Tuesday, October 10, 2006

a busy weekend


the fabulous Langefeld sisters, together again!

Oh, homecomings are wonderful things. This weekend, both of my sisters came home for a visit--Adrienne on fall break and Kristen for her birthday. And, both brought their boyfriends along, so we had a full house. It was so great getting to know those guys better! And I think I laughed more this weekend than I had in the entire month of September. The girls and I were talking late each night, and I kept laughing ‘til I cried…

We also went to an apple orchard north of here--we drove alongside the Mississippi River and the bluffs to get there, an area I hadn’t seen in a few years. The girls and I did a lot of reminiscing, about running around the same orchard as kids, and about growing up in the tiny town of Bethalto (which we drove through to get there). And we had such a gorgeous day for apple picking!


Eckert’s Orchard in Grafton, Illinois


the girls and guys on our tractor-ride to the apple trees


milling around after gathering our apples

Our pew filled up in church on Sunday--going from three people to seven! And I loved being surrounded with family. After church, we took loads of pictures, as usual, before everyone had to take off in their different directions. It was sad to see everyone leave--weekends fly by so fast!


the picture-taking process


the whole family

The steady work of the writing life feels even quieter than it did before. But now I’m preparing for November and all those words… all those words! I’m reading books on plotting, I’m researching the genre I want to write in, I’m brainstorming ways to make my characters more interesting--suddenly I feel like I do have a syllabus to guide me (welcome relief!). Of course, all it says is: 50,000 words, due November 30. And suddenly, October 10 seems awfully close to November!

But I really am excited to charge into the actual word-making work of the novel. After months of trying to develop characters and plots, it feels good to put them through their paces--I think they’re almost ready. I just hope that I’m ready for it! --jl

Posted by Jenn Langefeld on 10/10 at 06:17 PM
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