What, When, Where, Why and How with Shelley Munro

Welcome today to Shelley Munro, the next brave victim participant in my What, When, Where, Why and How interview:

What would you do if your appliances came to life?

That's easy! I'm not a fan of housework and would love the appliances to take care of the chore for me. Of course knowing my luck, the appliances would probably turn out to be the bossy type and wouldn't listen to a single one of my commands. I'd get in trouble for making a mess and be at the mercy of the machines or worse, I'd live in the first home where the appliances went berserk and turned militant.

What is the happiest time of the day?

I'm a real morning person. There's something about the promise of a new day that nurtures enthusiasm and makes me feel happy. Hubby has started dragging me out for a walk at six-thirty every morning. I protest, but secretly I enjoy the crisp air. I start in sleep-walk mode but by the time I arrive back at home, I'm ready to attack the day.

The area where I live tends to be very windy, with the wind blowing strongest during the afternoon. That's another reason why I enjoy a morning walk or cycle ride--because I don't have to fight the wind. I've tried it a few times and arrived home exhausted.

Where were you when you got your first kiss?

LOL it's been a while. From memory it was at a school social and took me by surprise. The boy I was with grabbed me and kissed me on the lips just after the last dance of the evening. It wasn't that exciting really, and I wondered what all the fuss was about. On the plus side, the kiss wasn't wet and sloppy, so I didn't need to wipe my mouth, and there was no tongue involved. LOL - that came later. Thank goodness the kissing thing improved over time, and I discovered that it can be quite a lot of fun if you're with the right person.

Why is the sky blue?

Experts say it's something to do with the way the sunlight hits the particles above Earth, but I think the sky is blue because it's my favorite color. There's nothing better than a bright blue sky on a sunny day to make me feel happy and bring a smile.

How many writers does it take to change a lightbulb?

It takes an entire village to produce a book when you take into account the writer, editor, copy-editor, publisher, marketing, printing and all the other people who do their magic behind the scenes. It would follow then that the entire village would need to help the writer change the lightbulb. In reality, I think writers are very intelligent people and would be quite capable of changing their own lightbulbs without help.

In our house, it doesn't take any writers to change a lightbulb because my husband is in charge of this chore. While I'm quite capable, I don't mind if he changes the lightbulbs. See? What did I say? Writers are intelligent people and get others to change their lightbulbs for them!

Shelley lives in Auckland, New Zealand with her husband and a small, bossy dog called Scotty.

Typical New Zealanders, Shelley and her husband left home for their big OE soon after they married (translation of New Zealand speak - big overseas experience). A year long adventure lengthened to six years of roaming the world. Enduring memories include being almost sat on by a mountain gorilla in Rwanda, lazing on white sandy beaches in India, whale watching in Alaska, searching for leprechauns in Ireland, and dealing with ghosts in an English pub.

While travel is still a big attraction, these days Shelley is most likely found in front of her computer following another love - that of writing stories of romance and adventure. Other interests include watching rugby and rugby league (strictly for research purposes), being walked by the dog, and curling up with a good book.

Website: http://www.shelleymunro.com/
Blog: http://www.shelleymunro.com/blog
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/shelleymunro

Pioneer Woman, the History

The trouble with simple living is that, though it can be joyful, rich, and creative, it isn't simple. ~Doris Janzen Longacre

I had lots of comments yesterday on the post -- most agreeing it's a good thing to continue to do the hard work and pass on knowledge. I absolutely agree.

It's amazing to me how many folks don't know you can bake or cook certain things from scratch (how exactly do they think the food companies MAKE things?). My SIL baked bread once, a kind of raisin bread that's a tradition in her family, and brought a few loaves to work. She had one worker comment, "I didn't know you could bake this at home!"

I admit to being lazy and not always WANTING to make things from scratch, but the fact is: I know how if I want to. I have recipes for bread, pizza dough, tortillas, etc. Mostly I buy them. Sometimes I make them at home.

The thing is this: I was raised by a mother who made everything from scratch.

Many, many years ago, my step-father decided we should "get back to the land" and we purchased 40 acres in a little podunk town called Mt. Aukum. I was nine years-old and we celebrated this country's bicentennial up there.

The land was undeveloped. There was an old, falling-down cabin that had been built back in the dark ages (and that we eventually tore down), and a clear spring that had been tapped and captured in a wooden barrel. That's it.

No electricity. No phone. No running water. No house. No... nothing.

My family (this includes one of my brothers and one of my sisters) lived in tents while we dug an outhouse and brought in a tiny trailer...little more than one of those pop-up campers folks use for their weeklong outdoors experiences nowadays. Eventually, a small shed was built attached to the trailer where we kids lived, while my mom and step-father lived in the trailer.

We put the trailer downhill from the spring, and a L-O-N-G hose was hooked up between the trailer and the spring -- our version of running water. We had a propane stove to cook with (I can still remember once, sitting at the table getting ready to eat when the stove did this 'WHOOSH' thing and flames shot out and singed one side of my head and hair).

It was here, with little money (my mom didn't work outside the home and my step-father ran an antiques refinishing shop) that Mom cooked.

We had a garden... a BIG one (an acre or so). We had dogs and cats and horses and chickens and eventually we got goats for milk, though that wasn't until three years later and on a different piece of property in Mt. Aukum that didn't even have a spring, and we had to haul water. I owned two pairs of pants, one long dress ala Little House on the Prairie, one pair of hiking books and a couple of shirts for each season. I wore one pair of pants for two or three days in a row to school, because my other pants had been washed by hand using a washboard and were hanging to dry.

I walked to the bus stop, just over a mile away (and it was only uphill in the snow one way *G*) every day, with my homemade lunch in hand. I usually had peanut butter and homemade jam on homemade whole wheat bread. Sometimes, my mom lucked into a big can of pie filling from our church and made homemade pies that were shaped to look like Hostess ones. I usually had a fruit of some kind, and I got free milk at school because we were poor. Mom spent her days weeding the garden, cooking, harvesting, caring for the animals, washing clothes and more. She was our Ma Ingalls.

I never felt poor. It was during a time where kids didn't really care what you wore (we didn't even have designer clothes then), or whether you listened to the right music or watched what they did on TV (after all, there were only four channels then, and my family didn't have a TV regardless).

My folks read Mother Earth magazine and lived that lifestyle. We took spit-baths in the winter, showered in the summer using outdoor shower with an Army portable shower hookup that only held five gallons of water (so... turn it on, get wet, turn it off and soap up, turn it on and rinse off).

And you know what? I never minded one bit of it. I didn't go hungry, even if I did eat a lot of beans and pea soup. I learned the names of plants and how to grow and harvest them. I learned about chickens and how to gather eggs. I learned how to raise a goat and how to milk one. I had a pony to ride and a million acres of land to tromp around on. I had friends to visit (I'd have to walk a couple of miles to get there... but it never seemed all that long then), and it never seemed as though I was deprived of anything.

And I know without a doubt if we suddenly lost everything, I could survive. It wouldn't be fun or glamorous, but I could do it. And THAT is the best heritage my mother could have given me. I hope I can pass that on to my daughter.

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You Think Best While You're Driving

In order to be able to think, you need to be able to have time to think. Problem is, there isn't a lot of time for that in your life. When you are driving, you are finally able to let your mind wander. And it wanders to some pretty interesting places. Depending on the conditions, driving can make you feel elated, relaxed, or even frustrated. All of these varying emotions spark a lot of revelations. While the thoughts you have while driving may have a lot of noise in them, there's definitely some insight to be found.

Where Do You Think Best?

Blogthings: Learn Something Surprising About Yourself

Hmmm... maybe when I'm driving alone, which is almost never anymore.

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Pioneer Woman

Yes, I am positive that one of the great curatives of our evils, our maladies, social, moral, and intellectual, would be a return to the soil, a rehabilitation of the work of the fields. ~Charles Wagner

Lately I've felt a bit like a pioneer woman -- with my gardening, canning and, most recently (yesterday) splitting wood, hauling it and stacking it. I told DD that we were so spoiled as a culture. So few of us actually do manual labor any more. We pay people to cut our grass, to grow our food, to split our firewood, to groom our animals.

As we where stacking the wood I said, "Isn't it incredible to think that the pioneers worked like this from sun up to sundown?"

And, IMHO, it IS amazing. No wonder their life expectancy was so low (well, on top of the fact that their medical care was pretty much non-existent).

I used to love to watch Frontier House on PBS. I wish it was still on. It was so interesting to see how folks had to struggle to survive. One man thought he was dying of something because he lost so much weight. He finally requested a medical check, and the doctor said that his weight was actually HEALTHY and that his body was simply adjusting to being physically active for the first time in a long time.

I don't glamorize how things were 100 or 200 years ago. Times were hard. People died of things we can't imagine happening today, like broken bones. Women regularly died in childbirth (I would have been one of them). Even so, I think they had their priorities right and typically had a work ethic that folks today just don't have.

And then I look at the stack of un-split, un-hauled, un-stacked wood and just sigh.

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You Are Eggs Over Easy

You have good taste and high standards. You are very detail oriented, and you know what you want in life. When everything is in its place and things are as they should be, you can finally relax. You may seem like the kind of person who has things come easy for you, but it's all an illusion. You work hard to make your life perfect, and part of this perfection is making things look effortless.

What Kind of Eggs Are You?

Blogthings: We'll Tell You The Truth... Someone Has To!

LOL... this is almost spot on. Cracked me up (cracked...eggs... ha... get it?).

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Sunday Stroll

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. ~Theodore Roosevelt

I hate that on the one day I can sleep in all week, I never can. Why is that?

DH went to a huge Toyota 4-Wheeling thing yesterday. Yes, in the rain. He had a great time, but one of his friends (who lives in New Jersey) broke the drive shaft in his truck, and then upon returning to the campsite, discovered his tent had collapsed and his site was a big puddle.

DH called and asked if I minded if his friend stayed in our spare bedroom overnight, and then they'd go back up tomorrow and see about fixing the drive shaft. I didn't mind, but he'd called fairly late (it was after 8 o'clock), so I had to tidy the room and make it ready.

Then, when I went to bed, the neighbor's dog was barking. And barking. And barking. It sounded like our neighbors who have TWO dogs, and typically they never bark alone and they are LOUD. This was only one. So I laid there and wondered if maybe they'd gone away for the weekend and someone let ONE of the dogs out and it wanted back in. And, should I go check... or not. By this time it was after ten o'clock and I was somewhere between irritated and really worried.

Then it stopped.

And now I wonder what happened.

Dakota is pacing the house this morning. She KNOWS there is someone here she doesn't know. She sniffed his shoes for about ten minutes and she's been tracking him, nose down, all through the house. She keeps going upstairs and standing in front of the spare bedroom door. Sure as shooting, as soon as he appears, she's going to bark at him. Dork.

I spent MY day yesterday determined to clean out my "to do" boxes at LASR/WC and Goddess Fish. I worked and worked and worked. And I had everything nearly done (except two more book videos I need to make) and then WHAMM-O, a publisher sent in 17 new review requests and another sent in 7.

It was like they KNEW my inbox was empty.

LOL...

Today? Well, we had planned on working on the wood pile. DH would split and DD and I would move and stack. But now with DH's friend's problems I don't know what we'll be doing.

Thank heavens tomorrow is Monday. Hurray for Monday!!

OH... DD's store is online, but I haven't put any stock into it yet. As soon as I do, I'll post the link. I took all the pictures yesterday, but didn't have a chance to get them online.

And, the person who suggested this store name has earned themselves a free book thong made by DD -- I'll announce that person when I unveil the store. *G*

I told her last night that I was going to take half of whatever came in and put it away for her to buy supplies... that I wasn't going to be buying her supplies anymore. I was just an initial investor. From here on out, it's all up to her. She wasn't thrilled, but needs to realize that she doesn't get something from nothing.

I really think this store is going to be a great life lesson, on top of being fun for her. Someone asked me once what my homeschooling schedule was. I replied that I never stopped. Everywhere I go, and everything we do offers chances to teach.

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You Are Warm Apple Cider

You love to feel warm and full. You love all the small comforts that come with fall. Unlike most people, you are as active in fall as you are in the summer. You just make sure and keep warm. For you, fall is the perfect time of year to visit cafes or go for long walks. The season makes you feel energized. You love the bustle of everyone being back from the summer vacation and back to work.

What Autumn Smell Are You?

Not entirely -- though I would love fall if winter didn't follow it!

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Rainy Days

Talkin' to myself and feelin' old
Sometimes I'd like to quit
Nothing ever seems to fit
Hangin' around
Nothing to do but frown
Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down. - The Carpenters

What is it about rainy days that just makes a person want to go back to bed?

Instead, I'm about to make squash pancakes (along the lines of squash bread -- before you think I'm grating squash and cooking it). It's easy to do and yummy and relatively healthy.

Just make pancake mix like you normally do. Then add cinnamon and some grated squash. You can also use grated apples or dices peaches.

I seldom make anything just plain.

In any case, today is a day for comfort food. Pancakes for breakfast, and I think I'm going to make chili for dinner, or something else that can simmer in the Crock Pot all day.

What do you do on rainy days?

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You Are Most at Home in the Bedroom

You're the type of person who finds sanctuary in your home. Your home is your private space. While you may be a social person outside the home, it's very rare that you invite people into your home. There's nothing like spending time alone in your bedroom - relaxing and reflecting about your day. You truly treasure your time by yourself. You need to be able to recharge every so often in order to thrive.

What Room Are You Most At Home In?

Blogthings: Free Quizzes for Everyone

Yeah... mostly right.

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Fun at the Fair

Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length. ~Robert Frost

So... We went to the fair yesterday. Probably not the smartest thing I've done, health-wise, but I couldn't stand to disappoint DD as long as I could stand and walk. Unfortunately, when we got there I discovered my camera wasn't working, so the only pictures I got were on my cell phone and they aren't very good.

Anyway...

The day was hers. We walked in and I said, "Where do you want to go?" and off we went. The "in hand" horse shows were first, where I batted about 50% on choosing the winners. Once I realized that the judge preferred the flashier horses, I did much better (for instance, in the horse/colt/filly 1 y.o. there was an amazing palomino quarter horse -- I can't remember the last time I've seen a horse with such perfect breed conformation -- but I knew the judge would prefer both the Freesian AND the Arabian over the Quarter Horse, and I was right. The QH came in third).

Then we did rides -- spent half her tickets before she decided we should check out the vendors. The sky was getting pretty black and we wanted to be indoors in case it rained (it didn't, thankfully). We bought some soap and boo-boo balm from Aunt Jane (my favorite vendor -- I try to find her every year) and then DD tried to spend her $10 that she'd saved up, but couldn't find anything she liked.

Then it was lunch (a Philly cheese steak sandwich, sans steak, lol) and a HUGE bowl of fries. After we ate, she took a look at the program and we saw that the Flying Wallendas were going to be onstage in just a few minutes, so off we went. We got there just in time! The act was a little cheesy and amateur (which I suspect was in part due to the location) -- but DD has never seen anything like it and she LOVED it.

Then back to the rides, where she bumped into another little girl who was riding alone. She opted to spend most of her souvenir money on more tickets and had loads of fun!

About that time, though, I hit the wall. All of a sudden, I was massively congested and so exhausted I could barely stand. She wanted more tickets to keep riding, but I told her we had to leave... which broke her heart. It was about 3:00 pm. First, though, I had to sit down because I honestly don't think I could have walked to the car without resting first.

Her tummy hurt on the way home (hmmm... maybe the donuts, cotton candy and french fries PLUS loads of rides that spin you around had something to do with that?) and she was sad. She kept saying, "I can't believe it's over."

We picked up the dog at day care (where I saw another dog who looked JUST like her, only he was a boy ... another Golden/Irish -- who would have thunk it?) and went home. She curled up on the couch and read and watched "The Universe" on the Science channel until bed.

I worked until I couldn't keep my eyes open, and we all crashed. I slept pretty well, but this morning the congestion has settled in my chest. UGH.

Even so, it was worth it.

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Despite being busy yesterday, I took the time to join a cause near and dear to my heart:



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And, I also broke down and turned on the heat. It was 40 degrees out at dinnertime last night, and about 60 in my house. I couldn't stand it. So, thermostat is at 65 and all the windows are closed.

Wah. Summer really IS over.

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*Sigh*

I have diligently numbered the days of pure and genuine happiness which have fallen to my lot: they amount to fourteen. ~Abd-El-Raham


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I'm sick.

:::grumble grumble:::

I'm so angry that I'm sick, it's unbelievable. ONE DAY out of the whole year I wanted to be well. My body has it backward -- I was well every day but this one.

*sigh*

I'm sitting here wondering if there is enough Sudafed to get me through a day at the fair. We don't go all day -- we go early, and leave around one or two. That's only 4-5 hours.

At least my throat doesn't hurt any more.

Even so... I'm typically a very healthy person, so this is just wrong!

I'll let you know tomorrow what my fair decision was.

How are you feeling? I hear this nasty germ is really going around.


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