Countdown

One month till Christmas – yikes!  Put that panic button away!

Amidst 9 – 5 work, household chores and writing (most favourite on that list) comes the realization of how the days are closing in on the big event. 

Decorations are up at work and thanks to special elves on my own team who always come over and decorate my little corner spot, I came in Monday morning to see the first signs of Christmas on the floor.  That was the first reality check.  Since then there have been several this week.  Our work place is glad to support the Salvation Army in their gift and food gathering efforts for the Christmas and holiday season and so plans are now underway to surpass last year’s generosity.  Pam and I had a great day with others last year, helping out at the gift distribution centre sorting donations and marvelling at the generosity of kind-hearted souls who give so much to those less fortunate. Rumour has it that Pam has been called upon to lend a helping a hand and it will be great to see her at work again - she has a heart and flair for these activities, as well as a very 'motivating' attitude!

At home, I made a head start several weeks ago and ordered some special customized gifts for most of the adults on my list; they arrived safely last week and so I am able to cross off a huge chunk of names and breathe a little easier.  All that remains are presents for the grandchildren and one or two other gifts.

Today, though, is “Deck the Halls” day.  Plans are to get the tree up and all the surrounding decorations and then hopefully be able to sit back and enjoy them for the rest of the month!  However there is one four-footed curiosity driven creature living here who might not allow for much relaxing.  Last year, while he was still a kitten, Winston was found nestled fast asleep on one of the tree’s boughs mid way up it!  Being a little heavier this year might not be so good for the tree – which will come out of its box later today and not from a parking lot.

Pam and I plan to meet again this Thursday for one last writing get together before Christmas.  We are both very excited about where this newest adventure is going with Paul and Dorothy; new characters are on the scene and they will all have to dress very warmly!  As well, meeting Pam will officially start Christmas gift giving for me as I have had her gift for several weeks now, just waiting to be wrapped and presented.

I put coffee on to brew before I started writing this morning and my nose tells me it awaits , the first of many today no doubt!  Whatever you find yourself doing this week, if its Christmas related I hope its enjoyable for you.  With this time of year comes a lot of frazzled nerves as well and those who work in bustling retail are no less prone to it...perhaps more so because they have to deal with the public all day long.  We consumers at least can come home when we want and escape the fray.  So try and keep a kind word and patient spirit as the order of the day for those who are in need.

Let the countdown begin!

Cheers -

Liz

Love 'em or hate 'em

You either love them or hate them. Canadian indoor shopping malls. Personally I like them. When I worked in the retail sector for fifteen years, I rarely ventured into the mall except for a cappuccino or a lunch time dash to the bank or to pick up a sales item.

This morning I arrived at the mall early after dropping off my husband to pursue his own interests. Easy to park and in bad weather I can go underground. I made my way to the food court and bought a large coffee and Tim Horton’s breakfast sandwich. Oh I know, it’s not gourmet but it’s adequate as all I intend to do is sit with my nose in a book for a while.

The sun warms me as it streams in the large picture windows and skylights light up the vendors offerings. I managed to bag a lounge chair overlooking the QEW and the parking lot. The sounds are muted but I can still hear soft music and murmurs of conversations. Not enough to disturb my reading. Christmas decorations are everywhere but not many people have started filling up the lots or in a spending mood just yet. Once Santa arrives tomorrow things may change but the retailers will have a hard time this year, not just with the economy in the dumper but they have to contend with the Internet shoppers.

The mall offers many amenities in a small village like atmosphere. A selection of good eating places, clean washrooms and concierge service. Carts for the wee ones and wheelchairs for those in need. A lottery booth for the “dream of millions” addicted and a fine group of stores to fill your every need. I may partake of the early morning walking group when the snow starts to fly.

Well the sun has moved so it is time to give up my comfy chair to a real shopper who needs to rest. Unfortunately there is no yarn store here so I must find my way to the local shop that has the nerve to be on a main street. Hope I can find a parking spot!

Liz and I had a good meeting last Thursday with coffee and bagels to keep us company.It's good just to chew the fat with her and then we got down to business. Will try again in a few weeks before we are both busy with Christmas.

I have a new great nephew and his name is Finlay.Isn't that a grand name? My younger sister is a first time grandmother. Best to them all.

School is going well and I have another three more classes. My book review of Gold Fever .......TaDa.... I was given an "A". Need some work on my story before my final mark so here's to my new book. No details as yet.I'll keep you guessing.

Talk soon,
Slainte,
Pam

Winters' Harbingers

Earlier this afternoon I caught site of the first Junco of the season.  This little slate-grey and white bird usually arrives from the Arctic to these areas just ahead of winter weather. (The photo above is borrowed from Google - no snow yet out my window!)  A small flock of them were industriously pecking away on the front lawn.  So even though this November still sees us enjoying warmish temperatures, the white stuff is probably not too far away. This afternoon is very dreary and windy – the sky is so heavily overcast I would expect snow, except that the temperature is hovering around 13 degrees Celsius!

I am glad to report that my eye seems to have settled back to normal, although I must be religious now with the nightly regime of ointment just before bed.  And I find when I wake during the night for that trip to the bathroom, I’m also putting in some drops to keep my eye from getting too dry.  Another follow up appointment with the eye doctor is scheduled for Tuesday so I’m hopeful for a good report.

Tomorrow will be back to work after a few days break – no more planned time off now until early December.  It felt so good to not be up so early in the morning.   Pam has been busy writing up a storm for her class room assignments.  As mentioned earlier we’ve decided to base our next Paul and Dorothy instalment on the framework of what her assignment has been.   We are anxious though to concentrate solely on the new adventure, but I have been unable to sit still and have drafted roughly five chapters and find I could just keep writing, but I must restrain myself and wait for Pam!

Hopefully this week our planned meeting will not be disrupted and we can outline some more for this story – tentatively entitled “Murder Most Conventional”.   And even if winter weather decides to make an appearance on Thursday, I’m ready because that other harbinger of winter – snow tires – were installed last week.

Cheers!

Liz

GOLD FEVER

Usual November weather but good on the whole. At least here in Southern Ontario. I hear it's snowing out west.

Liz is feeling better and her eye is healing as long as she puts the ointment on it. We are having a get-together on Thursday to do out usual plotting and planning.

I watched the Remembrance Day ceremony from Ottawa on Friday and as usual I find it very moving seeing all the old soldiers. When it came to have the "Going down of the sun" it was spoken in three languages. English, French and First Nations. As I am hard of hearing I always watch television with the captions on. Some are better than others. CBC is the worst and this was a perfect example. When it came to the First Nations speaker the captions read.....get this..foreign language!!!! I was insenced but like a lot of things I probably will not do much about it. Glad I got that off my chest.

As promised, a review of Gold Fever

Gold Fever

A Klondike Mystery

By Vicki Delaney

Rendezvous Crime, 290 pages, $18.95.

Reviewed by Pamela Blance November 3^rd/2011

Vicki Delaney is a critically acclaimed Canadian author. She has settled into rural life in Prince Edward County to continue writing three different genres of fiction. Her first three novels of suspense were published by Poison Press of Scottsdale Arizona. She is now writing her fifth police procedural featuring Constable Molly Smith. My favourites by far are the Klondike Mysteries published by Rendevous Crime which is set in Dawson City, The Yukon Territory, in the late 1900’s.

When Chloe, a Savoy dance hall girl, is found stabbed to death in the narrow, muddy, poverty reeking, Paradise Alley, the North West Mounted Police are called in. Sent to investigate the murder scene - an alley lined with the mean cribs of prostitutes - is Constable Richard Sterling. Then a high roller named Jannis becomes the second murder victim, and the red-coated Mounties are determined to get their man...or woman.

It’s the summer of 1898 and Fiona McGillivray had come to the Klondike gold fields in the Yukon Territory the year before to set up “the finest, most modern establishment in London, England, transported all the way to Dawson.” She is the proprietor of the Savoy Saloon and Dance Hall with her Glaswegian partner, Ray Walker, another of the many characters who found their way to the Yukon with dreams of getting rich. There were many such saloons on the main street of Dawson City, but none like the Savoy. It was Fiona’s own private gold mine.

Fiona was born on the Isle of Skye, off the west coast of Scotland. Brought up in the “big house” as companion to the local Earl’s daughter, she educated herself on the speech and mannerisms of the gentry. She was often called Miss Muckety Muck by those who did not like the way she led her life. Leaving Scotland under questionable circumstances for the streets of London, Fiona would be looking over her shoulder for the law for years to come. She was very beautiful and learned to live by her wits. Well aware of her appearance and the effect it had on others, she took every advantage it provided.

Dawson was teeming with tens of thousands from all over the world that summer. They put up with the poverty, dirt and mud; being rich one day and broke the next. As quickly as they found their nuggets of gold they spent them on drink and women, or lost their bags of gold dust at the gambling tables. They had been lured there by the promise of ‘lumps of gold are as easy to pluck as potatoes from a well-tilled Ontario field’. Many were there with families who tolerated the ramshackle huts or tents they lived in, with the promise of riches beyond their imagination.

This novel is the second in the Klondike series and is full of interesting and well rounded characters. The era shows the hypocrisy of the Victorian age laid bare for all to see-just as it had been in London. Women could not even show their ankles and always deferred to men. But not so the “percentage girls” who spent long hours dancing and putting on theatre shows for the miners as well as being available to dance with them for the price of a drink all night long.

Constable Richard Sterling, the tall and handsome Mountie is enamoured by Fiona, but his feelings are not reciprocated. He is also very fond of Angus the twelve year old son of Fiona who would like to be a Mountie one day and follows him everywhere. Young Angus has befriended Indian Mary, a native woman accused of murdering Chloe. Her necklace was found at the scene of the dance hall girl’s murder, but did she kill her and Jannis as well, and why?

The build up to the conclusion has all the elements of tension and conflict that a good mystery should have. It also has a surprise ending. Delany has woven characters from Fiona’s past into the story and I was completely captivated to see how the to see how the characters evolved. It is obvious to the reader the amount of research used in this novel.

The third book in this series “Gold Mountain” will be out in April 2012. I look forward to more from Fiona MacGillivray.

Vicki is a member of Crime Writers of Canada, and Capitol Crime Writers. She is also on the board of Wolfe Island’s Scene of the Crime Mystery Festival.

Ouch, ouch and more ouch!!

Liz has been such a brave soul with her eye problems. Just thinking about it.....more ouch. Hope it heals soon and she is back as good as new.

Homework is piling up and I am putting it off until I can wake up. I forgot about the “fall back” an hour last night and I was up at seven am. Could not understand why I was dropping off to sleep at eleven am. Managed a two hour nap and I am good to go. Well almost.

Learned how to add tension from my novel writing class this week. We are half way done but I still have to beef up my story some more and also write a book review. If I get an “A” on the book I am reviewing I will post on here. If not then you will never see it!

I picked up our new business cards last week. Liz and I have decided to share a card as Jamie Tremain only needs one card. They look smashing.

Waiting today for my great niece to have her first baby. My sister, the baby of five siblings will be a grandparent for the first time and she is so excited you could peel her off the ceiling. There are, I think, fifteen grandchildren and Caroline’s will make sixteen. I wish my parents could have seen them all together but we are now scattered to the winds. England, Scotland, Holland and Canada.

When I took a walk on Friday morning the leaves were still hanging on to the trees but dropping. A lonely discarded pumpkin had been thrown away and bunches of what looked like wild blueberries but it could be anything. The birds will love them.

We have been fortunate with the weather as other parts of the country have bitter cold and snow. It will come soon enough. In preparation for the weather my knitting needles have been clacking as I try to get a start on some Christmas presents. Scarves, mitts and Cowl neck warmers are about the extent off my repertoire.

If Liz is feeling up to it maybe we can meet later in the week for a brainstorming session.
Have a good week,
Talk soon,
Slainte,
Pam

Eye'm Relieved

Corneal abrasion – two words that have been with me for about 12 years and which reared its very ugly and painful head this past week.   Ever since first scratching my eye several years ago, I've had to be careful when waking up, that I don’t open my eye lid too quickly because the abrasion has never totally healed and if I'm not careful  and spring my eyes wide open its akin to ripping a band-aid away from an unhealed wound – major ouch!

This has happened on occasion over the years and usually the discomfort settles down by the time I’m dressed and ready for work.  Not so much this past Wednesday.  With left eye watering, I made the drive into work, hoping that it would ease off.   Imagine a pin scratching your eye with every blink, that’s what this feeling is for me.   By mid morning it was minimally bearable and I hoped that a good night sleep would give it time to heal up enough to be ‘normal’ – for me.   And sure enough when I woke Thursday morning, there was no discomfort and I began to feel very relieved.

Off to the office.  If only I didn’t need to use a computer for work!  As soon as I logged on and the screen came to life the pain was back in full force.

For those who know me well, they are aware of 2 things: - 1) I don’t run to the doctor and will put up with a lot before making an appointment; and 2) I am extremely squeamish and cowardly when it comes to anything ‘eye’ related.

By 9:00 I had called my eye doctor and secured an appointment for just after lunch, assured they would refer me to an ophthalmologist if needed, but that I would be seeing an intern and that the visit wouldn’t be covered by OHIP.   By this point I would have paid anything, been seen by a robot and gone to anyone they recommended.

The intern, Violet, was an absolute angel; very kind, understanding and gentle.  She confirmed the abrasion had enlarged and needed to be covered.   Says me, “Not like you can put a bandaid on it.”   

“Oh but we can.”

That’s when the major apprehension kicked in.  At first I voted against the contact lens band-aid, hoping a treatment of drops would suffice.  Then my own eye doctor came in just to double check Violet’s diagnosis and plan of treatment.  After talking to her I hesitantly agreed to allow her to put in, and then remove, a contact lens after a 24 hour period.  Antibiotic drops and other eye drops were prescribed and off I went.

Without going into a lot of detail, let me say the next 24 hours were the most painful I have ever experienced and would not wish it on my worst enemy – while the contact lens did alleviate the scratching sensation, the drops stung like blazes and there were times I wanted to put my head through a wall to stop the pain.     I was very anxious to return on Friday to have the lens removed!

Poor Violet, she had a real problem patient on her hands with me when it came to taking that sucker out of my eye.  Every ounce of determination was used up to not bolt from that chair and/or be sick to my stomach.  Finally, it was out..relief!    Until I blinked a couple of times and there it was..the scratching sensation.

Diagnosis...very small improvement in the size of the abrasion – treatment moving forward – another contact lens for 72 hours and back to see them on Monday (tomorrow).   Fortunately, this time, the lens was a little smaller and more comfortable and when I worked up the nerve to put in the antibiotic drops, it didn’t sting!!!

So by the very appearance of this blog, it must be apparent that my vision is much improved and there is no discomfort.  I will actually be glad to be back to work tomorrow and catch up on Friday’s undone tasks.   And at day’s end it will be off the eye doctor once again and hopefully there will be a major healing going on with the scratch and no more contacts will be needed.

I do want to say a big thank you to the team at my optometrist's office - Brisson Leis, Violet, Dr. Thomas-Parel, Dr. Leis, and the staff behind the front counter - for excellent care and concern.

Unfortunately, this whole episode meant a cancellation of a planned meeting with Pam Thursday evening to move ahead with Paul and Dorothy, but ‘eye’m’  sure we’ll soon be back on track!

Cheers!

Liz

Eight weeks today!

It’s a beautiful day, sun shining with a light breeze. Frost on the car this morning but it is to be expected. I have moved my desk again and left the bedroom for sleeping, dressing and..... well you get the drift. I had given up this large desk in a fit of generosity. My husband declared he needed more space. That was months ago and he still works at the dining room table. Things move very slowly in his world but not mine. So I tossed him out and dragged all my paraphernalia back to the front room with all my books and binders and of course my printer/copier/fax/scanner/web contraption that is the bane of my existence. Well it looks beautiful in my new headquarters so I decided to give it another try. I started from scratch and read all the directions. Who knew you had to follow to the letter? Well low and behold I now having it working wireless. What a joy. I will leave the fax to another day. I don’t think any agents are trying to get me by fax just yet.

Today I am working at my new desk on the revisions from night school and writing the next couple of scenes that are due. Hope to stay with it until I finish as I have been leaving it two days before class and that is not a good plan. I don’t need oodles of stress in my life.
I had a long chat with Liz yesterday and she is writing the same book and plot and when we get together we will combine our efforts. We are both excited to be back writing on a consistent basis. I will meet with her on Thursday to catch up on our progress with the synopsis and query letters.
I now have three months of retirement under my belt and I have never been so busy. It’s just how I like it. I fought it at first and old habits die hard but, I admit the pleasure I get from just doing my own thing over takes the need to jump to attention in the morning and go off to the office. Maybe I will even get organized for Christmas this year (eight weeks today)but that’s very unlikely as I like to shop closer to the day. Never could understand the people who shop months in advance, wrap and have it all done by the beginning of November. Where is the fun in that!

Enjoy your day and talk soon.
Slainte,
Pam

Fired Up & T'd Off!

Ok..normally I’m a pretty even tempered person and not much really gets me riled...but today was one of those days!  At 2:30 the PA system crackled into life – “Over the next several minutes we will be having an evacuation drill for floors 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6.”  A mighty collective groan was heard as computers were locked, phones hung up and jackets and car keys grabbed.  I work on the 6^th floor (there are a total of 9 floors in my tower with an average of 400 people per floor so you can do the math) and have come to dread these routine exercises.  Not that I begrudge the time away from my desk, but because of the behaviour one must endure as you work your way down several flights of stairs.

Keep in mind this is a building full of (mature?) adults, not high school students, who have been well versed in the procedure...make your way to your assigned exit, walk down the inside of the stair well, keeping the wall side free for emergency personnel to make their way upwards.  NO talking – you’d think that would be logical so one could be informed with further PA announcements wouldn’t you.  But perhaps staff feel they will be more up to date if they keep checking their Blackberry’s, or maybe even the person next to them can reveal something new in between giggles and jokes.  Why, one women even felt it was necessary to drag her wheeled carry-all behind her on the stairs!   And, hey..how are those spiked heels working for you?

I long for stationed fire wardens to grow some stones and address these inconsiderate, immature people who put my life at risk, and in a real emergency if their selfish behaviour gets me killed, I will be some T’d off!  If not for the fact that I would put floor searchers at risk, I’d stay behind at my desk and let the herds go first.  I think I am more fearful of being trampled than an actual fire or explosion.

There is some comfort in knowing I’m not the only one who feels this way; as I left one of my managers commented she had already received several email complaints about the exercise.  But nothing ever gets done!

I have a few suggestions:

Have the fire department attend one or two of these drills and just as in real life, they need to make their way up the stairs, with all their equipment  - no doubt they know very well how to treat these situations with the seriousness and respect that is so sadly lacking.

Confiscate phones, ipods, coffees, etc on the spot.

Repeat the drill over and over until we achieve a passing grade

Confiscate the security pass card we all have to wear at all times and tell the offender they will have to see their manager to get it back.

Surely there must exist an educational video of the aftermath of an actual large scale evacuation that was not successful- required viewing for offenders.

Phew...I think I feel somewhat better getting that off my chest!   I live in hope to see some improvements with these drills, but seriously I believe grade school children do a better job.   Sorry for the rant, but maybe, just maybe, someone reading this will see how deadly serious these practice drills are, and maybe, just maybe, they see where they can make a difference...and save a life.

Thanks for listening...

Cheers!

Liz

A thing of beauty!

At least to me it is beautiful. Black and shiny and lots of buttons. If only I could get it to work properly! I bought the printer, copier,scanner, fax and web connector last Saturday and I have still not hooked it to the Wireless. But if Blackberry are having problems.... well what chance do I have!

Liz I need you. Come for a visit, stay a week or a day but fix the bleep, bleep thing. I have it plugged in so I can print but that's about it. All in good time. I really needed the copier for my studies at College where I am taking a novel writing course to help with a few issues I can't get into my thick skull. That was proven when I had some of the class read my work and .... well it was a wake up call but I think it is all fixable.

Today I went off to a coffee shop and read books on POV. Point of view. I apparently don't know enough about them. So it is back to the drawing board and some studying.

I am meeting Liz next week to have a session with her to plot and plan the next book. I miss my writing buddy and the long chats we had at work. Email is fine and all the other ways to communicate but face to face is always better.

My sisters and I use MSN regularly and have the camera on occasionally. Not sure why we need to see each other getting older but it just gives you a feeling of being connected

I am attempting to add some pictures. It has been a while. I have one of my shiny new printer and a masterpiece.... a Cardinal sitting on a tree outside my window.

If I don't manage it then you will have to use your imagination!

Talk soon,

Slainte,

Pam

Forget retirement!

Retire (verb) intransitive verb to leave a job or career voluntarily, at or near the usual age for doing so

Retirement (noun) a state of being withdrawn from the rest of the world or from a former busy life

The verb retire is correct in the Dictionary as I did voluntarily give up work. But retirement, a state of being withdrawn from the rest of the world is so wrong. I was certainly busy in my former life but now I am even more so, but, the difference is, I get to choose how busy I want to be and I am doing something I want to do. So I have decided to come out of retirement and go gangbusters with my new career as a novelist.

My husband of many years has not shown up with any cruise tickets or even maps to go travelling so I must travel in my mind and Google where I want to go. I had a jab at the housework when I started on the journey of retirement and have decided it is not for me and never will be. The necessary will be done of course for decencies sake but if I see a couple of cobwebs as I gaze at the ceiling looking for inspiration, so what?

I am four weeks into my night school class and it is so much fun. Writers are an insecure lot. We were in groups this week and were critiquing the others attempts at an opening scene. I was very nervous but they seemed to enjoy what was written and gave some good pointers. I was very relieved. Of course the only critique I need to count on is my teachers. I will keep you posted as to my progress.

Last Friday I interviewed a Private Investigator and his business partner for the better part of two hours. I had written up about 20 questions to ask pertaining to what the job entails. As our books take place in the States we needed to clarify many things for authenticity. This was an International company so I was made privy to many things I had not even thought off. I was given contacts in different places in the US to confirm details. It was very interesting to see how much technology is used in apprehending the bad guy. There is a lot of poetic licence in writing a PI novel and the day to day working of a normal Detective office would be just plain boring and surveillance duty can be very long. But that’s the writer’s job, to give that life some , romance and excitement. My friend Jim would laugh at that.

Thanks guys for your input.

I am in the market for a new printer. I priced one today and was about to buy when I added the cost of the inkjets and it came to the same price as the printer!!

Any suggestions out there? Wholesale cartridges anywhere?

Slainte,

Pam

Thank you ....

....to Terry from Forensic Science Technician who was checking out the blog the other day and noticed a broken link for Crime Writers of Canada.  In appreciation, a link to his site has now been added and I hope you will check it out.  I think it may be a very useful resource tool for Pam and I in future writing!  The broken link has now been repaired.


Pam has been quite busy with her writing class and is picking up some very useful feedback and tips; need I say that I am more than a little envious!  The beginnings of our second story with Paul and Dorothy are germinating and I'm anxious to start fleshing it out.


At the moment I am thoroughly enjoying Linwood Barclay's The Accident - another satisfying page turner! With a long weekend (Thanksgiving) approaching I'm hopeful that I'll be able to enjoy reading straight through to the end.  Although I'm going to have to spend some time on a spreadsheet or two from work, so I should probably get that out of the way first so that I can enjoy just relaxing with an engrossing tale.


Hopefully Pam will drop in soon with her own update on what's been happening; for instance she told me she had quite an exciting time near Costco today..perhaps she will share.


Thanks again to Terry for reporting the broken link and sharing his in depth web site!


Happy Thanksgiving to all our Canadian readers.


Cheers!


Liz