Victoria Zigler's Blog: Zigler News, page 97

#FurkidFriday: Lilie The #Westie Celebrates Her 1st Birthday (FD)

Hi everyone. This is Lilie the Westie.

Here's a photo of me and the Mummy human from several weeks ago. She says she hopes she doesn't look too bad in it. Personally, I know I look cute, because everyone tells me so. Anyway, here it is:


Next, here are a couple of photos of me from a week ago:


See... Cute, right?

Anyway, I finally got my turn for one of those birthday things on March 26th. So now I'm a whole year old.

This meant new toys!


The ring toy was OK, and I have been playing with it, but I especially liked the bear...


I also really enjoyed figuring out the puzzle toy the humans got for me. They say it's a "level two" puzzle... Whatever that's supposed to mean. All I know is I thought it was great fun getting the treats out of it. They said I was really smart and did it quickly too. Here's a video of me figuring out the first piece of the puzzle:







They put away the flashy thing after that, because I wandered off, and they thought I was bored of playing with it. But I came back soon afterwards. Things kept distracting me, but I kept going back to the puzzle. Even with getting distracted, I managed to complete the puzzle in four minutes.

The humans say I'd have done it faster if I stayed with it instead of wandering off several times. In fact, they now know I can do it faster, because they let me play with it again yesterday... Three days after my first attempt... I didn't get distracted, and I did all four parts of the puzzle in two minuts.

Even the first time, with how the time stretched out because of me getting distracted, I still did it much quicker than the box says I should have been able to do it, which the humans say makes me really smart! Mummy says she's glad she skipped to level two, and didn't bother wasting her money on getting me the level one puzzles. I'm not sure what she means by the level thing, but she sounds proud of me when she says it, so it makes me happy.

On top of that, the humans ordered pizza for dinner that night, and I got to share, which also made me happy. I got a new big rawhide bone too, which made me even happier still. Here I am on the big bed with the bone:


I think I like birthdays! I'm already looking forward to having another one!

Lots of licks,
Lilie

#Pet Themed #Poetry #Book - Puppy Poems And Rodent Rhymes Now In #Paperback!

A collection of poems of various lengths and styles, all written for some of the various pets my hubby and I have had.

The pets mentioned in this collection include 4 degus, 2 rats, 2 chinchillas, and 2 dogs. All poems are captioned with details of the pets they are about.

Previously only made available in eBook, "Puppy Poems And Rodent Rhymes" is now also available in paperback.

You can buy the paperback version from Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon Canada, and other Amazon sites. It will also soon be available via other places CreateSpace books are distributed to, such as Barnes & Noble and The Book Depository.

Or, if you prefer, you can grab one of the multiple eBook formats.

If you're on Goodreads, you may also be interested to know that the book has a Goodreads page.

#MondayMotivation And #Inspiration - March 2018 Edition

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

Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind. 
~Henry James

Yes, you need to put words on the page, but to qualify for the page those words must always interest you. For if not you, then whom? Writing should not be a laborious construction of wall-climbing obstacle courses for those readers who one day walk the path of your prose, but a delicate and sparkling web designed to spring skyward as though weighted down only by the touch of yiddle fairies’ feet. If you find yourself on autopilot, halt. Delete-delete-delete, all the way back to the very line where last you cared. You, at least, should never have to wait to get to the good part.
~Lydia Millet

You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.
~Maya Angelou

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.
~J.R.R. Tolkien

Do or do not. There is no try.
~Yoda

March 2018 #TV Talk And #Movie Mutterings: #Blind Viewers

I was asked a question recently about how I'm able to watch TV shows and movies when I can't see. Well, I answered the person's questions at the time, but afterwards thought there may be others with the same questions. So, since I haven't watched much this month anyhow, I decided to make this month's "TV talk and movie mutterings" post about that topic.

I won't repeat all the questions the person asked here, since they all boil down to the same question: "How can a blind person know what's going on when they're watching a movie or TV show?"

I'll just tell you how I manage the task of watching things, which is in one of three ways:

1. Using audio description.
Audio description is available on many DVDs, and also sometimes as a setting on some of the devices used to get TV channels (such as my Sky box, for example). You usually have to actually turn it on, which can sometimes mean needing sighted help to activate it, though there are times when it's easy to either keep activated (again, such as with my Sky box) or possible for you to put it on yourself with a bit of trial and error or memorizing of button pressing combinations. My brother, Carl, tells me even Netflix has it. This is my favourite option, since the audio description will then tell me about any visual aspects of the movie or TV show in question. At least, that's the theory, since I do know for a fact it doesn't catch everything. Plus, not every movie or TV show comes with it.

The only downside to this one - apart from the annoyance of it being tricky to turn on audio description when you can't actually see the settings - comes if you're watching a movie with someone sighted, since I'm told audio description and actual screen events aren't always completely in sync with one another, and have found that some sighted people can find that a bit annoying. At the risk of sounding rude though, I'd like to point out to anyone who feels this way that they should be grateful they have the ability to see what's going on for themselves, and go do something else if they don't like it. They can always watch the movie or TV show later without audio description turned on.

2. Having sighted people describe things.
When there's no audio description, and I'm watching a movie with someone sighted, there's the option of having them do the audio description. If you're doing this one though, it's best to agree it's going to happen before the movie starts.

The downsides with this option are that it tends to annoy people if you're doing it in a cinema, not everyone is willing to do this, not everyone is good with descriptions, or the person may get too in to the movie and forget to explain things (sometimes becoming irritated when you try to get their attention for an explanation). I'm lucky in that I prefer to watch movies from the comfort of my own home anyway, which means Kelly is usually the one I watch things with, and he's pretty good about telling me what happens if something is obviously visual, or I ask him what just happened, even if his descriptions are sometimes not as detailed as I might like them to be.

3. Just listening and hoping for the best.
If all else fails, I just "watch" the movie, and try and use the sounds and dialogue to figure out what's going on as best as I can. This is easier to do with some movies than others, and the fact this is the thing I end up doing more often than not is part of the reason I tend to read more than I watch.

The downsides with this one are obvious: you can't always tell by the sounds what's happening due to some things sounding so similar to one another, and some parts are too visual so missed altogether. Still, being familiar with certain sounds, and having the ability to use logic and common sense, means I'm able to figure things out enough that I know what's happening most of the time. Plus, missing parts is better than not getting to watch it at all, so... *Shrugs*

#FurkidFriday: Maizie The #Chinchilla On Cage Rearranging

Hi everyone. This is Maizie the chinchilla.



Yes, that's me in the above photo. It was taken about two weeks ago, on March 10th. I was pleased with the human caretakers that day, so decided they earned a photo of me. I even stayed still while they got the flashy thing ready and took it. My chinchilla sister, Mollie, went and hid in one of our wooden house things though. Said she wasn't in the mood to have the flashy thing pointed at her. But, like I said, I was pleased with them that day, so I let them take a photo.

I was pleased with the human caretakers that day because of what they did in our cage.

The human caretakers have been moving things around in our cage again. Some animals don't like when that happens, but Mollie and I like when they move things about, because it makes the things seem all new and exciting. I really like what they did this time too. Here's a quick photo for you if you want to see:


They usually move things about a bit on cage cleaning day, but they changed things more this time, and it wasn't even cage cleaning day. Like I said though, we like when they change things around, and I really like what they did this time. So does Mollie, though apparently not enough to let them take her photo.

Squeak soon,
Maizie

#WriterWednesday - March 21st 2018

"Jeffrey The Orange Alien" is now available in audio, narrated by Danny Letham. Also, "Snowball The Oddball Kobold" is now available in audio, narrated by Jerry Fischer. See the posts I just linked to from Sunday and Tuesday respectively, for details of where you can buy them, regardless of the format you prefer.

If you're a writer too, are you being tempted by a shiny new idea? Are you seriously considering starting to work with it? If so, here are five questions to ask yourself before taking on a new project, so you can figure out if you should chase that shiny new idea, or justmake a note of it to play with another time, when you can give it the time and attention it needs and deserves.

Regardless of whether what you're writing is a new idea, or something you've been working on for some time, if you're writing something containing vampires, check out these tips to writing about vampires, and remember to do your vampire myth research; bear in mind that breaking the commonly accepted vampire myth rules is fine, but you need to know what rules you're breaking, and have a valid and plausable reason for breaking them.

Vampire or not, if you're writing something with a monster as the hero of your story, you should bear in mind these tips to writing monsterous heroes.

No matter what it is you're thinking of writing about though, or what kind of creature your hero might be, bear in mind that your story ideas aren't enough; story ideas matter, and are great to have, but they mean nothing without the time and effort that goes in to turning them from idea to finished product.

Speaking of turning your ideas in to something: here's a post with some tips on beating the blank page, in case you're having trouble with that.

Oh, and here's some advice for you if you feel like you're a writer with Imposter Syndrome.

Next, here's how to avoid info-dumps in your stories, because nobody likes those. It's fine if you end up with them during your first draft, but make sure you don't end up with them in the final version, OK?

Finally, this post is for writers who just want to make things, no strings atatched.

#KidLit #Fantasy #Book - Snowball The Oddball Kobold Now In #Audio! #Kobolds

Snowball is a white kobold; something so rare that the other kobolds in his tribe won’t accept him as a proper kobold. In fact, they delight in making poor Snowball’s life miserable. But Snowball is determined that some day he’ll show them that there’s nothing wrong with being a white kobold.

One day, in Snowball’s tenth Winter, something strange comes to the mountains where Snowball and his tribe live. The kobolds want to know what it is, but with their red-brown colour they’ll be spotted much too easily in the snow. Only Snowball, with his white colouring, has a chance of investigating without being spotted. Could this be Snowball’s chance to prove he’s a useful member of his tribe and finally be accepted as a proper kobold?

Previously made available in eBook and paperback, “Snowball The Oddball Kobold" is now also available in audio, read for you by Jerry Fischer.

Regardless of which format you prefer, here are the main places where you can buy the book:

Audible, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Chapters-Indigo, iBooks, iTunes, Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon Canada, and The Book Depository.

The book also has a page on Goodreads.

Random Ramblings - March 2018 Edition (FD & LBE)

The grey teddy bear in the photo above is one Kelly got me as a late Valentine's Day present.

He brought it home one day after Valentine's Day and gave it to me. When I asked what was with the teddy, he said it was because he didn't get me one for Valentine's Day and he saw it and thought I'd like it. Which I do, because I love cuddly animals, it's soft and fluffy, and it's from him.

***

Fellow author, David Estes, sent me these signed bookmarks from his "Fatemarked" series:


He sent me them because I'm now a supporter of David on Patreon.

Having read his work for a couple of years now, I know he's worth supporting, since he's an excellent author, and getting the rewards for doing so is an added bonus. I already have the bookmarks and a sneak peek at part of the new book he's releasing in the near future... Which looks to be another awesome read, by the way.

Anyway, thanks for the bookmarks, David, and for writing your awesome books.

***

Another bad storm hit the UK, but most people didn't panic as much with shopping. Mind you, they were probably still trying to use up the stuff from the previous storm, since there wasn't much time between them.

Anyway, the weather wasn't too bad where we were. A fair amount of wind and rain, but not really much more than is normal for this time of year, and temperatures in the past week or so had mainly been averaging between 6 degrees C (44 F) and 9 degrees C (50 F). It actually went up to 11 degrees C (54 F) for a day or two at one point. So, not too bad, especially when compared to the below freezing temperatures that some places were getting.

But I say, "Had been," for a reason. You see, that changed over this past weekend, and our temperatures dropped down around - and, a couple of times, below - freezing again. We even got a little snow, though it wasn't even enough to bother with photos to be honest, so I don't have any snow photos for you this time.

What we got on Saturday was more a collection of snow flurries than a real snowfall. It was still a nice thing to wake up to on Saturday though. At least, I thought so. Although, the nasty ice a lot of places had - local and otherwise - wasn't quite so pleasant, andplenty of people would have been more than happy to give me their share of the snow.

It snowed a bit more Saturday night. I thought it was snowing when I woke in the night, but was too sleepy for more than a passing thought of, "YAY! It's snowing again." Sunday morning we woke to find some snow still in sheltered places, and some still on some roofs, but it was more slush and ice than anything on most of the ground.

Like I said, not really worth taking photos of. Although, I might have insisted we grab some photos anyhow, if we didn't have those good photos from last time.

Either way, it was more snow than I expected us to get, since I figured we were done with our snow for the year after the snow I mentioned last week. Even when I saw the weather reports saying there would be snow, I didn't get my hopes up like I usually do. Not because I didn't want there to be more, but because I didn't think it would happen with all the snow we'd already had. I expected us to be waiting until at least late October before we got more. Not that I'm complaining, of course.

***

In other news: our kettle died.

We had to heat water for cups of tea and things using a pot on the cooker. This not only takes a lot longer than using a kettle, but it's also something that's quite tricky for me to do safely, which meant Kelly had to be in charge of making hot drinks until we could get a new kettle. I could have done it if I had no choice, but Kelly doing it was safer. OK, so he makes them most of the time anyhow, but at least with a proper kettle I can make them myself sometimes.

It's interesting how much we've come to rely on the convenience of modern appliances. I mean, we didn't have a fancy kettle. Just a basic one that quickly heats up water, and has a pouring spout to help direct liquid. But it's amazing how much we missed even that. You don't think about how long a pot of water takes to boil until you're waiting for it to do so. At least, I never gave it much thought before. Not until I was impatiently waiting for the cup of tea to go with my cookies. Of course, in my case there's the addition of relying on an easier and safer method so I can have some ability to do things myself, which was taken away from me just by the lack of a kettle, and shows how much technology has helped people with disabilities do things they otherwise couldn't do for themselves.

Anyway, we have a new kettle now. Still nothing fancy, but it heats water quickly, which is good enough for us.

The new kettle is a silver one. I almost had a purple one, but the silver one had good reviews and the purple one didn't, and the silver one was almost £10 cheaper than the purple one, so Kelly wanted to get the silver one. A part of me was disappointed not to have the purple one, because... Well, it's purple! But mostly I'm just glad to have a kettle again, to be able to have a cup of tea quickly whenever I want one, and to have the option to make it myself.

The other new thing we got is some new curtains for the living room. Our friends Lorna and Andy gave them to us. They're thicker than the ones we had up, so keep the heat in better. I'm told by Kelly and Lorna that they also look good with the colour scheme of the room. I never cared much about that kind of thing even when I could see, but I do appreciate the thickness to keep the heat in better, and am grateful to Lorna and Andy for giving them to us, as well as for putting them up for us.

I've kept hold of the ones we had though. I don't really need to... I could give them to the charity shop or something. But they're red curtains, and that very fact makes me reluctant to let them go, since the only thing I like more than red things is purple ones.

Yeah, I know I can't see the colours any more, but that's totally not the point.

Anyway, the new curtains are brown,which is why they say they go so well, because this place is carpeted in brown (not my idea). The walls in the living room are blue and white, and apparently it all looks really nice in there. I'd have Kelly take photos, but we're still trying to organize things properly after having to move things around when Lilie ate the computer wires, and I don't want you to see the mess.

***

It's Lilie's first birthday in a week; Lilie will be a year old on March 26th 2018.

How did that happen?

It seems like only yesterday we were bringing home a little eight week old puppy. Now she's about to be a whole year old!

We've had her for about ten months now.

Time flies, doesn't it?

Happy birthday for next Monday, Lilie Monster!

Actually, I've been really bad about remembering to post about birthdays, so I've missed several, including - but not limited to - our nephew, Devon, who celebrated his birthday on February 25th, and my brother, Wayne, who celebrated his on March 15th. So, happy belated birthday, Devon, Wayne, and anyone who reads this who had a birthday in the past couple of months.

Also... Happy birthday for next Wednesday, Rita!

#KidLit #SciFi #Book - Jeffrey The Orange Alien Now In #Audio! #Aliens

Eager to see the universe, and hoping to make some new friends from far off places, Jeffrey the Zuling decides to take a trip to another planet.

With such similarities in appearance between Zulings and Earthlings, he decides to start with a visit to planet Earth. But his introductions to the planet’s native creatures don’t go quite as planned, and Jeffrey soon finds himself wondering if he should have just stayed at home on Omega Zulu 8.

Is he right? Join Jeffrey on his trip to Earth, and judge for yourself!

Previously made available in eBook and paperback, “Jeffrey The Orange Alien" is now also available in audio, read for you by Danny Letham.

Regardless of which format you prefer, here are the main places where you can buy the book:

Audible, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Chapters-Indigo, iBooks, iTunes, Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon Canada, and The Book Depository.

The book also has a page on Goodreads.

#FurkidFriday: Joshua The #Degu Gets Comforted (FD)

Hi everyone. This is Joshua the degu.

The other day I suddenly started to miss my brothers again and feel lonely. I get like that sometimes. I can't help it. Ever since my brothers went to that rainbow bridge place I get sad sometimes. Mostly I'm happy by myself, but sometimes... Especially on nights when it's stormy, and there's nobody to cuddle up to for comfort... I just really miss them, and then I get upset and lonely.

This particular night it was very stormy, and I got upset enough that I was squealing in the middle of the night, and woke up the human caretakers with my squealing. I didn't mean to, but I was sad and lonely, and I just couldn't help it.

The Daddy human came to check on me, but other than being upset there was nothing wrong, and I just ignored him and kept on squealing, so he went away after a while.

But then the Mummy human came, and it was her I wanted, so I stopped squealing and cuddled her hand when she put it in my cage. Her hands are usually nice and warm, and cuddling up to them makes me feel good. It's not as good as having my brothers back... She's not furry, for a start... But it helps. I felt better after that, and felt even better still after she gave me a special nibble, because nibbles make everything better - especially Shreddies.

Then she made sure the TV box had something I liked on it. She couldn't find NCIS - which me and my Chinchilla sisters love - but she found CSI, which is almost as good. So I settled down with my nibble to watch it, able to forget about the storm once I'd been comforted, and she went away. I think she went back to bed. I don't mind though, because I didn't want to be cuddled and petted any more anyhow, since I was feeling better by that point.

I'm glad she came to me when I needed her to though. It made me feel loads better. Oh, and the Shreddie helped too.

Squeak soon,
Joshua