October 3, 2015

Recovering From Busy-ness. Sort of.

Life in General

September was nuts.

I probably should have waited until October to relaunch my Facebook page, because it languished a bit and I’m still getting the hang of it again.

So what happened in September? 

Travel. Travel happened. This year, I seem to be making up for the previous two years of absolutely no travel at all. We’re up to three trips so far, and they’ve all been more than weekend trips.

The family vacation we took back in May was certainly wonderful, but in September I traveled not once, but twice. With only a week between the two trips.

Trip the First was to Georgia. In a car (well, minivan). With four other people besides me and Mr. Loper. Overnight. Talk about a trial in patience! It wasn’t bad company, but when you’re stuck in a small space with that many people for that long in seats that become more and more uncomfortable… yeah. It was exhausting.

And why were we in Georgia? Well, my youngest-brother-in-law (henceforth, BIL in this post) joined the Army. So we were there for his graduation.

BIL is in that crowd somewhere. ;)
BIL is in that crowd somewhere. 😉

The eerie part? His graduation date fell on September 11.

It was very, very sobering. Especially since the BIL wasn’t really old enough to remember the actual attacks. But Mr. Loper and I were – we were in our teens when it happened (yes, there’s a little more than a decade between Mr. Loper and BIL’s ages).

Besides a lot of family time, since BIL would not be coming back to Oklahoma with us, we were also able to visit the National Infantry Museum. At least for a couple of hours. We saw… maybe half of it? I’d love to go back and see the rest, but I honestly don’t know when I’m going to be in Georgia again.

My husband took all the National Infantry Museum photos below. This is only a smattering of what they have at the NIM.

National Infantry Museum.
The wreath was laid in memory of the lives lost on 9/11 during the graduation ceremony that morning.
The entrance to the museum exhibits. Though this picture does not do it justice in the slightest – there’s so much MORE to it.
Scaled down replica of the Vietnam Memorial.
I don’t know what this is, just that it’s old and was used in a war.
This is a tank. I do know that.
Inouye Field is where the graduation was held.
Half of the plaques commemorating the soil from the different battlefields.
The other half of the plaques. Evidently no one got pictures of the actual plaques, so I couldn’t tell you what battlefields.
Airborne memorial.

And then we went home.

And I was there for a week (which ended up very nearly on-par with Hell Week, which I can’t remember if I ever blogged about Hell Week, but both of those things are for another post or few if I ever decide to talk about them here) before packing my bags to head out for FERRET RETREAT!

There was much relaxation. And lumpy mattresses. And not as much writing as I’d hoped, but still writing!

And there was coloring.

And so much tea.

And Michelle and I figured out the gas grill and didn’t ruin the food, huzzah! (With props to Serena for poking at the grill with us to get it going in the first place.)

Making my goal list the first morning. I think I only marked off about 1/3 of this.
Quiet writing mornings on the porch! I was usually up before the sun, so I would lay in bed until it was light enough to see without, you know, turning on lights and bothering everyone.
Dam outlook (I think) over Broken Bow Lake.
Broken Bow Dam.
The other side of Broken Bow Dam.
GRILLING!
Stick bug!
Sea horses! It took me 4 days to finish this.
The final morning, just before check out…

Next up: National Novel Writing Month, whoo! After I do absolutely nothing in October. Sort of. I do have to outline a novel.

So what did you do in September?

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Recent Comments

  • Candace Gauger
    October 3, 2015 - 11:48 pm · Reply

    To be able to say I had done something so much fun like you did. 🙂 My September was equally busy. Working two jobs; my normal Walmart job and an intern job with SCORE which had normal business hours and a whole bunch of workshops. I am so glad it is October, now.

    • Rebekah Loper
      October 4, 2015 - 7:43 pm · Reply

      There was a lot of fun in September, but a lot of it was hard, too. Like the trip to Georgia, and leaving Brandon’s brother there when we left. That was really rough.

      Working two jobs is hard! Glad you survived it. Will you be doing NaNo this year? (I’m pretty sure we’ve talked about that already, but I can’t remember.)

      • Candace Gauger
        October 4, 2015 - 10:38 pm · Reply

        I’m definitely going to attempt it this year. I have a vague idea that came to me in a dream. If that one doesn’t come together, I’ll be working on other WIPs since there are so many partials wanting to be finished.

  • OKRoserock
    October 4, 2015 - 10:21 am · Reply

    Your September was action packed! Mine was pretty crazy too with an office move and a visit from my Mom & Aunt. I tried to stay grateful for all the opportunities & memories that the month brought to me. PS I LOVE the walking stick on the blinds! lol Happy October!

  • Maria Zannini
    October 5, 2015 - 7:18 am · Reply

    I didn’t even like carpooling to work, let alone a long car trip. I know what you mean about cramped space.

    We got a lot of projects around the house done, so I’m feeling virtuous…and tired. LOL.

  • jazzfeathers
    October 10, 2015 - 2:34 pm · Reply

    They sound like two very nice trip… though you won’t be surprise to hear that I like the retreat more. The photos look so inviting 🙂
    And I’ve never been to a retreat, so I’m even more curious.

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About Rebekah

Rebekah Loper writes character-driven epic fantasy featuring resilient women in trying and impossible circumstances who just want to save themselves but usually end up saving the world, often while falling in love.
She lives in Tulsa, OK with her husband, dog, two formerly feral cats, a small flock of feathered dragons (...chickens. They're chickens), and an extensive tea collection. When she's not writing, she battles the Oklahoma elements in an effort to create a productive, permaculture urban homestead.

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