Category Archives: My blog
A buffet of possibilities
Posted by doggonedmysteries
We write chapters of our life with each day we live, every turn on our path, and bump in the road. When we stumble, we can either move forward or fall on our faces. I am of the move forward school of thought.
Keep moving forward don’t turn back. I’ve burned a few bridges, but then haven’t we all burned one or two? When you live with regrets, regrets will kick you in the shins, beat you over the head, or eat your heart out. I won’t live with them. Regrets make lousy roommates.
I’d rather dine on the buffet of possibilities. I want to lift the tops of the chafers on the buffet and snack. I want to drink the heady wine of discovery. I will dance with the future. Hand in hand with my love move forward. I will help him over the bumps, pick him up when he falls, and together we’ll write more chapters. In life, there are always possibilities.
Posted in My blog, Uncategorized, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Their there here hear…yes, another post on writing
Posted by doggonedmysteries
DON’T DEPEND ON YOUR SPELLCHECKER. Do you write there (look over there) when you mean their (It belongs to those people)? Here (It is here) for hear (my ears hear)? Your (the possessive form of you) for you’re (you are)? Do you make these mistakes so often that your critiquing group cringes when they have to read something you give them? Are they so tired of marking the mistakes that they’ve adopted special shorthand notations to correct them? Don’t whine to them that your spellchecker didn’t catch the words because it won’t. You have spelled the words correctly but you have used the wrong words.
MAKE A LIST. If you know you repeatedly make the same mistakes make a list of the words you most often misuse. Keep it in front of you when you write.
I have a friend who made these spelling blunders to the point of driving me up a wall. Then I suggested she keep a list of her most frequent and glaring errors in front of her while she is writing so she can double check them. I am pleased to say that her writing has improved.
Posted in My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
A Nor’easter blows through
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Nor’easter shmoreaster it’s friggin cold, windy, wet, and plain old miserable. Wouldn’t you know I’d have to go out in all this muck to shop? I hate shopping. I hate it even more when it’s nasty outside.
There’s nothing like wrestling a forty pound bag of dog food out of a cart and slinging it into the back of the van with rain pounding down around you. That is except schlepping bags from a fully loaded shopping cart of groceries into said vehicle on the same trip. At which time there was the bonus of large snowflakes added to the downpour. (Lee if you’re reading this, you can stop laughing now it didn’t stick to the ground.)
Oh, joy, the first snow of the season, blecch! Mother Nature isn’t finished with us yet, she’s ordered another Nor’easter to come through here right behind this one. Gee, thanks Ma.
The dogs and Dear Hubby were all snug in the house. I was not. I was carrying things into the house. Rain soaked, windblown, and cold I dragged the last bag in. DH told me he was going upstairs to take a nap. And people wonder why I write murder mysteries…
Posted in Dog related, Misc, My blog, Uncategorized
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Koi, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, weather, Writer, Writing
I haven’t a clue
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Wait, I know. It was Colonel Mustard in the conservatory with the candlestick. No, that’s not it.
When I sat down to my computer tonight, I had no clue what I was going to write about, but then I usually don’t. I set a goal to write an average of two hundred words a day on this blog when I started it. Some nights I write more, some less, but it does average out in the end. Why did I set this goal? I had to prove to myself that I could do it.
This blog is a journey, a discovery of who I am. It is where I let off steam, play, and sometimes drive myself ‘round the bend. Yes, I admit it. It is a short drive—hardly a revolution of the wheels.
What I’ve found is that I can succeed at what I put my mind to. Good news for me because I want my books finished, published, and enjoyed by all. This is my mind set.
In addition to writing this blog, I work on my books. The writing of them isn’t easy because life often interferes but I will write them.
Posted in Misc, My blog, My books, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Fall is here
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Fall has arrived. The leaves are rapidly changing colors and dropping to the ground. I need to get the netting up over the pond soon or I’ll have another huge mess to clean up next spring. I went through it this year and I don’t want to do it again. We do have to raise the netting a bit, so we don’t have the frogs snagging themselves.
I have some PVC pipe to use to construct a framework that I can drape the net over and clip it leaving a 3 to 4 inch space between the bottom of the netting and the ground. That should keep most of the leaves out of the pond and give the frogs free access for as long as they need it.
I took Gavin outside today the air was brisk, the wind moderate, and he was full of himself. The fact is, he was full of himself he didn’t smell, see, notice, or find the dead frog. He walked right past it. No, it wasn’t Goliath. It was a rather large bullfrog but not as big as the worm moocher, Goliath.
However, at the time I didn’t know it wasn’t Goliath because these frogs are seldom active until dusk. Later, I went out to check the pond and quite happily discovered Goliath sitting on the bench rock waiting for me to serve up some worms.
Posted in Dog related, My blog, my garden
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Pond, Ponds, Writer, Writing
Buried alive in catalogues
Posted by doggonedmysteries
It would be such a waste if our city didn’t recycle. I struggled to take our paper recycling bin out the curb tonight. Filled to capacity the darned thing is heavy. We put most paper, cardboard, and pasteboard into our blue bins. All the junk mail goes. Sometimes my blue bin can wait for two weeks between recycling nights. However, it seems that this week we had an over abundance of junk mail arrive and it’s not even near an election right now. I pondered this for a while.
Then it hit me. Ah, yes. The bin contained catalogues. It had dozens of catalogues from every imaginable place for every item that exists. Why? “Tis the season and the catalogue storm has only just begun.
We spent far too many hours mining through the Mother-In-Law’s house while she was in the rehab hospital. Therefore, tonight I reminded Dear Hubby to make sure every catalogue she gets hits her bin over the next few months. I do not want to find her buried alive under an avalanche of them some time around Christmas.
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Elder Care, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Recycling, Writer, Writing
Back to a quiet neighborhood?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
It looks as though the front porch and roof construction across the street is finally nearing an end. I’ll be so glad to have the peace and quiet back. From the time the work began, the workers have kept a radio blasting and they start a little after seven in the morning. The work itself isn’t quiet. All of this takes place below my bedroom window. I am somewhat sleep deprived and cranky these days.
I won’t miss the sounds of hammers, saws, cement trucks, wood tossed into dumpsters, the loud radio, and the yelling. I won’t miss the cars of the workers parked everywhere, nor will I miss the honking horns of them leaving.
Why do people have to honk their car horns for anything other than an emergency? For that matter, why do they blast their music so loud that it not only rattles the windows but the bass levels rattle the entire house? Then again, I was one of those teens who didn’t blast my music to deafening levels. Yep, I was weird.
I’d love to see those cars that have the bass up to sonic boom levels suddenly crumble into teensy pieces of metal or fiberglass leaving the startled driver sitting on a seat in the middle of the road. Mwahahaha! Did I say I was a bit cranky?
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
How many ways can you say ‘have sex’ and keep it, uh, clean?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
As writers, we have to come up with various ways to say ‘having sex’ without delving into the use of that four letter word. I mean we COULD use that word BUT then you get editors and readers who don’t like the word and stop reading. We don’t want that! Many of us use that word—I include myself in there, but we use it sparingly in our writing, if at all.
At the May Pennwriters conference, the subject came up when I asked Dave, after reading his works for years, just exactly how many ways he could say it. (Actually, I think I said, “Holy crap, Dave you can write F___ in more ways than anyone I know. Have you ever written them all down in a list? We could have some fun by asking everyone what euphemisms they use.) He often surprises me with his euphemisms. Today he finally got around to sending me a list of fifty three.
Dave’s List
- Bang
- Bed bounce
- Bedroom bolero
- Boff
- Boink
- Bounce the Beauty Rest
- Bump uglies
- Bury his boner
- Condom Cha-cha
- Dip his wick
- Do the nasty
- Futon fandango
- Foxtrot on the futon
- Get laid
- Grope and poke
- Haul his ashes
- Honk his horn
- Hop her bones
- Horizontal hoedown
- Hump
- Lay down lap dance
- Massage his mast
- Mating Macarena
- Mattress mambo
- Nail
- Party on the Posturepedic
- Polka on the Posturepedic
- Poke
- Polish his pole
- Pump
- Pump his pole
- Punch
- Put out
- Quickie
- Ride his rod
- Ride the saddle
- Rock the rack
- Rod rumba
- Screw
- Serta samba
- Shake the Serta
- Slide the salami
- Split her uprights
- Stroking his pole
- Sweat the sheets
- Tangle the sheets
- Tangle toenails
- Toe-to-toe tango
- Trojans tango
- Warming his wick
- Waxing his wick
- Woody massage
- Woody waltz
Now, I’m sure there are plenty of writers and regular people who have other euphemisms. Romance writers probably have a whole dictionary of them. You are welcome to add to the list. I only have 4 rules.
- Keep it fairly clean and no fair using the words sex, F**k, or anything Dave beat you to with his list.
- Please no mentioning the body parts involved by name or vulgar slang terms. I don’t want this blog X-rated.
- I have the right of approval, if I find your list offensive I will edit or delete it.
- Dave and I have the right to appropriate all really, really, good ones for our own use. 😉
Posted in My blog
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Harlequin Romances, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Romance writers, Writer, Writers, Writing, writing romance
Procrastination or a necessity?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I finally got around to clearing my desk of junk. Papers, magazines, old bills, and various other piles of debris landed in the recycling bin. Lo and behold, I found my desk.
Was this another delaying tactic on my part? No, in truth, the desk was in dire need of cleaning. I could’ve written my novel in the dust. The heaps of crap stuff were beginning to block my computer monitor. I can’t write if I can’t see the danged screen now can I. When all that’s left sticking out of the detritus is a keyboard, mouse, and three quarters of a monitor screen, I think it’s time to clean. I could call in Kim and Aggie and have them clean, but I don’t think my house is dirty enough to qualify.
Have you seen those houses they clean on that show? If mine looked that ghastly, I’d burn it down. I certainly wouldn’t allow those two women and a camera crew to come in and film them screeching in horror at the filth.
Does a clean and organized desk make you a better writer? I’m not certain about that yet I’ll let you know.
Posted in Misc, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, cleaning, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, how clean is your house, Humor, Kim and Aggie, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, what a mess, Writer, Writing
Healthy dog and no oven light
Posted by doggonedmysteries
As we begin a new week, I’m happy to note that Gavin seems to be back to 100%. There is no swelling in his face or neck and he’s been full of himself all day with this cooler weather. He’s felt so good that he completely wound up Patty. I’m lucky to have a stick left standing in the house. What a pair of loons.
The light in my oven blew tonight. The original light that came with the oven several years back. The oven is a wall oven and the light is in the back, I’m short I can’t reach it without a ladder. Hell, I can’t reach it WITH a ladder.
Dear Hubby decided to come to the rescue. He removed the light cover and went to remove the bulb. The bulb broke at the base. No, the potato trick wouldn’t work. We can’t get the base of the light out. It is well and truly stuck, and now quite a mess, since he tried to remove it with tools. He tried pliers, needle nosed pliers, even a friggin’ chisel for heaven’s sake. I have no light in my oven. I have a mangled, completely stuck, base of a light bulb, but no light.
Posted in Dog related, Misc, My blog
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, 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
Chocolate is brain food
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Okay, that may not necessarily be true, but it works for me. I inherited the chocolate loving gene from my grandmother. I don’t eat so much of it as to gain weight I eat only a little each day. I can claim chocolate as part of the vegetable food group, can’t I? It comes from a bean…. Vegetable. It relaxes me, it helps me think, and I love it.
( Hey, Jennie, tonight I finished that dark chocolate bar you sent. It was yummy!)
Hmm. Therefore, if I follow that same form of logic as is found in the first paragraph, it means that coffee is vegetable juice. Oh, goody. I’ll tell that one to Dear Hubby’s doctor, it will crack him up for sure.
I drink gallons of coffee. Ask Dave he’ll tell you how I carry coffee with me at all times. When I visit the Aunts, I phone them from down the road a piece from the house and ask them if they have the coffee on. They always do.
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Chocolate, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Food, gifts, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
A little of this and that
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I received a lovely surprise in my mailbox today. The prize package from Jennie arrived. She’s such a dear. She didn’t have to send the package all the way here from Cardiff, Wales. She could’ve fibbed and sent it to someone closer. I’m glad she did send it to me though because it’s a delightful little treasure trove.
The news that one of my favorite actors has died threw me for a loop. I’ve always adored Patrick Swayze and kept hoping he’d beat that nasty pancreatic cancer.
We’ve had two sunny days in a row now—Hooray for the sun! I managed to backwash the pond filters, pick five tomatoes and a dozen or so grape tomatoes. There’s still more out there that aren’t ready yet. The first hint of a frost around here and I’ll scrabble to pick all the green tomatoes—we do love fried green tomatoes.
After I finished the yard work, I went straight to my computer and spent several hours reading and critiquing one of Dave’s books. He’s truly an excellent writer. In fact, I think I used ‘excellent’ more than once in my comments on his manuscript. I’m telling you people, when his books are published, you have to read them.
Posted in In memory of..., Misc, My blog, my garden, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pond, Ponds, Writer, Writing
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