Sick

If you start to think about your physical or moral condition, you usually find that you are sick. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Proverbs in Prose

In a moment of irony, we're finally having beautiful weather .... and I'm sick. We're finally having sunshine and warmth where I could go out and walk, garden, play with the dog -- and I feel rotten. Sore throat (SO sore!) and a stuffy nose is developing... *sigh*...

Sometimes life is not fair.

I did walk and work in the garden yesterday, but it was torture on my throat. Last night I couldn't sleep for how bad it hurt (and, no, it's not strep -- this is standard for my colds, which have a clear pattern: insanely painful sore throat for a day or two, stuffy/runny nose for a day or two, cough for a day or two, and then the lingering dribbles).

Not sure what I'll do today, but I'm getting outside no matter what, darn it.

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You Are Responsible

People can count on you. You take duties and responsibilities seriously. You are easily delighted and inspired. Life is all about the little things. You can be unforgiving toward people who fail you. You have high, but not unreasonable, expectations. You're very picky but extremely devoted to the one you choose. You fall in love selectively.

The Bowl of Cereal Test

All that from a bowl of cereal. It's mostly right, and I'm amazed...

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Sun!!

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy. - John Denver

Holy smokes!! The sky is clear and blue outside.

:::faints dead away:::

Seriously, folks I don't know what I'm going to do with myself today -- it's supposed to be sunny and nice. Probably I'll go out and weed, and see if my garden survived the flood. My cucumbers, eggplant and squash weren't looking so great last time I checked on Saturday...

Didn't get my writing done yesterday -- but I have high hopes for today. DH has stuff to do, so shouldn't be underfoot.

Speaking of which, he's awake, so I'm going to sign off early. Today, I'll check for pillars and take some pix of my green, growing things.

Wishing you all a great day!



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You Should Celebrate with Champagne

You have high standards, and you are nice to everyone. Manners are important to you, even if that's old fashioned. You tend to follow norms. You figure why rock the boat unless there's a good reason to? You think of yourself as regular gal or guy next door. You do your best to make life a little special sometimes. You don't have a jealous bone in your body, and you're truly for happy for others when they succeed.

What's Your Celebration Drink?

About 3/4 right and champagne is the only alcohol that gives me a hangover, so I abstain. *G*

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Check!

Anyone's life truly lived consists of work, sunshine, exercise, soap, plenty of fresh air, and a happy contented spirit. - Lillie Langtry

Lots of sunshine? check.

No wind? check.

Good temps? check.

Walking the dog instead of blogging? check.

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You Are Energetic

Some people may consider you to be a bit too boring, but you find comfort in routine. You are a naturally curious person. You are truly interested in how the world works. You value your relationships, and you try to learn as much about your friends as possible. Novelty and variety recharge you. You are a true adventurer at heart.

The Paris Test

Mostly right.

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Sunshine and Flowers

Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul. - Luther Burbank

What a GORGEOUS weekend we're having here. Yesterday was beautiful, warm and sunny. We walked the dog and working in the yard. I finished stacking the logs DH cut down a couple weeks ago and then dug up all the bulbs that were coming up where he wants the fruit trees planted and moved them (I had a TON of irises ... those suckers really multiply). I have a million Forget-Me-Nots growing all over, including spots they shouldn't be, so today I'll move those.

I'm going to put off turning the garden, though, because they're calling for cold weather and lots of rain over the next couple of weeks, so I don't want to turn it only to have to turn it again.

My broccoli and cabbage seeds already sprouted (took three days!) and having green growing things is very exciting. Our Agway (as well as Home Depot and Lowes) all have their fruit trees out, too, so I'm going to run by today and see what they have and how much they cost.

I'm doing my best to NOT be tempted by the pansies. I like pansies okay, especially when it's colder, but once the warm weather comes they get leggy and don't look good at all. Still, they are the first flowers of spring, so ... I'm tempted.

I really love it when things start to warm up. From the sound of it (based on yesterday's comments), most of you are having nice weather, too. Isn't it grand?

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Your Early Bedtime Says You're Responsible

You're early to bed and early to rise... and a better person for it. You love waking up fresh to a new day, and you're at your best early in the morning. You are responsible and conscientiousness. You make an effort to always be prompt. You are sensitive to the environment around you. It's likely you wake up without an alarm clock.

What Does Your Bedtime Say About You?

That's pretty much right on! *G*

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Fun in the Sun

Anyone's life truly lived consists of work, sunshine, exercise, soap, plenty of fresh air, and a happy contented spirit. -
Lillie Langtry

Since we knew it was going to be an icky day today (rainy... blech), DD made the most of yesterday and will do her school today (one of the bennies of homeschooling!!).

Here's how she spent her day. Drawing chalk pictures of Dakota:

And riding her scooter up and down the road with the dog (usually shouting 'WAHOOOOOOO' at the top of her lungs):


I worked on the computer, cut down my dead hydrangeas and garden phlox and then, since DH was up helping his uncle do something at his uncle's property up north, and I knew it was going to rain today, I split wood.

Yes I did.

I have to admit that it's more than frustrating to have to take 10 - 15 whacks at a log with the maul before the stupid thing splits, when DH does it in 2 - 3, but even so, I did make a pile of chopped, split stuff.

I told DH what I'd done when he got home, and that I knew I'd only done ten logs or so -- but he said, "That's ten logs I don't have to do." Of course, then he went out and finished up the pile, whack, whack, whack.

Sunday, we'll be hitting the neighbor's wood pile. I'd like to say that today is a day of rest, but DD will be doing school and I will be building next week's LASR/WC website pages.

And, I might back some garlic herb bread, because it sounds good -- and baking is always a good choice on a rainy fall day.

What are your plans?

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You Are North

Like a Viking, you are assertive, decisive, and dominant. You seek power and destroy those in your way. People admire that you are so confident and independent. You seem to have the world figured out. Sometimes you come across as pushy and aggressive... not that you mind! You like being seen as tough. You make a fairly good leader, especially in times that require grit and ruthlessness. You are a warrior.

Are You North, South, East, or West?

Next stop... world domination. MUHAHAHAHAHAHA....

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Sunshine...

In June, as many as a dozen species may burst their buds on a single day. No man can heed all of these anniversaries; no man can ignore all of them. ~Aldo Leopold

Dear heavens... it's SUNNY. It wasn't supposed to be, and even the weather websites say it's cloudy here, but they LIE. I don't know how long it will last, but I'm in heaven.

Sadly, I had to take back the Yankee Flipper yesterday. After I opened it and read the instructions, I found it doesn't work with red squirrels or chipmunks. That's pretty much all I have on my feeders, so it wasn't appropriate. Apparently the one they recommend for those particular rodents is the Yankee Dipper -- not as amusing, but hopefully will save my seed. Agway ordered it for me. Have I mentioned how much I love them?

Speaking of Agway, they have all their baby chicks in and we visited with them a little bit yesterday. Dakota kept sticking her nose into the cracks, and the chicks would peck her and she'd jerk away and then do it all over again. Dork dog.

So, today, I may play hookey at least a little bit. The weeds in my gardens are going to need baling soon if I don't get them pulled. Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy again -- which will put a bit of a damper on our Father's Day barbecue, but I'll make the most of the moment.

Have a great day!

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You Are a Natural Beauty!

You're the kind of beauty that every guy dreams about... One that looks good in the morning - without a stitch of makeup That's doesn't mean you're a total hippie chic though You have style, but for you, style is effortless

What Type of Beauty Are You?

If that means I seldom wear make-up, then YES, they are right. *G*

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And the Winner Is....

My favorite weather is bird-chirping weather. ~Loire Hartwould

I ran all last months comments through Random.org and the winner of this month's contest is: LYNN REYNOLDS!!!

Lynn, email me at authormariannearkins AT gmail DOT com and tell me which prize you'd like to win from this page here.

Thanks to everyone for commenting... a new contest will start later today, when I've had a chance to peruse recently read stories and decide which one I want to share with someone.

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This weekend was absolutely lovely. Warm! Okay, warm for NH -- in the 40s. Sunny! The snow is melting like crazy -- almost my entire front lawn is exposed. Of course, we get brutal, full sun all day long there. My crocus are coming up like CRAZY. I'd forgotten how many bulbs I planted last fall -- I hope they all bloom at the same time. It'll be amazing. There must be 150 little plants all over the place.

Even better? The birds are beginning to sing up the sun. I LOVE that! It's such a happy way to start the day -- just as the sun begins to lighten the sky, the air fills with song. Yep... spring and summer are the best times of year.

I took LONG walks both days. One was 90 mins, the other an hour and my legs HURT today. I am so out of shape. It's so easy to turn into a blob in the winter. There's something about sunshine that begs you to go outside and DO something. Snow and clouds? Not so much.

I've finally talked DH into getting a treadmill for all of us (including Dakota!), but now I have to do my research and get the best bang for the buck. I'm looking for something with a wide enough track I'm not going to fall off with a misstep, something that inclines safely and will take a 200+ lb man running on it. I'd prefer something that folded, but that's optional. And I don't want something that's going to break down after a year. Anyone out there have any suggestions? I could use your help.

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I was going to do a test I found on a quiz site -- but I had some reservations as to its accuracy. The title? TEST HOW HIGH YOU'RE IQ IS.

So instead I give you:

You Are Fairly Skeptical

You're not the type of person who will fall for anything... But you do keep your mind open to all sorts of possibilities. You figure that anything could be true. After all, the world is a strange place. However, you're going to need some convincing before you can believe in aliens or reincarnation!

How Skeptical Are You?

Yep.. that's about right.

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Saturday Sunshine

No price is set on the lavish summer;
June may be had by the poorest comer.
~James Russell Lowell, The Vision of Sir Launfal, 1848

Re: Yesterday's post -- a few of you mentioned heading over to look at the new LASR, but it's not there yet. Monday morning it will be launched (actually I have my suspicions about my ability to sleep Sunday night, so it may be up earlier than any of us suspect, LOL).

Judy worked like a dog (not MY dog... but, yanno) yesterday working on an HTML template I built her for reviews. It gave me hope that we might just make this in time. When we started this, just over a week ago, I fluctuated between, "This will be a breeze!" (that was the first day), to "We'll never make it." (sounding like Glum in the old cartoon, Gulliver's Travels... remember him?). But, by golly, we might just make it... down to the wire, but still.

Phew.

Then I'm going to sleep for a week.

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Dakota has progressed to the sneezing phase of whatever germ she caught. Last night, she snored with a rattly sound from congestion in her nose. It was actually sort of cute, though probably not for her. Hopefully, she'll be herself again soon.

Poor puppy.

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Hot today. Humid. Sunny. It's rained for three days. Despite not being thrilled about the "humid" part, I'm really ready for some sun. Of course, I'll mostly be inside working on the site, looking out at the sun, but I imagine I'll find time to enjoy it at least a little bit.

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Belmont Stakes today. Despite all the hullabaloo about Big Brown and steroids, I'd be happy to see him win. I remember very clearly watched the Triple Crown races for the last winner, Affirmed. Those were AWESOME races... bet there will never be races that are nose-and-nose like Affirmed and Alydar again. Amazing. Still, it's been quite a while, and we're due. Should be good.

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Your Punk Band Name Is...

The Tired Octagon

What's Your Punk Band Name?

Yeah... that's me.... the tired octagon. I feel a bit more like a square, though...

Give me an H! Give me an E! Give me an A!

True love stories never have endings. ~Richard Bach

Okay folks... looks like, for the most part, romance readers are looking for the H-E-A (that's "Happily Ever After". Glad to hear it -- cuz, well, I am, too (*G*) and that's usually what I write.

Mel wrote a blog post yesterday about this, too, and I had to go comment of course. I'm stealing what I said there to post here, because I think it does affect the whole "Does the HEA work" thing.

I imagine it really is all about the execution. I didn't love "Blood Brothers" (surprisingly... cuz I'm a wicked Nora fangirl) because I didn't feel the love. Yet, a good friend of mine thought it was one of the best Nora Roberts books yet.

So, apparently, it's also about the reader. I got a review for my short story "Now That We've Found You" that said they didn't believe the characters could fall so hard so fast, and then today Charity mentioned that the ending to that particular story is one of her favorites.

::scratches head::

So, when an author says she's doing something for her readers, which readers is she talking about? Clearly, no two people think alike.

Still, in the end, it's obvious from the sales numbers that romance resonates with people and that folks are looking for some sort of HEA -- whether it's a "happy" or a "hopeful".

And, that's what I tried to get across in today's blog post.

And, now I'll shut up about it.

:-)

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It was a GORGEOUS day yesterday. I worked outside some, but would you believe it was TOO HOT to spend much time really working??? How is that possible?

Back in November, when my darling dog, Bailey, crossed the Rainbow Bridge, DH and I talked about a memorial garden for her. I had a place all picked out, and I knew I wanted to plant a dogwood tree (seemed appropriate *G*). Yesterday, I ran to our local Agway and took a look at the different dogwoods they had, and got shivers when I found the one I ultimately bought.

It was Bailey's Red Dogwood.

Yes. Really.

Give you goosebumps?

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DH bought new chairs for our deck... six plastic green ones that recline just slightly. We'd both been gone in different directions, and I got home just after he did, not realizing he'd made this new purchase and put them out on the deck. I just went in and let Dakota out of her crate.

She went tearing downstairs and then, all of sudden, she was barking up a storm! I hurried to see what the ruckus was, and lo and behold--she was standing about four feet away from the sliding glass door, barking at the chairs! Her fur was all poofed up and she sounded vicious! LOL...I laughed until I cried.

She is an endless source of amusement.

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Your Inner Child Is Scared

Like a kid, you tend to shy away from new experiences. You prefer what's tried and true - novelty is scary! New foods, new places, and new friends are difficult for you to deal with. Some say you're predictable, but you enjoy being comfortable.

How Is Your Inner Child?

Well... I wouldn't say I'm "scared", but I do agree that I like the familiar.