Warning: Some Violence and Much Strong Language.SHE WROTE: Random Thoughts
Still typing, so random thoughts:
It must be getting closer to fall. The first walnut just fell on my roof. It's going to sound like the house is under bombardment for a while now. May be time to call in Louis the Tree Guy.
Monty Python: I think the first time I ever saw Bob smile was at Spamalot when Arthur proposed to the Lady of the Lake and she said, "Let me think. Yes," and ripped off her dress. But we also do our fair share of "Not dead yet" and "Always look on the bright side of life." Which come to think of it were also in Spamalot. That was kind of the Greatest Hits, wasn't it?
Crispin: I have all his mysteries but my fave is probably Glimpses of the Moon (the last book which he wrote fifteen years after the rest) if only for this:
"Here he paused by the mirror, from which, not unexpectedly his own face looked out at him. In the fifteen years since his last appearance, he appear to have changed very little. Peering at his image now, he saw the same tall lean body, the same ruddy, scrubbed-looking, clean-shaved face, the same blue eyes, the same brown hair ineffectually plastered down with water, so that it stood up in a spike at the crown of his head. Somewhere or other he still had his extraordinary hat. Good. At this rate, he felt, he might even live to see the day when novelists described their characters by some other device that that of manoeuvering them into examining themselves in mirrors."
Every time I see a writer describe a character by having her look at herself in a mirror, I want to send her Glimpses of the Moon. You really just can't after you read that.
Oh, and I now have both Acts One and Two since Bob sent One stumbling back across the bridge to me last night. I've fed them both hearty meals, wrapped them in wool blankets, and diagrammed them on graph paper, looking for Agnes's arc. I am, as Bob screams, circling the plot, going around and around in larger circles as I look for patterns. Actually, Bob's not screaming at all, he's being very patient and I should give him all kinds of credit for that.
And now I have to go finish my notes to him so that he knows what the hell Agnes is doing in Act Two so he can move forward. Or maybe he should just sit on his dock for awhile. He was sounding fried yesterday. Do not harass the GAM today, grasshoppers. He needs what peace there may be in silence.
So he can shoot at the pleasure boats that bespoil his nice intercoastal.
364 Comments:
Virgin blog! Wheee!!
Theresa in Pgh
Jenny it sounds like you both need some peace. Once the two Acxts get over the shock of being rudely awakened in the middle of the night, blindfolded and sent stumbling across a bridge, they may be able to help you find teh arcs.
Happy wriitn - whether it' sby putting words to paper, thinking about words for paper, or circling the words that are already there.
Last night I dreamt about flamingos taking over the world, mating with all sorts of species. I particularly liked hte flamingo cockatiel. It was the first one I met. Cerise has been tres busy
Bob: Poor baby. You want peace? Jenny thinks you need silence? From the CB's? It's early, maybe she's not really awake yet.
Ok, here's a little secret that we sometimes use in emergencies: Turn off the laptop. Yeah, there IS a little button somewhere that does that. No one is forcing you to read this stuff.
Really.
bw
Bob: No worries okay? Goals for today: Beer. Dock. Relax.
The challenge will have to wait. No harassing the GAM today. Cher-ee's orders.
So, who do we harass? Jen-T, you're pretty skilled at taking harassment. (Note: LeFarve) Ready to take one more for the team today? Or maybe we should spread it around more.
fwogy: The atmosphere around GG when she gets up in the morning for bootcamp. (BTW: crazy or not ~ very impressed with your commitment there.)
Jenny - Great random thoughts! But if you really wanted us to give Bob some peace and stop harrasing him, well, then you should've let us keep going on his last post since he says he can't "see" us after 100 and now, well, he can see us and we can go on harrassing him since it's so much fun to do so.
Off to make the manics pancakes for breakfast!
BCB - I'm coming down there to chop off your fingers! How could you tell them about the off button. They just might do that! Geez, have I tought you nothing!
Lori - Ha, your funny. Okay, so DH is out of town now, I suppose I could take one for the team. Send LaFavre back, but warn him, the hockey team is here today. Why is that I'm the only mom that can handle a half a dozen boys at once? Oh, yeah, that's because I don't have a job and all the other mother's do. maybe i should get me one of those? Thinking, thinking - okay, not. I like my duckie lake life!
Go ahead CB's bring on the harrassement. I get it all day from my kids. I think I can handle you.
Do not harass the GAM today, grasshoppers. He needs what peace there may be in silence.
Bob embracing the Desiderata on his dock.
Nice image.
So he can shoot at the pleasure boats that bespoil his nice intercoastal.
I can relate. I live on a harbor so any boats that go by follow the 'no wake' restriction and their slow chugging doesn't disturb the peaceful atmosphere. Occasionally, kids on waverunners zoom by and disrupt the harbor zen.
Perhaps some of the moored sailboats could string trip wires between their bows. *g*
txsiu: The existential scene is utopia.
.
sshhhh... maybe if we do 100 of these?
bw
I'll be as quiet as possible since you all don't want to disturb the GAM. But this cracked me up. I read my horoscope every morning, just for kicks. Anyway, this is today's horoscrope according to the Rochester Democrate and Chronicle.
"Gemini (May 21 - June 21) While it may be noble to take one for the team, taking two, three and four for the team is just pathetic. If you feel like you've been beaten up on the playground of life, it's an excellent day to stand up to the bully."
Okay, CB's be very, very quiet. Princess Jen is demanding that you all stop picking on her. it's her day to stand up and say "i'm not taking one for the team!"
tip..........................toe
tip..........................toe
tip..........................toe
Yes, I can do it!
ncbisyys - some secret system to keep North Carolina quiet for Bob
pssst.. CG... Bob is in South Carolina.
I am in NC.
Oh. That's what you meant?
sshhhh......
bw
Hee hee -- I am a redhead and I harass whomever and whenever I want. Its in the rules.
Jenny, Goddess that she is, may hate the mirror manuever (not thrilled with it myself) but I hate the phrase 'every fiber of my being' with ... my entire central nervous system. I also hate movies where the damsel in distress just STANDS THERE while her man fights. I love Princess Bride but I always scream "Hit the GD RUS with something you twit" at the screen whenever their in the fireswamp. If my Sweet Babou was being attacked by a Bigass Rat I would distract it by jamming the dropped sword right up its butt. Sheesh.
How come Jen-T gets to take one for team? If LaFavre is giving one I want to take one for the team (whine).
BTW Jen-T: You DO have a job. I am a stay at home Mom too and this is the toughest job I ever loved. I am on call 24/7, haven't eaten hot food since March 2005, and have read Goodnight Moon about 5000 times. Plus, since I am home anyway, I cook and clean. And that's before I hit the sports mom stage where I become uber-chaffeur (sp?). NEVER imply you don't have a job again. Casey and I swapped places for one day last year (long story) and his first comment was 'I don't know how you do this every day love'. I've never seen him so tired. Every mom is a working mom, even if she does loll around by a shark-infested lake writing books adn waiting for LaFavre to show up :0)
And now for my, ahem ... 'cherry' attempt at this word game:
ebmrfa: eventually bob made redheaded fan alerts.
Bob - after you take out some pleasure boats you can fly up to my lake and take out the (*&*^-ing jet skiers who disturbe me when I'm fishing. Yes, my boat has a motor but I know what a no wake zone is and I know how to cut the motor and anchor.
Sheesh, guys. All this tip-toeing around with such ostentation is going to get on the GAM's nerves, surely.
Another Crispinite stands up! It's great to find others. I love Crispin's sense of fun and Fen's occasional tendency to step out of the frame of the book, Pirandello-like, and make comments about Crispin and his writing style. It's hard to do that without going over into parody, but Fen manages.
On a completely different topic, I would like to complain to someone. Went to a bookstore the other day and saw several Crusie paperbacks all designed in a light, bright style with light, bright colors. Well and good, except that right next to Strange Bedfellows was a paperback by Janet Dailey with a cover that was almost an exact duplicate of the Crusie. I mean pretty much everything but the title and the author's name looked EXACTly alike. Same colors, almost same design on the cover. That seems a cheesy attempt to ride in on another author's coattails, and it seems especially bad that it's a Janet Dailey book, since she really didn't even bother to think up a convincing excuse, let alone a decent apology, for stealing wholesale from Nora Roberts' books. I am peeved.
SSSSSHHHHHHH. No picking on Bob. Seriously folks. We don't want to push him too far and then no more collabs. And I think that means we have to leave LaFavre alone too. The GAM needs some peace. You know it must be bad if even Jenny isn't picking on him.
Mary, as soon as you said it was a Janet Daily book I had the same thought. Except I guess the authors don't get a lot of say about there covers, right? So maybe that one's not on her.
Mary: I don't read Daily anymore either. I hate that she pretty much felt free to steal Roberts' work. Trashy move. But it was undoubtedly some marketing genius in publishing that's doing the book cover crap. Then again, maybe Daily's sunk lower. Does she go to confrences? Do the other writers hide their manuscripts?
MCB: If we don't pick on Bob we are enabling him to sulk. He can handle it. Its one of the manly things he does with other men in manly ways.
ANNON - geez, you'd hate me and my family. We've got a jetski and a ski boat. With three kids that love to ski and two parents who love it just as much, well, fisherman don't like us much. But we've seem to come to a compromise, they get from 6-about 9:30 in the morning, then we waterskiing til about one when there are too many boats on the lake to ski. Then the kids go out on the jetski - but they stay away from the fishermen.
I grew up with a Dad who loved fishing. If we wanted to waterski, we had to get up at like 4:30, sit next to two poles and pretend we were having fun, then he'd take us for a pull, then we'd get donuts at Glen Island, then do a little more fishing, then one more run. My mother loved it, she had the house to herself till like two.
But there is one way to annoy waterskiers - make really big wakes, we hate that.
Kara the red - yes, I know I have a "job" as wife and mother, but back when I was you with little ones, it was easy. I just stayed at home, found mothers to swap kids with and had a really clean house. I miss those days. Today it's dealing with teenagers and one 9 year old, who all have lives and what this and that and this morning my day started at 6:30 when I drove middle child to golf course for a golf tournament - then I took youngest child to swim lessons and now we have a half a dozen boys at the house, which I have to make lunch for and then drop my daughter off at the mall/movies with friends, pick up middle child, drive other kids home, cook dinner (I hate cooking), do laundry, someone has hockey practice tonight and write my big breakout novel. I need a nap.
Me not being quiet, don't know how.
That's what silencers are for. Ya get peace AND quiet in one neat little package.
Some of us are just grateful that our laptops haven't burst into flames.
inkgrrl - I love that! I think Jenny and Bob should give that line to one of the mob characters ... "Ya get peace AND quiet in one neat little package."
McB and Kyra,
I don't blame Janet Dailey for the cover, it just was icing on the cake that she was the author of the book with the questionable cover. I can see some smart-alec marketing type figuring out that in most bookstores* Da comes shortly after Cr and wouldn't it be cute to design the book covers alike.
*Of course, not all bookstores display the books in alphabetical order. Indeed, one bookstore in Gresham has the books sorted by these criteria: first by gender (books by male authors on the left, by female authors on the right... I guess DLD would be smack in the middle), then for the romance novels they were further sorted by publishing imprint, e.g., the Harlequins were subdivided into Harlequin Romance, Harlequin Presents, etc. THEN, after all that, the books were in alphabetical order by author's last name.
Ah, Monty Python.
Large Man with Dead Body: Who's that then?
The Dead Collector: I dunno, must be a king.
Large Man with Dead Body: Why?
The Dead Collector: He hasn't got shit all over him.
Gotta love 'em.
mary wrote: All this tip-toeing around with such ostentation is going to get on the GAM's nerves, surely.
No. Really? A man his age doesn't know how to find a little peace and quiet, sheesh, too damn bad buddy. We don't get any, neither do you.
Geez, it's not like we're standing at the end of his walkway with a bullhorn. Or asking him to drive us somewhere. Or asking him for money to get a haircut. Or demanding that he feed us. Or asking for help with homework. Or demanding that he write payroll checks A DAY EARLY so someone can take the day off tomorrow.
No, those were not suggestions, CB's.
I love inkgrrl's suggestion. Very appropriate. Very useful. Can I use it?
MCB: I'll be happy to leave LaFavre alone. Unless he shows up at my door, then all bets are off. I will agree to not tell y'all about it, however. I never French and tell.
Jen: Stop complaining. Think how much worse it would be if all those kids hung out at someone else's house. Our house was ALWAYS the place to be, and I loved it. Once they get a bit older, buy a pool table. I am serious. Best investment ever in managing teen angst. In the meantime, take some pictures. Film all the activity. Hide a tape recorder and document their stupid conversations. A couple years from now you will be so sad when they're gone. Trust me.
bw
lori sez: fwogy: The atmosphere around GG when she gets up in the morning for bootcamp. (BTW: crazy or not ~ very impressed with your commitment there.)
That pretty much covers it. And the weather as well. We are back to our typical pattern: foggy til mid-day, then clear til the fog rolls in again in the evening, highs in the 60s. A bit chill for my taste. And bootcamp at 6:30 is MUCH colder than at 9. Brrrr.
Thank you, though. I am pretty impressed with myself as well. But BOTH my parents have been diagnosed with osteoporosis (though I'm happy to say meds are actually reversing bone loss for my mother...and making my father ill with side effects. Sigh), and the more bone density I can build/retain at this stage, the better it will be for my long-term health. My father's also diabetic and a lot of my inspiration is due to the fact that I hate needles the way Jen-T hates sharks. My father's been injecting insulin for over 20 years now...I'm trying to avoid that fate, since his was primarily caused by being overweight all his life.
And my back problems and headaches are seriously diminished when my muscles are strong.
Pain avoidance is a marvelous motivator.
inkgrrl: "Peace and quiet in one neat package." Love it!
I recently got instant messaging and found that the number one thing I use for it is to trade insults with my youngest sister (and blackmail photos from our childhood). Invariably, we get on a Monty Python kick and someone writes, "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!"
Um, yes that would be the other person's parents too.
bpglc: But Python get laughs certainly!
Kyrathered said... I also hate movies where the damsel in distress just STANDS THERE while her man fights. I love Princess Bride but I always scream "Hit the GD RUS with something you twit" at the screen whenever their in the fireswamp.
Me too!!!! I love that movie...hate that scene. He's practically being eaten alive and she stands there and watches him!! I mean, come on.
ofmkey: Oh! (I) forgot my keg
BCB - have you been to my house? Oh my gosh. Let's see here. We have a program on both kid computers that downloads every key stroke, poor kids, can't get away with nothing. Just asked DD if she'd talk with her friend that is a boy and if he made the football team or not. She got all flushed and said, "Yeah, think so," then darted back to her room where she IM'd her friend saying, my mom has evil powers and knows everything. it's not fair. My office is right over the "kids" room in the basement, and everything echos up to my room, I hear everything. So when middle boy said so and so is really hot and he was goint to ask her out, I asked him how she was. But he doesn't embarrass so easily. He just smiled and pointed to himself and said "I'm the man." he's too cute.
Oh, and I have a pool table and well, the sticks become weapons. Just the other day my boys were dueling with them and middle child got smacked in the face. We also have a ping pong table, but I won't tell you what they do with the balls. Geez, my kids have issues.
But, yeah, I know, I'm the Kool-aide mom. Speaking of which, I need to go make some for the screaming tigers running around downstairs. I thought I sent those suckers outside.
Oh, and I will be quiet tomorrow - playing golf all day. Oh leave me alone. I know, I'm spoiled.
GG - you go! I'm impressed with your drive and determination.
Ok, I admit it...I've done the mirror thing. I'm sorry! I'll never do it again!! But, but, but she had amnesia at the time and the mirror fogging from the shower was a metaphor for how her mind was working and...sigh. I suck.
Thanks for slapping some common sense into me, Jenny. Apparently I need all the help I can get.
Re: Dailey cover. In my bookstore Jenny is shelved in the fiction section and janet in the romance section. So never the twain would meet in that store.
urrzlhw - You're ze lovely house wife.
Seems to me that a couple of wandering "lost" ladies drop...Left Le Favre in one of those big square states....which means that Le Favre is probable near California...
Which means the West coast contingent of CB's should be on guard...
Which means that OH and the others on the list better lock the doors, guard the bastions, etc.
And watch each others back...
hpnjsg blue
how poisonous, now Jenny saves GAM
I dunno, me, Jenny may think the mirror thing is cheap, but it's better than introducing appearance things in labored dialogue. As AgTigress has occasionally said - it's not that there are hard-and-fast rules, more that these are some guidelines or things to look out for (only she said it better).
Jen-T (and Kyra and other moms w/o structured outside employment, since stay-at-home is manifestly false in most cases): you do, indeed, have a difficult and satisfying job. As with most jobs, it has pluses and minuses, tough times and great times. Just out of curiosity, Jen-T (so Kyra can know what to look forward to), how many miles do you drive per year? With all the camps and competitions, etc?
While I approve of the sentiment of Ms. Heroine helpfully stepping in to aid in dispatching the RUS or other villain, as a not-very-coordinated, unaccustomed-to-violence type, I'd probably either dither too long to be of any use or hit the hero instead by mistake. So, I sympathize with wimpy heroines, too.
Has anyone bought Into the Storm yet? I hope to remember to pick one up after work - if the store has it out on its release date!
rjtlvgpt: Rodents jeer the lovely virgin's game protection try
Bob: Poor Baby. we can make some eggs for your breakfast? (yeah, like i know how to leave someone alone. i'm a teenager. that's like being a redhead but more obnoxious)
good job kyra. being a mom AND a housewife means you need a random variety of skills and work your ass off. working moms have to do that too, but being a good mother (and a good father) takes time and effort. plus, anytime you have to wake up via alarm clock for something you don't really want to do (JJ driving her kids around at 6:30 in the morning) is a job. it's just an unpaid job.
and what's this thing with Janet Daily stealing from Nora Roberts? someone tell me the gossip.
Kyra, re: Princess Bride: i put those damasels in distress that just stand there TATL (too annoying to live) or they subconciously don't like the hero all that much. or, as diane pointed out, maybe they just don't want to get in the way. Like in Gone Too Far (brockmann), Alyssa steps back because she knows a) Sam can handle the dogs and b)she'll just get in the way if she tries to help....but sometimes they are just wimpy females TATL.
mary: that bookstore sounds kind of cool but also, if you don't know the publisher that could take awhile. or if your author is male or female. but for repeat authors that can be nice to be seperated so carefully.
WEST COAST CBs, STAND AT LIPS. LE FAVRE IS HEADING OUR WAY. well, you guys stand at lips. i personally don't want him coming anywhere near me. i'll send him back to JJ if there's no takers.
diane: i am bought it throught the virtual signing so i have to wait TWO days. ahhh, the horrors. i may not be able to last and will just download the booklet. esp since i have been following the countdown and 15th was very disappointing. (i wanted to hear more about Jules book or something, not that it's out in stores. i know it's out in stores. the countdown is keeping be calm until i get the book)
GG: Those predawn workouts will give you a chance to look at the unique alignment of the planets next week! Jack Horneimer (sp??), the Star Gazer on PBS, says that Jupiter, Mercury and Venus will be VERY close to each other about 1/2 hour before dawn (near the little sliver of moon). Won't that be worth it?
OH: When I was on the way to watch the tango performance a couple of weeks ago (after which GG tangoed the afternoon away), I was explaining to my sister and niece about all of GG's many activities (bootcamp, tango, rock climbing, other dancing). My niece looked at me and said - wow, you have nothing in common!
Had to explain about the blog, and DLD, and ... well, you know.
My van is now 18 months old - basically a year and a half and it has 43,200 miles on it as of right now. But I still have to pick up daughter and friend at the movies, pick up middle child at the golf club and take home a few more bruised hockey players, and that is just today. Oh, goodie, tomorrow is mommy day. I'm playing golf, children will be left home alone to fend for themselves all day. I'm sure I'll pay for it somehow.
Right now I'm watching the boys play in the front yard. Not sure what they are playing, but no on is bleeding, that is a good day.
OH: Roberts/Dailey thing is old news, not gossip, from I think the late 90s. You would have been but a wee nipper. But you can still locate the odd article by googling either of their names.
diane:
for the record I didn't totally rely on the mirror trick, she was described before that, but she was merely having a reflective moment...(no pun intended, at least I think not.)
And i don't like helpless heroines either. Mine always at least help, if not do for themselves. My current one helps almost to the point of hinderance. She's gonna get in trouble one of these days if she keeps that up...
G-G: While I appreciate that you see your hard work as a practical and necessary way to deal with your pain, I feel compelled to say that even viewing it as such speaks to the strength of your character and my ever-increasing respect. One of the things I have greatly appreciated about both you and SDCB is that you LIVE through your pain. You do not pretend it doesn’t exist, nor do you dwell in it constantly. Not even when it is constantly dwelling in you. You acknowledge it then fight. You live with style.
I have seen what happens when you don’t choose to fight and live. I just wanted you and SDCB to know you’re appreciated. (In more ways than one.)
Lori - to SDCB and GG - Well said, and I ditto everyword.
batmxfy - batman x-ray fry
Jen-T: You had a clean house? How?! Crack habit?? My living room looks like the toybox monster threw up in it. Plus I reload her bookshelves six times a day. She pulls all the books on the floor 7 times a day. She's winning. But, at least she loves to read. She turns the pages and babbles to herself ... very cute.
My child has not the DNA for sports. It's more likely that she will do virtual Linux groups from home :0)
me: As for the mirror thing ... as long as the heroine was not trying to remember with every fiber of her being ... it'll probably be okay. Besides, valid reasons to look in the mirror pass.
hpumi: A word to describe LaFavre.
GG: Way to work with and thru your pain. You rock.
See, this is why people admire you, Glamour-geek: not only are you dedicated, but you have a sensible reason for exercise. I don't care about my health (well, maybe a little) - I exercise to a) fit in my clothes and b) compete with my skinny little/ older sister (or at least not be totally outclassed, since her life is in many other ways also better than mine). Not an admirable motive in the lot, unless you count reduced consumption of fabric as a social good.
bdkokaqi: why do the 8-letter ones look SOOO long? Boisterous, dirty kids offer kind adults quotable insults
lori: that was beautifully said. and very true.
MCB: gossip, news, almost the same thing except for those little pesky things called facts. fine. i will go look it up.
Kayr the red - um well, we used to call our family room the "little tykes" house. What I should say was that while it was full of little tyke toys and books and whatnot, the house itself got cleaned. Because I was home, I could vacume, push a mop and whatever. I didn't say it was neat. Now it's neat, but the bigger the kid, the bigger the messes. They do nasty things to the bathroom and don't think it's necessary to pick up their dirty clothes. Oh, and the laundry, geez. They go through at least two outfits a day. I litteraly get lost in laundry. And the kitchen floor, geez, I mean they eat better when they were babies. I guess the compaint is they just don't clean up after themselves all that well. Funny, my middle boy likes to cook, so he does family dinners like hamburgers, pancakes, french toast and whatever. Then he tries to clean up because he's a sweet boy, but as he whipes the counter down, he dumps all the stuff on the floor, then walks in it. See what I mean. Also, the go to bed much later. When my kids were little, they were in bed by like 7 - had plenty of time to myself - now it's like 9 for the little guy and 11 for the other two.
Although, when school starts, I'll be doing the happy dance. I'll get some normalacy back in my life.
ok, read some stuff on the Dailey vs Roberts thing. if she stole passages why is she still being published?
diane whined: since her life is in many other ways also better than mine
Ok, I see today is my turn to tell everyone who is whining to knock it off.
Diane, knock it off. You are sooo wrong, dear. I don't see your sister over here chatting with us, do I?
The rest of you: Jen, Bob, KTR, MCB (she hasn't yet but she was about to) -- unless you have some VALID reason to complain, like Scope Dope and G-G who have actual pain (and do you notice them complaining? no.), then just stop it.
See, this is what I do with my sisters. I have three of them. First figure out if there really is a problem (believe me, there isn't). Second say something along the lines of: Oh yeah, you think that's bad? Well listen to this. Then list all the things in your life that are dragging you down, so they immediately feel better about whatever minor thing was bothering them. We're just skipping over most of step 2 (you're welcome) so I don't have to tell myself to knock it off, too.
Geez.
CMS: How is your mom doing today? Give her some love from me.
KTR: Go buy three large plastic tubs. Put 1/3 of all toys and books in each one. Put two in a concealed location -- ask CC whether she's bricked up that hole in her wall yet. When DD is tired of Tub 1 (give it at least 2-3 weeks if not more), pack it up while she's napping and take out Tub 2. You can figure out step 3, I know you can. It will be like getting all new toys each time you do this. And there is less for you to pick up. And yes, this will fool them for WAY longer than you might expect. Linux genius or not.
Had the brief 20 minute consultation this afternoon with DD's oral surgeon. It lasted more than an hour. But that was ok, because what a cutie. Whew. So unfair. My wisdom teeth were removed years ago.
bw
BCB: geez, nice, messing with your kids heads like that. really smart though.
diane: i have no will power. read half of Brockmann's downloaded guide thing. will restrain myself till at least tomorrow for the other half. (if you don't have dial-up, it takes less than three minutes to download)
jen-t: We had a ping-pong table growing up. It filled up half the basement and left just enough room around it to walk by. Which means, our version of ping-pong meant off the wall, off the ceiling, off my sisters and off the dog. Don't even get me started on the mouse-trap booby traps behind it.
Even better was the burnt orange, Moroccan print, indoor/outdoor carpeting in the basement (if you stared at it long enough, you got dizzy -- a good plan against visiting opponents). It was only slightly more hideous than the burnt orange shag carpeting in my bedroom. Nothing goes with orange shag carpeting, so I basically had to ignore it.
Lots of good times had in the basement (the other half was a living room), but the colors still give me an eye twitch.
ucumael: University (of) California, um, mail.
Figures.
xlqqzqw: Xeroxing llamas quit quizing zebras going west.
BCB: I don't whine ... I grouse. Grousing is what redheads do so we won't beat people with sticks. Be grateful i'm just complaining :0) I will try the tub thing.
Jen-T: I must already have a teenager or something. She is a night owl and wakes at 3:30AM ready to rock and roll if i get her asleep before 11:00 PM. Her pediatrician says its fine, as long as she gets her 13-15 hrs, which she does. But it is a wee bit hard on her Mommy. But you are right ... it's gonna get harder. And come to think of it I do keep my Kitchen clean and stay on top of the laundry. Why does that take all day? Oh yeah, because I keep sneaking on here to read ya'll comments!
Orangehands: I don't know WTH Daily is still published either.
sbhll: Shhhhh; Bob hunts little ladies
Bryan: Orange shag carpeting is child abuse. Sue your parents and call Jerry Springer.
pmqginwe: Possesive men quickly get irritating, never will enlighten.
Kyra,
1. It's y'all's comments not ya'll. Where'd ya lern yer Southern?
2. btuda had the orange shag carpeting. I had an eight foot orange flower print sofa.
3. I like grousing redheads ;-)
cgobck -- Can't go out because CBs're knocking.
KTR: You grouse? Stay out of the northern woods come fall. They shoot those.
Jen: Make that child mop the floor a time or two, he'll stop dumping stuff on it. I've been staying up till at least 1:00 every night all summer, waiting for DD18 to come home from wherever. Except for that one week in July. And no, I can NOT go to bed until she gets home. My boss does not care to hear that I am tired the next day.
What is that annoying sound?
Oh. I'll stop now.
bw
axlgoe: newly discovered life form, a step up from algae
and
xlpwr: what I use to get through most days
BCB: I never complain. Not even when you were going the wrong way down that one way street that was an on-ramp to a weigh-station for big rigs. Not even then did I complain. Of course I was unconscious for a lot of it. That helped.
OH: Beats me.
CMS: Tell Scope Dope we are thinking of her.
Diane: BCB is right ... if your sister is so perfect, why isn't she here? Because we only let the very best people in. We're extremely exclusive.
And .. hey, I just got notification from Borders that the new Margaret Maron is being held for me. It doesn't go on sale for a week though. Me thinks someone messed up. Better hurry and get my book before they discover their error.
MCB: Are you talking about that time you grabbed the wheel while we were doing 65, stomped on the brake (again) and did a u-turn into that truck stop so you could flirt with that guy with the big rig? That time?
You were unconscious after that.
bw
vwdyl: very well, delay your laughter
Kyra the red - oh boy, don't get me started on sleep schedules. First child was a dream, once she started sleeping through the night at about a year. She slept from 7pm to 7am every night with a three hour nap during the day. Now she sleeps from midnight to noon and the occasional veg infront of the TV. youngest child, the same way, except it was 9pm to 9am and that was more out of necessity on my part, it's that dang misunderstood middle child that did me in. First, it was ear infections and the only thing that calmed him down at 2 in the morning, was HOCKEY!, go figure. We actually started DVDing every flipping hockey game and the kid would get in bed with us and be calm, sort of as he twitched, kicked, yelled and giggled. But he wasn't crying. After tubes were put in his ears we started with night terrors. That was pleasent. I actually had to take every peice of furniture out of his room but a matress because there was no calming him down during those. Then it was nightmares, BTW, we are up to about age 7 now. And he thought the boogie man lived in his room, so he wouldn't sleep there. We found him in the bathtub one morning with all his blankets and pillows. Then a couple of years of peace, okay, well, with the kids. My husband walks and talks in his sleep, so you can imagine. Now, middle child (12) and daughter walk and talk in their sleep. And they never do it on the same night. And they always manage to wake me up. I don't think I know what it's like to sleep more than 4 hours at a time. Add 9 year old's nightmares, well, I've got dark bags under my eyes.
And BCB - thanks for the reminder that some day I will be waiting up for my children. Sigh, It never ends.
Once they start driving, every siren is cause for concern. And a cell phone call. At one point my DD started answering her phone: "I'm FINE, mom."
I'm getting better. I think.
bw
ctpuf: clean these up regularly
OH sez: (yeah, like i know how to leave someone alone. i'm a teenager. that's like being a redhead but more obnoxious)
Oh, that was just brilliant! Thank you!!!
Kay T: if we have nothing in common, how come we have so much to talk about at dinner and have so much fun doing it? Hmph. But it was lovely to meet your sister and niece and baby-niecelet. (did I get the relations right? something like that).
To set the record straight, I'm not in pain anymore, and certainly not like our dearest SDCB. That's in the past for me. I'm trying to prevent it from coming back. I've been doing pretty well for 4 or 5 years now. Whew. Thank goodness! And I'm seeing my chiropractor on Thursday, which my lower back will thank me for.
Well, I'm not in serious pain. I admit that my glutes and quads are not too happy with me right now. Unclear if this is a result of bootcamp or of hiking in the hills yesterday. I did find a nice little park with a playground as I strolled around, adjacent to a little dog park that runs through a tiny fold in the hills and is filled with eucalyptus and redwoods. I have lived here 6+ years and am only now finding my little neighborhood parks? How sad.
I will say that going randomly on foot lets you find things you would never see driving around on your way directly from X to Y. I really should do this more often and in more places. After I amble, I try to remember street names and look on a map to figure out where I was.
Nice of you all to give me credit, though. I never saw it that way. I see a lazy slug hauling herself out the door on good days and looking at herself lolling in the comfy chair, berating herself for not hauling herself out the door, on bad days.
I guess we all do that.
Diane: no being hard on yourself. You're wonderful the way you are, sister or not. How could your life possibly be better if you're already a cherrybomb? ;)
SDCB: how are you, honey? I hope you're feeling a bit better. I worry about you and I want you to be well enough to visit with when I'm in Toronto at xmas. *smooches* Love to Sheryl, too, who was SO MUCH FUN to meet.
BCB: I knew my mother had decided I was an adult when:
Once when I was visiting on xmas break, my mother loaned me her car to go to a friend's party. On every previous occasion when I was out after my parents went to bed (which is usually 9 or 10, it seems), my mother was half awake til she heard my key in the lock and me come in. This time she woke to the key in the lock and said, "We're being robbed!" to my father, who mumbled back, "It's your DAUGHTER!"
She'd forgotten I was out and was out like a light. She'd stopped worrying.
It will happen, someday.
Then they'll start worrying about you and you can seek your revenge.
G-G: Fine then. Be that way.
My comment above was just for SDCB.
Except, I still appreciate you in many ways.
tdfqmt: Too darn forceful. Quit my teasing.
Just something odd. So we got a puppy this morning, a little black and white cocker spaniel girl and the kids and I are sitting down trying to decide on a name. The DD says ooh we should name her Agnes and then my other daughter says nooo, we should name her Lucy or Trudy and the oldest chimes in again saying nope, we should name her Princess.
I was waiting for them to rattle off Min, Mae,Sophie, Amy, Daisy, Tilda, Bonnie or Liza.
We ended up naming her Gerty.
liz
BCB: Disregard email. I found the blog. Think I slipped into the Twilight Zone momentarily. Freaked me out.
RSS - I had the same problem - blog disappeared for a few minutes. I was half expecting to go back in time again.
lori: I happen to think you're amazing, too. :)
But I'm worried about SDCB. Can we throw her a party or something to make her feel better? Send her as much of that chocolate mint stuff as she wants? Send her LaFavre? Send her a different eye patch for each day of the year?
Sheryl: what can we do for your beloved Mama?
Homeland Security was making one of their periodic checks. We try to hide MCB when they do that. She usually has all the evidence and it's just easier than all those tedious explanations they always want.
Hi liz! Cute puppy. Guess who's going to be up all night tonight?
bw
yooel: liz's cute puppy at 3:30 am
Puppies are worse than kids.
Ah! You people talk too much. It has taken me forever to catch up on the last few days' posts. At this point, I am never going to finish that book on procrastination.
Anyone else love the irony in that?
;)
Oh, Christina, I do. Is this a book you are reading or writing:)
I'm worried about SDCB too. Sheryl are y'all ok up there.
JenT- glad to know it wasn't just me. The back in time episode crossed my mind too.
BCB: Homeland Security, of course
Another conspiracy.
Liz have fun with the puppy.
Plfft. phfffft. bblppp. ple.
BCB, when I said a while back that I wanted a dust bunny, the things under your sofa weren't what I was talking about.
Hi Liz! I vote for Sophie.
AND, I grabbed the wheel and stomped on the brake because YOU had decided to go looking for your hat in the back seat... while we were doing 65 on the interstate!
No, same conspiracy from last month, when we went back in time. And HS confiscated the blog and sent it to Guantanamo for a while. Set new occupancy records, too. It's very hush-hush, but I think a covert SF team (is there any other kind?) came to the rescue. Otherwise we'd all still be there.
I hear their next mission is to rescue The GAM from his blue funk. Unfortunately, it matches Hannah's blue ball and he's grown kind of attached to it. Poor baby. Well, if that doesn't work I'll have to send my sisters down there to pester him. They haven't grown fond of him, so they won't feel compelled to be all nice about it or anything. Of course, they might not feel compelled to bother, either. They can be a bit difficult.
Like MCB, who keeps throwing that Old Hat into the back seat where I can't reach it. I'm not getting younger here, girl.
bw
BTW, Jenny, that was NOT "harassing" The GAM. Just talking about him. A little friendly discussion among friends. Believe me, not harassment. Not even close.
You told us not to, so of course, we're being very obedient over here. Nice even.
bw
ohutnpg: did Jenny just make that noise?
BCB: his blue funk matches Hannah's blue ball. LOL snort.
love these stories about the road trip you and mcb keep tossing back and forth. Better to read them than hear the two of you tell it I think because it would be like watching a ping pong match
Ping Pong
Ping Pong
Ping Pong
I forgot. We're supposed to be wewwy,wewwy qwiet aren't we. It's not over 100 yet.
Why does Jenny think we're noisy?
We're typing. Even with JenT's nails it just goes tic, tic, tik.
I should be writing. Having trouble with a porch scene. Probably because there are no men there so no excitement. But it's an important scene.
Anyone want to play ping pong?
isxibgxa identical sisters xcavate islands Bob graciously xamined already
Fiddle Blogger. I had those pings and pongs nicely spaced over the page and you had to line them up.
bon cheri bomb said...
No, same conspiracy from last month, when we went back in time. And HS confiscated the blog and sent it to Guantanamo for a while.
That was scary. We didn't know when we were. And we kept typing, but ... the number of comments never got any higher. It was like we existed only in this other realm ... another zone ... THE TWILIGHT ZONE (cue music)
RSS - try getting away from the computer and going outside. Put yourself on that porch as close as possible so you can in the mood. Like Bob watching that movie to put him in the mood for writing Shane's scene.
Dangerous enough to put us in the same car together. In the same room? Where one of us didn't have to occasionally watch the road? We'd kill each other. Accidentally of course, but still.
Besides, words do not come out of my mouth. They go through my fingers. I think it's a genetic disorder.
And really, we TOLD The GAM to just not read this stuff. We can't help it if he refuses to follow directions. We could send him a blindfold, but that might constitute harassment.
Men. They're so sensitive.
bw
bpndmf: the noise a blindfold wearer makes when it slips down over the mouth. and the hands are tied.
RSS: Advice from a pubbed author in my chapter: If they can think it, they can say it. If they can say it, better they say it to each other. If it starts a fight or causes a misunderstanding, better still.
Unless you're writing the ending, a little torture is in order. Invite your men over for a nightcap out on the porch.
Suffering is very interesting. Ask MCB.
bw
liz: congrats on puppy. (do your DDs read over your shoulder because that's kind of scary. i wonder if hotel caper's heroine will be called Gerty)
umm, puppy advice: (in case you didn't know)
1) ticking sound in clocks sound like "mom" (well, mom's heart) and helps them go to sleep
2) you let it sleep once in your bed and you probably always will. but they're so cute cuddled up near your feet or chest
3)make sure the DDs help walk and feed her or you'll always have to do it
4) get Gerty a friend soon. really helps with the loneliness. and you may want to bring Gerty as you try to find her that friend.
scope dope: hope your doing ok and CMS we need you to say, "oh, she's ok, not to worry, just had too much whiskey last night and is sleeping off the hangover"
If my guy ends up in this scene, she'll probably call the cops and that doesn't happen until the end of the book
And her girlfriend's husband is watching the kids so they can have a girl's night. I originally wrote the scene in 11 pages. Way too rambling. Trying to make it move faster but still convey all the emotion.
It's still excellent advice. Thanks MCB and BCB
mdwjs Title of novel Midwife Julia Sweeney
RSS - can you combine some stuff? I seem to recall Jenny and/or Bob talking about this, it makes a scene less cluttered and accomplishes the same thing.
LOL! RSS, you just THINK the cops are coming at the end. Apparently they're on the way as we speak. Could be a false alarm. Go with it, you can always delete it later if it doesn't work, or save it for the end.
And what definition of "girl's night" are you using? Not the single mom definition, I bet. Trust me on this. She gets a night off without the kids and she's going to sit on the porch with her girlfriends? This girl needs to find her inner snark, methinks. At least let them GO somewhere, where something can "ensue."
bw
MCB: Speaking of going somewhere... have you heard that Sugarland song "Down In Mississippi (and Up To No Good)?"
For some odd reason, I think of you every time I hear it. Ever been there?
Want to go? Or at least try?
I think we might have time before we need to head to the west coast. Maybe on the way?
bw
MCB: That's what I'm trying to do. I think I'm going to stop for the night because in the past 4 hours I've written a grand total of 1000 words. I'm at the point where I'm writing a sentence and then deleting it over and over. Maybe if I let it percolate overnight, it will flow in the morning.
My kids are driving me bonkers. Yelling, arguing, stomping around. So then I yell, argue and stomp around. They need to go back to school.
No I've never been to Mississippi. And we can get up to no good anywhere. Except we're not. We're being good so that Jenny doesn't have to call Bob to bail us out of jail.
Jen: Leave them alone. They're learning survival skills. Seriously. Conflict resolution, group management, negotiation, compromise, leadership. They will head great corporations someday. Or become mothers.
Come play with us instead. We promise we won't give you a black eye.
MCB: Oh God. Thank you SO very much for that mental image. I think I'd stay in jail.
bw
tozdrpex: Rx for mothers of future world leaders
That happens tomorrow. (the book tomorrow) Going out and having something ensue.
Okay, the route on this trip is what? You're in NC, where's MCB. And you're going through Mississippi on the way to CA. I think there is a reason you guys get lost. Besides the fact that it gives MCB a chance to check out various police forces.
She's in MD. But we need to swing through NYC with our can of mace (though I doubt we'll need it, really, unless MCB gets completely out of control. hmmm, I'll pack two) to pick up OH's grandma. We need a secret weapon. Do you want us to pick you up on the way up or the way back? Just remember, you promised to leave your glasses at home.
bw
Okay - left the house around 7:15 to take some monkey's home, then to pick up middle child from the golf course, but I took youngest boy with me because mommy had a plan. We went to the bank, then to Wendy's to get one Chocolate Frosty and one new Vanilla frosty and while they were not looking, we drove to SPORT CUTS and well, they got hair cuts! Oh, my, boys do have such nice eyes, now that I can see them!
Of course, mom is in the dog house because it was so uncool of me to bribe them with frosty's, then force them to have like horrible haircuts. Actually, they look very stylish, better then when Dad takes them and they look like they had a bowl cut. Middle boy's is still a little on the long side so it flips up under his baseball cap, but doesn't cover his eyes and youngest child's is just different enough so that middle boy can't call him a copy cat.
Okay, go ahead and go back to your convo's. I know I kind of jumped in here with random thoughts, but that is the topic, right, random thoughts. I have many.
Grasshopper going back to being very, very quiet. The GAM is resting. He's sitting on his dock, with a beer, naked. Sorry, couldn't resist that one. Jenny started it. Besides, it's a guy thing.
Well, BCB, if you are swinging through NYC, might as well stop in Rochester and pick up three secret weapons. Just got two of them cleaned up so they have great vision now that stringy stuff isn't in the way. The ohter one, well, it's a little broken, but give it a long wooden thing and a black puck and it's deadly. I'll gladly give them up for a few days.
Jen, this is not a PG-13 type of activity. How about we pick YOU up, drive out to the lake for a little midnight swim followed by a bonfire, and then we head south? We can swing though Ohio and visit anyone we might know there on the way.
(well hell, we have to be allowed to harass someone)
Speaking of driving, DS21 just called and is on the way home from elsewhere and wanted me to look at the radar and tell him "when the f**k this GD f**king rain is going to stop, becasue I can't see a GD F**KING THING."
Sigh. Listening for sirens here. Hoping to see my son's eyes soon.
bw
BCB - okay, but I think I'll pass on the midnight swim. too many ducks, if you get my drift. I get the bonfire all ready, then if you make it back, we can roast something, or someone, whatever. You know, we could then head to Orlando, and borrow my brother's plane (really, he does have his own plane) and then fly over some barrier islands off of SC - we could even land in the intercoastal because my brother's plane can land in water or on land, but he prefers the water, much softer landing.
Although I hear there's some guy, on a dock, drinking a beer, possibly naked, with a bee bee gun of some kind and he likes to shot things that make noise and disrupts his silence, or whatever. We might want to fly low under the radar.
Then where did we need to go? West coast, via the Mississippi - well then, this is good. DH has a dear friend, who is wealthier than all get out who has is own jet, really he does. He lives in St. Louis. And accourding to DD15, he's not bad for a 50 year old fart. I've seen him, he's hot. Anyway, maybe we can take the jet after we run out of gas with brother's plane, then head off to where was it? The west coast? Or did we want to double back to ohio? Geez, I keep forgetting.
Okay, enough. I have a scene to finish and a golf game to prepare for. I have not played since I injured my shoulder. So this should be interesting.
Mississippi: BEST FRIED CATFISH I HAVE EVER HAD in Oxford and fantastic barbecue just outside of town. But be cautious. They will batter and deep fry anything there. A few corn kernels wrapped in a hush puppy ("corn nuggets"), frog legs, catfish, pickles, rubber tires, old string, shoelaces...
Well, if you have a jet you could FLY to San Francisco, gas up, then FLY to Maui. Save the trouble of strapping the kayak to the plane.
Yooo Hooo!!! MCB and BCB- I thought y'all were coming to my housewarming on your way to kayak to Hawaii. It really does make sense to come through Colorado on your way to West Coast from East Coast.
Liz- New dogs seem to be a trend- Chinook, a 5.5 year old red husky moved into my spare bedroom last night.
Scope Dope!!!! Where are you goofisaurus?
pdzzuyv- sorry haven't had supper, can't even attempt it
Ok. Cleaned up the kitchen, even though it was already clean. Realized I hadn't eaten dinner, made a sandwich. Paced a bit. Watched the radar. Wrapped up sandwich, put it in the fridge. Paced some more. Called DS cell phone, which he told me was about to go dead. He was right. Radar again. He should have driven out of it by now. Unless he didn't. I have two more hours of this.
So. For those of you who might be wondering, yes DS gets a pass on the bad language. Until I know he's safe. Because here is the same phone call if DD had been driving:
"Hi mom, we're ok, but it's raining really hard and I can't see and we've pulled over and I'm kind of scared and feel like I might run off the road and could you look at the radar and tell me how long it's going to rain and when it might be ok to start driving again. Love you."
And my ears would have heard the exact same thing each time. Just in case anyone was wondering about male POV vs. female POV. If you're going to try to write it, better pay attention here. Might as well benefit from my suffering. As I said earlier, it's interesting.
Then of course there is Jen POV, which involves not bothering to tell her friends that she knows a wealthy, hot man who owns a plane and who could make traveling so much more interesting. Of course, she didn't bother to tell us whether he's single. What a tease.
So, MCB, change of plans. Nothing new. First we head to St. Louis. It's somewhere in the middle, can't miss it.
Right after DS gets home.
bw
BCB: Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat. We're with you, holding your hand, in spirit. Let us know when DS gets home safely. We worry. ((hugs))
St. Louis: look for the big arch. There's a river nearby the arch. A kind of big one.
BCB - hope DS gets home soon. I dread the driving days. And um, hot airplane guy, yep married.
Off to bed - have a good night. i'll try and get up early to pop in and say goodmorning to you all before I head off to play golf. Sigh, and did you football has started? Geez.
On, I have my own POV, love it. And i've been in that archy thingy in St. Louis. That was scary. Did you know that the sucker sways in the wind?
Ok. So we can stand down from red alert to orange. Maybe yellow. DS called from his friend's cell phone just now. They did indeed drive through the worst of it. "WTF, mom, what did you think?" He has no idea.
So they're about an hour away. Yes, I'll be tired at work tomorrow, what else is new? And no, you do not want to hear about how they did NOT pull out in front of that GD truck, well ok maybe a little, but more in a "rude" way, not in a "dangerous" way. And there was no reason at all for the #*&^$#* to flash his brights like that and ride his a** for like five f**king minutes. And you do NOT need to know that 15 minutes later when they passed that sucker they, well, gave him a friendly wave and laid on the horn.
Let's just step up that alert level to red again, shall we?
Meantime, DD called a bit ago and said she'll be home once she's done eating ice cream with friends. Innocuous, you say? I told her to watch out for any stray GDF rain.
You know, I really don't drink anymore, but tonight might be an exception.
bw
BCB and MCB - feel free to stop by Pittsburgh on the way to Mississippi. Or St. Louis. I'll make you quesadillas for lunch.
Scope Dope - hope you're feeling better soon!
Theresa in Pgh
Gee whiz. I drop in to find out what I missed ... turns out a lot.
BCB: I didn't tell my mom when I was taking a road trip. She drove me crazy with her 'paranoia'. Now I am a mom. Mom was 'rational'. Funny how your perspective changes.
And now for something completely different. I found the web site Jenny was talking about with the funny astrology tee-shirts. Bob is a Libra. Who knew? His new tee-shirt -- Libras; they take one for the team.
BCB: i was going to write something snarky about you thinking Bob would actually bail you out of jail (he may go and laugh at y