I can't seem to find a single photo right now). Unfortunately, the branches were brittle and breaking off in huge chunks. In addition it was in the power lines. So, we let the electric company cut it down.

The result was we used the trunk to create our Halloween Pumpkin Creature last October.

Now that summer has come around again, a full year since the tree was turned into a trunk, it has transformed itself.

I can only wonder what it will look like next Spring.

Months and Months

You think with being home more, I would be blogging more, instead it has been a lot less. It took a friend to point out to me I hadn't blogged since April and that was back in June. Now we are nearly at the end of July.

I did have ideas for blog posts, and kept meaning to write them, but each day has past by me. Between adapting to working 100% from home and new writing ideas, blogging fell between to the cracks. So today, before I allow myself to fall into complete distraction I shall blog.

The fifth Conrad novel is almost finished. It is in the final stages of editing. When done it is off the printers and an examination of the proof. Then POOF! It is released.

One of the items I wanted to show on my blog, but failed to was all the beautiful flowers that popped up in yard at the end of April and early May. Luckily, I snapped some photos of them. Here they are:

Co-Hosting My First Webinar on April 22 @ 6 p.m.

As life is focused on safe, isolated pursuits, I am working from home with my day job as a financial advisor. My firm is putting on a Webinar on April 22 @ 6 p.m. The title is Successfully Managing Adversity: Through Mental Health, Financial Opportunity and Empowerment. You are invited to join us for this fun hour-long educational event. You can join either through Facebook or if you prefer a Zoom link, e-mail me and I will send you one.

https://www.facebook.com/events/220347125915676/


See you there.

The Giant Easter Egg!

With Easter almost here, the creativity was sparked in our household, especially given that we are living in isolation per the current pandemic situation. Wanting to make Easter special, and knowing we couldn't do what we normally do this time of year, we decided we should make a giant Easter egg to place on the Empress Tree stump in our front yard.

This idea started a debate on what we could make it from. A balloon was the first thought. Yet, we didn't have any in the house, and given the need to stay out of society and with most stores closed, reasoned we needed to come up with another idea. That lead us to the concept of a wire frame. We had some fencing wire in the garage, but that didn't seem like a good idea. Rummaging around, I found a damaged umbrella I had placed in a bucket of random sticks, poles, and broken curtain rods set aside to prop plants up as needed. We had our wire.

First we broke the spokes off the umbrella and stuck them in some card board circles. We added a paper bowl to the top to round it off.

Since we had found a roll of Easter wrapping paper to decorate our egg, we figured we needed something to go over the spokes. While we considered more cardboard, we came up with a better idea: egg cartoons! Since Boomer and Fern eat eggs every day, and egg cartoons are no longer considered recyclable in our area, we had a huge pile of them. We tore the tops of the egg cartoons, flattened them out, and then used hot glue to attach them to the spokes.

Next we cut the wrapping paper into strips, which we glued and taped to the egg body.

We finished our giant egg off with a gold ribbon and bow.

Now our Easter egg is ready for Easter morning!

Feel Like Reading!

Feel like reading?

Here in Oregon, it's been raining daily, which always motivates me to read and write. If you are into fantasy, science fiction or children's books, you might like to read one I penned.

That said, I arranged a discount through my printer if you buy the books directly through them. I set all my books at 20% off or more. In addition, Lulu.com, usually offers an additional 10% or 15% off. Thus, going straight to my printer is the cheapest way to buy my books, though you can still find them wherever books are sold.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/heather-hobson/the-conrad-chronicles-revolt/paperback/product-23411235.html

Thoughts on a Pandemic Day

Before I was a financial advisor, before I was a teacher, I was a historian who studied the Middle Ages and Ancient World. Those times in history were marked by increase travel and trade, which resulted in the spread of viruses and diseases that frequently halted the daily life which our ancestors were accustomed.

We are also now living in such a time, and as a historian, I see this as a moment of great change for how our lives are lead. Societal shifts, as we are undergoing right now, are often hard, confusing, and can be painful, but once the change has occurred the opportunity for a new creative society is born (imagine the shift from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance).

What we are experiencing with Covid-19 is new for us, but it is not a new experience for the human race. Once all is settled again, which will take time, we will find ourselves in a new age, with new opportunities. So even though you may be suffering or grieving today, realize you are living during a unique, historical moment, and you will get the honor  of being one of the first humans to experience the birth of a new age.