Five Things - November 10, 2025

Welcome to my blog titled ‘Five Things’ where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. I’ll also share a quote I find meaningful as a point of focus for the week. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.

So here are this week’s five things, starting with the quote of the week…

1. "Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe." - Frederick Douglass

2. It’s November already, and that means I only have about eight weeks left of school for the semester. It also means that’s how much time I have to finish both my thesis and a novella for my short forms class. I’m excited to see the finish line on the horizon, and I’m also hyperventilating a little bit at how many words I still need to write! My thesis novel, The Dragon Dancer of Krysh, is the longest book I’ve ever written, topping out at over 100k words. When this semester ends, I’ll be breathing a big sigh of relief.

3. Ray and I are currently in Orange, California, where we spent Halloween at Disneyland with our oldest son and daughter-in-law. Halloween has always held special meaning for us since it’s the anniversary of both our first date and the day we got engaged! We’ll be here through Thanksgiving, where we’ll be cooking up a storm with the kids. Our oldest will be hosting, the first time one of our kids has had a holiday at their place, which feels like a family milestone!

4. One of my favorite things about staying at this particular RV park in Orange is that there are citrus fruit trees all over the property. Anyone can pick the fruit! Whenever we’re here, we collect bowls full of fresh oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and limes. It’s an urban RV park, right in the middle of the city, so it was really a pleasant surprise the first time we were here.

5. This week I am traveling to Folsom to hang out with my sister and brother-in-law. I haven’t had a ‘sister’ visit in a while–one where I just stay at her house and we work at the kitchen counter together then crack open a bottle of wine at the end of the day and catch up on life, and I’m really looking forward to it!

Five Things - October 27, 2025

Welcome to my blog titled ‘Five Things’ where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. I’ll also share a quote I find meaningful as a point of focus for the week. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.

So here are this week’s five things, starting with the quote of the week…

1. "History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again." - Maya Angelou

2. Since I’ve recovered from my nasty cold, Ray and I have resumed our Friday ‘date day’ adventures. Last week, we visited the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, which was every bit as cool as the one in NYC. I’ve taken to calling it the Cat Museum because of the amazing special exhibit on, yes, cats. Most of you know I am a cat lover. In fact, I am practicing to become a crazy cat lady sometime in the near future, so I was very excited for this exhibit, and it did not disappoint!

3. This friday, we visited the Getty Villa in the Palisades. The bigger Getty museum, located just off the 405, houses a vast collection of artwork, and the Getty Villa houses the antiquities collection. Built to replicate an actual Roman villa destroyed by Mount Vesuvius, the structure itself is a work of art, and we spent hours exploring the treasures within. Having earned my undergrad degree in Classics, I enjoyed this exhibit almost as much as I did the one with the cats!

4. Taking a full day off has been something of a challenge, as I imagine it is for anyone working remotely or who has a non-traditional type of job. On the one hand, being able to work anytime, anywhere gives me a flexibility I truly enjoy. If I want to go see the cat exhibit on Friday, I can work on Saturday morning instead. Unplugging completely, however, has proven difficult, but this Sunday, I really wanted to spend the day at the beach. Yes, here in sunny SoCal, it’s still pleasant enough to spend an afternoon with toes in the water and a sun hat on! It felt good to turn off my brain for a little while and just enjoy the day.

5. Later this week, we’ll be leaving Northridge, which is north LA county, very close to two of our boys, and heading to Orange. The RV park where we stay is just about five minutes from our oldest son and daughter-in-law. It will be nice to be near them for a couple of weeks, and we’ve already made Halloween plans together. When we lived in RI, our Halloween parties were legendary, and the holiday always held special meaning for Ray and me since it’s the anniversary of both our first date and the day we got engaged. It’s certainly a fun day to celebrate!

Five Things - November 4, 2024

Welcome to my blog titled ‘Five Things’ where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can also follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.

So here are this week’s five things…

1. The Petrified Forest was amazing! Every time we visit a National Park, we are in awe, and this one did not disappoint. Allow me to geek out for a moment… The land that is now the desert containing the Petrified Forest in Arizona was once wet and lush. Then, over two hundred million years ago, the wood from this forest washed into an ancient river system and was buried by a massive amount of sediment. Over time, the organic material broke down and was replaced with minerals like silica. The tree trunks are no longer wood, but gorgeous quartz in an stunning array of colors. If you ever have the chance, it’s worth a visit!

2. We are now in our winter home at an RV resort in Indio, California, just south of Palm Springs. Our site has great outdoor living amenities like a full kitchen, dining area, and sitting room, with screens to block out the wind, sun, and occasional rain as needed. We wanted to do a little bit of work on it, like put on a new roof with heat lamps, fans, and recessed lighting, and have it painted, so it’s a little bit of a construction zone at the moment. I can walk across the street to one of the pool areas, however, so that’s where I’ll be doing my homework until things are finished here. Not too much of a hardship!

3. Before we arrived here, we made a week long stop in Orange to see our boys and their significant others. It’s so nice to be close by! Even here in the desert, it’s only a ninety minute drive, and when we really miss them, we can take our house and pets with us and head out for a visit.

4. Ray and I spent Halloween in Disneyland. Although I really wanted to dress up as Dorothy so Daisy could play Toto, this wasn’t the year for costumes. Instead, we went on our favorite rides, had an ice cream cone on Main Street, and reminisced about our favorite Disney trips with the kids over the years. It was a much needed fun ‘date’ day!

5. “Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country, and this world.” – Sharon Salzberg

Monday Musings - 10-31-22

October is a month with five Mondays, so that means this post will appear on tabithalordauthor.com and msmaggieclare.com. It also happens to be Halloween, and I’ll be spending the evening alone. Ray is out of town for work, and the kids now all live on the opposite side of the country. But, instead of throwing myself a pity party, I’m going to dress my tiny dog in a cute costume and give out candy to the neighborhood younglings. Then, I’m going to pour a glass of wine and binge watch something on Netflix. It really sounds like a lovely evening!

Halloween has always been a big deal for us. Ray and I had our first date on Halloween a million years ago, and we got engaged on the spooky holiday a year later. We’ve thrown massive parties over the years, provided that ‘special’ cider for the adults in the neighborhood, and could have outfitted our own horror movie with the number of costumes in our closets.

So, it might seem a little strange, and maybe a little sad, that I’ll be spending the last Halloween in our house all by myself. Well, me and the dog. But I don’t feel sad. I feel really excited. Next year, a new family will be here making new memories and we’ll be off on a grand adventure somewhere. When I look back, it’s with a sense of completion. When I look forward, it’s with enthusiasm and excitement.

IN OTHER NEWS:

I’ll be at RI Comic Con this weekend signing books at the ARIA table #621. Stop by and say hello! Here’s my panel schedule:

World Building 101 - Friday, Nov 4, 5:30-6:15 pm - Convention Center Room 552

Science fiction and fantasy stories transport readers to new worlds, from the wondrous to the weird. Solid world building is essential to invite readers into your story and keep them immersed. How can writers construct believable worlds in unbelievable settings? How can we bring authenticity to these imaginary places? How do we develop an internal logic for our stories that is both fantastical and believable? When imagination and writing craft successfully intersect, the results can be out of this world! If you are an aspiring speculative fiction writer, this presentation is for you. 

A Hero, an Anti-Hero, and a Villain Walk into a Bar - Sat, Nov 5, 11:30-12:15 - Convention Center Room 552

Your main cast of characters should be well-developed and multi-faceted. Each one has a journey and a backstory. Let’s break down character archetypes, and explore ways to bring depth and complexity to these fictional personalities. Join this lively conversation as we examine existing pop-culture heroes, anti-heroes, and villains, and discuss ways to breathe life into our own characters.