Black Sunday. Literally.

I did not sleep well last night. At the time I contributed this to the change in the weather and my incredibly sore throat, but now I believe it was my subconscious telling me what I was in for today.

We’ve been having record highs in temperature this week - you should have seen the rain on Boxing Day - and today we had wind as well. We’re not talking a breeze here, we’re talking “Hello, my name is Dorothy and I live in Kansas” type wind.
After a night through which I did more tossing and turning than actual sleeping, I woke up early to a certain taste in the back of my throat that meant I was in for a "very bad day", gastrically speaking, unless I got some yogurt into me, pronto. I hate yogurt, and had to go across town to buy some and when I got home I discovered the power was out.

So much for the fancy breakfast I was planning to make everyone today. Guess I’ll make it New Year’s Day insted.

Although our neighborhood was annexed into the town about 15 years ago, we don’t have storm sewers to take care of the ground water, we have sump pumps. Sump pumps run on electricity. No electricity means no sump pump which means flooded basement.

Fortunately, our neighbor had a generator and was kind enough to run an incredibly long extension cord from his house to our house. It took care of the pump but we still had water seeping in from other sources. The worst damage is to the carpets and a couple of boxes.

The daughter and her fiancé had to go back to London today to finish packing and for him to work his last day. I had fully intended to take them myself, but by the time they were ready to leave I was too sick - stuffed head, sore throat, cough, dizzy, not to mention the funky stomach. So the husband took them and I went back to bed.

Then I found out that one of my friends passed away from Cancer early this morning.

Then, before the husband got home, the daughter called to say her car had been broken into. AGAIN! It wasn’t stolen, but they’d popped the lock off the driver side door, cut through the steering wheel to get the club off, and popped out the ignition. I don’t know if the thieves were interrupted or if they were just making a statement that the club couldn’t stop them, but nothing was taking from the car. Well, except for the starter mechanism.

I’m actually kinda glad this is all happening at the end of the year. It gives me hope that the start of the New Year will bring a change of luck - for the better.

Merry Christmas

Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday.

Christmas Eve in Sarajevo


Christmas Canon


Michael Crawford singing O Holy Night -

Shop Till You Drop

I think I’m shopped out. It happens every year. I go on these marathon shopping binges before Christmas, burn out my shopping yen, and it takes until the next year before I feel like shopping again.

Saturday the weather was good so we went out of town to one of the “good” malls to finish our Christmas shopping. Despite the horrendous traffic around the mall, and the crowds, it was worth it because we got our shopping done. We probably should have done the grocery shopping that night, it would have been the smart thing to do, but no one ever accused us of being smart.

Sunday dawned in a swirl of snow. We’re talking SNOW! There were white out conditions around the house. It would have been the perfect day to just curl up in a chair, read a book, and listen to the wind howling. Unfortunately, I needed to get groceries. There was a slight lull between storms and the daughter and I took the chance and braved the grocery store. I must say, the one good thing about shopping during a blizzard is that the parking’s not bad and there’s no big line-ups at the check out.

Today is another nice day. It seems like our weather pattern is one day stormy, next day sunny. I hope the pattern breaks tomorrow as I have to drive up to London to pick up the daughter’s fiancé and the two cats. The drive is bad enough without adding snow to the mix.

There are still a couple more things I need to pick up, but I’m stuck here today waiting for the furnace guy who’s coming to fix our water heater. If he doesn’t make it, it could be a very chilly holiday, at least as far as showers go.

And now, for your listening enjoyment, more Christmas music. This is one of my favorites and when I did a search for it I was surprised by two things. One, that it had been around so long. And two, that there was a whole little conversation at the beginning I’d never heard before.




This is another of my favorite Christmas songs. The video's not so great, but it's still worth the view.

Winter Wonder - What?!?

Snow, snow, go away
Come again on Christmas Day

They started predicting an apocalyptic blizzard earlier in the week but, this being Canada and the winter, we tend to ignore these dire predictions. Yesterday wasn’t at all snowy, not even a hint of snow.

This morning when I got up it wasn’t particularly snowy either. Oh, there was a token bit of snow, but more of a light dusting than anything else. No, the snow waited until I needed to go out and then it descended on us like the wrath of God.

The worst part was that I hadn’t even cleared off the car from the last snow dump we had, so I had double the fun. Not to mention the fact that one of my windshield wipers isn’t working properly and whilst driving around the snow kept building up on it so it really wasn’t wiping at all.

I’m hoping that this snow is the daughter’s “third bad luck” thing. You know how trouble comes in threes? Well, a couple of days ago we got word that the movers cancelled on us so now we have to find some other way of moving her and the fiancé by the end of the month. Then on the way home on the train last night her wallet went missing. We’re not really sure if it was lost or stolen, but either way she has to replace all of her identification - credit cards, driver’s license, health card, etc. Which was why we were out in the middle of a blizzard running around town.

I made it back home in one piece and now I’m sitting here sipping hot chocolate. The tree is plugged in so the Christmas lights are glowing, I can see the snow piling up outside the deck window. Go ahead, let it snow. I have no where to go until it’s time to pick the daughter up from work.

It can snow all it wants today, for tomorrow we must shop! The plan is another out of town trip to finish the Christmas shopping once and for all.

Except for the stocking stuffers.

Now, for a Christmas treat . . . the first part of this song is pretty much the way I'm feeling about Christmas right now. But hopefully, if I listen to the song enough, I'll feel like the end of the song before Christmas gets here.

Christmas Tradition

LOL I was just re-reading Sunday’s post. Only I could take something as simple as a trip to London and make a disaster out of it.

I got the Christmas tree up yesterday, and even put the lights on it. I’ll save the ornaments for the daughter since it’s a tradition in our house that tree decorating is the kid’s job. As one would imagine, with five cats in the house there are no glass ornaments on our tree. However, it’s not because of the cats that we eschew the use of glass ornaments, it’s because there’s no room for them.

One of my favorite memories of Christmas when I was little, was how the first thing my mother would bake would be gingerbread men. Then she’d sit me at the table with a pile of gingerbread men, bowls of different coloured icing, and small spoons, blunt knives, and toothpicks with which to decorate them. I suspect it was a ploy to keep me out from under her feet, but it worked all around.

When my daughter was little, we started making home made Christmas ornaments. Each year we’d make a new ornament, ranging from the very simple (candy cane reindeer) to the very complicated (pinecone/milkweed pod angels). Occasionally we’d make extra to give as gifts.

This year I have some crochetted snow flakes to add to the collection, some with silver thread running through them, some with gold. To be honest, they were a pain in the butt to make - teeney tiny thread, teeney tiny crochet hooks. And I did them a while ago so I’m going to have to brave the closet monsters in the craft closet to find them.

With the way the weather’s behaving, they could well be the only snow flakes we see at Christmas.

Early To Bed . . .

Going to bed early and getting to sleep early are two different things.

You know when I start a story like this it’s not going to be good (at least for me).

Being the wonderful Auntie that I am, I drove to London yesterday for my great-nephew’s first birthday. It’s about a 3 hour drive (minimum). The party was to start at 1, so by leaving home at 9:30 a.m. I should have just enough time to get there, picking up the daughter on the way. Theoretically.

However (you just knew there was going to be a however, didn’t you?) though I went to bed early (for me) Friday night, I couldn’t get to sleep. Last time I looked at the clock it was 2:30 a.m. Then, for some inexplicable reason, I woke up at 7 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep. So we start the day with me tired, cranky and headachey. My alarm was set for 8:30, but I didn’t actually get out of bed until almost 9.

Now I’m starting to run late. I forgot to wrap the Christmas presents I was taking with me. Oops! This takes me to 9:30. I didn’t have a gift back big enough for the birthday present I was taking, which meant I had to stop at a store. Okay, no problem, I had to buy a card anyway. By now it’s 10 a.m. and I’m back in the car trying to stuff the large panda bear into the bag. The bag comes apart. Doesn’t rip, it comes apart, as in the glue that holds it together . . . doesn’t. No time to go back to the store, I’ll just keep going and hope the daughter has some tape.

It’s 10:15 and I’m finally on the road. Traffic is heavy, but moving well. I make it as far as Waterloo before I start losing the Toronto radio station I’m listening to and realize I forgot to bring a CD. The only CD in the car is one I’ve already gotten tired of, however it’s better than nothing. Get to the daughter’s house, get the bag taped together, get to the party. Whew!

Now’s it time to go home. First, we fill up the gas tank again. Gas is 10 cents a litre more in London that it is at home. Nevertheless, I’m still able to top up the tank for $30, which would have made me happier if it hadn’t started snowing while I was filling up. Fortunately, though it snowed most of the way home it never got really bad, just enough to be annoying.

After stopping for a cold coffee (that I used to wash down an asprin) at the Tim Horton’s about 30 miles (kilometres, whatever) outside of London, it was smooth sailing right up to the Toronto Airport, at which point the traffic came to a halt, then crawled all the way to Yorkdale. To make it worse, the radio station was doing some kind of retro oldies thing (60s at 6, 70s at 7, 80s at 8). ARGH! Yeah, I know I could have changed stations, but I didn’t think of it at the time.

Anyway, eventually I made it home, and in time to watch Fringe too. Today, I’m going to take the Christmas Spirit by the throat and put up the Christmas tree. Might even put the lights on it too.

Ho Hum Hump Day

Still waiting for all that money the itchy palm promised me. Any time now would be good. Any time. Right here. Just shoot it on over.

The weather has been off and on a lot. We got lots of snow on the weekend, yesterday it rained and made it a big sloppy mess outside, then last night it snowed and made everything pretty again. Now today it’s sunny which means the snow is melting.

Monday I went to the local mall to finish up my out of town Christmas shopping (I only have the brother in law in NB to buy for before I’m done) but I didn’t have much luck. I’m sure everyone has someone like him on their Christmas list - you need to get them something but you don’t really know them well enough to find something appropriate, or you do and everything appropriate is way out of your price range.

I’ve been trying to get to bed earlier so I’d start getting up earlier but so far that hasn’t really been working for me. I still tend to sleep in late. Might be because my bed is so warm and comfy and if I hold out long enough the husband and the cats all get up and I have the bed to myself. Yes, I am a lazy sod!

It’s getting harder and harder to resist the stack of unread books I have on my desk. I’m not supposed to read them until I finish the first draft of the novel I started writing for Nano, and I’m still working on it. The ideal solution would be to get that first draft done, but the writing is going very slowly and the books are so very tempting.

Does it count if I go out and buy a book that isn’t included in the stack?

Itchy Palms and Caramel Corn

I’m trying very hard not to scratch or rub my itchy palm and I hope I haven’t jinxed anything by having rubbed it earlier.

Let me explain. I first noticed my palm was itchy when I was in the kitchen this morning making my breakfast. I was pretty sure there was a superstition about itchy palms, so I looked it up on Google and low and behold, there it was. An itchy palm means money in your future. “Right to receive and left to leave.” One source also mentioned that if you rub or scratch your palm the money will go away, so I immediately stopped rubbing. Though I tell you, it’s not easy.

I can use a massive intake of the cash kind after Saturday. Despite the weather, we went shopping after all. Maybe I should have paid more attention the weather gods and Christmas spirit. The new Costco was not nearly as nice as the others I’ve been in, and the mall I’d been looking forward to had changed beyond recognition - the food court was gone, Wal-Mart was gone, the small, independent store that was the source of many cool items was gone.

THEN, on the way home it started to snow like it meant it. Being a veteran of driving in abysmal winter conditions this didn’t trouble me unduly, however being stuck in a long line of slow moving vehicles did. However, I got to cross two more people off my Christmas list and I think the husband is done so all in all it was a day well spent.

And now my teeth are starting to hurt because while I was typing this post I started munching on the caramel corn the husband bought from the boy scouts (which he does every year). Last year he insisted that it was “his” caramel corn and he should be the one to open it. It’s still sitting on the bar with the plastic seal intact. This year I decided to ignore him.

Stupid me!

Not Funny!

It appears that the Christmas spirit and the weather gods have conspired together and are having a cosmic joke at my expense. Today I was supposed to finish up the Christmas shopping for all the out-of-towners on my list (namely my sisters and their families) and what does it do? It snows.

The snow started last night and is still going. And just to add insult to injury, it’s windy out. Just enough wind to make out of town travelling risky, at best. So no checking out the new Costco in Peterborough, and no trip to a proper sized mall in one of the surrounding cities.

I know, I know, I’ve been whining about not having any snow to get me in the Christmasy mood. But I could have just as easily gotten into the Christmas mood tomorrow, after I shopped.

* * * * * * * * * *
My career counsellor called me yesterday with some good news. I’ve been investigating going back to school through a government program called Second Career, only the course I really wanted to take doesn’t start until September, which was too late.

Apparently, things have changed and it’s no longer too late. If I get accepted then once my unemployment runs out in April I will be allowed to get an interim job that I can quit in September to go back to school. How sweet would that be?

Fortunately, I have all the paperwork, it’s just a matter of filling it out and doing the required research. One of the benefits of getting it all done this early will be that if, for any reason, I’m turned down for the program, I’ll still have time to do one of the Skills Ontario courses which, though shorter, will also ultimately lead me to being employed.

I think it’s a sign, and a good sign at that.

It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Okay, maybe not. But one can hope the Christmas spirit will get its act in gear soon. At least it’s sunny out today. Sort of.

Space, the Imagination Station, has just given me a reason to get up at 6:30 a.m. on Christmas morning. Starting at 6:30 a.m., they are running all ten Star Trek movies, one right after another. Forget opening presents, forget having a big family dinner, I’ll be in Trekkie heaven!

And the daughter called me last night asking for cookie recipes (she’s going to do some of her own Christmas baking this year) and mentioned that her fiancé managed to get Christmas off, which means they’ll be here for Christmas, so I get the double bonus of subjecting her to Christmas Trekkiness. Muwahahahaha! This is why we have children, to torture them!

It almost snowed yesterday. A few fat, fluffy, flakes, but not enough to get excited about. That’s okay, I can be patient. The weather gods have twenty more days to cough it up for a white Christmas. It doesn’t bode well, however, that I’m still wearing my trench coat. Even when I went to Wal-Mart last night for ice cream. In December.

The cats seem to be feeling the Christmas spirit, they’ve been pretty well behaved lately. Well, with the exception of Panda who managed to dig the bag of kitty treats out of the upper cupboard and devour half of them before I caught her. And maybe Dante, who believes the living room carpet looks better if it’s at an angle, no matter how many times I straighten it. And Taz, who keeps trying to steal my chair. Okay, so Julius and Romi have been good kitties, but I think that’s more because they’re a little too hefty to cause any real trouble.

I, however, have been on my good behavior. I have not yet opened the big bag of books, um, I mean, opened the bag with the two books I bought the last time I was at Chapters that I promised I wouldn’t read until after Nano. As long as I’m working on my Nano novel then Nano is still in progress.

Hump Day Quiz

Today started out so well . . .

I was up at a decent hour, got all gussied up and met my friend at the lawyer’s office (we’re taking legal action against our former employer). On the way home there just happened to be a parking place down town so I ran a couple of errands . . . Met my husband (who sprung for take-out)for lunch and then started coughing.

Sinus drip, right into the lungs. The more I coughed the more my sinuses dripped, and the more they dripped the more they leaked into my lungs, which made me cough. It’s an ugly cycle. Needless to say I didn’t get much accomplished this afternoon. Hopefully, I’ll get some writing done tonight, but in the meantime, a quiz:

HOW SHORT IS YOUR ATTENTION SPAN?

Your Attention Span is Short

What attention span? It's difficult for anything to keep your interest. You are so easily distracted, it's a wonder you could finish this quiz! You find focusing a challenge. Your mind tends to wander to the strangest places. While it may be hard for you to complete tasks, you're very creative. You are easily inspired, and you are often thinking of something interesting. The world would be a boring place without people like you.

How's Your Attention Span?

Batteries and Baking

I just had to change the battery in my cordless mouse and it suddenly occurred to me that I’ve been going through batteries pretty fast lately. And then it occurred to me that maybe it was because I was playing more spider solitaire than I was writing.

Don’t bother suggesting that I delete spider solitaire from my computer, I’d only find it online. :-) I’m just going to have to rely on my weak will to keep up the good writing habits I picked up while Nanoing. (Yeah, I know. Good luck with that!)

The weather is not putting me in a very Christmasy mood. It’s been very grey and dismal and when we get precipitation it’s rain, not snow. It hasn’t even become cold enough for me to break out my winter coat yet. What’s going on? This is Canada, for crying out loud, in December!

I need the snow to get me in the Christmas mood and I need to be in a Christmas mood before I can start my Christmas baking. I have a brand new convection oven to try out this year. It will be interesting to see whether it’s a help or a hindrance.

Christmas baking is a family tradition. You can’t have Christmas without cookies. So every year I go crazy baking batch after batch of cookies, and every year I’m so sick of them by the time I’m done I give most of them away. Go ahead, call me crazy. My family already does. :-)

I’ve got lots of rum in the house, maybe I’ll start out with rum balls. But not with the recipe I used the last time. The last time I made rum balls I’m not sure what happened, but they ended up as rum-soaked chocolate cement in the mixing bowl. While my daughter and I enjoyed chipping out chunks of them to nibble on, they weren’t exactly something I could include in my gift baskets.

Now, should I use white rum or dark rum in my rum balls? Hmm. I have both, maybe I should do a taste test before I make up my mind . . .

I’ll let you know how it turns out.

The Good (Nano), the Bad (November) and the Ugly (the News)

The weather’s been pretty grey and dismal, but I’ve managed to push through it and get some writing done the last few days. I reached the required 50K late Thursday night to complete the Nano challenge and added another 1500 words yesterday. There’s still story left over to tell so I’m going to be filling in plot holes until it’s done, then I’ll start the dreaded editing while I work on something else.

The daughter was home on Tuesday for a job interview with our local archive, a part-time job that could lead to full time in the future (knock wood). It’s a great opportunity for her and they hired her on the spot. Now we just have to find a job for the fiancé (he’s already started applying) and a place for them to live. I must say it will be very strange for her to be living in town but not under our roof.

November is usually such a cheerless month and this month has been no exception. If I ever have the money I’d like to spend the months of November and February someplace sunny, like Arizona or New Mexico. Or better yet a tropical island where you don’t have to worry so much about crazies with guns - like that woman in the states who’s taught all her children how to handle a fire arm, including her 4-year-old daughter.

Speaking of crazies, yesterday was Black Friday in the U.S. Apparently, that’s what they call the first shopping day after Thanksgiving (which was Thursday). Stores open real early in the morning and the bargain hunters are out in full force. I heard about people getting injured in department stores and most disturbing of all was the report of a Wal-Mart employee getting trampled to death by bargain hunters.

Don’t believe me? Read the whole story HERE

Just Rewards

The writing was going went well enough the other day that I decided to reward myself in the evening and I turned on my MSN for the first time in a long time.

I started talking to my writing cousin who has her second children’s book coming out next week and a third in the works for next spring. Anyway, in the course of conversation she sent me a clip off U-tube called Wizards of Winter. This is a light show of Christmas lights that is done using the Trans-Siberian Orchestra as background music.

I think I should mention that I love the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Especially their CD Beethoven’s Last Night. Ask my daughter, she’ll tell you. :-)

This reminded me that in the spring I noticed that they were going to be playing at Copps Coliseum in the future so I quickly went to the TSO website and low and behold, they’re playing on December 5. There’s still time to buy tickets.

When I mentioned this to the husband he asked if they’re playing in Toronto, so I checked and wouldn’t you know, yes they are. On December 26. Late Christmas present? Early birthday present? Makes no difference to me as long as I get to see them.

'Tis The Season

I think the highlight of my Christmas shopping expedition yesterday was when the woman at the aromatherapy stand in the mall tried to shove a sample under my nose to try. When I explained to her that I have a scent allergy she responded with: “We also have non-scented products for you to try.” WTF?

The rest of the day was a blur of crowds of people, many stores, making a list and checking it twice . . . and Toys ‘R Us. I have four great-nephews, one great-niece and one nephew all under the age of 10. It doesn’t help that I’ve never even met 3 of them. This time of year, Toys ‘R Us is a godsend. The end result is that the kids are all bought for and after all, that’s what Christmas is all about. The kids.

The mall we went to just happened to have a Chapters in it, which I might have been able to avoid if my husband hadn’t wanted to look at some CDs there. I’m to Chapters like a kid is to Toys ‘R Us. My restraint came from just not looking too hard. One of my dreams is to go to Chapters with a shopping cart and just load ‘er up. As it was I came away with a couple of books which I think will end up being a Christmas present to me from the cats . . .

Nice, the way that works out.

Huh?

What do you mean you stopped by to see what scintillating words of wisdom I have to offer? Oh, yeah, I guess it has been a while since I've posted.

I've made it to 40K and I'm still going strong. I think my novel will exceed the 50K it's supposed to be, but the longer the better. I keep thinking it's going to need some heavy duty editing when I'm done, but when I stop to peek back a lot of it isn't as bad as I think.

Yesterday was slow going, story-wise. I took some time off to brush the snow off my car to go sign some papers my hubby had for me at his office - broke the blade off one of my brand new windshield wipers, couldn't find a parking place anywhere even close to the office, came home in disgust to find the garbage can still sitting on the front porch, so I went to the corner store to get a garbage sticker and then wrestled the can to the end of the driveway (we don't have curbs).

Today I'm far enough ahead that I can safely go with a clean conscience to a get together with some old friends tonight, and Christmas shopping tomorrow. I'm easing up a little on the writing and my goal for the weekend is reach the 43K mark.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

After my cranky post on Wednesday I checked the mail and had a happy surprise (I would have added an edit to that day but I didn't want to spoil the whole cranky ambiance).

Anyway, a couple of weeks before Halloween I entered a contest on Gennita Low's website (check out her blog HERE and read her first novel on-line for free). She posted a picture and asked for captions and picked my caption out of all the responses. :-)

The prize was the winner's pick of a selection of books. I chose one of hers because 1) I didn't have it and 2) I really like her writing. Not only did she send me her book (autographed and everything!) she sent me a bonus book too. It made my whole week.

Now I just have to resist the temptation of reading them until Nano is over.

Humbug Hump Day

You want a happy little airy fairy post? Go elsewhere. You won’t get it here.

It’s a bright sunny day out there today and normally this would put me in a good mood, but not today, thank you.

First of all, I appear to have an allergic reaction to the laundry detergent we’re using. My clothes are making me itch. It’s been going on for a while now, it just took me this long to clue in. This is not a problem that’s easily solved either. You try finding an unscented laundry detergent on a limited budget.

My husband does not appear to support my desire to become a hermit. He coerced me into going to the movies last night (not with him, with a friend I used to go to cheap night at the movies with last year while our husbands bowled). And what movie did I see? Madagascar II. I'm still not sure why it was called Madagascar, it took place in New York and mostly in Africa.

There’s two things I need to say right here. I don’t like small children and I don’t like most kid’s movies. Disney movies are the exception (at least the properly animated Disney movies). I really, REALLY hate computer generated animation. As big a Star Wars fan as I am, I boycotted the last movie because it was computer generated. Yuck! Phooey!

Okay, I digress. I must admit that the movie itself wasn’t bad. Despite the computer animation, it was kinda cute and even humorous in places (although my friend said it wasn’t nearly as good as the first one). However, the kids versus adults ratio was unacceptable. As was the fact that the majority of these mothers had not bothered to teach their little urchins how to behave in a theatre. Some of the mothers were even worse than the kids. Has no one mastered the fine art of lowering one’s voice these days?

I have another friend I sometimes go to the movies with who I wish would lower her voice sometimes when she has to speak during the film, however she usually goes to the movies with her legally blind husband who also has a bit of a hearing problem and she's used to making a running commentary telling him what's going on. I can make allowances for her. The blonde woman in front of me with the three kids who had attention spans of gnats? Not so much.

And now my sun has disappeared so I can be justifiably cranky again.

Nano Is Stealing My Soul

I’m starting to lose interest in the games I normally play, I’m only checking my e-mail a couple of times a day, I log in to Absolute Write and briefly skim through my favorite threads - sometimes I don’t log in at all unless I see a post I want to reply to.

I don’t even turn on my MSN any more; Facebook? What’s that? Last week I went five days without even stepping out of the house and I’m proud of it. I can’t remember the last time I picked up a book to read.

Then there’s this really weird thing I’ve been feeling lately in regards to my writing. A feeling of *dare I say it* optimism. I’m starting to believe I might actually finish Nano this year. Not only is the writing going well, the story has a nice arc to it. This one might even be the one that sells.

Time For A Quiz

It's feast or famine with me isn't it? Sorry, I've been sick the last couple of days. The only updating I've managed to do is my Nano word count and my writing blog (the link is to the right under works in progress).

So, just to let you know I haven't forgotten you, here's a quiz for you:

What Colour Blue Are You?

You Are Periwinkle

You're very intuitive and sensitive. You often know other people better than they know themselves. You're also quite optimistic, and you think well of yourself and others. You know your dreams will come true.

What Color Blue Are You?

I Remember

I remember my grandfather, who was with the St. John’s Ambulance in both WWI and WWII. I remember him showing me how to draw a pine tree and gifting me with his oil paints.

I remember my father, who fought in WWII and in Korea. I remember he was injured for his country, and had problems with his injuries all his life. I remember his love of power boats and even though our cabin cruiser was old and only 20 feet long, we could still pretend. I remember the hot summer day when he wouldn’t cut the back lawn until all the baby frogs the size of crickets from the pond in the back had finished passing through.

I remember my brother-in-law, who fought in Korea. I remember his sense of humour and his amazing artistic talent. I remember the way he didn’t like watching M*A*S*H because he said there was nothing funny about war.

I remember my uncle, who was a tail gunner in the Lancaster for the 9th Squadron in WWII. I remember the way he liked to tinker with small engines. I remember his ready smile and his addiction to Louis L’Amour westerns.

You are all remembered.

You are still missed.

If It's Monday This Must Be Nano

You notice how the further into Nano I get the shorter my posts are? That’s because blogging doesn’t count towards my total daily word count.

Saturday I had to go grocery shopping (which I hate) and then we went out to dinner and a play at the local theatre (which wasn’t bad). This was the husband’s office Christmas party. Hubby had to go to bed early because he had to be in Toronto the next day for a bowling tournament, so I found a Star Trek marathon on television and wrote until about 3:30 a.m.

Last night I watched K-Pax (which I’d never seen before) while writing. I had already reached my minimum word count for the day, but I wanted to finish the scene I was working on. Again, up until 3 a.m.

The writing has been going well, pretty steady, especially after dark. I’m starting to wonder if the reason I get more writing done late at night is because I’ve exhausted all my procrastination tools. I’ll stare at the computer screen and type a word, then open up spider solitaire, then close it again because I’ve already played it 100 times in a row, then I’ll just keep re-reading what’s on the screen and before I know it I’ve not only reached my limit, I’ve exceeded it.

Same thing happens when I check my e-mail, or my blogs, or Absolute Write - I’ve checked them so often by then there’s nothing new. Less communciation means less distraction.

Now excuse me while I take a break from procrastinating and get a little writing done.

No Thanks

I'd thank God it's Friday, but I don't get to take the weekend off from writing during Nano.

Hahahaha! I bet you thought I was serious yesterday when I said it was time to buckle down, didn’t you? Well I lied. It wasn’t time to buckle down, it was time to wander over to Absolute Write and socialize over there for a while.

Again, I was up until 3 a.m. last night, but I made my word count.

Today I’m still about 500 words short, but I’m hoping to make up for it tonight.

I never used to be a night owl, but I’m starting to notice that I make the best progress between 12 and 3 a.m.

Maybe it’s because of all those vampire books I’ve been reading lately. My Muse was bitten and turned into one, so now I can only be creative in the darkest part of the night.

Buckle Me Up, Buckle Me Down

The first year I participated in NaNoWriMo I ran out of story before I ran out of words and finished with a measly 33,000 words. The novel seemed complete to me. I’m still editing it. I think I signed up a couple of other years as well, but I only remember the last time when my word count was a whopping 2,000 words. I am determined to finish Nano this year.

You’d think being unemployed would mean I can sit here all day writing, but unfortunately that’s not the way it works.

Here’s how my day has gone so far.

I slept in until 10 a.m. because I was up until 3 a.m. writing. This was my own fault for piddling my day away and then allowing myself to be distracted in the evening. I was 400 words ahead of the game when I started yesterday, and finished with 100 short of my daily goal. Which means, my friends, I slacked off to the tune of 500 words. Let’s not let this happen again.

Got up and did the normal things (showered, dressed, had breakfast) and then phoned the daughter to talk for awhile. Checked my emails. Checked my horoscopes (yes, more than one). Read the updates to the blogs I have listed in my favorites.

It’s noon now, time for the virus scan to start. Too early for lunch, considering I only finished breakfast 1 ½ hours ago. Maybe I should run a couple of errands . . .

The dentist had just received a cheque from hubby for the bill so I made the trip downtown for nothing. It was such a nice day out though that I didn’t want to go back home right away. So I went to the mall. And I bought a book. And I tried on some clothes (the pants were too small, and the jacket was too big). And then I decided to treat myself to some Chinese take-out for lunch (noodles and mixed veggies, yum!). On the way home I wished I’d taken one of those little plastic forks so I could have eaten my lunch in the park or something. It's beautiful out thre today.

And now it’s almost 3 p.m. and the only writing I’ve got done is blog updates.

Time to buckle down!

Cats, Plants and Birds

Yesterday ended, as it started, with cats and plants. After I finished house cleaning in honour of my sister’s impending visit, one of the cats noticed that one of my plants was dangling within reach and swipe, a large chunk of my wandering jew ended up on the floor (along with some dirt and dried foliage).

*Sigh*. The cat ate enough of the plant, before I rescued it, to make himself puke all over my nice, clean floor, and then disappeared, figuring his work was done. I cleaned up plant, cleaned up the puke, then carried on.

In the evening, before I went to bed, I noticed the cats dishes were empty, so being the responsible owner I am, I filled them. Now, the bookcase above the cats’ dishes has a row of plants on top and the spider plant decided to attack as I was setting the bowls back on the floor. In the ensuing struggle, the plant toppled, spilling dirt all over the floor and all over the freshly filled cat dishes. It took another half hour before I had the mess cleaned up and could go to bed.

*sigh again* Such is the way my life has been going.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

There is this really weird looking bird on the Africam today, and I’d really like to know what it is. It’s black, with red on the front of it’s neck and around it’s eyes. The beak is also black and starts out wide at the top, but then tapers off to a thin point, but curved like a toucan.

Okay, it was driving me crazy enough that I googled African Birds and I have discovered it is a Ground Hornbill. And just for your further edification, here’s a picture of it:



Oh, the things I do to get out of writing!

NaNoWriMo

Yes, I confess, I waited until the last possible second to sign up for NaNo this year, so I only have myself to blame for the fact that it took me almost three hours to get logged in.

The first few days are always crazy on the NaNo site. The server is overloaded as everyone tries to log in at once, and then you get morons like me who try to sign up at the last minute. I couldn’t remember my password from the last time I’d done NaNo, so I had to ask for a reset and because it was so slow I kept getting timed out, hence the three hours.

I was off to a slow start on Saturday, only about 700 words, but surprisingly enough it didn’t bother me. It was still 700 words more than I’d managed in the last couple of weeks.

I started to catch up on Sunday. Late Sunday night I tried to update my word count and I thought it didn’t work (again, I kept getting timed out until I gave up) but if you look to my NaNo widget on the right, you’ll see that it did work.

To stay on track I need to do a minimum of 1600 words a day, but I’m hoping for 2000. This will keep me ahead of the game for when the unexpected happens, like today when my sister from New Brunswick is dropping by for a late lunch.

So now, instead of writing the day away, I need to make a quick trip to the grocery store for something to feed her (and her husband), and a slap dash job of cleaning up the house. *sigh* Do you notice that these things happen every time I just start getting my writing momentum back?

Happy All Hallow's Eve

As promised, here’s my Halloween post about vampires.

First off, let me say that I now know more about vampires than I ever thought was possible.

The first reference I could find to vampires was a cave painting dating back to 3000 B.C. in Nepal which depicted blood drinking creatures. Ancient Indian holy writings (called the Vedas circa 1500 B.C.) depict the Rakshasas (or destroyers) as vampires. There are also tales of the vetalas, ghoul-lie beings that inhabit corpses, and a monster in India’s lore which hangs from a tree upside-down (like a bat) and is devoid of blood, called a Baital. The ancient Indian goddess Kali, with her fangs and a garland of corpses or skulls, was also linked with the drinking of blood. In Egypt, the goddess Sekhmet drank blood.

The ancient Malayans believed in a type of vampire called the Penanggalen. This creature consisted of a human head with entrails that left its body and searched for the blood of others, especially of infants. The ancient Greeks believed in the strigoe or lamiae, who were monsters who ate children and drank their blood. The ancient Peruvians believed in the canchus, devil worshipers who sucked the blood of the young. The Caffre, in Africa, believed the dead could return and survive on the blood of the living. Pottery shards from ancient Persia depicted creatures attempting to drink blood from men.

I could go on (and I probably will keep researching this for my own interest) but my original post topic from earlier in the month was, how did the vampire go from a creature of horror to a romantic hero?

The first literary reference to the vampire was not, as I believed, Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897). A more charismatic and sophisticated vampire can be found in The Vampyre, by John Polidori (1819). This was followed in 1847 by the best-selling (in its time) Varney the Vampire, by Thomas Prest. That being said, Stoker's Dracula is still probably the best known.

But when did the vampire cross over from horror to romance? I think we have to side track to films for a moment. The first vampire movie was Nosferatu in 1922, followed by Dracula (starring Béla Lugosi) in 1936. In 1958, Christopher Lee starred in Dracula, which was so popular it was followed by seven sequels. Let’s face it, these were strictly horror movies.

Then we skip ahead to 1979, when Frank Langella stars in Dracula. He portrays the vampire as sophisticated, charismatic, and sensual. Suddenly, we’re rooting for the blood sucker to win! To me, this was the turning point for the vampire. Okay, so technically he was still a blood-sucking fiend, but he was a hot, blood-sucking fiend. Maybe even a misunderstood blood-sucking fiend. All he really wanted was to find his soul mate and live happily ever after. Sounds like a romance to me.

To be honest, I can’t really pin point to an exact book when the vampire became a romantic hero. My first exposure to the vampire in romance was in the Silhouette Shadows series. Sometimes the vampire was the seductive antagonist, sometimes the hero. But they were always good reading.

Today’s vampire is handsome, wealthy and seductive. He possesses superhuman strength, heightened sensory perception, the capacity to hypnotize his victims and, last but not least, immortality. He offers old-fashioned romance in the arms of an alpha male.

In the last five years the vampire as a romantic hero has really hit a boom. I, for one, hope it continues.

If anyone’s interested in vampire romances, there’s a great booklist HERE . Have patience with this site, it’s pretty graphic intensive and may take a while to load.

For other reading, we have:
The Vampyre; A Tale by John Polidori 1819 HERE
and Varney the Vampire by Thomas Prescott Prest 1847 HERE

It’s A Brand New . . . . Quiz!

I couldn’t help but notice it’s been a while since I last posted. Not that I really have a lot to post about this time, but when in doubt, throw a quiz at them!

Yeah, I know I’m pathetic, but it’s part of my charm.

Really it is.

There's a 48% Chance You've Been Abducted By Aliens

Maybe you've really been abducted by aliens... but probably not. Let's face it. You're just a little weirder than most people.

What Are the Chances that You've Been Abducted by Aliens?

Cam Again?

I’m not crazy. Just thought you’d like to know that.

I really did see snow flying yesterday, so did others. Many others. And today I had to go out to replenish my supply of gummi worms and I passed several cars that had snow on them, as in they had to scrape their cars off this morning!

*sigh* Guess it’s time to put away the patio furniture.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I get teased a lot because I love disaster movies. Dante’s Peak, Twister, Volcano, Deep Impact, Armageddon, Day After Tomorrow - I love them all. This led me to my very first web cam, the Volcano cam that’s trained on Mount St. Helens. I used to watch it faithfully and was sometimes rewarded by a wisp of smoke wafting up from the crater. Wouldn’t it be the coolest thing ever to be watching the volcano-cam and see the mountain erupt? Just sayin’ . . .

The thing I like about web cams is that it allows us to experience things we might never otherwise experience. I’m talking about the wild life cams (I’ve seen eagle, falcon, otter), ghost cams, UFO cams . . . so get your minds out of the gutter people!

My favorite web cam of all time has got to be the Africam. I can spend hours watching this. You have your choice of two views, the Nkorho Pan or the Elephant Plains. I like Nkorho. The camera is set up to watch a watering hole day and night. To date I have seen an elephant, rhinos, lots of different birds, gazelle, a herd of wildebeast, warthogs, some kind of fox, and today there were monkeys.

Hey! It beats waiting for the snow to start falling.

Check it out yourself here: Africam

Seriously?

What kind of a cosmic joke is this? My last post - two days ago - pointed out that it was finally cold enough to make it officially fall. The trees have mostly turned, they’ve started losing their leaves, but there’s still a lot of green out there. My purple petunias are still blooming!

I was using the dining room table to sort the stacks of stuff I’ve removed from my office to “organize” before I move them back in and I looked out the deck doors and it was . . . snowing! Oh, how I wish my camera was working!

We’re not just talking a few flakes that could be mistaken for birch seeds, we’re talking serious white stuff here!

And you know what’s next, don’t you? Christmas!

I am so not ready.

It's Official

I finally had to turn the heat on last night. The frost was thick enough on my car this morning to require scraping (if I was going anywhere). It’s officially fall.

The leaves are still pretty nice, but not quite as good as they were last weekend. There’s a lot of them missing. In another couple of weeks they’ll just be a memory until next fall.

Yesterday I took the daughter to Port Huron to pick up her wedding dress. I swear, we spent more time at the border waiting to get into and out of the U.S. than we did in the U.S. But, the good news is, not only did the hot border guard let us back into Canada without paying duty on her dress, I got my potato peeler back!

Today I’d like to deal with a couple of the stacks of stuff I have piling up - folders and papers and notebooks. I also want to update my storage bin - the plastic bin I have to hold all my old files I don’t need close at hand, but can’t get rid of yet (tax forms, old bills, etc.) - and I’m going to gather all my miscellaneous files into another plastic bin. Right now they’re scattered all over the place.

Maybe by tacking the mess just a little at a time I'll eventually get the spare bedroom finished. Although the cats have been enjoying the pile of boxes stacked in the center of the room - more places to hide.

It would be nice if I had time to clean out my office supply cabinet (the cabinet I store all my paper, pens, binders, etc. in) but I’m not counting on it. I might, however, squeeze in some writing time though.

In otherwords, I’m planning a quiet day today, albeit a little on the domestic side.

Amuse Yourself

I've been sick the last couple of days. So instead of a post I'm giving you not one, but two quizzes to amuse yourselves until I'm feeling better:

First, we have: WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM?

You Are From Pluto

You are a dark, mysterious soul, full of magic and the secrets of the universe. You can get the scoop on anything, but you keep your own secrets locked in your heart. You love change and you use it to your advantage, whether by choice or chance. You don't like to compromise, to the point of being self-destructive with your pigheadedness. Live life with love, and your deep powers will open the world to you.

What Planet Are You From?

Followed by: WHAT PLANET SHOULD YOU RULE

You Should Rule Saturn

Saturn is a mysterious planet that can rarely be seen with the naked eye. You are perfect to rule Saturn because like its rings, you don't always follow the rules of nature. And like Saturn, to really be able to understand you, someone must delve beyond your appearance. You are not an easy person to befriend. However, once you enter a friendship, you'll be a friend for life. You think slowly but deeply. You only gain great understanding after a situation has past.

What Planet Should You Rule?

Happy Turkey Day

Today is the day that separates the Canadian from the American bloggers. Yes, I’m talking about Thanksgiving.

The American bloggers post on as ususal, but we Canadians are lucky if we get a word or two in just to let everyone know we survived the weekend. We’re too busy stuck in traffic, stuck in the kitchen, or recuperating from the weekend.

It’s pretty obvious we weren’t the only ones having their big dinner on Sunday, at least judging by the traffic, especially going through Toronto. It wasn’t nearly as bad as it usually is though, and we did make pretty good time to the daughter’s place in London. We were late, but that was because I had to check four different stores on my way out of town before I found the second last can of poultry seasoning in the whole town. This made us late getting away, which made me late getting the turkey in the oven, which made dinner very late . . . you get the idea.

One turkey dinner down, one to go.

We got back from the daughter’s place 1:30 a.m. and I’m in the process of getting ready to go to my inlaws for dinner. This is not made easier by the fact that I left my uber expensive, sacred potato peeler in London.

I really hope Walmart is open.

NaNoWriMo

Decisions, decisions. Should I or shouldn’t I sign up for NaNo this year?

What is NaNo, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you. It’s the National Novel Writing Month and it takes place in November. You sign up for it HERE . The idea is to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. You can do all your research and outlining before hand, but no actual writing until November 1.

You don’t have to write well, in fact it works better if you just start at the beginning and don’t look back. There’s no prize, other than your completed manuscript which you are then free to polish and sell.

So why do it? Well, because it’s fun! And people from all over the world participate. And you can check in on the website and see who else from your area is participating and make new friends.

My only problem is, when I already have three works in progress, do I really need to add another one? Call me crazy, but I’m thinking about it.

Seriously.

Hung Like an Elephant

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m as voyeuristic as the next person when it comes to the web cam. I check out Mount St. Helens on a regular basis via the Volcano-cam and every once in awhile I’ll think to check out the Leprechaun-cam set up in Ireland. But sometimes web-cams can give you a little more than you bargained for.

I’m talking about the Africa-cam . You actually have the choice of two web cams to view - the Nkorho Pan and the Elephant Plains. Having always dreamed of going on a photo safari in Africa, I love this site.

The Nkorho Pan is set up near a watering hole and obviously someone mans the camera because it can pan 360 degrees as well as zoom in and out. It also has sound, which today is a little annoying because it’s very windy over there.

Anyway, the sun sets early afternoon our time over there, so the first few times I watched it was evening. The very first animal I saw was an elephant who came to give himself a mud bath. So I’m watching him, thinking ‘how cool is this?’ and then I notice he seems to have an extra leg. And then I realize, that’s not a leg. It was like watching a train wreck - you don’t want to look but you just can’t help yourself.

Yeah, I know. I really have to get a life.

Post Delay

I had intended to post about vampires today because I’ve been on a vampire kick reading-wise lately. There’s just something about those blood suckers . . .

Anyway *wipes off drool* I just happened to notice the top shelf of the bookcase opposite my desk holds nothing but vampire romances. This is the custom built book case that’s 96 inches wide. That’s a lot of vampires. And that’s not counting the ones that are on the shelves upstairs or included in anthologies in a different bookcase.

I have actually read the original Dracula, and I really have to wonder, how did the vampire go from the horrific creature Bram Stoker created to a romantic icon?

This question intrigues me to the point where I’m actually going to do some research into it. I really want to know how this happened.

So, I’m putting off my post about vampires until later in the month. Maybe it would make a good Halloween post . . .

How Abnormal Are You?

It was a lonnngggg weekend my friends. Not long as in holiday weekend, but long as in utterly dismal that seemed to stretch on into infinity. So in honor of the weekend being over, I give you a quiz.

You Are 48% Abnormal

You are at medium risk for being a psychopath. It is somewhat likely that you have no soul. You are at high risk for having a borderline personality. It is very likely that you are a chaotic mess. You are at low risk for having a narcissistic personality. It is unlikely that you are in love with your own reflection. You are at medium risk for having a social phobia. It is somewhat likely that you feel most comfortable in your mom's basement. You are at medium risk for obsessive compulsive disorder. It is somewhat likely that you are addicted to hand sanitizer.

How Abnormal Are You?

Yeah, I'm aware the colours are a little on the sucky side, but I got tired of messing with the html coding. Just take the quiz!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

It’s cold and I’m tired and cranky. Did I mention it’s cold? My number one kitty minion is mad at me because I’ve shut the windows. Hello cat, that’s one of the reasons I built the extra wide bookcase in my office, so you guys could still lounge and look out the window when it gets cold out. Did you really think that window was going to stay open all winter?

I am so tempted to turn the heat on, but we haven’t had the furnace serviced yet. If it didn’t mean opening the Door Of Death (aka the craft closet door) I would root around for some knitting needles and some wool to knit myself a pair of fingerless gloves. With matching slippers. And ear muffs.

Did I mention it was cold?

On the other hand, this is the perfect weather to curl up with a good book. My “to be read” bookcase is overflowing with books. Something needs to be done about this. I should start reading all these books, not letting them languish, collecting dust and cat hair. It’s my duty to read them. And once I’ve cleared out my “to be read” bookcase I’ll have plenty of room for . . . uh . . . more books!

Field Trip

Today my BFF and I made a pilgrimage to Toronto for Word on the Street, the annual literary Festival that takes over Queen’s Park. Imagine, if you will, a line of tents stretching into infinity that hold representatives from magazines and publishing houses, self published authors, writer’s organizations, discount books and magazines . . . you might come close. For a better idea of what went on, go HERE

We parked at the Yorkdale shopping centre and took the TTC in, probably the easiest time I’ve ever had getting to an event in Toronto although it did involve a lot of walking and stair climbing before we even got to Queen’s Park.

The weather forecast was for cool and overcast weather with the chance of a drizzle. The weatherman lied! It was sunny and hot hot hot! After meandering up and down the displays for almost three hours with the sun beating down on us, I started to feel a bit light headed. Could this be because I didn’t think to bring any water with me? The sun has never been my friend. So while my BFF stood in line for fresh squeezed lemonaide, I sat in the shade trying not to puke.

After about ½ an hour we felt up to continuing. Lunch was a slushy for me and an ice cream for BFF. We were on the home stretch. Just a few more booths to go and we were done. Our butts were truly dragging by the time we got back to Yorkdale.

On the way home we decided we felt up to solid food now, so we stopped in Oshawa on the way back for some New York Fries. Oh, my! Did I park in front of Chapters? What a shame. Now we have to pass more books on our way in and out from the mall. I still had money left over from my day and treated myself to the latest Lynsay Sands vampire book. How apropos - I’m about halfway through re-reading her vampire series.

The perfect ending to a perfect day.

If you want to see the loot list from Word on the Street, you’ll have to check out my writing blog.
:-P

Things to remember for next year:
water
hat
water
wear something cooler and bring a jacket if I have to
water
go directly to the Harlequin tent before all the good books are gone
and there was something else . . .
oh, yeah, water

Que Sera Sera

Let’s just pretend yesterday never happened. ‘Kay?

There must be some kind of energy sucking virus going around and I apparently have a double-dose of it.

I had an meeting with my career counsellor this morning - I’m still undecided whether it was a good or bad meeting. The woman is pretty clueless, but she appears to be trying to be a little more open minded.

After that I decided to get my hair trimmed. It was getting kinda raggedy looking. The hair dresser didn’t take as much off as I thought she would, but to be fair I told her to take as little as possible.

When I got home again I found a letter address to me from the Attorney General’s Office waiting. Eep! My first thought was, this can’t be a good thing. I knew doing taxes for other people on the side would come back to bite me in the ass. But no, it was a form to fill out and return regarding jury duty. Most people I know have never been called to jury duty in their lives. This will be my second time in five years!

And now, here I sit. Eating gummi worms and procrastinating. What a life.

Hump Day Blues

I’m tired and cranky and headachy. My energy level is at an all new low. Writing was a real struggle for me today, as was pretty much anything else.

I opened up Driving Into Forever because I thought it would be easier to work on because I’m just re-writing it, but I was wrong. I thought it would be more like just heavy editing but instead I’m actually re-writing the whole thing. Most of it’s being scrapped completely. And why? Because of the other two projects I’m working on.

That’s the problem with writing. It’s a learning process. The more I write, the better the writing gets. By working on the other two projects it’s easier to see where I went wrong with the first one and the re-write is becoming a much better story.

But it was still a great effort to get anything done today. Even blogging.

The Rooster Crows

Just as the weather has been changing lately (from hot and humid to crisp and clear) so have my sleeping habits. In the winter months when I was on a midnight shift, I had no trouble sleeping during the day. But once I was off that shift I became a day person again.

I like the mornings and I’ve never had any problems getting up early. If I have a good reason to that is. When you have to set your alarm to get up and go to work, it’s a whole different ball game than when you can get up any time you like. It leads to staying up later, which leads to sleeping in later . . . A truly vicious cycle.

My most productive time seems to be the afternoon, from lunch to about supper time. So the time I get up in the morning shouldn’t make any difference, right?

Wrong. I miss the early mornings, when everything is just waking up and it’s quiet and peaceful outside . . . And the reason I don’t really get anything done before lunch is because I get such a late start. I don’t get much accomplished in the evenings either, other than reading or watching TV, there’s a lot of wasted time there.

So I’m going to try an experiment this week. I’m going to set my alarm and get up at a normal time and then come into my office to get to work. Writing is my new job. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Ask not for whom the rooster crows, my friend, it crows for you.

Happy Hump Day

If you’ve been wondering lately where I’ve wandered off to, then you obviously haven’t been using the link to my writing blog. :-P

I’ve been writing up a storm lately, and more importantly, having fun while doing it. I was doing my usual whining to my friend last week and she told me I needed to find the joy in writing again. I think I’ve done that, with my current WIP anyway and obviously it's making a difference.

Must be the change in the weather, even the cats have been acting crazy lately. Well, crazier than they normally do.

On the weekend I had the misfortune of being part of the race track as they went flying around the living room and ended up with two gouges in my arm. We’re not talking scratches my friends, we’re talking a six inch divot in my arm, the kind that leaves scars.

Just be thankful I still can’t get my digital camera to work. I’m not above posting pictures.

Pattern Breaking

Whilst taking a break from writing (yes, actual writing today) I started checking out some links I had saved from my old computer. One of those links led to my very first blog and I started reading some of the posts with interest.

I have to admit that I was just a little appalled at how little has changed in the last couple of years. This blog was started at the end of 2005, when I was still on a medical leave of absence from work. I’d started it to encourage myself to write, but for all the free time I had it didn’t seem to be working. Sound familiar?

* * * * * * *
Something that has always fascinated me is psychic phenomena. I was talking about this with a friend the other day and she casually mentioned she could “read” people. And then she told me I was “just putting in time in this life until it’s time to move on”. I don’t even think she was aware of telling me this, but it really struck home.

* * * * * * *
I’m not trying to turn this into a “poor pitiful me” post. On the contrary, I’m seeing a pattern that my life has taken and I want to find a way to break that pattern. It’s a lot easier said than done, but I’d like to at least try. No more “putting in time”, I need to start making things happen.

Okay, to reward you for putting up with the above post, here’s a quiz for you:


What Tarot Card are you

You Are The Chariot

You represent a difficult battle, and a well-deserved victory You tend to struggle to get what you want, both internally and externally You excel at controlling opposing forces, getting down the same path. In the end, you bring glory and success - using pure will to move forward. Your fortune: There is great conflict in your life right now, either with yourself or others. You must find a solution to this conflict, which is likely to be a "middle road" between the two forces. You posses the skills to triumph over these struggles, as long as your will is strong. You are transforming your inner self, building a better foundation for future successes.

What Tarot Card Are You?

A Matter of Perspective

I had an interesting chat with a friend of mine today. I was telling her that despite the fact that I’ve written poetry since I could hold a pencil and I’ve often been told my poems are “good” , I really don’t “get” poetry. At least not so-called modern poetry.

Poetry is like art. I either like it or I don’t. It either speaks to me or it doesn’t. I will never be able to understand why one painting has so much more value than another. I don’t get why Picasso ended up so famous (I can hear my daughter, the art major, gnashing her teeth as I type).

I then related to my friend the story of the only painting I ever saw that I felt was worth the ticket price. I saw it a long time ago in a little gallery in Stratford, Ontario. The painting itself was done in either watercolour or pastel, clouds of mist from which emerged the half-formed figures of Arthur and his knights, but they were skeletal, ancient. The painting seemed to pull me in until I could almost feel the mist . . .

My friend turned to me and said, “So, you were always bent then?”

*sigh*

It's all a matter of perspective.

The Truth North

Canada . . . where else can you go from sleeping with the fan on to keep you cool, to needing a blanket on the bed to keep you warm in less than a week?

Don't get me wrong. I really like the weather we've been having. It's bright and sunny with just a hint of cool in the air. When the sun sets it takes the warmth with it. But everything's still fresh and green outside. If I could freeze a moment in time, this would be it.

This is also the time of year for the new season to start on TV. Since my cable company took away the WB network (it got moved to a higher package that I just can't afford) I've had to look for my old favorites elsewhere.

Space channel has really come through for me though. It's running Lost from the beginning, and one of my favorite Start Trek series, Deep Space Nine. The thing I like about Space is that they run the same episode twice a day so there's no excuse for missing it.

One of the new shows I watched was the Fringe. Very interesting. It's like the X-Files meets Psi Factor meets Outer Limits. I hope it lasts. Last season ticked me off because every time I got interested in a new show it would disappear. Like Primeval and Surface.

One show I was happy to see return was Torchwood. Captain Jack - yum! Captain Jack making out with James Marsters - double yum!

The Good, the Bad, and the Eek!

No, I didn't find a mouse in the box of writing notes, I found something much, much more frightening. My first novel.

This epic dates back to high school, at least the start of it does. I was a hard core science fiction fan back then so natural my first novel was science fiction. Did I mention I didn't really care for science back in high school?

This was written in the days before computers. Back in the stone age when we used typewriters. Manual typewriters. But that was only for the final drafts. Ninety per cent of this epic is written in long hand.

Let's start with the bad. My heroine's name changed three different times, sometimes within the same draft. The leader's name changed five times, and went from being a man to a woman. Oh, and here's the best part. The women were divided into two social classes: beautiful but stupid, and smart but not so pretty. *hangs head in shame*

Can this book be helped? Well, that's the good news. Maybe it can. There's some good ideas in there, and obviously I'd meant it to turn into a trilogy because there's some good scenes written out that have nothing to do with the original. I like the commander of the space ship, and the two heroes.

So back into the closet it goes. I've got enough fish to fry right now. But I'm sure we haven't seen the last of the Valkyrie and "the Temple of the Stars".

Memory Lane

One of the reasons it’s taking me so long to clean out the spare bedroom closet is that I’m trying to purge as I go, and being the pack rat that I am, it’s not easy.

Going through the box that held old craft instructions (books, magazines, articles) was a trip down memory lane. Anyone remember the Macrame craze of the ‘70's? I must have been crazed to buy the number of instruction leaflets I found. Especially when you consider that the only things I remember every making were a couple of belts.

How about crepe paper, that stretchy craft paper that came in a variety of colours? I don’t even think they make it any more, but it was great for making artificial flowers.

I also found quite a few craft magazines that came from an Aunt’s house. I remember how much I loved to visit her when I was a kid. She was the one who gave me my love of crafts. Every time I’d visit she’d have a new craft to teach me. Though she's gone her legacy lives on, passed down to my daughter and hopefully, one day, to her children.

It was hard to give up some of those books, but if I haven’t even looked at them in twenty years, the chances of me using them in the next twenty are pretty slim. Most of these books and magazines are in really good shape so they’re being donated. It helps when I think that someone else might make use of them.

Next up, the box marked Writing Notes.

Organization

You know, the problem with getting things organized is that you have to keep it up on a regular basis, otherwise you end up with just as big a mess as you started with. Well, maybe not quite as big, but a mess nonetheless.

I’m sure it would help if I didn’t wait until stuff (books, papers, etc) was stacked up so high there should be an avalanche warning posted. It would probably also help if I didn’t feel the need to redefine my organizational system when it gets to that point. One of these days maybe I’ll get it right!

Late Monday afternoon I sat down and did some serious thinking about what I’m doing and where I’m going. While others spent the last holiday weekend of the summer at various productive endeavors, I . . . did not. This is one of the pitfalls of being unemployed. The more time you have, the less productive you tend to be.

I thought about the length of time I’ve been writing and what I had to show for it. I thought about where I am in life and where I’d like to be. I thought back over the last 8 weeks (that I’ve been unemployed) and what I have to show for it - I’m not impressed. Changes need to be made.

So I wrote out a list - actually, several lists - of things I could be doing, things I should be doing, and things I need to be doing on a daily basis. I work best with a structure, and while I didn’t write down a specific schedule to get me through the day, I did make a list of things I need to do on a daily basis.

I’ll let you know how it works out.

Sex in the First

I was hoping to have a poem for the new moon, but it’s been a busy week.

My other writing hasn’t been going well lately either. Have you ever noticed that the more time you have on your hands the less you seem to accomplish?

Okay, I’ll admit it. Part of my problem is that I’ve reached that part of my re-write (of DIF) where my characters have their first encounter of the sexual kind. Which is why I’ve become a champion on-line Mah Jong player and have even beaten the daughter twice at bowling buddies on Facebook.

As you recall, I’m trying on the first person point of view to see how it fits. It was fitting just fine, thank you, until my characters decided to get “friendly”. Writing a sex scene (even if it is just a close encounter to sex) apparently takes me out of my comfort zone when it comes to the first person. I have no problem writing about sex in the third person. Well, maybe just a little problem. If I had no problems at all writing sex scenes I’d write erotica and start making some money. But I digress.

The way I look at it, I have two choices. I can either get over myself and just do it, or go back to writing in the third person. But not tonight, honey. I have a headache.

This 'N That

There’s nothing worse (to someone who lives vicariously through the blogging of others) than clicking on a blog you read on a regular basis and finding it hasn’t been updated. This used to annoy me a lot. Not so much anymore now that I’ve turned into one of those bloggers.

I applaud those who are able to update on a daily basis. I admire those who update more than a couple of times a week. And I understand those who are barely able to update once a week. Sometimes you just don’t have anything to say.

Still, I feel the need to post. And, for a change, I’m posting something nice that happened today (as opposed to my usual whiney complaints).

Usually when my phone comes up “unknown name” I let the machine get it because nine times out of ten it’s a telemarketer or bill collector. However, my husband’s Aunt phoned the other day and her number comes up as unknown. Unfortunately, she didn’t leave her number with her message so I’ve been waiting for her to call back. So, when the phone rang today with the message “unknown name” I picked it up.

Just my luck, it was one of my credit card companies wanting to know why I was being such a deadbeat. I explained my sorry state of financial affairs and the very nice lady took a look at my account to see what we could work out. Apparently, I have insurance on my credit card so that if I lose my job they will make my credit card payments for up to two years (or until I get another job). No wonder this one was accruing charges faster than the other one. I’ve been paying $60 a month for this for a few years now.

I’m sure this bit of good luck has nothing to do with returning the money frog to the book case (see previous post).

Superstition

How superstitious are you?

Although I love black cats and have found the number 13 to be more lucky than not, I don’t walk under ladders and when I see a penny I do pick it up to avoid the bad luck. Also, if I spill the salt I’ll throw a pinch over my shoulder, and I knock wood on a regular basis.

What brought this on (I can hear you wondering)? Well, I’ll tell you.

A while ago a friend gave me a three-footed money frog that’s supposed to bring good fortune. I had it sitting on the shelf in my bookcase, facing East, which is what I thought it was supposed to do. It didn’t seem particularly lucky to me, but neither did it seem at all unlucky.

Then this same friend was over a couple of weeks ago and told me the story behind the frog, and that for it to bring good fortune it was supposed to be hidden, but facing the front door. Dutifully I moved the frog to the appropriate spot and waited for my good fortune.

As the days passed I couldn’t help but notice that not only was good fortune not raining down on me, but I was having more than my ususal share of bad luck. After two weeks of this, on a day particularly filled with bad luck, I couldn’t take it any more. I moved the frog back to the bookcase, facing East and then I left the house before anything else bad could happen.

When I returned, it appeared my luck had changed. For the better. So, not content to leave it at that, I did my own research on the frog, and it appears that my friend had it wrong. The frog is not supposed to face the door, it’s supposed to sit near the front door and face into the room.

As soon as I’m feeling lucky enough, I may give it another try. However, until that time, you can learn more about the three-footed money frog HERE

Lemons

I have to admit I’m starting to feel a little paranoid about all the bad luck I’ve been subjected to lately.

For instance, not only have I not won the lottery, my U.I. claim has not been decided on yet so I don’t even have money to pay for any lottery tickets.

I had to pass on a trip to New Brunswick to see my sister (even free trips are not without cost).

The fight to go back to school is turning into a real fight, thanks to the company I formerly worked for (who screwed up my record of employment and refuse to fix it).

Even something as simple as taking pictures turned into a circus of bad luck. We were at a barbeque at the family cottage last night and sunset found me down on the deck over the lake to take pictures. The sun was hidden by clouds, so all I got were some colourful pictures of clouds, backlit by the setting sun.

Later, by the campfire, I could see the moon just starting to rise over the trees. I snapped a couple of pictures and then my camera went dark. The battery was dead. Only the lens is supposed to retract automatically when the camera is off, and it didn’t do that. When I got home I charged the battery and it still wouldn’t shut off properly. I can’t even get it to download the pictures onto my computer. Sigh. Just what I need. A broken camera.

So, I say, if life hand you lemons . . . take them! It’ll give you something to throw at the people who tell you to make lemonaide.

Just Under the Wire

I couldn't let another lunar phase go by without an offering. So here you go, such as it is:

It strikes without warning
like a thunderbolt
leaving shards of reality
in its wake.

Genius to insanity
like prophesies unheeded
illumination seen
with blinders on.

Fire absorbing
like wildfire rushing
the heat all consuming
burns to ash.

Hollow yet dreaming
like a faceted crystal
splintering fragments
of dreams, no regrets.

Secrets of Life

One of the things I look forward to every Sunday is reading the updated secrets on the website PostSecret.

This website's been around for a few years and I think its success is due as much to seeing that we're not the only ones who feel the way we do as having a brief glance into someone else's thoughts.

There's also a PostSecret blog on MySpace and today you're given the opportunity to write a six-word memoir and possibly have it included in a book. When I last checked there were already over a thousand replies to this post.

Could you sum up your life in six words? If so, you can find the blog post HERE .

Even if you don't want to leave a comment, check it out anyway. It makes for fascinating reading.

Adjusting

The problem with resting on one’s laurels is that it starts to become an uncomfortable seating arrangement after awhile.

Since my 4,000 words, I haven’t written a whole lot. At least not fiction. I have been working on a legal document, but that’s something I’m not able to discuss until the whole thing has been settled.

So what else have I been doing this week?

This and that. Puttering around. Adjusting to having no place to go in the morning. Lots of Mahjong and Spider Solitaire.

Have you ever noticed that it’s harder to get things done when you have a lot of time on your hands? The more time I have the less I seem to accomplish. I’m hoping this is just an adjustment period and I’ll get over it.

Now excuse me while I continue with the Fantasy Island marathon.

I Think I Can, I Think I Can

I'm starting to feel like the Little Engine That Could. I keep plugging away at things but most days it seems like an uphill battle.

There's been a lot of storm systems moving through our area (and I won't run my precious lap top when it's storming) and even more grey days. Lack of sun is my number one energy sink. Which is ironic because although I like to see the sun, I don't like being out in it and I can't stand bright light.

Notice, however, the progress bar on DIF has moved. I've written almost 4,000 more words since I last updated. And after I realized that I immediately rested on my laurels and haven't written much since. I did, however, jot down a couple of new ideas in my writing journal. One of which is for a romantic short story, which I've never tried before. It will be interesting to see what comes of it.

I have made far more progress with my writing than with cleaning out the spare bedroom closet. How could such a good idea have gone so wrong? I never realized what a pack rat I am. Well, that's not true. I knew, I just didn't want to acknowledge it. After having spent who knows how many dollars on all this stuff, I'm loathe to just throw it out. *sigh*

Thirty years worth of the Writer and Writer's Digest
At least five years worth of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
Three years worth of Omni Magazine
A lifetime of craft magazines and books.
I won't even start on the art supplies.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then I think the following two pictures fill my writing quota for the last couple of days. The first is the stuff I've taken out of the closet, the second is the closet itself.

The Write Focus

As I’ve mentioned before, I got my writing start with poetry. I was a poet through most of high school. It was my “thing”. I was a poet.

Then I started writing short stories, most of which turned into rather long stories. These stories were all in the fantasy genre. I was no longer a poet, I was a fantasy writer.

When I ventured into novel writing I still considered myself a fantasy writer. Now I was a fantasy novelist.

I took a writing for children course. It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. My focus shifted to writing for children. I was a children’s writer.

It was a very restrictive way of thinking and I did myself a great disservice in doing so.

I would lock myself into one method of writing, to the exclusion of all else. And when I started to stall, so would my writing. I would be so focused on whatever kind of writer it took to write that piece that I couldn’t consider any other writing.

When I was writing short stories I wouldn’t write poetry - I was a fantasy writer, not a poet. When I wrote for children I set aside my novels - I was a children’s writer, not a novelist. My fantasy novels never really succeeded because most of my plots were hopelessly romantic in nature. It never occurred to me to write them as romance, I was a fantasy writer after all.

Thank God I out grew this mind set.

Now I don’t limit myself to genre or length. I accept the ideas as they come and write them all down in the same notebook. Writing is writing.

In the end, that’s all that really matters.

Found One!

Where there's a will there's a relative, I mean, a way. I found a quiz for your entertainment pleasure.

You Belong in Amsterdam

A little old fashioned, a little modern - you're the best of both worlds. And so is Amsterdam. Whether you want to be a squatter graffiti artist or a great novelist, Amsterdam has all that you want in Europe (in one small city).

What European City Do You Belong In?

Rainy Day

It's been raining steadily for the last couple of hours, with no sign of letting up any time soon. I was going to offer up a quiz for your entertainment, however having searched for the last hour I am having no luck at finding one that offers the html coding so that it will appear on my blog.

I ask you, what good is a quiz without the cool picture in the results to encourage others to take the quiz?

As I was waking up yesterday morning, I had an epiphany where DIF is concerned. But as usual with these things I had no time to work on it because it was off to Hamilton for my Aunt's 80th birthday party (thunderstorms outside, un-air-conditioned church hall inside, but that's a story for another time).

Still being in my Charles de Lint phase, I couldn't help but realize the current book I'm reading was written in both the first and the third person point of view, depending on which character the story was focusing on. While this works quite well for him, I'm not sure that it would work for me.

I don't know why I'm so resistant to the whole first person thing. I'm sure I have reasons, they're just not very clear to me right now. However, I started thinking about first person from two different perspectives and I think that might just work for DIF. I can't say that I've ever read a romance done this way, but that doesn't mean it can't be done.

So, I'm taking a deep breath and starting from scratch with DIF. And when I start suffering from first person overload, I've still got Changeling to work on.

Moonlight Madness

In honour of the full moon tonight, I think it's time for another poem.

The interesting thing about this poem, is that it's the first one I've ever composed completely on the computer. Normally I use pencil and paper for poetry and only type it out when it's completed. I'd say this is progress!

**********************


this poem begins
in hope and dreams
closeness shared
poetic themes

trial by fire
the years mutate
as much by desire
as left to fate

neither space nor time
the closeness rive
but one will alone
cannot survive

it withers, fails
not knowing why
its purpose dims
remembrance shy

couched in words
of poetic intent
the past is gone
the message sent

Food For Thought

I have two printers. My trusty little HP Photosmart and a honking big Samsung colour laser printer. About a year ago (could be longer) I ran out of black toner for the laser printer and it's been sitting in the corner collecting dust ever since.

A few weeks ago (I say weeks but it may have been months) the husband bought me a replacement cartridge but I never got around to installing it. I had a 50+ page document to print and since my HP is getting low on ink I thought I'd install the new cartridge.

First I had to re-arrange some wires: When I rearranged my office I had always intended for the printers to be plugged into their own power bar so I finagled around until I got this done, then I had to search for the printer's USB cord.

Okay, everything looked good until I noticed that the toner cartridge the husband bought me was the wrong one. I needed the document for tomorrow. Should I use up the last of my HP ink or should I go to Staples to exchange the cartridge?

I went to Staples. I didn't have the receipt but they gave me a gift card with the difference on it (the correct cartridge was cheaper).

The point to all this (you knew I'd get to the point eventually, didn't you?) is that on the way home I started thinking about the balance of good and bad. It was good the husband bought me a new cartridge, bad that it was the wrong one and I had to go all the way across town to Staples, but I got the bonus good of a gift card.

Taking it further, I started thinking of the balance of good and bad as it applies to life. There's no question that you can't have one without the other. A lot of the time it seems like we get more bad than good, but that's because the bad tends to stick in our minds more. Things happen for a reason, both good and bad.

It was good when I first got the job at the call centre, but it turned bad when I had to take a stress leave. It was bad when I got terminated from my job, but the opportunities that are opening up for me are very good.

Everything has purpose. Call it Fate, call it Karma, call it God's will if you like. Even though it may not feel like it at the time, maybe things, both good and bad, happen to make us better people.

Just saying.