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24 Hours of Happy, Then Back to Normal

erulissedances: US and Ukrainian Flags (MEFA 2011)
Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 04:46 am
I actually won an award in the Middle Earth Fanfiction Awards for 2011. So I'm going to take today and bask, and tomorrow I'll be back to normal - working hard. My drabble "Morning Song" (that's a story of 100 words) placed second in the Drabble-Elves category.

OK, that's enough about me, many of my friends placed numerous times and their wins were far more deserved than mine. So my sincere CONGRATULATIONS go out to all of the winners as well as all those stories that were nominated. Well done!

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Happy New Year and MEFA

erulissedances: US and Ukrainian Flags (Default)
Saturday, December 31st, 2011 06:12 am
I just spent the past 2-1/2 hours catching up on as many MEFA reviews as possible and I think I caught most of my friends and those stories that really caught me over the past year. If I missed you - it was totally inadvertent. If I reviewed you - I wish I had the time to review more of your work.


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Five Meme Questions

erulissedances: US and Ukrainian Flags (Default)
Friday, July 22nd, 2011 05:54 am
 Several F-list friends and I have been going around exchanging five questions to find out more about ourselves.  It seemed like fun.  Here are the questions that Minuial Nuwing assigned to me...


( Pic and questions below the cut... )

1)What do you do on an average, ordinary day?

My alarm is set for 3:30 am (I know...I'm an early bird).  Ideally I get up when it goes off.  More often I get up either before it goes off, or after it has been steadily increasing in sound for ten minutes.  I settle down at my computer and catch up with LJ posts and my Emails, check any on-line orders, and take a shower.  I try to leave the house around 6:00 am, no later than 7:00 am.  Why so early?  Well, so that I can either have breakfast or go to the coffee shop for coffee and oatmeal and a quiet hour of reading my NookBook.  By 8:00 am I'm at the shop, setting up the laptop to finish whatever I didn't get to earlier.  (Wednesdays are studio days and have a different schedule - LOL.)  I open the shop shortly before 10:00 am, work until 6:15 pm and then return home to...you guessed it...my computer.  Where I sit and beta, work on illustrations, or compose until 9:00 pm.  I join my DH at 9 for an hour of TV or part of a movie and I try to go to sleep at 10:00 pm.  Long day...


2)How did you find your way to LJ?

It was through my friends at Lizard Council, as well as Spiced Wine and Esteliel.  All of these people have been instrumental in pushing me from just editing to actually writing for my own AU and I'm having so much fun exploring my own Tolkienesque universe. 


3)What was the first Tolkien fanfiction you ever read, and where did you read it?

The very first astounded me.  I had been totally unaware that such a thing existed.  I was hunting for information on the Sigil of Gil-Galad for an enamel piece that I wanted to make, followed links, and found Nilmandra's "History of Middle Earth".  I started reading and was totally hooked.  Following more links led to more stories and the whirlpool closed over my head.  I haven't breathed the non-fan-fic air since, and I regret NONE of my actions :-)


4)Which of your own writings is your favorite and why?

I think I like "An Exchange of Gifts" ( http://efiction.esteliel.de/viewstory.php?sid=175 ) the best, so far.  As to why - it was the first of my stories where my glassworker, Helyanwë, poked up her head.  Since that time in March, she has taken over my life, and now she is the focus of my Summer of Writing Dangerously.  I need to get her story told so that I can move on from her to another character who actually has been in my mind for a longer time but who is less "pushy" about getting her opportunity to hit electronic print. 


5)How would you describe yourself to a new online acquaintance?

I'm an artist, a faithful friend, a fairly decent beta-reader, and I have a crazy sense of humor that likes to crop up at odd moments.  I am not some young idiot; rather, I have had the opportunity, over these long years, to temper my idiocy with the patina of age.  Good or bad, the patina is firmly in place.  I love meeting my F-list friends, and I'm not ashamed to throw on a cloak to walk to a downtown pub with said friends.  I love the Renaissance Festival, and think that indoor plumbing, refrigerators, and washing machines totally rock.  I love my car, and have the best and worst of husbands in the person of my own DH.  Take it or leave it, I am unique. 
So there you go, Min.  Enjoy!
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Heading into a Holiday Weekend and MEFA Thanks

erulissedances: US and Ukrainian Flags (Default)
Saturday, July 2nd, 2011 06:09 am
 Monday is the 4th of July, Independence Day in the US, and we will celebrate by sleeping in and probably playing Lord of the Rings Online and throwing the carcass of some dead animal on top of burning coals for dinner. 

( Text and Banners below the cut... )
Wind Song, nominated by Robinka
Before the waves bury Beleriand, the wind returns for a last visit to the destroyed hidden city of Goldolin. 



 Soul Brothers, nominated by Robinka
At the Awakening, two brothers experience the good and bad about life on Middle Earth.  A drabble for Tolkien Weekly - Fell Creatures-Orcs. 




 Horse and Boy, nominated by Esteliel
A horse adopts his boy in this celebration of spring and exploration of friendships in Aman. Featuring a young Glorfindel and the friends of his youth.




 Survival of the Fittest, nominated by Himring
A true drabble for Tolkien Weekly's prompt "Fell Beasts - Wargs". What actually happens in the den to newborn wargs?


 
 

 Lady of Colored Light, nominated by Armariel
n response to a challenge that assigned the phrase "Are you mad?", my OFC Helyanwe attempts to go down in family history and cause laughter to follow her example. An early piece in my Helyanwe-cycle. 




 Morning Song, nominated by Elleth
On its final day, a woman awakens to face her fate in the doomed city of Ost-in-Edhil. A response to the prompt "comb" in Tolkien Weekly Challenge.

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Hot, hot, hot....

erulissedances: US and Ukrainian Flags (Default)
Friday, July 1st, 2011 05:13 am
 It's hot, and sticky.  When I went to sleep last night it was still in the 90's F with more than 70% humidity.  Can you say sauna? 

( More below the cut... )
I had the time early yesterday to pull this banner
together for my last story nominated.  The center
comb is a hand-carved ivory comb - very old, very rare
and very beautiful. 

Yesterday's main task was getting my works off LOTRFF and onto MPTT.  For those of you who don't live in a world of acronyms and initials, that would be Lord of the Rings Fan Fiction (bad) to Many Paths To Tread (good).  My friend Esteliel is also working on an archieval website for her own work as well as others of us who want to join.  I beta uploaded a couple of stories to her last night and things seemed to work extremely well.  I'll try and do a few every day and before you know it I'll have my things backed up there as well.  I also set up a spreadsheet with each story listed as well as which websites I have them archived on.  That will be very handy and it's a good thing that I did it now when I only had 52 stories to archive than later when I will have more.  What a mess.  I'm happy to have this completed.  Of course all of my MEFA nomination URLs had to also be changed, but Marta was kind enough to do that last night.  So now they are happily pointing to SWG (that would be Silmarillion Writers Guild) for the main URL and MPTT for the secondary.  This was hours and hours of work, and my staff sent me home shortly after noon to get it all done.  I worked almost non-stop on this until almost 10pm.  But it's complete now and I'm happy.  I'm hot....but I'm happy.   
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Fulfillment and Happiness

erulissedances: US and Ukrainian Flags (Default)
Wednesday, June 29th, 2011 04:38 am
 So after more than two hours of frustrated work to get the lettering onto my Big Bang collage, I finally succeeded in exactly what I wanted.  I may still go over the lettering with my wood burner, but I'll test that out with my signature panel on the back of the piece first. 

( Banner and more below the cut... )
The central image is an antique ivory comb that was
heavily carved in the center.  It's a stunning piece!

Yesterday I thought I would work up some userpics and banners for my Middle Earth Fan Fiction award nominees, and noticed that I had been nominated for a sixth story.  Yippee!  I'm so incredibly honored and just floored that anyone would find my writings moving enough to nominate.  Thrilled doesn't even begin to describe my feelings.  So I worked up a banner for Morning Song shown above.  I'm still working on my user pics for my LJ pages.  So, I'm doubly happy.  Unfortunately, I'm looking at four days in a row of work, definitely a downer.  But...I've got good books to read on my NookColor, good coffee and oatmeal for the morning, and only the chapter headings still to draw for my Big Bang things (and those are bonus, not required), so all is well.  Now to get beading on my BFAC piece for the year...
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Movies and Art

erulissedances: US and Ukrainian Flags (Default)
Friday, June 24th, 2011 04:54 am
 So Chickie, Chickie Mama and I went to see Kung Fu Panda 2 last night.  Although it was not as good as the original KFP, it still was a lot of fun to see. 

( Pics and Text Below the Cut... )
I bought a new blade holder yesterday and started cutting out the stencils and shields for the next coats on my Big Bang enamelwork, and I started drawing what I may offer as one of the chapter heading drawings.  I'm not as good with pen as I wish I was, so the chapter heads may, or may not, actually happen.  My author did send me the third chapter and outlines for the remaining chapters last night so that I could work on them if I want.  I'm still not sure if he'll like my direction, but it's the way that I'm going and there is no time to look backwards, only forwards. 


 
Here is the final banner that I made.  This one is for my short drabble (a 100-word story) called "Survival of the Fittest".  I was very pleased with the story when it came together and it is wonderful that others also liked it enough to nominate it.  So far the stories that I've wanted to nominate have already been nominated, so I'm happy and I'll just have to remember to find time to review them when that aspect of the awards opens up.  Have a wonderfully creative day!  
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Art and Plans

erulissedances: US and Ukrainian Flags (Default)
Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 05:12 am
 Yesterday was TOO much fun.  I worked hard all day, but I had such a good time doing it. 

( Banner and Text below the cut... )
Tonight Chickie and I are going to see "Kung Fu Panda 2" - yippee!  We loved Po in KFP1, in fact we laughed so hard that Claire was afraid we would be kicked out of the theatre.  So we're really looking forward to seeing Po and the gang again.  There's just something about Jack Black that I love.  He's such a funny guy and was the perfect voice for Po.  Enjoy the second day of Summer, it is moving quickly now.  
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Studio Day

erulissedances: US and Ukrainian Flags (Default)
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011 04:52 am
 So today is a studio day and I have a lot to accomplish. 

( Banner and Text below the cut... )
I made one of my MEFA banners yesterday for my story Horse and Boy.  I had an enjoyable time making the banner and hope that I can get the other two (for Making Colored Light and Survival of the Fittest) made within the next day or so.  I did get two stories pounded out yesterday, a drabble for the prompt "part" and a longer story for ALEC's "Celebration of Life" theme.  I'm happy with the revisions that my friends on Lizard Council suggested for the drabble, and I have the longer story being looked over by a friend.  I'm not happy with that story and may let it sit in my discarded file.  I feel it ambles.  But I feel that about longer works in general, I think I am happiest writing in short bursts so the drabble format has worked very well for me.  Have a creative day while I play with head, molten glass and paint.  
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Packing and Nominations

erulissedances: US and Ukrainian Flags (Default)
Friday, June 3rd, 2011 04:18 am
 So...I suppose that I actually should throw my clothing into my suitcase and make sure I have everything I need for my artwork.  I suppose.  But I'm lazy and uncommitted.  Well...lazy. 

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This lovely banner was made by my friend Esteliel. 
Maybe it is the mountains around Gondolin? 

I have had two stories nominated for the Middle Earth Fanfiction Awards so far.  I'm flabbergasted and honored.  I have no delusions that I will actually win in my categories, but it's such an honor in the first place.  And the thing that makes me really happy is that the person who nominated me only knows me through my stories.  She doesn't share any of my chat boards with me that I'm aware of.  So they really were nominations out of the blue.  Such fun!  
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