Cloudy, mild, temps around freezing
Just finished the pages for the day. I'm surprised how easily it's going. Every now and then I worry that there's too much detail, then I worry its not moving ahead fast enough. Then I think of more things I need to put in. And then finally, I realize I'm right...there's too much detail here, too little there - stuff I've forgotten. And that I won't get it right this first time. The idea is to just write...to toss everything onto the page - and hope for the best. Then get it right in the editing.
More and more I trust this will happen. Still, obviously, have doubts and loads of fears.
Did the ellipticating this afternoon - walked Trudy - made lunch for us and am now relaxing. We're off to the Mounts for dinner tonight. Linda's making the salad and dessert - "I'm" making the main course, and by "I'm" I mean of course, Pat. But I gave her the recipes all by myself.
Thank God for Pat!
Michael's working on his book. I had the best dream last night - that he had a publisher! I know he'll get one, he isn't even looking yet - but it sure was a fabulous, fun, dream.
Be well. Will talk tomorrow.
Showing posts with label Pat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pat. Show all posts
Saturday, 13 March 2010
Thursday, 18 June 2009
Barry nomination - etc!
rain, cool, temps 16
sorry i haven't blogged in a few days - busy but fun time...lots of things happening. the latest news - just in this morning - is the The Cruelest Month (book 3) has been shortlisted for the Barry Award - decided by the editors of Mystery News and Deadly Pleasure's Magazines in the US. I don't yet know who the other nominated authors are, but I'll let you know when I do. This is a terrifically prestigious award and I am beyond thrilled. It will be given out, along with the Anthony and Macavity at Bouchercon in October. This year Bouchercon is in Indianapolis. Hope to see you there!
In our personal lives, and the reason I haven't blogged, is because we moved apartments in Montreal. A smaller place - fits in with our desire to simplfy and get something more fitting to our needs - but better located.
But what a hassle. We came in on Sunday - the computer and lots of other things had been packed away...Monday and Tuesday we had services hooked up - and went to find garden furniture for our balcony. We ended up with stuff called Plicker. Plicker. Never heard of it. Turns out it's plastic whicker. I was surprised and kind of disgusted. Surgusted. In principle. In reality, it was perfect. Very comfortable, quite attractive, if you didn't look too close - and extremely practical. It could be rained on. Indeed almost anything could happen to it and it would survive. Totally flies in the face of my environmental beliefs - but I'm beginning to suspect some of my ethics are situational. This stuff will never biodegrade and the only thing it might conceivably be recycled into is gummy bears. Which means, in a pinch, I could eat my garden furniture.
Wednesday (just yesterday??) was the actual move. I find waiting for the movers the most stressful. So I sat on the sofa beside Michael - who was calmness itself - trying to remember to breathe. Then I saw, like a burning bush, a message. Written on one of our gazillion boxes. Serenity. Serenity it said. How perfect is that? Exactly what I needed. So I concentrated on that...then looked at the box a little closer...what was the product that it was called Serenity?
Adult diapers.
Which - I have to say - are also useful on moving day.
The fellows came...were on time and polite and strong...and most things went perfectly until we arrived at the new apartment and they brought in the bed. Boxspring was fine. The mattress, however, looked as though James Gandolfini was nesting in it. The middle had exploded out.
The mover - Emille - said he'd never in all his 20 years seen anything like it. It was the moving equivilant of Ooops. They turned it over...nope - Gandolfini was there too. Clearly this was a mattress that was never going to be slept on again.
It was 4pm - and we had no bed. I quickly called Au Monde du Matelas...got Rejeanne, who after some calls said there was a queen mattress we could have - called the Everest.
I thought that was a fun name, and almost certainly hyperbole.
No. It arrived at 9pm - we'd been ready for bed for 4 hours. This mattress is immense...almost square! I swear it's ten degrees colder on top of it. Little snow-capped peaks and milk maids yodeling. OK, no milk maids - I put that in for Michael.
This morning we were up at 5am to drive down to Sutton where some of the excess furniture was delivered.
And now we're back in the new apartment - unpacking boxes and organizing...and exhausted. But happy.
Oh, while all of this was happening I also met a great friend who was in Montreal from Winnipeg - Pat. She was only in for Tuesday and Wednesday - so I snuck away from the packing on Tuesday and we had lunch. She was in town presenting the keynote address at the assembly of Human Rights Organizations of Canada. I'm so proud of her and the important work she does.
Need to head off...thank you to all the people who wrote, worried we'd falled off the face of the earth, or swallowed by our mattress. Or chocked on a piece of plither.
We're back! speak to you tomorrow, I hope. Be well.
sorry i haven't blogged in a few days - busy but fun time...lots of things happening. the latest news - just in this morning - is the The Cruelest Month (book 3) has been shortlisted for the Barry Award - decided by the editors of Mystery News and Deadly Pleasure's Magazines in the US. I don't yet know who the other nominated authors are, but I'll let you know when I do. This is a terrifically prestigious award and I am beyond thrilled. It will be given out, along with the Anthony and Macavity at Bouchercon in October. This year Bouchercon is in Indianapolis. Hope to see you there!
In our personal lives, and the reason I haven't blogged, is because we moved apartments in Montreal. A smaller place - fits in with our desire to simplfy and get something more fitting to our needs - but better located.
But what a hassle. We came in on Sunday - the computer and lots of other things had been packed away...Monday and Tuesday we had services hooked up - and went to find garden furniture for our balcony. We ended up with stuff called Plicker. Plicker. Never heard of it. Turns out it's plastic whicker. I was surprised and kind of disgusted. Surgusted. In principle. In reality, it was perfect. Very comfortable, quite attractive, if you didn't look too close - and extremely practical. It could be rained on. Indeed almost anything could happen to it and it would survive. Totally flies in the face of my environmental beliefs - but I'm beginning to suspect some of my ethics are situational. This stuff will never biodegrade and the only thing it might conceivably be recycled into is gummy bears. Which means, in a pinch, I could eat my garden furniture.
Wednesday (just yesterday??) was the actual move. I find waiting for the movers the most stressful. So I sat on the sofa beside Michael - who was calmness itself - trying to remember to breathe. Then I saw, like a burning bush, a message. Written on one of our gazillion boxes. Serenity. Serenity it said. How perfect is that? Exactly what I needed. So I concentrated on that...then looked at the box a little closer...what was the product that it was called Serenity?
Adult diapers.
Which - I have to say - are also useful on moving day.
The fellows came...were on time and polite and strong...and most things went perfectly until we arrived at the new apartment and they brought in the bed. Boxspring was fine. The mattress, however, looked as though James Gandolfini was nesting in it. The middle had exploded out.
The mover - Emille - said he'd never in all his 20 years seen anything like it. It was the moving equivilant of Ooops. They turned it over...nope - Gandolfini was there too. Clearly this was a mattress that was never going to be slept on again.
It was 4pm - and we had no bed. I quickly called Au Monde du Matelas...got Rejeanne, who after some calls said there was a queen mattress we could have - called the Everest.
I thought that was a fun name, and almost certainly hyperbole.
No. It arrived at 9pm - we'd been ready for bed for 4 hours. This mattress is immense...almost square! I swear it's ten degrees colder on top of it. Little snow-capped peaks and milk maids yodeling. OK, no milk maids - I put that in for Michael.
This morning we were up at 5am to drive down to Sutton where some of the excess furniture was delivered.
And now we're back in the new apartment - unpacking boxes and organizing...and exhausted. But happy.
Oh, while all of this was happening I also met a great friend who was in Montreal from Winnipeg - Pat. She was only in for Tuesday and Wednesday - so I snuck away from the packing on Tuesday and we had lunch. She was in town presenting the keynote address at the assembly of Human Rights Organizations of Canada. I'm so proud of her and the important work she does.
Need to head off...thank you to all the people who wrote, worried we'd falled off the face of the earth, or swallowed by our mattress. Or chocked on a piece of plither.
We're back! speak to you tomorrow, I hope. Be well.
Wednesday, 24 December 2008
Christmas Eve
overcast, snow in am, then light rain
Happy Christmas Eve! We have tortiere about to go in the oven. The potatoes are mashed. Jim and Sharon are arriving in an hour or so. The computer has been turned off (laptop) and moved from in front of the fireplace.
Oddly, a bit of a wrench to do that. I was within 30 pages of finishing this edit of The Brutal Telling - but getting tired. And, as you can imagine, these last chapters are the most complex so I don't want to be confused or tired or hurrying.
Maggie bouncing around already. We were a little worried yesterday when she didn't want her banana - which is her gummi bears...but by last night she was gobbling them.
Michael collected Trudy from Pat and Tony's place...they'd agreed to take her so we could concentrate on Maggie. Trudy seemed impressed with the 'air' where a leg once was, sniffed a big then got on with her puppy life. Maggie no longer seems quite as bewildered, though she does seem a little down. I expect that's natural.
We hope you have a really lovely Christmas. last year Michael and I spent it on our own, just the two of us. And it was so peaceful...we loved it. But this year we decided to invite friends for dinner...actually we eat around 2pm. Which means - we did the math earlier - the turkey needs to go in at 6am.
We'll be up with all the neighborhood 8 year olds. Thought about asking Tony to come up and put the turkey in but we think that would be the end of the friendship. I once called Pat (who does some cleaning for us) to tell her we were having guests and ask if she'd mind coming by to clean. I left a message on her machine only to get a call an hour later from a friend, Liz, to say if we really needed her to clean she'd do it, but she was a little confused.
Seems I'd called the wrong number, and had inadvertently asked Liz to clean our home, for a dinner party she wasn't invited to! Oh dear.
Hope you enjoy whatever Christmas you've been given this year. Quiet, hectic. Alone, filled with people. And hope you feel peace and contentment. Hope we do too!
Happy Christmas Eve! We have tortiere about to go in the oven. The potatoes are mashed. Jim and Sharon are arriving in an hour or so. The computer has been turned off (laptop) and moved from in front of the fireplace.
Oddly, a bit of a wrench to do that. I was within 30 pages of finishing this edit of The Brutal Telling - but getting tired. And, as you can imagine, these last chapters are the most complex so I don't want to be confused or tired or hurrying.
Maggie bouncing around already. We were a little worried yesterday when she didn't want her banana - which is her gummi bears...but by last night she was gobbling them.
Michael collected Trudy from Pat and Tony's place...they'd agreed to take her so we could concentrate on Maggie. Trudy seemed impressed with the 'air' where a leg once was, sniffed a big then got on with her puppy life. Maggie no longer seems quite as bewildered, though she does seem a little down. I expect that's natural.
We hope you have a really lovely Christmas. last year Michael and I spent it on our own, just the two of us. And it was so peaceful...we loved it. But this year we decided to invite friends for dinner...actually we eat around 2pm. Which means - we did the math earlier - the turkey needs to go in at 6am.
We'll be up with all the neighborhood 8 year olds. Thought about asking Tony to come up and put the turkey in but we think that would be the end of the friendship. I once called Pat (who does some cleaning for us) to tell her we were having guests and ask if she'd mind coming by to clean. I left a message on her machine only to get a call an hour later from a friend, Liz, to say if we really needed her to clean she'd do it, but she was a little confused.
Seems I'd called the wrong number, and had inadvertently asked Liz to clean our home, for a dinner party she wasn't invited to! Oh dear.
Hope you enjoy whatever Christmas you've been given this year. Quiet, hectic. Alone, filled with people. And hope you feel peace and contentment. Hope we do too!
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
Don Lingman
Sunny, cloudy, rainy. Temps 25
Pat and her dog Magic left today. Very sad. But we had a great time. After Sunday's Spa day (now look less like a lobster and more like a rose - a ruddy rose) we went to visit the abbey at Saint Benoit du lac. Benedictine abbey. Wonderful. I mention it sometimes in the books. Their vocation is to made cheese and sing Gregorian chants. Ironically, for men who chose to isolate themsevles from the world, they became world-famous for their chants and now people travel from all over to hear them. Eventually they surrendered to their success and have opened a little store, where they sell their cheese, as well as the produce from other Quebec monestaries - most notably the Trappist Brothers at Mistassini - whose vocation is....chocolate making.
Dear Lord! the best chocolate in the world. Yum, yum.
We spent 45 minutes in the shop, and 5 minutes in the chapel. Though, have to say, I really like the chapel. It's very austere and not every one likes it, but I find it restful. And when the brothers come in in their long black robes chanting, it's electrifying. But we weren't there at a service time.
Pat bought us salmon dinners from a local caterer and we had a quiet, relaxing evening at home.
This morning early, though, I had a call from our beloeved sister-in-law, Mary in Toronto with the sad news that her father had died.
Don Lingman - a gentle soul who'd suffered a stroke years earlier and struggled with that. Then was diagnosed with cancer. Still, his decline was so rapid it took their breaths away. mary called in torrents of tears.
So we're cancelling everything and heading to Toronto for the visitation Thursday and the funeral Friday.
So hard to lose a parent, no matter what age. And her children, Brian, Roz and Charlie (the guys who visit us) were so loving and strong. Hugging their grandfather, wiping his brow, whispering they love him. Imagine having the courage to do that at age 10, 12 and 13?
Remarkable kids - with an amazing mother. And father. And grandfather.
Am off now. Need to re-group a little. Had to cancel tea with Bal and Linda Mount on Thursday - but they're coming over briefly this afternoon with their daughter Bethany. So looking forward to seeing them.
Also needed to cancel lunch with Bernard and Pat Lemieux. Michael worked with them on the Neuroblastoma study. They invited us to lunch, then Michael was going to tour the lab again and talk to Bernard about the research...all in aid of Michael's book. So we're disappointed about missing that - but it can and will be re-scheduled. The main thing in our lives now is to get to TO.
have a phone interview with Chatelaine magazine tomorrow - but that's before we leave.
Pat and her dog Magic left today. Very sad. But we had a great time. After Sunday's Spa day (now look less like a lobster and more like a rose - a ruddy rose) we went to visit the abbey at Saint Benoit du lac. Benedictine abbey. Wonderful. I mention it sometimes in the books. Their vocation is to made cheese and sing Gregorian chants. Ironically, for men who chose to isolate themsevles from the world, they became world-famous for their chants and now people travel from all over to hear them. Eventually they surrendered to their success and have opened a little store, where they sell their cheese, as well as the produce from other Quebec monestaries - most notably the Trappist Brothers at Mistassini - whose vocation is....chocolate making.
Dear Lord! the best chocolate in the world. Yum, yum.
We spent 45 minutes in the shop, and 5 minutes in the chapel. Though, have to say, I really like the chapel. It's very austere and not every one likes it, but I find it restful. And when the brothers come in in their long black robes chanting, it's electrifying. But we weren't there at a service time.
Pat bought us salmon dinners from a local caterer and we had a quiet, relaxing evening at home.
This morning early, though, I had a call from our beloeved sister-in-law, Mary in Toronto with the sad news that her father had died.
Don Lingman - a gentle soul who'd suffered a stroke years earlier and struggled with that. Then was diagnosed with cancer. Still, his decline was so rapid it took their breaths away. mary called in torrents of tears.
So we're cancelling everything and heading to Toronto for the visitation Thursday and the funeral Friday.
So hard to lose a parent, no matter what age. And her children, Brian, Roz and Charlie (the guys who visit us) were so loving and strong. Hugging their grandfather, wiping his brow, whispering they love him. Imagine having the courage to do that at age 10, 12 and 13?
Remarkable kids - with an amazing mother. And father. And grandfather.
Am off now. Need to re-group a little. Had to cancel tea with Bal and Linda Mount on Thursday - but they're coming over briefly this afternoon with their daughter Bethany. So looking forward to seeing them.
Also needed to cancel lunch with Bernard and Pat Lemieux. Michael worked with them on the Neuroblastoma study. They invited us to lunch, then Michael was going to tour the lab again and talk to Bernard about the research...all in aid of Michael's book. So we're disappointed about missing that - but it can and will be re-scheduled. The main thing in our lives now is to get to TO.
have a phone interview with Chatelaine magazine tomorrow - but that's before we leave.
Saturday, 26 July 2008
Opps
sunny, gorgeous day, temps 30
Spectacular day. Such a gift...especially with Pat visiting. And especially since the forecast was for rain.
Spent the day in our bathing suits, reading and swimming. Had Dom's quiche for lunch and Michael made a salad and it was heaven.
Oh, and that "killer" German Shepherd of Pat's? It's a poodle.
All's well.
Spectacular day. Such a gift...especially with Pat visiting. And especially since the forecast was for rain.
Spent the day in our bathing suits, reading and swimming. Had Dom's quiche for lunch and Michael made a salad and it was heaven.
Oh, and that "killer" German Shepherd of Pat's? It's a poodle.
All's well.
Thursday, 24 July 2008
Duct off!
rain and more rain!!! temps 19
Apparently we've had 50 percent more rain this July than normal. Not surprised, and I know I'd rather have too much than too little. But still...
yesterday's posting was a shambles. Sometimes this Blogger thing drives me nuts. I'd written the whole thing, then suddenly it refused to save. Then when it posted you got what you see below. It was as though I'd been struck dead in the middle of a sentence. happily that wasn't the case, so I suppose things could have been far worse.
Can't remember what I was going to say, except the good news that St Martin's Minotaur is so pumped about A RULE AGAINST MURDER they're making it the cover of their catalogue! Yay.
Gary and John arrived around noon to start work on the new TV room and immediately ran into a problem. What else? They have to move a door and when they opened the wall they found....a vent. (thought I'd add a bit of tension. But not too much) Damn vent for heating goes all the way up to the bedroom above. Anyway, they called in Dwayne the plumber, who confirmed that...but Michael, clever boy, provided the answer. Close off the upstairs vent, take out the duct work, and we'll put an electric baseboard heater in the guest bedroom. Freeze out the guests. Works on so many levels.
Odd, but I quite like working in chaos. I hardly notice. All those years in the newsroom at the CBC - you get good at focussing. Alarms could, and often did, go off and I wouldn't notice.
Wrote all day...fun to be at the stage where revelations are happening. Always a bit of a guess about what the reveal when and how. But again, that's what editing is for. It really is quite clear as I read it over what works and what doesn't.
Off to make hotel and flight arrangements - Toronto, Baltimore, Muncie.
We have a friend arriving tomorrow. Pat. She used to produce the show in Winnipeg I hosted on CBC Radio. The Afternoon Edition. Then I left and she got promoted to Executive Producer of the whole thing. Then she left Mother Corp.
Now she's driving across from Winnipeg, stopping along the way, and ending up here with her dog, Magic. Hope Magic gets along with Maggie and Trudy. I'm sure they will. After all, almost nothing ever goes wrong in this house.
Pat's staying for 5 days - but she's very self-sufficent. And I'll take a few days off to show her around. All part of my realization that friends and social events are at least as important as work.
Balance.
Apparently we've had 50 percent more rain this July than normal. Not surprised, and I know I'd rather have too much than too little. But still...
yesterday's posting was a shambles. Sometimes this Blogger thing drives me nuts. I'd written the whole thing, then suddenly it refused to save. Then when it posted you got what you see below. It was as though I'd been struck dead in the middle of a sentence. happily that wasn't the case, so I suppose things could have been far worse.
Can't remember what I was going to say, except the good news that St Martin's Minotaur is so pumped about A RULE AGAINST MURDER they're making it the cover of their catalogue! Yay.
Gary and John arrived around noon to start work on the new TV room and immediately ran into a problem. What else? They have to move a door and when they opened the wall they found....a vent. (thought I'd add a bit of tension. But not too much) Damn vent for heating goes all the way up to the bedroom above. Anyway, they called in Dwayne the plumber, who confirmed that...but Michael, clever boy, provided the answer. Close off the upstairs vent, take out the duct work, and we'll put an electric baseboard heater in the guest bedroom. Freeze out the guests. Works on so many levels.
Odd, but I quite like working in chaos. I hardly notice. All those years in the newsroom at the CBC - you get good at focussing. Alarms could, and often did, go off and I wouldn't notice.
Wrote all day...fun to be at the stage where revelations are happening. Always a bit of a guess about what the reveal when and how. But again, that's what editing is for. It really is quite clear as I read it over what works and what doesn't.
Off to make hotel and flight arrangements - Toronto, Baltimore, Muncie.
We have a friend arriving tomorrow. Pat. She used to produce the show in Winnipeg I hosted on CBC Radio. The Afternoon Edition. Then I left and she got promoted to Executive Producer of the whole thing. Then she left Mother Corp.
Now she's driving across from Winnipeg, stopping along the way, and ending up here with her dog, Magic. Hope Magic gets along with Maggie and Trudy. I'm sure they will. After all, almost nothing ever goes wrong in this house.
Pat's staying for 5 days - but she's very self-sufficent. And I'll take a few days off to show her around. All part of my realization that friends and social events are at least as important as work.
Balance.
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