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Woo! It’s Febulary!
Fabu-wary? Fuh-brew-airy? Well, it’s still ❄️ Winter ❄️, but we get more nifty holidays 🕯️💝🎩💚👑💜 this month anyway.
Headstart on Valentine’s 💝 Day
So, fall asleep love, loved by me… for I know love, I am loved by thee. ~Robert Browning
Like I need an excuse to eat more candy. Right?
But that’s not what I’m driving at. When I think Valentine’s 💝 Day, I think of my permanent Valentine, Kelly.
This quote from Robert Browning reminds me of what a joy it is to snuggle up alongside my beloved wife in the deep, chilly depths of ❄️ Wintertime ❄️
I mean, how can you go wrong?
I get comfort, companionship, relaxation, sleep and she acts as a heat sink for me. I radiate heat like you wouldn’t believe, so she thoroughly enjoys my nocturnal company in the colder months.
Yet another reason for me to detest 🌞Summer🔥, because the opposite is true when it’s hot out.
So, I’m enjoying the nice weather while it lasts.
Does The Groundhog Actually Know?
Jack Frost (1979) Opening
So, we have a peculiar tradition that was made famous in a Bill Murray comedy. When Punxsutawney Phil comes out on the 2nd of February, he predicts either an early 💐Spring🌷 or the continued ravages of ❄️ Winter ❄️.
The Rankin & Bass special I linked above (sadly, not the whole show, just the theme song) was a fair stab at trying to make some memorable characters in association with this less-known holiday. The story hinges on Jack continuing to scare the groundhog back into his burrow so that he can keep the main antagonist trapped in his mountaintop fortress a while longer.
Naturally, it didn’t catch on as well as their Santa-oriented specials, but it’s a fun watch anyhow.
What’s also fun is the notion that Phil and Phyllis enjoy a celebrity lifestyle in a climate-controlled habitat in Punxsutawney.
Day in the life of Punxsutawney Phil
So, yes, Americans are a little crazy. We enjoy a good time and can enjoy the simple pleasures of a weather-forecasting groundhog.
🐇 Rabbit In A Snowstorm 🌨️
It’s so fine and yet so terrible to stand in front of a blank canvas. ~Paul Cezanne
Okay, so in the scene linked to the section header above, the canvas is not actually blank, but it might as well be.
Fortunately for me, neither is my first book in The Sentinels series. I’ve actually got quite a bit to build on.
Not only do I have an insane amount of prose that I’ve set aside because it wasn’t working for me, but I also have a fair amount of teasers and innuendos included in the Holiday Season Serial Romances that need to be added to my Series Bible.
There’s the rub. I know what’s not working for me, but I’m still not getting a whole lot put together that does work for me.
As a pantser, my best stuff comes from just writing. The major problem is that doing so always results in me painting myself into a corner.
It’s still a process that eludes me.
I know some of the high points of where the overall story needs to go, but getting the various events and details that fill the entire mosaic is still out of reach for a number of reasons.
It’s a work in progress. Being able to plan and fill in is a work in progress. The story itself is a work in progress. Writing coherent long-form content is a work in progress. I’m working on it and a ton of other things besides.
That’s it for one wintry Wednesday. I hope you’re having a lovely week and are looking forward to Valentine’s 💝 Day and everything else February brings.