Victoria Zigler's Blog: Zigler News, page 65

#MondayMotivation, #Inspiration, And #Wisdom - #Quotes For June 17th 2019

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.
~Confucius

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.
~Newt Gingrich

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.
~Charles R. Swindoll

Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
~Dalai Lama

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.
~Steve Jobs

It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.
~Scott Belsky

The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us.
~Voltaire

#FurkidFriday: When Lilie The #Westie Met Logan The #Cavapoo

Hi everyone. This is Lilie the Westie.

So, I guess you've heard, right? About my new little brother, I mean. They say his name is Logan, but they call him, "Rascal," sometimes too, and I think that one fits best. Whatever his name is, he's the kind of dog called a Cavapoo, which is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel x Toy Poodle, and he came to live with us on Sunday. I'm not too sure why. I think it was Mummy's idea.

Anyway, he's not too bad. I wasn't sure what to think when he first showed up. Sometimes I'm still not sure what to think of him. I want to be his friend, and do play with him. I sleep by him sometimes too, though I prefer a little space between us. Like I said, I like him, and I want to be his friend, but I'd like him more if he didn't nip at me. Mummy and Daddy make him stop when he does though, and he's even starting to listen to them about it sometimes now. I think because of the times he went to puppy jail for it. I was half happy he went in puppy jail, because I'm glad Mummy and Daddy agree him nipping at me is bad, and half not happy about it, because he cried so much.

Mummy and Daddy say I'm a very good girl, because I don't get mad when he nips at me, or nip him back, or anything. I just try to get Mummy or Daddy to notice so they can make him stop. I don't growl or yell at him if he takes my stuff either. I just let him do it. They said it was OK to not let him push me around quite so much, so I stole his cow toy. It's not my fault if the squeaker in its head just happened to come out when I was playing with it. I thought Mummy might be mad when she noticed I had it, but she wasn't. She wasn't even mad when the squeaker mysteriously came out of it when I was playing with it, which I still insist wasn't my fault. She says he still has his blanket for his Furmama's smell, and anyway we have plenty of other toys, so it's no big deal. I was glad about that; I was worried I'd have to go to puppy jail when the cow's squeaker fell out.

Mummy and Daddy sometimes play with me while he's sleeping, because he sleeps more than me. Other times Daddy plays with me while Mummy plays with him. They try it the other way around too, but it doesn't work so well, because he usually wants Mummy. Mummy's getting clever with playing with both of us at the same time though, so it's OK. She keeps him busy with a toy in one hand, and throws a ball for me with the other hand. She still needs some work on it, but she's trying, and trying counts. He never gets anything without me getting something - whether food, treats, or attention - which is what matters most to me. I just want to be included, and get good stuff too.

Mummy and Daddy hope we're going to be good friends in the end. Maybe we will... If he ever learns to stop nipping at me. I'd love having him around if he didn't do that. Could do without him stealing my stuff too, but that one doesn't bother me so much, since I can just steal his.

Anyway, Mummy and Daddy have been playing with the flashy thing lots. They didn't get all the stuff sorted out from it yet, but here's a photo of when Mummy held him for the first time, taken just after the human called Chris brought him here:


Also, here's a video of when we met, with me trying to figure out what I thought of him, and him trying to figure out where he'd ended up.






Oh, and this is the first ever picture with both me and him in it:


Mummy and Daddy say they'll sort the rest of them when they can.

Lots of licks,
Lilie

#AmReading + #AmWatching - June 13th 2019 #Reviews

It's time to take a look at what I've been reading and watching during this past week.

If you want to know more about the book, or the author, click on whichever it is you want to learn more about, and it will take you to the appropriate page on Goodreads. Clicking on my rating should take you to my actual Goodreads review for the book in question. Please bear in mind that the format I've reviewed on Goodreads may not be the format I actually read.

Alternatively, if it's a movie or TV show you want to know more about, just click on the title to go to a page where you can find out more details about the movie or TV show in question; the title links will usually take you to a page on IMDB.

Don't forget: I read and watch things across multiple genres, as well as for different age ranges, so you should always check before reading or viewing, to make certain something is suitable for the intended audience, especially when children are involved.

OK...

Here's what I read this week:

Silly Willy goes to Cape Town by Robbie Cheadle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a fun account of a family holiday, with the fact it's from the point of view of a child often contributing to the entertainment value, especially during those times when it's clear the eight year old from whose point of view it's told lacks full understanding of certain situations. Add to that the recipes at the end of the story, and you have something you can enjoy sinking your teeth in to - whether you're a child or an adult.

Children of the Wise Oak by Oliver J. Tooley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was a good read, but it had the potential to be so much more. The characters were interesting, the idea behind the plot was solid, and it's based in a period of history that fascinates me. Unfortunately, something was lacking... It was missing that little spark that breathes life in to a story. I enjoyed it enough that I care what happens to the characters, and want to know what happens to them next, but I didn't love it.

Women of the Wise Oak by Oliver J Tooley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This one was better than the first in the series. It was a bit of a slow starter, but was a pretty good read once I got in to it.

As for what I've been watching:

I didn't end up watching any movies at all during the past week - new to me or otherwise. I did however watch some random episodes of "The Simpsons" and "Futurama" on TV a few times throughout the week, a few of the episodes of "The Big Bang Theory" that were on over the weekend, and a one-off session from some of the Critical Role gang that involved them playing ponies. So plenty of TV time, but no progress on watching my stack of DVDs. I enjoyed the stuff I watched though, which is what matters.

#WriterWednesday: #Quotes About #Writing

Anyone who says writing is easy isn’t doing it right.
~Amy Joy

I believe myself that a good writer doesn’t really need to be told anything except to keep at it.
~Chinua Achebe

The secret to being a writer is that you have to write. It’s not enough to think about writing or to study literature or plan a future life as an author. You really have to lock yourself away, alone, and get to work.
~Augusten Burroughs

You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what's burning inside you, and we edit to let the fire show through the smoke.
~Arthur Plotnik

A writer is a world trapped in a person.
~Victor Hugo

Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.
~Neil Gaiman

An absolutely necessary part of a writer’s equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment the world hands out and the punishment he inflicts upon himself.
~Irwin Shaw

Introducing Logan

I told you last week about our special delivery. Well, now he's here, so it's time for you to meet him.

As I mentioned last week, his name is Logan, and I've been following his progress since he was born on April 14th 2019.

But what, you ask, is Logan?

As I ended up admitting on Twitter and Facebook in replies to a couple of the posts I did on Sunday, Logan is a dog. Actually, if you want to be completely accurate, Logan is an apricot and white Cavapoo.

We've been talking since soon after we got Lilie about getting her a pal, and have finally done so.

A Cavapoo - for those who don't know - is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel x Toy Poodle. In Logan's case, his Mother (Posy) is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and his Father (Barkly) is a Toy Poodle. Posy is a tri-colour (white, black, and tan) and Barkly is mostly cream with a chocolate brown patch on his nose. I don't have any photos of Barkly, but you'll get to see Posy among the photos in this post.

By the way, in the interests of full disclosure: the photos and video in this post were taken by Tessa Marchand of Castellan House Kennels, were eMailed to me by her, and are being shared with her permission.

Those of you who knew Kero's full title (Castellan Keroberous) or who have checked out the pet pages of my website, might find the name of the breeder familiar. Yes. It's the same place we got Kero from, about fifteen years ago. Only this time we live too far away to have been able to visit regularly, so had to settle for following his progress via photos, eMails, and telephone conversations. We also posted a blanket and toy with my scent on to Logan (I hand delivered a toy with my scent on it to Kero) and used the services of a professional pet courier - who Tessa has worked with enough that she could recommend him - to bring our little boy home.

No, pet couriers aren't cheap. But it actually only cost a little more than it would have cost us to go fetch him, while being a whole lot less stressful for the little guy, since doing it ourselves would have meant a lot of swapping trains and cars, where as having Chris (the courier) bring him home, he could be in the same vehicle for the entire trip, with fans and air conditioning available to him. It shortened the journey by a few hours for Logan doing it that way too. We consider it worth the extra bit of money to make things easier on Logan.

Anyway, I'm sure you want to see those photos - and video - I mentioned having been sent by Tessa, right? So prepare yourself for a lot of puppy cuteness, since Tessa sent a lot of photos, as well as a video, allowing us to watch each of his milestones as he grew from a tiny little fluffball who couldn't do anything but make squeaky sounds and nuzzle his Furmama for his food, to the eight week old puppy who finally came home on Sunday.

First, here's Logan at a week old:


Here he is about a week later (at 13 days old):


Here he is four days later (at 17 days old) with his eyes just about open:


Remember I mentioned sending him a blanket and toy? Well, here he is two days later (at 19 days old) on the blanket I sent him, playing with the cow toy I sent along with the blanket:


Logan apparently loved the toy, and so did Posy, who also played with it sometimes. I can't help hoping Posy wasn't too disappointed when it came home with him. Bless her.

Anyway, Logan learned to properly stand on his own four paws right on schedule at around four weeks old. The day after he was officially considered able to walk - so, two days after he turned four weeks old - we got these photos of him, complete with obviously frequently played with cow toy:


Two days later, at the age of four and a half weeks, Logan had an adventure.

You see, Logan is the only puppy in his litter. So, to help him learn the social skills and behaviours puppies would normally learn while playing with their littermates, Logan went to puppy playschool. Yes, you read that right. Playschool. It's like the doggy version of the Mother-toddler daycare type groups some parents take their kids to. Only it's for puppies.

Anyway, happy to help us not miss out on any of his milestones, Tessa was kind enough to send photos of Logan's first day at playschool, so here he is, making friends on his first day at puppy playschool:


He went to playschool every day after that, and even went to a sleepover a couple of times - once he was eating puppy food, and old enough to be away from his Furmama for long enough. Puppy slumber party. Love it!

Speaking of Logan's Furmama: near the start of this post, I promised you'd get to see Posy among the photos. So, here's Logan with his Furmama, right around the time he turned five weeks old:


The day Logan turned six weeks old, Tessa sent us a video she took of him while he was at puppy playschool. Anyone who follows my YouTube channel will have had a sneak peek, since I actually uploaded it on there a couple of days later. But, for those who haven't yet seen it, here it is:






Now, here he is at seven and a half weeks old - just a few days before he came home to us:


Logan had his first puppy shot the day that last batch of photos was taken (June 5th) and his vet check was described as, "A1," so that's good. He's scheduled to have the other part four weeks later. He's all booked in for July 4th at 11:00am, because I couldn't do the 3rd, since I have an appointment myself that day. I want to keep today's post about dogs though, so I'll tell you about that next week. We would have taken him in on the 21st of June, when Lilie has to go back to the vet to have the other half of her shot, but he won't be ready to have it yet then... It's about two weeks too early. So, July 4th it is, and no walkies for him until almost mid July.

Anyway, on Sunday morning, which was the day he turned 8 weeks old, Chris (the dog courier) picked him up from Tessa bright and early (at about 6:00am) so by the time I got up at 7:00am he was already on his way, and I woke up to an eMail letting me know he was on his way, complete with photos. So, here's Logan, ready to make his journey home to us:


We have, of course, taken more photos since he arrived home a few hours after that last batch was taken on Sunday. We should have a video or two as well. There are some Lilie photos too, of course... Got to include our baby girl! But we haven't had a chance to sort the stuff on the camera yet. We're too busy enjoying having Logan home at last, and the fact Lilie finally has a little brother to play with (when she wants to play with him). Luckily, this post contains plenty of puppy cuteness to keep you going while you wait for us to stop basking in our two adorable pups long enough to see what shots we ended up taking. I'm hoping to have at least some of them ready for Friday's post, when you'll learn how Lilie and Logan's first days together went.

Before I end this, I'd just like to say one more thing: thank you, Tessa, and Chris, for our new baby boy. I suppose I should thank Posy and Barkly too, since he certainly wouldn't be here without them. *wink*

#MondayMotivation, #Inspiration, And #Wisdom - #Quotes For June 10th 2019

Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change.
~Brené Brown

One of the most beautiful gifts in the world is the gift of encouragement.
~John O’ Donohue

The better you know yourself, the better your relationship with the rest of the world.
~Toni Collette

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
~Confucius

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.
~Walt Disney

Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.
~C.S. Lewis

Hard times don’t create heroes. It is during the hard times when the ‘hero’ within us is revealed.
~Bob Riley

#FurkidFriday: Joshua The #Degu Gets Interviewed On George's Guinea Pig World

Hi everyone. This is Joshua the degu.

Hey, remember how I interviewed Roscoe and Bertie a few months back, as part of the "Friends Of Furkid Friday" series we've been doing?

Well, they're doing an A-Z blogging challenge over on George's Guinea Pig World - blogging a letter a week - and invited me over for an interview. I'm what they're blogging about for the "J" letter. Isn't that nice of them?

My interview with Bertie went up this past Monday (June 3rd 2019) and you can click here to read my interview.

They've got some other great posts over there, especially for those of you who love guinea pigs, so you might want to take a look around their blog after reading my interview too. They're nice guys, and - since degus are related to guinea pigs - distant relations of mine. Very distant, but still.

Squeak soon,
Joshua

#AmReading + #AmWatching - June 6th 2019 #Reviews

It's time to take a look at what I've been reading and watching during this past week.

If you want to know more about the book, or the author, click on whichever it is you want to learn more about, and it will take you to the appropriate page on Goodreads. Clicking on my rating should take you to my actual Goodreads review for the book in question. Please bear in mind that the format I've reviewed on Goodreads may not be the format I actually read.

Alternatively, if it's a movie or TV show you want to know more about, just click on the title to go to a page where you can find out more details about the movie or TV show in question; the title links will usually take you to a page on IMDB.

Don't forget: I read and watch things across multiple genres, as well as for different age ranges, so you should always check before reading or viewing, to make certain something is suitable for the intended audience, especially when children are involved.

OK...

Here's what I read this week:

Voyage of the Lanternfish by C.S. Boyack
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
OK, just... WOW! I'm totally serious when I say that the only reason I didn't read this book in one sitting is that life events, as well as the need to do things like sleep, kept making me put it down. The only good thing about that is the fact I was then able to stay in the wonderful world the author has created, and hang out with all these great characters, just a little longer. This is an awesome adventure story, with some fantasy and sci-fi elements thrown in. It has a fabulous cast of characters - I especially loved those little root monsters - and an excellent action-packed plot.

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the second book I've read by this author, and - though I did really enjoy it - I enjoyed the other one more. This was a great mystery written in a gothic fairy tale style, with a fascinating cast of characters. There were times when the plot seemed to start to be a little more slow-paced than I would have liked, but it always picked back up again before I had time to really be bothered by it, so it didn't get boring or anything. Over all, it was an enjoyable read. Just not as captivating as "The 13th Tale" was.

As for what I've been watching:

I never know if I should include this, since it's just something I watch on Youtube when I get a chance, where you get to sit in on a roleplaying game with this group. But I enjoy watching it, and I'm just going to go ahead and mention it anyway. I watched the next two "Critical Role" episodes. Well, the next one for me, since I'm still WAY behind on those, so that's campaign 2, episodes 14 and 15.

I also watched two movies during the past week. Both were new to me - at least, I know one was, and am pretty sure I haven't seen the other and don't remember reviewing it - so reviews for them are below.

Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (2017 movie):
I'm pretty sure I haven't watched and reviewed this one before, but sorry if I have. Anyway, I thought it was an enjoyable and action-packed movie, which superhero fans will love. If you enjoy things like "Justice League" for example, there's a good chance you'll enjoy this one. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Kelly did, but he's a bigger superhero fan than me, and that's often the case. Anyway, I give this movie a well deserved 4 out of five stars.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018 movie):
I've read the book for this one already. Actually, I've read the book twice, and really enjoyed it both times, so was looking forward to watching this movie. I have to say though, I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped to. Don't get me wrong, it was a good movie. The thing is though, they rushed the part in the beginning where they get to know one another through their letters before meeting in person, so everyone was all awkward, and the connection they were meant to have formed through their letters - which was later meant to be strengthened by the time spent together in person - felt weak, conversation felt forced, and I just didn't feel the connections and emotions I should have. The ending did save it though, since I thought it was a beautiful ending. Anyway, after some thought, I give this movie four out of five stars.

#WriterWednesday - June 5th 2019

I haven't made much progress with the rewrites of my adventure story yet, since I set it aside all of last week, so have only just started taking a look at it. However, I was able to approve the audio versions for all three books of my Magical Chapters Trilogy during the past week. So,those should be available by the end of June, even allowing for potential delays during the phase where ACX checks things out. That means I just have four more of my books to make available in audio: two of my pet themed poetry books, one of my general poetry collections, and one of my fairy tales. Hopefully it won't be too much longer before those are completed and available as audio books too. Then it will just be new books to have produced as I publish them. Listening to the narrators bringing my books to life is fun, though I'll be glad when my backlist is all available in audio.

Anyway, let's see what links I have for you this week, shall we?

First, never underestimate the importance of taking breaks. If you need to take one, take one. You obviously want to make sure you get your writing projects completed, and there are plenty of reasons why you can't just write when you're 'feeling good'. But sometimes you actually need to go do other stuff for a while, and that's OK.

While we're on the subject of doing other stuff: is there something that happened in your life where you had to make a choice, and you can't stop wondering what might have happened if you made a different one? Then turn your 'what ifs' in to stories, and create your own happily ever after.

Speaking of happily ever afters: here's a fairy tale expansion pack you might find useful. It especially applies if you actually are writing a fairy tale, but can apply to other stories too, across many genres, so is worth checking out regardless of what kind of fiction you write.

So, is it fantasy or sci-fi you write? If so, check out this post on where magic and science converge for some worldbuilding advice, along with a reminder to get your scientific facts right, and keep your magic rules straight.

No matter what you write, if your main characters aren't actually animals, here are the hidden benifits to giving your characters a pet.

Regardless of the kinds of characters in your story, this post is a great reminder that beats help make your scene come alive, which is a very good thing for any story. This is another time when your character's pet could come in to it too, since doing something with the dog or cat - or whatever other pet they have - could potentially be used as an action beat.

Now, here's a great post with tips on how to build to the exciting climax of a story. Also, on a similar note, here's one about how pacing helps readers care about our characters.

Time to work on that ending? Check out this fun list of tips to writing an ending whether you want to or not.

Next, this is what makes a 'good' writer, and the real meaning of success.

Finally, you're about to tell a story no one else has ever told, isn't that exciting? So go on... Go tell that story!

A Special Delivery Arrives On Sunday

I've been hinting for a couple of weeks now that something's happening in June. Well, now June has arrived, and we're less than a week from the big day. The day we get a special delivery. Yes. It's happening on Sunday.

First, a bit of backstory:

When I was a teenager, I heard a name I loved at once, which I kept to use for the son I one day hoped to have.

I named my potential daughter then too, though my favourite girl's name changed so often I just went ahead and used whichever name I liked best at the time for my female furbabies, even if I'd been considering it for a potential daughter's name. I just have too many favourite girls' names. Megan, Jayde, Lucy, Luna, Cara, Skye, Mollie, Maizie, and Lilie - all of those are names I've loved for my potential daughter (among other names) and have ended up calling various furbabies. Though Lucy and Luna weren't actually named by us.

Of course, I liked the names I gave our male furbabies too. Jacob and Joshua would have made great people baby names, for example. But most of my boys - along with some of my girls - have had names I liked, but would be reluctant to give to a human baby. Like Kero. Partially - though not entirely - because the boy's name I loved most was one I was unwilling to use, just in case I actually did one day have the opportunity to use it for a human child, since I never once changed my mind about wanting that to be the name for my potential son. Not in all the years since I first heard the name.

But, since I needed to have a hysterectomy to improve my quality of life - in fact, to save it - so I now know that opportunity can never come, I'm going to be giving the name to a furbaby after all.

Yeah, you probably saw that one coming the moment I started mentioning the furkids, didn't you?

If you're wondering: no. This is not a spur of the moment decision. We've been talking about it for a while, and I've been thinking about it even longer. We only held off until now because of me spending so much time in hospital, and being so unwell. Not to mention the issues we were having with nasty neighbour. It wasn't fair to bring a new furbaby in to the family under those circumstances. Now nasty neighbour is gone, I'm doing so much better, and our appointments are only outpatient appointments, it's not so bad, and we feel it's time.

The new addition to the family will be arriving this weekend. He arrives on Sunday (June 9th 2019) - the day he turns eight weeks old.

I've been following his progress closely since he was born in mid April (April 14th) and next week will tell you all about him - including what kind of furbaby he is - in a post that will include plenty of photos, as well as a short video.

Feel free to try and guess what he might be in the meantime. I won't tell you if you guess right... Not until next week anyhow. But it would be interesting to see if I've given you enough hints that you manage to figure it out.

His name, by the way, is Logan.