Hookers or slicers?

I'd rather be a hooker than a slicer.
For one thing, if you're a hooker it means your hands are stronger, and if you're a slicer you're letting things go at the top of your swing.
What swing?
Oh, the golf swing.
What did you think we were discussing?
:-)
I went to the golf course to hit a couple buckets of practice balls. I was working on websites all day yesterday and this morning I burned my finger while cleaning the kitchen, so I decided I needed a change of scenery.
One thing I have to remember - wear pants that don't slip down. I was wearing a pair of jeans that are too big, and everytime I swung, they'd slip. I must have made a fascinating sight - swing, grab, tug, pull, swing, grab, tug...
It's a beautiful, crisp day. And I'm back inside because I have to get to work on a story - the deadline is looming like the iceburg over the Titanic.
I got two rejection notes from agents yesterday. I'm trying to sell a paranormal thriller about a woman who finds lost children. So far I've sent out three queries and had three (nice, but still) rejections. It's sort of like golf. There are good days and bad days. Sometimes you get the par, and sometimes you think you'd like to throw the clubs in the nearest pond. The one your ball just fell into, for example. I once made a man fall off his tractor, he was laughing so hard. I hit three balls in a row into the pond. I don't know why that was so funny. Maybe because the pond was at right angles to me, and far smaller than the fairway I was aiming for? Who knows. Anyway, he fell off his tractor then had to scramble to get back in it before it drove into the bunker.
That day I was slicing.
I'd much rather be a hooker.

Weekend

I'm still recovering from the weekend.

Imagine a village bootsale. The village closes its streets to traffic and everyone sets up their stand - at 6 in the morning. And until 6 pm, there is a constant flow of people through the village, coming to find treasure (because one man's junk is another man's treasure...)

Case in point.

I got five old lawn chairs out of the junk heap last year.
I scraped them and washed them off.

I sold them for 75$ yesterday.

To me they were cute old chairs. To my husband, they were horrible junk. Now they're someone's treasure. The woman who bought them can't wait to sand and paint them.

I didn't buy any treasure yesterday - I sold my junk. I sold books, chairs, old toys, old clothes, old purses, and a couple dishes. I mostly chatted with my friends Andrea and Lynn who came to share the space in front of my house. We had three tables, a rack of clothes, and countless cardboard boxes loaded with stuff. I made sandwiches, coffee, and tea for everyone. There were seven children in and out of the house. Today I have to do lots of cleaning. But I'm still recuperating. I will clean later. After I've had another coffee. Or two.

It's been a long weekend!

Friday Snippet

I can't get the widget - humble apologies. If you have a Firday snippet up, leave your blog URL in the comment section. I got this idea from Gabriele (the Lost Fort). Thanks Gabriele!

In this snippet from 'Time for Alexander', I try to answer the question that has plagued historians for ages. 'Why did Alexander the Great go into Bactria?' Why not stay and rule Babylon, as he'd planned?
Ashley has been separated from Alexander for nearly a year, imprisoned in Mazda. She escapes and manages to make her way to Babylon in time for Alexander's coronation. After sending him a message, she waits for him in a priestess's quarters.


I turned back to the window. The sun was setting, and orange shafts of light glittered off dust floating in the air, cloaking the city in a nimbus of gold. The priests in the fifty-three temples of the city blew their trumpets as soon as the sun disappeared below the horizon. My skin prickled. Trumpets filled the city with their brassy wails. The last notes died away. The air seemed to settle, and there was a silence.
In the quiet I heard his footsteps and rose to greet him.
He hesitated in the doorway. He had changed in one year. His face was harder, and he was thinner. His skin pressed against his cheekbones, and his eyes were greener. The jaguar stared out of them. His mouth had a different set to it, one I'd never seen. His hair was cut short and lifted off his temples and the back of his neck in fine curls. It was no longer gold; it had reverted to its normal color, warm brown. It made his skin whiter. It turned whiter still when he saw me, and he stood quite still, not even breathing.
I froze. My breath caught in my throat. Then I felt the hot rush of blood in my cheeks and I swayed forward. "Alex," I breathed, and fainted.
He caught me before I hit the ground. He hadn't lost his extraordinary speed or grace. He picked me up and held me to his chest, calling my name until I opened my eyes.
"Is it really you? Are you back to stay?" he asked. He started to laugh, or maybe it was a sob. "Ashley of the Sacred Sandals indeed. Your nose is bleeding again."
I looked down and saw the scarlet splash of blood staining my robe. I put my hand up and stanched the flow. "It's just nerves. I have so much to tell you, and we have no time." I could hardly look at him; everything I'd lived through in the past year was like an explosion inside me that I had to defuse somehow. I took a deep breath to steady myself. "We need to speak."
"Nabonida?"
"We can talk in front of her. We may need her help, and she has something important to tell you." I wiped my face with the hem of my robe.
Nabonida paled, but to do her credit she didn't try and wriggle out of it. She told Alexander everything she knew. While she spoke she took my soiled robe and handed me a clean one. I put it on and turned to Alexander. He was looking at me with a queer expression.
"Your body?" he said falteringly. He raised his eyes to mine, and I read the unspoken question.
I told him about our son.
When he heard about the baby his face twisted and he buried his head in my chest. I held him. I could feel him shaking, but when I saw his eyes I realized it was from rage.
Afterwards, Nabonida and I sat while Alexander paced across the room. His fury was terrible, but mine was equal to his, and our eyes met with a clash that could practically be heard.
"I will kill her." His voice was as bloodless as his face.
"No." I stood up and levelled my gaze at him. "No. You cannot kill your own mother. Send her back to her country."
"To Macedonia?"
"No, to her own people. To Epirus."
"Why can't I kill her now?"
I shuddered, imagining what the Time Senders would do if Alexander killed his mother. We'd all be erased, including Paul. "Because the gods will take care of her. You have other things to do. We must go to Persepolis. We must get our son back. Please, Alex." My voice broke. "I want my baby."
He gathered me in his arms again and I wept. The energy that had carried me for days across the burning plains was deserting me. I was simply a mother who wanted to find her child.
It was as if a dam burst inside me then. The pain I felt threatened to overwhelm me, and I sobbed until my throat was raw. Finally the storm within me ebbed. I looked up, and saw that Alexander had wept too. Tears still glittered on his cheeks. But he pulled himself together and smoothed the hair back from my hot face.
"What did you name him?" he asked me.
"Paul."
"Paul?" His face fell. "Not Iskander?"
"I called him Paul Alexander."
He tried the name out a few times then nodded. "I think I like it."
I smiled. "I think you'll like him, too."
He bent over and kissed me gently on the lips, giving me goosebumps. "I love him already. We'll find him. I swear it. If I have to go to the ends of the earth, I will find Paul."


'Time for Alexander' will be available from Calderwood Books on September 23!

Friday Snippet

Friday Snippet

I'm trying to hook up with Mr. Linky, but I'm having no luck, so I'll wait a while before posting a Friday Snippet.

(I'm sure this post only makes sense to a few people, lol)

If I did two things at once, I'd never get anything done.

I did a lot today. I clipped the hedge, helped my husband build a desk from my daughter, cleaned her room and organized it, did two loads of laundry, weed-wacked the front garden, went shopping, cleaned the fish tank, took the garbage out, cleaned the garage, read through the slush pile, checked my e-mail, answered letters, went to the post office, printed up stickers for my daughter's school books, filled out forms for her school, and as I was heading up the stairs with a load of laundry I heard my husband tell my son not to do two things at the same time.
I thought to myself, If I did two things at once, I'd never get anything done. I do five or six things at once.
I'm writing two books, I'm working on three websites, I'm organizing English lessons for three children and one adult, and I still have to think of doing housework, gardening, and take care of myself because I'm a Leo and Leos have to pamper themselves - so I have to have time to do my nails, my hair, and make sure I get my gym class and golf schedule down! Heavens! How can anyone only do one thing at a time?
:-)

Thursday Thirteen

Thursday Thirteen -

13 things I'd love to be able to know how to do.

1) Sing. I'd love to be able to sing really well. My voice is OK. I used to sing accompanied by my guitar in my hippy days. I never got asked for an encore, lol. I'd love to be able to sing like Joan Baez.

2) Dance. I'm hopeless. Today at gym I tried a new class - it was a dance-gym class with the samba and lots of spinning and jumping. I looked like a spaz. I cannot dance. Best I can hope for is a romantic, soppy slow dance where I can hang onto my partner while he sort of shuffles around. I'd love to be able to dance like Ginger Rogers.

3) Speak Spanish fluently. I love to speak Spanish, it's such a fun languege with lots of hand movements and inflections - sort of like Italian but more staccato. I can understand most of it, but when I try to speak I sound like Lucy. Terrible. (terrrrr-eeeeblay!) I wish I spoke Spanish like Ricky Ricardo.

4) Sign language. I love sign language - it fascinates me. I love that it's international, that it's so fluid and quick, and how the gestures mimic the action words, and how fast kids pick it up. I have managed to memorize a few signs. But I'd love to be able to do sign language like that lady on the news channel.

5) I'd like to be able to get over my phobia of spiders. It's so silly. A little eight-legged critter can make me shoot out my my chair and fly out of the room screaming. Imagine what a BIG spider does to my nerves? Last night there was one on my daughter's bedroom wall. She nearly slept on the sofa. Thank goodness my son, armed with a vacuum cleaner, managed to eliminate the enemy. It's ridiculous. I should be able to get over this. I want to be as brave about spiders as Martin Nicolas.

6) I want to be organized. My house is so messy. My cereal boxes are all crooked, the rice is mixed in with the flour, there is a huge jumble where my pots and pans are, and my sheets are not all ironed and folded - instead they are sort of bent and shoved into whatever space I can find. My bathroom does not look like a spa with rolled towels and neat baskets. Instead the drawers are overflowing and my towels piles are tottering. My desk is like one of the inner circles of Hell. I want to be as organized as my friend Andrea!

7) I want to be able to make things look pretty. I'd love to set a nice table, to make a thank-you note with a pressed flower from my garden, to create a centerpiece from a few odds and ends lying around the house and a glue-gun. (can't write that without thinking of Miss Snark, *sniff*.)

In other words, I want to be as ceative as Martha Stewart.

8) I want to be able to fit into my old jeans. I've kept them for ages (they were fine before I got pregnant with my last child). I've never been able to squeeze into them again. They're soft and worn, light blue, faded, and (as I recall) very comfortable. Now they fit up to my knees. I want to be skinny like I was before.

9) I would love to be able to meet the French Rugby team. I'm looking at the calendar and wishing that. If you saw the calendar you might wish this too.

:-)

10) I'd like to be able to cook fish and make my family like it. So far I have managed to get them to eat salmon - when there are no bones in it and when it's cooked with soy sauce. I wish my family would like fish.

11) I want to be able to think of 2 other things - but I have to go make dinner now and I can't type fast enough....

12) I want to be able to type fast.

13) I want to fly like Superman, while I'm at it.

A few questions about e-book prices

Questions - please answer!
We want to sell our e-books, so we want to price them to sell.
My question is, what do you think is a fair price for:
A) A novella (about 35k)
B) A novel (between 50 - 80k)

How can we make prices seem tempting? How much is too much to pay for an e-book? Do low prices make you think that maybe the quality won't be so great?
Since I can buy a paperback for 8$, I don't want to spend that much on an e-book!
But what price would make YOU say 'Hey, that's a great deal - I think I'll buy that book!'?

We have a due date!

September 23, 2007 - Calderwood Books will open its virtual doors.

Our line-up of books include a spy thriller with dead men talking, a beautifully written fantasy told from the viewpoint of a centaur, and a YA book featuring pirates, time travel, and a very, very fat dog! We also have a spooky, funny book for teens about prom dresses gone wild, a sizzling romance that features fire-fighters (swoon!) and a wonderful book that takes you on a family saga from England to Australia during the first and second world wars. There is a children's book that is pure fantasy fun, and set in the middle ages to boot, and a trip to the past to interview Alexander the Great.

Starting next week I'll post a little more about each book!

Changing horses in midstream

Is that an expression? I can't decide if it is or not.

This chap is changing horses in mid match. Most players do that now in order not to tire their mounts. The horses, when they get tired, lose their brakes. It's no fun to play polo on a horse that won't stop. (See traffic jam below.) So fresh horses are a must. Sort of like ideas. Fresh ideas are more interesting than stale, old ideas. I have to admit, I'm a nick-picky reader. If the plot is stale and old, if the characters are recycled, then I'll more than likely skip pages and even change books altogether.

It's the same, alas, with writing a book. Changing books in midstream is not unheard of. Sometimes the book just doesn't take off. Like a tired polo pony, it loses it's ability to sparkle. Then, the only thing to do it change books and hope the sparkle returns. This pony rested and was played again in the last chukker - so sometimes putting a 'WIP' away until it gets fresh again is the best thing to do.

No use flogging a dead horse. :-)

unfuckingbelievable

This should be required reading:

URL: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/16076312/the_great_iraq_swindle

Read it and Weep. (Especially if you're a US taxpayer like myself. ) I cannot believe I paid taxes - over 15% of what I earned - to support this. It's unfuckingbelievable. If there is any justice at all, the Bushies will all be cockroaches in their next lives.

President Bush (center) surrounded by members of his family (top left) and key members of his government (right top and center) and ex-government (right bottom.)

Crash!

Have you ever felt like everything was happening at once?
Like you can't slow down, or turn around, or turn around, or get past the guy in front of you?
Have you ever felt like the ball was just out of reach?

OK, I have to admit, I think this is the most hilarious polo shot I've ever taken. It was serendipity - the play slowed down, but no one told the guys in the back, and everyone telescoped together. My favorite is the horse in the middle with just his head sticking out.

I also feel like I'm in just such a traffic jam right now. I have deadlines galore, most self-imposed, but those are the most important ones. And a book to write, and another simmering in my head, and there is Calderwood Books about to launch in September (more closer to lift-off) and I have a new book coming out with Loose Id, that is a Terrific Book - and totally original. And fun. And I have to start promoting it. What am I thinking of?
Well, to tell the truth, today I was thinking about mowing the lawn, scraping the garden chairs, and so I did.
Na!
:-)

Toréador, en garde!

I just read in the newspaper that Spanish national TV won't be showing bull fighting during the daytime anymore because they don't want children subjected to violence.
I can only agree the idea that bull fighting is a cruel and violent sport. But to say that taking it off TV will ensure children don't see violence astounds me. There is enough violence in cartoons to make me shudder. Bullfighting is nothing compared to a Mel Gibson movie.
While in Spain we saw several bull fights on TV. In one, the bull was pardoned - in other words, he was saved by the matador because the matador thought he fought so well he should live. So the bull was taken away, washed off, and taken back to his farm where he will become a breeding bull. Lucky for him. Most of the others end up as steaks. Bull fighting has existed as a sport since ancient times. In Crete the boys did gymnastics on their backs, in Greece they fought each other, in the Middle Ages they were pitted against dogs and bears. In Roman times gladiators fought them. Bulls are a symbol of strength. And the matador doesn't always win.




Toréador, en garde!Toréador! Toréador!

Et songe bien, oui, songe en combattant qu'un oeil noir te regarde

et que l'amour t'attend,

Toréador, l'amour, l'amour t'attend!

(Carmen, Act II)

The Night Zoo

The Night Zoo

There are only two zoos in the world that are open at night. One is in Singapor, the other is the Fuengirola zoo in Spain.

If you visit the link, be sure to look at the virtual visit - click on the map, you can look 180° around the area, and click on the camera icons for information about the animals in the zoo.

The Fuengirola zoo is another zoo without cages. The animals live in large, grassy areas with plenty of trees and water about. The settings are beautiful - actually, the whole zoo is gorgeous, and no detail is spared for animal or visitor. I was impressed at how clean the zoo was, and how healthy the animals appeared. Another first for a zoo - several different species live together in the same area, and we saw monkeys playing with a large hornbill, an otter playing with a water buffalo calf, and the cutest little baby orangutang in the world!

But what's magical is at night - when the sun sets, the zoo changes. The monkeys all curl up in trees to sleep - but the leopard and tiger wake up and start to roam. The deer and the alligators are on the move, and the creatures who were dozing are suddenly playing. The zoo has a show at night as well - called 'The Forest Clearing', it features trained owls and other creatures of the night. Then there was a musical presentation from an African group of musicians and dancers, with all the children invited to dance on the stage.

My pictures don't do justice to the zoo - here is one of one of the animal settings. My night photos didn't come out, because I didn't want to use a flash. My daughter shot this picture of a parrot and wanted me to include it in the blog!

If you're ever in this corner of the world, don't hesitate to go visit this tiny but beautiful zoo. It's right in the middle of the city, but once you step inside, you feel as if you're in a tropical jungle. And you must stay for the night - it's open until 1 a.m. during the summer months.

Queen Victoria's Railroad in Spain

Queen Victoria made a lot of railroads - and one of the most picturesque is in Spain. What happened was this: Queen Victoria wanted to see Ronda, but the roads were not safe (banditos and such) So she sent engineers and commissioned a railway to be built from Gibralter to Ronda. It's still in use today, and what is charming (besides the conductors in their red hats) are the stations - all Victorian style with the added touch of Spanish cafés and flowers.
We took the train from Gaucin and went up the mountains to a small town ( Benaoján) where we got out, had lunch, and took a walk. A lovely day!
The train tickets cost 2 euros for a two-way trip. The coach was modern and comfortable. The Gaucin train station is in the valley, and the drive down from Gaucin is spectacular. (Check your brakes before you start down the winding road...)


The views from the train were beautiful - tall mountains, steep gorges, cliffs, plains, and groves of cork oak and olive trees.

The stations are all painted white and ochre - the yellow ochre is famous and is called 'Ronda Yellow'. There is usually a small café tagged on to the station, where you can get a cold drink and relax in the shade.

Links:

http://www.andalucia.com/province/malaga/benaojan/home.htm

http://www.andalucia.com/province/malaga/home.htm

http://www.andalucia.com/gaucin/home.htm

Viva Espagna!

I probably spelled that wrong, lol.

Anyhow, I'm back!

The weather in Spain was lovely - hot and dry. Well, it always is in the south of Spain. From where we were, we could see Gibralter rising up in a sharp angle and just beyond it was the Africa with the Atlas mountains blue in the haze.

Here is a view coming down the hill toward the polo fields, with Gibralter in the background, and further on, the mountains of Africa.

To get to the polo fields, we had to cross a river, and the bridge was an interesting three-arched bridge designed by Gustave Eiffel - the same man who designed the Eiffel Tower in France.

And here is the Port of Duquesa, where we stayed. You can see the marina on the left and on the right, the beach. We had a good time not doing very much. I read a lot of books, I took a lot of walks on the beach, and we went to visit a friend in the mountains and went to see a very interesting zoo. I'll do a post about both those!

Spain is a wonderful country. Where we were on the coast it's very touristy, as you can imagine. There are lots of huge construction projects going on, and the coast, which used to be mostly fishing villages and farms, is being transformed into a paradise for golfers, retired folk, and English people. There were more English people in the village of Duquesa than Spanish. Almost all the shops were run by English ex-pats, who had moved from their country in search of sun and reasonable property prices. I was amazed by the change. I've been coming to the south of Spain for 26 years now, and it's day and night. Before, you had to look hard to find a restaurant - now they are all over, and there are Chinese, Indian, and Argentine restaurants as well as traditional Catalonian restaurants. (I do NOT recommend eating at a Chinese restaurant in Spain...) And there are souvenir shops everywhere, most souvenirs being made in China, alas. We went to the mountains to find a pottery shop, and we bought some fans. They are now in fashion - everywhere we went, pretty ladies had their fans!

Here is a pretty girl with a fan. We were at the Gaucin train station, getting ready to take a train to the mountains. It was a hot day, and women had their fans out. Most match their fans to their outfits. I saw many at the polo games with ropas (dresses) and abanitas (fans) that matched. It was quite chic. A nice fan made of light balsa wood and cotton, and hand painted, costs about 5 dollars. The more fancy ones were more expensive!

Another typical Spanish item is olive oil, but I didn't get any this trip -it's expensive when it's good quality. And there is also the Iberian smoked ham, which we eat with sliced melon.

Well, more about my Spanish trip tomorrow, with the story about Queen Victoria's train, and the trip to Gaucin and the mountains.

Adios!

Spain

I'm in Spain!
We're way down south, in a place called Puerto Duqueso. It's hot, dry, and dusty - and we're mostly hanging out and playing mah-jongg (my daughter insisted on bringing the set with us).
My husband is working, so we're living by his schedule. He works from 5 pm to about 10 pm - and in the morningm before noon, we go to the beach, and after he gets off work we go out for dinner and hang out at the docks. Puerto Duquesa is a big marina.
It's hot - so we mostly stay indoors actually.
We went to the mountain village of Gaucine to visit a friend, Karen, and that was lovely. The drive was hair-raising - all curves and mountains - but the view once there was breathtaking. We had a dinner of tapas outside, overlooking the gorge.
Tonight we're going to the zoo - it's open until 1 am - it's the Fueringola zoo, and we're looking forward to seeing the nocturnal animal exhibit.
I'll be back in France the 22 of Aug. and I'll post pictures!

Sam

Mah Jongg

Mah Jong every which way

family style

My daughter's stylish set

Porch style

Outdoor style

We've been playing all summer. I love the game, and my daughter is completely hooked.

You usually play with 4 people, but you can play with 3 or even 2. (Or 5 if you switch like in bridge). There are several ways to play it. The Chinese play it very much like gin rummy. The English have a whiole book of 'special hands', and my aunt, who taught us, learned the English way while she was living in China, lol.

The real difference is in the various 'hands'. They all have cool names, like 'Gerties Garters', and 'Heavenly Twins', or 'The Ruby hand', or 'Dragon's Breath'. There are three suits, (bams, cracks, and dots) and three dragons (red, white, and green) and the four winds (north, south, east, and west.)

The set-up is easy, once you get the hang of it. And playing is fun and for all ages.

We wanted to get a set, but they are hard to find. So this summer, I promised my daughter we'd take a trip to Chinatown in NYC and see if we could find one. We went down the last day of our visit, and stopped to see Sam, who offered to take us to Chinatown for lunch and help hunt down a set - so off we went. We had lunch in a Fabulous restaurant, I will definitely recommend it to anyone who loves Chinese food - it's called Shanghai Cuisine, and it's located at 89-91 Bayard street downtown Manhatten. (corner of Mulberry and Bayard). Everything we had was delicious - I can't say enough good things about that place.

Anyhow, after lunch we headed east, and hit a small street with some tiny shops, and Sam spotted a mahjongg set in the window! We went in, and the shop owner took down a box, opened it, and took out a huge wooden box with a dragon on it. She opened it, and my daughter gasped in delight. A lovely mah jongg set. My daughter asked the price, and her face crumpled It was expensive. I was just starting to tell the lady that we couldn't afford it, when Sam said, "Wrap it up! It's for her birthday!" My daughter was jumping with joy, and all I could think of was 'we are going to have to carry this 30 pound mah jongg set with us on the plane'. Actually, I was thrilled, and am planning on sending a care package to Sam, with some chocolate and some 'get skinny' tea - LOL!

My son managed to cram the box into our luggage, so all we had to do was wheel it around the airport. And now, every night, we play a few hands of mah jongg.

Last night I won with a hand called 5 odd honors.

:-)

Thank you Sam!!!!!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to me!

I'm 47 today - (I'll only admit to 35) and I mowed the lawn and lifted the old lady next door.

?

Yes, for the past few days I've been helping the nurse who takes care of the 104 yr old woman next door, because the nurse sprained her arm and can't lift her anymore. So I've been helping out. It's been an interesting experience. The woman in question (104 - that makes her 57 years older than I am) is deaf and cranky, and has slight dementia. Otherwise, she's in fine form. She can't walk, but she can complain - which according to the nurse, she does constantly. Today she complained I set her down too fast (I actually nearly rolled over with her onto the bed. She's heavy!) But she's strong, and she can usually hoist herself into her wheelchair, just not back into bed.

My son, who is a fireman, said that most of his missions are picking up elderly folk who have fallen down and can't get up. He told me to call him if the old woman got stuck. So far the nurse has managed on her own, until she sprained her arm.

The old woman saw me the first day and said, "Who's that?"

"La voisine!" (the neighbor) shouted the nurse. (she has to shout, as the old lady is deaf as my dachshund when he's decided he wants to stay in bed.)

"Justine?"

"No, la voisine!"

"Oh. Bonjour Justine."

"No, pas Justine. Ta voisine! She's here to help!"

The old lady calls me Justine now, and complains that I don't lift her high enough to get her situated right in bed.

According to the nurse, she's being difficult because she refuses to let the nurse lift her with this handy contraption that would make life considerably easier for everyone. But the old lady refuses, and so the poor nurse has to come knocking at my door every morning and evening to get the old woman set up right.

Next week a new nurse is coming, and I'm leaving on vacation, but my son said he'd be standing by in case she needs lifting, so don't anyone worry.

:-)

Vacation!

Vacation!

I love summer vacation. I love not having a schedule. I dont have to worry about forgetting appointments, getting days mixed up (they're all the same during summer!) and setting the alarm wrong. I feel free. I just took my daughter to the dentist today for her monthly checkup for her braces, and the dentist remarked at how relaxed and happy I looked. Thinking about schedules must put lines on my face. Oh well. I still have a month left. So what am I up to? I'm headed to the south of Spain, where I will try to catch up on my reading.
Books I've read so far this summer:
The Coal Black Horse (fabulous)
Killer Angels (even more fabulous)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows (made my plane trip home so much more fun)
And a couple of decent books by good authors, but I've forgotten the titles, sorry.
Some photos of this summer:

At the military cemetery in Saratoga, where my father is buried.

Here is my daughter fishing at the lake at my uncle's camp.

This is a photo taken at the cemetery at Gettysburg.

Me holding my niece, and my mom, in her new house. We have to strip the wallpaper and paint this room, but the woodwork is done.

New York

I just got back from the lake. A lovely vacation with no computers, TV, e-mail, or any loud noises except the truck that started up every morning at 6 am when the neighbor went to work. And that was fine because at five we were up, drinking gourmet coffee, and sitting on the porch (or sitting in the canoe) admiring the silvery lake.
My sister and her husband own a restaurant and they came laden with food - and so we had wonderful dinners every night. My cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents all came to see us, and we fished, played mah jongg, and walked around the lake. And that was it. And it was heaven.
Now I have sporadic internet use - I'm at my mom's house for a week. Next Monday I'm going to Pennsylvania for a few days. I've never visited Gettysburg, and that's where we're headed for some historical events. My daughter and I are watching the TV series 'Gettysburg' that we rented from the library in anticipation of our trip. We're going with my school chum Debbie, whom I haven't seen in over 15 years!! I hope she recognises me.
;-)
I haven't had time to work, and I'm falling woefully behind. But I do have two new books out - Hotline - over at total-e-bound books, and My Fair Pixie is now in print in an anthology called Lady Jaided's Virile Vampires.
If I had more time I'd add links and such, but I'm headed out the door to help my mom with her new house. We just got the dry wall up, it's alnost all taped, and we'll start priming soon.
Got to run!
I'll write more later!