More Intrigued

Unfortunately, this picture is no better than the last one I posted of this old, cool-as-hell place. I'm still searching for information on it, and still coming up empty handed. I think I might have to ask the owners about the history and if I can take some closer shots, maybe get a peek inside. I'll let you know how I make out. I need to know more.

Okay, can I just say...tomorrow is December 1st? Yeah, I can since this is my blog. Ha. That's all I'm going to say though. I think I say the same thing every month, so just expand what I normally say by like a thousand and you'll get how I'm feeling about it being December already. So totally not ready for the hysteria of the holidays. I think I have hives over it!

Short and sweet today!

Behave!

Feel Good Friday

The post Thanksgiving edition.
1. Family and friends who are family and getting to be with most of them yesterday.
2. Lots of good food.
3. Playing games.
4. Birthdays.
5. Laughing until my stomach hurts.
6. Good books to read.
7. Sleeping in.
8. Good friends.
I think that about covers it. I'm sure I missed some stuff though.
Behave!

Happy Thanksgiving!

HAPPY

THANKSGIVING!!

May your table be blessed with not only good food, but good friends as well!

May you never forget what you are thankful for!

AND...

HAPPY

BIRTHDAY!!!

To my oldest baby girl!

17!!!

It's amazing to see the young woman you've become.

I'm so proud of you!!

(and feeling just a tiny bit old today!)

Behave!!

Answers!

Okay. The lies...
Natalie got the year right. The pilgrims landed in December of 1620 so there was no way her mother had been dead for 2 years after the long boat ride.
A brief thought on the productive farming...farms may not have been as productive as they eventually were, but they were harvesting corn thanks to the Wampanoag. This one is a gray area, though I didn't intend it as the second lie.
The second lie:
Cranberries.
They didn't eat cranberries at that first feast. They didn't have pumpkin pie either. Sad. I know. When did cranberries become part of Thanksgiving? I have no idea. I didn't get that far in my research.
So there you have it.
Tune in next week for more Tall Tale Tuesday. I have no idea what it'll be yet.
Behave!

Tall Tale Tuesday

Thanksgiving style...
Read the story. Tell me the lies. There are two.

I was seventeen in the fall of 1621. My eighteenth birthday would fall on the second day of the feast, and I would marry Joesph the Sunday following the celebration. Since only four married women survived the journey and our first winter here, I was obligated to help in any way I could. Unfortunately, that meant preparing the fish for cooking and washing basket upon basket of cranberries. I missed the gentle guidance of my mother. She'd died shortly after the journey to the new land two years prior. I held her hand as she suffered through her final breaths. She made me promise to marry Joesph and to be a good wife. It was that promise I was now regretting. I didn't love Joesph. I didn't want to marry him. He was handsome enough, and nice. He had a productive farm not far from my father's. Sturdy - good husband material - but not my love.
I glanced out the window, watching the man who had captured my heart. He was Wampanoag and therefore an unlikely candidate for my husband. I call him Eli, though that's not his given name. My father refuses to listen to my pleas about my marriage to Joesph. He refuses to listen to my heart. All he does is remind me of the promise I made Ma. I'm trapped. And miserable. Picking up the bucket of fish guts, I went out the door. It was dangerous to continue to talk to Eli when my fate was already sealed, but I had to. I needed to. He smiled when he saw me, my heart shattered, lurching at the sight of him. He'd asked me to run away with him and I've yet to give him an answer.

Two lies. What are they?
(No, I'm not talking about me. It's a first person story, so don't even think you can use the "I's" as an answer! And you'll have to ignore any spelling/grammar/punctuation mistakes in the story. I'm in a rush to get everything on my list done before the holiday!)
Behave!

Intrigued

No Moaning Monday post. There's so much moaning, I wouldn't even know where to start. We won't even go there.

Instead, we're going to talk about this picture. B and I drove by this old building the other day, and again over the weekend. We tried to find a way to get closer, but apparently, it's on private property. I made him slow down so I could take this picture, but it seriously doesn't do it justice.

There's just something about this building. It's three stories high, brick, and ages old. I've spent a lot of time researching it, to no avail. I can't find any information. Though from the bridge remnants around it, and the evidence of an old road, this was maybe a hotel, or an old trading post, or someplace significant to the area.

I want to know so badly. I keep thinking about it. I can imagine it in it's heyday.

Maybe it's just my interest in old buildings, but the lack of knowledge is driving me nuts.

Behave!

We Are Not Getting a Puppy!

We're not! I mean it!

But if we were...it would be between these two pretty girls. I'm sorta partial to the one in the front - the gray, tan, and black spotted one.

They're about 3 weeks old. Their eyes just opened and they make the cutest little grunting noise. There are 9 in the litter. I can't remember how many of each.

The kids and B are in love. They want. A lot.

Oh. What kind of puppies? Great Dane.

As if we're not already insane enough around here with our Newfoundland/Border Collie mix. Two huge dogs?

No one is listening to me...

I think I'm doomed!

Behave!

Feel Good Friday

Wow. It's been a long week. Let's see if I can sum up the good stuff.
1. SNOW!!
2. Reading "Twilight".
3. Supernatural - though I'm still processing the episode.
4. Feeling encouraged writing-wise.
5. That my near hysteria yesterday was completely unfounded, and a result of a frazzle-brained teenager and lack of time-telling skills.
6. Being warm.
7. Less than a week until the Thanksgiving gathering and birthday celebration.
8. Puppies! (we're still not getting one!)
9. It's Friday!
10. Sleeping in tomorrow!
Okay. I think that's enough. In all, not a bad week.
Behave!!

Answers!

Believe it or not, the one thing that did not happen in my house was number 1.

1. That smell I mentioned? The terrible, assaulting odor that seemed to come from the basement...I finally found it late last night. In the form of a half-eaten sandwich wrapped in foil and left in a jacket pocket. Estimated date of origination: Last weekend - specifically last Sunday when we were traveling to a birthday party and running around like fools.
**While the smell appears to be gone, or at least muted, I never found the source.

2. K3 gave himself a bald spot by cutting his hair. It was sticking up. Yes. He's 12.
**True! I noticed he had a bald spot Monday night, and when I asked him about it he tearfully admitted to lopping off some hair that was sticking up. I don't know what's up with that. I've spent a lot of time trying to figure it out.

3. K4 got caught with a pen spring in her mouth, and a hunk of paper.
**Also true! She's been doing this a lot lately, and not only is it really annoying, but potentially dangerous. I've already been through this with one kid and that included a trip to the ER because he accidentally swallowed what he was chewing on - a calculator battery. Yeah. Fun stuff.

I swear everyone in my house has reverted to toddler age. My stock phrase lately has been, "What are you, two?" It's like living in a circus sometimes.

Behave!!

Tall Tale Tuesday

I'm going to use the old format this week because I have to.

Which of these did not happen in my house within the past twenty-four hours:

1. That smell I mentioned? The terrible, assaulting odor that seemed to come from the basement...I finally found it late last night. In the form of a half-eaten sandwich wrapped in foil and left in a jacket pocket. Estimated date of origination: Last weekend - specifically last Sunday when we were traveling to a birthday party and running around like fools.
2. K3 gave himself a bald spot by cutting his hair. It was sticking up. Yes. He's 12.
3. K4 got caught with a pen spring in her mouth, and a hunk of paper.

You know the drill. I'm looking for what did NOT happen.
There is one person who knows the answer to this, at least I think she knows. (Could you maybe not comment until later? Please!)

Behave!

Moaning Monday

Are you sick of hearing me whine every Monday?
Too bad...
Here's my list:
1. I'm cold. No matter what I do I can't get warm.
2. My old body is sore from the weekend activities. (get your mind out of the gutter! I meant raking leaves and loading boxes)
3. I'm tired and every time I think of all I need to do, I get even tired-er.
4. Edits on my shifter short are going much slower than I expected/want thanks to the stuff from #3, life in general, and a major plot change.
5. There is so much clean laundry on my couch that it's laughable. Seriously.
6. So far, dinner doesn't smell appealing. Maybe it's just me though.
7. Homework should be illegal on Monday. I'm only saying.
8. Something is causing a horrid odor in my house. I thought it was the kitchen trash, though I emptied it yesterday evening. The first thing I did when I got home was empty it again. I thought the smell went away. I was wrong. I realized that when I went downstairs to start the laundry. The smell seemed to be coming from either the utility sink, or the general area. I ran some bleach down the drain of the sink and sorted through the laundry, looking, thinking perhaps someone had something that rotted in their pocket (it's possible - you just never know around here), or that maybe a potato had fallen out of the basket at the top of the steps and fallen, unseen, to the basement floor to rot, but I still don't know. A continuing moaning adventure, to be sure.
9. Grumpy children.
10. Too short spans of sunlight.
That's all.
Tall Tale Tuesday tomorrow!
Behave!

Feel Good Friday

Okay, let's see how the week went...
1. My dog being all clean and pretty.
2. Spending time with my sister.
3. Getting a second viewing of last night's Supernatural with my sister.
4. Supernatural.
5. Sam and Ruby and no shirt and big arms and...*drops to the floor, dead*
6. Next week's Supernatural preview of Dean with no shirt.
7. Gas points and major savings.
8. Today is Friday.
9. Getting stuff done, even though I feel like I'm never going to get it all done.
10. Supernatural chats.
11. Being warm.
12. The crunch of the leaves when I walk through them.
13. Thanksgiving plans.
14. Passing a bus with Santa driving. It was the Christmas Express, or North Pole Express, or something like that. And yes, it's way too early for me to even think about Christmas, but seeing that old man with a white beard and Santa suit behind the wheel made me smile.
That's all I can think of right now. A markedly better week this week, but still too insane around here.
Enjoy the weekend!
Behave!

Random Thursday

Watching the new Indiana Jones movie while I type this. Multitasking, if you will. I've heard mixed things about this movie. K1 said it was like Spielberg and Lucas puked in your face. I know a lot of other people who really liked it. At first I thought I was going to hate it, but I can't say that now. It's not over, so no review at this point.
When my friends and I were discussing a story idea I have, Burkholder suggested I watch the series "Dark Angel". She loaned me the first season, which I've been watching in between everything else. That means I'm far enough to be totally hooked and am now bummed since finding out there are only two seasons. There's a lot to like about the series, namely Logan, and Max's kickass style, but some of it makes me roll my eyes. That's okay with me though, because I can ignore cheesy lines and characters when the rest of it's good.
New Supernatural tonight. I feel like I haven't seen it in ages, which is funny since I just watched it last week. I didn't get a chance for a second viewing though, and I've been too busy to hang around You Tube searching for new fanvids.
That's about it. Been kind of a random day around here.
Behave!

Answers!

So what did you think of the new format?
I'll probably use a mix between the two styles for future Tall Tale Tuesdays, and I'm still not promising it as a weekly installment yet.
Okay...so answers...
Yeah, Jo nailed it.
Reagan was sworn in for his second term in office.
The time of year was a lie.
As for the "New Coke" - it came out at the beginning of May that year. I didn't start drinking diet soda until well after 1985.
Yes, it was only seven stitches...believe it or not. The kicker on that was the fact that even though I got to leave work early, I had to drive myself to the ER. My right hand was wrapped in at least a whole roll of paper towels, and I had a manual transmission. It was fantastic fun.
Thanks for playing, and for bearing with me as I tweak this version!
Behave!

Tall Tale Tuesday

I'm trying a different type of Tall Tale Tuesday. Let me know what you think.
Below is a brief story. In the story, you will find two outright lies.
What are they?
**
The year was 1985. I remember what happened that day with such clarity. The day before, Ronald Reagan had been sworn into office for his first term. I remember because since I'd voted for the first time in my life, the process deserved my attention. I'd just cracked open a can of "New Coke", thirsty from the hot summer sun and the work of washing my truck, when I looked at my watch. I was late for work. The job I could do without, but not the money. I'd graduated a few weeks earlier, and had yet to begin the process of finding a "grown up" job. I hurried to get to work on time, wishing I had the guts to call off. A person could only slice so much deli meat before the mere thought of eating a sandwich made the stomach turn. I went anyway, thinking of ways to get out of there early, even though I was scheduled to close. My wishful thoughts turned to reality as I joked with the manager on duty. I waved my hand in dramatic conversation and hit the blade of the slicer I was cleaning, effectively engaging three fingers on my right hand with the just-sharpened blade. Needless to say, I left work early. I spent most of the evening in the emergency room getting seven stitches in my fingers.
* * *
Like I said, two outright lies.
Still no prize, except a hearty pat on the back for getting it right.
Behave!

Moaning Monday

Not a lot to moan about today.
My main gripe is that when I got home this afternoon it was as cold, or colder, inside the house as the outside. I was trying to type with gloves on, my feet were numb, and no matter what I did, I couldn't get warm.
But I'm warm now, so I guess I can't really moan about being cold anymore.
Other than that...
It's Monday. That's a moan all of its own.
I did have a fantastic experience today. Thanks to our grocery store's incentive-to-shop-there program and a coupon for addition gas points, I ended up paying 79.9 cents per gallon this morning. You can get up to 30 gallons, which meant I very nearly filled my tank for less than twenty-five bucks. (The Suburban has a 42-gallon tank, but I had a little gas already) That's pretty sweet. The receipt gives you the amount you saved - which was thirty-six dollars. I'm saving that one.
Tall Tale Tuesday will be making a comeback tomorrow. Wait for it.
I can't promise it'll be a weekly thing quite yet, but we'll see what happens.
That's all...
Behave!

Quickie

I think I forgot to mention that while we were looking forward to most things this past weekend, the general insanity and constant running were not something that floated my boat. Sunday was even busier than Saturday, which is why I missed posting.
Friday night K2 had a friend sleepover and they decided to watch scary movies all night. I stayed up with them for a little while, but when I went to bed, they asked me to turn on the kitchen light. Neither would give me a reason why they all of a sudden needed the light on. Ha!
Saturday's birthday party was a lot of fun and we got to see people we haven't seen in nearly 2 years. There were a lot of little ones there, and a lot of little one crying. B and I were transported back in time, then we were glad little one screaming is no longer a part of our daily life.
Sunday was constant chaos. We hustled to my brother's for my niece's 21st birthday party to see another family we haven't seen in a long time - not 2 years long - but considering we used to be together nearly every weekend, it's been a long time. Had to rush home from there for three different activities and didn't end up finishing the day until 9 pm.
And that's why I didn't post yesterday...
I'll be back later for Moaning Monday!
Behave!

Random Saturday

No lucid and logical thoughts come to mind today, but I think you've come to expect that from me.
I have two subjects:
1. Leaves - the two enormous trees in our backyard finally turned a beautiful shade of yellow on Monday. By Wednesday, they decided they were done supporting those leaves and the yard filled with crunchy, beautiful leaves. A nice thing. I usually don't mind raking as long as it's not just me doing it. But the dog piles didn't get picked up due to rain and busyness and this weekend is so packed for us, it'll be next weekend before we can even think about getting a start on it.
2. Birthdays - This weekend is birthday party crazy. Today we head up to my sisters. Tomorrow to my brothers. After tomorrow, we get a short break before it starts all over again. K2's birthday falls on Thanksgiving this year, which she happens to really like. Makes it easier for coordinating the celebration since we'll all be together anyway.
That's all for now. Now I have to get my crew ready to depart, do some birthday shopping, and make a grocery store run for guacamole ingredients before time to be there.
Behave!

Feel Good Friday

What a long week!
Here's the list:
1. It's Friday!
2. Supernatural
3. Supernatural chat
4. Sleeping in tomorrow.
5. Weekend plans.
A short list this week.
Behave!

Wednesday Weirdness

Actually, there wasn't so much weirdness today as there was rudeness. Today was another one of those days where most of the people I interacted with were ignorant, condescending, and downright rude. Welcome to my week. Let's just say Friday's feel good list probably won't be very long at all this week and leave it at that.
Things got better when I got home, but here I'm faced with the horrible mess that is my house - thanks to all the running around I've had to do this week. That's no good either, but I am working on it. Actually, I'm not anymore. Dinner's done, my brother's been here for dinner and is now off to college, the laundry's started, and some basic essentials have been taken care of. I'm planning on vegging the rest of the night and here's what I'm going to do tomorrow:
Staying in my jammies and watching Supernatural all day long.
That's my plan and I'm sticking to it.
Behave!

Do It

I don't care about your political views.
I don't care what you think about the candidates.
I don't care which party you registered under.
Just go vote!
It's your duty and your right.
And if you don't, then I don't want to hear you bitch about the way our country's being run. You have no right to do so if you don't exercise your freedom.
Make your voice heard.
Go Vote!
Behave!

Birthday Wishes

These few weeks are intense with birthdays around here. Between the middle of October and the end of November, we have 18 birthdays to celebrate. Just from November 1 to November 9, we have 5.
Today is my friend Jo's birthday. Click on the link to go to her my space page and listen to some of her music. She's a very gifted musician. You'll be glad you did. Jo and I have been friends for a very, very long time. She's one of those people who are always there for you no matter what - kind of like gum on your shoe, or that zit that just won't go away. Ha!! Just kidding. If you've read The Shape of Love, you'll see her name in the dedication section because she's one of the people who pushed me until I did something to make writing more than a distant dream. She's also incredibly fun to be around. Take this picture, for example, we'd been having a silent battle of wills with the aged at our last camp out, and this celebratory fist pump was because we won the contest of who could stay up later. Ha! So, before I get mushy and stuff, let me just say...Happy Birthday, Jo! (see? not quite what you expected to see here when I told you to make sure you checked out the blog today!)
There you have it!
Behave!

Moaning Monday

Honestly, it's been so much of that kind of day that I don't even know where to start. Maybe I'll just skip the moaning part and talk about something else. But what...?
I know! The one subject that makes me feel better no matter how crappy my day was. Do you want to take a guess? Come on, I'm sure you can figure it out...
Yes. Supernatural.
I'm in serious need of some TiVo action in this house. Or at least the brains to set up the VCR every Thursday. TiVo would be better. I'm in serious love with the sound it makes when you fast-forward through commercials. Okay, so that's beside the point. But it would be really swell to watch it whenever I want.
This season has been incredible. Every week I think I couldn't love it more, and then the new episode comes on and I'm proven wrong. I'm not going to get into the details, because I'm having some serious brain-related thinking issues and couldn't tell you what happened five minutes ago, let alone what happened last Thursday.
But here's this: Sam using his yellow-eyed power is hot. Dean looking up into the light is hot. Castiel is hot. And no, the shows appeal to me is not about the general take-your-breath-away-oh-my-God-those-boys-are-beautiful stuff. Though it's a definite perk. There's so much more to it, I can't even begin to describe it to you.
I loves it and that's all that matters.
And that's all you get on this crappy, crappy Monday!
Behave!

Giving It Up...

I'm not sure how to start this post. So I'm just going to shoot from the hip and hope at least some of it makes sense...
A writer is a different type of person. Our brains work in odd ways most of the time. Even when we're doing mundane tasks, things are clicking around in there - things that usually only make sense to another writer, things that make non-writers wonder about the state of our sanity. It's very rare that taking an unplanned day off makes me glad. It's not like working any other job I've ever had where you're thrilled to have a day off. Yes, I take time off - every writer I know does. As much as we love what we do, we need a break from our work as well, but it's different somehow and I'm not sure how to explain that. Maybe I won't even try, because that's not supposed to be my point.
Writing the book is totally different from the rest of the things we do as writers. Writing the book is pure joy most of the time. Yes, sometimes that book kicks our butts and makes us wonder why we ever thought it was a good idea to write it, but that's another post entirely. It's the other stuff that slams you in the gut with a two-by-four and then laughs at you as you're rolling around in the gutter. That other stuff is what eats at your motivation and your soul and has you questioning what the hell it is you think you're doing. It makes you question your craft and your words and your skill. It makes you think about quitting.
I'd be lying if I said I've never thought about walking away from writing. When you're doubled over in pain from your fourth rejection in a week and those rejections have stripped the determination right out of you, it's hard not to wonder what in the hell you think you're doing. You can't help but question it. The rejections seem to get harder to deal with and you wonder how much more you can take.
And then it fades, occasionally rearing the ugly head of "you suck" during low periods, but on the whole, you're able to beat it back with the stick you found just for that purpose. And you keep trying. Sometimes that question...Should I just not do this anymore?...Gets stuck in your head.
Here's the thing...
If you think you can just turn off being a writer, then do it. If you think you can just walk away and go work as a greeter at some ginormous department store and life will be peachy and perfect, then, for crying out loud, do it. If you think it's worth walking away from what's probably years of learning and honing your craft and exploring your voice and style, then, don't walk, run. Quit. Don't try anymore. Because honestly, even if you're widely famous and uber published, the only one you're really going to hurt is you.
Sure, your fans might be disappointed, but they'll get over it and find someone who is still writing books for them.
Maybe you're not published and you think quitting will make your life so much easier. Then, go ahead. Quit. Because I swear to you, if you can walk away like that - no matter how many books you've written, sold, or just sketched out - you are NOT a writer.
Writer's can't quit. Not really. Sure, you can take a break, suffer burn out, step back to re-evaluate your career and your direction - that's normal stuff. We all deal with it occasionally. Sometimes we think part of us has died and dried up, and then we discover that feeling came about because we weren't taking care of the vessel, or maybe the real world has thrown you so many fast balls that the switchboard in your brain has gotten all tangled and shorted out. You take care of yourself and eventually, the spark appears one day and says, "Remember me? It's about damn time. Let's get to work."
But if you can really walk away, then you weren't ever a writer to begin with. If you're really a writer, not writing anymore would be like losing your ability to see, or breathe. It's part of you. Writing's part of your soul. It's part of your being, not something you can hack off and toss in the dust bin.
If you're feeling like it's time to quit, then maybe you need to take a step back and get your perspective back in order. Take a break and let your mojo rebuild and while you're doing that ask yourself what you'd lose by giving up your dreams. It takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there and recieve rejection after rejection. It does hurt when the rejections pour in and good words are so few and far between you think there just aren't any for you. You think you must suck.
But seriously, are you really willing to let your dream go?
Behave!

Saturday

Wow. November already.
That's crazy and I do realize I say "wow" every month. Seriously though. What's happened to 2008? It's nearly gone already.
Honestly, and I know I've touched on this before, I'm not sure this year was as fantastic as I'd hoped it would be. Part of me wants to give it up and officially start 2009 early, and the other part (the superstitious/optimistic part) thinks I should give these last two months their fair chance, and that maybe one of the reasons this year wasn't too swell is because I denied the last few months of 2007. Revenge, you know...
Today was my RWA chapter meeting. Always a good time. There's something to be said for hanging out with a bunch of like-minded individuals, as I've said before. I'll be giving up my librarian job and taking on the role of chapter vice president starting in January. This was our last official business meeting this year. Next month, we'll gather for food and socializing at our holiday party. That's always a good time.
So, there you have it...some rambling for a Saturday.
Behave!