Category: This & That

Summer Breeze…

I’m going on blogiday! With the RWA National conference in Washington, D.C. occurring this week, it’s the perfect time for me to take a break. I’m not attending the conference, so theoretically I could still blog. But it’s summer, my BFF just moved home for six months and I want to catch up with her, I’m still recovering from the parties and BBQs I attended on the weekend, plus I can use the time to catch up on writing goals I didn’t quite make last week.

Penny has drafted the entirety of her new erotica short. My goal is to get it revised this week. I’m also judging a contest that requires written critiques rather than filling out score sheets, so that’s always a bit more work. I need to do some management work on the Nobody Writes It Better group blog, and I need to revamp some aspects of my own blog (the style sheet, etc., stuff I’ve been meaning to do for months but never seem to get around to). I doubt I’ll get to my own blog fixes this week. If I update WordPress, I’ll be happy.

What else do I have on schedule? Oh, yeah, following up on a manuscript I fear has been misplaced. Then, next week, if Penny’s done her revisions, it’ll be time for me to get back to work on SEX, PIs & PACKING TAPE. It’s revision time for that manuscript. Working on the short for Penny, plus catching up on household tasks, has provided me several weeks “time off” from this manu. I’m looking forward to brainstorming and applying the revisions.

Have fun while I’m gone, everyone! If anything truly amazing occurs over the next week, I’ll check in. Otherwise, the summer breeze is making me feel fine….

Family Birthdays

I won’t name names (I’m guessing I’ll get in trouble posting this picture as it is…if they find out), but let’s just say I’m related to the two people below. Let’s just say I’m older than both of them, so tormenting them is my right. Let’s add on that they are both cuter than spit in this picture! Let’s not quibble that spit ain’t that cute.

Let’s say I’m taking the shorter one to lunch today, because it’s her birthday. Happy birthday, LP!

Let’s say I’m attending a big family party tomorrow, because that’s the taller one’s birthday. Happy birthday, TB!

Every year we have a big family party on the double birthday. LP has never celebrated a birthday without her older brother, I don’t think.

Note the wonderful pineapple upside-down cake, courtesy of our esteemed mother:

t_s_bdays

More Les Fleurs

My peony bush has finally lost all its blooms. Man, was it laden with them this year! To think that monster peony bush once hid behind a shrub banking the house. Every spring I’d wonder why the heck a white, bushy flower or two was poking up over the shrub. Then, when we put on our addition, we took out the shrub. Low and behold, El Peony Bush appeared and has been going nuts every since.

Here are two pics of the peony and one of a baby marigold. It’s in a separate garden that didn’t want to get left out.

f_white_peony

I’m Ready For My Close-Up

f_white_peony_2

Not THAT Close!

f_baby_marigolds

Baby Marigolds

Monday Musings

As the countdown to the RWA National Conference in Washington, D.C. begins, I find myself surprisingly glad that I’m not going. Okay, maybe I’ve just talked myself into it, but after two years in a row of attending National, I’m ready for a break. Typing this, I realize I’ve never attended National three years in a row. I suppose I will some day. This year, given the cost of flying across the continent, the fact that neither I nor Penny sold a project in ’08, and because I’ve attended National in D.C. once before, I don’t think I’ll miss it. I’ll miss seeing my Looney Bin and Scrabble buddies, Tina Ferraro and Diana Duncan, attending the RITA ceremonies as nominees, however. Wouldn’t it be cool if they both won their categories?

As for myself, I’m looking forward to continuing to write instead of going crazy prepping for conference. The money I would have spent on new conference clothes can go toward the new stove instead. Last week, I began a new story for Penny, her first “short.” Wrote 3800 words on Thursday, I think it was. Aside from the year I participated in NaNaWriMo, that’s a record for me. Am revising them now before proceeding with writing new stuff. Target market requires 5000-15,000 words, so I have a lot of leeway.

Meanwhile, my cindpk ST is sitting and gathering inspiration. Depending on how Penny’s short story goes this week, I might dig into revisions on the cindypk in another week. Two at the outside. I don’t want to leave it sitting too long.

I signed up for Carbonite last week, an on-line document backup system. I really like it, it’s easy to use, but my desktop is 4.5 years old, and, alas, I fear Delbert is too slow for Carbonite. I’ll have to allow my trial to expire and return to using flashdrives.

With the weather so nice lately, for the first time in my writing life I’m really feeling the absence of a laptop. Especially now that the household budget has recovered from buying each of the kids a laptop for high school graduation. And, also, the cost of those new netbooks is rather tempting. If I sell something this year, I might indulge in a netbook or a small laptop. I prefer my ergonomic desktop keyboard, but the portability of a netbook/laptop is carroting in front of my eyes.

A heads-up, I’m blogging at Nobody Writes It Better on Wednesday, July 1st, which is Canada Day for those not in the know. I’m giving away a paperback copy of my Canadian-set novel, HEAD OVER HEELS (by the way, if you visit that link, the upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 seems to have affected some spacing issues on my Books pages. I’ll have to fix that one of these days).

I’ll post a reminder about the book give-away Wednesday. How is your week shaping up?

 

Les Fleurs

I’m finding it really hard to get used to My Liege taking nearly every Monday off work. It shortens my week!

I’m brainstorming a new story for Penny. Pretty much have a title, maybe a setting, and maybe some character names. Oh, and a theme. Or plot. Whatever you choose to call it. Let’s just say it has something to do with the number 3.

Seeing as my mind is otherwise occupied, I thought I’d take this opportunity to share some of my flower pics. These are from my mother’s garden, taken 3 (there’s that number again) or so weeks ago. Enjoy!

Dying Tulips

“Dying Tulips”

Don’t you love the feathery edges? (They were feathery before the tulips began their descent into oblivion).

Tiger, Tiger

“Tiger, Tiger”

That bud thing looks like it’s pushing the tiger.  If I were the tiger, I’d snap its head off. This is why I’m not a flower. Too violent.

Bee-Have

“Bee-Have!”

I believe this is called an Onion Flower. All I care is that it’s purple and spiky, and that my monster zoom lens allowed me to capture the bee.

Nod to Dads

fathers_day

My Liege is golfing with our sons today, and I’m visiting my dad in a few. To all the wonderful fathers out there, have a great day!