Victoria Zigler's Blog: Zigler News, page 85
September 30, 2018
When The Weather Reflects The Week So Well
It's been a chilly week for the most part, with temperatures mostly between 8 degrees C (48 F) and 14 degrees C (60 F). Although, it did go up to 18 degrees C (68 F) a couple of times. Rather appropriately, the week started out stormy, with the sun making a valiant attempt to shine in the Autumn sky during the middle of the week, and the last couple of days being those kinds of days when the weather doesn't seem to know what it wants to do. I say this is appropriate, because the weather's behaviour perfectly reflects how my week went in general.
The week started off with a run-in with nasty neighbour and her guy (boyfriend, brother, or male friend... I don't know which, and I'm not sure I care what he is to her anyhow) where the police had to be called out again, because we were being threatened by them. That was last Saturday evening (September 22nd). Our poor start to the week continued with our discovery on Sunday, after nearly 24 hours of being cold, that the reason the heat wasn't kicking in was because the gas being turned off had put the boiler back on the default setting of once a day for an hour in the evening. I'm not sure who came up with the idea of having the default setting be that it only generates heat between 5:00pm and 6:00pm in the evening, but it seems like a weird time for the default to be set to in my opinion. At least Kelly knew what to do to fix it this time. On top of that, I had some trouble sleeping, and what sleep I did get was so filled with nightmares I was whimpering in my sleep, and waking up more tired than when I went to bed. I thought I might have been coming down with a cold too, but the pattern of my symptoms makes me think I was sniffly and coughing from my asthma being aggrivated by my getting so distressed in my sleep, since it was only happening immediately on waking, and stopped happening when the nightmares eased off.
The middle of the week was an improvement on the first couple of days. I was able to get some decent sleep (though the sleep pattern I'd managed to maintain for several weeks went out the window, unfortunately) and with the rest came relief from the sniffly nose and coughing. Plus, we got a couple more boxes packed. We also took advantage of the sun's attempts to shine, and went out to lunch at Oscars on Thursday, which is something all of us - Kelly, Lilie, and I - always enjoy.
The last couple of days were both good and bad all at once. Thursday night there was a lot of banging and yelling from nasty neighbour and her guy. It wasn't aimed at us though, so we were ignoring them. At least, as much as you can ignore that amount of noise. We discovered the following morning that all the noise had been them deciding late at night was a good time to remove some old furniture from their property to leave on the curb for collection. The following evening there was more banging, and we were torn between being irritated that they'd waited until evening to do what they were doing, and pleased that they were doing it. Why? Because what they were doing was moving out. The landlords had told us they would be moving out by the end of the month, but the landlords had been saying that for most of this past year, so we'd stopped believing it. Anyway, we have no idea why they waited until evening to start moving out, especially when the people involved in the moving process were there all day just hanging out and doing nothing until the evening. But, whatever. They moved out, and the evening of listening to them yelling and crashing about, while attempting to soothe an agitated Lilie, was worth dealing with if that was the price we had to pay to see them go. We're all rather annoyed at the stunts they pulled as they left though, which were to jam their intercom button so the main building door wouldn't work properly, and our intercom systems kept buzzing, even though nobody was there to be let in (causing the guy downstairs to have to break the lock on her door so he could release the button, because the landlords couldn't get over here with a key) and set off the fire alarm as they were leaving the building. But we're trying to focus on just being relieved they're gone.
For anyone wondering: yes, we do still plan to move. We'd always intended moving from here at some point, because of the stairs. We just hadn't originally planned to be worrying about it quite yet. We might have decided to stay put now that she's gone, if it wasn't for the three flights of stairs. Since we've started making plans for moving, have a lot of our stuff packed, and can't help being worried whoever moves in downstairs will be someone like nasty neighbour, we decided to still go ahead and move. At least now though we can take the time we need to get my surgery over with, get the money together to cover costs, and find a place we really like. The plan now is to be moving next year.
The week started off with a run-in with nasty neighbour and her guy (boyfriend, brother, or male friend... I don't know which, and I'm not sure I care what he is to her anyhow) where the police had to be called out again, because we were being threatened by them. That was last Saturday evening (September 22nd). Our poor start to the week continued with our discovery on Sunday, after nearly 24 hours of being cold, that the reason the heat wasn't kicking in was because the gas being turned off had put the boiler back on the default setting of once a day for an hour in the evening. I'm not sure who came up with the idea of having the default setting be that it only generates heat between 5:00pm and 6:00pm in the evening, but it seems like a weird time for the default to be set to in my opinion. At least Kelly knew what to do to fix it this time. On top of that, I had some trouble sleeping, and what sleep I did get was so filled with nightmares I was whimpering in my sleep, and waking up more tired than when I went to bed. I thought I might have been coming down with a cold too, but the pattern of my symptoms makes me think I was sniffly and coughing from my asthma being aggrivated by my getting so distressed in my sleep, since it was only happening immediately on waking, and stopped happening when the nightmares eased off.
The middle of the week was an improvement on the first couple of days. I was able to get some decent sleep (though the sleep pattern I'd managed to maintain for several weeks went out the window, unfortunately) and with the rest came relief from the sniffly nose and coughing. Plus, we got a couple more boxes packed. We also took advantage of the sun's attempts to shine, and went out to lunch at Oscars on Thursday, which is something all of us - Kelly, Lilie, and I - always enjoy.
The last couple of days were both good and bad all at once. Thursday night there was a lot of banging and yelling from nasty neighbour and her guy. It wasn't aimed at us though, so we were ignoring them. At least, as much as you can ignore that amount of noise. We discovered the following morning that all the noise had been them deciding late at night was a good time to remove some old furniture from their property to leave on the curb for collection. The following evening there was more banging, and we were torn between being irritated that they'd waited until evening to do what they were doing, and pleased that they were doing it. Why? Because what they were doing was moving out. The landlords had told us they would be moving out by the end of the month, but the landlords had been saying that for most of this past year, so we'd stopped believing it. Anyway, we have no idea why they waited until evening to start moving out, especially when the people involved in the moving process were there all day just hanging out and doing nothing until the evening. But, whatever. They moved out, and the evening of listening to them yelling and crashing about, while attempting to soothe an agitated Lilie, was worth dealing with if that was the price we had to pay to see them go. We're all rather annoyed at the stunts they pulled as they left though, which were to jam their intercom button so the main building door wouldn't work properly, and our intercom systems kept buzzing, even though nobody was there to be let in (causing the guy downstairs to have to break the lock on her door so he could release the button, because the landlords couldn't get over here with a key) and set off the fire alarm as they were leaving the building. But we're trying to focus on just being relieved they're gone.
To be angry is to revenge the faults of others on ourselves.
~Alexander Pope
For anyone wondering: yes, we do still plan to move. We'd always intended moving from here at some point, because of the stairs. We just hadn't originally planned to be worrying about it quite yet. We might have decided to stay put now that she's gone, if it wasn't for the three flights of stairs. Since we've started making plans for moving, have a lot of our stuff packed, and can't help being worried whoever moves in downstairs will be someone like nasty neighbour, we decided to still go ahead and move. At least now though we can take the time we need to get my surgery over with, get the money together to cover costs, and find a place we really like. The plan now is to be moving next year.
September 28, 2018
#FurkidFriday: Joshua The #Degu On Broken Sleep Patterns
Hi everyone. This is Joshua the degu.
My routine has changed a couple of times lately. Not much, but enough so I've noticed.
Usually when this happens I hear the human caretakers talking about how the Mummy human's sleep pattern is broken. So, I guess it must be broken again. It seems to break a lot.
I think she should get a new one. Maybe a better one. One that doesn't keep breaking.
Does anyone know where I could find one for her?
I don't mind my routine changing... It keeps things interesting. But my chinchilla sisters, Mollie and Maizie, like their routine, and tend to get cranky when it changes. Although, they get over it quickly once they've had their breakfast, so I guess that's OK. Still, it might be nice for the Mummy human to have a sleep pattern that doesn't break all the time.
Squeak soon,
Joshua
My routine has changed a couple of times lately. Not much, but enough so I've noticed.
Usually when this happens I hear the human caretakers talking about how the Mummy human's sleep pattern is broken. So, I guess it must be broken again. It seems to break a lot.
I think she should get a new one. Maybe a better one. One that doesn't keep breaking.
Does anyone know where I could find one for her?
I don't mind my routine changing... It keeps things interesting. But my chinchilla sisters, Mollie and Maizie, like their routine, and tend to get cranky when it changes. Although, they get over it quickly once they've had their breakfast, so I guess that's OK. Still, it might be nice for the Mummy human to have a sleep pattern that doesn't break all the time.
Squeak soon,
Joshua
September 26, 2018
#WriterWednesday - September 26th 2018
HTTP vs. HTTPS – why is this important? You might want to read the post to find out, especially if you have a website.
By the way, I'm currently taking auditions for a narrator for "Where's Noodles?" on ACX. Auditions will be remaining open until Friday (Septmber 28th 2018). If you're reading this, and you're a female narrator who accepts short projects with royalty share contracts, there's still time to look up the project on ACX and submit your audition. I just thought I'd mention that.
So... There's just a little over a month to go until it's time for NaNoWriMo. But what is NaNoWriMo, and why bother with it?
Whether you're participating in NaNoWriMo this year or not, check out this advice on staying motivated (even when it's hard). In fact, that's good advice for staying motivated with other things besides writing too. Also, here's a great post that gives an example of how a new schedule can make you super productive.
Of course, if one of those things you're trying to get done is writing a story, you'll need some characters to go in it. So, here's a detailed character profile you can fill out if you like.
Speaking of characters: if you have a lot of similar characters in your story, do you know how to make them easy for your readers to tell apart? Not sure? This post entitled "One of these things is not like the other" may help you with some ideas for creating believable differences between your characters.
Don't forget: your characters will need to eat, so here are some tips on creating fantasy food, for those who want to feed their characters in a fantasy world. After all, you want us to believe these are real people, right? Plus, wouldn't it be fun to make up some recipes for your world, and share them with your fans?
You'll obviously want to make your plot believable too, so check out these 7 clever strategies for harnessing coincidences in fiction, and help your readers accept your story's coincidences.
Make sure you do your research when choosing a setting too, so you can get it right.
…Authors, fear not, the ‘business’ of story-telling is limitless…
Is it children you write for? Are you writing a picture book, a chapter book, or a middle grade novel? If you planned to write a picture book, but it's not working too well, ask yourself, is your picture book really a chapter book? If you planned something shorter, but it wants to be longer, go with it, unless you have a reason you can't, in which case you may have a lot of work ahead of you to make it work the way you need it to.
But, what if your novel is boring? Then use one of the methods in the post I just linked to for ideas on how to change that.
What does the 'perfect' ending to a story look like? Well, you won't know that until you write it, because the perfect ending to a story will only be revealed when the rest of the story is written, and may change from the first draft to the final one. So just write the first draft, and worry about whether the ending is right later, when you're working on revisions.
Speaking of revising your story: you may want to bear in mind these easy writing skills for becoming a better writer.
On the other hand, if you write poetry, here's a post about the types of rhymes in poetry, which you may find worth reading.
Regardless of what you write, or even if writing is your art form of choice, check out these 5 reasons this is the best time to be a creator. Add to that the sheer pleasure of creating whatever it is you create, and perhaps that will clear away any doubts you might have had about whether you should bother. Don't give up your creative dreams too easily. It doesn't matter if you're an artist, a writer, or whatever. Draw, paint, make music or movies, write. Whatever makes you happy. Then share it with the world, because you can, and because art - in any form - should be shared!
Next, here's some advice on how to maintain your motivation on a large writing project.
If you're having trouble getting your writing time in, here's what one author does, and recommends you do, when you can't focus, but need to write anyway.
Mind you, sometimes it's OK to take a break from writing. In fact, here are 12 reasons it's OK to put writing aside for a minute.
But, if you're thinking of quitting: is this why you want to quit? Because, if it is, you really shouldn't quit. It's hard, but you'll get through it. Just keep writing. After all, rejection doesn't justify your decision to quit writing.
If you think you might have writers' block, this might be why you feel blocked, and how to fix it.
Next, here's a post that talks about eBook pricing when you're self-published, and how you should remember your books are worth as much as those by traditionally published authors - assuming you've done what you should to produce a high quality book (such as making sure it's properly edited, has a good cover, etc).
However you price your books, Amazon has now created an easy way to move your books from CreateSpace to KDP Print. So, if you've been publishing your paperbacks via CreateSpace, and your books aren't already moved, this is how to move your books from CreateSpace to KDP - the quick and easy way. I went ahead and moved mine using this method last week, and it really is as simple as the post I just linked to insists. All 53 of my titles were moved in less than five minutes.
In other Amazon related news: Amazon released Amazon Advertising recently, which may also help you in getting your creative creations seen by the world.
Speaking of marketing: this next post explains why you need to do a SWOT analysis. At least, you do if you want to improve book sales.
Finally, if you're getting requests from other writers or bloggers to do guest posts on your blog, here's the email pitching etiquette you should be looking for before you agree to let someone have a posting slot on your blog. The article I just linked to could also serve as advice for anyone wishing to request guest posting slots from others. If the latter applies to you, make sure you check the person's blog for any spacific submission guidelines first too.
By the way, I'm currently taking auditions for a narrator for "Where's Noodles?" on ACX. Auditions will be remaining open until Friday (Septmber 28th 2018). If you're reading this, and you're a female narrator who accepts short projects with royalty share contracts, there's still time to look up the project on ACX and submit your audition. I just thought I'd mention that.
So... There's just a little over a month to go until it's time for NaNoWriMo. But what is NaNoWriMo, and why bother with it?
Whether you're participating in NaNoWriMo this year or not, check out this advice on staying motivated (even when it's hard). In fact, that's good advice for staying motivated with other things besides writing too. Also, here's a great post that gives an example of how a new schedule can make you super productive.
Of course, if one of those things you're trying to get done is writing a story, you'll need some characters to go in it. So, here's a detailed character profile you can fill out if you like.
Speaking of characters: if you have a lot of similar characters in your story, do you know how to make them easy for your readers to tell apart? Not sure? This post entitled "One of these things is not like the other" may help you with some ideas for creating believable differences between your characters.
Don't forget: your characters will need to eat, so here are some tips on creating fantasy food, for those who want to feed their characters in a fantasy world. After all, you want us to believe these are real people, right? Plus, wouldn't it be fun to make up some recipes for your world, and share them with your fans?
You'll obviously want to make your plot believable too, so check out these 7 clever strategies for harnessing coincidences in fiction, and help your readers accept your story's coincidences.
Make sure you do your research when choosing a setting too, so you can get it right.
…Authors, fear not, the ‘business’ of story-telling is limitless…
Is it children you write for? Are you writing a picture book, a chapter book, or a middle grade novel? If you planned to write a picture book, but it's not working too well, ask yourself, is your picture book really a chapter book? If you planned something shorter, but it wants to be longer, go with it, unless you have a reason you can't, in which case you may have a lot of work ahead of you to make it work the way you need it to.
But, what if your novel is boring? Then use one of the methods in the post I just linked to for ideas on how to change that.
What does the 'perfect' ending to a story look like? Well, you won't know that until you write it, because the perfect ending to a story will only be revealed when the rest of the story is written, and may change from the first draft to the final one. So just write the first draft, and worry about whether the ending is right later, when you're working on revisions.
Speaking of revising your story: you may want to bear in mind these easy writing skills for becoming a better writer.
On the other hand, if you write poetry, here's a post about the types of rhymes in poetry, which you may find worth reading.
Regardless of what you write, or even if writing is your art form of choice, check out these 5 reasons this is the best time to be a creator. Add to that the sheer pleasure of creating whatever it is you create, and perhaps that will clear away any doubts you might have had about whether you should bother. Don't give up your creative dreams too easily. It doesn't matter if you're an artist, a writer, or whatever. Draw, paint, make music or movies, write. Whatever makes you happy. Then share it with the world, because you can, and because art - in any form - should be shared!
Next, here's some advice on how to maintain your motivation on a large writing project.
If you're having trouble getting your writing time in, here's what one author does, and recommends you do, when you can't focus, but need to write anyway.
Mind you, sometimes it's OK to take a break from writing. In fact, here are 12 reasons it's OK to put writing aside for a minute.
But, if you're thinking of quitting: is this why you want to quit? Because, if it is, you really shouldn't quit. It's hard, but you'll get through it. Just keep writing. After all, rejection doesn't justify your decision to quit writing.
If you think you might have writers' block, this might be why you feel blocked, and how to fix it.
Next, here's a post that talks about eBook pricing when you're self-published, and how you should remember your books are worth as much as those by traditionally published authors - assuming you've done what you should to produce a high quality book (such as making sure it's properly edited, has a good cover, etc).
However you price your books, Amazon has now created an easy way to move your books from CreateSpace to KDP Print. So, if you've been publishing your paperbacks via CreateSpace, and your books aren't already moved, this is how to move your books from CreateSpace to KDP - the quick and easy way. I went ahead and moved mine using this method last week, and it really is as simple as the post I just linked to insists. All 53 of my titles were moved in less than five minutes.
In other Amazon related news: Amazon released Amazon Advertising recently, which may also help you in getting your creative creations seen by the world.
Speaking of marketing: this next post explains why you need to do a SWOT analysis. At least, you do if you want to improve book sales.
Finally, if you're getting requests from other writers or bloggers to do guest posts on your blog, here's the email pitching etiquette you should be looking for before you agree to let someone have a posting slot on your blog. The article I just linked to could also serve as advice for anyone wishing to request guest posting slots from others. If the latter applies to you, make sure you check the person's blog for any spacific submission guidelines first too.
September 24, 2018
#MondayMotivation And #Inspiration - September 2018 Edition
The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science.
~Albert Einstein
It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it.
~Maurice Switzer
Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.
~Aristotle
Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.
~John Lennon
Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird, that cannot fly.
~Langston Hughes
Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.
~Bertrand Russell
September 23, 2018
Of Breaks From Neighbours, The #Autumn Equinox, And The Rest Of My Week
The nasty neighbour was away last weekend. We were able to walk around and do things without anyone complaining about it, and Lilie and I were able to play ball without someone banging to say we were being too noisy. It was wonderful! It sounded like the other neighbours were also enjoying the freedom to do things without suffering abusive language for doing them. Shame she had to come back.
I made the most of the peace while we knew she was away on the weekend to get some boxes packed, especially since I was actually feeling reasonably good healthwise for the first time in what feels like forever. We would have been done with packing what can be packed ahead of time by now, but a combination of reluctance to do much because of the neighbour's banging and shouting, and my health issues, means we've not been getting the packing done as quickly as planned.
By the way, I got a letter from the doctors about my blood test. I guess they made my test a priority because of how bad I've been or something, because I got the letter from the doctor this past Thursday, which was only a week after I had the blood test done. I didn't expect to hear anything from them unless things were bad, and certainly not that quickly. Usually it takes at least twice that if you have your test done at the doctors surgery instead of going to the hospital. But it was good news. My HB levels are up at 13.3 or 133. My levels haven't been that good in forever. That's actually in the normal range, which proves my issues have been because of the bleeding, since the shot is still doing its thing. The hospital said for them to be checked every month. However, since the results were good, the shot is keeping me from bleeding, and I'm on iron tablets, they're saying for me to wait three months before having it checked again, unless I start feeling really bad in the meantime, the shot stops working, etc. I'm sure my veins are pleased to hear that. In theory, that means I'll not be getting checked again until after surgery. Speaking of which: still no surgery date. No surprise there, but it would have been nice.
Anyway, on Tuesday Kelly and I took Lilie in to town, and we had lunch while we were there. We went to a cafe called "Cafe Mocha" that hasn't been there all that long. The guy who owns it is the guy who owned one of the other local cafes when we first moved down here. He sold the cafe to go do something else, but is apparently now back in the business of owning and running a cafe, since he recently opened this one. Kelly stopped there for a cup of coffee one day, and when he realized it was the same guy - since he recognized him - he knew we had to go eat there. He's an excellent cook. The person who now owns the cafe he sold isn't. Anyway, we enjoyed our lunch, and Lilie enjoyed being in the middle of town where there were a lot of people for her to try and get attention from, most of whom were only too happy to give her the attention she craved.
On Friday evening, nasty neighbour was being a real pain. It kind of felt like she was trying to make up for being gone last weekend or something, because she was in full on complaining and banging mode. So, when there was a knock at our door at 9:30pm, we very nearly ignored it, assuming it was her, and not really feeling like a face to face meeting with her. Good thing we did answer it though, because it wasn't her. It was a gas man come to turn our gas off. There was a leak elsewhere in the building, so he needed to turn off all the gas to the building while it was being fixed. His van disappeared from outside shortly before midnight, but our gas was still off at that point, meaning we had no hot water or heating. At that point, we weren't sure if he'd fixed the issue but figured we'd be sleeping so could make do with it left off for the night, or if he hadn't been able to fix the issue. He'd made sure we had his card before he left, so we figured we'd wait until noon the following day - which was yesterday - and call them if we'd heard nothing. It was only a little before that when we got our gas turned back on. Apparently the guy had managed to do a temporary fix before he left Friday night, and someone was meant to come in early Saturday to turn our gas on - I guess he'd assumed we'd be asleep by the time he was done - but it took until shortly before noon for them to realize nobody had. Like I said, he was only able to do a temporary fix Friday night. Turns out a lot of the piping will need to be replaced, which means someone will be coming out "probably next week" to turn the gas back off and do that.
This weekend is the Autumn Equinox... Just in case you've been hiding under a rock somewhere and didn't know. Specifically, the Northern Hemisphere marked the autumnal equinox on Saturday September 22nd 2018, at exactly 9:54pm EDT (or, Sunday September 23rd 2018, at exactly 2:54am BST, for those of us in the UK). Thought I'd mention that bit of information, in case you're interested. Either way, regardless of whether you consider the equinox to be the start or midpoint of the season - something opinions differ on - there's no doubt that Autumn has now officially arrived in the Northern Hemisphere. The cooler temperatures are proof of this. Not that it's been cold. It's just been cooler than the Summer was, which is a very good thing in my opinion. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't get a really cold Winter again this year. We've already started having storms. Not really bad ones like in some areas though, thankfully. We could do without the devostation storms sometimes leave in their path - which our area has luckily managed to avoid so far - but I am glad for the cooler temperatures. Plus, I have to admit, I do enjoy listening to storms. Lucky temperatures haven't gotten too cold yet though, or we'd have been sharing the little electric heater we have with Joshua (it won't keep the whole place warm, but it would keep him warm, and we could go hang out in with him for a bit to warm up too). There's been a bit of a nip in the air a few mornings, but nothing more than that yet.
I made the most of the peace while we knew she was away on the weekend to get some boxes packed, especially since I was actually feeling reasonably good healthwise for the first time in what feels like forever. We would have been done with packing what can be packed ahead of time by now, but a combination of reluctance to do much because of the neighbour's banging and shouting, and my health issues, means we've not been getting the packing done as quickly as planned.
By the way, I got a letter from the doctors about my blood test. I guess they made my test a priority because of how bad I've been or something, because I got the letter from the doctor this past Thursday, which was only a week after I had the blood test done. I didn't expect to hear anything from them unless things were bad, and certainly not that quickly. Usually it takes at least twice that if you have your test done at the doctors surgery instead of going to the hospital. But it was good news. My HB levels are up at 13.3 or 133. My levels haven't been that good in forever. That's actually in the normal range, which proves my issues have been because of the bleeding, since the shot is still doing its thing. The hospital said for them to be checked every month. However, since the results were good, the shot is keeping me from bleeding, and I'm on iron tablets, they're saying for me to wait three months before having it checked again, unless I start feeling really bad in the meantime, the shot stops working, etc. I'm sure my veins are pleased to hear that. In theory, that means I'll not be getting checked again until after surgery. Speaking of which: still no surgery date. No surprise there, but it would have been nice.
Anyway, on Tuesday Kelly and I took Lilie in to town, and we had lunch while we were there. We went to a cafe called "Cafe Mocha" that hasn't been there all that long. The guy who owns it is the guy who owned one of the other local cafes when we first moved down here. He sold the cafe to go do something else, but is apparently now back in the business of owning and running a cafe, since he recently opened this one. Kelly stopped there for a cup of coffee one day, and when he realized it was the same guy - since he recognized him - he knew we had to go eat there. He's an excellent cook. The person who now owns the cafe he sold isn't. Anyway, we enjoyed our lunch, and Lilie enjoyed being in the middle of town where there were a lot of people for her to try and get attention from, most of whom were only too happy to give her the attention she craved.
On Friday evening, nasty neighbour was being a real pain. It kind of felt like she was trying to make up for being gone last weekend or something, because she was in full on complaining and banging mode. So, when there was a knock at our door at 9:30pm, we very nearly ignored it, assuming it was her, and not really feeling like a face to face meeting with her. Good thing we did answer it though, because it wasn't her. It was a gas man come to turn our gas off. There was a leak elsewhere in the building, so he needed to turn off all the gas to the building while it was being fixed. His van disappeared from outside shortly before midnight, but our gas was still off at that point, meaning we had no hot water or heating. At that point, we weren't sure if he'd fixed the issue but figured we'd be sleeping so could make do with it left off for the night, or if he hadn't been able to fix the issue. He'd made sure we had his card before he left, so we figured we'd wait until noon the following day - which was yesterday - and call them if we'd heard nothing. It was only a little before that when we got our gas turned back on. Apparently the guy had managed to do a temporary fix before he left Friday night, and someone was meant to come in early Saturday to turn our gas on - I guess he'd assumed we'd be asleep by the time he was done - but it took until shortly before noon for them to realize nobody had. Like I said, he was only able to do a temporary fix Friday night. Turns out a lot of the piping will need to be replaced, which means someone will be coming out "probably next week" to turn the gas back off and do that.
This weekend is the Autumn Equinox... Just in case you've been hiding under a rock somewhere and didn't know. Specifically, the Northern Hemisphere marked the autumnal equinox on Saturday September 22nd 2018, at exactly 9:54pm EDT (or, Sunday September 23rd 2018, at exactly 2:54am BST, for those of us in the UK). Thought I'd mention that bit of information, in case you're interested. Either way, regardless of whether you consider the equinox to be the start or midpoint of the season - something opinions differ on - there's no doubt that Autumn has now officially arrived in the Northern Hemisphere. The cooler temperatures are proof of this. Not that it's been cold. It's just been cooler than the Summer was, which is a very good thing in my opinion. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't get a really cold Winter again this year. We've already started having storms. Not really bad ones like in some areas though, thankfully. We could do without the devostation storms sometimes leave in their path - which our area has luckily managed to avoid so far - but I am glad for the cooler temperatures. Plus, I have to admit, I do enjoy listening to storms. Lucky temperatures haven't gotten too cold yet though, or we'd have been sharing the little electric heater we have with Joshua (it won't keep the whole place warm, but it would keep him warm, and we could go hang out in with him for a bit to warm up too). There's been a bit of a nip in the air a few mornings, but nothing more than that yet.
September 21, 2018
#FurkidFriday: Lilie The #Westie Gets Groomed, And Plays Ball - #Photos
Hi everyone. This is Lilie the Westie.
Yes... Again! I have lots to say, after all. Can I help it if I have lots more to say than the squeaky things in cages? Besides, I'm super cute, so I'm sure you don't mind hearing from me again, right?
Exactly! That's what I thought.
So, I went to that groomer place a couple of weeks ago - on September 4th - and the humans took a photo of me afterwards. I thought you'd like to see it. So, here you go:
Aren't I just so adorable?
Also, since you can never have too many photos of me, here are a couple of photos Mummy took with her talking camera thing on her phone while we were playing with my jingly ball this past Saturday:
Lots of licks,
Lilie
Yes... Again! I have lots to say, after all. Can I help it if I have lots more to say than the squeaky things in cages? Besides, I'm super cute, so I'm sure you don't mind hearing from me again, right?
Exactly! That's what I thought.
So, I went to that groomer place a couple of weeks ago - on September 4th - and the humans took a photo of me afterwards. I thought you'd like to see it. So, here you go:
Aren't I just so adorable?
Also, since you can never have too many photos of me, here are a couple of photos Mummy took with her talking camera thing on her phone while we were playing with my jingly ball this past Saturday:
Lots of licks,
Lilie
September 19, 2018
#WriterWednesday: #Quotes About #Writing - September 2018 #WednesdayWisdom
Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.
~Jane Yolen
Imagination is like a muscle. I found out that the more I wrote, the bigger it got.
~Philip José Farmer
Inspiration comes and goes, creativity is the result of practice.
~ Phil Cousineau
Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.
~Louis L'Amour
You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.
~Octavia E. Butler
I think it’s fairly common for writers to be afflicted with two simultaneous yet contradictory delusions – the burning certainty that we’re unique geniuses and the constant fear that we’re witless frauds who are speeding toward epic failure.
~Scott Lynch
It was all in my head and now all I had to do was figure out a way to get it down on paper.
~Ann Patchett
September 17, 2018
#MusicMonday: Dixie Chicks - Tonight the heartache's on me
My favourite song by The Dixie Chicks is "Tonight The Heartache's On Me" - it's a song I've liked since I was in my teens. So, here it is for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!
September 16, 2018
#Ocean Views, #SelfCare, #Space Littering, #Roleplaying, #AmWatching, And Medical Mutterings
The above photos were taken on the evening of August 21st 2018, looking out to sea towards France.
They tell me - and I'm sure I've mentioned this on here before - that, from the part of the coast we live on, you can just about see a part of the French coast if you look in the right direction on a day when conditions are perfect. I don't know what part of the French coast it is, and you can only just see it, but the day those photos were taken appears to have been one of those days.
You'll see it best in the second photo, I believe.
I'm sure it's nothing special to look at from this distance, and you probably wouldn't know that was what it was if you didn't know to look, since I understand it's more a blob in the distance than anything. But I figured I'd get Kelly to take photos to show you anyhow, since he happened to look out of the window and say he could see it.
***~~~***
All this month, Annette is posting self care activities on her blog.
We're already half way through the month, but head on over and check them out, especially if you're like me and could do with devoting more time and energy to self care. They're simple activities, but it's the little things that make the difference sometimes.
***~~~***
in a post in March, I mentioned concerns about space littering.
Apparently I'm not the only one with concerns about it. At least, not if this article on the quest to conquer Earth's space junk problem is anything to go by.
I'm pleased to see it, and hope they figure out a good solution to tackle the space littering problem.
***~~~***
Kelly, Dad and I are considering starting up roleplaying again. When things calm down, obviously. We're not about to start doing it with me constantly in and out of hospital like I have been. Not to mention being unsure of when my surgery will happen. But we've been talking about it, and discussing various races we might want to have to play something different. Like how I expressed an interest in playing a Dhampir. Nothing's been decided for sure yet though.
Speaking of roleplaying: I'd caught bits and pieces from when Kelly was watching the clips from Critical Roll doing their roleplaying sessions, but only recently got in to watching it properly myself.
As much as I'd like to watch it all from the start of their first campaign, I'm not going to try and catch up with every episode they've ever done, since their previous campaign lasted for more than 100 episodes. I don't remember exactly how many episodes without looking it up, but it was somewhere between 100 and 200. But I've been working on catching up with the episodes from their second campaign. They only started this campaign at the start of 2018, so there are only a little over 30 of those to watch... I think they recorded episode 34 this past week... I'm now on episode six. I would have been further along, but I haven't had the time to devote to watching them between health issues and other stuff. If it was a regular sort of series, I'd start fromepisode1 of campaign 1. But you don't miss much if you just skip to the second campaign with this kind of thing, since it's new characters in each campaign. If I have time in the future, I might go back and watch the episodes from their first campaign. We'll see.
I've also watched the two episodes of "Trinket's Honey Heist" that they've done. If you'd like to check those out as a taster, you can find episode 1 here and find episode 2 here.
If you're going to watch any of the episodes, clear some time, because the episodes are around three to four hours long. Yeah... I know. They're not exactly short episodes, since they're an entire roleplaying session. That's why I've still got a lot to catch up on, and why I say I haven't had the time to devote to them.
Oh, and... Just so you're aware: WARNING! Strong language used throughout.
***~~~***
I recently watched "Ready Player One" - a movie I'd been really wanting to see. I'd read the book for it, and loved it, so was eager to see if the movie was as good. Kelly had heard part of the book while I was listening to it, so he kind of wanted to see it too. Anyway, we watched it last weekend. I'm meant to be doing review posts for movie reviews, but I don't see much point in doing an actual review post to review just one movie, so here's my review for it:
Ready Player One (2018 movie):
As a movie in its own right, it was really great. As a representation of the book, it kinda sucked. Had I not read the book before watching it, I probably wouldn't have any complaints. I mean, it was an action-packed movie, with great characters, and even a few touching scenes. But it was like they essentially took the basic idea of the book, grabbed the characters from it, and threw pretty much everything else out of the window. If I was rating the movie based on how well they brought the book to the screen, it would get a low rating. However, I try to rate movies based on how good they are by themselves, even if I've read the book they're based on, so my rating is based on that alone, and both Kelly and I did really enjoy it. With that in mind, I give this movie four out of five stars.
***~~~***
Things went smoothly when I went for my blood test this past Thursday. My veins were even feeling co-operative, so getting blood was quick, and only required me to be stabbed with a needle once, which I was glad about.
If my bloods are bad, they'll get in touch soon to say so. Otherwise I'll have to call and ask if I want to find out the results.
I figure, since it takes a couple of weeks for them to come back anyhow, I'll just ask when I go for my next shot in a couple of weeks. Assuming they haven't contacted me in the meantime, I mean. After all, it will be almost time for that appointment by the time I could call them, and waiting an extra few days won't hurt if the numbers aren't bad enough for them to contact me. Plus, it's that or spend who knows how long on the phone waiting to talk to a receptionist. Much easier to just ask while I'm there, and have the attention of the nurse, while she has my file in front of her.
Also, it's now been three months since I was put on the three to six month waiting list for surgery. That means I officially should hear something about a surgery date very soon... Like in the next couple of months. Officially, I should be going in for surgery any time between now and mid December, assuming they keep to the timeframe they gave me. I hope they do. Cross your fingers for me, and maybe your toes too...
September 14, 2018
#FurkidFriday: Lilie The #Westie Goes Out Visiting
Hi everyone. This is Lilie the Westie again.
So... Mummy disappeared to that hospital place again a few weeks back. I know she told you about it. I also know she doesn't like going there, so don't know why she goes so much. If she hates it so much, I can't understand why she doesn't just stay home. Daddy says she's going there to get better, but she still seems like Mummy to me, both before and after she goes, so that comment just doesn't make sense. The humans say I shouldn't worry about it, so I won't.
Anyway, I didn't mind too much, because Daddy stayed with me. I mean, I missed Mummy a bit, because she's good to play with, and more likely to hand out treats than Daddy is. But Daddy was there, so it was OK. Only then Daddy said he had to go see someone called a doctor (I'm told that's what you humans call vets) and I couldn't go with him. So I was a bit worried about what would happen to me. I can't stay by myself, and they hadn't booked me in to the doggy daycare place I heard them talk about a couple of times before. Like I said, I was worried. Not very worried mind, since I try not to let things bother me. But I couldn't help being just a little bit worried.
It turned out OK though, so I'm glad I didn't waste too much time being worried about things. That would have seriously cut in to my playtime, and there never seems to be enough of that as it is!
Anyway, the humans called Lorna and Andy came to get me. I've seen them before. They're nice. They brought me here from my Furmama's house, and took us out to lunch. Plus they come visiting sometimes, and like giving me attention when they do.
I got to ride in their car, which I've done before, and go see their house and garden, which I haven't done before. We spent lots of time out in the garden. Plus, Andy and the human pups that live in the house next to theirs took me and their dog for walkies. She's an Irish Wolfhound, I think, and her name is Meradith, or something like that. We both loved it. She's fun to play with - I don't even care that she's loads bigger than me - and so were the human pups and Andy.
After I stayed with them for a while, I got another car ride, and came home, where Daddy was waiting for me. Later, before bed time, Mummy came back home too. It was a great day!
They said they loved having me visit, so I hope that means I get to visit again some time. I was a very good girl, and - as I said - they loved having me visit, so I don't see any reason why they won't let me. Maybe next time Mummy and Daddy can come too? That would be even better!
Lots of licks,
Lilie
So... Mummy disappeared to that hospital place again a few weeks back. I know she told you about it. I also know she doesn't like going there, so don't know why she goes so much. If she hates it so much, I can't understand why she doesn't just stay home. Daddy says she's going there to get better, but she still seems like Mummy to me, both before and after she goes, so that comment just doesn't make sense. The humans say I shouldn't worry about it, so I won't.
Anyway, I didn't mind too much, because Daddy stayed with me. I mean, I missed Mummy a bit, because she's good to play with, and more likely to hand out treats than Daddy is. But Daddy was there, so it was OK. Only then Daddy said he had to go see someone called a doctor (I'm told that's what you humans call vets) and I couldn't go with him. So I was a bit worried about what would happen to me. I can't stay by myself, and they hadn't booked me in to the doggy daycare place I heard them talk about a couple of times before. Like I said, I was worried. Not very worried mind, since I try not to let things bother me. But I couldn't help being just a little bit worried.
It turned out OK though, so I'm glad I didn't waste too much time being worried about things. That would have seriously cut in to my playtime, and there never seems to be enough of that as it is!
Anyway, the humans called Lorna and Andy came to get me. I've seen them before. They're nice. They brought me here from my Furmama's house, and took us out to lunch. Plus they come visiting sometimes, and like giving me attention when they do.
I got to ride in their car, which I've done before, and go see their house and garden, which I haven't done before. We spent lots of time out in the garden. Plus, Andy and the human pups that live in the house next to theirs took me and their dog for walkies. She's an Irish Wolfhound, I think, and her name is Meradith, or something like that. We both loved it. She's fun to play with - I don't even care that she's loads bigger than me - and so were the human pups and Andy.
After I stayed with them for a while, I got another car ride, and came home, where Daddy was waiting for me. Later, before bed time, Mummy came back home too. It was a great day!
They said they loved having me visit, so I hope that means I get to visit again some time. I was a very good girl, and - as I said - they loved having me visit, so I don't see any reason why they won't let me. Maybe next time Mummy and Daddy can come too? That would be even better!
Lots of licks,
Lilie
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Author and book news for children's author and poet, Victoria Zigler, as well as general news from the life of the Zigler family; furry and otherwise!
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