Linda Lael Miller's Blog, page 8
November 14, 2011
Last Minute Preparations
Today, the last day before my big trip to Toronto, will be about the 2 million small things that need to be done first. It isn't that I haven't been making preparations--I have--but in my experience, I'm never actually ready until the moment I walk out the door and leave for the airport. :)
I'm down just under 30 pounds, thanks to the D.I.E.T., and a lot of my clothes don't fit. I'm having new professional photos taken on this trip, and also doing a video interview, so while I do want to represent myself accurately, I also want to look good. :) It didn't make sense to spend a lot, because sizes are pretty transitory at this stage. (Trust me, Oprah and I know all about the wardrobe ramifications of yo-yoing.) So I bought nice turtlenecks to wear under Western jackets, a few sweaters, and some jeans. (I went a little overboard with the jeans, to tell the truth, because I was so excited about getting into a smaller size.) I'm still about five months from my goal, however, so some restraint is called for. :)
I'm not very good at restraint, but we shall see.
That's the news. I'll blog from Toronto if humanly possible--we're really going to be busy--and I'll Tweet some photos, too. If for some reason I can't blog while away, I'll catch you up on everything as soon as I get back.
Listened to some good books recently--a novel called "White Truffles in Winter", by N.M. Kelby--a feast for frustrated foodies--how's that for alliterative?--and "Moonlight on Linoleum", a fascinating memoir by Terry Helwig. Both were wonderful and I recommend them highly.
That's the news from my sunny kitchen table, my friends. Be well, be safe, and be kind. We need each other, particularly in times like these....
I'm down just under 30 pounds, thanks to the D.I.E.T., and a lot of my clothes don't fit. I'm having new professional photos taken on this trip, and also doing a video interview, so while I do want to represent myself accurately, I also want to look good. :) It didn't make sense to spend a lot, because sizes are pretty transitory at this stage. (Trust me, Oprah and I know all about the wardrobe ramifications of yo-yoing.) So I bought nice turtlenecks to wear under Western jackets, a few sweaters, and some jeans. (I went a little overboard with the jeans, to tell the truth, because I was so excited about getting into a smaller size.) I'm still about five months from my goal, however, so some restraint is called for. :)
I'm not very good at restraint, but we shall see.
That's the news. I'll blog from Toronto if humanly possible--we're really going to be busy--and I'll Tweet some photos, too. If for some reason I can't blog while away, I'll catch you up on everything as soon as I get back.
Listened to some good books recently--a novel called "White Truffles in Winter", by N.M. Kelby--a feast for frustrated foodies--how's that for alliterative?--and "Moonlight on Linoleum", a fascinating memoir by Terry Helwig. Both were wonderful and I recommend them highly.
That's the news from my sunny kitchen table, my friends. Be well, be safe, and be kind. We need each other, particularly in times like these....
November 11, 2011
Veteran's Day
To veterans and active-duty personnel serving everywhere in this troubled world, Thank You.
Thank you for protecting our freedom, and for being willing to pay the ultimate price. Too often we take our liberty for granted, but you are a reminder that freedom most definitely isn't free--real people, with homes and families, friends and pets, heartbeats and breath, have sacrificed blood, sweat and tears to maintain it.
From the fields of Concord and Lexington to this present day, you've always done us proud. After Pearl Harbor and September 11, we knew we could count on you, and you came through. Other challenges will certainly come and you will meet those challenges, because that's who you are.
You are the bravest of the brave, the best of the best, and I am honored to honor you in this small way.
Thank you.
Thank you for protecting our freedom, and for being willing to pay the ultimate price. Too often we take our liberty for granted, but you are a reminder that freedom most definitely isn't free--real people, with homes and families, friends and pets, heartbeats and breath, have sacrificed blood, sweat and tears to maintain it.
From the fields of Concord and Lexington to this present day, you've always done us proud. After Pearl Harbor and September 11, we knew we could count on you, and you came through. Other challenges will certainly come and you will meet those challenges, because that's who you are.
You are the bravest of the brave, the best of the best, and I am honored to honor you in this small way.
Thank you.
November 10, 2011
A Writing Day
Today is a writing day--the most precious kind.
It's also my "free meal" day, which means I get my single glass of wine and whatever else I decide to cook for supper. This is strange new territory for me, not to be hankering after one particular food, or wanting to hit a favorite restaurant--I could just as easily eat another pre-prepared meal as not. There are so many things to think about in this modern age; it's great that food isn't one of them. It will be interesting to see how the D.I.E.T. holds up during the Toronto visit and later in the month, when Debbie Macomber and I are getting together in Seattle to attend a holiday party. So many of you have asked what program I'm on. It's called BistroMD--daughter Wendy told me about it. I've lost 27 pounds and I'm down a size in my jeans, too. The plan is delicious, well-balanced, and fairly expensive--those are the bare facts. It works for me, and that's all I can say on the subject with any authority. :)
On the art front, I've fallen in love with encaustics--painting with wax. I can get lost in it. :) Hence my strict rule: until the writing is done, no experiments in the craft room. However, I get some of my best ideas when I'm brushing beeswax onto a surface--and the smell of the stuff is heavenly.
Bernice is just back from her morning walk with Jenni. She gets so excited over these little sojourns, and is seriously cute following a recent grooming by the very versatile Mary Ann. The Canadian Wrangler is down with a very sore throat, but Chris, our weekend man, is on duty, so the horses are well taken care of. Now that it's getting cold, they like to go in at night, each one tucked up in a cozy stall. When it's warm, forget it. Those cayuses want no part of the barn--give them the wide open spaces. (As in, their pasture.)
It's time to head for Parable.
Be kind.
It's also my "free meal" day, which means I get my single glass of wine and whatever else I decide to cook for supper. This is strange new territory for me, not to be hankering after one particular food, or wanting to hit a favorite restaurant--I could just as easily eat another pre-prepared meal as not. There are so many things to think about in this modern age; it's great that food isn't one of them. It will be interesting to see how the D.I.E.T. holds up during the Toronto visit and later in the month, when Debbie Macomber and I are getting together in Seattle to attend a holiday party. So many of you have asked what program I'm on. It's called BistroMD--daughter Wendy told me about it. I've lost 27 pounds and I'm down a size in my jeans, too. The plan is delicious, well-balanced, and fairly expensive--those are the bare facts. It works for me, and that's all I can say on the subject with any authority. :)
On the art front, I've fallen in love with encaustics--painting with wax. I can get lost in it. :) Hence my strict rule: until the writing is done, no experiments in the craft room. However, I get some of my best ideas when I'm brushing beeswax onto a surface--and the smell of the stuff is heavenly.
Bernice is just back from her morning walk with Jenni. She gets so excited over these little sojourns, and is seriously cute following a recent grooming by the very versatile Mary Ann. The Canadian Wrangler is down with a very sore throat, but Chris, our weekend man, is on duty, so the horses are well taken care of. Now that it's getting cold, they like to go in at night, each one tucked up in a cozy stall. When it's warm, forget it. Those cayuses want no part of the barn--give them the wide open spaces. (As in, their pasture.)
It's time to head for Parable.
Be kind.
November 9, 2011
Good Writing Day
I'm rolling on the story--back tomorrow. :)
November 8, 2011
At Home in Parable, Montana
I'm hanging out with the Parable gang today--my favorite thing to do. Yesterday's dental visit is out of the way--YES!!--and it's all systems go. I want to get several chapters finished before I leave for Toronto next week, to visit my fabulous Harlequin family and learn to navigate social media (Facebook and Twitter) in a more efficient manner. (Anything would be more efficient than the way I do it now. :)) I'll also be having some new photos taken so the person on the back of the book will be a polished-up but nonetheless recognizable representation of yours truly.
Trips to Toronto are always whirlwind affairs, and this one is no exception--Jenni, my niece-assistant, and I will be hitting the ground running, as my dad used to say. (If you keep in mind that he was once a bullrider, the concept of hitting the ground running makes a whole lot of sense.)
The big rodeo, the NFR, is coming up fast, and I'm sure looking forward to that. I'll be on the Flint Rasmussen Show, and I hope you'll tune in. It's a radio show, but there's an audience, and I usually get to share the stage with some handsome country and western singer (Luke Bryant and Tracy Byrd, so far) which is a kick, but it's the back-and-forth banter with Flint that I enjoy most. (I knew Johnny Cash and his lovely wife, June, so I'm hard to impress when it comes to country music fame.) Flint's a Choteau boy, and that makes him special because Choteau, Montana is my mom's hometown, Bleecker-central. (Any resemblance Parable bears to Choteau is strictly not a coincidence.) There are a couple of big to-dos going on with the Caesar's Entertainment people, who are teaming up with Harlequin to celebrate all things Western and, of course, I'll be hitting my all-time favorite trade show, Cowboy Christmas, several times over the course of my visit. Other highlights include various visiting cousins, time with Wendy and Jeremy and my brother, Jerry, and seeing friends like Steve Miller.
Talk about hitting the ground running. When I get home from Vegas, I'll be getting ready for a family Christmas, right here on the Triple L. Unless, of course, there's a blizzard----
Too bad Bernice is so small. She'd never manage pulling a dog sled. :)
That's the news on this fine if overcast Tuesday morning.
Be kind.
Trips to Toronto are always whirlwind affairs, and this one is no exception--Jenni, my niece-assistant, and I will be hitting the ground running, as my dad used to say. (If you keep in mind that he was once a bullrider, the concept of hitting the ground running makes a whole lot of sense.)
The big rodeo, the NFR, is coming up fast, and I'm sure looking forward to that. I'll be on the Flint Rasmussen Show, and I hope you'll tune in. It's a radio show, but there's an audience, and I usually get to share the stage with some handsome country and western singer (Luke Bryant and Tracy Byrd, so far) which is a kick, but it's the back-and-forth banter with Flint that I enjoy most. (I knew Johnny Cash and his lovely wife, June, so I'm hard to impress when it comes to country music fame.) Flint's a Choteau boy, and that makes him special because Choteau, Montana is my mom's hometown, Bleecker-central. (Any resemblance Parable bears to Choteau is strictly not a coincidence.) There are a couple of big to-dos going on with the Caesar's Entertainment people, who are teaming up with Harlequin to celebrate all things Western and, of course, I'll be hitting my all-time favorite trade show, Cowboy Christmas, several times over the course of my visit. Other highlights include various visiting cousins, time with Wendy and Jeremy and my brother, Jerry, and seeing friends like Steve Miller.
Talk about hitting the ground running. When I get home from Vegas, I'll be getting ready for a family Christmas, right here on the Triple L. Unless, of course, there's a blizzard----
Too bad Bernice is so small. She'd never manage pulling a dog sled. :)
That's the news on this fine if overcast Tuesday morning.
Be kind.
November 7, 2011
Snow? What Snow?
We had a lot of glorious, if chilly, sunshine over the weekend. Bernice and I took 5 and a half walks around the pasture--on the 6th, we accepted a ride home from Jenni, who just happened to be driving in when we got to the top of the driveway. On our sojourns, we encountered no moose, no pack of ravenous coyotes, no fire-breathing dragons. :) (As you can see, having a very well developed imagination has it's downside.)
I bought books--real books, with pages, no less--a biography of Charles Dickens, a memoir or two, a very short book on critical thinking. There's humor in that, but I guess I haven't had enough coffee, because I can't seem to get the joke. I just know there is one. :)
Does anybody remember that comical scene in "Mr. Mom", when Michael Keaton is at the supermarket buying the groceries and other stuff for the household, while his wife works, and is mortified to be seen purchasing tampons? The sales clerk holds the box high in the air and yells something like, "Price check! Tampons!" at the top of her lungs. I had my own version of that at Fred Meyer yesterday--I had chosen, among other things, a fake-fur vest to wear on walks with Bernice. It didn't have a tag. So the clerk--I swear, it's true--waved the thing in the air and practically screeched to a free-ranging colleague, "Price check on this vest! EXTRA LARGE!" I had to chuckle--and silently remind myself that my size, like the numbers on the scale, is headed downward, not up.
At the beginning of the weekend, I had this wild plan to spend two full days in my newly organized craft room, playing with various toys. Didn't happen.
Today, I'm working on the new book--and going to the dentist. :(
Into each life, some snow must fall.
I bought books--real books, with pages, no less--a biography of Charles Dickens, a memoir or two, a very short book on critical thinking. There's humor in that, but I guess I haven't had enough coffee, because I can't seem to get the joke. I just know there is one. :)
Does anybody remember that comical scene in "Mr. Mom", when Michael Keaton is at the supermarket buying the groceries and other stuff for the household, while his wife works, and is mortified to be seen purchasing tampons? The sales clerk holds the box high in the air and yells something like, "Price check! Tampons!" at the top of her lungs. I had my own version of that at Fred Meyer yesterday--I had chosen, among other things, a fake-fur vest to wear on walks with Bernice. It didn't have a tag. So the clerk--I swear, it's true--waved the thing in the air and practically screeched to a free-ranging colleague, "Price check on this vest! EXTRA LARGE!" I had to chuckle--and silently remind myself that my size, like the numbers on the scale, is headed downward, not up.
At the beginning of the weekend, I had this wild plan to spend two full days in my newly organized craft room, playing with various toys. Didn't happen.
Today, I'm working on the new book--and going to the dentist. :(
Into each life, some snow must fall.
November 4, 2011
No Show Snow
The promised snow has not arrived, but I'm sure that's a minor detail. The sky looks grayish, but it could easily clear.
Last night was my free night on the D.I.E.T.--I'm always ready to get back on the plan the next morning. This is a totally new experience for me. I don't yearn for any particular food or drink when I can't have it--not even that one glass of wine, which is rapidly losing it's charm. Did it always taste like vinegar, or is it just me?
Although you might not think so from reading this blog--the references to art and to goofing off at the casino, for example--the wheels are always turning in my head, generating the new story. When asked how many hours per day I actually write, I could honestly say "twenty-four"--and if I don't decompress once in a while, the process becomes much more difficult. Writing does not get easier with experience--instead, my standards go up. I always want the next book to be better than the last one.
I see a woman had a baby in an art museum--performance art? You be the judge.
Have a good weekend, and I'll be right here on Monday morning, probably talking about snow. :)
Last night was my free night on the D.I.E.T.--I'm always ready to get back on the plan the next morning. This is a totally new experience for me. I don't yearn for any particular food or drink when I can't have it--not even that one glass of wine, which is rapidly losing it's charm. Did it always taste like vinegar, or is it just me?
Although you might not think so from reading this blog--the references to art and to goofing off at the casino, for example--the wheels are always turning in my head, generating the new story. When asked how many hours per day I actually write, I could honestly say "twenty-four"--and if I don't decompress once in a while, the process becomes much more difficult. Writing does not get easier with experience--instead, my standards go up. I always want the next book to be better than the last one.
I see a woman had a baby in an art museum--performance art? You be the judge.
Have a good weekend, and I'll be right here on Monday morning, probably talking about snow. :)
November 3, 2011
What a difference a day makes!
Yesterday, the weather was glorious here in Spokane--sunny and bright, with a crisp nip in the air--and today we're in line for snow. :) I'm kind of looking forward to it--very pretty stuff, snow. In moderation.
The D.I.E.T. continues to be fabulously easy and successful, if slow. I'm confident enough to wear jeans again, and I think I'm actually developing a waist. :) Tonight is my weekly free night, so I'm having one glass of wine (how I savor that one weekly glass) and buffalo mignon. In other words, a small bison steak.
I have a very casual picture, taken on my phone, that shows what I really look like. And I'm feeling just wild and crazy enough to post it. Those of you who are expecting a skinny blond in western clothes are in for a suprise--those photos were taken many moons ago. On an upcoming trip to Toronto, new and up to date author photos will be taken, and I am so happy about that. I want to look like who I am, not who I was. :) After all, fat or skinny, I've worked very hard to get to the place I'm in now, as a person and as a writer, and I'm proud to have earned this face and this body.
A pleasant surprise awaited me yesterday, when I got home from decompressing (read, playing slot machines)--"Christmas in Stone Creek" is #6 on the New York Times list--and tied with #5! WOW. I did not expect this--wasn't even waiting to hear the news about the list, which usually comes in on Wednesday afternoons.
Over the weekend, my mom gave a notebook containing some of my first published work--in the confessions magazines. (True Romance, True Confessions, etc.). I thumbed through and looked at the first story--and laughed out loud. The hero of that story, published more than 30 years ago, is named--Hutch. As is my current hero, the hunky cowboy heading up "Big Sky Mountain". I guess if we like a name, it sticks with us.
That's the news for today. Be safe, be grateful and be kind.
The D.I.E.T. continues to be fabulously easy and successful, if slow. I'm confident enough to wear jeans again, and I think I'm actually developing a waist. :) Tonight is my weekly free night, so I'm having one glass of wine (how I savor that one weekly glass) and buffalo mignon. In other words, a small bison steak.
I have a very casual picture, taken on my phone, that shows what I really look like. And I'm feeling just wild and crazy enough to post it. Those of you who are expecting a skinny blond in western clothes are in for a suprise--those photos were taken many moons ago. On an upcoming trip to Toronto, new and up to date author photos will be taken, and I am so happy about that. I want to look like who I am, not who I was. :) After all, fat or skinny, I've worked very hard to get to the place I'm in now, as a person and as a writer, and I'm proud to have earned this face and this body.
A pleasant surprise awaited me yesterday, when I got home from decompressing (read, playing slot machines)--"Christmas in Stone Creek" is #6 on the New York Times list--and tied with #5! WOW. I did not expect this--wasn't even waiting to hear the news about the list, which usually comes in on Wednesday afternoons.
Over the weekend, my mom gave a notebook containing some of my first published work--in the confessions magazines. (True Romance, True Confessions, etc.). I thumbed through and looked at the first story--and laughed out loud. The hero of that story, published more than 30 years ago, is named--Hutch. As is my current hero, the hunky cowboy heading up "Big Sky Mountain". I guess if we like a name, it sticks with us.
That's the news for today. Be safe, be grateful and be kind.
November 2, 2011
Decompression Day
I'm decompressing from all the excitement of arrivals and departures, so no blog today. I promise I'll be back tomorrow.
