Writing (About) Life--"Carl," Who Should Perhaps Go Vegan

He must belong to someone in the neighborhood because he wears a collar. We call him "Carl" -- because of the Geico commercial and because he's--well, he's--

Let's just say "stealth" is not his thing

Here, see for yourself.

"Carl," staking out the bird on bird feeder. See him?

No?  Right THERE. Under the picnic table. The bird knows he's not far away in no time, table or no table.

He stays in position for some minutes before he makes his first move--all the way over to HERE. In the open. He's much closer now, and apparently he thinks he's invisible.

No birds around whatsoever, but he's sure they're up there somewhere, so he begins to circle the bird feeder. And circle and circle. Around and around and around. And around. Looking up all the while.

Perhaps dizzy now, he pauses to consider what to do next.

Since nothing comes to mind, he leaves.

Five seconds after he's out of the picture frame--a cardinal:

"We can see you, Carl. We can TOTALLY see you."

(The) Writing Life--Things Writers Should Stop Doing

Hi and Happy New Years's Eve.

Tonight I'd like to share an excellent blog post for writers of all kinds. Here is the link to it:

CLICK HERE

Writing (About) Life Today...The Memphis Belle

So. What have I been doing besides getting all sleep-deprived? Christmas preparations, of course. I absolutely had to do the last bit of Christmas shopping today despite the brain fog and the kind of eyes that go with only having had an hour or two of sleep. One of my coworkers used to describe that particular sensation as eyes that feel like "two holes burnt in a blanket." That's what it feels like, all right.

Anyway, I did the last of the shopping for presents with all the expected suffering, but before I did all that, I had some fun. I know it's supposed to be the other way around, but sometimes a body needs desert first.  In this case, it was an historical outing. The Memphis Belle is here getting some re-restoration and repairs done, and she was supposed to fly away back to wherever home is at noon. So, camera in hand, I went to see her before she left.

And here she is, sassy as ever:

I remember when the movie came out in the early 1990s and the critics opined that the actors in it were too young to play a WW II  B-17 Flying Fortress bomber crew. The irony here is that these actors were all older than the actual crew members were when they were flying their bombing missions over Germany.

It was cold out there at the airport, very windy, and I had that "burnt blanket" thing going on with the eyes. But I'm very glad I went. History is my thing. I've never done a World War II book, but  who knows? 

I might.

New Release Available...

THE LAST ENTRY

Three Award-Winning Short Stories

from my "Literary Writing Days."

"The Last Entry"

An "English" woman must bring devastating news to the Amish man she has loved all her life.

"Daughters of the Sea"

A young girl encounters the most notorious woman she will ever know.

"The Opera Ain't Over Till the Fat Lady Sings."

A daughter struggles to understand her free-spirited artist mother and her many love affairs.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

Christmas in the Foyer and...

Christmas in the foyer...

(The DH made the stained glass lampshade)

and...a pumpkin pie. (DH is still waiting for it to cool)

What the Writer Saw...

(And this was a double-take.)


I saw a...

Man. A portly man. With a white beard and white hair. Wearing khaki cargo shorts, a sweater, and off-white, wool-looking knee socks with very sturdy shoes.  And a tam o'shanter. (A what?) One of these:

He was sitting on a bench. In Walmart. Reading. What may have been an eBook reader.  (I really was trying not to stare. Or bring out my cell phone and try to learn to take pictures with it then and there.)

So who do you think he could be, this man who seemed to be more in costume than is de rigueur even for the Walmart Superstore?

 Could it be Santa MacClaus, checking his list for who's been naughty and who's been nice?

Who else would sit in Walmart foot traffic, trying to read and looking like the Kris Kringle fresh from the Royal Troon links? 

Whatever the answer, it made my shopping trip. Haven't had one that interesting--especially in Walmart--in a LONG time.

Happy Thanksgiving...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!

Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Brahma

My sister, on her way here to visit, made her husband turn around so she could take this photo. I think I can understand why. When is the last time you saw a giant Brahma bull dressed up like Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer--with Santa Claus riding on his back?

I know. But I guess it beats the meat aisle at Walmart.

Merry Christmas. (sigh)

The Empire Hotel

Come take a photo tour of the historic Empire Hotel. The 1855 section had a "walk on" part in at least one of my historicals, i.e., THE BRIDE FAIR. I keep hoping somebody will step up and save it. I thought for a while it would actually happen--an honest to goodness restoration. But then that fell to the wayside in the wake of the Wall Street shenanigans.

Click here to see the interior.

Rainbow-sharing...

An unexpected pleasure on a trip to the F&M Bank yesterday. This was taken from the bank parking lot--the trees are gorgeous, aren't they?

On the left, through the trees, is a house I often when to with my dad when I was a little girl. The man who lived there and my dad were both "dog men." ("Dog men" have a lot to talk about.)

The two-story white structure on the right is a small apartment house behind the two-story stone house that used to be Dr. Oliver's medical office. (Had to go there more times than I like to remember.) The big stone house is still there, but I'm not sure what, if anything occupies it.

On the far, far right--completely out of the frame--is the house that belonged to a woman who lost both her sons in WW II. I believe her name was Mrs. Holshouser. Even though she's long gone, I always feel sad when I see it. Not so much at that particular moment, though. Rainbows help with things like that.

And this concludes my Rainbow Connection for this time...