I enjoy planting things. Flowering things mostly. Food plants and I don't mesh. These days house plants and I don't mesh well either, but I have a dim house with very little direct sunlight. (Part and parcel of living in the woods.)
In past years, I have planted mums, peonies, columbines, bugle weed, astilbe, lily of the valley, sedums, and a hydrangea on this property. We already had a lilac, a crepe myrtle, azaleas, roses, and irises here - and I've moved all but the roses to better locations and the roses I replanted in the same bed.
I also planted cone flowers and a forsythia, but they died. =o\
Something strange hit my mums last year and the majority of those died as well. But I still have a few, including one of the original four yellow mums I bought the first year we were here.
Every year I plant marigolds. I love marigolds. And I usually get some snapdragons for the front blocks at the end of the driveway. And the wildflower seeds I scattered in the cedar bed are coming up year after year, so that's good. I like it best when I don't have to futz with stuff too much.
This year, I also planted lavender, hollyhocks, butterfly bushes, and a mixed bag of mystery bulbs. They're all in the two full sun areas. Keep your fingers crossed for me that they all survive.
Already, my roses, azaleas, lilacs, and irises have buds or blooms. My azaleas are freaking out with buds - if not leaves. (Poor things. I can't figure out why they have so few leaves.)
Anywhere, I hope to have flowers everywhere throughout the growing season. Now to when the snow flies this fall. :fingers crossed:
What kinds of flowers do you like? Do you enjoy gardening?
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Sunday Update - Week 13
Last week was the 13th week of the year, and it held the 13th anniversary of the day Hubs and I met in person. Lucky 13.
Anyway, the week that was...
I got Natural Causes' final edits back from AWE on Thursday. Worked a little bit on them then. Ended up taking Friday off. Worked my buns off last night and am at pg 150 out of 247. I should be able to get that done today.
Before that, I got some work done on Wish Hits the Fan. Then I made the executive decision to put WHTF on hold until after the publication of NC.
Yesterday, I also did what I should've done two years ago and made a formatting checklist, so all the steps to formatting a book for publication are written down. Thus far I've been trusting my memory - a sketchy plan at best. I'll talk more about the checklist tomorrow on Outside the Box.
Other things... I created a bookmark showing all 8 books...
and re-did my FB banner...
And I added Natural Causes to all my blogs' right hand bars and put Natural Causes on my Mystery page at Outside the Box.
I read two books last week! Silver James' Seal Moon and Jennifer Lyon's Sex on the Beach Book Club. Both amazing. Then I started The Bridge on the River Kwai for a bit of a change. So far, so good.
I did some fishing. And some yard work. And some cleaning. And some personal stuff as we had a death in the family and I volunteered to do all the flower ordering for the immediate family. 1-800-FLOWERS came through. And from what I've heard via Mom, everything looked really nice. Whew. I'm always unsure how ordering flowers is going to go. Images of dead or bedraggled flowers dance through my head until someone confirms otherwise.
This week? Getting ready for publication. Barring natural disaster, this will definitely be out before the 13th. Once I have it out and have a buy link, I'll let you all now. And once I have the link to put in the back matter for Accidental Death, I'll be putting that on some kind of sale. (Sale or free... Hmm. Wait and see*.)
Okay, that's it for me. What's up with you?
* I'm a poet and I know it, cuz my feet sure show it. They're Longfellows. ;o)
Anyway, the week that was...
I got Natural Causes' final edits back from AWE on Thursday. Worked a little bit on them then. Ended up taking Friday off. Worked my buns off last night and am at pg 150 out of 247. I should be able to get that done today.
Before that, I got some work done on Wish Hits the Fan. Then I made the executive decision to put WHTF on hold until after the publication of NC.
Yesterday, I also did what I should've done two years ago and made a formatting checklist, so all the steps to formatting a book for publication are written down. Thus far I've been trusting my memory - a sketchy plan at best. I'll talk more about the checklist tomorrow on Outside the Box.
Other things... I created a bookmark showing all 8 books...
I read two books last week! Silver James' Seal Moon and Jennifer Lyon's Sex on the Beach Book Club. Both amazing. Then I started The Bridge on the River Kwai for a bit of a change. So far, so good.
I did some fishing. And some yard work. And some cleaning. And some personal stuff as we had a death in the family and I volunteered to do all the flower ordering for the immediate family. 1-800-FLOWERS came through. And from what I've heard via Mom, everything looked really nice. Whew. I'm always unsure how ordering flowers is going to go. Images of dead or bedraggled flowers dance through my head until someone confirms otherwise.
This week? Getting ready for publication. Barring natural disaster, this will definitely be out before the 13th. Once I have it out and have a buy link, I'll let you all now. And once I have the link to put in the back matter for Accidental Death, I'll be putting that on some kind of sale. (Sale or free... Hmm. Wait and see*.)
Okay, that's it for me. What's up with you?
* I'm a poet and I know it, cuz my feet sure show it. They're Longfellows. ;o)
Saturday, April 1, 2017
Saturday Fishing Report - 4/1/17
It's April Fool's Day, but I don't celebrate that, so this is an actual fishing report...
Sunday - On the river at my go-to spot. Man, was the water muddy from Thursday night's 2.4" of rain. Full of crap - sticks, twigs, logs, leaves, garbage. My sittin' spots are slowly disappearing beneath the water again. :shrug: Screwed around with worms, trying not to snag underwater detritus. Finally started getting bites at a little cove off the river. Landed one red-ear sunfish. 8.25". Waited another hour, but didn't get anything else. Which is too bad. I love eating red-ear sunfish.
Tuesday - Hubs and I went out in the afternoon. And it had come up even further. We started out at the go-to spot, but weren't catching diddly-squat. Then we went to the park - because bathrooms - and settled in on the chunk rock bank of a feeder creek to the main lake. Hubs was trying out different lures and I was using worms. Got some hits in one spot, but not sealing the deal. Moved to a spot where I could sit down and just ignored the bobber for a while. Until it slowly sank into the water. Set the hook and the fight was on. I'm yelling 'got something big on' and Hubs, being the gentleman he is, reeled in and headed my way. I landed it without a net (which was good because we didn't have one with us.) Walleye. 16". Nice fat, healthy little cigar there. Two inches too short, but that's okay. Except he was it for there. So we moved back to the go-to spot. Nada until I let the worm drift closer to shore. Wham. 5-6" bluegill. First time I ever saw a bluegill jump out of the water. Must've been doing his bass imitation.
Wednesday - Bad weather predicted for the afternoon, so I went out in the morning. Got to the park with the ledges about 8am. It was nice and cloudy with a little breeze and in the upper 40s. About an hour went by and I was just getting into some nice bites when it started to sprinkle. No biggie. Then in the distance, I saw lightning. I waited. It took a good long time for the thunder to reach me, so I figured I was good for a few more casts. Then it started to sprinkle harder, so I reeled in and started to pack up. I heard the rain coming at me from across the lake so I packed faster, but not fast enough. It was like some upended a bucket. I scurried toward the treeline and beat feet up the hill toward my car. The trees helped a little, but I was soaked by the time I got my stuff into the car and hopped into the driver's seat. Soaked and totally out of breath. I've gotten to where the hill isn't a big deal anymore if I take it slow. Quick timing it? Not so much. And, of course, the weather subsided and we never did get the bad weather in the afternoon. Bleh.
Friday - Started out about 8:30am. Went to a place I know of - a cove off a feeder creek to the main lake -- one with loads of dead trees. A bit nippy at only 48F, but I was layered. I mainly went there to see how the rising lake level had affected my fishing spot there. Yah, I'm down to about 10 foot left of bank. Another inch or two of rain and the shore will be impassable by foot again. Bummer. Anyway, I tried a bunch of different things, but only got bites on worms. Caught a 13" spotted bass. Then nature was calling, so I went to the park where they have restrooms. Fished for a while there off the ledges on the main lake, but the water was so full of crap I was spending more time pulling leaves off my rig than fishing and nothing was biting for me. (Two guys on a boat nearby were catching, but nothing big.) Then I went to the place I caught the walleye on Tuesday. Nada. By then I was tired and my back was acting up from the lack of seating, so I went home.
That's it for me. Here's hoping for a good next week. I have some actual writing work to get done so I can publish my next book by the 13th, so it might be slim. I still plan on getting out in the outdoors, though, so we'll see. Have a great week and spend some time outside yourselves. It'll do you a world of good. ;o)
Sunday - On the river at my go-to spot. Man, was the water muddy from Thursday night's 2.4" of rain. Full of crap - sticks, twigs, logs, leaves, garbage. My sittin' spots are slowly disappearing beneath the water again. :shrug: Screwed around with worms, trying not to snag underwater detritus. Finally started getting bites at a little cove off the river. Landed one red-ear sunfish. 8.25". Waited another hour, but didn't get anything else. Which is too bad. I love eating red-ear sunfish.
Tuesday - Hubs and I went out in the afternoon. And it had come up even further. We started out at the go-to spot, but weren't catching diddly-squat. Then we went to the park - because bathrooms - and settled in on the chunk rock bank of a feeder creek to the main lake. Hubs was trying out different lures and I was using worms. Got some hits in one spot, but not sealing the deal. Moved to a spot where I could sit down and just ignored the bobber for a while. Until it slowly sank into the water. Set the hook and the fight was on. I'm yelling 'got something big on' and Hubs, being the gentleman he is, reeled in and headed my way. I landed it without a net (which was good because we didn't have one with us.) Walleye. 16". Nice fat, healthy little cigar there. Two inches too short, but that's okay. Except he was it for there. So we moved back to the go-to spot. Nada until I let the worm drift closer to shore. Wham. 5-6" bluegill. First time I ever saw a bluegill jump out of the water. Must've been doing his bass imitation.
Wednesday - Bad weather predicted for the afternoon, so I went out in the morning. Got to the park with the ledges about 8am. It was nice and cloudy with a little breeze and in the upper 40s. About an hour went by and I was just getting into some nice bites when it started to sprinkle. No biggie. Then in the distance, I saw lightning. I waited. It took a good long time for the thunder to reach me, so I figured I was good for a few more casts. Then it started to sprinkle harder, so I reeled in and started to pack up. I heard the rain coming at me from across the lake so I packed faster, but not fast enough. It was like some upended a bucket. I scurried toward the treeline and beat feet up the hill toward my car. The trees helped a little, but I was soaked by the time I got my stuff into the car and hopped into the driver's seat. Soaked and totally out of breath. I've gotten to where the hill isn't a big deal anymore if I take it slow. Quick timing it? Not so much. And, of course, the weather subsided and we never did get the bad weather in the afternoon. Bleh.
Friday - Started out about 8:30am. Went to a place I know of - a cove off a feeder creek to the main lake -- one with loads of dead trees. A bit nippy at only 48F, but I was layered. I mainly went there to see how the rising lake level had affected my fishing spot there. Yah, I'm down to about 10 foot left of bank. Another inch or two of rain and the shore will be impassable by foot again. Bummer. Anyway, I tried a bunch of different things, but only got bites on worms. Caught a 13" spotted bass. Then nature was calling, so I went to the park where they have restrooms. Fished for a while there off the ledges on the main lake, but the water was so full of crap I was spending more time pulling leaves off my rig than fishing and nothing was biting for me. (Two guys on a boat nearby were catching, but nothing big.) Then I went to the place I caught the walleye on Tuesday. Nada. By then I was tired and my back was acting up from the lack of seating, so I went home.
That's it for me. Here's hoping for a good next week. I have some actual writing work to get done so I can publish my next book by the 13th, so it might be slim. I still plan on getting out in the outdoors, though, so we'll see. Have a great week and spend some time outside yourselves. It'll do you a world of good. ;o)
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Thursday This n That
I'm not good with remembering what day it is anymore. Not for the whole day, anyway.
I hate talking to customer service. Anywhere. But I volunteer to do it because better me than my loved ones. I mean, I did phone stuff for work from my telemarketing job in college to my secretarial job right before I quit working for other people and began writing seriously. About 14 years worth. I've encountered just about every kind of call - irate people, ignorant people, heavily-accented people, argumentative people, and, lest you think all phone calls are bad, incredibly competent people. So, it just makes sense for to throw myself on that grenade, ya know?
Anyone else ever notice that Hallmark sympathy cards are $2-3 more expensive than similar sized birthday cards? If that don't just cork your tomaters. Freakin' gouging. Really makes me think less of Hallmark, lemme tell ya.
They're having a big 'pick up trash around the lake' day on Saturday. Umm... Yah. They do this every year. One day where everyone goes and picks up trash. The sponsoring organization provides trash bags and bottles of water and has dumpsters set around so people can throw the trash somewhere other than their own garbage cans. I find this mildly irritating. It's something I do all the time. But if I go sign up, I can do it on Saturday and get pats on the head and free stuff. Oh well, at least someone else will be doing something, if only for one day. I have encountered others like me, picking up trash on a regular basis, and I say kudos to them. Kudos to us all, I guess. I'd just like it all better if people would quit leaving trash all over the damn place so we all wouldn't have to pick up after them. Jus' sayin'.
We're cereal mixers here. My go-to is half Honey Bunches of Oats and half Life. Hubs prefers Honey Bunches of Oats and Crunch Berries. Sometimes Cheerios end up in there somewhere. Sometimes I put a peach cup in mine (after I slurp the juice out).
Well, that's it for me. Any this-n-that for you today?
I hate talking to customer service. Anywhere. But I volunteer to do it because better me than my loved ones. I mean, I did phone stuff for work from my telemarketing job in college to my secretarial job right before I quit working for other people and began writing seriously. About 14 years worth. I've encountered just about every kind of call - irate people, ignorant people, heavily-accented people, argumentative people, and, lest you think all phone calls are bad, incredibly competent people. So, it just makes sense for to throw myself on that grenade, ya know?
Anyone else ever notice that Hallmark sympathy cards are $2-3 more expensive than similar sized birthday cards? If that don't just cork your tomaters. Freakin' gouging. Really makes me think less of Hallmark, lemme tell ya.
They're having a big 'pick up trash around the lake' day on Saturday. Umm... Yah. They do this every year. One day where everyone goes and picks up trash. The sponsoring organization provides trash bags and bottles of water and has dumpsters set around so people can throw the trash somewhere other than their own garbage cans. I find this mildly irritating. It's something I do all the time. But if I go sign up, I can do it on Saturday and get pats on the head and free stuff. Oh well, at least someone else will be doing something, if only for one day. I have encountered others like me, picking up trash on a regular basis, and I say kudos to them. Kudos to us all, I guess. I'd just like it all better if people would quit leaving trash all over the damn place so we all wouldn't have to pick up after them. Jus' sayin'.
We're cereal mixers here. My go-to is half Honey Bunches of Oats and half Life. Hubs prefers Honey Bunches of Oats and Crunch Berries. Sometimes Cheerios end up in there somewhere. Sometimes I put a peach cup in mine (after I slurp the juice out).
Well, that's it for me. Any this-n-that for you today?
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Doncha Hate It?
Doncha hate it when you get home from the store and realize you forgot something really important? Exacerbated by the fact you live 20 miles from the store? So you have to schedule another trip?
Doncha hate it when you spell a word so wrong that Word has no clue and only offers up SCATTERBRAINED as a suggestion?
Doncha hate it when you forget to put coffee in the coffee maker and end up with a pot of hot water?
Doncha hate it when you think you're hilarious, but no one else gets it, so they look at you like you're nuts?
Doncha hate it when you walk out of the house with your t-shirt on inside out?
Doncha hate it when other people hate a book you loved?
Doncha hate it when you go to say one word but another word pops out of your mouth and everyone looks at you like you're nuts?
Doncha hate it when you're dressed to go out and you look awesome and then the cat walks by and magically throws cat hair all over your black outfit?
Doncha hate it when you're way out somewhere and you rip a hole in the seat of your pants?
Doncha hate it when you decided to go commando that day?
Doncha hate it when you call someone by the wrong name? "Hi, Connie! ... Oh, oops, I mean Claudia."*
What's a 'doncha hate it' for you?
*In my defense there, Claudia really reminds me of someone I used to know whose name was Connie.
Doncha hate it when you spell a word so wrong that Word has no clue and only offers up SCATTERBRAINED as a suggestion?
Doncha hate it when you forget to put coffee in the coffee maker and end up with a pot of hot water?
Doncha hate it when you think you're hilarious, but no one else gets it, so they look at you like you're nuts?
Doncha hate it when you walk out of the house with your t-shirt on inside out?
Doncha hate it when other people hate a book you loved?
Doncha hate it when you go to say one word but another word pops out of your mouth and everyone looks at you like you're nuts?
Doncha hate it when you're dressed to go out and you look awesome and then the cat walks by and magically throws cat hair all over your black outfit?
Doncha hate it when you're way out somewhere and you rip a hole in the seat of your pants?
Doncha hate it when you decided to go commando that day?
Doncha hate it when you call someone by the wrong name? "Hi, Connie! ... Oh, oops, I mean Claudia."*
What's a 'doncha hate it' for you?
*In my defense there, Claudia really reminds me of someone I used to know whose name was Connie.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Sunday Update - Week 12
Hello again.
This past week was an exercise in toadness. Not even sure what happened there. It was Sunday and then it's Sunday again.
I'm up to about 93% done with making edit notes for Wish Hits the Fan. I'll get that done this morning, then start inputting those edit notes. One of the chapters near the end will be pretty much a rewrite. Since I was a moron and didn't number my chapters while I was writing the book, I have no clue which one. All I know is that it's lame. Other than that, I like how it's coming together.
I spent most of the week hypnotized by the Dr. Pol marathon. It wrapped up last night with his 100th episode, so I should be able to shake myself off and do something this week. I did learn few things, though. 1) Familiarity really does breed contempt. By about halfway through, everything Charles did irritated me. 2) If I really had to, I could probably repair a left displaced abomasum. 3) How to treat milk fever. 4) Goat polio is a thiamine deficiency. None of this will be useful in my life. (Except maybe #1.)
Still dry on the reading front. Reason? See the paragraph about editing. Then remember that I edit on my Kindle. Which isn't really an excuse, because I have paper books and another Kindle. I keep picking up paperbacks and setting them on my end table, then returning them to the shelves. Nothing's sparking my interest - because I'm editing, I think. :shrug:
Spent a lot of time fishing. Even caught a couple keeper bluegills. Not enough for a meal, but it's a start. It's just nice to have fish in the freezer again. (Fish that didn't come from Gorton's, that is.)
Well, that's it for me. You got anything to crow about?
This past week was an exercise in toadness. Not even sure what happened there. It was Sunday and then it's Sunday again.
I'm up to about 93% done with making edit notes for Wish Hits the Fan. I'll get that done this morning, then start inputting those edit notes. One of the chapters near the end will be pretty much a rewrite. Since I was a moron and didn't number my chapters while I was writing the book, I have no clue which one. All I know is that it's lame. Other than that, I like how it's coming together.
I spent most of the week hypnotized by the Dr. Pol marathon. It wrapped up last night with his 100th episode, so I should be able to shake myself off and do something this week. I did learn few things, though. 1) Familiarity really does breed contempt. By about halfway through, everything Charles did irritated me. 2) If I really had to, I could probably repair a left displaced abomasum. 3) How to treat milk fever. 4) Goat polio is a thiamine deficiency. None of this will be useful in my life. (Except maybe #1.)
Still dry on the reading front. Reason? See the paragraph about editing. Then remember that I edit on my Kindle. Which isn't really an excuse, because I have paper books and another Kindle. I keep picking up paperbacks and setting them on my end table, then returning them to the shelves. Nothing's sparking my interest - because I'm editing, I think. :shrug:
Spent a lot of time fishing. Even caught a couple keeper bluegills. Not enough for a meal, but it's a start. It's just nice to have fish in the freezer again. (Fish that didn't come from Gorton's, that is.)
Well, that's it for me. You got anything to crow about?
Saturday, March 25, 2017
Saturday Fishing Report - 3/25/17
Saturday 3/18 - It was a beautiful day. I went out in the afternoon with Hubs and got skunked. Noteable part of the day: That guy a while back who was shouting expletives at the top of his lungs was back on the creek. Umm, yah. I think he needs to find a new hobby before he bursts an aneurysm.
Sunday - Another gorgeous day. I went to my go-to spot, but there were campers, so I left. Went to another spot. Got skunked.
Tuesday - The last gorgeous day before a Wednesday cold snap. I got right out at the go-to spot by 8am. Unfortunately, it's east-facing and the sun was in my eyes on and off. I did catch a 12" spotted bass. They were biting like crazy. Too bad for me, a storm blew in. I saw lightning before I heard any thunder close by. Not wanting to get zapped, I said goodbye to the fish and went home. Of course, it cleared up about an hour or so later. I went back out in the afternoon. It was warm and sunny, and windy as all get out. I tried the go-to spot again, but the wind was so bad I couldn't get a good cast out. I went to a different locale where there wasn't any wind, but there also weren't any bites. I did find a brand-new looking lure (research shows it's a Spro Rockcrawler 55 in Red Crawfish - retails at $9.29* - cha ching), though, so not a total loss.
Thursday - I had an errand to run up north of here, so I took my gear. Hit the lake about 9am. It was the actual lake near a boat ramp and a highway bridge. I fishing from the bridge to the boat ramp to the cove beyond the ramp. Not a solid bite anywhere. Another gorgeous day, though. Found two lost spinner baits, a few hundred yards of line, hooks, and sinkers.
Friday - Perfect morning for fishing, but I got out later than I planned. Hit the go-to spot about 9am again. Winds were SSE at 18mph, which meant the wind was blowing up the river toward the creek. What was weird was that the current of the creek was slamming into the wind blow current of the river and making an interesting spot on the surface. As soon as I started throwing my bait there, I started getting hits. Bluegill only, but man, was it fun. Caught 5 bluegill - 5.5", 6", 7.25", 8" and 8.25". The last two I brought home and filleted. I should've kept the 7.25", too, but I've gotten spoiled on 14" bass. Boy howdy was that 7 a fighter, though. I thought I had a spotted bass on the line. Nope. So, I guess it earned its right to not be food. It might not be so lucky next time. I left the river about 11am - running from a storm I could see headed my way.
Well, that's it for me. Not sure what the week ahead will bring. I'm on deadline and I have a lot of editing to do before the 30th. Still, fishing is a great way to take a break. We'll see how it goes. ;o)
Have a great coming week, and get outside a little if you can.
*This might explain why the expletive shouter shouts like he does. If he's paying $10 a lure and losing them, that is. I get mad when I lose a $1.98 lure - which I did on Sunday - but I swear under my breath. Just a very soft shiiiiit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)