Invasion of the Germs

DH is getting sick. He came home last night all stuffed up and miserable. I don't know if he'll stay home today or not, but I'm betting he might. I hope he keeps his germs to himself.

The weather site says we might actually be getting our first frost here this week. It's late, but I'm not complaining. At first I was dying for a freeze so Dakota would be less itchy, but her allergies have cleared up (both goldenrod and ragweed are pretty much past, and those are my two suspects for her allergies) so, I'd really just love no frost every please. Yeah, I know, I'm practically in Canada, but I can dream.

On the other hand, they predict temps in the 80s for the weekend. :::scratches head:::

Weird New England weather.

It's been a month since I submitted "Now and Forever" to Samhain Publishing. They said twelve weeks ... so I'm not surprised I haven't heard. Just antsy.

It's only three weeks until NaNoWriMo. I keep waffling on whether I should even try to participate. I love NaNoWriMo, but my life is already insane. *sigh* At least DH isn't off the entire month like usual to mess with my routine. He's only taking off two weeks.

Can you believe there are stations out here (well, in Boston) already starting to play CHRISTMAS MUSIC? I miss the days when Christmas didn't start until after Thanksgiving. Anymore, I'm sick of the holiday by the time it comes, and that makes me a little sad.

Have a great day!

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You Are Openly Ambitious and Secretly Brainy

You are driven and determined. You'll figure out a way to realize your dreams. You are energetic to the point of being impatient. You can't wait for life to happen. You are a dynamic and interesting person. You are constantly changing, growing, and improving. You are a total brainiac who enjoys learning new things. You think studying is just plain fun.

The Lip Gloss Test

That's pretty much right...

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A Visit From Jack Frost

Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter. ~Carol Bishop Hipps

We had our first frost yesterday. It wasn't a hard frost, just pretty little shiny sparks of light on the grass when I turned the light on to let the dog out. It didn't even really kill anything (not even the milkweed aphids that have infested my milkweed stalks ... making it really messy to pull them up).

Something I'd forgotten to mention from our agility match over the weekend... on the wire fence surrounding the agility equipment, DD found a monarch chrysalis. It was gray, which meant it would hatch soon, but it was right in front and getting badly bumped -- so I pulled it off and brought it home (of course! Was there any doubt?).

The next morning, we welcomed Zia to the world.




We released her around lunch time and wished her well (with the very strong advice to FLY SOUTH IMMEDIATELY -- I hope she listened). It was a lovely way to say farewell to summer.

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I watched a movie over the weekend that I completely enjoyed. It's out on DVD, so some of you may already have watched it, but it made me laugh. A lot. I'd forgotten how much I liked Ryan Reynolds (I used to watch "A Guy, A Girl and a Pizza Place" many years ago). His facial expressions and timing are right on. And my DH even enjoyed it (commenting on how good Sandra Bullock looks ... I agree and, dang it, she's three years OLDER than me).



So, if you want something to make you smile, I recommend it. The end is a little cliched, but sweet and you know me -- all about the HEA!!

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You Are the Fairy

You are charming, cheerful, and a little bit magical. You make other people's lives better. You are a bit eccentric at times, but you truly care about people in your own way. You are hyper and restless. It drives you crazy to sit still, and you are usually the first to leave any event. You are unpredictable and flighty. No one can guess what you'll be up to next ... or where you'll be!

What Part of a Fairy Tale Are You?

About 75% right, lol!

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All Dressed Up...

The trouble with weather forecasting is that it's right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it. ~Patrick Young

So, despite my precaution of checking the forecast for this week and finding nothing even CLOSE to freezing (and deciding it was safe to plant prior to Memorial Day)... I once again jinxed it. I can NOT plant early. I can't. Because last night, they amended our forecast and called for temps below freezing: FROST WARNING!

Well... shoot.

So, I did what any other sane gardener would do. I protected my babies. I had a lot to cover... but my biggest concern were my veggies. I pulled out the big guns (and was so thankful for tomato cages!!!). See:



I had NO idea I owned so many sheets, lol. I went to the linen closet and found FIVE SETS. Some, I've deliberately kept for drop clothes, etc., but I don't know why I have the others... do we need five sets of sheets? Really? (Actually if you count what are currently on the beds, we have eight sets).

The various soft annuals, like my impatiens, all got plastic bags over them. A funny -- Dakota is a very visual dog, moreso than any dog I've known. And, last night when I took her out for her last potty break, she trotted of the back steps and started to squat and then SAW THE BAGS. She got all poofed up and stiff-legged, growling and oofing. Funniest thing I've seen in a while. I may do stuff like that now and then just to mess with her. *G*

BTW, have you checked out the LASR spotlight this week? Because our guests are Charity and Darcy of "The Geek Girl's Guide To Cheerleading" fame and there's some great stuff. Charity tells us how to cook bacon and eggs in a paper bag, and Darcy dishes about getting her first tattoo... Go see! (And, as an added bonus, you can enter to win the book).

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We have a bird (I've yet to ID it) that comes to visit daily -- she sits on the top railing of our deck and screeches for 5 or 10 minutes. It's cute, but I wish she had a sweeter voice.

Mr. Turkey hasn't been been back in some time, and I'm a little worried. It's turkey season here... I sure hope he's okay. I miss him :-(

Why do you suppose my woodpeckers prefer the seed in the feeder over the suet? It's very odd.

My milkweed is about a foot tall now -- I know we won't get Monarch butterbabies until end of June at the earliest, but I'm getting excited. Hope we have more than last year! (I will once again have milkweed seeds if anyone wants them -- I'd suggest putting them somewhere you don't mind if they spread. But monarch habitat is becoming scarce, so any help is good).

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You Are Conditioner

You are naturally nurturing and calming. You smooth things over. You can have a neutralizing effect. You can deal with chaos well. You are encouraging and supportive. You have a gentle touch. You are generous and bighearted. You have a lot to give.

What Bathroom Product Are You?

Not so sure about that... IMHO, I'm kind of selfish, lol...

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Brrr....

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

We've had a hard, killing frost the past two nights. I'm trying not to complain, but DANG I'm going to miss my flowers.

Yesterday, once it warmed up to... yanno... FIFTY, I went outside and pulled up all the corpses of my annuals. I lost my impatiens and petunias, and the flowers on my ageratum (though not the leaves, oddly). The cosmos made it, but it's dark yet so they may not have made it through TWO nights of frost. I'll see soon enough.

The chim-chimney sweep doesn't come for another week, though, so no heat for us. Brrr.... I drank tea all day yesterday, just so I could hug the mug and keep my hands warms.

Is it June yet?

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Though I'm still reeling at how many of you don't re-read books, the results yesterday were interesting: most people won't buy a new-to-them author without some major incentive. Some want to read the first chapter to get a flavor of the story and the author's voice, many (like me) will read a book from the library first, to see if they like the author -- and will then go on to purchase more if they do.

As a reader, I totally understand, because I do the same thing (mostly... as noted yesterday, I do tend to buy my friends/crit partners books regardless), but as an author, it makes me wonder how to get folks to buy my work the first time. Because, yanno, once you've read my stories... you'll want to grab them all! *VBG*

For the authors out there: what do YOU think you can do to incent folks to buy your work if you're a new-to-them author? I know many of the ePubs now offer free reads (TWRP has theirs here) in order to help potential readers/buyers to get a taste of an author first.

Readers: Do you think getting a free read first helps you decide whether to buy a new author? If you read a short 2500 word story and love the author's voice, would you then go and purchase their full length novel?

Inquiring minds want to know!

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Dd has sprouted an ugly lump on one of her nipples (can I say nipples on a rated PG blog?). DD found it on Friday afternoon, and we're worried because it's reminiscent of the lump Bailey had on HER nipple about four months before she died that was nasty-bad cancer.

DH says, "No one has to take their dog to the vet as often as we do." He's right -- I swear we've kept the vet in business since we got Dakota. So, Monday, if the lump hasn't changed or gone down, Dd gets to go in for a biopsy. I hope it's just fatty tissue or an infected bite or something. Please, please don't let it be cancer. I've made a point of laughing it off, and being calm for DD, but I have to admit, I'm very worried.

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You Are a Pumpkin Latte

You are always up for a celebration. You are a very festive person. You look forward to every holiday, and you are nostalgic for good times after they're over. You appreciate the small things that make life special. You love little treats. You often look at the world with childlike wonder. There's so much to enjoy!

What Flavor Latte Are You?

Okay... for the first time in a long time, this quiz is TOTALLY WRONG. Just saying...

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