Blog Archives
Since it’s my birthday I’m going to be lazy…
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Patty and Gavin wrestling.
Posted in Dog related
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, 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, Post A Day, Post A Day 2011, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Sláinte!
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Pat and Mick landed themselves a job at a sawmill. Just before morning tea Pat yelled: “Mick! I lost me finger!”
“Have you now?” says Mick. “And how did you do it?”
“I just touched this big spinning thing here like thi… Darn! There goes another one!”
May you have all the happiness and luck that life can hold, and at the end of your rainbows may you find a pot of gold.
May good luck be with you wherever you go, and your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow.
May the lilt of Irish laughter lighten every load. May the mist of Irish magic shorten every road. May you taste the sweetest pleasures that fortune ere bestowed, and may all your friends remember all the favors you are owed.
Posted in Holidays
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Holidays, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Post A Day, Post A Day 2011, Saint Patrick's Day, Writer, Writing
Eh, what did you say?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
It must’ve been ‘take your toddlers grocery shopping” day. I’ve never seen so many rug rats dashing around the grocery store at one time. I spent an hour playing dodge-the-little-buggers this afternoon and never have I been happier to get out of the store.
There were running toddlers, screaming crying toddlers, and immovable temper tantrum riddled toddlers in every aisle. I longed for earplugs and tot pinging radar. I’ve made a note to myself NEVER to go grocery shopping on a Tuesday. It isn’t a day that I normally go grocery shopping and I now see what I have been missing. CHAOS!
While in the check out line, a child at the next register let loose with a screech so piercing it was almost out of a human’s hearing range. I think I heard dogs howling out in the parking lot. If we’d been near the ocean, dolphins would’ve beached themselves.
My ears are still ringing.
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Post A Day, Post A Day 2011, Writer, Writing
Where are these home improvement shows when you need them?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Once we finish clearing the clutter from the MIL’s house we’ll have our work cut out for us. I could certainly use both of those curb appeal and design to sell shows’ help then. Maybe I should start haunting the local Home Depots and Lowes in the hopes of having someone walk up to me with microphones, TV cameras, and then asking if I wanted them to come to my house.
“Yes! Yes! I have just the place for you to tackle.” I’d do cartwheels and at my age and the shape I’m in that’d be amazing in of itself.
Follow me here people and you’ll see why I would do those cartwheels.
My in laws moved into their “new” house 38 years ago. After my father in law retired several years later, the house suffered from neglect. Dad didn’t do anything to keep the house up; instead, they spent summers off camping and going to flea markets. (Yep, that’s where some of the clutter and junk came from.)
Since his father’s death in 1998, DH and friends did what they could to keep the house from falling apart. I suspect it was about that time that my mother in law became enamored of QVC, junk catalogues, and anything sold on TV. Her hoarding life began anew. (Oh, yeah more clutter and junk piled up only now it was new and shiny.) My mother in law refused to allow any of us to come in to clean and paint the interior for her. I would’ve gladly done so.
Now DH can’t do the work, I’m not getting any younger, I hate to climb ladders, and our friends aren’t as young, energetic, and healthy as they used to be.
Cartwheels? Hell, I’d do handsprings.
Posted in Favorite TV shows, Misc
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Post A Day, Post A Day 2011, Writer, Writing
Is that a light I see at the end of the tunnel?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Even though G was sick and couldn’t go over to work with me, five more bags of garbage and two loaded recycling bins, hit the curb over at the MIL’s house yesterday. I cleared out the linen closet and some more junk out of one of the bedrooms.
Chuck stopped by and picked up a few items we’d promised him. Then the TALL man pulled a plastic garden bench down for me that was on top of a high pile of stuff in the garage. (I can’t help being short, Chuck but I know many people shorter than I am.) The bench will work well on our front porch especially when DH needs to sit down out there.
Once home, I arranged with my neighbor’s son to have him go over tomorrow and give us an estimate on repairing/redoing the stucco on areas of the house where we need it done.
I’m beginning to feel as though we are getting our ducks in a row at last. Sure, there’s plenty more we need to do over there before DH can sell the house, but we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel albeit a teensy light, but a light none the less.
Posted in Misc
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Post A Day, Post A Day 2011, Writer, Writing
Muse vs. editor
Posted by doggonedmysteries
“No, no, no you need to continue writing to the end. Stop editing as you go,” my muse told me.
I longed to bang my head on the keyboard to shake things loose in my brain. “I can’t think straight enough to write at the moment so I thought doing some editing would be a good idea.”
“Do it! Do it!” My little editor jumped up and down suddenly beside himself with excitement.
“Pull yourself together,” I told him as I grabbed the, now two, editors from my shoulder and placed them on my desk. “One of you hanging around here is enough.”
An evil grin spread over my muse’s face. “I can take care of them.” She stood and made as if to catch them.
I didn’t like the look in her eyes. “Um, that’s okay. I think he can handle it.” I leaned close to the two dancing editors and whispered, “You’d better hide. I think she means it.”
Their faces turned red, then there were two small pops, and the editors were gone.
“Rats, it would’ve given me great pleasure to smash them back into one.” My muse flopped back into Gavin’s chair and flung her legs over the arm.
“Too much pleasure I think. Let’s get back to the book.”
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Copy editing, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Editing, Editing and Proofreading, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Post A Day, Post A Day 2011, Writer, Writing, Writing & Editing
Best laid plans?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
G and I went to the farmers market, and at the most mouth-watering stand, I bought two lovely chicken potpies. All the way home, I thought about how wonderful they were going to taste. Arriving home a little before three, I told DH what we were having for dinner. I almost had to hand him a napkin to wipe the drool from his chin. I put the potpies in the refrigerator planning to reheat them around five o’clock.
That’s when the power went off. EEEKS! “Okay, okay I can handle this. The power will be back on in time to fix dinner.” Yeah, in my DREAMS!
I looked outside and most of the neighbors were out there discussing our little power outage. I hastened to join them. Yes, only our block had no power. DH called the power company. After jumping through their many hoops, he finally managed to speak to a human.
The human at the power company told DH, “Your power should be back on by five.”
He came outside with the news and we all felt happy to have a set time for the return of our power.
It didn’t happen.
Nope, one power company truck showed up at five, one man worked on the lines, and yet we still had no power. “I called it in and told them they need to upgrade the transformer.”
“Okay, but when we have the power back?”
“I don’t know,” He replied. “Maybe another two hours, but don’t quote me on that.”
“Great. I guess dinner will have to wait.” I kept thinking about those potpies as I lit four kerosene lamps to keep the darkness at bay.
Seven o’clock came and went with no power on the horizon. Dinner became cold cuts.
“What’s that I hear? Is it a truck? Do I see yellow lights? Yes!” A few minutes before nine, the neighborhood celebrated having power again.
Posted in Misc
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Kerosene lamp, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Post A Day, Post A Day 2011, Writer, Writing
Too much rain
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Saturated ground, leaky roof, and a drenched basement, it’s time to load the Ark and set sail for dry land. The yard is swampy, the pond overfloweth, and the squirrels are wearing raincoats, hats, and boots to raid the bird feeders. The birds broke out the water wings. The pups are begging for scuba gear. Yes, there’s too much rain.
Posted in Weather related
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Post A Day, Post A Day 2011, Writer, Writing
Endings
Posted by doggonedmysteries
She’d become so thin and frail that she was hardly recognizable. She smiled at him when he last saw her. They buried her alongside her husband at two o’clock on Wednesday afternoon. Above her shrouded in gray the sky shed tears over her. Her son wept.
Posted in In memory of...
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Post A Day, Post A Day 2011, Writer, Writing
Is this my house?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
DH got plenty of rest last night and was almost cheerful. The pups behaved themselves. It worried me.
Over the last two or three years, this was not normal for our house. I’m used to DH being cranky because he’s stressed out and overtired. I am used to the dogs pulling stunts that only a pair of Bull Terriers is capable of doing. I am no longer used to a tranquil household.
I wondered if perhaps, I had awakened in a parallel universe.
Posted in Misc
Tags: Author, Bones, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Post A Day, Post A Day 2011, Writer, Writing
March is National Multiple Sclerosis Education and Awareness Month
Posted by doggonedmysteries
My husband was a police officer forced into an early retirement because he has Multiple Sclerosis. He was a police tactical firearms instructor and is a great and willing resource for me. He always encourages me to keep writing. We will celebrate our thirty-eighth anniversary in July of this year. His MS has gone from relapsing remitting to secondary progressive. Although walking is difficult for him, he still tries to do some of the yard work, thank heavens for riding mowers.
He had Relapsing-Remitting MS (RRMS) for a long time. His diagnosis changed several years ago to Secondary-Progressive MS (SPMS).
This is Bayer Health’s description of Secondary-Progressive MS (SPMS). In SPMS, symptoms worsen more steadily over time, with or without the occurrence of relapses and remissions. Before disease-modifying therapies became available, historical studies indicated that about 50% of people with RRMS progressed to SPMS approximately 10 years after their first diagnosis. Long-term data are not yet available to determine if treatment significantly delays this transition
(The picture of him at the top of this post is a few years old.)
Posted in MS related, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Post A Day, Post A Day 2011, Writer, Writing
At first it was a quiet afternoon
Posted by doggonedmysteries
DH and I spent yesterday recharging our batteries. We were both tired. He had a good nap in the afternoon while I curled up in my chair with my Kindle and read a couple Wizard of Oz books. I have 15 of them on the Kindle.
Patty snoozed on the couch and Gavin snored in his chair. All was quiet and blissful until around four when Gavin’s belly alarm began to go off. He got up, wanted out, and then Patty did the same thing. I wasn’t allowed to settle back into the chair. Gavin stood in the kitchen, stared at the counter, and barked.
“It’s not time yet!” I picked up my Kindle.
Gavin barked again.
I put my Kindle down. “Quiet or you’ll wake your Daddy.” I chased him out of the kitchen and put the gate across the doorway.
Patty decided it was time to bug Gavin. She grabbed his collar and began to drag him across the room. He freed himself and jumped on her. She escaped his clutches and leaped to the couch where she proceeded to do a bully run from one end to the other. The house rattled.
I heard movement upstairs. “Alright you two now you’ve done it. Daddy’s up.”
Posted in Dog related
Tags: Amazon Kindle, Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, List of Oz books, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Post A Day, Post A Day 2011, Rescue Dogs, Wizard of Oz The, Writer, Writing
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