Stow-away

Stealth, incognito.

When Stealth learned we were heading out tomorrow morning for the Grand Canyon he only had one thought: stow-away.  Fueling this crafty choice was his desire for world domination; after all, one cannot dominate if one never gets out from beneath a twelve-year-old's bed.  Never mind that the dust bunnies under there are extraordinary.

So Stealth is coming along, and just like every other trip we take, you'll experience a blogging black-out while we're away.  Two reasons for that, actually.  First, my husband will not tolerate me hovering over a computer when there are sights to see and conversation to be had and second, Stealth Panda has indicated he cannot possibly travel without an entourage to document his every move and schedule his appearances.

As we cannot possibly afford an entourage, he'll have to settle for moi.

While I'm out and about, check out this week's blog tour stops (hosting on Thanksgiving Day, no less!):  Andi's Young Adult Books and Welcome to my World of Dreams.

Thanks!  See you Sunday night . . . . unless Stealth achieves his life-long goal to dominate the world.

stealth panda

Stealth Panda in his Element

Having returned to my weekly routine of work, writing, cooking, and the occasional diversion of laundry or a good book, I've resume my search for a worthy substitute for Xavier, the French Bulldog who will one day enjoy world domination, but whom for the moment isn't born, and therefore cannot dominate anything.

Today my quest led me to my daughter's room, where I often find Stealth Panda under the bed and foraging for dust bunnies.  Stealth and I go way back, eleven years this month.  He is the notorious stuffy favorite; the friend whose faux French accent calms the turbulent waters of my daughter's childhood angst: the tears, the distress, the all-around disgruntlement.  No matter what her mood, Stealth Panda and his crafty ways can fix it.

Is she mad at me?  Stealth has a rude joke for that.

Is she distressed over a friend?  Stealth's lack of hygiene makes her smile.

Has her dad turned an unfeeling shoulder to her tender estrogen?  Again?  Stealth will pester her until she laughs.

Like quantum physics, Stealth Panda has never failed me.  So beginning tonight, I'll launch him into the uncharted waters of world domination.  Everything will go just fine, I'm sure.  Unless he meets up with that radioactive stuffy from Imagine Dragons . . . .

perhaps the world IS mad

plastic animals could achieve world domination, but choose not to

I'm not a Saturday-night blogger.  I couldn't tell you exactly why, except to say that world domination isn't appealing on the weekends.  It's not laid-back enough.  I'd rather veg.  So last night I rented an oldie-but-goodie, Mad Mad Mad World, thinking my daughter would get a kick out of people like Ethyl Merman and Spencer Tracy and that one guy, Jimmy Durante.  Not to mention Buddy Hackett and a lot of other old-time favorites.

Nope.

Turns out, slap-stick humor isn't for today's rising generation--unless it involves body-function jokes, the martial arts, and/or a lot of super-hero action (think the Hulk abusing Loke in the Avengers).  If I misspelled Loke I apologize, but it's still the weekend and apparently I'm too lazy to look it up.

To amuse herself, my daughter whipped out her DS and began battling Pokemon.  She eventually drifted into her bedroom, claiming an extreme and extenuated need to skype with a friend.  My husband stretched out on the couch and began to snore.

So I finished watching Mad Mad Mad World all on my own.  The movie is almost three hours long, BTW, and contains an intermission cue (music and all).  I stuck it out, because I already know.  Once I've finished saving for Xavier, the French Bulldog, my own world will be made insane as I potty train, rescue various shoes and furniture legs from teething drool, and walk said Xavier in minus thirty degree blizzards.  But the rewards of owning a fine and furry friend are vast.  I mean, I'm pretty sure a super-cute bulldog, when properly photographed, can dominate the world.  Unless he/she/it disgraces his/her/itself by pooping in the neighbor's yard.

Ah.  Now my daughter's laughing . . . .

world domination prospects

ay carumba

Check out this bad-boy from South America.  It's in the tomato-family and yes.  Those are thorns growing up from the veins in the leaves.  I suppose any time one finds oneself indigenous to a tropical climate, one goes on the offense.

No doubt such well-defended greenery has its predators.  Ants, maybe.  The occasional slug.  But herbivores likely leave it alone.  (I know.  You're thinking "But hey!  Ants are herbivores!" )  Just set that thought aside my friends.  Tropical ants have voracious appetites.

When I first encountered this little shop of horrors I thought that maybe, maybe it could double as my instagram pet.  You know ... photoshop a thorny leaf into outerspace or deep sea diving or something like that.  Then I asked myself the hard questions--things like: will Bob (the above plant's name) rally the masses and achieve world domination?  Is Bob (again, the above plant) capable of garnering the mandatory 'ohhs' and 'ahhs' and 'isn't he cutes' that accompany even the ugliest of pets when dressed as trick-or-treat pumpkins?  And at last, the bottom line:  Will Bob beat out my friend's dog and top 5000 followers on instagram? 

Decidedly not.

So to comfort myself, I've added three dollars to my "ADOPT XAVIER" fund.  Hang in there my French Bulldog baby!  (Even though by my current saving standards, you aren't born yet.)  Mama's comin' ....

my blogging turns the page

self explanatory, I think

Hi y'all,
There was a time, say, about seven minutes ago, that you could find me on Facebook.  And I almost didn't stop there.  I mean I have a little file of charming, 140-character tweets on my desktop, just ready to go.

Then today, something happened.  I ran into an old friend who has an instagram account for her dog.  He's got 4800 followers and his aim is high: world domination.

I applaud the dog (whose name I've withheld to protect his privacy even though he obviously craves the opposite).  Envious, even.  I mean, 4800 followers is a serious canine achievement.

I have given this thought, and I'll reveal here and now that my new goal is to one day own a dog (I have it all picked out; a French Bulldog named Xavier) who rivals other dogs for world domination, not to mention serious cuteness.  It's a cool and worthy goal, and I'm all for it.  I'll keep you posted on my progress, as French Bulldogs cost a lot and I will need to save up.

In the meantime, you can find me here, blogging about my thoughts on this, that and the universe.  And I suspect I'll always be on Goodreads 'cause it's seriously interesting to self-publish and then get actual feedback from people I don't know.  Well except the one family member I allow to post her rating because I like that she likes my work.

the books in my hall . . . .

We're remodeling our basement, which means a lot of stuff is stacked all over our living room.  But lucky you!  You get to see my artwork right along with my favorite bookcases.

My November 21 blog stop is Books in the Hall.  Stop by to check out my author interview!  All commenters are automatically entered into the drawing for a $25 Amazon gift certificate (held on February 10th, 2014) and one commenter on tomorrow's stop will win a hand-made Painted Boots bookmark. 

yum!

Today I woke to snow, and decided to make one of our favorite treats for breakfast: broiled grapefruit.  It's simple, and so yummy.  Just prepare the grapefruit as usual, top with brown sugar and broil on low for about five minutes.  The grapefruit comes out bubbly and warm.  Perfect for cold mornings!

Tomorrow I'll introduce you to Books in the Hall, this week's stop on my blog tour.  It should be good!

our neighbor's kittens

I LOVE the black one ... and it's weird how all the orange kittens have goopy eyes!  Their 'dad' is kind of a nuisance though.  We often catch him creeping around our house, and last spring he devoured a family of quail that had taken up living in a big, bushy plant behind our garage. 

interview posted!

READING IN TWILIGHT

twilight in Idaho

Idaho skies go on for miles, and twilight here lasts almost forever.  The cities are small -- wide bumps in the road compared with places like LA or New York.  Sprawling between them are miles and miles of farm and ranch land, dotted with cows, tractors, horses, giant irrigation pipes and wind farms.


PAINTED BOOTS is set in Wyoming, the home state of my father's people, but I wove flashes of Idaho's world into the story's landscape.  Aspen lets go of her past and finds what she needs to face her uncertain future while traveling through Idaho--a choice I felt to be appropriate.  Idaho's beauty and peaceful countryside speak the language of my soul.

Visit READING IN TWILIGHT on November 14 to check out my author interview and comment!  One fabulously lucky visitor will receive a free Painted Boots bookmark (handmade by moi!), and all are entered into my Amazon $25 gift-certificate give-away (awarded on Feb.7, 2014).  See you there!

the mystical power of moonlight

ravens and a yellowstone moon

I am obsessed with the moon.  I love it when it's a thin, crisp sliver cupping a ghost-gray orb.  I love it when it's transparent, as though the evening sky were punching through.  I especially love moonrise when the sky is still light, as it is in this shot.  Then there's moon set after dawn, when the atmosphere balloons our satellite the four times its usual size.

Fabulous!

This week Painted Boots tours with Reading in Twilight.  I love the title page for her blog -- maybe because I'm a sucker for anything connected with the sky.

BEING inspired

sunset

Sunset, and our home star makes way for the countless, fabulously distant home stars of other worlds. The atmosphere grows translucent and everything beyond it feels so attainable it's as if I could reach into the blue and grab hold. But I wouldn't find anything new; not really. So much of what we are is stardust, carried here by solar wind and in the icy stones of comet tails. It's easy to forget, when caught up in the routine of a mundane work day, that we are inseparably part of things much bigger and more infinite than ourselves. But whenever I need inspiration, I simply dwell on where I came from ... and where I might go from here.

Sunsets, stars and all things universe, inspired my upcoming story, Being.  It releases in February but in truth, I can't wait.  I've labored on this story for years -- at times setting it aside -- at times so lost in it I can't bear to eat dinner or go to bed.  It's such a great story!

a Yellowstone raven

Hi y'all,
I'm in over-drive this week, juggling three Halloween parties, my upcoming blog tour with Goddess Fish, my day job and readying my story Being for my beta-readers before it goes to my editor.  I must not have felt the pressure this morning because I took a long walk, got a fabulous hair cut then spent the day planting ninety-two tulips and six bushes in the front yard before raking all the leaves from the grass. 

I love to be busy in autumn ... but I'm not alone.  All of nature is prepping for winter.  A cool thing about autumn are the ravens.  I see more of them this time of year than any other.  Their fleeting shadows drift over me as I garden.  They settle on the flowerbed stones, hoping for a hand-out (popcorn to chicken bones, they aren't picky).  I know many artists and writers have branded ravens as emblems of death, doom and evil, but I like them.  They are beautiful birds -- shiny blue-black from beak to feet.  They are insanely curious, greedy as all get out and surprisingly huge.  Some stand almost two feet tall.

I'll admit, I do have to be careful not to think of Alfred Hitchcock while I'm outside this time of year ....