The Day I Can't Think Up A Clever Title

Labradors [are] lousy watchdogs. They usually bark when there is a stranger about, but it is an expression of unmitigated joy at the chance to meet somebody new, not a warning. ~ Norman Strung

The more one gets to know of men, the more one values dogs. ~ Alphonse Toussenel

Thanks for all your encouragement yesterday. No, I don't have my 500 words yet. I stepped away from the story for the night.

Groovy, though, gave me some great ideas in case you didn't read the comments:

Can somebody open a gift? An appropriate but unexpected gift...without a tag because it, um, fell off in the taxi and accidentally stuck to the next passenger's shoe so that (oops, I said "that". Sorry!) his left shoe now reads, "To my sweetest love. Hugs and and kisses forever, Vanessa.

OR maybe it could be a grossly inappropriate gift like a pink chainsaw or chocolate covered cheese-sticks.

Can a sudden, well described storm billow across the prairie and pelt the heroine with hail just as she exits the store with the romantic dinner ingredients?

Maybe it's time to add a pet - Morton the mule or Iris the setter.

Though, Groovy, there are always pets in my story. This one has two: Spike the bull mastiff and Rett the ferret. I love, Love, LOVE your first suggestion. I can picture all kinds of trouble for the guy with tag on his shoe... Hmmm...

In any case, my wonderful friend, Judy, offered to take a look at the complete manuscript of my novel. Apparently she did so last night. I haven't opened the document yet. As always, I have this dreaded feeling that she'll say it horrible, awful, no good and very bad (anyone remember the book I ripped that off from --or, more properly-- from which I ripped that off?) and why would anyone want to publish this, let alone spend money buying it?

I'll get to it at some point today. Still, I'm skeered.

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Yesterday, we took the dogs (mine and my mom's Yorkie) to the pet supply store -- one of their favorite trips. We wandered through the store, the dogs happily sniffing all the smells, picked up so suet and dog treats and turned to leave. My mom and her dog, Bonny, were pretty far ahead and so turned the corner first. My DD and I and my mild-mannered marshmallow, Bailey, came around the corner in time to see a mid-sized dog try to take a bite out of Bonny.

Bailey came unglued. She threw herself to the end of her leash barking ferociously and even after the guy took his dog away and out of sight, she was still growling and barking. I've never seen her behave that way -- but apparently NO ONE picks on her pack. Period. She's known Bonny for eight years, since Bonny was a half pound little dynamo that bossed her around. And Bailey was more than willing to take on that other dog for snapping at her friend.

Amazing.

I'd often wondered if Bailey would ever defend the family because she's such a sweet, gently dog. Now? I think she would.

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In other news, I got my first mosquito bite of the season. The DD has about twenty. She must smell far sweeter than I.

I hate the bugs in the northeast. I long for the dry, thin (and bug free) air of Colorado during the summers here.

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Eileen Cook (who has a book coming out I can't WAIT to read -- darn her publisher for pushing back the date until 2008!) wants to start a reading revolution. She talks about it here, here and here (read them in order).

What are some ideas you have for a reading revolution? How can we as readers and/or writers inspire the current and next generation to embrace a love of reading?