sunny and minus a bazillion (approx)
So cold there was ice fog on the way in to Cowansville this morning. It was actually minus 25. Not quite as cold as last monday when it got down below minus 30.
We're having one of those days where nothing is easy. No big problem, but things that should be easy just aren't. And it becomes cumulative. A headlight is out in the beetle. Small thing. So off we went to Cowansville to have it fixed and the mechanic (who was doing us a huge favour fitting us in) could get one headlight out, but not the one that actually needed replacing.
So we have to head an hour away to the dealership in Sherbrooke Thursday at 7:15am to get it fixed before we leave.
Really, the things are so miniscule they're hardly worth mentioning, but they become simply tiny irritants. Like being out of milk. Or using the last piece of paper towel. Picking up a pen and its out of ink. The blackberry suddenly won't receive messages. One of the speakers in the stereo keeps blanking out. The woodbox needs refilling.
Funny, I was just talking to Teresa, my agent in London and she's having exactly the same day. Things that could take one step suddenly take three. Everything's empty at once. Everything breaks at once.
We agreed when that happens the important thing is to take a step back, take a deep breath and get a grip. I find in my life I can generally handle the big things well - but give me a mountain of tiny irritants and I'm liable to go over the deep end. And take as many people with me as I can!
Oddly, writing it down helps. Gives me perspective.
Now you know my dirty little secret. The blog is my therapy. My personal diary. My comfort on cold days.
Thanks for listening - please don't bill me. Besides, the pen's out of ink and I can't find the cheque book. And don't even get me started on stamps.
Hope your day's going smoothly!
Showing posts with label cold. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cold. Show all posts
Monday, 31 January 2011
Friday, 19 December 2008
Michael's Book!
overcast, very cold, temps minus 18
Ok, not very cold compared to my brother and his family in Edmonton...minus 29. I remember living for a couple of years in Winnipeg (LOVED it) and it got so cold the tires froze square. The car seats felt like concrete. I remember crying in the car it was so cold.
Now that I've remembered that today here actually seems downright warm!
Did another 50 pages of the manuscript. I've found that perseverence, perhaps even more than creativity, is what matters as a writer. Head down. Keep going. Don't even think about quitting.
Had a wonderful day at home...sat by the fire and did nothing but edit.
Maggie's doing all right - no worse, which at this stage is a blessing. Michael called the vet and confirmed the amputation. We're to take her in Monday at 8am. By now we can hardly wait, since the leg is clearly bothering her.
Off for breakfast in Knowlton at Chez Guy with Cheryl...then having coffee tomorrow afternoon with another friend, in Sutton - Janet. Then off to a Christmas party tomorrow night. That gives me 3 hours, I figure, to edit tomorrow. Hope to do my 50 pages...but will do my best. My goal is to finish this edit (there will be many more) by Christmas.
Had a wonderful delivery yesterday. The FedEx left a book. Michael's book!!!! the one he wrote. Well, helped to write. He contributed a chapter in the medical text book: HEMATOLOGY OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD
Yay Michael!!!
Must go - dinner's ready. Speak tomorrow.
Ok, not very cold compared to my brother and his family in Edmonton...minus 29. I remember living for a couple of years in Winnipeg (LOVED it) and it got so cold the tires froze square. The car seats felt like concrete. I remember crying in the car it was so cold.
Now that I've remembered that today here actually seems downright warm!
Did another 50 pages of the manuscript. I've found that perseverence, perhaps even more than creativity, is what matters as a writer. Head down. Keep going. Don't even think about quitting.
Had a wonderful day at home...sat by the fire and did nothing but edit.
Maggie's doing all right - no worse, which at this stage is a blessing. Michael called the vet and confirmed the amputation. We're to take her in Monday at 8am. By now we can hardly wait, since the leg is clearly bothering her.
Off for breakfast in Knowlton at Chez Guy with Cheryl...then having coffee tomorrow afternoon with another friend, in Sutton - Janet. Then off to a Christmas party tomorrow night. That gives me 3 hours, I figure, to edit tomorrow. Hope to do my 50 pages...but will do my best. My goal is to finish this edit (there will be many more) by Christmas.
Had a wonderful delivery yesterday. The FedEx left a book. Michael's book!!!! the one he wrote. Well, helped to write. He contributed a chapter in the medical text book: HEMATOLOGY OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD
Yay Michael!!!
Must go - dinner's ready. Speak tomorrow.
Sunday, 16 November 2008
A chilly but pleasant day
blustery, light flurries, bitter cold, temps -2
It feels far colder than it is - I think it's the wind. Took the dogs around the pond this morning and it was fine, then tried at noon and only got as far as the water, tossed the ball a couple of times, cried, poop! Pee! at them, gave them a cookie then scaddadled back home.
To the fireplace.
To Pat's homemade parsnip soup, like velvet.
To the warm laptop - and THE BRUTAL TELLING.
Am now at page 399 - out of 530. Need to finish by Thursday when I head to Quebec City for an event at this fabulous bookstore there called La Maison Anglaise. That's at 7pm on Friday. Though I have a CBC interview at 5pm. Then back to Montreal the next day to do a signing at the Salon Du Livres - the massive Quebec bookfair. That's on Saturday from 2-3. Then have to rush home, pack and head to the airport for the evening flight to Paris.
Can hardly wait, as you might imagine.
But between now and then I need to finish this polish. It's going well. Infact, I'm really enjoying it...both the book and the process. As those of you who have been reading the blog for the past year know - there have been times with this book I've just wanted to throw it, or me, off the roof. It's been, alternately, brilliant and a pile of crap.
So hard to tell the difference when it's the censurous little voice in my head doing the telling.
But now I see the shape of it, the structure, the characters. I see them and feel them, follow them. I can see the bumps that need smoothing, the slow parts that need zipping up, or taking out. But it really is fine-tuning at this stage. Phew.
Had a wonderful parcel waiting for us when we got home yesterday...it was a quite large box and inside were two cocktail glasses, heavy, elegant, and etched with three pine trees, then underneath were the words, Three Pines.
They were - and are - stunning. And inside was a card from Donald Pile and Ray Williams. They're award winning celebrity travel columnists...syndicated in gay publications across North America. They'd heard of Three Pines and written to tell me some of their readers had told them about the books...so I sent them a couple. And now we're making tentative plans to meet in Maine in mid-June. Who knows, but they sure seem like extremely kind, very interesting people.
As you can see one of the very unexpected and delightful gifts of having books published in meeting people I would never normally meet. And seeing how much kindness there is out there.
Am off - the bath calls, and I for one can never resist.
It feels far colder than it is - I think it's the wind. Took the dogs around the pond this morning and it was fine, then tried at noon and only got as far as the water, tossed the ball a couple of times, cried, poop! Pee! at them, gave them a cookie then scaddadled back home.
To the fireplace.
To Pat's homemade parsnip soup, like velvet.
To the warm laptop - and THE BRUTAL TELLING.
Am now at page 399 - out of 530. Need to finish by Thursday when I head to Quebec City for an event at this fabulous bookstore there called La Maison Anglaise. That's at 7pm on Friday. Though I have a CBC interview at 5pm. Then back to Montreal the next day to do a signing at the Salon Du Livres - the massive Quebec bookfair. That's on Saturday from 2-3. Then have to rush home, pack and head to the airport for the evening flight to Paris.
Can hardly wait, as you might imagine.
But between now and then I need to finish this polish. It's going well. Infact, I'm really enjoying it...both the book and the process. As those of you who have been reading the blog for the past year know - there have been times with this book I've just wanted to throw it, or me, off the roof. It's been, alternately, brilliant and a pile of crap.
So hard to tell the difference when it's the censurous little voice in my head doing the telling.
But now I see the shape of it, the structure, the characters. I see them and feel them, follow them. I can see the bumps that need smoothing, the slow parts that need zipping up, or taking out. But it really is fine-tuning at this stage. Phew.
Had a wonderful parcel waiting for us when we got home yesterday...it was a quite large box and inside were two cocktail glasses, heavy, elegant, and etched with three pine trees, then underneath were the words, Three Pines.
They were - and are - stunning. And inside was a card from Donald Pile and Ray Williams. They're award winning celebrity travel columnists...syndicated in gay publications across North America. They'd heard of Three Pines and written to tell me some of their readers had told them about the books...so I sent them a couple. And now we're making tentative plans to meet in Maine in mid-June. Who knows, but they sure seem like extremely kind, very interesting people.
As you can see one of the very unexpected and delightful gifts of having books published in meeting people I would never normally meet. And seeing how much kindness there is out there.
Am off - the bath calls, and I for one can never resist.
Thursday, 2 October 2008
the end - of the editing (yay!)
cloudy, light rain, cool. temps 9
Started off cloudy and cool, then got cold. temp dropped through the day. And it's raw. Windy, damp. A cold that goes right through you.
My cold still isn't gone and I ended up coughing most of the night. Finally got up at 4:30 - figuring I could finish the edit on The Brutal Telling (book 5), then go to the walk-in medical clinic in Knowlton, which starts at 8am. And meet Cheryl for lunch at noon.
So I got up, let the dogs out, Michael dear one (am thinking of having his last name legally changed to Dear One), got up and made me a cup of tea - then went back to bed while I worked a couple of hours on the manuscript.
And finished!!!! Yay. So this stage of book 5 is done! We sent it off to be printed and bound so that Michael and my brother Doug could read it and comment, then it's off to Teresa, my agent in London. It was necessary to send it off quickly to be printed before I decided on more fine-tuning. I've learned at some stage it really is necessary to say, 'Good enough. Time to let it out of my hands.' It's like tearing off a bandage.
Then got to the clinic (in cold and rain) at 7:40 - with Michael (Dear One). Already 7 people waiting. More people came after us and we all chatted and waited for the receptionist to open the door and give us our numbers. It's an honour system - we know who arrived first, last and the order in between. Has worked everytime.
Until this morning.
perhaps because it was so cold and miserable, or maybe most of the people were just miserable, but when the receptionist came to open the door at 8am - there was a stampede. The poor guy who was there second, at 7:15, and had waited 45 minutes in the drizzle - ended up with Number 7. People squeezed in a head of us - but not bad. Instead of 8 we got number 9. But further ahead there was chaos.
Finally the real Number 2 (perhaps not the way he'd really like to be remembered) stood up and demanded to know who had his number, as he waved his number 7 around. The woman next to him admitted she did. He demanded her card. She said she'd give it to him, if whoever had number 3 gave it to her (her real place). And so on. It was clearly not going well.
So I stood up and said it sounded fair to me. That I didn't want to change my number. It was higher than we'd come in, but I could see that people should be seen in the order they arrived. So I took cards from people's hands and re-organized them. I think people were too stunned to notice. I think it also helps to be 6 feet tall. And not to have an agenda of my own.
Anyway, it all worked out... Not sure if I didn't become the common enemy, but at least there was no riot. And, wouldn't you know it, when it came time for me to see the doctor (almost 2 hours later) my cough had gone and he seemed confused about why I was there. I tried coughing...haph, haph. But he seemed unconvinced.
But I did get him to cough up a perscription for an anti-biotic.
I just don't want to be ill at Bouchercon, which is the mystery readers and writers version of the Iron Man Triathalon.
Had a muffin and cafe au lait in Knowlton with Dear One, dropped him at home, drove to Sutton in time to pick up the printed and bound manuscript from Bob (photocpy guy), fill the perscription, get a tortiere for dinner, rent The Color of Money and meet Cheryl for lunch.
Amazing what gets done if you get up at 4:30!
Wonderful lunch with Cheryl. We both decided to get sessions with a visiting psychic on Saturday. What fun! Will tell you all about it.
Then spent the afternoon in a bubble bath watching Paul Newman and a very young Tom Cruise.
The leaves continue to fall from the trees. Our lawn now looks as though tens of thousands of monarch butterflies have landed. Still loads of leaves on the trees though.
Hope you're well - talk tomorrow.
Started off cloudy and cool, then got cold. temp dropped through the day. And it's raw. Windy, damp. A cold that goes right through you.
My cold still isn't gone and I ended up coughing most of the night. Finally got up at 4:30 - figuring I could finish the edit on The Brutal Telling (book 5), then go to the walk-in medical clinic in Knowlton, which starts at 8am. And meet Cheryl for lunch at noon.
So I got up, let the dogs out, Michael dear one (am thinking of having his last name legally changed to Dear One), got up and made me a cup of tea - then went back to bed while I worked a couple of hours on the manuscript.
And finished!!!! Yay. So this stage of book 5 is done! We sent it off to be printed and bound so that Michael and my brother Doug could read it and comment, then it's off to Teresa, my agent in London. It was necessary to send it off quickly to be printed before I decided on more fine-tuning. I've learned at some stage it really is necessary to say, 'Good enough. Time to let it out of my hands.' It's like tearing off a bandage.
Then got to the clinic (in cold and rain) at 7:40 - with Michael (Dear One). Already 7 people waiting. More people came after us and we all chatted and waited for the receptionist to open the door and give us our numbers. It's an honour system - we know who arrived first, last and the order in between. Has worked everytime.
Until this morning.
perhaps because it was so cold and miserable, or maybe most of the people were just miserable, but when the receptionist came to open the door at 8am - there was a stampede. The poor guy who was there second, at 7:15, and had waited 45 minutes in the drizzle - ended up with Number 7. People squeezed in a head of us - but not bad. Instead of 8 we got number 9. But further ahead there was chaos.
Finally the real Number 2 (perhaps not the way he'd really like to be remembered) stood up and demanded to know who had his number, as he waved his number 7 around. The woman next to him admitted she did. He demanded her card. She said she'd give it to him, if whoever had number 3 gave it to her (her real place). And so on. It was clearly not going well.
So I stood up and said it sounded fair to me. That I didn't want to change my number. It was higher than we'd come in, but I could see that people should be seen in the order they arrived. So I took cards from people's hands and re-organized them. I think people were too stunned to notice. I think it also helps to be 6 feet tall. And not to have an agenda of my own.
Anyway, it all worked out... Not sure if I didn't become the common enemy, but at least there was no riot. And, wouldn't you know it, when it came time for me to see the doctor (almost 2 hours later) my cough had gone and he seemed confused about why I was there. I tried coughing...haph, haph. But he seemed unconvinced.
But I did get him to cough up a perscription for an anti-biotic.
I just don't want to be ill at Bouchercon, which is the mystery readers and writers version of the Iron Man Triathalon.
Had a muffin and cafe au lait in Knowlton with Dear One, dropped him at home, drove to Sutton in time to pick up the printed and bound manuscript from Bob (photocpy guy), fill the perscription, get a tortiere for dinner, rent The Color of Money and meet Cheryl for lunch.
Amazing what gets done if you get up at 4:30!
Wonderful lunch with Cheryl. We both decided to get sessions with a visiting psychic on Saturday. What fun! Will tell you all about it.
Then spent the afternoon in a bubble bath watching Paul Newman and a very young Tom Cruise.
The leaves continue to fall from the trees. Our lawn now looks as though tens of thousands of monarch butterflies have landed. Still loads of leaves on the trees though.
Hope you're well - talk tomorrow.
Saturday, 27 September 2008
Maybe a bit of castor oil would help
cloudy, mild, temps 17
Rained for most of last night. Refreshing and I think the garden liked it. I did my editing pages yesterday then went to bed. Feeling a bit under-the-weather. Had a bath too. It was actually wonderful. Very relaxing. Can't remember the last time I spent much of the day in bed.
But, as a result, I didn't blog. However, I did make a curried lamb stew with the leftovers from an earlier dinner. I thought I owed Michael that. The night before I tried a new recipe. In our organic vegetable basket this week we got a head of cabbage. So I looked up recipes and found what was billed as an old Finnish recipe.
Why I thought this would taste good is a mystery. I'd like to blame my fever, except I didn't have one.
It was, basically, cabbage and ground meat poached in milk.
It tasted as yummy as it sounds. it was pretty disgusting. Poor Michael ate his meal, but without comment. Or gagging. The rest is sitting in the fridge. Not sure what to do with it. I hope, for the sake of all Finnish people, this wasn't a national dish.
Today I did more pages - up to about 150 in a 265 page manuscript. Hope to be finished by the middle of next week. Tomorrow I need to write the october newsletter too. This is a big one since we launch THE MURDER STONE next month. Very exciting!
Feeling much better today...recovering from the cold and the Finnish celebrations.
Hope you're well.
Rained for most of last night. Refreshing and I think the garden liked it. I did my editing pages yesterday then went to bed. Feeling a bit under-the-weather. Had a bath too. It was actually wonderful. Very relaxing. Can't remember the last time I spent much of the day in bed.
But, as a result, I didn't blog. However, I did make a curried lamb stew with the leftovers from an earlier dinner. I thought I owed Michael that. The night before I tried a new recipe. In our organic vegetable basket this week we got a head of cabbage. So I looked up recipes and found what was billed as an old Finnish recipe.
Why I thought this would taste good is a mystery. I'd like to blame my fever, except I didn't have one.
It was, basically, cabbage and ground meat poached in milk.
It tasted as yummy as it sounds. it was pretty disgusting. Poor Michael ate his meal, but without comment. Or gagging. The rest is sitting in the fridge. Not sure what to do with it. I hope, for the sake of all Finnish people, this wasn't a national dish.
Today I did more pages - up to about 150 in a 265 page manuscript. Hope to be finished by the middle of next week. Tomorrow I need to write the october newsletter too. This is a big one since we launch THE MURDER STONE next month. Very exciting!
Feeling much better today...recovering from the cold and the Finnish celebrations.
Hope you're well.
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