Tuesday, November 30, 2010

December is Arriving....


…and so is the eating and the buying and the eating and the socializing.  Did I mention the eating?

I’m just home from a  very nice get together with two long time girlfriends; this was our annual Christmas dinner.  We get together every couple of months, but always ensure we see each other for a good meal just before Christmas.  This time we agreed to abstain from buying gifts and instead just enjoy each other’s company.  We chose Moxie’s as our restaurant and the food was quite good.  I was smart and just stuck to a salad..good choice because it was quite filling!

But, oh the eating!  Today we had a pizza lunch to celebrate some team birthdays; next week will be our team Christmas luncheon and then the following week yet another big lunch for our whole centre.  Then we have the always available candies and treats, of which I am a guilty party.  So what’s my point?   We eat too much!  And then we sit at our desks and in our cars for most of the day.  Anyone see a problem with this?   I haven’t even mentioned the family get togethers over the holidays!  Even as I write this I have a container of chocolate covered almonds at the ready.   I think enough is enough and a change, for myself, needs to be implemented.

Well enough of that topic for now. Also on my list is trying to do something about my procrastination.

November is leaving us on  a wet and dreary note.  We had a brief taste of winter over the weekend, and flurries are in the forecast for tomorrow.  Although I’m not a winter person, I do like to see a good covering of the white stuff for the Christmas season..but after that…be gone!  My apologies to those who love to ski and snowmobile.  I’ll take a compromise if it could be arranged that it snows everywhere but on the roads.  Sounds reasonable, don’t you think?  Well I suppose the weather will be what it will be and we just have to adapt.

And so tomorrow is the first of December and the end of 2010 won’t be far behind.  A time for resolutions perhaps (see above re the eating),  and wondering what 2011 will bring.  I’m sure there will be more contemplation on that the closer we get to New Year’s Eve.

And on top of everything else, all the holiday activities cut into quality writing time!  And you thought I wasn’t going to even mention anything Jamie Tremain related.  Pam and I talked this morning about how difficult it seems to be of late, and how when the New Year starts we must  make a concerted effort to get into a productive routine.  So now  the implied commitment is here in writing for all to see and any motivation or encouragement from our followers would be greatly appreciated!

This has been a bit of a ramble..no apologies.  Now that my dinner has digested somewhat, I think I can say goodnight and

Cheers!

Liz

Sunday, November 14, 2010

FOG VS MIST

I promised not to write about the weather again but it is impossible not to mention. The weather affects my life in so many ways. My moods, what I am going to wear and even what direction I am going for any given day. Let me explain....

Friday night and I was looking forward to an evening with my girlfriends. Changed out of work clothes and glammed up a bit. Nothing fancy. Ignoring the warning.... "It's bad out there" from the resident pessimist I drove off. I had only gone about 400 yards when I realized it was not my implanted cataracts failing me but white tendrils of thick as pea soup FOG. I am terrified of fog. I had heard the weather forcasts but was thinking maybe heavy mist, but no, this was the stuff where you can't see 10 feet in front of you and only see traffic lights when you arrive at them. I made it to my left hand turn onto the main hwy and proceeded to travel at a snails pace. Needless to say lots of cars whizzed by on either side of me.

Usually an optimist and sometimes foolhardy, I decided to head for home instead of 30minutes of nerve wracking, nail biting tension. It took another 20 minutes to find my way but was very glad to make it home. I heard later that I missed a lovely evening. How did they all make it? Must be no fog in their part of the world.

Saturday fared a little better. A planned day in Guelph revising with Liz. It started off with more fog. I dropped my husband off at the local College where he takes an Art class.He was full of dire warnings about the weather. I told you I was foolhardy. It was daylight so...... Well, it took 25 minutes to drive to the 401 hwy that usually takes ten minutes. I could not see to turn around so I decided to go on the hwy and come off at the next exit and try to head for home.

Halleluia, as I drove onto the 401 the sun broke through and no more fog. The rest of the journey was bathed in sunlight and blue skies. Not much traffic.. (they all stayed home because of the fog no doubt). I made good time and arrived at ten when I said I would.

Lovely day in Guelph and very productive. We worked steady for nearly six hours with a break for a lovely omlette lunch. We managed to revise another three chapters and were really on a roll. Cutting and adding and rearranging a few details and when we finished we were well pleased. Liz has her work cut out for her with the rewrite while I will continue with a different synopsis adding a few more details.

We have not given ourselves a deadline but if we can get together every few weeks we can make better progress.

My reading these last few weeks has been mainly magazines such as "The Writer" and "Poets and Writers" looking for contests that we could enter. Lots out there so I will follow up with those. Hope to pick up a couple of books this week. Mary Jane Maffini , a delighful and funny lady I met at Bloody Words is very prolific and has three series in print. Fiona Silk, Camilla MacPhee and Charlotte Adams. Check her website http://www.maryjanemaffini.ca/ for more details.
Another is R.J.Harlick http://www.rjharlick.ca/index.htm with her Meg Harris mysteries. R.J's latest is "Artic Blue Death" and she has a new one in the spring of 2011 called "A Green Place for Dying" Check them out.

Busy week ahead at work but plan on writing at least two or three evenings.
Weather today is typical November weather. Dreich as they say in Scotland. It says it all but as long as there is no fog I will take dreich any day.

Talk soon,
Slainte,
Pam

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

True Crime

Phew!  I’ve just finished reading “True Crime” by Andrew Klavan and I can’t remember the last time I read a book with such a mixture of dread and anticipation as the ending drew near.  As one of the reviewers stated…”a harrowing portrait of a killer’s final hours.”.   If you’re familiar with Dead Man Walking you’ll get my drift.  I don’t want to give away the ending, but if you enjoy a book that keeps you riveted this is a story for you.   At more than one point in the story I debated whether to just stop reading it because I didn’t want to face the outcome.  However my sense of “obligation” to finish reading what I started won out, and with a sense of relief I can now put it to rest! 

And now for something completely different!

Thursday marks Remembrance Day; a day which I hold in very high esteem. War is always such a huge tragedy on so many fronts (no pun intended) and affecting so many lives. We who are privileged to live in this amazing country of Canada owe a tremendous debt to those of our veterans who sacrificed so much in order for us to enjoy the freedoms we have today.  Please wear a poppy and take some time on November 11 to reflect upon the meaning of Remembrance Day.  How very different our lives might be today if the outcome of past conflicts had gone another route.

November, so far, has provided some glorious autumn days.  Rather than the gloom and dampness so typical of this time of year, one could almost  imagine its Spring on the way and not old man Winter.

Pam and I are hoping for another day of writing this coming Saturday, although she has been fighting a miserable cold this week and I’m getting over a cough.  So we’ll see.

The new addition to the household, Winston, had discovered its much easier to pee in the bathtub than head down two flights of stairs to the basement where he should be going! Hopefully once he is neutered later this month this new habit will be curtailed.  Still it could be worse I suppose, at least it’s the tub and not one of the new dining room chairs.

Well that’s about all the thoughts I have for today…so from True Crime to almost bedtime….I’ll just say

Cheers!

Liz

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