And Another Year Bites the Dust!

 

I just wanted to take a few minutes and stop in here to wish all of my Peeps a Happy & Healthy New Year. I hope that 2010 is full of Magic and brings you all the most Wonderful Things and is everything you Hope and Dream it will be!

This is a special New Year’s Eve because not only is it the last day of the Year, but it is also a Blue Moon. Blue Moon’s are rare, and to have one on New Year’s Eve is incredibly Rare! In addition to the Blue Moon, there will also be a partial lunar eclipse. I’m hoping that these are good omens and means that the coming year will be incredible. After all, good things happen “Once in a Blue Moon”!

I am spending a quiet New Year’s Eve at home with the Hubs and the furbabies. This has become tradition for us over the last few years. The desire to get out there and brave all the people celebrating is long past. I am much happier curled up in my PJ’s, eating an assortment of bad for us snacks, and watching TV. At Midnight we will flip the channel over and watch the ball drop in Times Square…. or at least I will, G often doesn’t make it all the way to Midnight anymore. A far cry from when we first met. Our very first New Year’s Eve (The big 2000! We weren’t together, just at the same place/party) was spent in a train yard, setting of fireworks, dancing on the tops of trains (umm… no, that –wasn’t- allowed and there are no pictures, so you have no proof!), drinking and generally carousing till the wee small hours. We would soon be a couple… Now, ten years later, we are boring. LOL!

Celebrations of Light and Hope

It has become tradition that on Dec 21 I repost this entry from my first year of blogging. It originally appeared on my AOL Journal in 2004. This is the sixth year that I have 'reprinted' it. It still says what I want to remember about this time of year, so I am repeating it again this year. Some of the circumstances have changed... G and I are now married, we lost our beloved D.K., but have opened our hearts to a new kitty this year who is making her ‘big sister’ Morgan’s life interesting, we’ve changed jobs and homes a time or two…. still, although it will be 3 days before Christmas this year due to work and other obligations, we will be making our annual trek to spend a day with my brother and his family. Things change and yet some things remain the same. I hope you enjoy my annual Celebration of Light and Hope.


Today is the shortest day of the year... and the longest night. It is the first day of Winter. It is the celebration of Yule. It is an acknowledgement of Hope. That Light and Warmth and other good things will always return after the darkness. It is the day that G. and I celebrate as our personal Winter Holiday. In ancient times, this was the festival of the rebirth of the new god and a promise that after today the days would get longer, the nights would get shorter, and warmth and Spring WOULD come.

Yes, secularly we, like so many others, celebrate Christmas. In the United States, Christmas is no longer just a religious holiday. With the gift giving, and Santa, and the decorations... Christmas has become more, and less, than what was originally intended. Everyone takes the pieces and parts of the holiday that works for them. Some embrace the religious parts, and try to ignore how secular it has become... others embrace the secular with it's parties, lights, Santa, and presents and ignore any religious beginnings of the holiday. But, at it's heart, it is still a Winter Holiday.. A celebration of Hope. And every religion/belief system seems to have a celebration of some type that embraces this.

I grew up in the States, and therefore my memories of a Winter Holiday include all of the above. And Christmas itself is as much a melting pot as the United States itself. The Christmas tree is German, and Santa is the culmination of a blend of traditions from many countries. Mistletoe? Druid. Christmas Cards? England. You see what I mean. G. and I will be celebrating with my brother and his family on Christmas Eve at his house. That's the day we all have off together. Christmas Day G. is working so a co-worker can be home with his small children for the all important Santa Claus ritual <g>.

I think what I'm trying to say is that it doesn't matter who you are, or what your core beliefs are... There is a place in the Winter Holidays for all. But, please, take a moment this season, whether you celebrate Kwanzaa, Chanukah, Yule, or Christmas, to remember that the REAL reason for all of these celebrations is to celebrate HOPE in all of its forms.


graphics by useless graphics

Tags: Christmas, Celebrations of Light &Hope, Yule

I am a NaBloPoMo Dropout…

Le Sigh! I did not manage to post every day in November, so I guess I am a NaBloPoMo failure. But, I have an excuse don’t I always! I looked back over the posts I was making and realized that I was posting things I normally wouldn’t just so I would have a post for that day, and I wasn’t happy with that. I would rather post less often and post something interesting not boring semi-interesting than to post a bunch and not be happy with it. So, I am going back to posting things when they strike my fancy. LOL!

In the spirit of stuff striking my fancy….. I give you a computer they have taught to think like a cat. Now, at first, I thought “Cool!”. Then I took a moment and looked at my cat considered the implications of having a computer that thinks like a cat. Really…. consider it… do you really want a computer who thinks like a cat? My own cat is capricious, does what she wants, does strange things for no apparent reason, and I have seen her tease the dog, just for fun. Oh wait… never mind! My computer –already- acts like a cat at times, doing what it wants instead of what I want it to!

Procrastination… or Just Pure Laziness?

I have espoused the wonder that is LiveWriter before, and probably will do so again. Anyone who is blogging should at least give this FREE program a try. It not only gives you a WYSIWYG interface, it allows you to post to more than one blog with ease and the touch of the mouse, and it makes the handling of links, catagories, pictures, etc simple and requires absolutely zip knowledge of HTML, CSS, or any other acronym.

With the above paragraph fresh in your mind, you would think that I would be using the newest version of my favorite program, especially since (as before mentioned) it is free. You would be wrong.

I recently turned a returning Blogger on to my very favorite posting miracle and when she had questions, I promptly answered them…. only to have her e-mail back that her version didn’t have a button or some such in the spot I said it was. Turns out that I had an older version of the program on my machine and that the older versions do not check for updates on their own.

So…. the moral to this story? If you have (and love) LiveWriter, you might want to pop over and make sure you have the newest version. The version I have now has a ‘Check for updates’ option under the Help menu. Something that my previous version did not.

End of Public Service Announcement – Oh, and if any one from the government wanders across this endorsement, let it be perfectly clear that I receive nothing from Microsoft for endorsing their product… although I am open to any monetary recompense they would like to pass on to me at any time and for any reason……

Veteran’s Day—2009

Have you hugged a Veteran today?

For this or any previous years official poster click here.

Very Cool Hand Paintings...

I've seen several of these before, including the 4 I have included here. They never cease to fascinate me. The time and artistry that goes into them is amazing. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. Click on this Link to go and see more….

Just in Case You were Worried about 12/12/2012

I love when the doomsayers and fanatics grab onto a specific date and start predicting the End of the World. Let’s see, there was the Y2K bug. Uhuh.. computers continued to function, more or less, even until today. Then I remember the world was supposed to end on Jan 1, 2000, even without the Y2K bug (which was only going to destroy technology after all), then when that didn’t happen they realized the new Millennium actually started on Jan 1, 2001, so they changed the day… and still the world didn’t end. This is not a new thing, there have been doomsayers for all of human history, and probably before. I can picture an early human, soon after words were invented, “Ugh! World go away if too many people” or some other such nonsense.

The current End of the World scenario is based on two very different theories. One being the end of the Mayan Calendar. Uh, No! It is only the end of the current calendar cycle, and the Mayans aren’t happy you are trying to make disaster movies out of it. LOL! The second is the ‘discovery’ of a planet that wanders around and is set to crash into ours. Again… Uh, No!

Curious about where these ideas all came from and what the actual scientists have to say about them? Check out this Link from NASA. I think they may be a little more reliable than the guy standing on the street corner wearing the sandwich board and telling you to sign over all of your worldly goods to him before the world ends and you are considered a sinner!

A Public Service Message for the NaNoWriMo Peeps…

I don’t know how many of you out there are doing the NaNoWriMo thing, but I DO know a few of the people who occasionally pass thru here have written a novel or two. Some of you don’t plan to ever publish and only wrote for fun and your own satisfaction. (Pat)  But others have written in the hopes to someday publishing. (Karen) Still others have probably written things I don’t know about.

This link is for you. It’s a link to a Kim Komando article in the USA Today on self-publishing. You may already know of all of these places, there may be a few surprises, or you may never have heard of self-publishing at all. Still, I thought it might be a help to someone, so I’m including it here!

If anyone actually uses this and publishes something, be sure and let me know so I can pimp you!

I Would Walk 500 Miles

I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) Lyrics

Chorus:

But I would walk 500 miles
And I would walk 500 more
Just to be the man who walked 1000 miles
To fall down at your door

**preformed by The Proclaimers**

I don't know why but when I hear people talking about walking their 10,000 steps it makes me think of this song. If you want the full lyrics, just click on the link.

That seems like a lot of steps... 10,000. And, you are supposed to do them every day. Supposedly if you do that you will lose weight. Just by walking. That sounded like a great (read easy & cheap) idea to me, so I checked out a couple of sites to see what they had to say. The first thing they recommend is that you get a pedometer (you can get a very inexpensive one almost anywhere) and track how many steps you take in a day.

O.k.... easy enough. A quick trip and about $10 later I was in business. I clipped that little guy to my pocket and proceeded about my day. I was ready to find out just how few steps I actually took in a day and then I would know how many more I needed to add to reach the 10,000 step goal and to combat and hopefully get rid of that 7-10 pounds the evil scale says I've picked up recently.

Phhhhtt! I checked it after doing my morning chores and I already had over 5000 steps! I don't even wear the silly thing when I am in the house, and I've done more than 10,000 steps on every day I've worn it. Sigh! So maybe I'll have to do something waaaaay more drastic, like give up chocolate food to keep from getting fat.

Seriously though, the good thing about choosing walking as your exercise is that it is cheap, easy to do, requires practically no equipment other than a pair of comfortable shoes and a little bit of time. I'm working on adding about 2000 more steps to my day starting tomorrow by going for a walk in the evenings. I'll let you know if it actually helps. LOL!

 

No Brainer...

Tonight's entry is a no brainer. I was wondering what I would do for an entry tonight when I realized that I was about to finish Extras by Scott Westerfeld. This is the fourth, and currently last, book of the Uglies series. I have enjoyed these books so much that I am actively seeking out the other things Scott has written, including his newest steam punk novel, Leviathan.

The first 3 books of this series followed Tally Youngblood as she discovers that her society, based on Uglies (unaltered children under 16) and Pretties (people over 16 who have had surgery to make them 'pretty'), has a major flaw or two in it. We followed Tally from a young 'tricky' Ugly, through her discovery of what a Pretty really is after surgery, and finally as a Special as she discovers the scary flaws behind her world and watch as she tries, in her own way, to make it better, and in the process changes her world completely.

The Fourth book, Extras, opens with a new set of characters, in a world that has been altered almost overnight. Each citystate is trying to find it's own way of dealing with the changes, and we enter the world of Aya. In her society, it's all about being famous, and Aya thinks that, if she can only raise herself up into the top face rank and quit being an Extra, she will finally be happy. The first half of the book is all about Aya chasing a story and finding more than she bargained for. Just as Aya becomes the famous story Kicker that she has always dreamed of, it all starts to go terribly wrong.

The second part of the book finds Aya discovering that the world is not always as it seems, and maybe, just maybe, there is more to the world than having a high face rank. With the appearance of one of the most famous 'Faces' in Aya's world, Tally Youngblood, Aya finds herself caught up in what she thinks is an effort to save the world, but turns out to not be quite what she thought it was.

I enjoyed all four books in this series and would recommend them to anyone, young or old. I'm also hoping that this won't be Scott's last foray into this fascinating world. If I had a teenager on my holiday list, this set of books would definitely make a great present. 

Procrastination...

Today is the 4th of November. It has been 4 days since Halloween, and I still haven't managed to 'decorate' around here for the next holiday. I did, at least, manage to get the Halloween stuff gone and throw my everyday (i.e. boring) template back up here. Now, what does all of that have to do with the word Procrastination? Follow me here and you shall be enlightened.

• Because I always want something unique, I can't just go out and find a Template. Oh no! I have to create something.... And, since I am going to need something for Christmas also, let's make both templates at once. Since this seems like it will take some work, I manage to keep finding something else to do and put it off for another day.
• What better place to procrastinate than... The Internet! Why Yes, I do have a FaceBook account. And someone whom I care about sent me a 'gift'. To accept the gift I had to start a Farmville account. This has led me down the rabbit hole of planting/harvesting/gifting that is the Farmville addiction  experience.
• Which led to one of my Farmville neighbors sending me a Yoville invite. The rabbit hole just keeps getting deeper.
• And then there are the Blogs.... Oh the blogs. You people have so much to say and your lives are not boring like mine interesting and your views enlightening and must be read as soon as you post.
• Also, let's not forget about making Blog posts. Sitting and looking at a blank screen and trying to come up with an idea cause it is NaBloPoMo.
• And e-mail... and RSS news feeds... and...

Yep, I can find a hundred things to do that don't involve accomplishing anything at all. But, I did at least manage to get this post up before Midnight.

Oh, and if any of you are on FaceBook.... I could use 2 more neighbors in Farmville and a couple of people for my crew in YoVille........

Random Cool Photo Thingy...

I found this really cool thing over at the National Geographic site. It will take a little while to load, but be patient. Once it is loaded the fun can begin. Keep clicking on the 'yellow square' in the picture. This is one of those panoramic pictures made up of smaller pictures that together make one, but it is huge. Each time you click on a picture there are more inside of it. The site probably explains it better than I ever could:

What makes up our world? Dive into this photo-mosaic portrait of the Earth to see it through the eyes of users like you. It's made up of hundreds of photos of the natural world, each submitted by users to My Shot. (Submit a photo) Move the yellow square over an area you would like to explore, click, and go. Double-click on an image to see more information about it. Keep clicking—and diving deeper into the Infinite Photograph—to get a truly boundless picture of Earth.

Go there now! Explore! What are you still doing here?!?

Found: Missing Blogger

When we all moved over here to Blogger when AOL kicked us out, some people got lost, or went missing, or didn't make the move, or sometimes they just had a lot going on in their lives and haven't been around for a while. It's sad, but we lost quite a few of our friends due to differing circumstances.

Today I have good news. One of our little lost Sheep has returned to the Blogging fold. I know I don't have a huge bunch of people who read here, but if you remember Stacy, drop on over to her place and welcome her back!

November is a Busy Month

For the last few years I have considered October and Halloween/Samhain to be the kick-off for the Holiday Season. From October till the beginning of January we seem to be busy, busy, busy!

Today I began the process of morphing our yard/house from the Halloween theme to a more Thanksgiving one. Several of the elements are kept, some things taken down (like the ghost and the spider lights), while other things are left in place or moved (my fall leaf garlands, pumpkin bells). This seems to be a little tougher this year. I don't know what it is like in your part of the country, but here the stores seem to have gone right from Halloween decor to Christmas! I only found a little tiny corner of Thanksgiving things when I went looking. Sigh!

Besides gearing up for the Holidays, November is also a busy month because of two month long events that many in our blogging community will be taking part in. They are NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month).

The one most of our community will be taking part in is, of course, NaBloPoMo. Since I rarely manage to make more than a couple of entries a month, I did not join over at the website. I do, however, plan to take a stab at it. I'm betting I'll be lucky to make it a week! Still, if you want to give it a shot, click on the link and head over there. Even though I don't see myself making it a whole month, I am looking forward to reading everyone else's efforts.

NaNoWriMo, on the other hand, is for those of you out there who think you may have a novel in you. This writing exercise actually came first and the Blogging one was created later. I know a couple of writers who are going to give it a go, and I thought I would give them a couple of links that might help them along. It seems that Justine Larbalestier (How to Ditch Your Fairy, Liar, and more) and Scott Westerfeld (The Uglies Series, Leviathon, and more) are going to be taking turns giving out tips. Here is what Justine has to say:

Tomorrow is the first day of National Novel Writing Month. Although I’ve never taken part in it and probably never will,¹ I think it’s an awesome way for beginning writers to learn the art of the first draft. I know many pro writers who also use the month to help them slay their deadlines. Nothing like knowing you have comrades-in-arms in your writing struggles.

Scott and me decided that we’ll spend the month offering tips. Scott’s tips will be over on his blog and will appear on the odd numbered days of November, mine will be here on the even days. Though as I’m still deep in Liar promotion, I can’t guarantee my tips will be 100% true. Who knows? Maybe Micah will take over for a few of them?

While I am not going to be doing NaNoWriMo any more than I will be doing NaBloPoMo, I am still going to be following these tips. Both of these people are writers I respect and I think anything they have to say would be enlightening to anyone who writes!

Oh, and this totally counts as my first day blog post!

How do YOU plan to spend the month of November?

R.I.P. IV --book #6

This is my final R.I.P. IV Challenge book. I finished it on Friday, but we've had a busy weekend, so I'm just finally getting around to this.

The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks was a definite change of pace. It takes the whole idea of the sexy, powerful, romantic vampire and turns it on it's head. What if vampirism was more of a disease... a debilitating disease? And, what if you and your fellow vampires were trying to not suck human blood, you know, so no one would stake you? There are other problems to, such as how would you earn a living? What do you eat?

Catherine Jinks takes the idea of the hero in spite of themselves and runs with it. Nina, the heroine of the book, is a vampire. She was bitten in 1973 when she was 15, but because she still looks 15 she still lives at home with her Mom.  She is also the author of a popular book about a kickass...... vampiress. She often wishes her life was more like the books she writes, instead of the boring (slightly sickly) one she has. When one of her fellow support group members is killed, she sets out to try to find out who did it, and to prove that vampires are not useless.

I enjoyed this book. It was a little different than the usual vampire book. For instance, how does one go about 'fanging' a Guinea pig? What do you do when your newest pal turns out to be a werewolf? How do you dispose of all of those little Guinea pig bodies....And, how exactly did a priest get involved in all of this? If you like the absurd, you will get a kick out of this book, and you will find yourself cheering Nina and her friend Dave on. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys the absurd

So, that brings my total books for this Challenge up to 6. I'm already looking forward to doing this again next year!

R.I.P. IV -- Book #5

 

Having completed the Perils of R.I.P. IV with time to spare, I was hoping to finish the last book I was reading before the deadline, and I did. However, when I went to put it away (and, incidentally pick up my next book to start from the never ending TBR pile), I realized that I missed doing a review on one of the books I had intentionally gotten to read with this Challenge in mind. But, I guess, better late than never!

I had been meaning to read this book for some  time, but like with many books, it kept getting pushed back for one reason or another. The R.I.P. challenge was the perfect excuse to pull it out and get it read.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. This is the story of Bod. Bod is a pretty normal little boy except for one thing.... he lives in a graveyard! Some pretty scary circumstances bring about this unusual living arrangement, and because of that I wouldn't recommend this book for a young child or one who is easily scared. However, for the older child, young adult (or young at heart older reader!), this book offers many delights.

Bod comes to the Graveyard as a toddler and is taken in by the residents to be raised under their protection. He has a set of ghost parents, and several of other denizens of the Graveyard become his friends, teachers, and social outlet. He also has a guardian who can come and go from the Graveyard (thus providing sustenance and other things that the ghosts cannot provide the child) and although we are never told exactly what kind of creature Silas is, we are given plenty of hints to make an accurate guess.

Bod has many adventures growing up and meets many creatures, including ghouls, werewolves, dead witches and even a little girl. But, the mystery of how he came to the Graveyard and why hangs ever present until the exciting finally when we find out exactly who Jack is.

I really enjoyed this book, and would definitely recommend it. I have added it to my list of books to be sure to pass along to my Grandson when he is old enough for it.

R.I.P. IV -- Book #4

Book #4 completes Peril the First and I am still 5 days from the deadline! Go Me!

Peril the First:

Read Four books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose.

I obtained Men of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong from my local library and just couldn't wait to dive in. I have enjoyed all of Ms. Armstrong's books in the Women of the Otherworld Series and was looking forward to learning a little more back story on the men  in the series!

This book is actually a collection of short stories, some from Ms. Armstrong's website, along with a new story. It did not disappoint. If you have ever wondered about the reasons behind Jeremy's coming to power in the American (Werewolf)Pack, his uncanny knack for knowing his 'family' is in danger, or how Clay came to be his ward.... even an insight into Jeremy's past and his relationship with his own father and grandfather, this is the book for you. I absolutely enjoyed learning about Clay's early 'taming' and why he is so protective of Jeremy.

The first three stories in the book give you details and background from the time before Elena and the first book in the Otherworld series (Bitten). The fourth story is a new story and is narrated by Jeremy and is a story giving you a little more insight into his relationship with Jaime Vargas. All in all a very enjoyable romp.

I don't usually enjoy short stories. I tend to like to get to know the characters better than can usually be accomplished in such a short space. These stories are the type that I usually consider exceptions to that rule. Short stories about characters in a book or series of books that I already enjoy. Short little nips of stories, that are great for giving you a little extra insight into those characters you already like, but aren't quite enough for a whole book.

My recommendation is that, if you already like this series, you will definitely enjoy getting to know these men of the American Pack a little better.

The Prime Meridian is 125 Years Old this week...

Why am I bringing this up? Because I love odd things... and because I believe anyone who reads here probably does too!

This week marks the 125 anniversary of a meeting of 41 delegates from 25 different nations to decide just where 0°,0' would be. They gathered in Washington D.C to decide just where time and space should be measured.  Why and how did Greenwich win out over places like Washington, Paris and Berlin? It seems 72% of the world's shipping already used sea charts that used Greenwich as the Prime Meridian... Still, it was a drawn out and difficult summit that finally decided with a vote of 22 to one with San Domingo against it, and France and Brazil actually abstaining from the vote.

Why was this an important thing? Up until then, time was often based on the passage of the sun across the sky and anyone could decide what time it was in a certain place. Many countries and sometimes even individual towns would set their own arbitrary times. With the advent of things like railways, factories and widespread communications networks, it became important for a standard global time to be set so everyone would know what time it was both where they were and anyplace else.

O.K.... I admit it, I am a Geek and the oddest things fascinate me. However, if you want to see more about this and other related things, I recommend looking here on BBC News, and also here, and, of course, Wikipedia also has an article. 

You may now thank me for filling your head full of another piece of trivia you probably didn't need. Bwahahaha!

R.I.P. IV -- Book #3

Completing Book #3 puts me halfway thru Peril the First.

Peril the First:

Read Four books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose.

For Book number 3, I chose (Or the library chose, I had requested several books. This was the first to arrive.) to read the fourth and final book in the Twilight Series, Breaking Dawn. While I have enjoyed this series, and think Stephenie Meyer did a good job, I do not find myself quite as crazy about it as some people are. It was a good series and I am glad I read it, and I would even recommend it to certain people, who I know would enjoy it.... but it is not my absolute favorite Paranormal/Urban Fantasy, and it is not my favorite book by Ms. Meyer. I happened to pick up The Host not long ago, and I think it edged these books out just slightly as the book by Ms. Meyer that I would recommend.

This book finds Bella making a compromise with her Edward. She agrees to marry him, and he agrees to fulfil her wish of joining his family. Bella doesn't feel she will be missing anything by leaving her human life behind to join the Cullen Family as a full Vampiric member. She realizes she will miss her family, and that some things won't quite feel the same to her. Still, she has one wish that she wants fulfilled before she 'turns', and Edwards agreement to this causes the central problem in this book. Seems that while Vampire woman can't get pregnant, Vampire Men, on the other hand, do still have active little swimmers!

In addition to the Cullen family, including my very favorite Alice, we get Jacob Black back. I have to say that I actually would have rooted for Jacob if I hadn't known from book #1 that he would only get to be the third wheel. Still, he and Alice are my favorite characters... which is sad since they are both secondary ones. While the book ends with the very predictable 'happy' ending, it does have you wondering a little there in the middle.

Bottom line. If you liked the other books, go ahead and read this one for closure. If you were already getting a little tired of the characters... then you may not want to bother. This is not a series where you can just jump in anywhere. If you are going to read them. Start with Twilight and read them in order. I'm not sorry I read these. They were good, light fun, but I don't see me giving them a second read.

Zombie Chicken Award

This is such a perfect award for the month of October... I mean, Zombie Chickens!

Gayla has moved her blog over to Unfussy Living, and she passed this super cool, seems made for October, award on to me. The description of this award is as follows:

"The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the zombie chicken--    excellence, grace, and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words. As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all."

So let me see who should I pass this on to? I definitely don't want 'the wrath of the zombie chickens', but still, this award must be passed on to people who will appreciate Zombies in general and Zombie Chickens in particular. On the other hand, I'm betting that anyone who follows my silly blog would probably appreciate Zombies Chickens just 'cause. Anyway, I pick these 5 for my victims recipients.

Rebecca at Provocation of Mine(d)

MissHeather at Singing With My Heart

Indigo at Shattered Prose

Rachel at Life 'N Stuff

and finally Dan at Slapinions

If you don't already read these people, you should. I would definitely wade thru the Zombie Apocalypse to be able to read whatever they have written.

Wordless Wednesday

 

R.I.P. IV -- Book #2

Having completed Peril the Third with my first book, I have now completed Peril the second with this one.

 

Peril the Second:

Read Two books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose.

For my second book, I chose Living with the Dead by Kelley Armstrong. This is the 9th book in her Women of the Otherworld series.

One of the reasons I really like this series is that it doesn't just follow any one character from book to book. Rather, Ms. Armstrong has chosen to create a wonderful world for her characters to inhabit, then with each book gives us a story centered around one (or a group) of characters. A character who is a the main character in one book will show up in the next as a minor character. Often you will see an event from a previous book only this time thru the eyes of a different character. This tends to keep the stories and world fresh.

This book, while good, wasn't quite as sharp as some of the others in the series. It tells a story while also exploring love-- what it means to find it, and to lose it. If you have read any of the other books in the series, you will be thrilled to find Hope Adams (the half-demon) and her boyfriend Karl (werewolf AND jewel thief) are in this up to their eyeballs.

The story is about Hope's friend, Robyn. Robyn is a regular human and has no idea that the 'Otherworld' exists, but she is about to find out! A PR rep for a 'celebutante' named Portia Kane, who is murdered, she becomes the prime suspect for the murder. In clearing her name we will get to meet a Necromancer (someone who can see/speak with the dead), who doesn't know that is what he is (he just thinks he has this odd family 'gift'), Robyn's dead husband, a whole clan of clairvoyants, and a psychopath.

While I am glad to have read this book, I would not recommend it as a starting point for this series. While for the most part this series does not require you to read them in a certain order and allows you to just jump into whichever book you pick up, this book is not one of those. You do need a little background from the other books for it to really work. If the books sound interesting, I would recommend starting with either Bitten or Dime Store Magic. However, be warned, once you dip into these books you will want to read them all to find out what happens to your favorite characters.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Library Loot: September 23-30, 2009

After rediscovering our local library this summer, I was a weekly visitor. I would pick up 5 new children's books to read with the boys, one for each day we had 'school', and I would take a look to see if there was anything of interest to me. I did discover a couple of books I might not have read otherwise, and requested a couple more. All in all, a nice summer.

But then, because of an article about e-book readers, and the Sony e-book reader in particular, I discovered a new library! Now, how would my research about e-readers lead to a library. Well, it seems that Sony has made it possible to borrow e-books easily from some libraries:

Library Finder Brings eBooks for Your Sony Reader.

With the Library Finder, you can locate a Public Library near you offering many titles, including those from the New York Times Bestsellers List. Just like you would borrow a book from your public library, you can do so with an eBook.

Simply enter your zip code or state below and click "Search". Find the library nearest you to browse, checkout and download eBooks*. Look for eBooks that are compatible (in PDF format) and optimized (in ePub format) for the Sony Reader.

When I punched in my zip code, I got a library right down the road from me, but in a different county. Still, I decided to dig around a little in their webpage to see if I could use the service. In doing so, I discovered that I could  get a library card from them, all I needed was a FL ID, which I have. For kicks, I went and got the card, just in case I might get an e-book reader at some point.

The new library is in a bigger county, and has a college sitting right in the middle of it. I tried ordering a couple of books, and instead of taking several weeks, I got all 3 books in just a few days! Since the 'new' library is on my way to the larger town I go to shop once a week, it is very convenient. Now I have 2 libraries to get books from. If one doesn't have what I want, the other probably will!

This brings me to this weeks Library Loot! I picked up 2 books when I got my new card, and requested 3 more, which have already been picked up. They came in less than a week! So I have 5 books for this weeks loot.

 

Because I now have 5 books to read, I would expect this to be my Library Loot for the next couple of weeks. LOL!

 

Men of the Otherworld, The Reformed Vampire Suport Group and The Graveyard book will all fit in nicely with the RIP Challenge. Specials is the 3rd book in the Uglies Series I have been reading, and the Artemis Fowl book is the 3rd in that series. I have Breaking Dawn (from the other library) that I am finishing for the RIP challenge, and I just finished -and need to do an entry on- Living With the Dead.

With the holidays coming up, I've got to say that visiting the library will make me feel a little less guilty about my book habit, I am also more willing to 'experiment' with a book I might not like if I'm not having to spend money on it, and lastly, it is nice to go ahead and read a book like Dead and Gone or Men of the Otherworld now in hardback instead of waiting impatiently for a year for it to come out in paperback. I LOVE hardbacks, but between the price and the size difference making them more difficult to store, I usually wait and get the paperback (Well, not the Harry Potters, of course! LOL!). Mmmmmm instant gratification!

R.I.P. IV -- Book #1

 

Peril the Third:

Read One book of any length, from any of the subgenres listed earlier in the post.

This is the easiest of the Perils. One book. Anyone can read at least one book in any genre, right? So, if you are thinking that the R.I.P. Challenge might be fun and just want to dip your toe in, this is the Peril for YOU!

I just happened to be reading the latest Sookie Stackhouse novel, Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris, when I decided to do this challenge. What luck. The Sookie series(or he Southern Vampire Mysteries) certainly qualify for this challenge. We have vampires (of course), werewolves, other shifters, witches, and even fairies! What makes this series fun is that it is set in a little backwater town in Louisiana, and the main character tries, somewhat successfully, to juggle her 'normal' life with all of the supernatural stuff she has managed to get mixed up in during the (currently) 8 books in this series.

This time we find Sookie and her friend, both human and Supe, dealing with the aftereffects of the 'coming out' of the Werewolves and other shifters. Following the lead of the Vampires from a few years earlier, the 'two-natured' have decided to come forth and tell the world of their existence.

There are many repercussions to the announcement, and it eventually leads to a murder. This murder is the central mystery for this book, but even when they think they have figured it out, all is not what it seems. Once again Sookie finds herself mixed up in the strange world and politics of her great-grandfather, the Fairy Prince. And, she and her pals had better figure out what is going on quick or there might not be a Sookie around for the next book!

I enjoyed this book. Heck, I've enjoyed this whole series! A lot of people are discovering these books because of the HBO series, True Blood. They may or may not be disappointed. While the names and premise of the books (that the vampires have come out of the 'closet') and the HBO version are the same, the book and TV versions of what happens are different. HBO was serious when they said based on the books. Still, I have read all of books currently available AND have bought and watched the HBO series on DVD (I don't get HBO). I've enjoyed both for what they are, I just consider them as two different stories!

 

Happy Elephant Appreciation Day!

 

Today is Elephant Appreciation Day.
Elephant Appreciation Day was declared beginning in 1996 by Mission Media (a digital and print publisher of graphics).
The elephant generally deserves to be appreciated and upheld as an example of courage, strength, self-reliance, patience, persistence, and general high quality of being.

Origin of Elephant Appreciation Day:

Created in 1996, largely because elephants are ....large. (and a whole lot of other great things.) The founder, Wayne Hepburn, received a paperweight of elephants on parade from his daughter as a gift. He became fascinated by them. He amassed a huge collections of elephant books and paraphernalia. His fascination and love of elephants, led to the creation of this day so you and I can stop and enjoy this huge, lumbering beast.

Happy Elephant Appreciation Day! Everyone should appreciate an elephant. They are intelligent, loving, gentle creatures. I have had the good fortune to have several for friends! The one in the picture above is named Luke and belongs to another friend of mine.

A couple of links for the curious: If you want to make a badge, poster, or find some activities for the day (especially for kids), go Here. There are two types of elephants. African, which live in Africa (duh!), and Asian which live in the Asian tropical forests. To learn about Asian elephants go Here, and a link for the African species is Here. The last two links both lead to the National Zoo site.

 

RIP IV (R.eaders I.mbimbing P.eril IV!!!)

I debated doing this challenge this year. Seriously, I have trouble even taking the time to post in my poor neglected blog, let alone take on a challenge! Still, I looked at the books in my TBR pile, and the books I have been reading this summer and realized that my obsession interest in paranormal and urban fantasy series would fit right in, so, Here Goes:

 

First, since I know you will all want to join in, let's have the link to Carl's Blog. This really cool man has been doing this for the last ummm... IV , yep that would be four years. This Link takes you directly to the entry about the RIP IV Challenge, This Link takes you to the review site. Be very, very careful going HERE, if you don't want to be buying more books to add to that TBR pile!!

I'm only going to commit to Peril the Second:Read Two books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose. But, in my typical hodge podge approach to life, I will probably complete Peril the First:Read Four books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose, also.

I've almost finished Charlaine Harris' Dead and Gone (one of the Sookie Stackhouse series), so look for my first review in a day or so... or even later today if I get a stretch of uninterrupted free time. This book is seriously addicting!

I'll also probably be using this Challenge as an excuse to go out and add to my TBR pile. I TOLD you not to go HERE unless you wanted more books... I was sooo serious! LOL!

International Vulture Awareness Day

 

 

International Vulture Awareness Day is Saturday Sept. 5... Who Knew? Still, vultures are really cool birds and get a bad rap what with the whole eating of dead things....

Where did I find this out? Well, I follow several zoos and this came up on Tampa Lowry Park Zoo's Facebook page, and later I saw it tweeted by them. The picture at the top of this entry is from their tweet & facebook pages. The vulture in it is part of their Spirits of the Sky show.If you live in the Tampa area, you should check them out. Very nice zoo.

Surprisingly Good Read

 

 

I just finished the Stephenie Meyer Book, The Host. The ideas and characters in the book caught my attention and kept me turning pages to see just how it was all going to work out. There are moral dilemmas, questions about right and wrong, love triangles (or maybe quadrangles?), and what it means to be friends.

Ms. Meyer is most widely known for her YA series of books which have become the phenomenon known as Twilight. I've read the first 2 books of the Twilight series, and although I enjoyed them enough that the third and final book is sitting in my TBR pile, I have to say I think this book is better.

This is the blurb from Stephenie Meyer's own web site:

Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.

When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves—Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love

The book explores many ideas, one of the most important being what exactly makes you a human? The story is told not from the point of view of the surviving humans, but from the alien who has been thrust into their midst. Slowly both sides start to see the worth in each other, and even as Wanda, as she comes to be called, is accepted into the renegade humans fold, they each begin to change each others points of view.

While I have to classify this as a Sci-Fi story - there are aliens after all - I think it is a very accessible story and would be enjoyed by any person who has ever questioned what makes a human, what is love and/or wonders about the best and worst our race (as in the human race) can be.

I enjoyed this story enough that I have my fingers crossed that Ms. Meyer will again visit these characters in another book. Wonder if it is a book you would enjoy? How about the chance to read a little bit before you buy or borrow from the library. Ms. Meyer has an excerpt you can read on her website. go to this page which has all the info on the book and click the link for the excerpt. Cool, huh?

Library Loot #1

One of the cool things that came out of my adventures in tutoring this summer was my re-discovery of our local library. I wanted the boys to see that reading could be fun, not boring. To do that I needed a good variety of interesting and not boring kids books. To fulfil this goal I found myself standing in our local library for the first time in a long while.

One of my first goals when we moved here was to find the local library and get a card. I had my library card the first week.... unfortunately I was coming from a place with a large well stocked library to a much smaller, less up to date one. I visited a time or two, but was disappointed in the selection and spent the next couple of years visiting the book store instead of the library.

Imagine my surprise and delight when I found the library had made several improvements in the last 3 years. The selection of the type of books I enjoy was still very sparse, but the interlibrary loan system was much, much better. I could now go online and order the books/authors I was interested in and they would find their way to my local library and thus into my hands. While I still buy quite a few books, my budget is happy that I am also supplementing with some selections from the library.

A blog I read (Drey's Library) found a cool meme called Library Loot:

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

This week I just returned 2 books and picked up 2 more. I'm going to list all 4 books since I just discovered this really cool meme!

I returned The Host by Stephenie Meyer and Pretties by Scott Westerfeld (This is the 2nd in the Uglies Series, and I have the 3rd Specials on order).

I picked up Breaking Dawn by Stephenie  Meyer (The third in the Twilight Series) and Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris (the 9th of the Sookie Stackhouse books)

Have you been to the library lately?

Wordless Wednesday

 

Random Tuesday

 

 

Is there a 'Random Tuesday'? There are so many different Memes out there that it is very possible. I just picked the name because I needed a title and that seemed to be the one that encompasses what this post is about.

I've been asked where I've been. It's been hinted that a blog post would be nice. Finally today I got an e-mail that simply said:

Where the Hell are you and why haven't we heard anything from you in like forever??

So, in the interest of trying to answer the above person, I thought it would be easiest to do one of those random little posts with all kinds of little snippets of information... And, away we go!

• First... has it really been over 2 months since I made a post? Really? Wow! Uh.. sorry about that. Let's see if I can figure out what I've been up to.
• Daily chores are as always. Horses to feed, dog, cat, plants & husband to cater to.
• In addition to caring for my own critters, I have also been tutoring two little boys this summer. For 3 hours every morning I spend time with them doing reading, writing and arithmetic. They are 7 & 8 and going into the 1st and 2nd grade in just a few days. The oldest was having a little problem with reading last year. I think we not only have that licked, but both boys will be starting school a little ahead of the game.  It's been fun, frustrating, and sometimes rewarding. I love that moment when you can see by the look in their eyes that they get it. I also spend an hour or two every evening getting stuff ready for the next day's 'class'.
• The hubs and I spent 2 wonderful days in Destin a few weeks ago. We met my Son, DIL, and grandson there. They were vacationing there for the week and we drove up to visit with them. It was a 6 hour drive there, but soooo worth it. Every minute spent with them is always precious. We ate out, played in the Gulf of Mexico, talked, hugged, and just enjoyed each others company. Paradise!
• Any spare time I've had this summer has been split between reading (I've read a bunch of really good books this summer), reading all of your blogs, and enjoying the new kitten.
• My latest addiction? Wii Sports Resort. I would feel guilty except that the Hubs is right there with me playing it. LOL!
• I've also been gardening this year. The last two years I have bought a few plants and they always died. It gets really hot here and the sun can be brutal. G. suggested that it wasn't my brown thumb, but a combo of the sun, the sandy soil, and bad luck. So, this year he bought me some hanging pots and two of the cutest posts for them. Each post has three hooks. We also got 2 planters that would hang on the fence on either side of my gate. Because the plants are in hangers I can move them out of the sun during the heat of the day and put them back in the evening. It Worked! I've got 4 hanging planters full of thriving flowers and 2 planters on the fence that are also doing well. I feel vindicated! Yes, there are pictures of the plants which I need to edit and post.
• Note: 2 posts, 3hooks each, 4 planters. What about the two extra hooks you ask? Well, I got a hummingbird feeder. It took a few days, but some hummers found us. We have 3 regular little visitors and they are sooo cute!
• We got the neatest umbrella this year and upgraded to two nice reclining chairs to sit under it. We've spent a lot of pleasant evening sitting out in the yard cooking out, enjoying our flowers, relaxing, and being amused by our 3 little hummingbirds.
• Pictures... I haven't been using the cameras much this year. I don't know why. I've taken a lot of the new kitten, but not much else. I plan on trying to get out of this slump this fall.... If anyone has a suggestion for 'getting my groove back', I am open to suggestions. :)
• The kitten... Nyx is adorable, and energetic, and cute and... into Everything! We love her, but she can be exhausting. She is an absolute love, and quite the little talker. She meows and tells us all about everything. She is very much a people kitty and wants to be around us all the time and gets very annoyed if we try to do anything without her. She has lots of toys (both intentionally bought for her and also the ones she invents for herself. Oh, and of course those things which are NOT meant to be kitty toys!), but her favorite is a paper bag. G laughed today when I was buying something at the mall and I asked if I could have a different bag because I knew the kitty would enjoy it.
• Morgan has decided she also loves the kitty. Good thing because the only toy Nyx loves more than a paper bag is... the dog. When we first got the kitten, Morgan was so careful of her. Now they wrestle and jump and chase each other all over the house. Who needs a TV for entertainment when you have them?
• I've only finished one afghan all summer. It was made in strips and I still haven't assembled it. If you wonder why, read the two points above this describing the new kitty..... 'Nuff said.
• I turned 49 this summer and G turned 48 the following month. We didn't do much for our birthdays. G's been giving me some flack about the big 5-0 next year, but I explained that I've been counting backwards for a few years and will only be 30......

That's pretty much it.... I'll try to post more often, but well... if something has to give it is usually my Internet time, and when I am online I'm more interested in reading about your interesting lives than blathering about my boring one! I think there are only about 2 or 3 people who still read me, but at least I try to give you something every couple of months.

Quest the First -- Book 5

 

Here we are at Book #5 and the final book for Quest the First! Supernatural: Nevermore by Keith R.A. DeCandido.

I don't normally read a lot of tie-in books for TV shows, but I absolutely LOVE this series,and since season 4 has ended and season 5 has yet to start, I was feeling a little Winchester withdrawal.  So when I saw this book on a rack I had to give it a try. It is pretty well done, with Mr. DeCandido doing a good job of finding the voice of the two main characters, Sam and Dean Winchester.

The brothers are in New York City doing a favor for a friend. They are there to see why a ghost is haunting a house of a local who plays in a tribute band. But, while in the city the boys get caught up in a bigger mystery. Someone is murdering people seemingly based on the creepy stories of legendary writer Edgar Allan Poe. The mystery of why this is happening and the race to stop the last murder and find the killer lead the brothers on a bizarre journey that ends up being less about the supernatural and more about the strange ideas people get in their heads. The ritual the killer seems to be trying to reproduce is from a bogus charlatan, but the killer obviously believes it will work and bring Poe back from the dead.

While doing their investigations, they meet some people who know more about the brothers and their father than they do about them. In fact, they have never heard of them and are wondering why their Dad never mentioned them. Can they be trusted? But, the boys need all the help they can get, from where ever they can get it to stop this madman from killing his last victim right in front of their eyes....

This was a quick read, and was good enough that I might try out the other two books the author has written based on the Supernatural TV Show. At least it will give me my Sam and Dean fix while I wait for the 5th and final season to get under way.

This completes the  Quest the First for me, and also I have completed the Journey since it  only required me to read one book during this time. I've really enjoyed this challenge, and look forward to doing Once Upon a Time -IV- next year!

 

 

If you want to join in the Challenge, pop over to Stainless Steel Droppings to see how it all works. Come on, join us, you know you want to!

Quest the First -- Book 4

 

 

Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris is Book #4.

When I went to pick my next book from my TBR pile, I just couldn't resist the next book in the Southern Vampire Series. I really like the main character Sookie, and all of her neighbors, both human and supernatural.

This book starts off with a naked man on the side of the road and never slows down. There are Vampires, of course, but we also get to see more of the Weres and the shifters, learning more of their cultures. This book also introduces us to the Witches and to a new supernatural who, while not getting a full explanation for, seems to be an interesting species and one I'm sure we will see more of.

The naked man turns out to be Eric, the vampire, boss of her ex-boyfriend Bill. But this is an Eric who has lost his memory and seems to be a kinder, gentler Eric than the one Sookie has known in the past. Poor Eric doesn't remember anything, and whoever took his memory may be trying to kill him. Soon Sookie has not only an amnesiac Eric to worry about, but also a missing brother. While investigating what happened to Eric and to her brother, Jason, Sookie is reunited with the Were Alcide, and with his help finds herself heading straight into a supernatural battle involving the vampires, the werewolves, and some witches... And, if that isn't enough, who are those shifters who live isolated in the little town of Hotshot just outside of Bon Temps? You'll need to pick this book up to find the answers to these and other questions.

I'm really liking these books, and I've already picked up the next book in the series. I'm sure it won't be long before I dive right back into the happenings in Bon Temps and the surrounding areas.

If you want to join in the Challenge, pop over to Stainless Steel Droppings to see how it all works. Come on, join us, you know you want to!

Memorial Day 2009

 

Love your country and live with pride
And don't forget those who died America can't you see
All gave some and some gave all
And some stood through for the red, white and blue
And some had to fall
And if you ever think of me
Think of all your liberties and recall
Some gave all
And if you ever think of me
Think of all your liberties and recall, yes recall
Some gave all
Some gave all

---Billy Ray Cyrus  Some Gave All---

Please take a moment today to remember and honor the Men and Women of the military who gave their all and the reason we celebrate Memorial Day on the last Monday of every May. One of the ways to do that is to observe

The National Moment of Rememberance:

The National Moment of Remembrance, established by Congress, asks Americans wherever they are at 3 p.m., local time, on Memorial Day to pause in an act of national unity (duration: one minute).The time 3 p.m. was chosen because it is the time when most Americans are enjoying their freedoms on the national holiday. The Moment does not replace traditional Memorial Day events; rather it is an act of national unity in which all Americans, alone or with family and friends, honor those who died for our freedom. It will help to reclaim Memorial Day as the sacred and noble holiday it was meant to be. In this shared remembrance, we connect as Americans.

Quest the first -- Book 3

 

 

I chose Small Favor by Jim Butcher as my third book.

Being a Wizard should be more fun and less dangerous... unless you are the Wizard Harry Dresden. Trouble just seems to follow poor Harry around. I have really loved this whole series of books, and this one is no exception. If you are looking for a good story with great characters and lots of action and maybe a little mystery thrown in... this is a series for you.

While you can read this book without having read any of the others in the series, knowing the cast of characters and their background does make the story even better. For instance, the Small Favor in the title of the book? It's being asked of Harry by Mab, the Queen of the Winter Court of the Sidhe. Harry has had enough prior contact with Mab to know that she is not someone to cross casually, and he does owe her a favor after the whole attack on the Fairy Realm thing... and while Mab is neither the good or the bad guy, neither Court of Fairy is coming clean with what they actually know.

During the course of the book you will come across Harry's half-brother, who happens to be a Vampire, Sidhe  from both the Winter and Summer Courts of Fairy, other Wizards, a couple of Knights of the Cross, some Knights of the Blackened Denarius (who are Fallen Angels.. yep, those Fallen Angels!),  a little girl who just happens to be the Archive of all Knowledge, some members of the Chicago Mob, and even Harry's friend who is a member of the Chicago Police Force. And all of these people have a different agendas and different ideas about what is right and wrong and different world views. Jim Butcher does a great job of keeping all the plot points rolling along and juggling all the different things that seem to be happening till everything finally comes together in the end.

If you like detectives, wizards, and urban fantasies, you will love this. This book delivers a well-rounded story while still advancing the mystery we have slowly been uncovering in the multi-book story arc.

If you want to join in the Challenge, pop over to Stainless Steel Droppings to see how it all works. Come on, join us, you know you want to!