BRAINSTORMING AT THE CAMPFIRE!!!!

Hey, I'm in and out, and we're going to leave this "time period" of this blog open.... so we can chat back and forth about brainstorming.

I love brainstorming.

Mary Connealy is a great brainstormer.... If nothing else, it gets my wheels turning in another direction, and with that, I can start to see beyond my vision, to a greater story....

So even if I don't use anything specific from a brainstorming session (And Mary is usually encouraging me to KILL MORE PEOPLE....) Sigh.... but even if I don't, I gain ideas... and the plot begins to branch off into new directions.

So if you've got plot ideas you want to brainstorm, give us a shout out on this blog... and we can chat.

With after-supper coffee and sweet tea and S-mores... although I don't like s'mores, not at all, but I do have a giant piece of Laraby's coconut cake, and oh mylanta... it's to die for!

Retreat Schedule!

Good morning, writers... Shane here, and while I won't run you all ragged this week, my job as ranch manager is to make sure everyone leaves here enriched...

And possible a pound or two heavier or lighter, depending on the feed bag.

Any good retreat knows when to schedule... and when to allow time to veg, relax, work, play, etc.

We're no different here at the ranch.

Animals like to eat on a regular basis.

So do our guests.

Meals are listed on the program inside your rooms... You can eat in the main dining room, hours are posted, and we don't do any fancy organizing about who eats with whom. That's up to you. You might meet new folks, folks that change how you see or think about things.

Or you can have food in your room, but there's no room service here. We've got trays, and you're welcome to carry a tray up the main staircase and eat alone, but then you might want to think a little about why you're eating alone.

But that's between you and the good Lord above, because I'm no counselor.

I'm a worker. Like my dad and mom before me, and theirs before them. We work the land. We work the day, the night, the week, the season.

And by and by, we get it done.

And by and by we've built a business like few have seen and fewer have had the honor to run.

That day-by-day stuff works.

That's my guide for the day, for Monday.

Some folks can let work pile up, then dive in, and get things done. But most folks see that huge pile of work and shrink back. Then they go another way.

It's like that for lots of us, and that's why I follow that old saying. A day's work now makes tomorrow's work easier.

Wait, that's not really an old saying, I just made it up, but you get it. I know you do.

I've got a schedule, here on the ranch and here it is: I get up... and begin.

Now my wife, she's a night owl and she's up late with all kinds of  things going on. That works for her, and when my alarm goes off in the wee smalls, I know better than to disturb her. She's got her way and I've got mine, and both are good... Night or morning, no one cares.

Long as it gets done.

And that's what regrouping at the Rocky Ridge Ranch is all about... learning to get it done.

And then having the sense enough to set back and relax....

Vacation plan????

A reminder as folks come in from all over the country....

Think of what your goals are.

Your dreams.

Your plans.

Do you know you'll be successful?

Do you doubt?

Do you have what it takes? And if you do have what it takes, how do you get from Here to There???

That's what we're talking about this week.

Vision.

Mission.

Work ethic....

Discipline?

Self-discipline is a huge, monstrous, ginormous part of an author's success.

NO ONE PUBLISHES AN EMPTY PAGE.

So that's where we begin..... Making a plan.

Implementing the plan.

Sticking with the plan.

So it's time to pray, think and consider.... Do I have what it takes to make it as an author? Do I love it enough?

And from there....

We move forward.

Sunday Chuck Wagon!

LARABY'S PUT A SPREAD ON LIKE NO OTHER!

Sunday's are a little different, here at the ranch.

It's a day of rest... kind of.

Because folks still need food. Drink. Comfort. And it's a working ranch, so the animals need some of this and a lot of that.

But we don't want to get carried away with work. Not on Sunday.

So here's the feed bag for the afternoon. It's on all day at the buffet in the great dining room, so help yourself.  Your day. Your call.

And welcome to the Rocky Ridge Ranch.

Thumbprints, old-fashioned style... with raspberry jam, homemade here on the ranch... or Laraby's own chocolate frosting, courtesy of Hershey's Cocoa... her favorite chocolate frosting recipe, and Laraby doesn't play favorites lightly!

A massive stock pot of chowder, stick-to-your-ribs food that the folks who work and run the ranch love... and look forward to!

Egg, cheese, chicken and artichoke puffs.... Stuffed into one of those little packaged crescent roll things, and then baked. Melt-in-your-mouth goodness!

Homemade cream puffs... 'Nuff said. There isn't anything like mulling a plot twist or a character arc with a couple of these in your hand.... And just the right size. Two bites.

Salads are always part of the buffet fare. Build your own, family style, and have some fun with the toppings. Nuts, cheeses, crispy things that come along, bacon bits, and grilled chicken or fish... A meal in a dish.
And then have the cream puffs and cookies! 

Food's not the most important thing here at the ranch... but it's plain foolish to think food isn't AN important part of the week... 

But just a word of warning.

Laraby loves chocolate.

She's got a nose for Ghirardelli, Hershey, Godiva, etc.

IF YOU HAVE CHOCOLATE IN YOUR ROOM, SHE WILL MOST LIKELY FIND IT.

And... sample it.

But we shrug that off, because our Laraby isn't to be faulted... if that love of chocolate (yours or ours!) keeps producing amazing meals for our guests, well... we consider it a small enough price to pay!

Stowing Your Gear at Rocky Ridge Ranch

Sunday's a slow-down-and-smell-the-roses kind of day up here.

There's climbers my grandma planted when she and Gramps first dug a well on this ground. She was so sure they'd find water, and he doubted. When they hooked into an underground spring she turned to him and did not say "Well, then. I told you so."

She might have thought it.

She did not say it.

And that taught me a lot, that story there. It taught me to expect good things and to not gloat when they happened. Because what if they'd stopped two shovelfuls before the water sprang forth?

What  if they'd packed up their gear and moved on, her great with child and him tired of traveling, searching, testing.

But they kept digging and here we are, four generations later.

My name's Shane. Shane Ridge, and Rocky Ridge is our place. It's been our place for nearly one hundred and ten years and I'm hoping that my daughter and her family will keep on keepin' on...

And that one of the grandkids will do the same.

Time will tell that and many other things, but for right now, I want to say welcome. Welcome to Ghost Falls, to the ranch and to our home. For this week, or as long as you stay, let me say my home is your home.

And when Laraby puts on the afternoon snack wagon... and Cookie delights us with his August rendition of Croc-hide Soup and Sandwiches... we'll have a chance to get to know one another.

And that's the best thing I know of.

Retreat Begins Sunday!

Here at the Rocky Ridge Farm, we're getting ready for our Sunday guests... and glad that they're staying through the following week!

We're polishing the wood, wicking the lanterns, grooming the horses and tending cattle.

The kind of thing we do every day.

But now...

Today....

We're doing it for you!

See you on Sunday!

Shane Laraby Owner/Manager

Rocky Ridge Farm