tagged

My friend Sherry tagged me in e-mail, but I thought I'd go a step further. I know, I just can't shut up lately!

Four jobs I've had in my life.

1. Whopper flopper

2. stock broker's assistant

3. mechanic

4. church day care center director

Four of my favorite movies.

1. Out of Africa

2. Passionata

3. The Patriot

4. Princess Bride

Four places I have lived:

1. Italy

2. Texas

3. North Carolina

4. Virginia

Four places I've been on vacation:

1. Paris

2. Rome

3. Florida

4. Las Vegas

Four favorite foods:

1. Chocolate

2. Mexican

3. Italian

4. Coffee

Four things I would rather be doing right now:

1. Camping

2. Vacationing in Europe

3. Drinking a glass of wine on Piazza Bra (Verona, Italy) and listening to whatever opera is being performed in the coliseum

4. Watching the sun set on the beach

Four things I always carry with me:

1. PDA

2. Cell phone

3. Lipstick (sometimes I even remember to put it on)

4. Keys

I'm not tagging anyone, but if you choose to blog this leave me a comment so I can come see!

hot, 50% chance of sun and showers

This apparently, is a difficult time of year to predict the weather in the Midwest. Rain has been in the forecast for most of this week. In the mornings, it looks like it wants to rain, but then it gets over it and the clouds head out of dodge. Yesterday we did get a nice shower, but it wasn't nearly long enough. Most days, when I watch the forecast on the news, I feel like Carol Kane in The Princess Bride: "Liar! Li-arrrrrr!" (I love that movie!)

Even the radar on my usual weather websites has lost accuracy. It wants to rain, but it's not raining. The radar says it's raining, but the driveway is bone dry and too hot to walk on barefoot. Liar!

I've given up watching the forecasts for the time being. It's going to be hot, probably humid, and it may or may not rain. Give up all hope and water the lawn. The weather will break. Eventually. Probably in late September.

Bounty

I am a novice gardener. I love to have fresh things growing outside my kitchen door, but when one lives in military housing, one must accept the fact that she can not till the back yard. The logical move is container gardening, so I have lugged large plastic tubs (think toy tubs from Walmart--the ones with fake rope handles) around with me for the last several years. Some years were better than others. After the first year in Texas I gave up entirely. I planted, tended, watered, and attempted to partially shade my precious tomatoes from the harsh Texas sun only to have my bounty enjoyed by squirrels.

Now that we're in our own home with no moves looming on the horizon, I can indulge myself a little more. I planted a couple of tomato plants, some yellow banana peppers, and a couple of squash purloined from Mom. Apparently, these are the Gardening For Dummies plants for this area because they have really taken off this summer.

A couple of weeks ago, in an effort to increase their domestic and fiscal responsibility skills, I delegated garden watering to the kids. I watched to make sure the plants did not die of thirst but didn't pay too much attention until yesterday, when I looked out the window and spied a ripe tomato. I went out to pick it and had to come back inside to get a container to gather into. This, my friends, is what I picked from my little container garden in under ten minutes.

I'm shocked by the size of that zuchini...

This could be trouble

I found a site this morning that sells textiles for medieval through 18th century clothing. The fabrics and prints are authentic, which is important when you make costumes. I haven't gone through the whole 18th century section. I dare not. After three pages my heart was palpitating from the combination of caffeine and adrenaline. They are fabulous! Beautiful! It made me grateful that I have my credit card number memorized from years of on-line shopping.

The trouble? Besides $14.00 a yard plus tax and shipping? They're too beautiful. My Rendezvous persona is a common woman. I can get away with a couple of nice garments as long as they're not perfect. To be truly authentic, there needs to be a little wear at the hem or a loose seam because a common woman could not have afforded this gorgeous fabric; it would have been a hand-me-down from my employer or a well-meaning woman of a higher station. I also have to take into consideration the fact that a woman of a higher station would not be at a Rendezvous. The modern concept comes from what were were called, in the 18th century, squirrel hunts. Fur traders gathered when they could to trade goods and news with each other. Traditionally, the women present were either Native, wives, whores, or some combination there-of. (If you have access to the DVD series "Into The West" there is a part of, I think, the second episode that takes place at a squirrel hunt.) We make exceptions at the Rendezvous because we get a lot of school kids and families who visit.

My husband will be relieved to know that, sadly, I won't be shopping at that site much; at least not until we get out of debt and get into re-enacting in addition to Rendezvous. Then I'll be making fancy clothes for both of us!

Be afraid

I got an e-mail from Scott the other day asking if he had the most current copy of Book 2; he said he knew there was some stuff missing. I went hunting and found a whole folder on a thumb drive of snippets and sundry bits, versions of the book in various forms, and scenes written to insert later.

When we wrote The Dragon's Lady, we wrote in pieces, assembled, and rearranged. That part took less than six months, mostly because we had a state line between us and were both working full time. I spent the next year editing it twice, smoothing the wrinkles so that when it was done no one would know that there were multiple authors. As far as I know, nobody knows exactly which scenes were written by whom, including us in some cases!

Based on the pile of scraps I've just found, I think the second book will kick butt. Eventually. In the meantime, I'm trying not to hyperventilate when I think about putting it together.

Women of Faith

I spent yesterday in St. Louis with friends at the Women of Faith conference. I'd never been to one, so it was an experience! The speakers were amazing, and the while the theme was Contagious Joy, Thelma Wells summed it all up with, "God loves you, baby, and there ain't nothin' you can do about it!"

Love that!

I got a lot out of the program in spite of sharing personal space with 15,000 women. The smart folks at the Savvis Center converted several of the mens' rooms to womens' so the bathroom lines weren't quite so long, but by late afternoon I found myself standing in a line at least ten yards long, desperate for a cup of coffee. It was either stand in line or risk losing my religion; I don't do too well in crowds.

I did have an affirmation of sorts. I found myself a little envious of Natalee Grant's back-up singers. She does such a good show, and I thought she must be great to sing with. A few minutes later, as a break was announced, the MC mentioned that there were fiction books for sale and some of the authors were on-hand to sign them. That's when I realized that my job is supposed to be writing; singing is therapy. I've started research on what publisher(s) they use, and I'll be researching agents for Christian fiction this week.

It was worth the time and money for that reason alone, but I have to confess I just can't stop smiling today. I feel so much lighter. For now, though, I have to get moving. I have to leave for a Dudley's Rush gig in the next ten minutes.

Back to reality.