Scrambling to Keep Up and Still Relax

Beautiful weather for driving along
 scenic roads from village to village.

We love going through these small
villages.

We arrived in Galicia exactly a week today, in the evening, and have fallen under its spell, as we always do. I'm behind in everything, including a book review I've been promising of an utterly wonderful book, Nancy Herman's, All We Left Behind. Be patient, folks, it's coming.


But it has felt great to just relax after the hectic days leading up to our trip -- the bathroom remodel, putting the house back together before our trip, the book signing at Time Tested Books (a delightful evening), and setting up other book signings after we return. When we got to Galicia, we just gave into the trance of taking long walks and long drives for photo shoots, visiting friends and neighbors. We've been blessed with beautiful sunny days, although it's been a little windy at times, and at times there has been the usual sprinkle of rain. And at this time of year, the countryside abounds with wild broom, whole fields of it.

More broom. Some of the bushes
grow tall, like trees.

Brilliant yellow sprays of it, everywhere. And on the roadsides, buttercups, Queen Anne's lace, small, magenta thistles, purple foxglove, fields of white daisies, tiny blue forget-me-nots, and rose-colored alfalfa, and the all pervasive greenery.


                                        Cuckoos call, and you see the flash of black and white wings of the magpies. And in Tuiriz, near the church, two stork nests rise atop poles that seem to be their designated area. Originally they built their nest on the church steeple. Meanwhile, nearby, around the corner from our house, Eva's chickens peck the corn she gives them that is responsible for the brilliant gold of their eggs.

Still, around all the tranquility, this is a working vacation for me, and I will be back to work on my cozy mystery re-write starting this afternoon, and a book review will soon follow this post.

Also, please check out Rosi Hollinbeck's interview with me, review of my book, Imogene and the Case of the Missing Pearls, and a giveaway, on her blog, THE WRITE STUFF. In addition to interviews and book reviews of children's books, Rosi provides wonderful links to other blogs sites with information on the writing process, writing career issues, contests, etc. She offers a banquet of information at her site. Go HERE to see what I mean.

But for now, a second cup of coffee, and one last view out the galería window before I get to work.

My Husband's Photography Website & a Contest

Monastery

Ribeira Sacra Doade

I am pleased to announce my husband's new website, VARADANARTFOTO.COM

featuring his black and white art photographs.





Many of you have commented on the photographs of Galicia posted in my blog. Most of them were done by my husband, Rajan Varadan, whose specialty is actually black and white photography. Ever since we’ve been going to Galicia, he’s been captivated by the beautiful old stone buildings and walls (some of them in ruins, and some in beautiful repair). And the countryside especially offers beauty because of the various textures in the landscape (vineyards, forests, pastures, and rising mist). 

A Small Vineyard

For about six years he made calendars featuring 12 of the particular year’s best. Then last summer, our friends in Galicia, Terri and David Anderson, arranged for an exhibition of those 60 photos at the Concello in Ferreira, a town near where we live. We weren’t able to be there, as we’d returned from a trip in the spring, but they sent pictures of the exhibition, and I blogged about it in my May 28th post this year (you can click on it at the right margin.)

Now he has started an online gallery with photos to share: So far he only has the Galicia gallery up, but in the future, he will have a California gallery and a gallery with photos of places in India. (He’s from India, and is especially enamored of the Belur Halibid temples with their many exquisite sculptures and carvings.)

Sheep Grazing in Bramble

At present he is featuring 62 black and white photographs of Galicia, many of which were not in the show. The website is VARADANARTFOTO.COM  When you go to the site, click first “Portfolio” and then “Galicia”.  

A Path through the Village

The Gathering

Scroll through all the photos, each of which has a name and number.

The latter is important, because we are running a contest! Whoever wins gets an 8-1/2 by 11 print of their favorite photo free, including free shipping -- from wherever you are. 

Here is how to enter: Each one of the following is a "point" and your name goes into the hat.

1. Comment here.

2. Tweet this post.

3. Share it from here on Facebook.

4. Leave a comment on HIS website in the “contact” section about your favorite photo (the one you want to win.)

   That's your name in the hat four times already.

On my Facebook you can get more points, spelled out by my post on my timeline. When the contest is over, I use a randomizer to pick the winning number.

Contest starts Saturday, November 10th (tomorrow!) at 1:00 a.m. PST and ends Saturday, December 1st, at the stroke of midnight, PST.

Meanwhile, scattered throughout this post is a sampler of  photos to enjoy. And remember, you can see 54 more pictures and pick one to win on his website.

Country Lane in Mist

Broken Steps