I Have a Confession to Make

Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody. ~Mark Twain, Pudd'nhead Wilson, 1894

I fold my underwear. I never thought this was weird until I got married. My DH doesn't understand why I fold our underwear, or even why I match our socks. When he was single, he had two laundry baskets: clean and dirty. He never folded ANYTHING. When the "clean" basket was empty, it was time to do laundry.

I have another confession to make. I HATE ironing to the point I've been known to got to extremes to avoid it: throwing the item in the dryer with a wet wash cloth or even completely washing it again. But, I also HATE wearing anything that is wrinkled. Yes, it's a conundrum. DH has no problem with wrinkles (nor does anyone else in his family -- which I find odd because they are all tidy to a fault and absolutely freaky about taking care of their stuff to point that it's a little scary). I've seen him walk out of the house in a shirt that he'd had stuffed into his "lake bag" -- wadded into a ball and shoved into the corner, surrounded by damp towels, and looking like it was... well, wadded into a ball and shoved into a corner. I wouldn't leave the house in clothes like that if my life depended on it.

I also alphabetize my CDs. And my books are organized by genre and then by author and series order.

Once, my DD "helped" me clean by reorganizing the spice cabinet. I nearly had a breakdown.

My DH thinks I'm not a tidy person because I tend to keep "piles". I have piles on my desk, a pile by the phone, etc. But what he doesn't understand is that I know exactly what is in each pile, and they all have a reason for being where they are.

Judy calls me an A+ type personality.

I know this: I wouldn't want to live with me... though oddly, I've only had a few room mates, and they all stuck around for years at a time and we were friends even when we stopped living together, so I guess I can't be THAT hard to be around.

Just don't mess with my spices.

What about you? Quirky? How?

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In Pillar Place: Swallowtail -- Dru asked in comments yesterday what we do with the deceased butterflies after we freeze them. We actually have a butterfly graveyard outside in DDs garden. She buries them (usually in cardboard so it will biodegrade eventually) and they get a stone over them in commemoration. One year, she did crosses on popsicle sticks, but they didn't last long.

In Pillar Place: Monarch -- we only found ONE egg at the library yesterday and no butterbabies. Some good news... my friend, Michele, IM'd me yesterday to say she has a monarch egg on her milkweed! Remember, too, that in a month or so, I'll have more milkweed seeds than I know what to do with, so if you have space to grow it, I'd be happy to send you some. Just email me!

Otherwise, no new hatching and nothing much to report. The ones who are hatched have more than doubled in size (though considering how tiny they were to start, they aren't all that big).

Butterfly tidbit: Female monarch butterflies have several hundred eggs to lay during their short life in the spring time (and I want to know why they aren't laying them at MY house... just saying). - courtesy of http://www.monarch-butterfly.com/

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Stuck with ME

No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking. ~Voltaire

No guest blogger today... y'all are stuck with me.

I spent the day, yesterday, doing brainless but necessary work for LASR and contemplating a short story I had begun quite some time ago. In it, I have a heroine who has a mysterious something that demands her attention after work everyday and ... when I started writing it, I had no idea what that was. Yesterday, I sat and wondered what had happened to Millie and Paul from "Miles From You" -- they've been on my brain because Womans World still has my "Perilous Love" story and the last time they had once this long, it had gotten all the way to Johnene Granger before being rejected (with handwritten comments, which I treasured, lol). That story eventually became "Miles From You".

The brain is a funny thing, isn't it?

In any case, and for whatever reason my very odd brain smooshed both thought together and now I know what my heroine from the short story does every afternoon -- it involves her parents, Millie and Paul! LOL...

Now, to find the time to finish writing it. I really like the hero in the story -- he's sweet, but geeky and unsure. I can't recall writing a sweet, geeky and unsure hero before.

So... one more to add to JaNoWriMo?

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Hey, folks... yesterday Ceri asked a question in the LASR Yahoo group that didn't get an answer, and I thought I'd ask it here, because I'd like to know, too!

She asked:

On their guidelines page they list what to send (cover letter, synopsis, first three chapters) but further down the page it says that we can send an email query to the proper editor.

Which is the best way to submit? I didn't seen any addresses to physically mail anything, so I'm wondering if the email is the preferred method.

Does anyone know?

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We did "quirky things" yesterday in the LASR group and it got me to watching stuff around me. Dakota is VERY quirky... lol. Her biggest quirk is this: She always takes the first mouthful of food away from the dish to eat it. She'll go over, fill her mouth up and run to the stairs, spit it out and eat it one piece at a time. Then, and only then, will she go back and eat the entire thing.

And my cat's feet are ticklish, so I love to go and stick a finger in the middle of her pads and wiggle... her entire foot flexes. She'll let me do that once or twice before smacking me in annoyance, lol. I'm the only one who can do it even that many times, though.

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Isn't it amazing how warm 40 degrees feels in the winter? I have my screen door open!! LOL...

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You Should Be a Puppeteer

You are an entertainer - pure and simple. You know how to engage an audience. You are a natural storyteller. You are naturally dramatic, even when life doesn't call for drama. Luckily though, you save most of your drama for your stellar performances.

What Circus Act Should You Perform?

And, DD got her "drama queen"-ness from me! *G*

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Tagged and Submitted

"Take chances. You will succeed if you are fearless of failure."
- Natalie Goldberg

First: I sent in my query and synopsis for "Return to Stiller Creek" to my editor at Samhain. We'll see what she has to say (((fingers crossed))).

Second: Jennifer Shirk tagged me on this meme (don't worry, I'll get her back someday when she least expects it). I'm pretty sure I've done it, but it's been a while, and I most likely have more than six quirky things to write about. I know. Shocking... but true!

Here are the rules:

Link to the person who tagged you.
Post the rules on your blog.
List 6 unspectacular quirks you have.
Tag 6 bloggers by linking them.
Leave a comment on each person’s blog to let them know they’ve been tagged.

Here are my quirks:

1. I hate being breathed on. I bring this up first, because I'm wearing a V-necked shirt and the way I've been sitting at the computer (and breathing through my nose), I've been BREATHING ON MYSELF. ACK! I can't stand being breathed on... ever, by anyone. I finally buttoned up my sweater all the way to my throat. And, yes, changing was just too much work. I will probably never wear this shirt without a turtleneck again, however.

2. I don't like fruit in my chocolate (or chocolate with my fruit). Chocolate-covered cherries? Yuck. Strawberries dipped in chocolate? Never. I love fruit, and I love chocolate... just not together. Ever.

3. I'm a nut about order. I alphabetize my CDs, my books and pretty much anything else I can put in alpha order. My DD cleaned and rearranged my spice cabinet and I can't STAND it. Eventually, it will have to go back to the way it was. She also did the silverware drawer, and now all the big, loose stuff that doesn't fit in the organizer is on the RIGHT hand side, and it's always, ALWAYS (!!!) been on the left. Dear heavens, I may lose my mind right this minute. You should see what I do when DH puts the salad dressing on the shelf in the refrigerator. Does he not remember that HE GOT IT FROM THE DOOR????

4. I am a compulsive weeder. Even today, as I sat on my neighbor's front steps while our dogs played, I had to pull up the small tufts of grass that had the audacity to grow between the bricks of her walkway. It's a disease. I can't help myself.

5. I won't answer the phone if I don't know who it is. Period. So, if you call me and you have a private phone number, you'd better leave a message if you want me to pick up. Just saying.

6. I'm very nearly always cold. I think I've been well and truly warm six days this year. I've never slept on top of the covers ... not even once, though I will be honest and say that may be partly because I don't like being breathed on and the covers keep that from happening. But also, because I'm cold. Always.

Who to tag? Who's bored? If you're bored, and you need something to blog, choose this! And then tell me, so I can come see....

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I believe I have Linden Loopers on my Bailey's red dogwood...



I probably should kill them... but I just can't. And, hey, the leaves are going to die soon anyway, right?

We had a mass monarch migration today, too... bunches and bunches of them stopping at these yellow wildflowers that aren't goldenrod, but look an awful lot LIKE goldenrod (except the flowers aren't droopy). DD stood amongst them and held really still in the hopes one would alight upon her. Alas, none did. But I don't think I've ever seen her hold still that long!

It'll be sad when all the critters are dead, gone or sleeping...

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Puppy Peculiarity and Merry Christmas Eve

Once again we find ourselves enmeshed in the Holiday Season, that very special time of year when we join with our loved ones in sharing centuries-old traditions such as trying to find a parking space at the mall. We traditionally do this in my family by driving around the parking lot until we see a shopper emerge from the mall, then we follow her, in very much the same spirit as the Three Wise Men, who 2,000 years ago followed a star, week after week, until it led them to a parking space. ~Dave Barry

So, I shared my cat's weird behavior yesterday. It's only fair I share the puppy's.

She loves shoes.

No, not in the way you might think. She doesn't chew them or anything. She sleeps on them.

Yep.

She is, even as I'm writing this, curled up on a pile of shoes by the door. She's especially fond of snow boots. DH won't let us leave jackets on the floor for her anymore, says she'll have to get used to NOT having them to sleep on. So maybe she's simply transferred her affection. So, now, when we can't find her, we just look for shoes.

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I cleaned like a maniac yesterday. And baked, though not as much as I wanted to. I got two kinds of cookies done, and two kinds of fudge. I just flat ran out of steam. But, I've done enough. Today, I have to clean my bathroom. And wipe down the counter in DD's (she used cleanser to clean and there is this lovely white residue on everything).

Then Christmas. I'll be glad when it's over. It's been a rough year this year. I emailed my mom and told her how weird it would be for me this year to be the child who called her on Christmas. I can't remember the last time I wasn't around her at Christmas-time. Even when she didn't live with me, I went over to her house.

**sigh**

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One of my favorite renditions of "Mary Did You Know":



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You Are 54% Misanthropic

You're somewhat misanthropic, but you're not willing to write off the human race (yet!). There are a few people you like, and even them you like at a distance.

How Misanthropic Are You?

Monday Madness...

Housework is something you do that nobody notices until you don't do it. ~Author Unknown

My husband claims I am not organized. This is because he looks at my personal areas in the home and sees clutter (my desk, for instance). He doesn't realize that I know what and where every last bit of paper is, and when it bothers him to the point he tidies it up (usually by stacking everything in one big pile) he doesn't understand why I get angry... It's "neater" isn't it?

I am also very nuts about laundry. When I take off my clothes, they are ALWAYS right side in (unless they need washing inside out, as is the case in very few instances). My socks, my shirts... everything: right side in. My DH? Nope -- and if he's wearing layers, they all come off, together and inside out, and are put in the basket the same way.

DD's fave laundry quirk is taking off her pants, undies and socks all together so that the socks and undies hide inside the pants until it's too late...

If I lived alone, and if I were struck blind tomorrow (no, God, this was NOT a suggestion) I would be able to find anything in my house. I know where my dishes are, I know how I organize my junk drawer. I even fold my underwear (something that mystifies my husband who, before we were married didn't own a dresser, just two laundry baskets: clean and dirty).

The odd thing is this: My DH considers ME the untidy one. He believes my clutter is a "mess" and will stuff it places -- not where it belongs (in the closet, the drawer, the nightstand), just off the flat spaces so that things look neat.

Our house is frighteningly tidy. He and I compliment each other -- where I am neat, he is not. And vice versa. It may create frustration on both our parts, but it does make the house look good!

What about you? Organized? Tidy? A pack rat? Clutterbug?

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I have given up the ghost on my NaNo endeavor... that said, I really, really enjoy the story I'm writing, so it will be completed. Just not by the end of November. That frustrates me to no end, as I am all about setting and reaching goals. I probably could have done it if I had had the occasional day alone with no DD or DH around. That just never happened. And, DH was here more than he was gone -- he took many, many days off for hunting season, and then frequently decided to NOT hunt and hung around home.

I'm sad. It's the first time I haven't "won" at NaNo... *sniff*

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You Are 65% Real

You know who you are, and you're pretty darn comfortable with yourself. Like everyone, you struggle with the parts of yourself that aren't so great... But you're good at accepting who you are and not dwelling on your faults. As a result, you're confident, optimistic, and very real.

How Real Are You?