Virtual Brush Box

RomCom Plotlets, Fiction

Words

Awareness of the outside world. Happy Spring! timeanddate.com: Solstices & Equinoxes.
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A collection of plots for & thoughts about romance novels
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Why do romance novels rely so heavily on unlikely situations in order to generate drama? I don’t know about your dating life, but my had plenty of emotional turmoil without pretending to be my meetcute neighbor’s faux fiance.
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Not hate at first sight. Been done.
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Not cats or bookstores either. Something unusual. Garbage collector. Sees the world from a unique vantage point. He, or she, gets to know people by what the throw away.
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What forces people together? Travel. Seatmates on a flight that gets delayed. Planes, Trains & Automobiles with a Happily-Ever-After ending.
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He is a model horse painter, she is a regular customer. See each other evolve over the years.
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College professor and student is cliche and illegal. Turn on head. Former student goes back for interview/meets at conference. Former professor interested, but can’t can’t stop seeing them as student.
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Bloggers. Comment and quote each other. Some email contact. Don’t know the other person gender, age, etc. Or assume and are incorrect. What happens at the blogger meet up.

A search simply turns up romance blogs. Surely someone has done a romance about bloggers. It’s low-hanging fruit.
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A is a zoo keeper. B comes to the zoo every day to walk. Then stops. A has to figure out how to find B. Should they? Credit card receipts? Membership data. Saw them at zoo gala, so knows they are a member. Membership Dept might know. Would that be caring or creepy? Ask Membership coordinate to follow up, health of favored customer. Less creepy?
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Postcrossing Romance. They exchange postcards over the years.
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He is a audio book tech. She is a voice actor. They bond over several books.
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I keep circling back to job. What does that say about me. Particularly has I have no idea how a modern office functions.

What do I have an idea of how it functions? Not much. Barn drama. No. Thank. You.
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Neighbors. On different shifts. Roommates. Hot sheeting. Leave notes for each other. Been done in both book & movie.
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In addition to no idea about jobs, I have no idea how people date these days.
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Pick a career and figure out what puts a person in contact with that career.

On the Job series of romances.

What are unlikely jobs, in addition to garbage? Janitor. Doorman. Watches her go in & out all day. Knows lots about everyone in building. Factory worker. Same line. Can always tell when X sends product down. Well done, attention to detail.

These are all unexpected by dint of being low on the food chain. Are “glamour” jobs in romance novels equal to high status jobs? Is this an obvious question?

Rocket scientist. Rocket builder. Commercial artist. Freelancer who is home a lot. House painter. Camera person. Photographer. Goes places. Truck driver. Flirts with other truck driver at a series of rest stops. What do I know about trucker life?
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Repeating The River, Year of the Ox Challenge, Walks 7 and 8, Cahaba River Walk Park

Fit To Ride

Awareness of the outside world. The good. We had severe weather on Wednesday (that’s not the good part). I was impressed with the writing in one of the the warning posts.

“Here are some important points about preparedness…

(5 paragraphs of useful advice)

“We don’t share this to scare anyone… we simply have a responsibility to let you know the danger.

“For those with a weather phobia, or high anxiety, understand even on a big severe weather day odds of any one home being hit by a tornado are still very low. Just be sure you can hear warnings, have a good plan, and we will get through the day together.”

AlabamaWx: Dangerous Severe Weather Setup This Afternoon And Tonight, James Spann, March 17, 2021.

I’ve previously mentioned Mr. Spann and our collective admiration for him [Y’All Report].

The bad. Vox: Anti-Asian violence is on the rise. Here are some ways you can help Asian Americans, by Nguyen, Mar 18, 2021. People: Violence Against Asian Americans Continues: How You Can Help the AAPI Community, by Wurzburger March 17, 2021.
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Walking

Year of The Ox Virtual Challenge, Walk #7 [Intro]
Cahaba River Walk Park
February 17, 2021
Distance – 5.05 km (3.14 miles)
Time – 1:20:26
Current Mileage – 27.6 km (17.16 miles)
To Go – 4.92 km (3.05 miles)
Total Distance – 32.53 km (20.21 miles)
Challenge in miles. Tracker set to kilometers for weekly 5Ks & virtual UK walk. [Digital Fun, LEJOG]

Year of The Ox Virtual Challenge, Walk #8 [Intro]
Cahaba River Walk Park
February 26, 2021
Distance – walked 5.75 km, logged 4.92 km here (3.06 miles). Logged .8 of .83 km to [LEJOG 2/26]
Time – 2:12:01
Current Mileage – 32.52 km (20.21 miles)
To Go – 0 km (0 miles)
Total Distance – 32.53 km (20.21 miles)

When I have time, I like to put my GPS on the Avoid Highways option to take in the scenery. As a result, I found this park on my way to Liberty Park. As I drove past, I thought, ‘Oh, there it is.’ I had made plans to walk this park later with a friend. (Friends! I has them!)

Then I had problems finding a Liberty Park walk. I got so chafed by the planned community vibe that I had to get out of there. Came back to here as an easy option and a relief. Went back the next week, as planned. [Ox 6.5]

Doing the first walk here meant I would have to repeat a park, even though the goal is to explore new places. A) It would be different in company. B) At some point, I will run out of parks and have to repeat. C) Both walks at one park certainly made the blog post easier.

Do I arrange my life for the convenience of my blog? Never! Well, hardly ever.

Ox Walks & Weekly 5Ks

Virtual Run Events: New Year Challenge – Year of the Ox 2.021 Mile 20.21 Mile 202.1 Mile Race Description

Week 1
Ox1 5.3 km [Veteran’s Park]
Week 2
Ox2 1.25 km [Yellowleaf Park]
Ox3 1.8 km [Blue Ridge Park]
5K [Polar Night]
Week 3
5k [Drum Run]
Week 4
Ox4 6.04 km [Atladena]
Week 5
5k [Birmingham Zoo]
Week 6
Ox5 6.22 km [Limestone Park]
Ox6 1.94 km [Railroad Park]
Week 7
Ox7 5.05 km Cahaba River Walk Park
Week 8
Ox8 4.92 km Cahaba River Walk Park
Remainder of 5K to [LEJOG 2/26]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Odds and Ends, Spring Is Springing

Horsekeeping

Lucky enough to have a horse

Awareness of the outside world. Amplifier: #Vaccinated, Global Call for Art.
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The unique joy of being downwind of gray horse who is being groomed while shedding. I had to brush brown AND gray hair off of Rodney.
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The horses were gleefully tearing into a patch of thick, bright green grass. Looked good enough that, sauteed with a bit of garlic and butter, I’d eat it as a side dish.
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Has anyone tried wearing a facemask during shedding season? I may have to try that. Thhffpt. Thhffpt.
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On stormy days I miss not having a mare in the barn. Mares and I might not always see eye to eye, but it’s nice to leave the barn having someone with sense in charge.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Lunch In Front of the TV. Spoiled? Us?

Horsekeeping

Lucky enough to have a horse

Awareness of the outside world. My podmate was a) fully vaccinated, b) two weeks ago. He’s as armored as he’s going to get. So, he is ambassador to the rest of the world for now. Which means I’m not even going out to the few places I had been going. Which means my connection to anything off the property is becoming even more attenuated.
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Despite huge amounts of feed & hay, they always come out of winter thinner than I would like. So now they get lunch served in the far corner of the field. Otherwise, they just stand and watch cow programming, not even eating grass. Well, Rodney does; Milton humors him. [Rodney’s Diet Secret, Cow TV]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Trailer Shuffling

Horsekeeping

Lucky enough to have a horse

Awareness of the outside world. Anyone else enjoying the calmer news cycle? The world continues to be filled with horrors. The level of gratuitous Sturm und Drang has abated.
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We have swapped seats to see if Rodney can find more room for his big self in the oddly-shaped back slot. Of course, it’s a new idea, so he hates it. An early-adopter Rodney is not. Milton seems fine in the front seat. Smug even.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Booties Bonanza, New Equipment

Horsekeeping

Awareness of the outside world. AL.com: Alabama to expand COVID vaccine to people with health conditions, people 55 and older March 22. 55 and older. That would be me.
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Booties therapy seems to be working. Have expanded it to include post-work days. Therefore, bought new ones. Old set was breaking down & too big. I swear, they have more leg & foot wear than I do. More expensive, certainly. [Back In Booties]

Simple Hoof Boots by Cavallo from State Line.

Testing for fit.

XXX

I got so excited to see how he would do, I forgot to take a photo of Rodney in his brand new booties.

Booties at work in the wild.

Came in fancy box with free hoofpick. I’m always suspicious of products with spiffy packaging. You pay for it, one way or another. How about less fuss & lower the price?

Caveat. I am most definitely not weighing in on the barefoot debate. These go over his shoes. This method seems to work for this horse at this moment. I make no claims or arguments otherwise.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Say Hey, Say Masks

Images

Awareness of the outside world. The Say Hey Foundation is dedicated to fulfilling Willie Mays’ dream of giving every child a chance, by offering underprivileged youth positive opportunities and safer communities.

Also Pi Day & Daylight Savings Time. Yay evening light!
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Outside of Regions Field, home of the Birmingham Barons. Willie Mays began his career with the Birmingham Black Barons. Statue is in honor of Team Owner Don Logan.