Lynn Flewelling's Blog, page 41
May 18, 2011
Today's Buddhist Thought
I once heard another of my meditation teachers, Joseph Goldstein, speaking to a yogi who had just lost a loved one and was asking for help in understanding how to cope. Joseph made a very important distinction between sorrow (pain) and grief (disappointment). "Sorrow is a natural response to loss," he said, "But grief is an unwillingness to accept what is." I was struck by just how true this is. —Phillip Moffat
May 13, 2011
First Harvest
First produce from the Mother's Day container garden: a heaping handful of sweet basil for tonight's pan seared salmon with cream sauce. And pinching it back will make it come back fuller. :-) Tomorrow I'll find something to make with rosemary.
CASKET OF SOULS news!
Casket of Souls, the sixth Nightrunner novel, will be released in Feb. 2012 and is now available for pre-order at Amazon.com
Blurb:
The Nightrunners are back in this gripping novel full of Lynn Flewelling's trademark action, intrigue, and richly imagined characters.
More than the dissolute noblemen they appear to be, Alec and Seregil are skillful spies, dedicated to serving queen and country. But when they stumble across evidence of a plot pitting Queen Phoria against Princess Klia, the two Nightrunners will find their loyalties torn as never before. Even at the best of times, the royal court at Rhíminee is a serpents' nest of intrigue, but with the war against Plenimar going badly, treason simmers just below the surface.
And that's not all that poses a threat: A mysterious plague is spreading through the crowded streets of the city, striking young and old alike—a plague that may well be magical in nature. Now, as panic mounts and the body count rises, hidden secrets emerge. And as Seregil and Alec are about to learn, conspiracies and plagues have one thing in common: The cure can be as deadly as the disease.
http://www.amazon.com/Casket-of-Souls-ebook/dp/B004J4X73K/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1305324552&sr=8-3
Blurb:
The Nightrunners are back in this gripping novel full of Lynn Flewelling's trademark action, intrigue, and richly imagined characters.
More than the dissolute noblemen they appear to be, Alec and Seregil are skillful spies, dedicated to serving queen and country. But when they stumble across evidence of a plot pitting Queen Phoria against Princess Klia, the two Nightrunners will find their loyalties torn as never before. Even at the best of times, the royal court at Rhíminee is a serpents' nest of intrigue, but with the war against Plenimar going badly, treason simmers just below the surface.
And that's not all that poses a threat: A mysterious plague is spreading through the crowded streets of the city, striking young and old alike—a plague that may well be magical in nature. Now, as panic mounts and the body count rises, hidden secrets emerge. And as Seregil and Alec are about to learn, conspiracies and plagues have one thing in common: The cure can be as deadly as the disease.
http://www.amazon.com/Casket-of-Souls-ebook/dp/B004J4X73K/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1305324552&sr=8-3
There's a special hell for hackers
If anyone gets a homophobic e-mail from me supposedly via Facebook, it's not me! My account was hacked. Do NOT click on the links! Delete and ignore.
May 11, 2011
A moment of spontaneous beauty
Spent part of the morning gardening, clearing out an overgrown bed, digging in last year's compost, moving a rosebush. I like that rose bush. It's feral. I don't know where it came from, it just sprang up the year we moved here in the overgrown bed and has been developing from year to year. It has pretty, small double red blossoms with yellow centers, like a rugosa, though the leaves aren't the right type. Anyway, I moved it to the "rose alley" and hope I didn't kill the poor thing. It had taproots as thick as my little finger and I cut one of them. Oh well.
Things from my neighbor's yards have a way of showing up in ours: ice plant, baby pine trees and palms, a morning glory vine that's blooming now, and this years's newest addition, ivy at the far end of rose alley by the gate. I like it too much to cut it back, though it will probably take over.
Must run now. Zoe is chewing on Emma. The big dogs have accepted the puppy, though they occasionally get their fill of being jumped on and Jackson has strict boundaries on his "me time." Our only complaints with Zoe are her penchant for gnawing on my shoes and how slowly house training is going, but it's going. Some days are "drier" than others. ;-)
Things from my neighbor's yards have a way of showing up in ours: ice plant, baby pine trees and palms, a morning glory vine that's blooming now, and this years's newest addition, ivy at the far end of rose alley by the gate. I like it too much to cut it back, though it will probably take over.
Must run now. Zoe is chewing on Emma. The big dogs have accepted the puppy, though they occasionally get their fill of being jumped on and Jackson has strict boundaries on his "me time." Our only complaints with Zoe are her penchant for gnawing on my shoes and how slowly house training is going, but it's going. Some days are "drier" than others. ;-)
May 9, 2011
Today's Buddhist Thought
No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path. —The Buddha
May 8, 2011
Mother's Day
Happy day to all you mothers out there, of two-leggeds and more. For MD this year Doug gave me a veggie garden! I've missed having one, but between our terrible soil and the dogs, putting in a regular in ground one just wasn't an option. So we improvised, loading up with pots, washing out the ones we had, buying soil and plants. Garden centers are like yarn shops to me-- endless potential for creativity. He also gave me a shovel and a promise of grunt labor to slowly work at transforming the half-empty flower beds that ring our back yard. They're packed clay dog highways right now, with a motley scattering of mismatched plants.
Herbs so far:
Basil
Oregano
Mint
Lemon Balm
Rosemary
Veggies:
6 heirloom tomatoes of several sorts: white, black, and yellow, plus reds
Fruit:
12 ever-bearing strawberry plants
Between that and the citrus and pomegranate trees, it's starting to look like something nice out in what had been a bare patch of dirt and weeds. As I was planting, the song "To Life!" from Fiddler on the Roof got stuck in my head. L'chaiim!
Herbs so far:
Basil
Oregano
Mint
Lemon Balm
Rosemary
Veggies:
6 heirloom tomatoes of several sorts: white, black, and yellow, plus reds
Fruit:
12 ever-bearing strawberry plants
Between that and the citrus and pomegranate trees, it's starting to look like something nice out in what had been a bare patch of dirt and weeds. As I was planting, the song "To Life!" from Fiddler on the Roof got stuck in my head. L'chaiim!
May 5, 2011
Walking Meditation
For various reasons I won't go into, life has been very stressful lately. For the past few days I've been making a point of doing a walking meditation around the back yard in the morning. For those of you who haven't tried it, you simply walk slowly and mindfully, concentrating on your breath or a mantra (I use "Here, now"), and the feeling of your feet touching the earth. You can do it anywhere. I find that when I do it, I notice things that I've been overlooking, either around me, or internally. Very valuable.
Today a hummingbird joined me, coming within an inch of my elbow as I paused by the roses, and perching over my head on the windchimes. I never saw a hummingbird perch before I came to SoCal. They are amazing little feats of nature.
Spent some time at the koi pond, too.
Today a hummingbird joined me, coming within an inch of my elbow as I paused by the roses, and perching over my head on the windchimes. I never saw a hummingbird perch before I came to SoCal. They are amazing little feats of nature.
Spent some time at the koi pond, too.
Political: PETITION: 100,000 Strong Against the Republican War on Women
This is something I care deeply about. PETITION: 100,000 Strong Against the Republican War on Women
May 3, 2011
Training Zoe, or: 1 step forward, 1.5 steps back
House training a puppy is like giving birth; you soon forget the trouble it is enough to consider doing it again.
Yesterday was a good day. I took Zoe out every hour all day, and after each meal and nap and we had very few accidents. Today I've gone through one and a half rolls of paper towel already and it's only 3:00 pm. Apparently her comprehension of "Pee outside and you get a treat" came through as "pee and you get a treat." She's been doing it right in front of me all day, despite the regular trips outside and praise and treats for doing it right. Hopefully the lack of such for inside acts will click soon. To her credit, she hasn't pooped in the house once since we adopted her. That's something.
She's showing amazing progress on "sit" and we're working on "box"-- going into her crate on demand. Praise and treats thrown into the crate are working well. She has a little tantrum every night when we put her in there, but soon calms down to grumbling, then sleep.
As Doug often says, puppies (and children) are "just cute enough."
Yesterday was a good day. I took Zoe out every hour all day, and after each meal and nap and we had very few accidents. Today I've gone through one and a half rolls of paper towel already and it's only 3:00 pm. Apparently her comprehension of "Pee outside and you get a treat" came through as "pee and you get a treat." She's been doing it right in front of me all day, despite the regular trips outside and praise and treats for doing it right. Hopefully the lack of such for inside acts will click soon. To her credit, she hasn't pooped in the house once since we adopted her. That's something.
She's showing amazing progress on "sit" and we're working on "box"-- going into her crate on demand. Praise and treats thrown into the crate are working well. She has a little tantrum every night when we put her in there, but soon calms down to grumbling, then sleep.
As Doug often says, puppies (and children) are "just cute enough."
