Tired Tuesday

There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast. ~Author Unknown

Wow! Late post... sorry. I wasn't actually up until 5:30 - wowza! Nothing like sleeping in. Too bad that didn't add up to eight hours of sleep. I stayed up until almost 10:30 watching a movie with DH. Finally put earplugs in around 11:00 because the dog's heavy panting was driving me nuts. Took them out thirty minutes later, because I hate wearing ear plugs (I need to be able to hear when the serial killer comes into my house, right?). Finally dozed off. Was awakened by the dog at a little after midnight, and I still don't know why because after she huffed in my face she stood in front of me -- didn't want to go out the door of the bedroom and outside, and wouldn't get out of my way when I shoved her.

Back to bed. Dog panting. Finally dozed. DD at the door an 90 mins later -- "Mommy, I had a bad dream." I stumbled into her room, put her back to bed and snuggled with her for a while, back to bed, dozed off. Dog was restless and pacing, "oofing" at the window and won't settle down. Bear? Neighbors? I listened and heard nothing, so didn't get up. Dozed off. Cat leaped up on my chest at 4:20, purring. She knows when the coffee pot finishes downstairs (it starts at 4:00) I'm supposed to be up. I get up, stumble to the couch and collapse, until 5:15 when the cat finds a scrap of paper on the floor and starts wrestling with it. It's light, and the birds are ready for their food.

*YAWN*

I love all my kids, both the two- and four-legged varieties... but there are times...

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I have to write a blurb for my newly contracted TWRP Yellow Rose (Woot! Let's hear for a hot cowboy!), "A Change Of Heart". Normally, I use a slightly edited version of the first paragraph of my query letter. But this time, I can't find the blasted thing. The one I have in the file is the query for "Pregnancy Cravings". I emailed my editor and she can't find it either. It's not in my email folder "sent queries", it's not in my Sent link. I searched gmail and found nothing. GACK. I really hate writing blurbs, and now I have to do this one TWICE.

Any blurb writers out there?

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Pillar Place -- both of them -- are very, very quiet. No hatched swallowtail. Maybe today? It's going to be nice, warm and sunny today. That would be good. All the little "J"'s became nice, perfect chrysalis' -- for a total of nine thus far. Anne crept up to her ceiling last night and is a "J" this morning. That only leaves Clarisse to feed (YAY! I never realized how hard it is to keep thirteen pillars in milkweed... voracious little buggers). I imagine in a week or so, she'll be a little green oval hanging from her ceiling, too. And then a week of absolute peace and quiet -- unless Otto somehow survived his bad chrysalis making. If so, he's due to hatch next Monday (or so). I hope so.

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

Which Positive Quality Are You? Your Result: Charity You are Charity. The spirit of giving has been promoted by every religion. Charity is kindness. It is compassion for our fellow man. Charity doesn't ask anything in return, and in this way it serves as the opposite of greed. "Be charitable with many."
Friendship
Love
Courage
Faith
Peace
Which Positive Quality Are You?

Well... cool. I've always wanted to be Charity. She is a fantastic, insightful writer and has a wicked sense of humor, is thoughtful and generous with her time. As I said to a friend, via email, the other day: Charity is THE BOMB.

And I'm Charity. Woot!

Monday Meh

We never know the worth of water till the well is dry. ~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

I had a bit of time to myself yesterday -- so I wrote. I opened up three of my stories: My almost finished mystery, a completed draft of a novel, and a half done short. I couldn't remember what was going on in the mystery (I'll have to reread it when I'm ready to really hunker down and work on it), couldn't figure out what happens next on the short and fell in love all over again with my characters from "Playing House" (the novel).

I have the first two chapters edited (rewritten, really, as I've changed the premise of how the heroine gets her job and started with a whole new scene). Hopefully, I'll be able to move forward with this a little bit every day or two until it's done. I'd forgotten how much I really like ALL the characters in this story.

I also did some reading. Because of this review on LASR, I picked up a copy of "Ghost, Interrupted". I've only read the first three chapters (one chapter dedicated to each of the main characters) and I'm thoroughly hooked. The author has a fun, fabulous voice and I didn't want to stop reading... but it was quite late and I was tired.

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

We had high hopes that our final Pillar Place: Swallowtail pillar, Jill, would hatch yesterday. Her pupa was wiggling like crazy... but it didn't. ::sigh:: It'll probably happen today. We're expecting rain and won't be able to release her.

In Pillar Place: Monarch, we have five shiny, new, perfect chrysalis'! Here's something interesting that we learned: The chrysalis is actually their skin. I watched one change yesterday, and it split its black/green skin and wiggled and squirmed from its hook on the roof of the box until the black skin came off and revealed an odd looking thing covered in soft green skin. It still *sort of* looked like a pillar, but slowly hardened into that beautiful, shiny green chrysalis with the gold rim. Amazing. I suppose when it becomes a butterfly, it's really like shedding a skin again. And a bit of trivia for you -- moths spin cocoons, butterflies actually transform themselves into a chrysalis.

We also have four more "J"'s -- Andy surprised me by beating Bob to the punch -- Andy was far younger (by two days!) and he made his J yesterday before Bob did (Bob made his late last night). This leaves only Anne and Clarisse, and Anne should be doing her thing in the next day or so. Clarisse? She probably has another week. I hope she hurries... I don't want her to miss the migration south!

Odds are, in a couple of days, Pillar Place will be very, very quiet. And then BOOM! Monarchs everywhere.

And then, I won't be boring you with my tales. What will I talk about then?

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

It's day six of:



Today, I've decided what makes me happy are toilets... nice, wonderful toilets that flush. And water. Running water. Water that pours from the faucet when you turn the knob.

It's much on my brain today, because last evening our well pump broke. We can't draw water for the house or the outside spigots. Worse, it broke when I was halfway through washing dishes in the dishwasher and a load of clothes (hey -- the bright side is, it'll be good and soaked!). Thankfully, I'm also happy my SIL lives about a mile away. My DD had her nightly shower there (she was so dirty -- we had a busy day outside) AND SIL provided a bucket of water so we can flush the potty when necessary.

It's amazing how much you take the convenience of running water for granted.

What everyday convenience makes you happy?

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You are 90% Smarter than a fifth grader.

 

You are smarter than a fifth grader. no doubt. There is no need for you to retake school. Keep on doing your brain exercises like sudoku and crossword puzzles, and you'll soon be smarter than a sixth grader! Good work!

are you smarter than a fifth grader?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Well, that's a relief since I'll be teaching the DD fourth grade this year -- If I can stay a step ahead, this homeschooling thing might just work out!

Low On Brain Juice

Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar. ~Bradley Millar

I think I've used up all my brain juice for the week. Between struggles with FrontPage, and brainstorming with Judy on our latest project, and fighting with computers (I swear, my fingers are jinxed... Judy can attest to that!), editing and new writing (I got a couple hundred words done on another short story!) -- and, oh yeah, trying to carry on conversations with other people, remembering to feed ALL my critters (including the pillars -- guess who was outside, in the dark, with a flashlight picking milkweed leaves last night??), I'm all done.

So I give you a meme:

Situation Sunday

Situation #1
You have traveled across state lines to be at a close friend/acquaints wedding, at the church you realize you outfit is the same as the brides mothers or fathers.....what do you do before if any the receptions begins?

Something like this actually happened to me. I went to the annual holiday party for my company a few years back, excited to be wearing the nicest dress I'd ever owned. I'd shopped for days, thrown my budget out the window and splurged. I felt amazing when I wore it. I walked in on the arm of my very handsome then-boyfriend, sure I was Cinderella at the ball... and saw my boss. In the same dress.

We laughed about it, but boy did it take the wind out of my sails. Still, she's one of the classiest ladies I know, so I suppose it should have been a compliment.

So... if it happened at a wedding, aside from the fact that the mother of the bride would probably be far older than I -- as long as it was a great dress, who cares?? But, if she's in a polyester pant suit, I should be shot and then taken on "What Not To Wear".

Situation #2
You are on vacation, { camping, at a state park} and during a outing of a bike ride, a storm has brewed....the skies look hideous-tornado,hurricane or severe thunder- who knows. Race as you may, you will not reach your spot. So you head to nearest shelter. You are alone. You reach a bathroom, on the campgrounds.....the next person to enter....is 9 month's pregnant----they go into labor....no cell service....they beg you not to leave them...as each second draws closer to birth.....what do you do?

What do you mean, what do I do? Sheesh...I help, of course. No... I walk out. Puh-leez. Even if all I can do is be there for her and hold her hand, I'm there. Would anyone answer differently? I hope not.

Situation #3
You are @ a wedding of a close friend, or relative; of your date's...The $ dollar dance is up. You do the nice thing of paying to dance with one of the " Happy Couple", and they either dance a little too close and make it a grind move,or come right out and ask you out.....how do you react....right there on the floor....what do you do or say?

They aren't MY friend, but my date's? I'd fake a twisted ankle and walk away. Later, I might mention it to my date and let him deal with it. He's the one who knows them. I've had experiences in the past with people who won't listen when you tell them something (my favorite was a good friend who married and then divorced a couple years later -- her husband announced he was gay. She said, "Why didn't I know that?" and I said, "I told you before you were married, but you wouldn't listen." Oh. yeah.) People only see and hear what they want to.

Situation #4
You are entering a contest on " What makes you the most glad to be alive" what do you write about? And why?

I am glad to be alive because I can make a difference. I hope that the small things I do really to change the world, at least my little corner of it. Letting people get in front of me in bad traffic, holding the door for the lady with the stroller, picking up my neighbor's mail when she's on vacation, and -- yes -- even raising 'pillars inside so they have a stronger chance of survival.

Little things matter.

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

This morning in Pillar Place: Monarch, we have four little "J"'s in the box and all four (five? I can't remember) of the other pillars are in various spots around the roof -- even Bob, who has always been just a little behind the others. They haven't changed to chrysalis' yet, but I closed the door to the room and left strict orders that NO ONE is to bother them in any way. I don't want a repeat of Otto (poor Otto).

In Pillar Place: Swallowtail we had a successful hatching and release! Eenie (who turned out to be female) hatched, pumped up her wings and FLEW! Honestly, of all my pillars, Eenie is the one who did everything right from the beginning. Go lay lots of smart pillar eggs, Eenie.

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

Stolen from Judy who swiped it from Teena:

What's Your Best Quality? Your Result: Out-Going   Your best quality is out-going! People like you because you are fun to be around and no one ever knows what you will do next. Also you are not afraid to say or do whatever you want.
Intelligence
Loving
Personality
Sense of Humor
Ambitious
What's Your Best Quality? Take More Quizzes

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

It's day five of:



I'm happy the spider that just crawled across my fingers was tiny, cute and non-venomous. Bet he's happy, too, because I didn't flip out, just walked to the door and shook him off outside.

Does that count?

Happy Sunday!

The Post With No Name

But these are flowers that fly and all but sing:
And now from having ridden out desire
They lie closed over in the wind and cling
Where wheels have freshly sliced the April mire.
~Robert Frost, "Blue-Butterfly Day"

Yesterday, as I was hopping around to some of the Friday Feast blogs, I came across one with a sticky post asking everyone to stop using word verification on their blog comments because it was such a pain. This person enabled comment moderation instead.

I wondered which one of those options is the lesser of evils? Do YOU hate comment moderation or word verification more? Should I stop with the letters (which seem to be getting longer and longer) and enable moderation? Should I just get over the spam and slimy comments I received more than a year ago and have neither?

Inquiring minds want to know.

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

Worked on edits a little yesterday. Wrote the next scene to my short story in my brain last night as I was drifting off to sleep -- now I just need to get it written down before I forget it. Read a few more pages of Gay's novel (yes! I'm a beta reader -- and I'm so excited about it) and wished there were more hours in the day.

I didn't do much work on the website I'm building because I spent all day trying to figure out how to create a form using HTML that actually works. I never did. The form is lovely, but it doesn't send the information anywhere, nor does it link to the confirmation page. I'm mystified and defeated.

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

In Pillar Place: Monarch, we had some changes.

I gave Otto a closer look yesterday, and it appears he stopped his transformation into a chrysalis about 3/4 of the way through. The very top, next to the lid, still looks like a pillar. It seems the odds are good that Otto, dear Otto, is not going to complete the transformation into a butterfly.

I moved all but three pillars (Andy, Anne and Clarisse are still too small) into a second box I made up and they immediately started climbing (all except Bob, the smallest -- he just ate). When I went to bed, seven were in various places on the walls and roof. I expected little "J"'s all over the place this morning. Instead, all but two of them returned to the floor and their food. Odd.

There was also a tragedy in the world of Monarchs yesterday -- across the street from our library is a huge field (1 -2 acres) full of milkweed, and most likely full of butterbabies. I assumed they would be safe since all the construction was occurring across the street.

I was wrong. Some time between Monday and yesterday THEY MOWED. All those little butterbabies... gone. Ground up beneath the blades of a mower or starving to death with no food.

DD sobbed inconsolably. I felt like joining her. According to Monarch Watch, habitat destruction in the US and Canada is one of the biggest reasons for the monarch butterfly population decline, followed by pesticide use.

In Pillar Place: Swallowtail, Lily hatched but promptly fell, laid on her back for an unknown period of time before I found her, and messed up her wings. We did what we could (very little, really) and then put her outside in a flower patch and hoped for the best. Several hours later, we checked and she was gone. Eaten or flown? We decided to believe she managed to pump up her crumpled wing and flew.

I'm not certain my heart can stand another year of this. This year may be the last Pillar Place.

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I'm disappointed there is not a picture for this quiz... but -- here you go!

What Fruit are You? (Detailed personality description.)

YOU are an ORANGE! You experiment, are independent, curious, create different approaches, and create change. You learn best when you can use trial and error, produce real products, can compete and are self-directed. You tend to have trouble meeting time limits, following a lecture, and having only a few options or choices. You need to delegate more responsibility, be more accepting of others' ideas, and learn to prioritize. Ideal job: Some kind of scientist.
Take this quiz!





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Me? A scientist? LOL...

How fruity, um, what fruit are you?

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

I almost forgot! It's day four of:



What makes me happy? My flowers :-) I'd show you, but my camera isn't speaking to my computer. I suppose I could show you other peoples pictures, just so you have a taste:

My liatris is blooming:



And my gallardia:



Yeah... flowers = happy.

Friday Feast, Happy Thoughts and Pillar News

"A book may be compared to your neighbor: if it be good, it cannot last too long; if bad, you cannot get rid of it too early." - Rupert Brook

Friday Feast: Feast One Hundred and Fifty Four

Appetizer
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how polite are you?

Probably an 8. I'm really very polite most of the time -- I even say "excuse me" if I burp and I'm alone. BUT, I'm not politically correct, and have many issues with that type of thing... so it deducts from my politeness scale.

Soup
What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud?

Last night. Oh man. My husband waved me over to the bottom of the stairs and told me to go look at the DD's door. I tip-toed up and looked. There was a sign on her closed door (and her door is almost never closed) that read: BEWARE Naked Child!

I laughed until I cried.

There's a story behind it, apparently. The night before, DH (who is eight y.o.) went upstairs and DD was in her room getting ready to hop in the shower. She was naked. And when she saw DH, she squeaked and hid in a corner. DH said, "If you don't want people to see you when you're naked, close your door." So she did... but added the sign as well.

Oh man, I'm laughing all over again.

Salad
Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Judy and I were gabbing working yesterday via IM, and got to talking about Veggie Tales. So they're on the brain. I love most of them, but I do believe I love the French peas the best. Yes, really. They crack me up.

Main Course
Tell about the funniest teacher you ever had.

My tenth grade geometry teacher, Mr. James Alburn. He was hysterical... unfortunately, I also got the only "C" I ever earned in school from him because, though he was funny, his teaching style didn't do it for me. I switched to Mr. Cragun (a nerdy guy with a slide rule and glasses -- the perfect math teacher) second semester, and brought my grade up to a "B". Still, it messed with my overall GPA. There went my Valedictorian dreams... (I still made it into the top ten of my class though!).

Dessert
Complete this sentence: I strongly believe that ______________________.

I strongly believe that there should be more hours in the day, or that we didn't need any sleep.

I strongly believe that my family and I should move west immediately.

I strongly believe that my neighbors with their ATV's should GO AWAY FOREVER.

I strongly believe that my dog is the best dog in the whole world.

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Okay... day three of:



This makes me happy:



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

So...

Pillar Place: Monarch has had a momentous event! Otto is a chrysalis. I took pictures, but my software won't read my camera for some reason. BUT... last night he looked like this:



And this morning, he looks like this:



Photos courtesy of MonarchWatch.


I have six more pillars I need to move into the box today (later, because you can't disturb the chrysalis until it hardens -- this means, of course, that Lily -- from Pillar Place: Swallowtail will choose this morning to come out of her pupa because I can't lift the lid), at which point I will lose track of just who is who (whom?), but that's okay.

I'll pretend.

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You Should Wear Peach Lipstick

Clean, fresh, and simply pretty. Your look: Natural Beauty Your signature lip gloss flavor: Peach

What Shade of Lipstick Should You Wear?

Booking It Through the Mail

The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself. ~Benjamin Franklin

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY

Have you ever written an author a fan letter?

No. I have been emailing the authors we review at LASR (the ones we do that aren't by request) -- does that count?

And... I was tidying up the house the other day and found a letter my DD wrote to Brian Jacques. I need to mail it to him! She wrote, in part (it was a LONG letter): "I love your books. They make me feel like I am inside them." How's THAT for a compliment? We won't go into the part where she talks about our dog drooling on her foot...

Did you get an answer?

I have, without exception, received responses back from every author I emailed. That was very neat -- and made me feel all warm and fuzzy (and more likely to buy their next book... Smart Marketing 101).

As noted, I haven't mailed DD's letter yet. But I will. It was very cute.

Did it spark a conversation? A meeting? (And, sure, I suppose that e-mails DO count . . . but I’d say no to something like a message board on which the author happens to participate.)

I have, in fact, carried on fairly in depth email conversations with a couple of the authors. I found out one has a husband who was recently diagnosed with cancer, and another is good friends with the person who edited my TWRP Vintage Rose story, "Miles From You" -- small world!

It's always a good reminder to do something like this, so we realize even the bigger selling authors are still just human beings.

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

Judy has posted a challenge at her blog. She claims that August is the month of --



-- and that we're supposed to post one happy thing every day.

Um... I'm happy I know what day it is? Seriously... I've been messed up all week.

And... I'm happy all of my pillars are still alive. No more casualties to note here at Pillar Place: Monarch. In fact, their rate of growth is astounding. I'm adding new leaves daily to everyone (except Clarisse, our accidental latest addition -- she is still nearly microscopic). Aside from the crunchings and munchings in the spare bedroom, there is nothing else to report.

I do anticipate a bonus post for Pillar Place: Swallowtail, however. Lily is due to come out of her pupa today! I'll let you know if it happens.

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

You Are Midnight

You are more than a little eccentric, and you're apt to keep very unusual habits. Whether you're a nightowl, living in a commune, or taking a vow of silence - you like to experiment with your lifestyle. Expressing your individuality is important to you, and you often lie awake in bed thinking about the world and your place in it. You enjoy staying home, but that doesn't mean you're a hermit. You also appreciate quality time with family and close friends.

What Time Of Day Are You?

The ironic part of this is... I'm totally a morning person! I have to admit, though, much of what it says is dead on.

What Day Is It?

Hold a true friend with both your hands. ~Nigerian Proverb

DH was home Monday, which messed up my sense of what day of the week we were on. Then, I had a friend over to visit yesterday -- she lived out here, but now resides in Minnesota. She and her husband and son are out here for a 200 mile bike race (!) to raise money for cancer research. It was wonderful to see them, and her son and my DD were the best of friends when they lived here (just down the road a bit). It's been a few years since they'd seen each other, but it didn't take long for them to reacquaint themselves and just play 'til they were exhausted.

She and I gabbed and gabbed... I got up at one point to see if I should start dinner and it was 7:00! P.M.! How did that happen? Poor DH pulled up around that time... and made himself hot dogs and beans (blech) for dinner.

It was good, but I was beat.

Today, hopefully life will be back to normal. Or, at least, as normal as it gets here!

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

Pillar Place: Monarch is in an interesting place -- yesterday, about 75% of the pillars climbed to the side of their containers. This is what they do when they're about to shed their skin and go through a growth spurt. What this says to me (and gives me heart palpitations) is that 75% of my pillars are on the same schedule. I'm trying to picture 7 or 8 Monarch butterflies coming out of their chrysalis's all at the same time. That'll be quite a picture!

Speaking of pictures, I know I promised you one of Phil -- but I haven't had a chance to download my pix. Sorry -- the software is on my desktop, and I'm on my laptop. I'll do it later today. Promise. Interestingly enough, though, he pretty much looks just like Moe.

Otto is inside the butterfly box. He's eating like a pig. He did climb on the side yesterday -- spooked me into thinking he was going to make his chrysalis, but he must have just needed to shed his skin because this morning, he's in his little pie pan scarfing down on milkweed. The funniest thing was, this morning because it was so quiet, I could actually hear him eating it.

I'm easily amused.

I also discovered the COOLEST caterpillar ever yesterday. No, I didn't bring him home... but it was close. I (previously) thought Monarchs were the only pillar to eat milkweed. Milkweed is, after all, poisonous. Yesterday, while gathering leaves to feed the pillars (and accidentally adding one newly hatched pillar to the crew -- give a hearty welcome to Clarisse who has joined pillar place), DD found this fluffy, VERY hairy, black and brown pillar chowing down. I had no idea what it was.

Turns out, it was a Milkweed Tussock Moth pillar. How cool are they??

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Nothing new on the writing front. I've been working so hard on building a website that I haven't had a chance to write anything new. I have been working on some edits -- I've gotten them for "Don't Fence Me In", and have ideas for some new stories, but haven't gotten anything down on paper. Soon, I hope.

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

Stolen shamelessly from Charity:

Which Author's Fiction are You?

Flannery O'Connor wrote your book. Not much escapes your notice.
Take this quiz!








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Is it awful of me to say, I have no idea who Flannery O'Connor is? I looked her up on Wikipedia, and it still didn't help. I don't even recognize her books. I feel as though I should be ashamed.

Who wrote your book?