Buttercup rules! (and then some)

sunny, warm, temps 24

You can tell that we've slipped over the cusp of summer here. As soon as August starts. We can still get a very hot spell, but for the most part it begins to cool off. We now have a harvest of potatoes. Two.

Our counters have also moved up three two feet or more as all the food has been lifted off the counter and is now piled on top of the fridge. this comes from Buttercup experience. She's the dog on the right of the photo - with her," I'm thinking" look...Trudy is on the left, with her "I'm not thinking" look. They're such great friends. In fact, Trudy completely dumps Michael and me when Buttercup, Charlie and doug are here. she slept with them last night - which means Charlie was the one who got the soft, smelly, toy in the face at 5am.

But there's no doubt that buttercup rules. She wants in. She wants out. She wants all the carbs in the house. She swims on the pond, rolls in skunk poop and eats the goose droppings. She thrusts her head in places that make us jump (and it's often a wet head, so you can imagine what we all look like when we go into Sutton).

But she is absolutely joyous. Doug had warned us that at 8 and a half she was slowing down. We see no evidence of that.

We're having a great time. I continue to edit all morning...have moved a TV table up to our bedroom, along with the laptop. That frees up the rest of the house for Charlie and Doug to play/swim/chase Buttercup. Am finished by one o'clock. We grab lunch, then the guys go golfing (a par 3 close to us) - and today Michael and I are off to meet them in Sutton, for ice cream cones.

Wanted to tell you that on Friday I'll be doing an event as part of a terrific local literary festival called, les Correspondances d'Eastman, in Eastman, Quebec....a pretty village in the townships. I'll be on a panel with Johanne Seymour, Andre Jacques and moderated by Ann Lagace Dowson. It will be in French. the panel is at 1pm. Michael and I plan to start the day with breakfast at Manoir Hovey - then off to make final arrangements (sounds very somber) for the new fireplace for the renovations - then head to Eastman for the panel.

Love to see you there! Les Correspondances is a really amazing literary festival - varied - great balance of genres and between established and emerging writers.

Must run. And still in my pajamas! Best, perhaps, to at least put on my good pajamas for the trip in to town. And still have to put laundry on the line.

Oh - and the third edit is going very well....what a relief! am now at page 155 of 285. And very much liking the book. Changes still being made, but they're superficial at this stage. simplify. simplify. Hope to be finished this edit by Sunday.

Deep breath.

Third Draft

sunny, calm, warm - perfect day - temps 28

A really lovely day....hardly a whisper of wind...not too hot. Not humid. One of those really magical days.

I spent it inside - writing. Or editing, I guess.

Started the third draft today. The plan (it should really be in quotation marks) was to get at the laptop by 8am, do fifty pages, and be finished early afternoon.

But then I had a brainwave. I'd do something I'd never done before. I'd work on the very last chapter first. I'd ben worried that in the two previous drafts I'd rushed it - been just way too tired by the time I reached the end and I wasn't happy with it. the second draft was way closer to what I wanted, but I knew I could do better. so I spend quite a bit of last week quietly pondering it. It's a funny process of not thinking about it, but trying to open my find and hope inspiration drops in. And a few ideas did.

In some cases it was a turn of phrase, in others it was a structural issue. Some stuff I wanted to play with...suppose I did this first, and moved that over there, and placed such-and-such here...God bless laptops, where I can play like that - move things about - and see.

So today, at 8am, I got started. Just the final chapter. And I finished at 5pm. Quite tired....and quite certain I am considerably closer. Might even be there....might have nailed it....but between us, I'm just too close to it now to know. so tomorrow I'll go to the beginning of the book and move forward - as I normally do.

By the time I reach the end again - at the end of the week I hope - I'll know if it works.

but I honestly don't feel stressed anymore. I know I'll get it, if I haven't already. That it's either there, or close.

Lovely day with no interruptions. Saw no one. Perfect writing day. ended with a barbequed steak and corn on the cob - sitting on the porch this peaceful evening.

tomorrow my brother Doug and his son Charlie arrive, along with....Buttercup!!! The hound from Hell. We only call her that because for many years she was totally unmanageable. Uncontrollable. the only consolation was that there wasn't a mean bone in her body, or her ferociously wagging tail. She simply had a surfeit of joy - and an ability to digest entire living room sets, then poop them out in the field. Fascinating to walk Buttercup. It's a sort of disgusting magic act.

They're arriving from Toronto tomorrow. am hoping to edit in the mornings and play with them in the afternoons. Weather's supposed to be very nice. Uncle Michael is really looking forward to it....besides the fact he loves them, we also all go out for soft ice cream in Sutton....and to watch Uncle Michael eat ice cream is something never to be forgotten. I'll try to take a photo - it too is a sort of disgusting magic act, where slowly, over the course of about 15 minutes, he morphs into a huge ice cream cone himself.

Talk to you soon - hope you've enjoyed your weekend.

Rhianna

overcast, blustery, cool, sunny periods...temps 16

A sort of turbulent day weather-wise. Woke in the middle of the night overwhelmed by things that need to be done (not including writing and editing). Tossed and turned...finally fell asleep and awoke to the wonderful aroma of coffee...God bless Michael. But it was late. 8:15 - and he had a 9:30 barber appointment. And I was meeting Rhianna (a young neighbour writing a book). So up I sprang.

Back now from meeting her. She's 20, and getting well into her novel. Very exciting. i so enjoyed meeting her. A thoughtful, kind, respectful, funny and very smart young woman. So we're going to get together once a month or so and compare notes.

It now looks as though we're going to head to London in September - which is always fun...but one more thing to add to the mix.

We've cleaned up after the visit of the kids. A funny sort of visit when the best behaved turns out to be Buttercup, the hound from Hell. Though we did find a considerable dropping in our bedroom when we returned Monday afternoon. We think it might have been BC, but, honestly, it could have been anyone and doesn't bear close examination.

We're now home...and I've decided I just need to do one or two things each day to get everything done...not bad. At 3am it seems a howling monster, at 2pm it's quite manageable.

Michael's back is almost all better!!! He's so smart...he admits he has an ache, then does his exercises...and voila. Gone.

I am SO enjoying the discussion (on the comments section) on who might play Gamache. I am noting all the suggestions...and having such fun reading them.

Hope you're enjoying the day!

Are you SURE that's the football???

rainy, cold, temps 5

Glove weather! Wore cashmere turtleneck and sweater for the first time this season. Don't think we'll be using the swimming pool again this year! But we're keeping it open because the family is coming from all over Canada for our annual reunion next week and the place just looks more attractive with the pool in operation and not covered by a slimy leaf strewn net.

My brother Rob and his wife Audi are coming from Edmonton. He's the assistant deputy minister of the Environment in Albert. We're very, very proud of him. And amazed that a man who couldn't remember to flush a toilet is now in charge of the environment. Don't tell me there isn't karma.

My brother Doug, whom you've met, is also coming, with his three kids, Brian, Roslyn and Charlie. And probably their dog, Buttercup, the hound from hell. Actually, Buttercup is much better...calming down. Her one outstanding eccentricity is her ability to eat anything - then poop it back out. Most of the fun of a Penny family reunion is seeing what comes out of Buttercup. Be warned, in case you're thinking of marrying one of us.

As well, two of Michael's sons are coming down. Just ordered the turkey. had an interesting conversation with the butcher.

I wanted grain fed, free ranger, organic turkey. pretty much a turnip shapped like a turkey is what I wanted. He offered wild turkey.

Wild turkey?

Does someone shoot them, I asked. Because I don't approve of hunting.

He looked at me understandably sceptically. I'm quite selective in my killing. It must be organic and grainfed, but not wild. Because wild would be unethical.

My hypocrisies were showing.

We ended up compromising and I ordered a 15 pound grain fed, non-wild, turkey.

Really looking forward to Thanksgiving. Ours here in Canada is about a month earlier than in the States. Not at all sure why there's the difference, but there is. It's a wonderful time for walks in the country, or horseback riding, or football games by the pond. Or watching Buttercup poop the missing football.

We also plan to bake some apple pies - told Pat we'd bake one for her. She called back yesterday and offered to bake it herself. Hmmmm.

We're in Montreal - Michael has his operation tomorrow. Need to be at the hospital by 9am...operation at 12:30 - home by mid afternoon we hope. Then we have a 6:15 am appointment with the doctor for a checkup on Friday.

I took the call and kept repeating...6:15am??? That's 6:15 in the MORNING????

Yup.

Will report to you tomorrow - without fail. I cannot express to you how much your support has meant, and does mean.

Thank you. Bless you.

Happy 2008!

Small snow storm arriving, 20cm expected, blowing snow, mild, -2

Happy New Year! 2008 - can you believe it? Part of me is still waiting for the millennium. I remember as a child being doubtful I'd live to see it - since by my reckoning I'd be pretty decrepit.

Since the storm was coming - and the 3 kids were creating their own emotional micro-climate - Doug and Mary decided to leave yesterday afternoon. They called last night - safe and sound in Toronto. Always a relief to get the call. I was in bed watching the fireplace log.

Sorry I haven't posted since before they arrived, but it's been a 'sauve qui peut' situation. Three kids and Buttercup (the Hound from Hell). Actually the kids were fantastic until the last few hours when they began poking and bullying each other. It ended in tears, of course. Horrible to see Michael cry like that. (kidding - it was the two boys crying, little Roslyn was composure itself)

It was quite difficult to get to the computer since the kids were busy downloading various viruses, biological war blueprints and bomb plans. And worst of all, music videos. We're on dial-up, which I'm not sure the kids have ever heard of. It was as though we were speaking a different language.

'Dial-up,' Michael would say.
'But why's it soooo sloooow, Uncle Michael?'
'Because we're on dial-up', he's say, slower, as though he himself was suddenly on dial-up.
'But can't you make it go faaaasterrrr?'

Whatever shred of cool we'd earned by having a flatscreen in the bedroom was squandered on the dial-up. We slid back into the idiot Aunt and Uncle category.

Buttercup (the Hound from Hell) was doing her part for the family holiday. Three hours in to the visit and she'd eaten a baguette, a loaf of pumpernickel and a very dense loaf of organic multi-grain bread. Normally Buttercup (the Hound from Hell) also eats the packaging, so it's difficult until a few hours later, to know exactly what's happened - but this time she left most of the plastic.

For the rest of the visit she also left 'you-know-what' all over the house. Though, to be fair, she did fine-tune it, until finally her 'packages' we restricted to the dining room and my study. I was relieved to realize the thing stinking up my study wasn't my fourth book at all, just Buttercup (the Hound from Hell). But what a stink! You remember Phil Spector and his Wall of Sound? Well Buttercup Penny has achieve her Wall of Smell. It was almost visible.

Enough.

The apples next door are gone - eaten by either BC (Buttercup or Brain Cell as she's also known in the family for the one she seems to fire up every now and then) or the deer. Haven't seen the little deer lately, so she's either found a 'family' to join, or Buttercup has eaten her. Happily for the deer BC is afraid of everything except carbohydrates.

So now we're back to peace and quiet and the home smells of wet dogs, coffee and woodsmoke.

We miss the family. Even BC.

Have a wonderful New Year. I'm off now to sit in front of the fireplace and start on the editors notes on Book 4. Always a bit stressful until I get underway. I must say, I'm enjoying this book. Should have the final edit done by the end of January, then will start on Book 5. Might even come up with better titles.

Speak soon - be well.