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Rainy night rainy day…
Posted by doggonedmysteries
My plants are happy. We’ve had rain, rain, and more rain. The dogs aren’t happy they don’t like wet. I’m not happy because I’m typing this up in between thunderstorms—not my favorite weather.
We did need the rain, if only so I didn’t have to water the gardens. It was beginning to look as though I might before the rain began last night, and has continued throughout the day and into the night again.
I took the pups out for their last chance for the night out a few minutes ago. Patty went out first, she hates rain, and she thinks she’ll melt in the stuff. She cringed out the door, her tail tucked under, and clamped so tightly against her belly, I wondered if she’d actually untuck it long enough to pee.
Then Gavin had his turn although he’s not as theatrical as Patty he does show some disdain for the rain. Rather than dawdle he was done quickly and back in the door like a shot.
Earlier in the week, I’d thought about penciling in cleaning the kitchen floor on Thursday—not going to happen with the pups tracking in. I’ll wait until the mud is gone.
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, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Never a dull moment
Posted by doggonedmysteries
There are days when I swear I own two baby elephants and not two Bull Terriers. When they decide to tear around the house, they rock the joint. Two wooden camels, Don Quixote, William Shakespeare, and a few other carvings on the top shelf of the curio cabinet walk from one side to the other. On the top of my desk, my computer speakers do a square dance with pictures. Ganesh swings his partner gargoyles and they promenade left and right.
Patty loves to dive onto the couch and race from end to end slamming her butt against the arms to stop and turn. Sometimes she races along the back of it—my poor, worn out couch. I don’t care, she’s having fun, and that’s what matters. Gavin’s favorite dash takes him from the living room to the kitchen where he uses the cupboard to stop and make his turn to run headlong back into the living room. Yes, this can be a lively house.
What I don’t understand is why they wait until I get up to expend all this energy. When they are alone downstairs with Dear Hubby, Gavin is asleep in a chair and Patty is unconscious on the couch. At least that’s what DH tells me.
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
A klutz’s guide to yard work
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Dear Hubby finally listened to me and bought a weed whacker that isn’t too heavy for me to handle. I really like this one. It is battery powered. There’s no electric cord to drag around or heavy gas tank to struggle with or refill.
Today was sunny and warm. I decided to trim around the yard and gardens. I was blithely trimming away then I stepped backwards and tripped over a couple of bricks. As I looked at the sky, I pondered. Why was I seeing the sky? Gee, the hummingbird vine on the arbor needs trimming. I hoped none of the neighbors saw me do that double deluxe flip. Maybe I could tell them I was trying some new gymnastic move. Yeah, sure. They’d believe that.
Time to take inventory. Hey feet, you okay? Yeah, we’re fine. Ankles? Still here. Legs and knees? We’re a go. Hips? Not a problem. Back? Spry as ever. Shoulders, arms, and head? Ready. Whew.
Okay, the human was fine, but how was the machinery? I stood, picked up the weed whacker, turned it on and it worked too. What a relief. I shut it off. Then I heard my neighbor yell from her bedroom window, “Glad you got up. I was ready to send my husband over to check on you.”
Rats.
Posted in Misc, 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, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
High Fashion, high heels, a klutz, and Bull Terriers
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I’m no fashion plate. I wear jeans and T-shirts all the time. When you have dogs, fashionable clothes shred easily if worn anywhere near them. I own a few dresses but they seldom see the light of day or moonlight for that matter. One of my dresses almost killed me. I caught the heel of my shoe in the hem and went ass over tin cups. It was a good thing that I was outside and had a soft landing on a nice, thick lawn. The shoes didn’t have much of a heel and still I fell. Okay, so I’m a klutz. I admit it. I have the T-shirt that says so.
I can’t wear high heels. Hell, I don’t even own a pair for fear of falling off them. That’s why I live in flip flops or, when I have to wear shoes, sneakers. The highest pair of heels I have are about two inches and I’ve only worn the shoes twice—I don’t get out much.
I have two Bull Terriers—not the best choice of dogs for a klutz to have. My dogs are walking road blocks. Occasionally, they seem to take great delight in tripping either Dear Hubby or me. Gavin’s paws often aim for my feet when I’m not wearing sneakers. Lately, since it is flip-flop season, the most often heard expression with the properly added expletive is, “Ow! Foot! Get off my ******* foot!” Patty doesn’t aim for my feet as frequently but she’s managed to get a paw in from time to time.
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
Patty as Esther Williams
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Patty hates baths, rain, wet towels, washcloths, and squirt guns. I’ve spent hours and numerous cookies trying to coax and or trick her into the bathtub to give her a bath. Once I get her in the tub, she cringes in the corner, tucks her tail, ducks her head, and looks pitiful. You send her out in the rain and you get the same reaction. You would think you were killing her if you try to wipe her face with a wet paper towel or washcloth. That is if you can catch her because when she see’s you coming at her with one she runs, hides in the back of her crate, and plays invisible dog.
Now if only someone could explain her fascination with the pond. Why is it, that when I turn my back for a second, I’m certain to find her standing on the rock ledge readying herself for an Esther Williams swan dive? Maybe she does this to make me yell. Could it be that she thinks my blood pressure needs a boost? She’s never actually gone in. However, she occasionally takes a drink while teetering on the edge just to make me crazy.
Posted in Dog related, 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, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Balance has returned to our pond
Posted by doggonedmysteries
We’ve been hoping to have breeding Koi again. A couple years back someone got into our yard, dumped a car battery in the pond, and killed all of our Koi. I was heartbroken, they were our pets, they had names, and they ate food from our hands. We had to work hard to clean out the pond, replace all the plants, snails, frogs—everything and get the pond back into balance. Some of our baby Koi had gone to friends’ ponds over the years and they very graciously gave a few back to get us going again. We also bought a few small Koi.
Late last night I took the flashlight out to the pond. A couple of weeks ago one of our Koi laid eggs and at night, shining a flashlight into the water, is the only time you can spot the fry (teensy newly hatched babies for those of you who don’t know fish terms.) Yes, we have babies. At least one that I know of and it looks like it might be yellow or white.
Proof to me that our pond is finally back to where it should be. We have nine frogs that we’ve seen, there could be more. We have eight large Koi about four or five years old and one that is small and is probably two years old. There are snails, the water lilies are blooming, and I’ve even spotted a few salamanders. Life in the pond is back to normal now if only we can keep Patty from trying to dive in there.
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, Fish, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Koi, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Pond, Ponds, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Good friends, good weather, a very good day
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I hope everyone took the time to say thank you to a soldier today. And what a glorious day it was! The temperature was perfect, the sky was clear, and Dear Hubby came home from his mother’s early enough for us to spend some time together outside in the yard. He puttered around in his fold and go scooter while Patty and Gavin raced about the yard. We were all enjoying the afternoon.
I cleaned the grill and readied it for the steaks I planned to grill around six. A few friends stopped by to chat—always a fun thing in my book. However, we lost track of time and didn’t get the steaks on the grill until after seven. That’s okay. We didn’t mind because our stomachs weren’t growling for food. Talking to friends we haven’t seen for a while, seemed more important at the time.
The pups weren’t thrilled that their dinners were late, but they survived. A few steak trimmings in their dinners gained forgiveness. The games of hoops and hide and seek helped too. DH and I are too easy to find but they do love to play.
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
When the owl goes home, you let the sleeping owl sleep in.
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Who gets up before six a.m. on a Sunday? Under normal circumstances, it certainly wouldn’t be me. Oh, but there I was at the Pennwriters conference and my roommate, bless her, was up by five which meant so was I. Then Dave knocked on the door promptly at six. “Yes, Dave. We’re up.”
After we had breakfast, we all made one last ticket buy for the Chinese auction and then some of us headed off to the first of the morning sessions. 9:15 to 10:15 we had our choice of Susan Gable—You say tomato, I say to-motto: How Character motto influences plot, conflict & other story elements, Bobbi Carducci—No means nothing, finding yes in rejection, and Lucienne Diver—trends in publishing.
10:30 to 11:30 Uwe Stender—Writing non-fiction from query to publication, Don Helin—You landed that Publisher…now what?, Tim Esaias—point of view. I sure that if more people had known that in Tim’s session you got chocolate for participating we would’ve had more than the SRO group we did have in there. I know I enjoyed the chocolate.
10:30 to 12:30 closing ceremonies and the Chinese auction. I took two baskets home. Upon arriving home, I was abused by two Bull Terriers for hours. Their tails wagged so hard that I have bruises on my legs from being thwacked by them. Dear hubby let me sleep for an hour or two when I crashed on my chair (with two sixty pound dogs on me.)
It was good to see so many of my fellow writers whom I’d not seen for a year and renew friendships. It’s always fun to meet new people and make new friends.
There was one member of our group, who we all missed terribly—Debbie, are you reading this? Debbie was in a bad auto accident two years ago and there has been a hole in our little gang of rowdies without her. We missed hearing her laugh and after something bawdy was said, chime in with, “And I write for children.” We do hope to see her next year. Her recovery has been slow and her medical expenses–atrocious enough to keep her from attending again this year. We all send prayers that you will continue to recover—but at warp speed now, and that your finances improve greatly over this year.
{Note to Valerie Malmont} Valerie we missed you too!
See you all in Lancaster next year!
Posted in 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, 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
Day two with the owl…
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Dave rapped on the door at six Saturday morning. Again, bleary eyed, I answered. I think he got a kick out of dragging this poor owl out of her nice, warm nest at dawn. I was up, showered, and dressed—surprise! No surprise to me however because my roommate was up when the sun rose.
The breakfast and general meeting was from 8 to 9. The first three sessions offered ran from 9:15 to 10:15. Sci-fi/Fantasy breakout—Tim Esaias Colleen Lindsay, Jonathan Maberry, John Lamb—Homicide 101: an overview of murder investigations, Romance Panel—Esi Sogah, Susan Gable, Susan Meier. You can guess where I was… John was fantastic! He has that great, cop’s sense of humor and dry wit that I live with every day.
10:30 to 11:30 (my free hour since none of the sessions interested me.) Paige Wheeler—key concepts for career novelists, Bobbi Carducci–Children and YA panel, Jonathan Maberry—making money as a writer. I was in the hospitality suite filling out tickets for the Chinese auction. I had my eye on a couple of nice baskets.
Noon to 1:30 Lunch, awards, and keynote speaker Tim Esais—fun, fabulous, speaker. Tim had us in the giggles.
1:30 to 2:30 Crime fiction panel—John Lamb, CJ Lyons, Nancy Martin, and Kathleen George. FABULOUS session. Susan Meier—Story, Theme, and Idea. Nate Hardy—Marketing made easy: success strategies for writers.
2:45 to 3:45 Kathleen George—playwriting. Agents Panel—Lucienne Diver, Paige Wheeler, Uwe Stender, Colleen Lindsay, and Becca Stump—moderated by Nancy Martin. Nancy Christie—essentials of essay writing. I had another free hour so I was back in the hospitality suite dropping tickets into bags. There were three baskets that had really caught my eye.
Then we went to dinner in the hotel around 5. The rest of the night was ours to do as we wished and it was very much the same as the night before. Many people in the lobby all having great conversations. Our group grew, and grew, and grew. That was Mudslide night for me.
Did I mention that Friday night was Bahama Momma night? No, I didn’t do any table dancing either night, although I think Dave was waiting for it both nights and had his camera handy.
Posted in My blog, 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, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
An owl’s view continued…
Posted by doggonedmysteries
The Owl (me) began to wake up after lunch. I now had enough caffeine in me to get the heart pumping blood to the brain. Nevertheless, it didn’t hurt to grab another cup on the way to the next session at 1:30-2:30. I went to Linda Lavarentz’s session–Dialogue that sparkles. Good session, but again some things I’ve heard before and a few things I hadn’t. It was worth sitting through. While I was in that session, my roommate went to Susan Meier’s session—Can this manuscript be saved? I get to see her notes later. While still others attended Nate Hardy’s—Marketing made easy: success strategies for writers. There are times that you wish you could split into three and go to all the sessions that hour.
The last block of sessions for the day ran from 2:45 to 3:45. My roommate went to Catherine Mclean’s—the character onion. Several of us went to CJ Lyons—Kills, Chills, and Thrills session. She’s a dynamite speaker. To touch on a bit of what she taught us. There was the Thriller Spectrum. Mystery=who…set in the past, solving something that has already happened. Suspense=why…the present, here and now, it’s visceral and psychological. Thriller=how…the future, stopping something—a headlong flight into the future. She went into high concept. What happens next, hook, unique concept, and universal icon. The other session during the hour was given by Esi Sogah—a day in the life of an editor.
We had enough time for some socializing before a glance at a watch had us dashing to our rooms to change for dinner and the keynote address by Lisa Scottoline. I wasn’t going to miss that for anything. Having Lisa Scottoline as the keynote speaker, was the pivotal point that made me determined to get to the Pittsburgh conference this year.
For a lesser speaker I would’ve skipped Pittsburgh and waited until next year’s Lancaster conference. I’d have bought the lap top I wanted. However, to hear her speak, meet her, and come home with two books signed by her, I’m glad I went. Unless I hit the lottery, it’ll be two more years of saving before I can buy that lap top, but it was worth it.
Posted in 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, 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
An owl’s view of a writers’ conference
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I am an owl. I am NOT a lark. Thursday night I was wide awake at 2 a.m… Everyone else had already gone to bed hours before or was drifting off to his or her rooms to sleep.
I had no need for an alarm clock. There was no need for a rooster to crow. I didn’t need to have an operator call me. My roommate is a lark and is up before 6 a.m. With her and with Dave, a few doors away, there was no way I was going to oversleep. Each morning he would rap on our door at 6a.m., “Are you up?”
I’d crack the door, peer out, and find him standing there with coffee mug in hand, ready to dash out for the first smoke of the day. I’d mumble, “We’re up. We’re up.”
Friday morning I stumbled around, managed to shower and dress reasonably well. (At least nothing was inside out and I did remember to put on my shoes.) We then headed downstairs to meet the rest of our group in the lobby. I hit the Starbucks stand for a tall, strong coffee and joined Dave outside for a smoke. (One of these days I’ll manage to quit so please don’t harp on me. My doctor doesn’t. He understands.)
At breakfast when the waitress asked what we wanted to drink Dave and I responded with, “Coffee and please leave the pot.” We sounded as if we’d rehearsed it. Each day after that, she didn’t ask she just left the pot.
Our first session began at 9:15 and went to 10:15. We had three choices. Orientation/Q&A, Don Helin’s Series Characters—love ‘em or leave ‘em, or CJ Lyons’—Break free from the slush pile. Since I’m writing a series mystery, I went to Don’s session. Some of what he discussed I knew but then there were some points that I didn’t. I always learn something new, now if I can only read my notes
Bought some more coffee and my brain began to function nominally. Glad I took notes in that last session.
From 10:30 to 11:30, the three sessions offered were Lori Morris—Building your foundation: grammar, Nancy Martin—perfecting your elevator pitch. (I have mine down to four sentences.) And Matt Holiday—25 things to keep in mind when sending anything to an editor.
More coffee. Bought tickets for the Chinese auction in the hospitality suite and socialized until we dashed out to lunch. Subway, cheap, fast, and not far away from the hotel. More coffee and another smoke.
I’ll let you ruminate on our morning and will return with the rest of ‘day one of the conference’ tomorrow.
Posted in My blog, 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, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Behind the scenes of my conference experience
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Dear Hubby and the dogs survived my time away at the conference. However, DH is exhausted from the extra work and I’ve pampered him a lot today. After all, he was the one who made sure that I could attend the conference. It isn’t easy for him to be alone and I did make certain that friends and neighbors kept an eye on him and were ready to lend him a hand when necessary. He can no longer stand long enough to cook a meal for himself. I offered to make and freeze some dinners for him so all he had to do was microwave them but he said, “It’s only 4 dinners, 4 lunches, and 4 breakfasts. We have dozens of places around here who deliver that I can choose from for my meals.”
Tonight DH and the pups were thrilled with the smells of cooking going on after four days of take out/delivered dinners. DH, Gavin, and Patty were doing a happy dance. “Oh, boy! Home cooking.”
Some of us had arranged to go to Pittsburgh on Thursday so we’d have a little time to recover from the looooong drive before the conference began. We went out to Joe’s Crab Shack for dinner. The food was good, the company great, and I do believe it set the mood for the weekend—FUN.
Tomorrow I’ll share some of the fun.
Posted in Dog related, MS related, 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, 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
Doggonedmysteries 