When I woke up this morning, it was foggy. The light from the sunrise reflecting off the fog turned the whole sky peach. Not orange, not yellow, but a lovely pastel peach. Or maybe cantaloupe. By the time Zelda and I were out on our walk, the fog was already lifting, but it felt very Jurassic Park somehow. A big bird — probably a bald eagle, because the size would fit and I know there are some in this park — swooped overhead, looking impressively predatory.

I’ve been working on a complicated scene in Grace and yesterday I concluded that it was too complicated, that I needed a better way to structure my approach. I decided to make a Scrivener file for just that scene, so I could break down the scene into pieces, re-use some the pieces that I’ve already written, re-arrange the pieces at will. In the search for the parts that I’ve already written, I discovered that I had the exact same idea for the exact same scene once before. On December 16, 2016.

sigh

That felt a little demoralizing, but I’m telling myself now that it just means that I’ve had a lot of practice with this scene, so this time I’ll get it right.

I told a friend yesterday that my strategy for re-using bits that I’ve already written now is to keep all the fun bits, let go of everything else. I suspect that means this is going to be a very long book. I passed 50,000 words yesterday on this version, so I should be at least 2/3 of the way through. I’m not sure I am. But I suppose if my eventual beta readers tell me it drags, it’ll be easy to make cuts.

For lunch today, I made a mushroom & asparagus risotto. Somewhat impulsively, mostly because I had beef broth that I wanted to use up, I used two cups of arborio rice instead of one. I would say that means I’m going to be eating risotto for days, except that it was really good and because I had so much of it, I shared some with the dogs. Z was not sure she was enthusiastic, but B adored it and whimpered for more. He didn’t get any more — I don’t like to support the whimpering — but if I wind up tired of eating it before I’m through, it will find a happy consumer in him. Meanwhile, I mention it mostly to remind myself for future reference that adding the asparagus at the very end works. The rice is hot enough to just lightly cook the asparagus. (Quick recipe: sauté onion, garlic, and mushrooms in the InstantPot until nicely browned; add two cups of arborio rice, two cups of beef broth, two cups of water, a sprinkle of salt; cook on high pressure for eight minutes; quick release; add chopped asparagus and parmesan cheese, mix, let sit for a couple minutes to let the asparagus cook a little.)

Tomorrow I leave Oscar Scherer and head to R’s driveway. I’m looking forward to spending time with him, of course, but I’m already nostalgic for my cozy campsite here and my morning walks through Jusassic Park. Lovely peaceful day after lovely peaceful day is addictive.