Diary of an adult runaway

Attack from above

Perhaps it's 5 years of being confined to a balcony, but Pumpkin has become über-protective of the courtyard. The courtyard is his domain. He patrols its perimeter, leaping into action at the mere jingle of a dog collar. Woe betide any poor puppy that sticks its nose in through the fence holes: whompah! The local kittehs learned pretty quickly there was a new sheriff in town and stayed away. That, you could almost hear Pumpkin say as he cleaned his nails, Shere Khan-style, is how it should be.

I'm pretty sure he wasn't expecting what happened yesterday. I certainly wasn't. First came the strange plopping sound, a moment's silence, then a noise that explains why the word caterwauling was invented. 

Here, as far as I can work out, is what happened: Matilda, the tiny, tiny, tiiiiiiiiiny Tonkinese kitten from upstairs, decided to make a break for it. But instead of landing on the tree near her balcony, she hit my garden umbrella (hence the plopping sound) and landed right near where Pumpkin was sleeping. By the time I got out there, she was on her back, all kitten teeth and claws, screaming and wailing as Pumpkin sniffed her.

Much more screaming and carrying on commenced when I tried to pick her up, so I buzzed her staff, who came and collected her. Meanwhile, Pumpkin & Kody were all "What the hell's the matter with that thing?" Luckily, Matilda was more scared than hurt, though I'm waiting for the next break-out attempt. 

So, I believe, is Pumpkin, which might explain why he took to the bedroom for his afternoon nap:

For God's sake, just ARREST them!

Port Melbourne couple's drink-drive hat trick

THOMAS HUNTER

November 16, 2009

A Port Melbourne couple faces charges after police caught them drink-driving three times - in the same street - in as many hours early yesterday morning.

Police first stopped the married couple on Montague Street, about 12.20am. The driver, a man, 37, failed a breath test, returning a reading of .129.

At the time, police believed the man's wife, 27, was also drunk and warned her not to drive. Then, about an hour later, the pair were pulled over again and the woman was driving. She returned a reading of .112.

Finally, about 3.05am and again on Montague Street, the pair were nabbed once more.

This time, the man refused to accompany police back to the station.

He will now face court on charges of refusing to accompany police for a breath test.

‘‘To say they were foolish is probably an understatement,’’ Sergeant Michael Free said. 

‘‘The decision to drive in the first place is a big disappointment.

‘‘The decision the female and male both took after it had been clearly indicated that they were both over the limit is astounding, especially when it came to the third time around,’’ he said.

‘‘That was absolutely ridiculous.’’

Sergeant Free said police could not impound a car in such circumstances. He said there was an option to take the keys if officers believed the driver was incapable of controlling of a motor vehicle.

He also said the couple assured police they wouldn’t drive, and that with only a short distance between where they were pulled over and their destination, the officers ‘‘reasonably expected they would do the sensible thing and walk or call a taxi’’.

This makes me want to clean . . . well, almost

I love this packaging. The boy's so happy, the sun's so radiant, and it won't rust or splinter! If I had pots & pans, I'd definitely use these to clean them. But my pots & pans are still in storage, so yay, no cleaning, coz I am alllll about the microwaving right now.

But, question: am I the only one who freaks out over Hoarders? I started watching an episode the other day, then had to put in on pause, go wash all my coffee cups and sweep the floors. Only then could I finish watching. The whole process fascinates me, how the people have a story for each item, including 20-year-old medication. I'm so glad I don't have to deal with what they're dealing with. I've been having little panic attacks myself as I set up house, along the lines of "Oh my God, I have too much stuff!" But considering that I'm also getting rid of things (books, clothing, a shitload of Body & Soul magazines), I think I can safely stop with the panic.

So, I finished editing my contest entries (I love that this one gives you a week to edit based on the judges' comments--especially when I got some fantastic comments, mainly on my sucky synopsis) and shipped it back. And now, I hurry up and wait :-)

The best part about forcing myself to really look at the synopsis is that I fell in love with the story all over again. Quitting jobs, moving countries, etc, took up way too much energy and I grew out of touch with the characters. Now, we're playing again. Some of us are playing badly--and that's exactly why I love writing this book. I love how they're all trying to do the right thing and not always succeeding. I love how they piss each other off yet accept each other nonetheless. 

So, all this synopsising has thrown me off the NaNo path, but it was a worthwhile distraction. I'm going to do my best over the next few days to power through and finish this. My reward? Entering the Golden Heart. And watching this:

Obey. Resist. Drool!!

1 + 1 = a very happy me

I'm an NBC News junkie, who hearts Brian Williams, and I've had a crush on Jon Bon Jovi for the past...hmm...23 years (shh!!) Oh wait, I think it's cool now to admit that. So I shall also admit I have an exact copy of the short fringed jacket Jon wore in the Livin' video stashed away somewhere. Wilson's Suede and Leather, baby!

My crush has only grown with his philanthropical works. He's completely right: we are all in this together. So when these 2 Jersey boys got together on last night's news, I was very happy:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Guest blogger: Terri DuLong

I'm proud to be hosting author Terri DuLong, who's talking about her latest release, Spinning Forward. (Terri and I are RWA-WF chaptermates; if you're writing women's fiction, you should definitely join.)

1. Welcome, Terri! Tell me about your book.

 

A New Englander born and bred, the last place Sydney Webster expects to find herself starting over is on an island off the west coast of Florida.  Yet here she is in Cedar Key, trying to pull herself together after her husband’s untimely death—and the even more untimely revelation of his gambling addiction.  Syd takes shelter at a college pal’s bed and breakfast, leading her to discover her true identity and feminine soul.  Her passion for spinning and knitting draws attention due to the unique composition of her wool and a door is opened.  She finds herself in the embrace of a community rich with love, laughter, friendship . . . and secrets.  A tale of new beginnings, old friends and lives forever bound.

 

2.  What pulled you into the story and made you think 'I have to write this'?

 

The actual people of Cedar Key, the small town where I now reside, made me feel I wanted to write about the closeness and caring of a small community.  As far as my main character, not all women have the final say-so when it comes to decisions or financial matters in their marriage and although it may seem fine and easy at the time, my story deals with the fact that women owe it to themselves to be aware of these issues.  For Sydney, her uninvolved attitude came back to bite her.

 

3.  When did you first begin writing?

 

I've been writing all my life.  As an only child, I had an imaginary playmate and looking back now, I feel that’s when my creative process began.  I've kept diaries and journals and I began writing professionally for Bonjour Paris about eleven years ago.  I did over forty travel articles based on my travel to France through the eyes of a fictional canine character.

 

4.  What is your writing process and where do you write?

 

When I'm on deadline, I begin around ten in the morning and generally work six to eight hours a day.  When we moved to Cedar Key, we had a writer's studio built for me, detached from our house but connected by a screened lanai.  So this is where I work.

 

5.  What is your favorite thing about writing?  What is your least favorite thing?

 

I'd have to say my favorite thing about writing is all the feedback I get from my readers.  Their comments on my characters, plot, how my story affected them, etc.  Least favorite?  Call me Pollyanna, but I really don’t have one.  I love writing and the feeling of accomplishment when I finish a story.  

 

6. How do you fight writer's block?

I've never really had “writer’s block.”  I've had episodes where I momentarily get stuck about where to go and what will work to take my plot forward, but when that happens I get away from the manuscript for a few days.  Give it time to percolate a little.  However, I'm constantly thinking about it the entire time and somehow I find my way back to where I want to go.

 

7.  Movie time. Who do you envision playing your main character? The love interest? A bad guy?  And you can be in the movie too--what part would you play? And why?

 

For Sydney, my main character, I envision a few actresses.  Sally Field is the major one but I could also see Michelle Pfeiffer or Rachel Ward being my Sydney.  For the love interest, Noah, I envision Richard Gere or Kevin Costner.  I honestly can't see myself as any of the characters. Ah, I know………Maybe Miss Polly, the hairdresser in town because she gets all the gossip and as a writer, I love gossip and details!

 

8.  Please name the five movies and the five books you want with you if stranded on a desert island.   

 

5 books would be:  A Woman of Substance, To Kill a Mockingbird, The House at Riverton, The Shellseekers and The Thornbirds

5 movies would be:  Casablanca, Pretty Woman, Saving Private Ryan, Ghost and Steel Magnolias

 

9.  What is your advice to aspiring writers? 

 

Don;t ever give up.  If writing is your passion, then keep writing.  Believe in yourself and make great things happen. 

 

10.  What is next for you? 

My Christmas novella that I'm doing in the anthology with Fern Michaels headlining will be released November 2010—the same time that my second book in the Cedar Key series will be out.

Thanks, Terri! Please visit her site to learn more about Spinning Forward and for a chance to win a $50 Macy's card.

Oh yeah, good news

First, I just finished work on this:

I freely admit that I love this site! Weird stuff. One day I thought "I want to make a site for Keris. And there shall be birdies!" Next day, Keris asked me to do the site. "Can it have birds?" I asked. "I want birds!" she said. Her will was done.

(Need a site? Come see me, I'll do you a good deal.)

Next, I'm a double finalist in the Launching A Star contest, with The Lake Effect and Learning How To Stay. And The Lake Effect is a double finalist in FTHRW's Wallflower contest. Wish me luck!

How did they know?

So, being an Apartment Therapy freak, I couldn't resist trying this online quiz about what my decorating style might be. And here it is:

This is so me, it's not funny. Especially the scent thing. Whenever I'm home, there's a candle burning--right now it's Pacifica's Brazilian Mango Grapefruit (which is also the soap I'm currently using--thanks, Tee!) After my belongings arrived from Paris, I felt like I was back there because the boxes smelled of the candles/cleaning products I used there. This place smells differently because now I'm using Method cleaning products--they smell fantastic (cucumber, anyone? Or how about some mint?) and are safe for kitty paws to pad across.

It's also very, very important to me that people feel like they can kick back and relax. Because of that, my living room is on about its fifth iteration since I moved in. I still don't have what I would call the perfect flow, mainly because the other day I moved my desk from the enclosed balcony into a corner where once sat a big armchair. Yeah, it might sound precious, but I don't feel settled if I don't have the right work area. I thought the balcony was going to be perfect but the floor slopes, so my chair kept sliding sideways, I didn't like having the french doors behind me, the windows were too high, and it got hot/cold in there pretty quickly. So instead I turned it into a sitting room and created a work space in the living room. The windows are at the right level, I can regulate the heat (yesterday when it was 90 outside, it was 75 at my desk--and only 70 down in the kitchen), and I've strung icicle lights outside so it feels magical at night. Here's what it looks like:

I'm getting a different office chair--either lime green or chocolate (or maybe white?!), I haven't decided--and keeping the furniture off-white. My happy home colors are a little brighter than the quiz came up with--I have quite a bit of lime green and orange and pond blue, but mainly as accents. And red! I can't stay away from the red! Which is great come Christmas and winter, because I can change out cushion covers, etc. I luuuuuuurve seasonal decorating.

The section on the outdoor room is spot on, too, and I've made a start on that. Bought a few pots of lavender and geranium the other day, and only lost 1 geranium head to the resident possum. I'm hoping there's something I can spray on them to keep him/her at bay. The other problem is I seem to have lost possession of my Ikea rocker to a certain kitteh (seen here sniffing the air because a neighbor was cooking something delicious-smelling):

It makes my heart happy for the boys to have a safe outdoor space after 5 years on a small balcony. At 17, they're too old to go climbing over fences. I make them come in at night, though, because of the possums--which means that Pumpkin comes whining to me around 5.30 because he needs to get out so he can keep his space safe from passer-by dogs, who've learned, to their displeasure, that the boys are not interested in being their friends, so keep your snout out of the fence holes, thank you very much!

And as for the ice and limes...well, no truer words were spoken. And in that spirit, I leave you with the formula for my new favorite drink, which I'll be happy to serve you if you drop by. It's called a Paso Noble, but I'm renaming it HELL YEAH BABY!!:

1 part tequila
1 part Mandarin Napoléon
passionfruit juice & pulp
lime juice

You're welcome :-)

I *was* going to...

NaNo outside in my super-comfy Ikea rocker, but then I found this:

Being a complete sucker, I don't have the heart to move him. So it looks like I'm going to be inside on the sofa with this one:

And then when all my wordage is done, I'm heading here for one of these:

Good times, babykins, good times.

Oh, how I wish I didn't have to post this...

...but it sure is funny! (H/T to Mel)

This, my friends, is how it's done

 

This book is absolutely awesome. But a little hard to read when you're busy taking down notes. Mr. Tropper, you have once again exceeded my expectations.

Now who do I see about the drink I snorted out my nose when reading the cheesecake-up-the-ass scene?