Monthly Archives: February 2010
Finally decided on a paint color for the kitchen…
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I’ve wanted to paint the kitchen forever. I’ve waffled over this repeatedly. One after another, paint sample cards have hung on the wall above the cabinets where I can see them from my desk. Some were too dark, others too light, then one day a few months ago, G gave me a couple of cards she’d brought home for her own use and had used to choose her colors.
I narrowed my choices down to two colors. Behr paint’s Delicious Melon and Luminary both extremely close but it was the darker of the two that seems to work best. Luminary was my choice. It draws on the floor tile color, it’s light enough to be cheerful, and it has a nice warmth to it.
This will be my spring project. Once I can open the windows I’ll go buy the paint. Painting anything in this house takes on a comedic shape. Two Bull Terriers, a ladder, drop cloth, paint rollers, and fresh paint are disasters waiting to happen. It’s good thing the wall color will be similar to the floor.
That sounds weird, similar to the floor. I’m telling you it will look nice. The cabinets are a medium stain on birch and the counter top is forest green. The floor is a pale peach tone with small accent tiles of green. The back splash is white. The paint will make the cabinets pop and it will brighten an ugly paneled kitchen. When I do it this spring, I’ll post before and after pictures.
We are not responsible for the paneling it was here when we moved in. I’d tear it down but then that would mean hiring someone in to put up dry wall and take down the nasty drop ceiling. We can’t afford that.
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pets, Writer, Writing
I really didn’t want to break in my new boots
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Worn out and no longer warm, my old winter boots were ready for the trash. For the life of me, I couldn’t find a decent pair in a style I liked. [Warm, waterproof, and easily slipped on and off.] I’m lazy and when the pups want out they want out NOW. Finally, I found a pair in a catalog and ordered them several weeks ago. They arrived last week.
We had some cold weather the last few weeks but the snow had passed us by. My new boots sat by the back door neglected, unworn, and I prayed they’d stay that way until next year. I hate snow.
No such luck. It is snowing tonight. I had to put them on to take the dogs out for their last piddle break. That was around 1 a.m. and, by then, we already had an inch of that white stuff. It’s after 3 a.m. and it’s still snowing. At least it’s not a blizzard. The snow is falling gently and it is quite fluffy.
I hope when I wake it is sunny and the snow is gone or, at least, mostly gone.
Posted in My blog, Weather related
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Snow, Writer, Writing
Word choices
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I can’t tell you how often I will fuss over word choices. A first draft is rife with bad choices. My verbs are feeble and lackluster. The descriptions are hackneyed and drab.
“It’s boring, boring, BORING!” I scream as I read over a new page. “I can do better.”
I believe my delete and backspace keys will wear out long before any of the other keys on my keyboard.
Dear Hubby and Gavin are used to this and don’t bat an eye. Patty will often dive for her crate but that’s how she is.
I go over each word, dredging for something better, brighter, and stronger. No wonder it takes me so long to write. I want my readers to feel the textures, hear the sounds, see, even taste and smell what my character sees, tastes and smells. I want to yank you into the story, suspend your disbelief, and entertain you.
Have patience with me. It’s my greatest hope that you will feel satisfied and entertained when you finish one of them. If I can do that, and make you want more, I will be content.
Posted in My blog, My books, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Gavin doesn’t do well with change
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Poor Gavin. He’s very confused. Our kitchen is the coldest room in the house. Gavin’s crate has been in the kitchen since he arrived here at the age of eight weeks. He’s now eight years old. I moved his crate to the living room tonight. With the dreadfully cold weather we’ve had lately, he’s been fussing at night in his crate trying to cover himself with his bedding.
I did some rearranging of furniture a few hours ago and his crate is now next to Patty’s. (Oh, yeah this has also confused her a bit.) When I moved Gavin’s crate, he was busy getting a belly tickle from DH so he really didn’t notice. When DH finished, I showed Gavin where his crate was. I did, honestly I did. Gavin even went in and out of it several times.
Then we let Patty out of her crate so she could see the change too. She thought it was a funny joke. She quickly pounced on, and teased Gavin. Then she did a silly huckle butt on the couch. All this wound Gavin up and he raced back and forth from living room to kitchen. They took a while to settle down.
When I told them to kennel up, Gavin ran to the kitchen and looked for his crate, and looked for his crate, and stood in the middle of the floor looking puzzled. I showed him his crate, again. It’s going to take a while for him to get used to this. In the meantime, I might need to go looking for a dog psychologist.
Posted in Dog related, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing


