Monday, August 06, 2007

Monday Meh

We never know the worth of water till the well is dry. ~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

I had a bit of time to myself yesterday -- so I wrote. I opened up three of my stories: My almost finished mystery, a completed draft of a novel, and a half done short. I couldn't remember what was going on in the mystery (I'll have to reread it when I'm ready to really hunker down and work on it), couldn't figure out what happens next on the short and fell in love all over again with my characters from "Playing House" (the novel).

I have the first two chapters edited (rewritten, really, as I've changed the premise of how the heroine gets her job and started with a whole new scene). Hopefully, I'll be able to move forward with this a little bit every day or two until it's done. I'd forgotten how much I really like ALL the characters in this story.

I also did some reading. Because of this review on LASR, I picked up a copy of "Ghost, Interrupted". I've only read the first three chapters (one chapter dedicated to each of the main characters) and I'm thoroughly hooked. The author has a fun, fabulous voice and I didn't want to stop reading... but it was quite late and I was tired.

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We had high hopes that our final Pillar Place: Swallowtail pillar, Jill, would hatch yesterday. Her pupa was wiggling like crazy... but it didn't. ::sigh:: It'll probably happen today. We're expecting rain and won't be able to release her.

In Pillar Place: Monarch, we have five shiny, new, perfect chrysalis'! Here's something interesting that we learned: The chrysalis is actually their skin. I watched one change yesterday, and it split its black/green skin and wiggled and squirmed from its hook on the roof of the box until the black skin came off and revealed an odd looking thing covered in soft green skin. It still *sort of* looked like a pillar, but slowly hardened into that beautiful, shiny green chrysalis with the gold rim. Amazing. I suppose when it becomes a butterfly, it's really like shedding a skin again. And a bit of trivia for you -- moths spin cocoons, butterflies actually transform themselves into a chrysalis.

We also have four more "J"'s -- Andy surprised me by beating Bob to the punch -- Andy was far younger (by two days!) and he made his J yesterday before Bob did (Bob made his late last night). This leaves only Anne and Clarisse, and Anne should be doing her thing in the next day or so. Clarisse? She probably has another week. I hope she hurries... I don't want her to miss the migration south!

Odds are, in a couple of days, Pillar Place will be very, very quiet. And then BOOM! Monarchs everywhere.

And then, I won't be boring you with my tales. What will I talk about then?

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It's day six of:



Today, I've decided what makes me happy are toilets... nice, wonderful toilets that flush. And water. Running water. Water that pours from the faucet when you turn the knob.

It's much on my brain today, because last evening our well pump broke. We can't draw water for the house or the outside spigots. Worse, it broke when I was halfway through washing dishes in the dishwasher and a load of clothes (hey -- the bright side is, it'll be good and soaked!). Thankfully, I'm also happy my SIL lives about a mile away. My DD had her nightly shower there (she was so dirty -- we had a busy day outside) AND SIL provided a bucket of water so we can flush the potty when necessary.

It's amazing how much you take the convenience of running water for granted.

What everyday convenience makes you happy?

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You are 90% Smarter than a fifth grader.
 

You are smarter than a fifth grader. no doubt. There is no need for you to retake school. Keep on doing your brain exercises like sudoku and crossword puzzles, and you'll soon be smarter than a sixth grader! Good work!

are you smarter than a fifth grader?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz



Well, that's a relief since I'll be teaching the DD fourth grade this year -- If I can stay a step ahead, this homeschooling thing might just work out!

10 comments:

Allie Boniface said...

Ah, I do remember falling in love with running water (and hot showers) the summer I drove XC with a friend. We camped our way across the west...and at one point went 10 days without a true traditional shower.

I also realize, when the power goes out, how nice electricity is, and how much we take that for granted too.

anno said...

My sympathies on your well pump -- may it be repaired very very soon.

Jen said...

Oh, Marianne, I agree about water making me happy - it's what I miss the most when our power goes out. I hope it's fixed ASAP. Huge hugs!

And I'm glad you had a good writing session!

Teena in Toronto said...

My score is 50%! Ha! The questions are very US-based, though.

Anonymous said...

Oh, showers. I could kill for a shower. I have great hopes to be able to take one again some day. Stupid broken ankle. *sigh*

I got 90%, too. Which was vastly better than I expected. Whew!

Brandy said...

Sorry to hear about your pump, I hope it gets fixed soon. We lost power during the winter a year ago and our water still worked, but for 4.5 days we were without heat. I'll never take heat during the winter for granted again!
Dang! I missed trapeziod. (Math is sooooo not my best subject!) *G*

Good luck with your 3 stories!

Lianne Lopes said...

Oh yuck! Sorry about the pump problem. I lived in Brazil for a number of years, and I truly grew to appreciate having hot water in the kitchen. In Brazil, I had to boil water whenever I had to wash dishes. But...at least we had a hot shower. :) On the other hand, I do miss the handy little hoses every Brazilian bathroom had beside the toilet. But that may be more information than you want. :) Have a great day.

Melissa McClone said...

Hugs on the pump. Hope it's repaired quickly. Congrats on getting some writing done. That's what I'm hoping for right now. Pages, pages, pages. Okay, two would be okay. Four would be great.

Dru said...

Electricity makes me happy. Most everything runs on it.

I scored 90% on this quiz.

good luck with your writing. I hope you had a good Monday and may Tuesday bring you love.

Unknown said...

Y'know, I don't read romance -- like, ever -- but after following the link to that review I'm sorely tempted to check out that book. Hmm.

Good luck with the water. Ugh!