Sorry!  Just got the e-mail from Lori (from the store in Toronto)  She wrote me last night saying that while she'd ordered the books back in June right after the expo, as of closing last night, they hadn't shown up from Dorchester.  I said, well we could reschedule if she wanted, otherwise I'd show up anyway.  Though, why I thought I'd show up I don't know.  I guess then I could have apologized in person for my publisher being so slow and there being no books to sign.  (Rolling eyes at self)  Anyway, she wrote me around nine or something and I wrote right back.  When I didn't get an answer before bed, I just assumed it was on. 

 

I got up at 7, showered, did my hair and make-up and dressed, then wandered down here and thought I'd check e-mails and there were two from Lori.  She thinks rescheduling is best.  Don't blame her.  It would be horrible to stand there apologizing for an hour because the books didn't show, then her getting stuck with the books when they do show.  I just wish I'd been swift enough to check e-mails before I did all this fussing and made myself wide awake.  I'd have answered her e-mail and gone straight back to bed.  Now I'm wide awake and all dressed up with no place to go. 

 

Hmmm...Haven't been out to breakfast for a while.  Maybe I should drag Dave out for Breakfast.  He's all showered and dressed too.

 

Guess I'll just think of this as a practice run.  I now know what time I have to get up to be ready in time to drive to Toronto for a book signing.  LOL.

 

Lynsay, off to see if she can convince Dave to take her out and feed her.

I’m off to bed (It's actually Wednesday night for me still), but thought I’d check in and say hey…so, hey!  I got good news today, A Bite To Remember has gone back for a fourth printing!  YAY!!  That’s pretty cool.  And tomorrow morning I have to get up early and go to the Coles at the Royal Plaza on Bay Street in Toronto for a book signing…  Hmmm….Margaret, I hope you bring cards to pass the time.  Maybe I should bring a crossword puzzle book or something.  Can’t bring a book to read to a book store, they might think I light-fingered it (grin)  Maybe I can buy one there.  Fortunately, it’s only an hour long.  12:30 to 1:30 so I shall only be sitting twiddling my fingers and wondering why no one came for 60 minutes.  Ahhhhhh, sigh. 

 

Anyway, I have to hit the sack.  I’ve been sitting here trying to sort out what to wear.  Dave says wear jeans, it’s you and they want to meet you.  I was wearing jeans the first time I met him.  He was in a dress shirt and slacks.  We are such opposites, goodness, how did it work out?  Anyhow, I suppose I’d be more comfortable in jeans.  Goodness, my nails are a mess from the unpacking and DIY work and my hair needs a trim. Jeans are probably suitable, lol. 

 

Talk to you later.

 

Lynsay

La, la, la.  Life is so fun.  Bleck! 

 

LOL.  Well, when I blogged last I wasn’t feeling well and was off to drywall with the help of my Dave.  Well, of course, being a man, help translates to taking over which I didn’t mind at all in this instance.  Man!  Those drywall boards are HEAVY! 

 

So anyway, I was feeling much better by Saturday.  Dave and I slept in and then wandered off to the garage to start on the drywall.  Dave is the methodical sort.  Measure…measure…remeasure and then cut.  I -- on the other hand, am more the “slap the board up and cut away what goes over at both ends” sort….Dave won out in the how we should do it department.  Of course, this left me standing around looking cute while he measured, measured and remeasured.  Or, more correctly, standing around breathing in the dust and debris from the drywall (also known as gypsum board) as well as from moving around the logs from the walnut tree that have been stacked in the garage along the wall since the tree was cut down.  This would be followed by short minutes helping him lift the cut board into place and holding it there while he applied three or four screws and then standing around breathing in the debris, or moving the logs further out of the way and sweeping all the dust and debris around on the floor.

 

By mid afternoon I was having trouble breathing again and feeling like I had pneumonia.

 

Blink, blink!

 

That’s the sound of the light bulb turning on in my head.  I’m asthmatic.  I like to say I used to be.  I had a puffer, two of them, a blue one and a reddish brown one several years back, like FOURTEEN years ago…But then it suddenly went away and I stopped using puffers and was fine…I thought.  But Saturday I realized that when I had the puffers before it was in a dusty old place I was cleaning up….  Hmmm…   Dust and debris in the garage and I suddenly can’t breathe.  Seems my lungs can’t take dust.  Dave tells me to take off and only come out when he needs help lifting the boards into place.  I retire from the battle zone with relief and turn my attention to cleaning the house instead and answer e-mails.

 

I’m on the computer answering e-mails when I hear Dave rush into the kitchen.  I heard him say something, but didn’t catch what it was and asked absently, “Are you ready for me, then?”  He answered again, but it was muffled and I didn’t catch it, so swiveled around in my chair to glance at him, then gasped in horror.  His voice was muffled because he had his hands in front of his face to catch the blood pouring down over his face. 

 

Talk about PANIC!  I’m up running around like an idiot asking what happened and trying to find a towel to staunch the flow of blood.  Dave, on the other hand, is calm as the proverbial cucumber….or a Brit, which he is.  There are sharp cornered metal bars hanging down in the garage from the automatic garage doors.  While out there, every time Dave started up the ladder near them I’d say, “Watch your head” because I cracked my noggin pretty good a couple of times  while doing the plastic sheeting over the insulation.  Well, on his own out there without me to remind him to watch his head, he walked up the ladder and right into one of the bars.  He said it didn’t hurt, and he’d just kept on working until blood started pouring into his face.  IYEEEESH!!!

 

It turned out to be all right.  Head wounds bleed badly and this one did, but he said he felt fine, no head ache, no dizziness or any of the other symptoms of a bad head wound.  On the other hand, he’s British.  This is the same man who’s back was so badly hurt he had to roll off the couch on to his hands and needs and crawl to his feet using furniture to pull himself up, telling me the whole time he was just fine, no problem.  (Rolling eyes here)

 

Anyway, he took a break until the bleeding stopped and then went back out to put the stuff away, but that was it for the day, thank goodness.  Then Sunday dawned.  I was starting to feel better after the break from the dust, Dave was fine and headed out to do more drywall. 

 

The garage is hot.  HOT hot.  Like a sauna.  While I was working with him, I kept making him break.  Stop for a drink and or a cigarette after doing this, stop for a break or cigarette after doing that.  Dave didn’t break on his own.  I should have thought of it and made him.  By three in the afternoon, he wasn’t feeling well at all and came in.  He hadn’t eaten or had a drink since starting and ended up being sick.  I was worried silly, unsure if it had to do with the head wound or was just the heat.  He kept saying it was the heat.  He was lying down and would be fine.  And he was, but man, if I don’t have at least a dozen grey hairs in my head from those two days, I would be seriously surprised.  And he says I make him grey!  HA!

 

Anyway, Monday the electricians came again and there was no drywalling while they were here coming and going through the garage.  We would have just got in the way.  So there was no drywalling done, thank goodness.  Monday night I worked until 3:30 in the morning, then slept late Tuesday morning.  I wrote a bit when I got up this morning, then we headed to the city to hit Staples, the bank, the post office and have a very late lunch, then we came home to set up his computer on the network and set up the new printer (Dave’s was wrecked in the move) and then Gran and Aunt Sue came for tea.  Dave and I relaxed for a couple hours, and now he’s in installing his printer and testing it and I am about to go back to work.

 

I’m working on the Holiday’s are Hell antho.  Unfortunately, guys, I can’t do the vamps.  The story I wanted to do would have been published before the book I’m also writing and would have given away some things from that story.  So, my editor says do the other idea.  Kyle’s sister, Jill.  Another shape shifter story.  Actually, that’s what I was outlining this morning and I think it’s going to be good.  So it’s a shape shifter for the antho.

 

Yes, I am doing the signing in Toronto Thursday, if she still wants me.  I haven’t heard from her.  Guess I should e-mail and make sure she hasn’t forgotten and didn’t order the books.  As for lunch, hon, we can’t do it before the signing…you may have noticed I DON’T like to get up early and it’s a good three hour plus drive so I don’t want to have to get up at 6 to get around and get there in time to eat beforehand.  But I’m also diabetic and HAVE to eat at certain times, so we’ll probably grab a sandwich on the way at a rest stop.  Then we have the long drive home too, but I’ll probably be ready for coffee afterward.  If you guys were planning lunch before the signing and showing up late enough you’d be there near the end, we’d love to have coffee with you guys before we head home.  Geeees, I hope people show up for the signing, lol.  Ah well, if  no one shows up, we can shop for books <grin>  See you guys Thursday.

 

Lynsay, off to play with her characters

I’ve been a little under the weather the last couple of days.  Tired a lot and feeling all congested, finding it hard to breathe.  Most annoying, especially since we’ve had to get up early every day this week, first for the electricians who were maybe going to come Tuesday, then Wednesday, but finally made it Thursday (the electrician’s assistant was off each day and this is definitely a two man job.)  And then we were up early again today, this time for a delivery of drywall for the garage.  We were told it could come anytime between 8 and 5 and so – our having got up early and waited all day – it came at 4:45.   (rolling eyes here, it’s Murphy’s law you know.  Now, if I’d slept through the alarm and stayed in bed as I wanted, they’d have come at 8 sharp)

 

The electricians return Monday, but in the meantime I plan to sleep in tomorrow as long as my body will let me and then Dave and I are putting up the drywall.  Definitely a two person job.  Those drywall boards are HEAVY.  I’d still try to do it on my own, I’m used to working alone, but Dave is insisting he help and I’m tired enough to let him.    I’m hoping we can do it in one day.  Twelve boards, 4’ x 9’, we should be able to do it.  Whether we manage working together all day without murder or divorce occurring is another matter (that is a joke.  I’m sure we’ll be fine)

 

Then I can get back to writing, though this coming Thursday is the book signing at the bookstore in Toronto.  It’s the 31^st 12:30 til 1:30 at the Coles in the Royal Bank Plaza…I shall have to look up where that is in the next day or two to be sure we don’t get lost on the way <grin>

 

Anyway, that’s all the news I have right now.  Other than I’ve spent the past several days trying to decide what to do for the Holidays are Hell anthology for Avon.  It’s a follow up of sorts to the Dates from Hell antho and so I’m trying to decide whether to do another shapeshifter, Kyle’s sister, or to do a vamp, maybe Lissianna and Thomas’s friend Mirabeau’s story.  Any opinions would be appreciated.

 

Speaking of the vamps, I got news this week that the first three stories are being translated to Spanish which is cool.  It's the first time any of my books have hit the Spanish market.

 

Anyway, I’m off to bed.  The only reason I managed to stay up this late is I fell asleep on the couch earlier, now I’m too pooped to pop. <grin> 

 

Hope you’re all well.

 

Lynsay

Well!  So, the UK shipment came late Wednesday afternoon and we, of course, spent the rest of the week unpacking like crazy people.  Unpacking, .sorting, washing every last bit of clothing and linen and towels, etc.  As well as doing load after load of dishes, pots and pans and so on.    The water bill aught to be killer this month, sheesh.  We managed to get done everything but ten boxes of books.  Those we didn’t and still don’t know what to do with.  I guess we’ll have to buy more book shelves.  At any rate, the unpacking was followed up by breaking down and storing boxes, and then cleaning for the family picnic.  I finished washing the floors Sunday morning at 4 A.M.  hit the sack and slept until 10:30, then got up to make the last minute preparations for the picnic.  I still wasn’t completely done at 2 when everyone started to show up, though all I had left to do was slice onions, tomatoes and lettuce and so on which I did between greeting everyone.

 

The picnic went off without a hitch…I think.    It was lovely to see everyone and we had a good time, but I was completely zonked by the time the last of them left.  We then sat on the deck and talked with the neighbors for a bit, then went to bed.  I decided to take Monday off and just relax.  I slept in late and read a book and generally just chilled with Dave.

 

Today the electricians were supposed to come.  We got up early to be ready for their arrival.  While waiting, I decided to take another day away from writing and put up the insulation in the garage.  The garage was unfinished when we bought the house.  Uninsulated.  But there were three bags of pink fiberglass in the rafters of the garage.  Presumably, they’d meant to put it up but never got to it.  I got to it today.  Of course, as usual, I worried that Dave would freak about it, so I didn’t tell him my intentions and slipped off to the garage and set to work.  He found out when he came into the garage searching for me and found me halfway through the first bag of fiberglass.  He stopped dead, gaped at me, then shook his head, muttered something under his breath and turned right around and walked back into the house.  LOL.  I think he has decided he’s married a slightly crazy chick.  He later got over his upset and offered to help, but I wanted to do it on my own. 

 

I went through the three bags, then hit town to buy a forth as well as a roll of large clear sheeting to staple over it.  I used every last scrap of the fiberglass, but got it done, then managed to staple up the sheeting over half of the walls before pooping out at 10:30 tonight.  I’ll finish it tomorrow and then get back to work writing.

 

Oh!  And the electricians didn’t come.  It seems the electrician’s assistant is sick this week and he’s running behind without the help.  He hopes to make it here tomorrow.  So that’s it.  It’s been work work work as usual, just not the usual kind of work.  But I like the physical labor when I’m not writing, and it feels good to get stuff done around here.

 

Anyway, that’s it for now.  I have some pics to post but they’re on the other computer.  I’ll try to get them up tomorrow.  Well, later today I mean since it's Wednesday morning now.  Hope you're all well.

 

Lynsay

Urgggh…Argghhh

 

So, I’ve been writing up a storm.  Started the next historical vamp I’m doing with Hannah and rolling right along with it.  YAY!  I’ve also been running about over other things and there’s been some good news lately.

 

First, our stuff has arrived from England!!!!  YAY Double YAY!!   We have to meet the shippers in the city Wednesday to get together with customs, then lead the truck back here home and direct them as they unload….Then it’s unpacking time.  Fun…well…maybe, but it will seem like Christmas as we unpack box after box and remember all the things we left behind when flying home last January.  We only brought our suitcases and portables.  Everything else will arrive on Wednesday, though there are only tables and wardrobes and dressers and desk chairs for furniture…Oh, and printers and computer stuff.  Anyway, most of the EIGHTY-TWO crates are dishes, silverware, linens, clothes, cds, dvds, books and more books and still more books…Dave and I like books.  Fancy that!  LOL

 

Anyway, we’ll probably be running around like crazy people for the rest of the week arranging everything and putting it away as much as possible so the house isn’t a sea of boxes on Sunday for the family picnic (AIYEEEE!).  So I have been trying to get as much writing in as I could as well as other run around type things done.   Aside from writing on the weekend, I was trying to organize kitchen cupboards to make room for the dishes and pots and pans coming.  Then today I replaced the wax seal on one of the toilets in one of the bathrooms.  We haven’t used this bathroom since moving into the house because it leaked.  It apparently wasn’t used much and the seal had dried out and needed replacing.  I figured with nearly thirty people here this weekend, we might need all four bathrooms (Grin) 

 

Anyway, I’m a plumber’s daughter and balked at the idea of bringing in a plumber to do the job, but I knew Dave would freak at the idea of doing it ourselves, so last week I picked up a new rubber gasket (much nicer than the messy wax seals) on the sly and today, while he was downstairs, I shut off the water, emptied out the toilet and removed the bloody thing to replace the seal.  Then I stopped for a coffee break…Plumber’s daughter you know…have to have our coffee breaks.  Besides, getting the second nut off the toilet was a b*tch, if you’ll excuse my language, and I needed a break.    While we were out on the deck relaxing for that few moments, I mentioned to Dave that I was replacing the seal, explaining – before he could protest – that the toilet was already off. 

 

I bit my lip and watched his last black hair turn grey, then assured him all would be well, I was a plumber’s daughter…I’d inherited the plumbing gene.  I could do it.  Then I teased a smile out of him by saying if I’d been a brain surgeon’s daughter, I could have done surgery on his brain.  Despite the smile that drew, he closed his eyes, shook his head and said, “You already are.” 

 

I decided that was a fine moment to make good my escape, told him he loved me (just in case he’d forgotten, sometimes men do at moments like these) then kissed him on the cheek and fled back upstairs to continue my exercise in toilet torturing. 

 

I wasn’t at all surprised when I soon heard Dave’s footsteps coming up the stairs.  He looked into the bathroom at the great gaping hole in the floor and the toilet on its side in the hall and shook his head again, muttering something about “You’re in like Flynn.”

 

That one lost me and I said, “What?  What does that mean?”

 

“It means you have no fear,” he said dryly. 

 

“What’s to fear?” I asked with a laugh.  “I can do this.  I can read instructions.  And if it doesn’t work, we get a plumber in after all.  No loss.  Besides, fear just stops you from doing things.” 

 

I should point out that despite my bravado and devil may care comments, I do have fears.  I was – in fact – a bit anxious about it all coming out right, but… geeeeeees...It’s a toilet.  And really, I do have this very bad attitude that anything can be fixed, so if you screw up…shrug…You fix it…or find someone else who can.  I say bad attitude because not everything is fixable in reality…only in my head and I’m sure there will come a day when my bad attitude lands me in doodoo.  Sigh.

 

Anyway, Dave just shook his head at my bravado and wandered back downstairs, no doubt looking up the emergency number for local plumbers and waiting for my shriek of dismay.  <grin> 

 

As it happens, I did have some trouble tightening one of the bolts on the tank when I put it back on the toilet and did have to call him up to help me with it.  You have to hold the nut in place on the outside with pliers or a wrench, while turning the bolt thingy inside the tank with a screwdriver but you can’t see the bloody nut and the wrench kept slipping off.  Fortunately, he came up and gave me a hand and the toilet was done. 

 

I turned the water back on, waited to see if it would leak—no leak.  I wandered off to clean the lower sunroom of all the gardening paraphernalia and mop the floor to prep it for the family picnic/barbecue on the weekend, then checked again – still no leaking.  I then fished out all the boxes stored everywhere in the main floor because Dave was moving them all from everywhere in the house to the attic to make way for the new boxes coming.  Checked again – still no leak.  Made dinner and continued organizing cupboards, then came up here and wrote for a while.  I’ve just checked again and there are still no leaks.  YAY!  We did it.  We don’t need no stinking plumber…we got a plumber’s daughter and Dave. <Grin>

 

Anyway, that’s been my exciting last few days; cleaning, organizing, plumbing and writing.  Now everything starts coming.  The table and chairs for the patio arrive tomorrow, the stuff from England on Wednesday, the umbrella to the patio set on Thursday (Don’t ask why it isn’t coming on Tuesday with the rest of the stuff, you’ll just get me started) and I shall be writing around all of that and probably hitting the grocery store for any other bits and bats we need for the barbecue. 

 

Gosh, didn’t I say I was taking a break after that grueling two book deadline?  HA!  Life is conspiring against it.  We’ve had to put the road trip vacation on hold. This week is a wash and next week the electricians return…ahhhh…the joys of owning a home…and being a writer.

 

Hope you’re all having a blast.

 

Lynsay

I’ve been busy working on the synopsis for three stories.  The nest historical, the next medieval vamp and another anthology for Avon following the Dates from Hell with Holidays are Hell.  I have the first two pretty much worked out and am now working on the Holidays one.   Hope to have it all done for the weekend.

 

Also been shopping.  The danger of buying patio furniture so late in the season is being able to find the bloody stuff.  I have been everywhere in search of it, but finally ordered some today to be delivered Tuesday.  Well in time for the family picnic.

 

Tonight Dave and I went to a concert.  Ron Sexsmith.  It was quite good and the benefit was I was able to plot while listening <grin>.   Our neighbor, Karen, caught a ride in with us and we met up with a friend of hers at the theatre.  Her friend seemed very nice and they actually had seats just a couple rows in front of us.  Then she rode back with us.

 

Before we left, however, Dave and I were sitting on the deck relaxing.  It was about 6:30.  Dave suddenly got wide eyes and said, “Psst.  Behind you.”  I turned expecting to find a squirrel on the tree branch behind me.  Instead, I found myself facing a rather confused looking raccoon.  I turned back to face front and just sat there for a moment as my paranoid mind thought, “Holy crap!  What’s he doing up this early?  It’s still daylight…I hope he isn’t rabid…What if he jumps on my head and starts gnawing?”  LOL.

 

Finally, I slowly stood and turned to sit in the chair opposite.  However, the opposite chair is only a foot away from the one I was in and once there I wasn’t feeling much safer, especially since he was looking from Dave to I, still with his confused expression, but now shuffling his feet on the branch as if he wanted to jump down to the chair and join us.  I looked at Dave and said, “Maybe we would do better to go inside.”  He agreed, but then the raccoon climbed back up the tree and out of sight of the covered portion of the deck.  Dave and I walked out on the open deck and looked up to see him high up in the tree, eating Maple keys.  I think hunger must have woken him up, poor thing.  It certainly was startling though.

 

Anyway, that’s all the news for now.  The electrician comes tomorrow so it’s early to bed for us…Well, okay, most people don’t consider 1 A.M. early to bed, but this is a gal who stays up till 4 or 6 AM when writing, so this is early for me. 

 

Night night all.  Hope you’re all well.

 

 

Lynsay

It’s been busy busy busy!  First the storm Dave mentioned knocked out the power Wednesday night, preventing blogging, then Thursday we were running around getting things ready for the company and wedding we were attending Saturday. 

 

Terri and Steve arrived Friday and we sat out on the deck with them and our neighbors until 4 AM, then up by 7:30 Saturday.  We piddled about doing last minute things, then headed to the wedding at 3 in the afternoon.  It was my cousin Michael’s wedding to Andrea and it was a lovely outdoor wedding, the setting was gorgeous, the food good and the company great, but then I have an awesome family.

 

The men were pooped from the night before and we left early, stopped to have one drink with my other sister Jackie and her husband (I had diet coke, the night before was enough for me (grin), then it was home by 10:30 or 11 where the boys both toddled off to bed leaving Terri and I to watch Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, then sit out on the deck until 3 AM talking and solving the world’s problem.  I love having sisters.  Honestly, they’re my best friends and talking with them is always so easy and fun. 

 

Sunday I slept till 9 or so, then got up and made a big English breakfast (bacon, sausage, eggs, fried tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans, toast) then Terri and Steve headed off to visit Gran and Aunt Sue and my cousin Kathryn and her hubby came by to see the house and visit.  They left around 4 where upon Dave and I collapsed on the reclining loveseat and fell asleep, lol.  We spent the next couple of hours catnapping and were too worn out to even bother about dinner.  Fortunately, Owen, our neighbor’s Mike and Karen’s son, dropped around with French fries from the place he works.  It’s famous for its fries and he wanted us to try them.  We did, and bad as it is to admit it, that did us for supper.  They were lovely by the way, deserving of their reputation.

 

Today was a lazy day.  I shopped and picked up around the house and then late in the afternoon Dave and I napped.  Honestly, I don’t know why we’re both so tired at the moment, unless it’s just recovery from the stress and heat and work of the last little while followed by company.   Who knows.  I’m not going to fret over it though.  But I am starting back to work, so hopefully the tiredness will go away.

 

So, for the next couple weeks I’ll be working on Marguerite’s story.  The night the power went out, I sat jotting ideas down by candlelight for her book and they were good ones.  I’m eager to get started on it.  We’ll also be handling sundry other things like the website, dentist appointments, a concert, the electrician, and getting ready for the family picnic the Sunday after this. 

 

Hope you’re all enjoying the cool down.  GAD!  It was hot there for a while!

 

Lynsay

 

P.S. Dave has branched out from squirrels and bluejays to butterflies.  He was quite excited to have one perch on his hand at the wedding reception.  It was on the ground by our feet and Terri bent and offered her finger to which it promptly jumped on board.  Dave was immediately like a kid wanting to "hold it" lol.  So it was moved to his hand.  He held his hand completely still and just stood there staring at it wide eyed.  So I took pics.  I'll upload it here.  I'll also put a couple snaps from the wedding.  It really was a pretty setting.

 

 The pics are Dave and his butterfly (1 & 2).  Our Gran and the best man cousin Chris, the lovely bride, Andrea, being walked up the ‘aisle’, the bride and groom (Michael and Andrea), and then Terri and Steve.

 

Well, it was a hot one today.  Guess I don’t have to tell you guys that.  It seems to be hot everywhere right now.

 

Anyway, despite the heat I ran around today doing chores neglected while writing.  And then I came home to continue on with e-mails. 

 

Tomorrow I’m thinking about running out to look at deck furniture.  Yes, I know it’s late in the season to buy it, but I didn’t get the chance before this.  In fact, there were several days I wished I had.  It would have been nice to do some of the editing on the deck when I got to that stage.  But, oh well.  Besides, late in the season means great deals on patio furniture because the stores won’t want to store it through the winter.  Hehehehehe…that’s how I presented it to Dave.  Also, I’d like to have it here for the family picnic at the end of the month.

 

Speaking of family, I was expecting a call from my gran today to let me know how her doc’s appointment went.   I thought of calling her early in the afternoon, but wasn’t sure what time the appointment was so thought I’d call before dinner, then got busy with chores and when next I thought of it, it was 11:06 and too late to call.  Bleck!  I shall have to call tomorrow.

 

Other than that, not much going on.  Didn’t I say life was boring? <grin> 

 

This weekend is my cousin’s wedding and Terri and Steve are coming down for the weekend.  YAY!  That should be fun. 

 

Dave’s taken some pics of the new living room suite and may actually post them I hope.  If not, I’ll take pics and post them myself…Did I ever post my refinished book cupboard pics?  Probably not. 

 

Along with chores I also picked up flowers and green foam and baskets and so on and started making arrangements…It seems I just can’t sit still.  I had planned on just vegging out with movies or something, but instead have been spending several hours a day working on e-mails, then go downstairs to hang out and relax with Dave and end up doing arrangements.  So far I’ve made four or five.  The house will soon be over run with silk floral arrangements.  I think I need to switch back to sketching or something.  Or I need to take a course in relaxation as I don’t seem capable of managing that feat.

 

Ah well….OH!  I also climbed up the ladder and did the back eaves trough of the house.  Dave was muttering the whole time about his “daredevil wife” but didn’t gripe much.  And the electrician came around.  The electrical in this place leaves much to be desired and we had him in to see what can be done to fix it.  The heat here is radiators and while we have three air conditioners here, we only have the one in the office going for fear of blowing the circuits.  They’re putting in a new panel with breakers rather than fuses and adding dedicated plugs, but can’t start till next week.  You just know the heat wave will have cooled a bit by then.  LOL

 

Anyway, I have about exhausted my news for now.  I’ll try to be more interesting tomorrow.

 

Lynsay

This is just going to be a quicky before I head off to bed.

I’m done the two books and sent the last one overnight today…well, yesterday now.  YAY!!!  Anyway, as I’ve been mostly locked in the tower writing this last month, I haven’t much to tell you all…

 

Let me see…

 

Well, Dave mentioned already that we bought and got our furniture for the living room.  Now there is somewhere to lounge and read...maybe I'll find a little time for it now the books are done.  That’s a bonus. 

 

And then, Dave has really been playing with the animals in the back yard.  The man obviously didn’t see many in the UK and is really enjoying our squirrels and birds and raccoons and skunks.  To the point that about two weeks ago, I came downstairs to have a quick coffee break with him and caught him cracking open the peanut shells and then biting the peanuts into bite sized pieces for the birds.  SERIOUSLY.  When I gaped at him and asked what on earth he was doing, he explained that the baby birds were squawking and running their mother ragged as she tried to rush to open and break up the peanuts when they were hungry, so he was helping her out.   I didn’t know whether to laugh or hug the man.  He’s such a sweetie.

 

And then, as he mentioned, Friday I was just fed up.  I was close to being done my millionth edit and perhaps should have worked through it, but was so sick of working after more than a month of four or five hours sleep and working around the clock the rest of the time that I said, “That’s it!  I’m taking a night off.”  I picked up a case of beer, came home and spotted my neighbor Karen in her yard on her own.  I said, “Hey!  Are you on your own?  Come on over and see our new furniture and have a beer.”  And she did, and her husband joined us when he got home and we proceeded to laugh and yip until 2:30 in the morning.  By the end of the night we were all sore from laughing.  It was exactly what I needed.  My brain felt a little less like mush the next morning.

 

Mind you, just after Karen and Mike left, we sat down to have a cigarette outside before heading to bed and heard a rustling…It was a skunk.  Dave had never seen one before and was immediately off to find his camera and had me holding a flashlight so he could try to get a shot.  I was on the deck with the camera, but the silly man went down onto the grass and kept moving closer and closer to the skunk.  I was thinking, “Gees, he is so going to get sprayed!”  But I didn’t want to call out to him and warn him for fear of startling the skunk and getting him sprayed. 

 

He didn’t get sprayed fortunately, but when he came back on the deck, he said, “It didn’t stink at all” and I realized he’d misunderstood about skunks.  They don’t have them in England.  I then explained that no, they don’t run around reeking like Pepe Le Peu (Pew?) in the cartoons, they “Sprayed” the smell at would-be predators.  Hopefully, he will know better than to try such things in future.  LOL.

 

Anyway, I was better for the little break and got back to work Saturday.  But now I’m done the stories and moving on to the million and one e-mails I neglected while writing.

 

The other bit of news is our chipmunk is missing and we fear dead.  Dave got him to actually come up and take peanuts from his hands and then shortly after that, he just disappeared.  We really miss the little guy.  He was quite energetic and friendly.

 

OH!  And I got the new cover for Bite Me If You Can a couple weeks ago.  I’ll post that here.

 

Gees, that’s pretty much all the news I have.  We writers really do lead the most boring lives.

 

I haven’t yet looked around at other bloggies yet.  I promise to try to do so tomorrow.  I really wanted to get as many e-mails done as I could.  I hate to leave readers hanging.  But Dave has been keeping me posted on some. 

 

Jen, I hear you’ve had company and Shawn’s had an op.  I hope he’s recovering nicely and you’re recovering from the company. 

 

Resa, hope you’re doing well and staying cool. 

 

Cher – hope you’re adjusting to the new digs and happy.

 

Katt congrats on the coming nuptials!!  Hope you’re happy as a pig in mud.

 

Ines – I’m happy for you.

 

Margaret – You’re a sweetie.  Thanks for the email.

 

Now, I’m off to bed.  3:52….oooooh, that’s earlier than the 5 AM to 7 AM I’ve been doing.  Give me a week and maybe I’ll adjust to more normal hours.

 

Take care all.  I’ll try to find something more interesting to post about tomorrow

 

Lynsay