As you may have guessed, my name is Meredith Mansfield.
I have been until very recently caregiver for my elderly mother who had Alzheimer’s disease. That is a story in itself, and might end up being the subject of one or more blogs some day. But for now, the important thing is that this gave me the opportunity to get reacquainted with an old love of mine that I had been separated from by the demands of real life–writing. And that’s mostly what this blog will be about.
I live with two dogs and a cat.
The dogs are both Cardigan Welsh Corgis and both are agility dogs. Aliza has her NJP (Novice Jumpers with Weaves Preferred) title from the AKC and one leg towards her NAJ (Novice Agility Jumper) title. Micah has one leg toward both his NA (Novice Agility) and his NAJ titles. Micah is four years younger than Aliza. No, they’re not brother and sister (except by adoption). Cardis are supposed to look like that.
Seven Things About Me:
- My favorite author is Lois McMaster Bujold. Her kind of storytelling, her damaged protagonists who have to overcome their own limitations as well as the external obstacles–that’s the kind of story I want to be able to write when I grow up. Well, I could do a lot worse than as a role model than a multiple Hugo and Nebula award winner, right?
- I am a dyed-in-the-wool animal lover, although I do exclude things with six or more legs. I’ve been known to rescue lizards and birds. You tend to get funny looks when you arrive and say “Sorry I’m late. I had to rescue a lizard.” It’s bad enough that when it came to the place in THE IGNORED PROPHECY where I intended to kill off one of the dogs, I couldn’t do it. It was harder than killing a character.
- My sport and therapy is dog agility. It’s a sport where your dog is your team mate. The human is intended to be the leader of the team. (Corgis are bossy dogs by nature and sometimes that position is disputed. I am still the only one that can read the course map, though.) My job is to help the dog run an obstacle course, composed primarily of things the dog has to climb over, jump over, or run through. The obstacles all have to be performed correctly and in the right order, within a time limit. Dogs run off leash and the handler may not touch the dog or the obstacles. All of the instructions are communicated by voice and body language. It’s a heck of a lot of fun for both me and the dogs. You should see the grin my older girl gets when we play. (Corgis are also a breed that needs a job. Agility works very well and it helps keep them in shape, too.)
- Greatest time wasters that keep me away from writing: Obsessively checking my e-mail, forums, web comics, and blog statistics. (Sad, really sad.) Playing stupid (and old) computer games. Not even the new, hot ones. Reading, when I’m into a really good book (not the case right now).
- I frequently embroider while watching television. Otherwise, television has a tendency to put me to sleep. About half the time, I design my own embroidery patterns. Almost everything that is hanging on the walls of this house has been embroidered by me.
- There’s a harp in my closet. Not the kind you see in the orchestra. That’s a pedal harp. Mine’s neo-Celtic, which means it’s patterned after the celtic harps, but it has monofilament strings instead of gut and has been updated with sharping levers. (Sharping levers do essentially the same thing pedals on the big orchestra harp do. They allow you to change the length, and therefore the pitch of individual strings. This is to mimic, as closely as the harp is able, the white and black strings of the piano, so it’s possible to play more modern music.) I haven’t actually played the harp in a while. In fact, not seriously since my father died. That’s almost eleven years ago. It’s time. I’ve lost the calluses on my fingers.
- I garden organically. Although, around here, gardening could be classified more as sticking my finger in the dike than anything you’re likely to see in one of those glossy gardening magazines. The yard’s just too big for one person to take care of, unfortunately.
Hi, Meredith–I followed you over from Hatrack. I’m working on setting up my own blog, too, so was curious to see how you’re doing. Looks good. Like your character page. My biggest fear in setting up a blog is the time commitment and fear of it becoming ANOTHER EXCUSE for not writing. Ah, well, we shall see . . .
Heidi
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Nice place you got here. Since you’re already here I may well join you for my own blogging. Can you use any sort of image for that up top thingy?
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Hey, Meredith. Another Hatracker here. I’m spying around to see what can be done with a blog. You’re doing great. I still don’t know what to write in mine.
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Hey Meredith! I sent you an e-mail, but wasn’t sure if it got to you. Just wanted to say thanks for taking a look at my story. No hurry. Just whenever you get the time. Much appreciated!
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Hi, Meredith
Just popped in to thank you for always acknowledging my writing accomplishments on hatrack.
Nice blog site!
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Hi Meredith,
I love the blog thing. Thanks for the ideas.
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Meredith, I have an award for you on my blog!
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Go and have a looky at my blog.
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I saw it. I am an absolutely rotten liar.
However, I’m willing to bet that you are not allergic to tea.
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That was exactly my thought when Court gave it to me…I really am a terrible liar. That’s why theres only one lie on there.
And yes, you guessed it.
If I was allergic to tea, I’d be dead right now.
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Hi, Meredith–I followed you over from Hatrack. I’m working on setting up my own blog, too, so was curious to see how you’re doing. Looks good. Like your character page. My biggest fear in setting up a blog is the time commitment and fear of it becoming ANOTHER EXCUSE for not writing. Ah, well, we shall see . . .
+1
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Just wanted to let you know that I’ve got a couple of blog awards for you! 😀
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Hi Meridith! Got another arard for you: Beautiful Blogger— thank you for taking us on your journey with you!
http://wynwords.wordpress.com/
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Hi Meredith — I’m new to your blog, but reading this post I can see I’ll be reading more. I too am a caregiver. My husband has MS and is in the progressive stage of the disease. He’s still at home, I’m glad to say. I live with a pug and a rescue cat, and I have been a singer since I was 6. I knew I had a big voice when Sister Esther yelled at me for singing too loud!
I can see you’ve been blogging for a long time. I hope my site will looks as good as yours does in the future.
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Welcome.
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Very cool cover art for the Blood Is Thicker book 🙂
Great coloring with an air of mystique.
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Thanks. Especially since I do my own covers. 🙂
The background image is from Dreamstime.
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