Books and Birds and Names, Oh My!

Nicknames stick to people, and the most ridiculous are the most adhesive. ~ Thomas C. Haliburton

My daughter received her own copy of "The Magic Faraway Tree" a couple of days back and immediately began reading. Yesterday, she approached me and said, "I don't think that's the same book." Concerned, I asked why. She replied, "Because the character has a different name. They call him 'Rick', but he used to be 'Dick'."

Oh.

You see, this is a newer released edition of the story. The one she read was released in the forties, prior to our oh-so politically correct society. I explained that "dick" is a slang term for a man's penis, and that both "Dick" and "Rick" are short for Richard, so the publisher probably changed it to keep the poor child from being teased.

Good grief.

I had a good friend who used to go by the name of "Gay" (because, oddly, that was her name -- and Gay, I'm not talking about you... you STILL go by your name -- good for you!), but ended up adding in her middle name as well, making it "Gaylynn" because she was tired of people tittering when they spoke to her.

I read Pink Ladies Blog yesterday and saw this post regarding names. Not that it has anything to do with my post, but it was really quite cute. :-)

My SIL was concerned when naming her child -- she didn't want the names to rhyme, so she'd think of every possible nickname to the names she chose, and finally found a name she liked AND that wouldn't rhyme with her surname.

I worried that the initials would spell something obscene or joke-worthy. I didn't want my DD to have vowels beginning any of her names, so even after she was married and had a new initial, she wouldn't spell things like GAS or ASS or FAT or PIG or whatever.

Kids are cruel. Adults are worse.

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I worked a little more on my 1953 story. I finally have a germ of an idea for a decent conflict (not just sending my hero to the front -- which would have been tough, since I've deliberately set the story to happen as the war comes to an end). I actually HAVE a hero, with a name and everything (and it's not something that will make you titter). I still only ended up with about 300 new words, but it's a start.

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Apparently the baby Hairy Woodpeckers in our neck of the woods have fledged. Other birds babies may have left the nest as well, but the Hairy WP's are unique (to me) in that they bring their babies to the suet hangers and teach them how to use them.

It's adorable. The fluffier-than-the-adult birds sit in the tree and peep and the grown-up pecks at the suet and then feeds them until they catch on. I watched one baby try and miss hitting the suet basket a half dozen times. Twice he tried to land on the shepherds hooks I hang them from and slid to the ground, once he tried to cling to the adult bird already on the basket.

I'm easily amused -- I think I must have watched the goings-on for half an hour. I wish the other birds would bring their babies, though last year my cardinal pair brought their son. I saw him again once this spring and then he must of taken off in search of a wife.

I'm certainly no pro like Birdchick, but I really enjoy my birds. If we do relocate, I will worry about them. A lot. I know, I know, they survived without me before... but still...

What about you? Have any hobbies? What do you spend you "spare" time doing?

Have a happy Saturday!

Reading and Writing Out Of Order

Confession of errors is like a broom which sweeps away the dirt and leaves the surface brighter and clearer. I feel stronger for confession. - Mohandas Gandhi

I discovered via yesterday's Booking It that, almost without exception (thanks, Marty, for keeping me from feeling like a total freak!), I am one of the only confessed "peekers" in the entire blogosphere. Many non-peekers pointed out they wanted to read in the same order the author wrote.

I have another confession to make. I don't write in order. I usually write the ending first, or very close to the beginning. I wonder if the two things are related?

When I first start working on a longer piece I'll use writing prompts to get to know my characters. Nothing like tossing them into unusual and predetermined (but not determined by ME) circumstances to see how they behave. Frequently, I'll use those prompt responses as a scene at some point in the story. Also frequently those responses will give me ideas on other scenes and I'll write those, too, having no clear idea of where or whether they will fit in the story.

Bet you've figured out that I'm not a plotter, haven't you? I usually know the beginning and the end of a long story, just not exactly how to get from point A to point B. That's where the fun comes in.

To be honest, IMHO this makes the writing easier. By the time I really hunker down and get to it, I have half the novel already written -- just not in any recognizable order. It's a little like a jigsaw puzzle (something else I love to do!) and keeps the excitement and freshness in the writing. I seldom get bored. I often get frustrated or annoyed, but not bored.

And so this peeker and pantser is done confessing for now. I have a miscellaneous scene to write, based on an idea Groovy gave me a couple days ago. I don't know if it'll be part of a book, the middle of short story or something that will never see the light of day, but I'm in desperate need of writing something new after all the editing I've done lately.

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I mentioned, above, that I love to assemble jigsaw puzzles. I also like crosswords and cryptoquotes, but I HATE Sudoku. That's something that feels really strange to me because, really, the idea behind all of them is similar. So I keep messing around with the daily Sudoku puzzles in my daily paper ... but I really, really hate them.

What about you? Do you like puzzles that challenge your brain? Some of them? All of them? And, if you do like Sudoku, can you please tell me what I'm missing? LOL...

Have a great day!

Monday Meanderings

Gardening requires lots of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. ~ Lou Erickson

Yesterday was a gorgeous day. I spent a goodly portion of it outside battling the encroachment of the woods on my perimeter gardens, all the while singing to myself, "I fought the woods, and the woods won." I'm telling you, I have never seen a place where things grow like this. I grew up in California. Things grow well in California, but NOTHING like here. I can only guess that it has to do with the level of humidity.

In the early 1900's nearly all of New Hampshire was farmland -- clear cut and treeless. Now? Now you can't see fifteen feet in front of you for the jungle that exists everywhere.

Still, the good news is that stuff grows here. My peony's bloomed yesterday!


You knew I had to post pictures of my flowers, right?

We also feed the teeming wildlife out back. It makes for quite a rodent soap opera every evening when I put out the squirrel food. Our chipmunks all have names, of a sort. I managed to get pictures of two of them. Here's Rocky (aka "rock wall chipmunk"):



And this is GT (aka "gas tank chipmunk" - yes it lives in an old gas tank):



I was unable to get a picture of Rodeo (aka "Rhododendron chipmunk") and SS (aka "swing set chipmunk"). They're a lot of fun to watch. GT is a toughie and chased everyone away, including the red squirrels. Rocky gets preferential treatment and is fed a handful of food at his hole, so he doesn't have to fight as hard at the feeder. DD loves them all.

In writing news, I managed to add more words to my novel. I have a satisfactory query and synopsis (four pages -- how can one possibly write a one page synopsis?) and once the story has been edited for stupidity -- taking out the "that"'s and changing the "it"s to actual nouns and checking for over use of passive voice and gerunds, it'll be ready to go! Woo!

I also received what I hope are final edits on my Sweetheart Rose, "Magic". Fingers crossed, that one should be available soon. I (heart) my Sweetheart Rose editor, Leanne. She's awesome.

Once I get this novel submitted, I need to work on more short stuff. I haven't written anything new in quite some time and I miss it. Then, it's time to either finish my mystery (which is at 35,000 words) or edit another completed novel (I'm leaning toward "Playing House", for those of you in the know).

BTW, in regards to yesterday's post -- we got lots of review requests, but no volunteers for guest reviewers. C'mon... remember if you become a team member, you'll get free eBooks to review. What more could you want???

OH! I just remembered one last thing. Thursday of last week, during "Booking It", someone recommended the Enid Blyton series about the Faraway Tree. I found a copy of the second book in the series, "The Magic Faraway Tree" at the library and got it for my daughter. She devoured it, licked her lips and asked for more. I can't remember when she loved a book as much. I decided to buy her the series, but they were written in the thirties and forties and are long out of print (I think the last print run was in the seventies). I found three of them at AbeBooks, but can't locate "Up the Faraway Tree". That's very sad. If I lived in the UK I could still get them all...

Anyway -- I just want to thank whoever it was that recommended these books. They are incredible!! And, hey, if anyone has a copy of "Up the Faraway Tree" laying around that they don't want, I'll happily take it off your hands.

What book from your childhood is one you most want/wanted to share with your children? Mine was the series "The Prydain Chronicles" by Lloyd Alexander.

Have a great day!

Booking It Again

“What makes a book great, a so-called classic, it its quality of always being modern, of its author, though he be long dead, continuing to speak to each new generation.” - Lawrence Clark

It's that time again!

Booking Through Thursday

Almost everyone can name at least one author that you would love just ONE more book from. Either because they’re dead, not being published any more, not writing more, not producing new work for whatever reason . . . or they’ve aged and aren’t writing to their old standards any more . . . For whatever reason, there just hasn’t been anything new (or worth reading) of theirs and isn’t likely to be.

If you could have just ONE more book from an author you love . . . a book that would be as good any of their best (while we’re dreaming) . . . something that would round out a series, or finish their last work, or just be something NEW . . . Who would the author be, and why? Jane Austen? Shakespeare? Laurie Colwin? Kurt Vonnegut?

This question made me think... who would I like to see write again? I'm not a big one for the classics, so new Jane Austen isn't something I dream about and I still wish John Steinbeck had never written a word (don't get me started about Hemmingway -- UGH). My first thought was Shakespeare -- I'd love to see his wit, wisdom and bite in this century. Others have tried to mimic his style of writing, but failed. He was one sharp dude.

The other thought I had was Lloyd Alexander. He died recently, and his books helped shape my youth. I loved (and still love) The Prydain Chronicles. Via my daughter, I've discovered his other books like "Time Cat" that are equally fascinating and well written. To think that there will no new books from him makes me very sad.

Ooh... as I was looking for a quote for this morning's blog, I found another author I admired - Mark Twain! Another insightful and funny guy. Yeah. More Twain please.

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BTW, congrats to Dru for remembering that Laverne drank milk and pepsi. There's a Pizza Hut in town that we go to now and then for their lunch buffet with two waitresses: Linda and Tina. Before we knew their names, we called them Laverne and Shirley, because I'm telling you -- they look and act JUST LIKE THEM. It's eerie.

I loved that show and Happy Days. Oh yeah. But Joanie Loves Chachi was where my heart belonged. Later, as a highschooler, I liked The Cosby Show and Family Ties. Growing Pains was up there, too. There were some great TV shows in the 70s and 80s. Not so much anymore... too bad.

What was your favorite sitcom when you were growing up (radio shows count for you old fogies...LOL)?

Wordy Wednesday

I finished writing the rough draft of the synopsis for my novella yesterday (It'll be called a "rosebud" if it's accepted at TWRP). I fired it off to Judy and she got right to it (thanks, J) and made some great suggestions, but the one that both mortified me and cracked me up was this: You might want to find some place to indicate when Emily admits to herself that she's in love with Jake.

Well, duh.

I know you're supposed to write a bare bones synopsis, but that may have been taking things a little too far. I'll remedy that today.

Yesterday, it was a little crazy trying to write or check in with my online friends because we had some pretty incredible thunderstorms comes through -- three of them, to be exact, and they were pretty bad. So, off went the computer and in my head I thought of all the stuff I haven't backed up yet. I really need to get in the habit of doing it on a regular basis.

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I loved Melissa's time capsule idea yesterday (how come more of you didn't play -- I know you were here!): I'd stick a Sunday newspaper complete with ads and TV guide, a Barbi or doll, a Pokemon card, a star wars action figure, a magazine probably EW and a fashion one, too, a book (probably one of mine!), fave movie and CD, some pictures and a day in the life of sort of letter.

I especially liked the idea of putting in the two magazines. Pop culture really is a measure of the time.

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In response to my comment about my Breyer horses, Gay mentioned this really cool news: The next Breyer mare is MY HORSE! No, really, I'm not kidding. They used the mare that I ride every day as the model. The United States Equestrian Team is doing a fundraiser series of stallion, mare and foal--and one of the local Olympians' stallions is the stallion. He didn't own a mare, but he knows my mare (who is a girly girl) from the show circuit, so he sent them to my farm. The artist fell in love with her, and used her as the model... and fell in love with a foal of mine, too.

It's in "final production"--they're doing the castings now. I guess it will come out in the next month or two. I can hardly wait.

How cool is that? I may have to start collecting again...

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My mom and I got into a discussion about food yesterday. It seems that Wendys restaurants now offer floats (with the advent of their vanilla frosty). My mom loves root beer floats. I am nauseated by the thought of mixing a milk product with any kind of soda (ala Laverne De Fazio -- anyone remember her favorite drink? Anyone remember HER?). I don't even like creamsicles. Ugh.

Mom fired back: what about what I put in my coffee? Essentially, it's chocolate milk (I use chocolate soy milk instead of cream). She won't even stir her coffee with a spoon that's sat next to a spoon used to stir flavored coffee. She drinks hers strong and black. She thinks I'm weird. I commented that I'd be willing to be that Starbucks most popular cappuccino is their mocha -- look, they even have a special word to describe chocolate and coffee.

What about you? How do you feel about floats and flavored coffee? Are we both weird or just her (LOL)?

Talkative Tuesday

The Future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is. ~ C.S. Lewis

The Wild Rose Press yahoo group has asked that different authors "guest moderate" for a week to stir things up a little. I decided that, perhaps by August I wouldn't be so crazy busy (Of course, we'll be starting school again that last week, but I'm trying to think positive). I signed up for the last week in August -- to celebrate my one year anniversary with The Wild Rose Press.

One year. Wow. I looked back on my blog at the announcement, and was horrified at one of the potential author photos I posted. It was horrible! Yikes.

Actually, TWRP only celebrated its own one year anniversary in March. It's amazing how busy they've gotten since then. They've accepted contracts from several Golden Heart winners. And, apparently they picked up at least one author who asked for and received her rights back on her Triskelion series, because I saw her on the loop yesterday. Some big talent is really starting to support the press. I'm excited.

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I've decided that my Yellow Rose novella is finished. I did some massive edits and am happy with how it's panned out. Yesterday I worked on the synopsis. Ugh. I read in Kristin Nelson's most recent newsletter that she doesn't read synopses -- just the query -- and I love her. I wish everyone was the same.

I'm still trying to get one of my novels ready for submission. Liv's is the closest, but her story is the one that I was derailed on the past week. I have to give it some thought before I go back.

I'd love to finish Tish's story -- hers was the first I finished as an adult and it has a special place in my heart. I like the entire story, I'm just trying to get the setup/opening right and then I think it'll be fine. But, man oh man, this one has a weird premise, so making the setup believable is tough. I've changed it and rewritten it about a hundred times.

I'm still blocked on my short stories. A couple have characters I adore, but I can't seem to move forward with them. Maybe if I do a couple writing prompts with the characters something will click. That's a good idea.

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I'm glad the flowers were a hit yesterday. I had the columbine one as the wallpaper on my computer. I *think* the rain might ease off today. Last night when I went out to retrieve the bird feeders (I bring them in every night because of our bear in the backyard -- my neighbor told me it got into her son's beehive a couple weeks ago. Yikes!) I wanted to cry at all the weeds. I'd made a vow to keep on top of them this year, but since I haven't been able to get out there much over the past couple weeks, they've gotten away from me again.

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Judy mentioned time capsules in her post today. I wonder how much things will change by the time our children are old... I said something to my DD that by the time she's my age, she'll probably be able to exchange her defective eyes for new ones. Can you imagine going down to the local eyeball store and choosing a new set?

In the article Judy references, the woman mentions putting in a grocery receipt. I figure that would probably fade in a year or two, but what about a grocery story flyer? Bet that would shock people fifty years from now! I already sound like a grandma when I say things like: I can remember when a gallon of gas cost $0.48, or a postage stamp was $.07, or a Breyer horse was $15 (they were my passion and what I spent all my allowance on -- I still have most of them). Of course, I also remember eight track tapes and only having four channels on the TV and using rabbit ears as antennas.

Things change so quickly.

I'd include the newspaper in my capsule. Maybe a current CD and/or DVD. A bestselling book. The JC Penney catalog. A letter from me just gabbing about stuff -- something I do well :-)

What would you put in your time capsule?

Have a great day!

Miscellaneous Monday Meanderings

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” - Ashley Smith

Yesterday I wasted too much time playing The Blogroll Game. I imagine I'll waste even more today :-)

I got some feedback on my novel this past week that made me step back and think, "Does any of this really make sense?" It has, once again, fed my self-doubt and made me think that the story isn't in the least bit publishable (is that even a word?). I've decided to step away from both the book and the feedback for a day or two and return with a fresher outlook. At least that's the plan. We'll see if it works.

In the meantime, I'm back to editing my novella. It occurred to me that there were a few very integral things missing from it and I need to find a place to add them in. I already have the scene ideas in my brain, I just don't know where to put them. Ahh... the glamorous life.

Why is it that your nose never itches until your hands are deep in bread dough? That your best thoughts occur to you at 2 a.m.? That you go to the store for milk, come home with three bags of groceries and forget the milk?

I looked around for a Monday meme today and couldn't find one that interested me. One, though, suggested listing ten positive things to start your week off on a happy note. I rejected it because honestly the mood I've been in, I don't know if I could think of ten. But I might be able to manage five. Here we go:

1. I have the happiest child in all the world. She's really never, ever sad. It's incredible.

2. I have the sweetest, gentlest, most beautiful dog in all the world.

3. I have a good,solid roof over my head. This one occurred to me as I listen to the pounding rain outside. I am truly thankful for my roof!

4. I have some truly wonderful internet friends (J, C, D, A, A, and so many more!). Some days I think I'd go loony without you!

5. I am able to pursue my writing and even get it published (wonder of wonders)!

Okay... there are five (I have to admit that, even as I wrote them, I added a "but" negative in my brain after every single one... but I should get credit for not posting that part, right?).

What about you? What are five (or more!) positive things in your life? What are you grateful for? What makes you smile and lifts your heart?

Have a wonderful day!

Editing and Dedications

"Writing has made me rich--not in money but in a couple hundred characters out there, whose pursuits and anguish and triumphs I've shared. I am unspeakably grateful at the life I have come to lead." - Wright Morris

So ... My husband keeps poking at me, "When are you going to get a BOOK published??" and "Your stories are nice, but what about a BOOK?".

He showed my a real estate listing for lake property and said, "When you get your BOOK published, we'll buy this." I laughed hysterically, but it was a nice thought.

He looked at a map and said, "When you travel the country on a BOOK tour, can I go with you?" And then he pointed out the places he'd like to visit.

Yesterday, I worked on editing my novel -- the third one I've completed as an adult (I wrote three as a minor). And edited and edited. I got through about 10,000 words and have only about 16,000 left to look at. This is the second round of edits for me.

I need to do at least one more for three reasons:

1. Because I there is still more stuff I know I've missed that needs fixing.

2. I need to break it into chapters (this little problem is why my promised "closings" post on Friday may be a challenge. When I write a first draft, I don't do chapter breaks.)

3. I'm approximately 6,000 words short.

It's that last that has me worried the most. I lost quite a few words via this most recent edit and will need to find them somewhere. A new scene? Possibly. And the ending, which I hope to tackle today at some point, needs a lot of work according to the one person who's read the entire thing. Maybe I'll gain some words there.

DH thinks I should dedicate the first book to him. He said I could make it such a long, in depth and wonderful dedication it could take 6,000 words.

Maybe I will -- though not 6,000 words worth (even though he scored the dedication in "Miles From You".

We'll see.

If it was you, who would you dedicate your first book to (if you're already published, who did you dedicate your first book to) and why?

Enjoy your day :-)

All About the Brand?

“The quickest way to know a woman is to go shopping with her.” - Marcelene Cox

Hey folks -- for those of us left here at home during this lovely weekend, I have a contest to share: Judy is giving away your choice of a book from Amazon.com (up to a $20 value), just for helping her with a problem in her latest WIP. Go here for the scoop. Contest ends Monday night, so hurry on over!

Since I imagine so many folks are away, I thought I'd play a little.

The Saturday Special

~Your Brand is Showing!~

1. Food: Do you buy brand names or go for the cheaper store name brand?:

This one really depends. I *mostly* buy organic or all natural, whole grain, no additives stuff, so it's next to impossible to buy generic and include that. However, the stores are starting to come out with store brand generics (Yahoo!!!!), so I'll buy those if they're less expensive. I definitely shop with price as a consideration and will buy whatever is less expensive that fits inside the health guidelines I set up for my family.

2. Clothes: Wear designer jeans/slacks with a brand name or regular department store jeans/slacks?:

Once again, that depends. DH only wears Wrangler jeans. So, yeah, name brand for him. Me? I don't care what the label reads. All I care about is that they're a classic jean and long enough. I HATE HIP-HUGGING (STUPID) FLARES. I lived through the 70s once (does anyone remember Ditto pants?) and have no desire to do so again. I also have really long legs, so need a really long inseam which is hard to find. DD doesn't really wear jeans and has to have pants with an elastic waist because she is stricken with the same disease I have: no waistline (or is it "no hips"?). If the pants fit my/her butt and thighs, they're too tight in the waist and if they fit my/her waist, they're ridiculously baggy everywhere else.

3. Handbags: Buy a designer bag or look for a less expensive copy?:

I use a cheap WalMart fanny pack. I hate regular purses. Period.

4. Shoes: You got the drift, designer or a cheaper copy?:

I used to worry about wearing good shoes because I was on my feet all day. For awhile, I was a cocktail waitress at a place called The Peppermill (anyone out west recognize that place?) and we were required to wear two inch black heeled pumps (I won't even talk about the "uniforms" - the place started in Las Vegas if that gives you any idea). UGH. So, yeah, I spent a lot on those shoes. Now? Who cares? I don't have the slightest shoe fetish. I don't get that whole Manolo thing -- I looked at their website once and UGH. I wouldn't pay ten cents for most of those shoes.

Did I just loose my standing in the "woman" community?

So, what about you guys? Does brand matter to you? I'd love to see your answers to those same questions...

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Yesterday was, as Ceri said, about 2000 degrees here. We went straight from winter to spring via an entire week of rain. Despite the heat and humidity (and I'm not going to talk about what it's done to my coarse, thick, naturally curly hair except to say that my DD asked me why my hair was a big fuzzball), it's been doing wonders for my gardens. I have my tomato plants all ready to put in, but it's been TOO HOT. Ironic, isn't it? I'd put them in at night and let them get settled in the cool night air but there are battalions of mosquitoes doing kamikaze runs as soon as the sun even hints that it's going down.

I'm going to see Pirates today. Despite the bad reviews its received, I'm still really excited!

Have a great day :-)

The Friday Fifteen - Openings

"Successful writers are not the ones who write the best sentences. They are the ones who keep writing. They are the ones who discover what is most important and strangest and most pleasurable in themselves, and keep believing in the value of their work, despite the difficulties." - Bonnie Friedman

THE FRIDAY FIFTEEN

Fifteen Opening Lines From My Writing
(Both Chapter and Story openings):

1. Her obsession started innocently enough.

2. Jed had heard it said it wasn't the fall that got you, but the sudden stop at the end.

3. Trisha wore red to the funeral.

4. With a last look at the receipts on her massive oak desk at the Pamper Me Salon and Day Spa, Olivia Leslie Leigh tugged the faded Boston College sweatshirt over her head, careful not to dislodge the wig that covered her platinum blond hair. (NOTE TO SELF: That's a mouthful... might need some editing!)

5. Petunia swiveled the huge Easter bunny head that balanced precariously upon her slim shoulders until she could see through the slit in the mouth.

6. Julia Mae Ryan mumbled a protest as the morning sun pried its warm fingers under her leaden eyelids, closed only a few hours before.

7. No one deserved to be beaten to death.

8. It wasn't going to happen, not by tomorrow morning anyway.

9. Tish yanked off her hockey jersey, slipped the black dress over her head, and with a little help from Minerva managed to tug it into place.

10. Derek was seething when he got outside.

11. I leaned down and gave the half-grown, shivering dog at my feet a scratch behind the ears.

12. Corinne Weathers squinted at the tiny lines on the measuring cup.

13. Jemima folded her legs underneath her on the overstuffed love seat and leaned back, spooning double chocolate fudge ice cream into her mouth.

14. Nothing good ever happened at Christmas.

15. “Disgusting.” Cass Edwards wrinkled her nose against the stink. (Yes, I know, that's two lines...)

Next week: closing lines!

Mary listed some books off her "keeper" shelf the other day that sounded interesting to me, but they're old and I'm having a terrible time finding them. My library doesn't have them, so I headed for a nearby used book store (UBS) I'd never been to -- I've bought most of my stuff online over the last several years. They have a TON of books, especially the kind I read, and they're neatly organized. But they didn't have the ones I wanted. DD, OTOH, found the Mattimeo (she's a Redwall freak!) and was more than happy to part with $3 for it. I'd like to go back there when I have more time to browse and don't have a DD who is easily bored.

What about you? Where do you buy most of your books? Do you patronize your local UBS? Barnes and Noble/Borders? An indy?

Happy Friday!

Booking it Foreign

“That is the circus of American Idol . We go for the very, very best and the very, very worst. It's the boring people that we don't want to see on television.” - Nigel Lythgoe

It's that time again!

Booking Through Thursday

I had an idea for a BTT question when I was taking a peek at one of my bookcases yesterday and spotted my old copy of the Aeneid in Latin sitting there. Maybe this question has already been done—but if not… Do you have any foreign language books and if so can you (still) read them?

This one is easy: NO. I used to speak and read French pretty well, but never had the desire to expand into foreign language fiction. I read for pleasure -- and that would've been more like work. The shame is that Americans typically aren't taught to be fluent in another language as a matter of rote. That's too bad.

On a side note, this made me think of spelling. While teaching DD spelling I keep coming across all the exceptions to spelling rules. We now have this: "I before E, except after C and when it sounds like "AY" as in neighbor and weigh, and science and foreign." I can't help but wonder what other words I'll tack on to the end

So... I'm not giving up my coffee. Melissa, the problem with my chocolate soy milk isn't the "milk" part, but the evaporated cane juice used to sweeten it. Though it isn't technically "refined" sugar, it's still sugarish, and given the book author's feelings on fruit juice I can only imagine how he'd feel about this.

I decided coffee with chocolate soy milk was the deal breaker for me. I did go shopping yesterday and spent $67 on fresh produce (oh... minus $9.98 for two packs of organic, nitrite free hot dogs for the DD). SIXTY-SEVEN DOLLARS. I didn't buy that much: two heads of romaine, one of iceberg, 5 lb carrots, a pack of baby bellas, five bananas, 3 lb apples, 4 green peppers, 2 english cucumbers, some grapes, 2 lb strawberries, 3 tomatoes, 2 pints grape tomatoes. That's it. Yeah, a lot, but ... not really.

"They" want us to each better and bemoan the obesity epidemic in America (I'm more likely to bemoan the cancer epidemic, but that's a topic I won't get into here), but then price healthy food so high that many people can't afford to eat properly and fall back on ramen noodles.

Anyway...

I did get some more revising done on my short story, "Pregnancy Cravings". I have them nearly finished (the first round, anyhow) and will send it back to the editor this week. I wonder what will happen first: my story will be sent to production OR it will actually show up on my author page as "coming soon".

If you don't know what happened on "American Idol", don't read any further.

So, for my QOTD:

If you're an American Idol fan, what did you think of this years show?

I'm happy Jordin won. I wanted her to win from about the middle of the top twelve. I LOVED Melinda... she was my absolute favorite because she could sing absolutely anything, never hit a wrong note and always surprised me. She wasn't *so* great during Bee Gees week, but no one was.

When she was voted out last week, I have to admit to being furious. A finale with Jordin and Melinda would have been amazing. I would have taped that to watch over and over and over. I always believed that Jordin would make a better "American Idol" -- she's young and cute and bubbly. But I always believed Melinda was the better singer.

Blake? He was my third fave. When they hit the top three, it was exactly as I had hoped. But he wasn't consistent. When he was good, he was GREAT. But when he was bad, he was utterly horrid.

I still haven't watched Tuesday's show. Nor have I seen last nights. I got my info on the winner from the online news page. I'm not sure I WILL watch the finale. I'll watch Wednesday's show because of all the guests, but ... I'm still mad about Melinda.

You? Or are you not an AI fan?

Have a lovely day!

Discouraged...

We do survive every moment, after all, except the last one. - John Updike

The weather forecast promises sun today. I'll believe it when I see it! LOL... I found it interesting that most of you are okay with a bit of clouds. That, in fact, some of you prefer it that way. Me? 100% sunshine all the time is okay with me.

Moving on...

I spent a great deal of time contemplating my writing yesterday. I had an unbelievably bad headache pretty much all day, so couldn't do much reading or looking at the computer or watching TV, so I contemplated.

Sometimes this isn't a good thing.

I blame much of my mood on the recent weather. Rain and gloom really, really bring me down and a full week of it -- sheesh. It got ugly. During my contemplations yesterday, I decided that all of my novels (and my novella) were complete crap and why did I even bother trying?

Anyone else feel that way? (About your own stuff, I mean. If you feel that way about mine, keep it to yourself...)

:-)

I still worked on editing one of them, but the whole time I was thinking stuff like, "Who's going to believe this could happen?" or "I should change that really awful thing, but then the whole story has to be trashed." or "The feedback I got on this confirms that I'm a no-talent, idiotic person who has no business thinking she'll even be published at novel length."

Please keep in mind: I'm not looking for sympathy or reassurance, because I'm a moody person and I recognize a mood when I see it. It'll pass (especially if there really is sunshine for awhile), but the flavor will linger for a bit. And it will most certainly revisit.

So, on to my Question of the Day:

Many of you are writers. I imagine many more of you are creative in other ways -- drawing, knitting, etc.

When you have an enormous avalanche of self-doubt smack you in the face, what do you do?

All answers greatly appreciated.

And, to leave you with a laugh, I give you this video from YouTube - from "Who's Line is it Anyway?":

Rain, Rain, GO AWAY

There is little chance that meteorologists can solve the mysteries of weather until they gain an understanding of the mutual attraction of rain and weekends. ~ Arnot Sheppard

So... Anno wins, hands down, in the dentist stories from yesterday. I'm still shivering at her response.

It's still raining here. It's been raining here for nearly seven days. I spent yesterday building an ark and putting lotion on the new webbing between my toes.

DH and I are still looking at places out west in the hope we can relocate. His current employer has a place in Beaverton, OR so I checked it out. Take a look at this graph I found at City-Data.com regarding how many sunny vs. cloudy days there are in Beaverton:



You see that thin line of yellow at the top? Those are the sunny days during the year. I quickly advised DH that, despite my nearly desperate desire to relocate, Beaverton was out of the question.

I need sunshine almost more than my plants do and these lengthy spells of gray drizzle are enough to make me curl up in a ball and cry constantly. I hate them. I can't imagine living somewhere that offers this type of weather as a norm. It makes me cold to the bone.

Additionally, I far prefer the nearly uncomfortable heat we had oh-so briefly, the 90 degree weather that finally cleared the winter chill from my bones (though it's b-a-c-k) to cool weather.

Which leads me to my QOTD:

How do you feel about the weather? Do you prefer bright sunshine or is a little bit of gray okay with you? Do you prefer heat or cold (and, no, you can't say "I like it 70 degrees" because we'd all prefer perfection...)? Does the weather affect your mood and behavior?

===================

On the writing front, I finally got a bit more done after having hellaciously bad days on Thursday and Friday (big goose eggs). DH and DD went away for a few hours and I hunkered down and got more than 1,000 words written on my mystery and a couple hundred on a short story I'm working on.

Wonder if today will be as productive?