Ellen Jacobson's Blog, page 26

Flashback Friday | Can Wallabies Be Litter Box Trained?

 
Flashback Friday takes place on the last Friday of the month. The idea is to give a little more love to a blog post you've published before that maybe didn't get enough attention, or is something you think is still relevant or even a something that you really love and want to share again.

Many thanks to Michael d’Agostino for starting Flashback Friday and inspiring me to go back and revisit some of our earlier blog posts.


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This is a flashback to when we were anchored at Kawau Island in New Zealand. The weather was getting to be a real drag and we were stuck in that anchorage for ages. Fortunately, we spotted some wallabies one day when we went for a walk which cheered us up. Which, of course, led to the question - "Can wallabies be litter box trained?" If they can, they sure would make a great addition to the crew.

{This post was originally published in March 2014. You can find the original post here.}  

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Wallaby spotted on Kawau Island. So cute! They were introduced in 1870 by the Governor of New Zealand, Sir George Grey, along with other exotic animals. Sadly, they are now considered to be a pest which negatively impacts on native flora and fauna and the Department of Conservation and other landowners are trying to manage their population. You can help by adopting a wallaby and having it live on your boat!
I’ve been trying to convince Scott for a while now that we absolutely need a cute little dog on our boat, but sadly I haven’t been very successful yet. Every time I bring the subject up, he gets all Mr. Spock logical on me with seemingly rational arguments such as the fact that there are lots of countries you can’t easily bring a dog into. 

But his biggest argument is that you have to cart your dog on to shore to do their business. His favorite refrain is, “Are you going to get in the dinghy when it is pouring down rain and blowing a gale and take the dog to shore? Hah, I didn’t think so! There won’t be any dogs on our boat because I’m sure as heck not going to get stuck rowing the mutt to shore every day.”

Fortunately, I’ve found an even better idea for a liveaboard pet – a wallaby! I figure if I can litter box train one, then Scott can’t possibly say no to having one on board. And because they can stand on their hind legs, when we get to a new port we can put clothes on our little wallaby and pass him off as a human crew member. Animal immigration problem solved! And the icing on the cake is the fact that wallabies can jump and they have a built in tool pouch. Something wrong up the mast? Get your wallaby to jump up there and fix it with the tools they carry around in their handy pouch. Much, much easier than getting a clumsy human to climb up there.

Last time we were at Mansion House Bay in Kawau Island, we caught a glimpse of the wallabies that live there. We’ve been there many times previously, but have never seen them before. It was amazing! They look so cute and their fur seems so soft and I just wanted to grab one and cuddle it. Unfortunately, they’re fast little buggers and they jumped away before I had a chance to say hi and ask them if they know how to use a litter box. Scott seemed really interested in the wallabies, so once I solve the litter box issues, I’m pretty sure he can’t possibly say no to having one on board.

I’m really grateful we had some wallaby sightings, because, frankly I was getting really tired of Mansion House Bay. We have spent far too much time there hiding out from various blows and desperately trying to escape. I can hear you saying, “Are you nuts? Mansion House is a beautiful, iconic New Zealand spot. I would love to go there!” And, yes, if you haven’t been there before, by all means you should head up there and spend a couple of days exploring the nature reserve and the Mansion House grounds. But, if you’ve ended up spending around eight days in a row there trying to escape (with only a quick run to Gulf Harbour to reprovision), then you’ve probably seen it all and done it all. But of course, every cloud has a silver lining and for us, it was when we caught a glimpse of the wallabies on the island.

I’m also really grateful for things like wallaby sightings, because without these amazing moments, I think the setbacks we’ve had with the weather so far might do my head in. We counted up how many days so far this summer that we’ve spent hiding out from a blow (either in a marina or at an anchorage) and the number is quite depressing. 

Intellectually, I know that the weather really does dictate what you can do and where you can go. And, I know people end up waiting weeks for the right weather window to make a passage. But we’re just doing coastal cruising, so I never expected that the weather would have such an impact on us. If the wind isn’t blowing a near-gale or gale, then it is blowing from the completely wrong direction to go where we want to get to. And, then there is the swell – it either is way too high for our tiny boat and/or crashing into us beam on. And on those days when you can’t stand the weather or the boat anymore a cute little wallaby to cuddle sure would make all the difference.

So if you have any experience training wallabies to use a litter box and jump up to the top of the mast, please let me know. Also, feel free to email Scott and tell him that having a dog or a wallaby or even a cat on board would be a great idea! I’m sure he’ll listen to you!

Anyway, here is what our week up in Kawau looked like. Other than the wallabies, not too exciting.



Scott thinks that the wallaby fences are proof that they can't jump high enough to get to the top of our mast. Personally, I think they are just smart creatures who can read the signs and choose not to jump over the fences.
Monday, 17 February 2014

After making a run from Great Barrier to Kawau the previous night and getting in around 11:30 pm, we had anchored down near the Kawau Yacht Club. It is a big anchorage, which we know well, and we figured it would be easiest to park the boat there in the dark. But it turned out to be a bit roly-poly, so we decided to move the boat over to the more protected Mansion House Bay in the morning. The only other big event of the day was having a solar shower. Scott helps me wash my hair because the solar shower can be a bit fiddly to use. Honestly, I never thought it would come to this…I can’t wash my hair without my husband’s help. That’s living on a boat for you.

Tuesday, 18 February 2014

We ran out of eggs and cheese. These are two essential staples in our diet and we ended up getting stuck with eating things out of cans we’ve been avoiding so far. And they tasted terrible. {Note to self: never, never, never try to make a pasta dish out of cream of mushroom soup and canned chicken again.} Fortunately, wallabies were sighted!

Wednesday, 19 February 2014

We ran out of water in our bladder. Not our actual human bladders, but the water bladder under the settee that we use instead of a water tank. Hmmm….no funnel to get the water from the jerry can into the water bladder. But, no worries, Scott cleverly cut up a tonic water bottle and turned it into a funnel. Problem solved. More wallaby sightings.

Thursday 19 February – Monday, 24 February 2014

Nothing too exciting happened. And when nothing too exciting happens, you spend a lot of time looking at the other boats which are also stuck in the anchorage. Scott was particularly interested in an older couple living on a boat even smaller than ours. They seem to be a really fit duo – she even drops and raises the anchor herself by hand while he watches from the cockpit. Scott spent the rest of the day trying to convince me that if an old lady can manage the anchor, I can too. I ignored him and daydreamed about wallabies instead. Sadly, no more wallaby sightings.

Eventually, we got a brief break in the weather so we made a quick run to Gulf Harbour to reprovision – more diesel, water and food. And then it was back up to Kawau to wait for another break to be able to head up north which finally came on Monday. We said goodbye to Mansion House Bay and the wallabies and made our escape.

Overall

Total nautical miles = 32 (to Gulf Harbour and back)
Number of wallabies sighted = 3
Number of days in Mansion House Bay = too many

What do you think - can wallabies be litter box trained? Would you want one as a pet? Have you ever had an "unusual" pet?

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Wordless Wednesday | Sugar

Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words:

1 - Sugar comes in all sorts of varieties. I'm used to the white and brown stuff that comes in bags. But it also comes in big solid chunks of unrefined whole cane sugar as well, like the panela pictured above. 

2 - Some people swear cane sugar tastes better than corn syrup when it comes to soda pop. Personally, I can't tell the difference.

3 - I love sugar. My life would be incomplete without it. But what I don't like is the burning of sugar cane fields nearby. It leaves ash all over your boat. Top Tip: Don't leave your hatches open when they're burning, unless you happen to like an ashy residue clinging to everything. 

4 - I watched a show the other day which said sugar is highly addictive, as addictive as heroin and cocaine, possibly even more addictive. Scary stuff.

What words does this picture(s) bring to your mind when you look at it?

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, click here. 

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Morning Coffee | Random Thoughts & Oddities

Image via The Graphics Fairy
Paul at Lat43 does these hysterical Morning Tea blog posts which are a brain dump of whatever pops into his head while he's writing them. I decided to steal his idea. Except, I'm drinking coffee while I write this and he drinks tea, so it isn't really stealing, is it?

So, here we go - all of the random nonsense floating through my head while I sip on my morning coffee.

I love Rhys Darby. What? You don't know who he is? Your life is lacking a bit of *sparkle*. Go out immediately and procure Flight of the Conchords and then watch this episode of the X-Files.Yes, I've finally caught up with the rest of the world and watched the tenth season of the X-Files. I have mixed feelings about it. Some episodes were great, some were a bit less great. I'm feeling that way about the current season as well.Guys swear a lot when they're working on boat projects. Yeah, I know. That's stating the obvious. I'd like to suggest some alternative adjectives that they might want to use instead of swear words. They could say something like:

"The *sparkly* transmission fluid leaked all over the *sparkly* engine room again! I'm tired of this *sparkly* boat!" 

I bet by the time they uttered the last *sparkly* they wouldn't be able to keep a straight face and the problem wouldn't seem half as bad as it did before.

That's the thing about living in a marina - you hear everything. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to learn sign language, if you don't know it already. That way you could swear about your latest boat project without causing parents to cover their kids' ears or have a fight with your partner without everyone pretending they can't hear you. My sister used to know sign language. I wonder if she still does. I haven't had to use my air conditioner in weeks. I could do without the near-freezing temperatures that we've had on a few nights, but the mild days are pleasant. Yep, there's a reason why people spend the winters in Florida. I've been seeing pictures of cute kids all bundled up in snowsuits playing in the snow up North. They look so happy. I used to be one of those kids. Now I'm one of those adults who would be happy to never see snow again. I looked back at the last Morning Coffee post I did. I complained about the cold then. Well, isn't that boring. Maybe every time I want to talk about being cold, I should just use *sparkly* instead. It would be far more interesting.

"I'm so tired of this *sparkly* weather. Why is it so darn *sparkly* out there? I don't want to have to put on a *sparkly* coat and go out in this *sparkly* weather again!"

I just googled how to say cold in American Sign Language. It's a fun sign. A bee buzzed around inside my boat the other day. Bees scare me. Honey good. Bees not so good. I put a blanket over my head and hid until it left. Yep, I'm that much of a baby.  I've never been stung by a bee. What if I'm allergic? I really don't want to find out. Probably less because of the reaction and more because my medical insurance deductible is really high. To make the sign for bee, you make like you've been stung on the cheek and then bat the bee away. If I was in charge of making up signs, I'd have one where act like you're putting a blanket over your head and cowering in fear.
Okay, that's enough ramblings for today. I'm off to find some bread so I can have some toast with honey.

What did you think about over your morning cup of coffee, tea or other favorite beverage? What did you have for breakfast?

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Saturday Spotlight | Around The World In 80 Books, Update #14

In addition to the usual blog posts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday about our eccentric travel adventures and day-to-day life living aboard a sailboat, I also occasionally post on Saturdays, focusing on things related to writing such as cover reveals, book launches, reviews, interviews with authors etc. So if you're a bit of a book nerd like I am, check in on Saturdays - you never know what might pop up.

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Remember when I started that "Around the World in 80 Books" challenge? The one I was so gung-ho about, but then never finished. Yeah, I had completely forgotten about it too until my mother gave me a reminder. So, while we're land-locked and working on boat projects, I thought this would be a good time to start ticking more countries off of the list.

The idea of the challenge is to read books set in 80 different countries, effectively exploring the world from the comfort of your armchair. Since my last update, I've read books set in five more countries – Cyprus, Mongolia, New Zealand, Spain, and Wales.

That makes a total of 70 books since I started the challenge - only 10 more to go!

You can read more about the challenge here, as well as check out Update #1, Update #2, Update #3, Update #4, Update #5, Update #6, Update #7, Update #8, Update #9, Update #10, Update #11, Update #12, and Update #13.****
AGATHA RAISIN AND THE TERRIBLE TOURIST by M.C. Beaton | Cyprus
I always enjoy reading Agatha Raisin cozy mysteries, which are set in Britain. Agatha is one of those main characters who isn't always so likable - she can actually be quite annoying at times - but yet, I'm always curious to see what she gets up to next. In this installment, Agatha is trying to track down her ex-fiance in Cyprus, where they were supposed to be honeymooning. Of course, a fellow tourist ends up getting murdered (it is a cozy mystery, after all) and Agatha is drawn into the investigation while at the same time trying to win back her ex-fiance.

When we lived in Scotland, Scott and I scored one of those last-minute, cheap holiday deals to Cyprus and stayed in a hotel with lots of British tourists, some of whom might qualify as "terrible tourists." There are plenty of terrible tourists in this book too, including Agatha who wonders why everyone can't speak English and thinks the standards aren't quite up to par:

"Soon they were driving off into the ferocious heat along to Lapta and so to the Celebrity Hotel. The hotel is rated four-star, but as Agatha walked into the reception and her jaundiced eye took in the amount of plush and gilt furniture, the chandeliers and the hot noisy carpets, she decided it was Middle Eastern four-star. No one at the reception desk had much English and so it took them some time to discover that Trevor and Angus had just checked out. 'Why can't they get someone who speaks bloody English?' raged Agatha. 'They don't care about tourism in this country.'"

You can find out more about Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist on Goodreads and get your own copy on Amazon.

MORON TO MORON by Tom Doig | Mongolia
I assumed from the title that this wouldn't be a dry, boring travel memoir and I wasn't disappointed. Moron to Moron had me in stitches. Two guys from New Zealand decide to go to Mongolia and bike 920 miles (1,487 kms) from one town called Moron to another town called Moron. Seriously, they're really named Moron. Sounds like a slightly moronic thing to do, doesn't it? Actually, it sounds insane. I think the only way you could do something like this is if you had a great sense of humor, which these two guys do. 

Not only did I enjoy reading about Mongolia through the author's rather irreverent and off-beat point of view, but, after having lived in New Zealand for five years, it was also fun to read a book chock-full of Kiwi-isms and cultural references.

It's also full of helpful pointers, should we ever travel to Mongolia, like buying mystery meat in a can at your own risk, considering the distinct lack of cats to be seen. Correlation or not?

"The whole conversation was a distraction from the matter at hand: what were we going to eat for lunch? We were low on everything. There was a quarter-loaf of two-day-old Tarialan bread, no butter, and we were down to our last can of Russian fish. I don't know who suggested it - I'm going to say Tama - but someone said we should crack out the tin of emergency meat I'd been carrying around since Tsagaan-Uur."

{Word of warning: There's a fair bit of "naughty" language and things get downright raunchy at times. For some folks, that might be a selling point, for others, you may want to steer clear.}
You can find out more about Moron to Moron on Goodreads and get your own copy on Amazon.

IN TOO DEEP (STEWART ISLAND BOOK 1) by Tracey Alvarez | New Zealand
In Too Deep is the first in the Stewart Island romance series. I always wanted to go to Stewart Island when we lived in New Zealand and somehow it never happened. So what better way to "visit" Stewart Island remotely than through a romance novel.

The main character of the book, Piper, returns to Stewart Island to help out with some family issues. While there, she runs into her old boyfriend, West, who she parted with on not-so-good terms. They're still madly attracted to each other, but trying to deny their feelings. While their romantic feeling are sizzling away, Piper tries to help her brother save his dive charter business, which is right up her alley as she's diver with the police on the mainland. She's one tough cookie.

"I'm sick of pulling dead idiots from the water. Guys who think they're so invincible they don't need a lifejacket in an ill-equipped boat - the worst are those who bring innocent kiddies on board and don't bother fitting them with lifejackets either. Or fishermen who are so gun-ho trying to catch the big one they forget how unforgiving the ocean is."

{Word of warning: This isn't a "clean" romance, which doesn't bother me, but might not be your cup of tea.}

You can find out more about In Too Deep on Goodreads and get your own copy on Amazon.

THE SANDS OF TIME by Sidney Sheldon | Spain
I can't remember the last time I read a Sidney Sheldon novel, but it was probably a long time ago. When I saw he had written a novel set in Spain, I went for it because I was feeling in the mood for a bit of retro "beach" read (it was originally published in 1988).  

In the Sands of Time tells the story of four nuns caught up in the tensions between the outlawed Basque separatists and the Spanish army. I enjoyed learning a bit about this period in Spain's history (especially given the current tensions around the issue of Catalonia independence) mixed in with a heaping dose of melodrama and engrossing story-telling. Sheldon hooked me in from the start with this description of the running of the bulls in Pamplona in 1976:

"What followed was an unforgettable spectacle. First came the sound. It started as a faint, distant ripple on the wind, almost imperceptible, and then it grew louder and louder until it became an explosion of pounding hooves, and suddenly bursting into view appeared six oxen and six enormous bulls. Each weighing fifteen hundred pounds, they charged down the Calle Santo Domingo like deadly express trains. Inside the wooden barricades that had been placed at each intersecting street corners were hundreds of eager, nervous young men who intended to prove their bravery by facing the maddened animals."

You can find out more about The Sands of Time on Goodreads and get your own copy on Amazon.
 TORCHWOOD: INTO THE SILENCE by Sarah Pinborough | Wales
One of the things I've been trying to do as part of this challenge is read books I normally wouldn't think of picking up. Into the Silence is a great example of this. It's a tie-in to the television series, Torchwood. Never heard of Torchwood? Have you heard of Dr. Who? Of course you have because you don't live in a cave. Torchwood is a spin-off of Dr. Who and is set in Wales. I'm a fan of both shows, so thought I would give Into the Silence a try.

It was an enjoyable, and at times a little scary, story about a series of killings of singers who are participating in the Wales Amateur Operatic Contest in Cardiff. Of course, given this is Torchwood we're talking about, this isn't just any old killer the team needs to track down, but something rather alien in nature. I enjoyed the Welsh setting, mixed in with alien killers, and the ending had a nice twist. It was also fun to read about the Welsh national pride in their singing:

"Barry hummed through his octaves, up and down, over and over. Even just doing something as simple as those exercises, anyone could hear that he had a beautiful voice. It was a true Welshman's voice, full of the natural power of the solid land and valleys that had bred it, hundreds of years of history and courage carried in every tune. There was nothing namby-pamby about the way Barry Llewelyn sang, not like those pancaked West End performers from London."

You can find out more about Torchwood: Into the Silence on Goodreads and get your own copy on Amazon. 
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If you're participating in the challenge too (or any other reading challenge), I'd love to hear what you've been reading. Even if you're not doing the challenge, let us know what books you've been enjoying lately.

COUNTRIES READ TO DATE: Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, the Bahamas, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Djibouti, England, Estonia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mexico, Mongolia, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Portugal, Republic of Kiribati, Romania, Russia, Samoa, Saudi Arabia,  Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, United States, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wales, and Zimbabwe.

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December In Numbers

Clockwise from upper left: (1) Beach at Manzanita on the Oregon coast; (2) Covered with my sister's cats; (3) So cold in Oregon that you need a fire; (4) Back in Florida and wearing flip-flops; (5) Christmas tamales; and (6) Ringing in the New Year with a boat/camper crawl.
It's time for our usual monthly recap by the numbers. December was a fantastic month. I got to spend the first part of it visiting my family in Portland, Oregon and the latter part celebrating the holidays with friends at Indiantown Marina. It was brutally cold while I was in Portland. I had to borrow a coat from my mom and even wore real shoes. You know, shoes that don't expose your toes. My feet were confused by these contraptions. My toes didn't know what to make of being encased inside them. They were so glad to get back to the land of flip-flops in Florida.

So, enough with all of those words, here's the usual random nonsense recap by the numbers:

12+ - How many hours it took to get from Palm Beach to Portland. Such a long day, but worth it to see my family, who I don't see often enough.

4 - How many days we spent on the Oregon coast. I love the Oregon coast. The beaches are are so much more beautiful than those in Florida. Of course the weather isn't as good and the water is freezing, but the views are stunning.

15 - How old my nieces are (soon to be 16). They're smart, creative, and beautiful young ladies. Listening to their stories about high school and their plans for college made me feel so old. Was I ever as young and energetic as they are?

2 - How many cats my sister has. I loved cuddling up with them when I was staying at her place in Portland.

0 - How many cats I have. {Simon exists only in my imagination. Good thing, because he's obnoxious.}

17 - How many cats I want. {This is my inner crazy cat lady talking.}

0 - How many cats I'm going to have while we live on a boat. {This is realistic Ellen talking.}

2 - How many days I stayed in bed suffering from a cold when I got back to Florida. I caught it on my last day in Portland. Why do we say that we catch a cold? Normally, you chase after and catch desirable things. Like the ice cream truck that starts to pull away before you've had a chance to get an orange popsicle. Nobody wants to catch a cold.

1 - How many tamales I ate at the marina's Christmas Eve lunch. I  love tamales. Not only are they delicious, it's fun to peel the corn husk back before you eat them. It was a great afternoon. There was tons of food, the weather was perfect (yes, I was wearing flip-flops) and some of the guys played music afterwards.

2 - How many brownies I ate at the Christmas Eve lunch. I wanted to eat seven, but showed considerable restraint by only eating two. Of course, it probably had less to do with restraint and more to do with the fact that they ran out of them, but let's pretend it was restraint, shall we?

5 - Number of boats we saw on our New Year's Eve boat crawl, along with one camper. We had snacks, drinks, and a tour of each boat and camper along the way. So much fun! More about the crawl next Friday.

In case you missed them, here are some of our favorite posts from last month:

Library People on the Oregon Coast | Spindrift Cottage, Manzanita
Going for a Walk in Search of Ethiopian Food | Little Five Points, Atlanta
Five Fugal Things

How did last month go for you? What are you looking forward to this month?

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Simon The Time Traveling Cat Takes A Nap | IWSG

The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is a place to share and encourage, where writers can express their doubts and concerns without appearing foolish or weak. It's a wonderful spot to mingle with like-minded people each month during IWSG day.

I'm co-hosting this month, along with Tyrean Martinson, Megan Morgan, Rachna Chhabria, and Jennifer Lane.
 
Every month there's an optional question which may prompt folks to share advice, insights, a personal experience or story. Some folks answer the question in their IWSG blog post or let it inspire them if they're struggling with what to say.

This month's question is:

"What steps have you taken or plan to take to put a schedule in place for your writing and publishing?"

Check out how people have answered this month's question, as well as the other insecurities and writing topics they may have shared by visiting the IWSG sign-up list here. If you want to see how I answered the question, have a look below.

But before you scroll down, let's take a minute to applaud the winners of the 2017 IWSG anthology contest! I'm so excited for them and can't wait to read >>Tick Tock: A Stick in Crime<< when it's published later this year.

Top honors go to Gwen Gardner for her story, A Stitch in Crime.

The other winning stories are:

Three O’Clock Execution - S. R. Betler
Until Release - Jemi Fraiser
Cypress, Like the Tree - Yolanda Renée
Gussy Saint and the Case of the Missing Coed - C.D. Gallant-King
Reset – Tara Tyler
Center Lane - Christine Clemetson
One More Minute – Mary Aalgaard
The Little Girl in the Bayou - J. R. Ferguson
The Tide Waits – Rebecca M. Douglas
Special Mention: Heartless – C. Lee McKenzie

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"Move out of the way, lady," Simon the Time Traveling Cat said as he jumped onto the table. "You're in my spot."

"What do you mean your spot?" I asked indignantly. "I was here first."

Simon ignored me, nudging my water glass with one of his gray paws. "Hey, watch it!" I grabbed the water glass before he succeeded in tipping it over. "You almost spilled water all over my laptop."

"Oh, stop your whining, lady," Simon said. "It's not my fault that your stupid laptop is in my way. And why do you have to drink water from a glass anyway? Why can't you just drink it from a bowl like I do?" He swished his tail back and forth, knocking my notebook to the floor. "I'll never understand humans."

I picked my notebook up and set it back on the table. "Simon, can you please just go somewhere else and leave me in peace and quiet? I need to finish typing up my writing and publishing schedule for this year."

Simon narrowed his eyes and growled. "This is where I take my afternoon nap, lady. Why don't you go someplace else?" He glared at me and knocked my notebook back onto the floor. Then he padded over to my laptop and stared at the screen.

"You call this a plan?" he asked. "All it says is that you're going to finish revising your cozy mystery, Murder at the Marina, and then publish it this year. Big deal. You've been saying that for ages."

I leaned back and sighed. "If you had let me finish typing, you would have seen that I also plan on drafting the second book in the series, Bodies in the Boatyard, this year too."

"Whatever," Simon said as he pressed one of his paws on the keyboard. "This is my plan for the coming year."

I looked at the screen. "It's just the letter 'Z' repeated a million times."

"Geez, you really are a stupid as you look, lady. It means catching some Zs. You know, taking naps. Now move your laptop out of my way so I can get on with it. It's time for my afternoon nap. And by the time I wake up, there better be some full-fat milk in a saucer waiting for me."

What are your plans and/or resolutions for 2018?

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Happy New Year!

Image via The Graphics Fairy

Holiday Wishes, A Polar Bear & A Blogging Break

Happy holidays to everyone who is celebrating during this festive season. We'll be taking a blogging break until the New Year, but, in the meantime, here's a polar bear to keep you amused. Because who doesn't love polar bears?
Image via The Graphics Fairy

Wordless Wednesday | Paris Honeymoon

Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words:

1 - After getting married in Copenhagen, we honeymooned in Paris.

2 - That was a long, long time ago - 26 years.

3 - We didn't have a lot of money at the time (and we still don't) so we stayed in a really dodgy hotel. Thankfully, the views of Paris from the balcony made up for our room's shortcomings. 

4 - For some reason, looking at these pictures has left me with a distinct craving for a pain au chocolat.

What words does this picture(s) bring to your mind when you look at it?

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, click here. 

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Library People On The Oregon Coast | Spindrift Cottage, Manzanita

My sister is a library person in Portland, Oregon. Library people are weird and wonderful. Or weirdly wonderful. Or wonderfully weird. You decide.

I think being a library person would be awesome. You're surrounded by books and like-minded people. And there's interesting weirdos too. Like the people who bring rats in Tupperware containers into the library and try to pass them off as service animals. Seriously, that kind of thing happens where my sister works.

One of the amazing perks that the library where my sister works has to offer (besides rats in plastic boxes) is access to a cottage on the beach in Manzanita on the Oregon coast. She was lucky enough to win the employee lottery and I was lucky enough to be visiting when she had the cottage.

Here's what it looks like when the sun is out and it's bright and cheerful on the coast. I cheated and took photos of other people's photos. {For the record, it's usually windy, gloomy, and rainy on the coast.}



When you're on vacation with a library person, guess what you do? Yep, you go visit the local library. My sister and the library person on duty at the Manzanita library had a fascinating conversation about periodicals. Well, fascinating if you're a library person. If you're not a library person, then not so fascinating. I read a brochure on tsunami evacuation procedures while it was going on. Slightly more fascinating, considering Scott and I were on our boat in New Zealand during a tsunami warning once.


After the fascinating periodical decision, we went to one of the candy shops in town. My sister bought salt water taffy for her co-workers which was a smart move on her part because none of us like salt water taffy. If she had bought something chocolaty, there probably would have been nothing left for her co-workers.


Possibly the coolest thing about staying at the cottage, other than the fireplace and the ocean views, was the journals which guests of the cottage fill out during their stay. Library people are really creative people. The journals are full of poems, drawings, and even locks of human hair. Okay, human hair isn't so much creative as it is slightly creepy.

Isn't this amazing? The picture on the left is of some woman staying here, reading a book, and trying to ignore everyone talking around her. I can relate.


Kids are also prolific leavers of art in the journals, usually of an outline of their hands. {Yes, I'm sure "prolific leavers of art" isn't grammatically correct, but you need to give library people something to get excited about while brandishing their red pens.}



I really like this one. No idea what it says in Chinese, but you have to admire the penmanship.


There's reference to several ghosts at the cottage, including a ghost dog. Here's proof that the ghost dog exists.


Unfortunately, there are other unpleasant creatures at the cottage, like mice and cockroaches.


 Competition for the cottage is fierce. The holidays are very popular dates, especially the 4th of July.


If you're really lucky, you can see whales on the coast, as documented by this person in one of the journals. We were here at the wrong time of the year, but we still had a wonderful time hanging out with family and my sister's friend and her daughter. {Rebecca and Tseten - thanks again for the great company and the amazing food!}


If you want to know more about Spindrift cottage and see pictures, check out this blog.

Are you a library person? What would you do if someone came into your place of employment with a rat in a plastic containers?

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