Tuesday Truth: The Pine tree ate my homework!

Well … Today is the first day of school for Minnesota kids and other kids all over America. This past weekend I went up to Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba Canada. Had a fantastic time with a couple hundred other SCA peeps. I brought my lap top and planned to write a significant amount.

Saturday was a bust writing-wise. But on Sunday morning I woke before most people, showered, dressed, wrapped my cloak around me and carried my laptop out to the table and benches under the pine trees next to the great hall. It was a beautiful morning, cool but not cold, with the sun shining brightly and the murmur of the trees whispering as they swayed in the breeze. I knew which scene I was going to write, and I was looking forward to it. I opened the laptop, got set up, write a line, and then decided I needed a cup of tea. I got it and hurried back to the Work in Progress. As I began typing I noticed my hands felt sticky, Yuck. Did I get pancake syrup on me in the kitchen? I tried wiping it off. No luck. Now my hand, my mouse, the inside of my lower arm and the edge of my keyboard were sticky.  GRRRRR!!!!

Then I saw the source. A nice fat drop of pine resin had landed on my mouse and I had smeared it all over. Did you know that pine resin is quite hard to get rid of? Water doesn’t do it. Dish soap and water don’t do it. Paper towels like to stick to it. Strenuous attempts to clean it off failed. I finally packed up the computer and put it away.

So I did not get much writing done this weekend. My only excuse is that the Pine Tree Ate It.