Blog Archives
Jingle bells out
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Yesterday Mari asked, “They ring bells?” Yes, Mari my dogs ring the above bells to go out. The bells are attached to the door that leads from the kitchen to the back porch.
We taught our old male, Malcolm to ring the bells when he wanted out. When we added our rescue girl Sadie to the household, he taught her how to ring them. After he died, Sadie was our only dog for a while. Then we got Gavin.
Sadie was old by then, but she passed on the lesson of the bells to Gavin before she died. Gavin became an expert bell ringer. He can ring those bells so well and loud that it will drive a person (usually me) up a wall—he likes to go out, often.
Gavin taught Patty how to ring the bells after she arrived on our doorstep as a rescue. She will ring them only when she really has to go out and she does it delicately. With Gavin it sounds like Santa’s entire sleigh is battering down the door, with Patty you will only hear a little jingle of the bells.
Posted in Dog related
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
It came from the north
Posted by doggonedmysteries
A cold front brought wind and rain mixed with snow. The storm didn’t last long. However, while it was here the rain and snow pelted sideways hard and fast. Gavin and Patty rang the bells to go out. I opened the door and they saw the rain. They beat a hasty retreat.
The pups no longer wanted to go out. I got those ‘are you insane?’ looks from them. They hadn’t been outside in hours and yet they decided they could wait.
Patty took the couch and Gavin, his chair. For several hours neither one moved. Dear Hubby went up for a nap. I worked on my book. All was quiet.
Gavin rang the bells to go out.
Posted in Dog related, My books, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
What foods do you crave when the seasons change?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I find my cravings change with the seasons. Right now, in the fall, I begin to crave vegetable laden soups and stews, crisp tart apples and apple cider, herb teas, pecan and pumpkin pies, and acorn squash. Dear Hubby wants slow cooked beef and pork roasts with mashed potatoes and carrots or corn. He wants apple crisp, bread pudding, and rice pudding with raisins all still warm from the oven.
My father would make a wonderful turkey soup after Thanksgiving. He’d boil down the turkey carcass, put in everything but the kitchen sink, and never wrote the darned thing down, he died in 1995. I’d almost perfected his recipe after years of trial and error when DH decided he no longer liked turkey. That was the end of that. Now I make chicken soup with a PA Dutch flair.
DH’s mother used to make one thing very well. She made an applesauce cake to die for however, she no longer bakes. No matter how often DH asks for it I won’t make her cake. Why? Because no matter how good it is, it can never compare to the memory of his mother’s.
It is fall, and I still crave Dad’s soup. DH still craves his mother’s applesauce cake. What foods do you crave when the seasons change?
Posted in Food, Holidays, Misc, My blog
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Fall, Family, Fiction, Food, Holidays, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Tons of leaves and two dogs
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Our yard has three trees, a large magnolia, a very tall tulip poplar, and a sweet gum tree. In the spring and summer, I love them. They shade our yard and house and keep us cool. In the fall, I’m not so fond of them. In the fall, they drop a ton of leaves.
I raked leaves today. Raked, and raked and raked them. I raked leaves until I thought my arms would fall off. I raked up enough leaves to hide several bodies in the piles if I wanted to. Each pile is waist high and at least twelve feet long.
Ah, yes the piles of leaves. If you have kids (I don’t), they are a magnet. You would think I’d have it easy without kids around. However, I have two dogs who think they are kids and—you guessed it, the leaf piles are magnets to them.
Our city will pick up the leaves if they are out on the street. I need to haul those two huge piles of leaves out there. Well, I will move them if I can keep the dogs out of them.
I raked leaves. Patty flew out the door and leapt into the nearest pile with great glee. I raked the leaves back into the pile. Gavin decided that she looked as though she was having fun so he followed suit and barreled into the other pile of leaves. I raked again. They both dashed through the first pile of leaves. I raked. With every trip outside—they played and I raked.
My work gloves didn’t prevent the blisters from appearing on my hands. I’m pooped. Tomorrow the pups will be going outside on leashes until I can move the leaves out of the yard.
Posted in Dog related, Misc, 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, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Peeling back the layers
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Every person has layers, like onions. They have layers to their personalities, their life experiences, and even their dreams. In creating characters, we need to remember this. We need to give them those all important layers. Without them, our characters fall flat.
We don’t need to write every detail but we need to know the minutiae behind our characters. We need to know the little nuances that will make them unique and real to the readers. We need to bring them to life.
How do we do this? Some people make complicated charts, lists, and countless outlines. I’m lazy I don’t. I have a one paragraph character description, maybe two, or three for major characters, in a file for each book I’m writing. The most important thing is to peel back the layers and show the character’s goals, needs, and morality.
You need to show what drives the character. Once you know what drives each character, what is beneath each layer, you’ve given them those all important three dimensional lives that will make the readers come back for more.
Posted in My blog, My books, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Um, the check is in the mail?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I was going to sit down and write checks for all the bills tonight. I guess I wasn’t supposed to. After I wrote out the second check and went to write the third one, I was surprised to find that I didn’t have any checks left in the book. “Okay,” I thought, “I’ll get a new book of them out.” I dug around where I keep the checks and to my chagrin I found that yes, I’d used not only my last check in the book, but I’d used my last check.
GAH! Thank heavens I could go online and order more checks. I hope the different companies I was writing checks to (okay, was going to write them to) can wait for the new checks to arrive since I can’t pay any of them online. That’ll teach them.
I’ve become so used to paying most of my bills through my bank or online I tend to forget that the city and county want their bills paid by check or cash. They are so far behind the times it’s silly.
Now if only I can remember to buy stamps….
Posted in Misc
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, Writer, Writing
16 lbs of candy and a ton of smiles
Posted by doggonedmysteries
It was interesting to see which costumes were popular among the Trick or Treaters this year. We had a great many firemen and a few other super heroes among the boys. There were more pirate wenches than there were pirates. The girls that visited brought more variety, dressing as vampires, witches, fairies, fairy princesses, princesses, and the pirate wenches I mentioned before.
We seldom had a lull. At times, the line of T or T’ers stretched for a block. At other times, they came from two directions. All of the children were polite and said thank you. Wow, was that delightful.
We played music and had plenty of flashing lights, which contributed to several impromptu dance parties in the street. (It’s a good thing we’re on a side street and not a main street.) I even handed candy out to some people who drove by and commented on our display. All the smiles, children’s and adults’ that we saw Friday night were priceless.
Posted in Food, Holidays, My blog
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Food, fun, Halloween, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Trick or Treat, Writer, Writing
This is why I enjoy Trick or Treat night
Posted by doggonedmysteries
These pictures are only a few of the people who came by. We had so many Trick or Treaters that we finally gave up on taking pictures. We went through 16 lbs of candy this year. We all had a blast.
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Candy, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Food, fun, Halloween, Holidays, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Trick or Treat, Writer, Writing
Halloween break 2009
Posted by doggonedmysteries
This is my ‘see you in two days’ post. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be busy getting ready for Friday’s festivities. I’ll be back on Saturday with pictures of our fun. I’m hoping to snap plenty of pictures of the little monsters who show up at our porch. That all depends on fast they come through though. Last year we had so many large groups arrive, I never got a chance to take pictures of them.
You try taking pictures when you have to work the fog machine and hand out candy at the same time. We did have fun though. Maybe if I beg Dear Hubby enough he’ll be willing to snap a few pictures.
Have fun! Many thanks to you for stopping by. For those of you who take the time to comment on my posts, I am grateful.
Posted in My blog
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Food, fun, Halloween, Holidays, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Trick or Treat, Writer, Writing
Stitching seamless scenes
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Do your scenes give your reader the maximum effect? Does each one move your story forward? They do? Well then, you are well on your way. All you need do now is seamlessly connect the scenes. Make the story flow, be logical, and compel the reader to keep turning the pages.
Cue the sound of car tires screeching to a halt. “What?”
Not so easy is it?
As many writers do, I agonize over each scene I write. Did I build the tension in that one? Have I thrown enough conflict at my protagonist? Did I end the last scene with enough oomph to carry on to the next one? Are the goals clear enough? And on and on….
If your scenes fall flat and the connections are rough, sometimes you need to step back for a day or two and then read what you’ve written with fresh eyes. Read from the last scene to the first one. This can often make the raw connections jump out at you and you’ll see where you need to fix them.
Dear Hubby says that some days watching me write is painful. I tell him, that some days writing is like wrenching each word out of my brain with an upholstery needle. On good days, the words flow and the scenes stitch together as if run off on a sewing machine.
Posted in My blog, My books, Writer, Writing
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, Writer, Writing
Summer versus winter
Posted by doggonedmysteries
In the wee hours of the morning, the sound of a distant train, crickets, waterfall, and fountains I’ll miss it in the winter. Instead, I’ll hear the steady breathing of two sleeping dogs, the furnace running, wind howling, and the murmur of the TV that never stops.
The scent of fresh mown grass, flowers in bloom, and warm garden soil. Instead, I’ll smell dogs, a stuffy house, and many meals cooked.
Instead of the warmth of the summer sun on my face and arms, a gentle breeze, and the grass tickling my feet. I’ll feel cold, the crunch of snow under my boots, the slip of ice, and burn of cold winds.
Instead of watching flowers bend in a breeze, radiant sun shine, trees full of green leaves, and insects playing tag with each other. I’ll watch snow blowing across the yard; icicles drip and hang from the eaves, and sunshine turning snow and ice into gleaming diamonds.
The taste of grilled foods, fresh fruit, vegetables, and berries picked a moment before. Instead, I’ll taste hot soups, stews, and comfort, stick to your ribs foods.
Yes, I enjoy living where I have four seasons. However, three of them, spring, summer, and fall are my favorites. I’ve lived in warmer places, colder ones too. Where I live now suits me.
Posted in Misc, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
It bugs me that…
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Dear Hubby is always in pain and I can do nothing to help ease it.
We can’t visit my Aunts and Cousins more often. I do wish they lived closer to us.
I get an average of at least 50 hits a week on my Bottom Line Books scam post. This indicates that the company is continuing to rip people off at an alarming rate.
I have inconsiderate neighbors who think nothing of blocking our driveway. This means I have to waste time hunting someone down to have him or her move his or her vehicle in an emergency when I need to get my car out of the driveway. I know this because I’ve had to do it more than once when DH’s mother has fallen or when he’s needed me to take him to the ER. I’d have them ticketed, but by the time the police show up, they are gone. These are the same people who persistently honk their car horns at all hours, crank the car stereos up so high that my walls shake, and they leave their dog outside to bark all day long no matter what the weather.
The summers go by so quickly and the winters seem to stay longer. Of course, I thought they did this when I was a kid, but it seems to go even faster now.
What’s bugging you?
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, bugging me, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Rants, Writer, Writing
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