Curtains, airplanes and writers' groups

I find it amusing to combine activities from my week into a totally random blog post title. Hhhmmm... That actually gives me a writing activity idea... Combine all three items I choose for that random title into a short story, the trick being that I cannot write the story I just lived. LOL

Speaking of writing... I joined a Writer's Critique group this week. Yeah, I admit to being a little nervous beforehand, but it was such a blast. The four others in the group (one of which is my wonderful friend, Amanda) are enthusiastic and thoughtful and altogether fascinating.

The absolute best part, though, is that aside from Amanda, they're all complete strangers, with very few similarities to each other. And to me. And that means each of them give a completely different and often unexpected perspective.

Here I am, suggesting more detail about a purse (helps define the woman carrying it) while Frank, a Vietnam vet, mentions that he could care less about the purse. The conversation launched into a fabulous discussion about men and women and what keeps us reading. (Frank is writing military fiction, by the way, so not what keeps me writing! But he's got awesome stories to tell both in writing and in conversation.)

So that was Thursday. Tuesday I spent the whole entire day either in the airport (I had typed "waiting" in this set of parenthesis, but then I though, "Isn't that a given in an airport?") or hanging out with my awesome mom in Sacramento. We toured the Crocker Museum, ate a bacon brie burger on a gorgeous and relaxing patio, wandered around old Sac, ate two scoops of lemon custard and chocolate ice cream and perused through a mall.

What a blessed treat to spend the entire day together. When we visit each other's houses, there's kids and husbands and chores and distractions. It's just not the same. My dad isn't doing too well anymore and can't be left alone for too long. Mom had a neighbor, a friend and my brother come visit him throughout the day, so he was safe and cared for. And she (and I) had our peaceful day out. :)

I finally sat down today and continued to work on the curtains I'm making for the living room. I got a whole half an hour in! Wahoo! 30 free minutes simply because I "asked" Scott to make dinner. Heehee. Maybe I'll get back to it in the morning. Probably not, but I remain optimistic.

Let's see... can I make a guess for next week's three noun title? Done! Ecstatic! and Breathe...

Any guesses on what it all means?