Better Late Than Never, Right? (February Recap)

Hi people!

Well, even though it's mid-March already (where does the time go?!), I'll go ahead and do my Feb. recap. ;P

Life:

-6 more baby calves were born! (Yes, a post is coming with all the little ones, and I promise I'll work to get it up ASAP!)

-I vanquished NaNo Makeup!! With a total of just over my goal, 20k. ;)

-I grew closer to God, through the help of some friends. <3

-I realized how tall my brothers are. O.o

-I found a new fascination with playing the dobro.

Books:

Finished:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis: 4.5 stars
For One Moment by Christmas Carol Kauffman: 3.5 stars
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Not Regina by Christmas Carol Kauffman: 4 stars
Courageous Love by Susan K. Marlow: 5 stars
No Way Up by Mary Connealy: 3 stars
The Pharaoh's Daughter by Mesu Andrews: 3 stars
The Horse and his Boy by C.S. Lewis: 4.5 stars
The Bridge by Jeri Massi: 3.5 stars
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Started:
Crown and Jewel by Jeri Massi
By Searching by Isobel Kuhn

Snippets:

Oh boy, I worked on 4 stories this month, 3 of them brand-new.  Um... hmm.
Ok, here are some snippets from a brand-new story that will currently remain unnamed.  I do have a title for it, but it will likely be changed, so I will not share the title right now.  (Well… that and the title may just happen to spoil the plot for someone I know. B-))

The hot, late-evening desert sun beat down unmercifully on my neck as I rode.  I didn’t know where I was going, so that made the heat even more unbearable; for all I knew, I could be simply going in circles, and I’d wind up dead in the middle of the desert.

I didn’t care.  My life had no purpose.

I wasn’t even sure how long I had been wandering around; I had been keeping track in a small calendar I carried around in my pocket, but I eventually gave up.

My pack horse lagged behind me, ears drooping.  I would have to find some water soon, or my canteens would run dry and I’d be stuck.  Not that I cared.

I didn’t have much of a backstory; I was a drifter, and my story matched that of most drifters: my parents died when I was young, my siblings and I were separated, and when I became a man, I struck out on my own for fame and fortune.

Fame and fortune.  Ha, I soon found out that neither were easy to come by; nearly impossible for a man of my standings, really.  So finally, after being left by my wife, swindled, and broke, I packed two horses chock-full of goods and set out for the west.  I had heard that there was gold over in California, but after being in the desert for longer than I cared to, I finally decided that if I ever got out of that place alive, I would never go west again.

But now, I was so miserable that I didn’t even care if I lived or died.  My water–and food–rations were running low.

Suddenly, out on the horizon, among the shimmering waves of heat, I spotted something that made my heart leap, then die.  It was the unmistakable sight of trees; but I knew it was only a mirage.  I’d had several mirages in my wandering, so this wasn’t exactly a surprise.  I just wished it didn’t have to be such a disappointment each time.

But then my horse, Shalimar, picked up his head and his ears swiveled forward.  Looking back, I saw that the two-bit packhorse did the same.  Horses don’t have mirages… do they?

I gradually allowed myself to hope.  Could this really be what I had been longing to see for days, perhaps weeks?

Shalimar picked up the pace with no urging, and soon the trees on the horizon became bigger and more lifelike.  My horse whinnied, and I was shocked to hear an answering nicker.

“What’s going on here?” I wondered to myself.

Finally we were there.  My thirsty eyes were met with a sight that quenched any other want from my mind.  I had finally found water.

I quickly dismounted, wondering how this pool appeared in this god-forsaken wilderness, but then remembered hearing about men finding an oasis or two in the middle of the desert.

I stumbled to the edge of the clear pond and drank my fill, then I almost spewed it back out when I looked up at the other side of the pond and saw something that made my stomach heave.

A man lay unmoving, face down in the burning sand.  I swallowed hard and shoved myself to my feet.  I still felt weak from not enough water, but this new liquid refreshed me.

As I cautiously approached the prostrate figure, I froze when I saw his hand, outstretched… gripping a six-gun.

Ok, so that was just one long snippet. *hides* Sorry, I'm one of those authors that loves writing cliffhangers but hates reading them... so you have my sympathy. ;P

Pun of the Month:

Jokes about German sausages are the wurst. B-)

Music:

Like I said, I love playing dobro.

Here's a video of a dobro solo, so you can see how cool it sounds. ;)

This is a popular Johnny Cash song, "Folsom Prison Blues," for those of you who like/know old country. ;)

Well, that's all for this post!

Thanks for reading!

~Kaitlyn