Pamela D. Lloyd's Blog, page 6

Fairytale Magic

I just finished reading the most wonderful fairytale. Although recently written, it has the timeless feel of the fairytales I grew up reading.

Go! Read "The River of the Fire of Life" by Francesca Forrest (aka asakiyume ) on page 36 of the current issue of New Fairy Tales. Then (if you're on Facebook) go like New Fairy Tales on Facebook and tell them how wonderful this story is. Then go tell asakiyume how wonderful her story is.

That. Is. All.

This entry was originally posted on Dreamwidth at pameladlloyd. Feel free to respond at either location.

Belated Thanksgiving Wishes and Other News

I hope all of my American friends and readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Thanksgiving day was great for me and my family, with a wonderful home-cooked vegetarian meal. Our home is turkey-friendly. :-)

Friday morning, however, I woke coughing, as the nasty virus/flu/what-have-you that has plagued me since at least the last week in October returned, this time as a bacterial infection. Monday, tired of coughing so hard it was hard to catch my breath during an attack, I dragged myself in to the medical clinic, where I was diagnosed with bronchitis and put on powerful antibiotics. I'm not completely well, yet, but definitely feeling much better.

Also on Monday, I received a package in the mail. Last week, based on a mention by a LiveJournal friend, asakiyume , I ordered some Soliga Forest Honey from Himalaya Herbal Healthcare. Also, what with my cough, and all, I ordered some Koflet lozenges.

Here's what arrived:


You'll notice that they added something--a tube of Himalaya lip care--as a free gift.

The first thing I did was to take a cough drop and make some herbal tea sweetened with honey.



The cough drops have a bit of bite. I really like them. The honey is very dark and thick. It has a very complex flavor, a bit tart, which makes regular honey seem over-sweet in comparison. The lip care is fabulous, probably the best of any I've tried, with a coconut oil base, plus sesame seed oil, cocoa butter, and other natural ingredients. It was badly needed, as my lips were quite chapped, so it was a very welcome gift.

I just posted a short note on Goodreads.
The Annotated Wizard of Oz (Centennial Edition) by L. Frank Baum




I found this book on the library shelves when I was in El Paso this summer. I was really enjoying it, but my schedule while there made my progress slow and I haven't yet had the time (work) and energy (illness) to see if it's available in the Tucson library. I definitely hope to finish this book, as I found it to be a fascinating glimpse into Baum's life and writings that went far beyond other biographical essays I've read about him. I also appreciated the insight into the different artists and into publishing during that era.



View all my reviews

Also, in other news, I'm very happy to say that I'll be returning to the Pima Community College West Campus Learning Center as a part-time staff member and tutor. I'll be starting Monday afternoon
This entry was originally posted on Dreamwidth at pameladlloyd. Feel free to respond at either location.

Some things change, some things never do

My most recent contract position ended earlier this week, so I've been getting caught up on sleep after the big push at work to meet the release deadline and working on getting over the flu that's made it's rounds through the house for the last few weeks. I'm also trying to get caught up on chores I put off doing while I was feeling overwhelmed, plus I'm doing a bit of writing (or, well, maybe writing prep is more accurate) for myself. Oh, and one more thing I'm doing is working on getting the word out to the IT world that I'm available.

Wednesday I downloaded the new Scrivener for Windows Beta. I've started two new projects in it. The first is a collaboration with my husband, and the second is a novel I started (mumble) years ago. It'll be interesting to see how this works. By the way, for those of you who are participating in NaNoWriMo (as my eldest son is doing for the second year in a row), Literature and Latte is offering a 50% Discount for All NaNoWriMo 2010 winners, and 20% off for those who try, even if they don't manage 50,000 words.

My husband and I have been listening to some old classic songs, such as My Girl, by the Temptations, and Be My Baby, by the Ronettes:



Karl says listening to these old songs is like eating potato chips. Once you get started, it's hard to stop.

This entry was originally posted on Dreamwidth at pameladlloyd. Feel free to respond at either location.

Why do the National Book Awards bar fairy tales?

Today I came across Why do the National Book Awards bar fairy tales?, by Laura Miller on Salon.com. I wasn't aware of the restriction, but I do have to wonder at it. Sometimes, a retelling is simply that, but sometimes, it's the basis for going beyond the traditional story to find new meaning.

This entry was originally posted on Dreamwidth at pameladlloyd. Feel free to respond at either location.