How Can It Be Wednesday?

Hey all! ::waves madly::

It's been a crazy few days, and I apologize for my absence. I took the day off working (mostly) on Sunday to watch football and I paid for it on Monday. Not only was I up until REALLY late (Overtime! And, I'm still sad about those Niners... *sigh*) and insanely tired Monday, but our woodstove had gone out and I had to start it from scratch Monday morning (and Tuesday). This stove burns like a champ when it's going, but getting it started is a major undertaking. I only just managed to get it done before I had to wake the kidlet up for school.

Then, I had to pay penance for taking Sunday off -- my inboxes were crazy full of work. We truly do live in a 24/7 society. Judy and I will occasionally get emails from folks like, "I sent you an email three hours ago -- why haven't you responded?". I'm sorry, but occasionally I do things like sleep. Crazy.

Yesterday, the stove was out again, and was even harder to start because it was warm (for us -- about 35 degrees!) outside -- it's harder to generate a draft when it's warm out. I barely got it done before I had to leave to take the kidlet to school.

Today, the stove was still burning (YAY!) and I decided to take the time to say hello.

Hello. :-D

Haven't done much, writing-wise, though I have been brainstorming a cover for "Now and Forever" with Judy, who will design it for me. I can't decide if I want it to look a little like "Kitchen Matches" since it IS the sequel (despite not being with the same publisher) or if I want to take an entirely different direction...

Otherwise, it's pretty much work, work, work. We had hoped that switching over the LASR website would give us a little more time, but that hasn't happened yet. Someday I might get at least some of my life back...

After some discussion with my mom, after losing her dog, we went to the shelter on Friday and selected an older kitty for her. Having a dog is a LOT of work, much like having a toddler around FOREVER, and she wasn't up for that again. But once you've had pets around, it's difficult to NOT have them. I think we have a pet shaped spot in our hearts that needs to be filled.

She wanted an older, female cat that wouldn't need excessive amounts of grooming and that was sweet, and loved to sit in your lap. She certainly got that! Her new kitty, now named Camille, won't leave her alone!

She choose Camille because she was older (ten years old) and black (shelters have a terrible time finding homes for black cats -- black dogs, too, but that's another story). Meet Camille:



She's the sweetest thing, loving, calm, funny. She's quite well-behaved and Mom really enjoys having her around.

And now I need to get back to work. I tried to visit some of you yesterday and will attempt to catch up today. I really, really need a 48 hour day.

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You Are A Nightgown

You are a bit old fashioned and elegant. You aren't very casual. You are well mannered and modest. You don't make a fool of yourself. You tend to be a bit reserved, and it's hard for strangers to get to know you. You are likely to not let anyone outside your bedroom see you in your pajamas.

What Kind of Pajamas Are You?

Yep, that's me, only I hate nightgowns...

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Two Words: Spell Check

Politeness is the art of choosing among one's real thoughts. ~Abel Stevens

Okay ... I have a pet peeve. Actually, I have many (I'm a little neurotic, what can I say?), but I'll only address one today.

If you are an author (or maybe even if you aren't), the face you show the public is important. Lately, I've been doing quite a bit of social network promoting for LASR/WC. Our Facebook account has nearly 2000 "friends" on it, so I see a LOT of updates, primarily from authors.

I can't tell you how many of them are littered with grammar errors.

Not typos (we all make those now and then). Not "chat" speak (though I really hate seeing: "how r u?"). Flat out grammar errors that make the writer sound utterly ignorant. Wrong word use (I've seen: concur instead of conquer, for instance, as well as the usual suspects: there instead of they're, too instead of to, etc). I read one a few days ago I wish I'd kept to use as an example. Not only was it so poorly constructed as to make nearly no sense at all, but the spelling and grammar errors made my eyes bleed. Things like "deel" instead of "deal", etc.

Look, I know it's fairly informal, but I'm inclined to think that if you sound that ignorant publicly on a regular basis, then your writing isn't going to be stellar either. An editor, no matter how good, can't take a rotten apple and make a diamond. There's not enough pressure in the world.

If you know you have issues with spelling, then run your status through spell check (actually, if you use Firefox, it does that automatically). I realize it won't catch homonyms, but it will catch "deel" instead of "deal". It's a start.

I really think the internet has great power -- but it can be used for evil or for good. It's mind-boggling how many folks rant and rave on their statuses, spew hateful diatribes full of profanity as punctuation and don't think that's a problem.

Is it just me?

Sound in, folks... what do you think?

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In other news, I gave myself a lovely second degree burn on my left index finger last night. Note to self: make sure that you're both completely awake (even if it is 2 a.m.) AND that you turn on a light before trying to add wood to the wood stove. A stove that's running at 600 degrees really isn't something you want to tangle with.

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Your Personality is Somewhat Common (ISFJ)

Your personality type is stubborn, conservative, trustworthy, and caring. About 13% of all people have your personality, including 18% of all women and 7% of all men You are Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Judging.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

That pretty much pegged me... LOL...

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**YAWN**

Insomnia is a gross feeder. It will nourish itself on any kind of thinking, including thinking about not thinking. ~Clifton Fadiman

Late today ... I swear, my sleep schedule is nuts. The past two days, I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and last night Dakota had tummy troubles, so I was up at 1:30, up at 2:30, up at 3:30 ... and then finally crashed and woke up at 5 a.m. feeling like I'd been hit by a truck.

I'm pooped. But napping during the day messes me up even more. With any luck, I'll get some uninterrupted sleep tonight!

So ... I have a love / hate relationship with my new wood stove. It's beautiful, it burns longer and more efficiently and it really heats the house! On the other hand, it's hard to light, and (for me anyway) it's either burning too cool (which causes creosote to build up in the chimney) or cranking so hot I'm terrified I'll burn down the house.

Running a wood stove isn't as simple as just throwing a log on the fire... physics is involved, and that wasn't my strong suit in school. I'm slowly learning, but I just hope I don't wreck the stove or burn down the house before I figure it all out.

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You Have Some Compassion

You truly want to be a compassionate person, but you often don't know where to start. When someone is upset or hurting, you want to do something. You feel at a loss when you can't help. Believe it or not, your empathy helps others quite a bit. Just being there is often enough. Try to listen more and act on your intuition. You have what it takes to be a very compassionate person - you just need to exercise it more.

How Compassionate Are You?

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The Stove

If all the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit... ~Chief Seattle of the Suquamish Tribe, letter to President Franklin Pierce

Empty:



Full:



Now we just have to figure out how it all works and get it slowly seasoned because I hate heating with oil -- it's COLD in my house. Even the dog thinks so ... she's sleeping in little balls:



Also, we had a Christmas miracle:



The cat went up there BY HERSELF. I know, I was shocked, too!

Anything noteworthy in your neck of the woods?

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You Have Grit

You can focus in on your goals and stay the course. It may be hard, but you get the task done. You believe that it is important to finish what you start, even when you end up hating what you've chosen for yourself. Keep up the good work. You understand that the good life is about accomplishments, not chasing every whimsical fancy you have. Make sure to leave room for a little novelty in your life. You focus so intently that you sometimes ignore new possibilities.

Do You Have Grit?

Yeah ... that's about right.

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Let It Snow!

Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect. ~Oren Arnold

We finally had a little snow yesterday -- flurries, really, and it didn't leave much on the ground, but my DD is thrilled. Having grown up in California, I don't really require snow for Christmas, but my DD is born and raised here in New Hampshire, and the two go hand-in-hand. It's supposed to snow again today, so she should be in hog heaven.

Because we were expecting snow, I had to spend yesterday pulling all the cut wood out of the woods behind us and get it stacked. I moved 1 1/2 oak trees yesterday that were cut into 16" logs... one log at a time. They were about 100 yards down a hill, so I'd get one log, carry it uphill 100 yards, stack it and head back. There are too many other trees, bushes, stumps and rocks to drive anything down there to help haul, but I suppose the exercise was good for me. I walked slowly and carefully to avoid messing up my knee (any more than it already is), and got the job done in about two hours.

I complain about the work, but I sure do love the warmth during the winter.

Yesterday, Dru Ann asked: How difficult is it to remove the old one (wood stove) and hook up the new one?

Except for the fact that they weigh a TON (okay ... the old one weighs about 250 pounds, the new one weighs in at 450 pounds), it's not so hard. We have a regular fireplace that's been converted to use a wood stove, so it's a matter of putting on the adapter piece on the back of the new stove so that the pipe goes in the right direction, and popping it in. It'll take two or three nice, strong guys to lift it, but the actual install is pretty simple.

Today my big plan is to bake cookies. I'm making cherry, white chocolate chip, oatmeal cookies and sugar cookies (thankfully, I won't be tempted at all to eat them as I don't like either kind, lol -- there is a method to my madness). I wasn't going to make sugar cookies, but my DH asked for them very nicely Sunday.

I had two tiny gifts to mail out yesterday -- they were in little bitty padded envelopes and didn't weigh 10 ounces. I went to the post office and it was packed!! There must have been fifty people in line (WHY do so many people wait until the last minute?) and there was no way I was going to stand there for an hour. I love my relatives, but it just wasn't THAT important that these gifts went out. However, I remembered last year and went to the UPS Store. Sure enough, only THREE people were in line and they had two people working, so it took me about five minutes to get it done (the UPS Store mails regular mail, too).

So, YAY me!

Is your shopping done yet?

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You Are Dumplings

You are cute, polite, and considerate. You are well known for your generosity, and you truly love to share. You have a real style and presence about you. You know how to take the simplest thing and make it look chic. You tend to order carefully and conservatively off the menu of life. Simplicity is your motto, and you don't like to take on too much at once. You are the type of person who does one thing at a time, really immersing yourself in the moment. You detest multitasking.

What Kind of Chinese Food Are You?

The First Rule of Blogthings Is: You Don't Talk About Blogthings

HAHAHAHAHA.... this is so far wrong I nearly fell out of my chair: You detest multitasking.

Multitasking is my LIFE.

*snort*

As an aside, I'm not a big fan of dumplings, either... just saying.

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Contests and Pretties and Woodstoves (oh my)

Go and wake up your luck. - Persian Saying

First off, a couple of contests for you:

Via Judy, I discovered that A Novel Woman is giving away copies of "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon. If you're a fan of hers or have always wanted to read "Outlander", then you should head on over and enter.

Mary shared with me a link to a big giveaway from Gotham Writers (including prizes like an iPad, a Kindle and a $50 BN.com GC).

LASR/WC are giving away a $50 Amazon or BN GC -and- a box of books during their Jingle Bell Blog Fest.

Why not enter and give yourself a Merry Christmas?

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I added a bunch of new pieces on DD's website... I sure wish I could figure out how to showcase the pieces better because they are really stellar.

Here are a few:

I'm not usually into dangles, but I really LOVE these:


These are so incredibly pretty -- I couldn't figure out how to take a perfect picture of them to show what they really looked like:


I almost kept this for myself... I still might.


I have several more pieces to put up, but it's time consuming, so I only manage a few at a time ...

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We're buying a new woodstove. Happy Christmas to us! We should be getting it some time after Christmas. I'm looking forward to having something just a little bit bigger than what we have now (fitting wood into our current stove can be challenging) and one with an external ash pan.

Here's what we're getting.



In anticipation, DH cut down three more trees yesterday and happily cut the logs 16" long instead of 12", lol...

I'm tired of moving wood. But I know I'll be pleased next winter when I'm nice and toasty warm.

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You Are Playful and Adventurous

You're the type who can't sit still for too long. You get bored rather easily. You love to travel, and when you don't have the time or money, you at least explore your hometown. You tend to do things very differently during the holidays. You definitely have your own style. You'll incorporate traditions that make sense to you, but your holidays are by no means traditional!

The Gingerbread Cookie Test

About 50/50...

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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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A Busy Day

If God didn't want us to eat carbs, He wouldn't make fresh baked bread smell so good. -- Marianne Arkins

Yesterday was busy, busy... it was SO stinking cold outside I thought I would turn into an icicle. But, regardless, things had to be done, dogs walked, wood stacked (I'm beginning to think this will never end ... actually, when we're done stacking THIS wood, we have to go to our neighbor's property where he had several trees taken down over the summer and cut them into chunks and stack them out back to season so that NEXT year we can split and stack wood all over again! Woo. Hoo.) and errands run.

I also decided it was a good day for baking (and laundry, but that wasn't the fun part) and DD wanted to do it, so we made "Perfect Dinner Rolls" (made with yeast, so we had rise time) and then, when it was clear the recipe would make 30 or so, we took half the dough, rolled it out nice and thin and spread butter, cinnamon and sugar and raisins, rolled it up and cut some cinnamon rolls (which are on the top of my stove, rising, as we speak). Unfortunately, I don't have any powdered sugar to make the frosting, so will have to create my own (yes, you can do this... did you know? Just put regular, granulated sugar into your blender and turn it on -- Instant Powdered Sugar).

Today is another cold one, but hopefully the wind will die down so I can get out and plant all my new deer resistant (and therefore, hopefully VOLE resistant) bulbs. I bought some beauties including giant allium and pink ruffled daffodils. And, I have to chop down all the plants that were killed from the hard frosts we've had the past several days.

Is it April yet?

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Your Best Trait is Creativity

You may seem like you're a bit flaky or flighty, but you're really just deep in thought. You are the artistic type, no doubt. However, you are also highly analytical and logical. You are able to solve problems in unique and interesting ways. Your ideas are unpredictable, but they always end up making sense. You are picky and sometimes downright critical. You expect the best of yourself, but others are not prepared for your exacting standards.

What's Your Best Trait?

Work is Hard. Time for Blogthings!

Yep... pretty close again. I don't feel flaky, though. :::shrugs:::

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Wood, Woodstoves, Waiting and Wants

Sweat cleanses from the inside. It comes from places a shower will never reach. ~George Sheehan

So... I had a nice stack o' wood in my driveway -- DD and I worked like dogs (not my dog, but...) and got one done. It was also a matter of avoiding all the yellow-jackets which, for some unknown reason, are behaving in a strange manner this year. Even my neighbor has commented on it. They are VERY active, and oddly friendly... even going as far as to land on you -- but NOT stinging! And they are everywhere. The wasps, too. I've lived her almost ten years now, and don't remember this happening EVER. They are particularly fascinated by the wood.

Anyway... back to our stack...

DH came home and was suitably impressed by all of our hard work and, jokingly grabbed a huge log and said, "Here, I'll help." and slammed it down against the end. And, yep you guessed it, the end toppled over and the pile fell.

***sigh***

Now, to answer some of your questions:

Melissa asked: ...how do you keep it burning all night long. Won't it get cold at night?

Melissa, we pack it full to the brim and then "bank it" but shutting down all the dampers until they are nearly closed. The fire will burn almost all night that way. DH goes to bed late, and I get up early so we almost never let the fire die at all through the entire winter. It gets a little cooler at night, but to be honest that's almost a relief -- there are days it gets to be in the mid-80s inside with the stove cranking!

Jen asked: What kind of stove do you have?

We have a Vermont Castings brand... I can't remember the model. It's a little bitty thing, though. When we got it, DH's dad said there was no way it would have the power to heat our house. BOY, was he ever wrong. Once it gets going, it heats the WHOLE house, including the upstairs.

Amy said: I...smelled someone's wood burning fire and nearly wept.

It's funny you mentioned that. I bumped into my across the street neighbor today and she said she was so excited to see the wood in our driveway, because she LOVES the smell of our stove. During the winter, she'll stand outside and just... sniff. LOL.

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I now have two things out on submission: "Return to Stiller Creek" with Samhain, and "Perilous Love" with Womans World.

I hate waiting.

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DD just finished reading the first book in a new series by Warrior's author, Erin Hunter. The series is called "Seekers" and the first book is "The Quest Begins". She LOVED the book (as she loves the Warriors series -- she's so wrapped up in that set of books, you'd think they were real. She even has a notebook full of herbal remedies that are mentioned through the stories).

Yesterday at the library she asked me to find the second book. I said, "It's not out yet."

She was quite disgruntled. "Don't they know I read fast?"

Now, DD knows about being an author, as she's watched me. She knows how hard I work at writing, and how long it takes. So, I brought that up. "An author can't write 60,000 words overnight. I'm sure she's doing the best she can."

But, in the famous words of Veruca Salt, she said, "I want it NOW."



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So, I'll be stacking wood this weekend. What plans do YOU have?

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