Why I Write, Fiction Fragment

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Why do I write?

Meh. It’s a living.

Someone has to write out the charms for broken pots and leaky faucets. What, you thought spells were spoken? Say a few words, wave your arms around, sh*t happens? I wish.

Got a pot with a crack? You could buy a new one. You could repair it yourself. Or you could buy a spell. Which means someone has done the work for you. Someone has selected and treated the paper. Someone has written the words correctly and cleanly, with a bit of decorative border to anchor the spell. And then there is the waiting period for everything to set. Which means someone has done enough of these ahead of time, so that they have what you need when you need it.

That someone would be me.

Okay, my spells are not complicated but I still need to do them well. I have a good reputation for reliability. My gate spells keep gates closed. My plant spells keep pests away. I talk with with my clients. I know which spells will be needed each season, and I general have what folks need in stock.

The big, fancy spells get all the attention. I don’t have the deep pockets for fine paper or creamy ink. Nor do I have the time. I talked to a colleague who worked with a team on a massive city-wide defense spell. Vellum, purple ink, real gold in the decorations. It was a thing of beauty. And effective. It took them months. He made enough money to add a room to his house. I asked how the hourly rate worked out. Pffft. Less than I make for a toothache mitigation charm.

Plus, how many of those come one’s way?

The stuff I do isn’t epic, but it is always in demand. One of my most popular spells is a charm against latrine smells. That one is a steady earner. Humans are not going to stop being stinky.

As I said, its a living.

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Afterword

Rewriting the personal narrative assignments as fiction.

[Why I Write, Personal Narrative Class #1] Assignment #0

[What Is Personal Narrative, Thoughts After A Class] Overview

Onwards!
Katherine

Carbs To The Rescue, Food Photography

Awareness of the outside world. The horrors continue to mount. I have nothing constructive to add to the conversation. You can read the news as well as I.

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Shifting to the personal.

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Red plastic shopping basket holding food from Buc-ees

It was a day. We went to Buc-ees for the restorative power of carbs.

Who says food photography has to be of fancy food?

Elsewhere on the Internet

Plate with banana pieces, orange sections, strawberries, and croissants. Chocolate fondue.

Screenshot of BlueSky post. His food. My photo. alt text. Plate with banana pieces, orange sections, strawberries, and croissants. Chocolate fondue.

Food Photography [archives]

Onwards!
Katherine

Doctor’s Appointment, Wrist Update

Awareness of the outside world. Defeatism is not the answer. I want to address my intro on Tuesday. Due to the weekend & doc appointment, I did the Tuesday post on Friday and shut down my computer. I had a long optimistic post about the human race from an historical perspective. After waking up on Saturday, I felt that sentiment to be tone deaf. Because my desktop was off, replacing the intro would have meant advanced phone gymnastics. It was easier to simply take it down. Plus, I didn’t have anything to say. I still don’t have anything to say. Except, defeatism is not the answer. [Adding Laps]

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Changing the tone setting.

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Healed!

Appointment with orthopedic surgeon this past Monday. I have been pronounced free to do whatever my wrist can tolerate. Doc says the x-rays showed no sign of the fracture. She seemed slightly amazed at the extent of the progress. I’ll take that, thank you.

Soft tissue still needs to settle down. Finding out what I can tolerate will be an exciting adventure of discovery. So far, lifting is okay, such as a full feed bucket. Lifting and twisting my wrist is out, with an capital ouch.

Previous Post [Degrees of Progress, Wrist Update]

Onwards!
Katherine

Rock On! Pro Photo from TN Show

Awareness of the saddle seat world. Courtney Huguley was named UPHA Chapter 8/17 Horse Person of the Year. Congrats to Coach Courtney!

List of UPHA Chapter Horse Persons of the Year

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Head-on photo of a chestnut horse pulling a cart, covered ring

Rocky at the Academy Regional Championships
Photo by Terry Young Photography

[Trip to Tennessee, Show Report, Southeast Academy Championship 2025]

Technical details. Photo retitled for storage on my desktop. Photo resized to use up less of my digital storage space. Otherwise, no changes. I try to minimally mess with photos by professionals. [State of the Blog, Watermarks Theory]

Onwards!
Katherine

Adding Laps, Morning Walk Stories

Awareness of the outside world. I had something optimistic here. I took it down.

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Back to up to five laps for our daily morning* walks. First three laps with horses as we have been. Final two laps with horses going freestyle. [Split Progress]

(*Usually we try to keep to a schedule, even on weekends. However, long holidays, cold mornings, and my energy level have lead to sleeping in. But I digress.)

I can tell the difference between the lap counts. One mile all at once takes more effort than two separate walks, even if the two walks add up to more distance. This is why one exercises for longer periods. I know this. I’m still always amazed at how MUCH difference it makes.

Horses successfully continued to walk during freestyle portion. Props to them.

Onwards!
Katherine

Yellow Rose, Paper Art

Awareness of the outside world. Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking, Kinetic Joy: How to Read Origami Diagrams

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Photo of a yellow origami rose sitting on hay

From video, Creative Inspired Alive: Origami Workshop + Book Club Discussion: The Incredible Kindness of Paper, Virtual Launch Party!, Skye, Aug 18, 2025.

On the video, the author folded two flowers simultaneously. She did each step twice. If you got it the first time, rock on. If you missed a bit, you could see it again. I often get annoyed following the glacial pace of demo videos. I vastly prefer this method.

I have heard much about authors having to do their own PR. This seems like A) a lot of effort & B) a great choice. Worked on me.

Paper is 10″x10″ TANT Large, double-sided, single-color from Taro’s Origami Studio. Lovely color, nicely foldable.

Book cover for *The Incredible Kindness of Paper* by Evelyn Skye

I found the book to be sweet & unrealistic & wonderful. Sometimes that’s just what you need. Book donated to library, so image from website.

Links

Evelyn Skye, author website.

Creative Inspired Alive: Feel-Good Books: The Fear of Writing about Hope and Optimism in a Skeptical World, Skye, Aug 12, 2025.

Psychology Today: The Power of Kindness, Author Evelyn Skye on how random acts of kindness connect us. Reviewed by Monica Vilhauer Ph.D. August 13, 2025.

Onwards!
Katherine