This certainly is a surprised chook but no this is not the surprise –
This is the surprise! But in a way no surprise at all. 
The Matriarch walked into a wild scene at the hairdressers yesterday, they were all excited because a stray kitten had wandered into the salon, walked down the back and was sleeping on their couch. Everyone wanted to keep him but no-one really could.
My mother in law looked him over, pronounced him worthy then tucked him under her arm and brought him out to the farm. Problem solved. 
His real name has not yet been discovered but he seems to answer to Little Puss. I am not a real cat person, I just hate mice but Our John and The Tall Teen are smitten.
Good morning I hope all is well with you. I have my second-to-last tomato sauce in the crock pot and then I will make as much sweet thai chilli cauce as I can. That should about clear the frozen gardens of anything worth preserving. The wine is doing what it is meant to be doing and there are green tomatoes lining the benches in the cellar.
Now for my other surprise. This year I am going to participate in Nanowrimo. This will last a month. During that month I will write a short book as at the end of the month I have to present a book containing 50,000 decent words. This is under 2000 words a day.
I have been practicing each day, to see if I can fit it into my day, and writing flash-in-the-pan fiction with 2000 legible lightly edited words takes me just over an hour and a half.
This fits very well into my schedule as it is set up now. I will be replace my short story writing period from 1 – 3 with this writing challenge. (My short story for Writers Digest is in it’s final draft). Have no fear Nanowrimo will not affect my daily blog. I can do both, and the farming and the house and the family. This is the quiet time of year.
So how about that for another surprise. This is part of my training to be a proper writer. It will force me to pound the keys for two hours or at least two thousand words a day. Until November 1st I shall work on the planning. Life is full of exciting challenges. Are any of you doing the challenge? Quite a few of you gave me a good nudge on this one so I suspect I will not be alone.
Now you all have a lovely day.
celi
On this day a year ago. parmesan crackers
The Kitchen's Garden 
72 responses to “A little Surprise, then Another one…”
NaNoWriMo is fun, Celi! They put up a chart and you can see your progress visually every time you log in. You can have friends on the site, too. I’ll be there under my name, Sharyn Dimmick, working on new material for my memoir, “Broken” (now I get to tell the Johnny story!). We can be Writing Buddies.
On another note, I am a cat person and glad to see “Little Puss” with his big ears and new home.
Oh there is so much to learn I am glad you are going to be there with me.. I am being slow working it all out.. The little puss has an alarming habit of leaping from anything high onto your shoulders, now that is going to be interesting! c
Lovely surprises. The kitty is a nice surprise for everyone, including the mice. I hope you have a great time with the writing challenge. I’m sure you will learn a great deal about not only the discipline of the writing process, but also find it a satisfying way to move forward on your many writing goals. Go girl! D
Oh, I like Little Puss very much! A perfect farmy fit. I did Nanowrimo two years ago and LOVED it. I met my word count, but only made it halfway through my novel. And so my characters have been waiting. I tried last year, but the two jobs – and perhaps my state of mind – made it feel impossible. Perhaps I will try again this year. Still two jobs, but a much better state of mind!
Ahem. You are already a “proper writer.”
You are so kind.. c
Oh yes! Bravo Celi! Am anxious to read what comes of this newest endeavor! Your writing captivates.
(And can I say, as a complete aside, I love love that photo of calf & hens!)
I think you’re already a proper writer too–and we have dueling cats in our posts today!
Is the calf Bobby Blanc?
yes that is Bobby Blanc isn’t he getting big.. c
Oh, crikey. Is it nearly that time of year again!
I have tried a couple of times to do NaNoWriMo, but my form seems to be short stories, and nothing longer, so I though I may give it a go again this year, and try to do short stories….
I bought a book one year called,
‘No Plot, No Problem’ which generally proposes that you start NaNoWriMo without a clue of plot and just let your imagination take you for a ride.
Lovely pusscat.
I like that idea, having no plot. But I do have a beginning and and ending in mind and I know who will be turning up.. It is the middle that might get exciting! c
🙂
You will be brilliant Celi. Congratulations on taking up the challenge . We are cat lovers. Our two cats – who were our constant companions for twenty years – were difficult for us to replace. I believe we must wait for a little puss to walk into our lives. An enormous hug V.
It is ironic that the one to walk in is the replica of thing Two, but a very different personality..c
Cats choose who they own. Your new one has chosen wisely. Very best wishes with the writing challenge. Your blog is a fine example of entertainment and info. You should do well. Looking forward to “going with you” to New Zealand.
we leave dec 2nd, so you had better start thinking about what you are going to wear!! c
What a beautiful face!
Welcome the the NaNo adventure! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
You are my hero, how could I not follow closely in your footsteps, little turtley footsteps.. c
Hurrah for the new kitten! I have always fantasized about participating in NaNoWriMo but have never had my act together. I hope to hear a bit about it from you next month. It’s all very exciting — so many surprises in one day!
Best of luck on your book! What a cool opportunity. And love the new kitty surprise. 🙂
I did it last year, and am now reworking the novel. A lot of energy was in my prose, and I imposed no limitations on the first draft. I just blew it out. Whoever showed up that particular day of the month got put on the book character audition, and i would say i’m having great fun doing it. It surprised me, and the characters are still showing up. There’s a local workshop I joined as I hadn’t take a professional workshop for ten years. Last night was my first night. Awesome! Total best wishes; you will do well.
hmm,, what happens at a workshop, i have never been to one ever! Mind you i am fairly sure that there are none out here.. are you doing nano this year?c
no, i ‘m into my next draft and attending a workshop where do you live; there are great workshops out there; i take one very ten years or so; you are a good writer!
Congrats on your new addition…so cute, and on Nano, which I’d not heard of until now. Sounds challenging and fun! Now I must unfollow and refollow you again, because your last two posts didn’t come through to me. Sigh. Seems like this is happening with alarming frequency.