Thursday Thirteen #10

Thirteen Things in My Life Beginning with “H”

In No Particular Order

1. Holidays. I love ‘em. When I have the time and energy, I love to decorate for them. Love to celebrate them. Love to surround myself in the sights and smells of them.

2. Hair. For as long as I can remember, it's been the bane of my existence. Yes, you can have hair that's too thick. Trust me. Too thick. Too curly. Too dense. Just too. When I was younger, I wanted long, straight, thin hair. I'd still like to wear a decent ponytail just once before I die. I'm not sure it will ever happen. 3. Henry VIII. I'm fascinated by the history surrounding this man, and have been for years. I'm also a huge, huge fan of The Tudors on Showtime. Jonathan Rhys Myers does an incredible job portraying him. 4. History. Okay, I'll admit it. I'm fascinated by history in general, especially old English and early American history. 5. Home. I love to travel, but I also love to come home. Once I'm here, it's hard to pry me loose again. When I was a kid, I would have been perfectly content to have everyone come to my house to play. I saw no need to ever leave my house and my yard. Now, I'd rather go to somebody else's house so I don't have to clean mine :) 6. Honesty. It's very important to me. Tell me anything, but make sure it's the truth. The truth, I can handle. 7. Hopscotch. One of my favorite childhood games. Apparently, my favorite layout was the English one. The one they refer to as "American" had the X square in where 2 & 3 are in the picture here, and I tended to lose my balance. I needed those extra few jumps to get my footing, I guess. 8. Hope. Without it, life is flat. 9. Horses (imaginary). Another favorite childhood game was imaginary horse. My friends and I would play it at recess when I was in first and second grades. My horse was black with a star on her forehead, and her name was .... wait for it .... Star! Though I imagined myself a stellar horsewoman, I only rode real horses about once a year, so it's the imaginary ones that stick in my mind. 10. Hospitals. My family and I have spent entirely too much time in hospitals. They're not a place I like to go, but when I have to be there I'm awfully grateful for them, and for the people who work in them. 11. Hugs. From granddaughters. Heaven on earth.

12. Hungary. I've never been there, but my brother-in-law was born there, and his mother lives there still, and my nieces and nephew are half Hungarian, so it counts. 13. Haagen Dazs: I'll admit it. I'm a complete ice cream freak. Winter, summer, spring and fall. It's never too cold. I love Haagen Dazs Vanilla Bean.

Adventures in Food -- Or I Drank Goat's Milk and Nearly Gagged

Since I'm still butting up against a deadline and not blogging regularly, I'm going to cheat again and do a meme. This one was created by Andrew at Very Good Taste and looks kind of interesting to a Food Network junkie.

Here’s what you do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions. 2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten. 3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. 4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison 2. Nettle tea 3. Huevos rancheros 4. Steak tartare 5. Crocodile 6. Black pudding 7. Cheese fondue 8. Carp 9. Borscht 10. Baba ghanoush 11. Calamari 12. Pho 13. PB&J sandwich 14. Aloo gobi 15. Hot dog from a street cart 16. Epoisses 17. Black truffle 18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes 19. Steamed pork buns 20. Pistachio ice cream 21. Heirloom tomatoes 22. Fresh wild berries 23. Foie gras 24. Rice and beans 25. Brawn, or head cheese 26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper 27. Dulce de leche 28. Oysters 29. Baklava 30. Bagna cauda 31. Wasabi peas 32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl 33. Salted lassi 34. Sauerkraut 35. Root beer float 36. Cognac with a fat cigar 37. Clotted cream tea 38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O 39. Gumbo 40. Oxtail 41. Curried goat 42. Whole insects 43. Phaal 44. Goat’s milk 45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more 46. Fugu 47. Chicken tikka masala 48. Eel 49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut 50. Sea urchin 51. Prickly pear 52. Umeboshi 53. Abalone 54. Paneer 55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal 56. Spaetzle 57. Dirty gin martini 58. Beer above 8% ABV 59. Poutine 60. Carob chips 61. S’mores 62. Sweetbreads 63. Kaolin 64. Currywurst 65. Durian 66. Frogs’ legs 67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake 68. Haggis 69. Fried plantain 70. Chitterlings, or andouillette 71. Gazpacho 72. Caviar and blini 73. Louche absinthe 74. Gjetost, or brunost 75. Roadkill 76. Baijiu 77. Hostess Fruit Pie 78. Snail 79. Lapsang souchong 80. Bellini 81. Tom yum 82. Eggs Benedict 83. Pocky 84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. 85. Kobe beef 86. Hare 87. Goulash 88. Flowers 89. Horse 90. Criollo chocolate 91. Spam 92. Soft shell crab 93. Rose harissa 94. Catfish 95. Mole poblano 96. Bagel and lox 97. Lobster Thermidor 98. Polenta 99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee 100. Snake

Okay. Not bad. Slightly more than half, so I still have a way to go. I'm open to trying almost everything on the list that I haven't tried already -- and there are a few things I think I may have had, but I'm not sure so I didn't mark them.

How about you?

All is Well!

To everyone who has asked about Abigail's health, thank you for including her in your prayers over the past few weeks. She had a follow-up visit with the doctor today, and it looks like the operation has been successful so far. Everything in her little brain is working the way it's supposed to be working. She'll have another follow-up visit in three months, but for now all is well. So, to our family and friends, to all of you who held our sweet little girl in your hearts while she went through the brain surgery, to her surgeon and the entire medical team who cared for her, our heartfelt thanks. We couldn't be more pleased with today's news.

Thursday Thirteen #9

Thirteen Things In My Life Beginning with "G" (In No Particular Order)

1. Grandbaby. Oh, come on! Surely you're not surprised. 2. Goody Goody Gunshots, coming to a book store near you on September 2!!!!! 3. Gasoline Prices. Again, no surprise here. And don't get me started talking about the oil company executives!!!! 4. Gavel. I have one with my name engraved in it. How's that for a useless bit of trivia??? 5. When I was a very little girl living in Montana, I used to get nosebleeds frequently, and for no discernable reason. My mother took me to the doctor, who decreed that the blood vessels in my nose were too close to the surface. After that, my mother used to swab my nose with the glycerine-soaked end of a cotton swab. If you have never had your mother shove the glycerine-soaked end of a Q-Tip into your nose and swab around, you're missing an experience! 6. My mother once went to a chiropractor who thought that goat's milk was the one secret ingredient that could cure all of the world's ills. When I told him that there was a definite (and not necessarily positive) difference between the taste of goat's milk and that of cow's milk, he told me I was crazy. He swore up and down that it was impossible to tell the difference. Frankly, I don't think the man had any taste buds. 7. God, who brings me all good things in my life, and who has carried me in His hands on more than one occasion. 8. Golden Gate Bridge. I'm going to San Francisco in a week, and it's the first time I've been back for any length of time since my parents lived there. They didn't live in San Francisco, exactly, but in San Mateo, on the peninsula. I remember going to the city once, long before my parents moved there, and getting sucked by traffic onto the Golden Gate Bridge over and over again while my dad tried to find a hotel for us to stay in. It kept getting later and later, but traffic never thinned. The rest of us fought the giggles. My dad just kept getting more and more frustrated. 9. Giggles. Ever come down with a case of the giggles? They always hit at the most inappropriate times, usually when you're in a place or a situation where you should remain silent. I remember once when I was probably 12 or 13, my mother and I got the giggles while we were at the library. This was back in the day when libraries were truly, truly silent, so even our quietest efforts to pull ourselves together echoed off the vaulted ceilings. I don't even remember what we were laughing about now, but that's the best thing about the giggles. They come upon you without reason. 10. Granny Smith Apples -- just about the finest apple ever created. If you ask me, apples have no business being red. 11. Great Salt Lake -- Along the western edge of the Salt Lake basin lies the Great Salt Lake. According to thefreedictionary.com, it's the largest salt lake in the Western Hemisphere, the fourth largest terminal lake in the world. Water flows in, but it doesn't flow out. It evaporates here in the middle of the dessert, leaving a deposit of minerals (salt) behind. It covers an area of about 1,700 miles, although that fluctuates a lot since the lake is so shallow. It is not like other lakes. There's no recreation on it, there's no life in it except brine shrimp, and there's no real reason to spend time near it, if you ask me. Bottom line? It stinks! 12. Gumbo. Okay, this one isn't in my life, but I'd like it to be. I'd love to get my hands on a really good recipe -- not too hot. Not too difficult. 13. My cousin Gary, who passed away unexpectedly on September 23, 2006. Here's to you, bud!

Wordless Wednesday

Thursday Thirteen #8

Thirteen Things in My Life Beginning With "F"
(in no particular 0rder)

Just realized that I hadn't completely finished this blog post I started on Thursday -- so here it is, slightly late.

1. Florida -- which is where my daughter, her husband, and the Wonder Baby live now. It is also where I just came home from after a heavenly two-week visit. It is also where I am planning to move, just as soon as it's practical, despite the humidity and the bugs and the gators and the snakes and the bugs.

2. Family -- Top on my list of important things/people. Kids, the grandkid, my sister and brother, nieces and nephes, my mother. Dad too, even though he's no longer with us. Cousins ... Do I have cousins! Aunts. Uncles.

3. Friends -- Can't get through life without a few.

4. Fry Sauce -- without which I cannot eat french fries. For those poor souls who have no idea what fry sauce is, it's usually mayonnaise and ketchup, sometimes with a dab of barbeque sauce or something else to give it zing.

6. Faint -- A feeling I've been fighting for months until I finally learned that I was suffering from anemia. Now, after a month of iron supplements, I no longer feel as if I'm about to pass out all the time. I'd almost forgotten how it felt not to feel as if I was going down for the count.

6. Faith -- An element that's of ever-increasing importance in my life.

7, Freedom -- I don't think you can have a family member in the military without thinking about freedom .... a lot. I'm grateful for it. I thank our founding fathers for fighting for it. I thank my dad, my uncles, and my son-in-law for putting their lives on the line for it. I try not to take it for granted.











8. Father -- Mine passed away nearly two years ago, and I still catch myself wanting to forward an e-mail i think he might be interested in, or thinking I see him in a parking lot when I'm out running errands. I miss him.

9. Fiction -- Of course. I mean, it's what I do!!!

10. Firewalkers -- The name of the group of my closest friends, who are also a critique group on occasion. I say on occasion because I don't remember the last time all four of us were producing pages in a new manuscript simultaneously, and especially during the past couple of years of pregnancy, various battles with cancer, depression, and moving, nobody's been at the computer long enough to even e-mail, much less write. But we'll get back there. I have faith.

11. Forgetfulness -- According to my kids, I have the world's worst memory. I think they may be exaggerating a bit ... but probably not by much :(

12. Forsythia -- One of my favorite bits of flora in the world. It blooms in early spring, and it's bright and cheery and full of hope and promise after a long, cold winter. When I was young and newly married, my then-husband planted three of these in the back yard where I could see them from the kitchen window.

13. Fuel Prices -- Ridiculous. Absolutely unacceptable. And since I'm not alone in this one, I'm not going to say much more.

Wordless Wednesday -- They Start a Little Younger Every Year!

Brought to You by the Letter "O"

Oh, the possibilities! The things that come to mind when I think of the letter O. Like ....

Well, like origami, for instance. What do I know about origami? Absolutely nothing! Except that it's the art of folding paper into oddly intricate shapes. Don't get me wrong, I think it's kind of fascinating. I don't know if I would have the patience to turn a piece of paper into an angel or an armadillo or a six-pointed star box, but I admire anyone who does.

Being a huge fan of the panda, I think I'll make this my first attempt. I may not get to it for a few days (or weeks), but I'm going to give it a whirl.

Of course, now that I say that, I've just about obligated myself to try. Which kind of annoys me, because I hate feeling obligated.

Holy Disappearing Author, Batman!

March? My last post here was in March????? I'm hugely embarrassed. As some of you know, I'm deeply involved in some time-consuming work for a writing organization this year, so my time is rarely my own. Add to that a bone-deep exhaustion that just would not go away and what do you get? An author who appears to have dropped off the face of the earth. Thankfully, it appears that we've finally identified the cause of my exhaustion -- not depression as the doctors have thought for the past 4 years, but anemia. Amazing how an iron supplement can do what all the anti-depression medication in the world cannot. :::sigh::: Anyway, I'll try to do better. Honest, I will.

What Harlan Ellison said ...

Friday Fill-Ins #1

1. Seeing new things and meeting new people are the best thing about traveling. 2. I love a good warm blanket and thick socks when I'm cold. 3. I often use excuses to procrastinate things I really should be doing right now. 4. I'm reading a book I'm judging for Romance Writers' of America's RITA contest right now; I can't talk about it. 5. My kids' upcoming move to wherever the Air Force is sending them is something I dislike talking about. 6. When I visited Orlando I most looked forward to seeing Disney World. Yeah, I'm a Disney fan. I admit it. 7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to picking up the Wonder Grandgirl, tomorrow my plans include Christmas shopping for the holiday we postponed while Ian was deployed and Sunday, I want to relax until we go to my mother's for family dinner!

The 7th Annual No Pants Subway Ride

If you routinely take public transportation in New York, Boston, Washington DC, Portland, Oregon, San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto, Adelaide Australia, Baltimore, or Salt Lake City, you may want to keep your eyes open tomorrow. On second thought, you may want to keep your eyes closed instead. It seems that tomorrow is the 7th Annual No Pants! Subway Ride. The event is to take place at 3:00 p.m. sharp on Saturday, January 12th. Apparently, the only rules for participation are a willingness to take off your pants on public transportation, and the ability to keep a straight face about it. Organizers are (thankfully) encouraging participants to wear modest underwear under their pants. No thongs or other skimpy items please (seriously! please!!!). Participants are encouraged to wear normal winter clothes and to bring a backpack. In case you're wondering, I will not be participating.

Happy New Year!

The hardest thing about blogging to me is coming up with interesting things to say. I mean, I'm quite sure you don't want to hear about how I spent my New Year's Eve. As New Year's Eves go, it was nothing to write home about. New Year's Eve is one of my least favorite holidays anyway, and last night, since I'm fighting a cold, I sat home covered by a blanket and didn't even stay awake until midnight. I haven't made any official resolutions because I'm tired of making resolutions and not keeping them. I'll just keep plugging away at being a better person. One thing I know for certain -- 2008 is going to be a busy year. I'll be traveling to Houston at the beginning of March, Minneapolis at the end of March, Los Angeles at the end of May, and San Francisco at the end of July. I'll be speaking at a writer's conference at Park City in October, and somewhere in between all that I need to find a way to visit the kids in Florida at least once. Speaking of the kids . . . I sent Christmas presents to Vanessa and Abigail at the in-laws house in Missouri via Fed Ex ground, and they still haven't arrived. Now, admittedly, I was pretty late getting them off, and they're not actually Christmas presents as much as tide-them-over-until-we-have-Christmas-in-January presents. But still . . . The whole point of sending tide-them-over gifts was to have them arrive in time for Christmas so the tiding over could begin. When I discovered that sending them Fed Ex overnight would completely drain my checking account, and two-day was almost as bad, I had to settle for ground which, according to my friendly Fed Ex guy, meant they should have been delivered about four days ago. That wasn't really possible, though, since the Fed Ex site says they didn't even leave the state until the day after Christmas. According to the site, the packages are currently on the truck for delivery and would have been delivered yesterday except there was a weather delay. I just hope they actually receive their gifts before they're ready to come home. On the book front, PEPPERMINT TWISTED, the third book in the candy shop series, is in book stores and available to order online now. GOODY GOODY GUNSHOTS, book #4, is with my publisher and in production. I have a terrific idea for the fifth book and I'm busy researching for it now. I can thank my niece's husband for this idea. He was explaining how he hurt his hand skiing the day before Christmas, and before I knew what was happening, I was plotting a murder. Obviously, my Christmas was a lot more interesting than my New Year's! And now, before I sign off for today, I'd like to thank you all for reading about Abby and the folks in Paradise in 2007. I wish you all the best in the coming year!

Weird Stuff

You Are Quite Worldly

You've done a good bit of worldly exploring, and you have an international perspective. And you're definitely looking forward to your future adventures abroad. You've got the passport, the desire to travel, and maybe even the language skills. Now all you need are the means!

How Worldly Are You?

Appetizer: Make up a word and give us its definition. Squaddle. The waddling motion a short, fat man makes when he's hurrying somewhere. Soup: What is currently your favorite song? Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B. It's my granddaughter's favorite song, so how can I resist? Salad: What’s at the top of your Christmas wish list this year? For my whole family to be together again. Main Course: Name a scent that reminds you of someone special in your life. Freshly baked bread. The scent reminds me of my mother. Dessert: Who is someone on television that you feel probably shouldn’t be, and why? I can only pick one????? Okay, I pick Rachel Ray. She drives me nuts!

Thursday Thirteen #7

Thirteen Things from My Life that Begin with "E" (in no particular order)

1. E-mail. I spend way too much time every day reading and responding to it, and yet I'd much rather use e-mail than to have constant interruptions by phone during the day. 2. Easy chair. Absolutely my favorite place to write. 3. Editing. Probably one of the most important parts of writing a book in my opinion. Creating is essential, of course, but the magic happens for me during the revision or editing stages. 4. Enchiladas. Cheese in flour tortillas. From Lorena's. M-m-m-m-m!!!!! 5. Epiphany. An integral part of any book, especially the ones I write. 6. Executive Session. I've been serving on a board of directors for the past three years, so it's become a part of my life. 7. Exercise. Not that I actually do any, but I spend a great deal of time each day avoiding it. 8. Exhaustion. A constant problem, probably because of my outlook toward #7 above. 9. Ex-husband. I had one for many years, but he passed away in 1999. 10. Extortion. Way back when I was about 20 or 21, a couple of idiots decided that my ex-husband and I must have had money. I guess he thought this because my ex's family owned a business that seemed to be doing very well. We received an extortion threat and my daughter and I went into hiding while the police set up a command center in my (very messy) living room. Eventually, the bad guys were apprehended and my daughter and I were able to come home again. Too bad the extortionists didn't realize that my ex's family kept us poor as church mice. It could have saved them 10-15 years. 11. Eyewitness. I was the eyewitness in a hit and run accident a few years back while driving home from a book signing at one of my local bookstores. 12. The Edgar Award. No, I don't have one, but I want one some day!!! 13. Editors. They're a very large part of my life and I've been truly blessed to work with some of the best.

Manic Monday - Trick or Treat

Guess which one this is!!!

Thursday Thirteen #6

Thirteen Things From My Life That Begin With "D"

in no particular order

1. Deadlines. For a writer, they're part of every day life, and they can be pure hell. Learning the discipline of writing is essential because there's nothing that can kill the muse faster than having to be creative on demand. But you know what they say . . . the only thing worse than having a deadline is not having a deadline.

2. Diapers. For eighteen years or so, these little things disappeared from my life. Now they're back, and I couldn't be more delighted.

3. Daughters. They're my kids and my best friends. They get me when no one else does. For every minute of grief or worry they've brought me, they've given me three minutes of joy.

4. Decorate. When I have the time and the energy, I love to decorate for the holidays. Unfortunately both of the above things have been in short supply the last few years. I didn't even bother putting up a Christmas tree last year -- and that's not like me.

5. Dreams. For most of my life, I haven't remembered my dreams. I suppose I did dream, but I never remembered what I dreamed about except an occasional recurring dream about being chained in a tower in a medieval castle. That dream is gone and now I dream about things like working for my old boss and frantically trying to get to work while something is obstructing my path.

6. Dogs ... of course. There's Angel, my poorly socialized dog with ADHD and OCD. Those of you who hang around here a lot know that I blog about her occasionally. And there's Sammi (no relation) who is my oldest daughter's dog and who currently lives with me. She's a noisy "little" thing (little only by comparison to Angel who, I swear, is part giraffe, part gazelle, and part kangaroo) who barks every time a leaf moves on the street and refuses to take treats when you're leaving the house because ... well, because you're leaving. As if not taking the treat will make you stay, I guess. I'm really not sure what goes on inside her head.

7. Dance. When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a professional dancer. More specifically, I wanted to be a June Taylor dancer, but I don't think I ever confessed my professional dance aspirations aloud, and I think they died away somewhere before I was 8. Besides being a novelist, being a June Taylor dancer is the only thing I ever really wanted to be when I grew up.

8. Dad. I have one, as do all of you :) Mine passed away on October 6, 2006 at the age of 82. He was a World War II Veteran who loved the great outdoors and dreamed of being a Park Ranger when he was a young man. He grew up on a farm and spent so many hours working in the fields, he almost didn't graduate from high school. That near miss bothered him his entire life.

9. Daydreaming. I'm all for it, and I'm lucky. I'm a writer. Daydreaming is my job!

10. Dictionary. In 7th grade, I made a poster that was supposed to read "How To Develop your Mental Abilities." I misspelled two words on that poster, so it ended up reading "How to Develope your Mental Abbilities." Not only did the other kids in my class make fun of me, but the teacher did too -- and this right after she laughed at me because I didn't know how to spell marijuana. (This was before it was a household word where I lived, and I was absent the day we learned what it was.) This all happened the year after I had Mr. Graybill, the world's most obnoxious teacher, in 6th grade. Mr. Graybill made the leather wallet I was crafting for my dad (see above) a public example of how not to do leatherwork. The public humiliation I felt over that stupid poster nearly did me in, but I became best friends with the dictionary that day. After that, I could out-spell almost everyone I knew. Even my Straight-
A Sister -- the one who graduated 3rd in her class -- asked me how to spell words.

11. Deployment. As some of you know, my son-in-law is currently deployed with the Air Force in the Middle East. He's willing to be there because he believes that if we don't fight them over there, we'll have to fight them here on our own soil. All I can say is, war looks a whole lot different when it comes knocking on your own front door than it does when it's an abstract principle.

12. Dishwasher. It's my favorite modern convenience.

13. Down East. Where I wish I lived!

Thursday Thirteen #5

Thirteen Things From My Life That Begin with "C"

in no particular order

1. Curly hair. It's the bane of my existence. My hair is very thick and curly, and while I know some people would love it, I don't. I have made peace with it finally, but for most of my life I have disliked my thick curly hair. The curls aren't curly enough to fit into any style. My hair's too thick to let me do things like wear hats, wear barrettes, use clips, or put my hair into a ponytail. I also can't style my hair because it just does what it wants. No matter how much product I use, the hair just springs back into the non-style it likes best.

2. Cat. When my ex-husband died in 1999, I somehow inherited his cat. My kids couldn't let Vincent go, and I'm a big softy so even though we had two cats already, I took Vincent in. He quickly realized which of us he needed to make peace with, and in short order he became my cat. Vincent was raised with dogs, so when he came to live with me, he didn't know much about being a cat. He couldn't leap onto windowsills and the sound of his own purring frightened him. Eventually he learned a lot about being a cat, but he never did lose his 'fraidy cat nature. This morning, Vincent is missing. He wasn't waiting for me at the back door when I woke up, and that's not like him. I'm starting to worry that he may have gone to join my ex-husband.

3. Car. I own one. I love driving most of the time. Frankly, I don't think there's anything better than a good road trip. Flying is nice, and it's convenient, but if I had my choice and the time, I'd take a road trip over an airline flight any day.


4. Crochet. I don't knit. I've tried, but unless it's a very simple pattern like a dish cloth, knitting just isn't for me. I do like to crochet, though. I don't do things like sweaters and vests and doilies. I like to make afghans. Just afghans. Lots and lots of afghans :) This is one I made for my oldest daughter.


5. Cousins. I have a lot of them. There are 42 of us, to be exact.


6. Candy. I think about it a lot -- not because I have a personal sweet tooth, which I kind of do, but because I need to research it for the candy shop series I write. Really!

7. Christmas. I know it's pretty boring, but Christmas really is my favorite holiday. If it weren't for the cold and having to get out and drive in the snow, Christmas would be the perfect time of year. I don't even mind driving in the ice and snow as much as I mind walking in it. I am not sure-footed!

8. Calendars. I love them. I don't know why, but I'm just utterly fascinated by them. I love having calendars hanging on my walls, love the different pictures each month -- but my love of calendars isn't restricted to pretty ones. I love desk mat calendars, appointment calendars, computerized calendars, purse-sized calendars, thought or word of the day calendars, my mother's old-fashioned two-ring calendar .... If I could have a hundred calendars, I'd try to find a way to use them all. I know. It's sick.


9. Camping. I love to camp. I'm not sure what it is about camping that I love because I don't like to actually do anything once I get there. I don't fish, don't particularly care for nature hikes, don't mountain climb or dirt bike or hunt, but I love the mountains and I love getting out in nature. I even like cooking on the camp stove. I like stringing up the clothesline between the trees and fresh trout for breakfast and campfires. I don't, however, like outhouses without flush toilets, and I don't like campgrounds without trees. When I camp, I have to be in the mountains in the forest. I have my limits.

10. Crawling. Something Abigail and I do a lot of these days.

11. Creamsicles. I'll confess that I'm a fan of the popsicle in general, but the Creamsicle is frozen confection heaven.

12. Computers. I love computers. I don't like to point and click to make the computer do what somebody else has decided it should, I like to make computers do what I want them to. Back in the olden days, when I worked at my Evil Day Job, I taught myself to write programs in DOS and dBase, and I wrote several complicated programs before I quit to write full time. Now, I like to play around with websites, and I'm teaching myself to write in html. It appeals to my creative side.

13. Counted Cross Stitch. I haven't done much of it lately, but I love it. It occurs to me as I write this that all of my creative projects have something in common. I love creating something from "nothing," whether it's the world the characters in my books inhabit, an afghan from balls of yarn, or a picture from a blank canvas, I love turning empty space into something beautiful. Here's one of the items on my wish list at Rebecca's Discount Needlecrafts.

Thinking Back

I was looking through some old pictures today and came across some photos I took on one of the last aimless drives I took with my dad before he passed away. Dad loved to get in the car and drive. After he lost most of his eyesight to macular degeneration, he loved to get in the car and let one of us drive him around. When he was a young man, he wanted to be a park ranger with the U.S. Forest Service. That dream died, and he spent his life doing other things, but he never lost his love of the great outdoors.

While we were on this drive, we marveled at the color of the aspen leaves. Usually, they're a brilliant golden yellow, but that year they were a vibrant orange. Since we'd just been through five or six years of drought, we speculated that the color difference was caused by a lack of water, but I never bothered to ask anyone and find out for sure.

It's very odd to think that a year ago my dad was alive and well -- well . . . relatively well, considering that he was 82 and legally blind and diabetic, with high blood pressure and all the other ills that were plaguing him. He was terrified that he would live to become a burden on his children and, considering how hard he was to contain, being bedridden would have been pure hell for him.

I guess I'll let him find out what made those aspen leaves orange, and I'll wait patiently for the day when he can give me the answer.