Heatwave

Extremes, though contrary, have the like effects. Extreme heat kills, and so extreme cold... - George Chapman

Okay, I realize for those of you down south, it may not sound like much ... but we're in the middle of a massive heatwave up here in the northeast -- temps in the high 90s to 100+ and incredibly humid. What makes this worse is that we don't typically get temps like these, not for more than a day or two, so just aren't prepared for it.

I have no A/C in my house. Not even a window one. So, I sit and sweat and suffer.

This morning, our sediment filter for the house was full. DH changed it out this morning, and it's already getting full again. What this could indicate is that our well is drying out and we're hitting bottom. We aren't expecting any rain for almost a week so it's conceivable that we may run out of water. He seems unconcerned. I'm exactly the opposite, and am VERY concerned about the possibility. I'm praying for rain, and a lot of it.

I can't walk the dog, even first thing in the morning. I tried today, but it's already almost 80 out, and feels like I'm swimming through the air. I don't know if I can take four more days of this. Today is supposed to be the worst day and then it's "cooling off" into the low 90s for the rest of the week (but the humidity is increasing -- I didn't think that was possible).

I want a summer home in Alaska.

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In Pillar Place: Swallowtail -- just to prove me wrong, we had two butterflies emerge yesterday: Epsilon and Zeta (both males). This morning, five more were fluttering around: Nu, Mu, Eta, Beta, and Theta (three males and two females). This leaves three more (I think ... the butterflies are still drying their wings so I don't want to open up the box and check).

In Pillar Place: Monarch -- Xi has about doubled in size. It's incredible how quickly they grow. We found Omincron, inside a small curl in the leaf, little bugger. We'd like to go on another egg hunt, but it's just too hot to be tromping around outside in the sun, so it may have to wait until next week.

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Got more writing done yesterday. It's a bit frustrating, though. I can SEE the scene in my head. See the characters as they move and speak, but I'm struggling to convert that into words that bring it to life. Still, I like the story and the characters, so I think it'll work itself out.

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You Are Sideburns

You are quirky and a bit of a goofball. You don't take yourself too seriously, but you do pride yourself in being unique. You take something ordinary and put your own twist on it. You have a naturally funky sense of style. You are the last person you know to get stuck in a rut. In fact, you're well known for not really having strong habits or patterns. You shake things up before they get boring. You're constantly changing and evolving... no one can keep up!

What Kind of Facial Hair Are You?

HAHAHAHAHAHA... no.

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Let it Snow...

Winter is the season in which people try to keep the house as warm as it was in the summer, when they complained about the heat. ~Author Unknown

Dru scared me on Facebook yesterday, talking about a snowstorm coming in. And then Michele chimed in with words about double digit snowfall. In a panic, I checked the weather (I haven't looked in a long time... I'm in denial) and was relieved to see that the worst of the storm is expected to stay south of us. They're calling for about 3" of snow.

Thank heavens.

Though, to be honest, a little snow would be welcome. The "snow" we have on the ground is actually pretty much solid ice, and DD can't sled nor can Dd go potty easily (she tries to squat and slips around, poor puppy. She needs doggie cleats).

Worse, we aren't burning in our stove to heat the house right now. DH has been keeping an eye on our chimney, and it's already starting to build creosote to the point it worries him, PLUS it looks like there is a problem with the chimney cap. Since we're both a little worried about chimney fires, he called the guy who did our chimney last spring. He agreed to come check things out, but not until the 30th -- so we're heating with oil for now, which is a bummer, cuz we can't keep it as warm.

*sigh*

Ah well -- at least I HAVE heat. Things could be worse.

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You Are a Vintage Christmas Card

You find Christmas to be the most peaceful time of the year. The holidays relax you. Some people may get stressed out or frazzled, but not you. It's like you're celebrating a completely different holiday. You take pleasure in the small things the holiday season has to offer. Candy canes. Happy children. Your favorite Christmas music. Christmas may be more complicated than it used to be, but you refuse to get mixed up in the drama. You're bringing simple holidays back.

What Kind of Christmas Card Are You?

Hmmm.. not really, lol!

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LASR News and Friday Ramblings

If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies. ~Author Unknown

Okay... I got lots of questions and comments on the LASR relaunch coming up on Monday (::fingers crossed::) -- So I thought I'd share the big news.

The reason for the relaunch is two-fold.

First, we wanted to host the reviews onsite. We really always have, but didn't have the hosting space available. Last month, our webhost increased the available space given automatically...and may actually have unlimited space. So -- now we can host all reviews onsite!! Yay!

However, this required that we have content, so we're going back and building April, May and June reviews onto the website -- that's approximately 150 pages (thankfully, I have some help, or it would never get done in time!!).

Second, we have had a HUGE outcrying from erotic romance authors to give them their own space. Neither Judy nor I have much of an interest in erotic romance, but we certainly understand an author's need for promotion. Thankfully, we have two HUGE helpers on the site who do read erotic romance -- and they threw their support behind this. So, we started slowly, originally by offering reviews on another blog, entitled Whipped Cream, and run by Michele and Chris (for the most part -- I was tech support). Next, we began a Yahoo group expressly for erotic romance authors. Most recently, we decided to begin hosting the reviews onsite, but in order to do so we needed to decide on a way to separate the non-erotic content from the erotic content. Though we realize most reviews sites put them all together, we have chosen not to, in an effort to keep The Long and the Short of It a reviews site for non-erotic romance.

So...

In a nutshell (are you sorry you asked?): beginning on Monday, we will have a new front door with links to what are essentially two different sites: LASR and WC. Each site will offer like content -- author interviews, contests, free short stories, reviews, and more. LASR will remain the place to go for non-erotic content, and WC will be exclusively erotic romance.

What this meant for me, though, was this... I had to recreate two entirely new websites. New folders. New links. New pages. New buttons. New headers. New everything. Your old bookmarked links will no longer work -- you'll have to start at the front door (which remains http://www.longandshortreviews.com/) and find the new pages.

Please feel free to take a look around. And, if you happen to find broken links (I'm certain there will be some... there was a lot of input in a short amount of time), please let me know.

Now... back to our regularly scheduled program.

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So, Dakota was really hacking yesterday, especially when she got excited (which was, well, constantly -- **sigh** Irish Setters **sigh**) -- so I took her to the vet in the afternoon.

Her tonsils and lymph nodes are swollen, which indicates some sort of infection. Is it bacterial or viral? Who knows... I do know, though, that when she coughs it sounds like a lung is coming up. So, she's on antibiotics -- dang horse pills! Sheesh. I cut them in half, but still... She's getting them ground up in soft food because I don't feel like trying to shove them down her little throat.

The other dog on the street who goes to daycare, Star, is also sick -- he had nasal discharge in a lovely shade of green. My suspicion is that they picked something up in doggy day care. Not an auspicious beginning to our day care experience.

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It's supposed to be in the mid-90s this weekend. My DH is thrilled and can't WAIT to get out on the boat. Same with DD. I will be home in a house without A/C with a sick dog working on the website. Whee.... lol.... seriously, though, I don't like boating.

And my garden is going to LOVE the heat.

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Your 1920's Name is:

Wilhelmina Queenie

What's Your 1920's Name?