Summary: Done!

I've finally finished the summary for my new story, thanks to the patience and brilliant input of a friend of mine. Now I have two people reading it to look for inconsistencies; needed changes, additions, etc.; and anything else that needs to be fixed.

Tomorrow, I plan to work on a couple of character journal entries. One will be connected to this new story, and one is part of a blog story I've been working on. I'm more happy about this than any person has a right to be! :D

And to top that off, I looked out through the window a few minutes ago and saw this:




Breathtaking, isn't it? :)

And now, I'm about to get off here and relax. It's getting late, and I need some time to unwind before bed.

Have a good one!

Lois

Lucky!

I've written a new character journal entry for Lucky Raven, and I've set up a new, mostly private journal just for him. It's taken longer than I'd hoped, but he's worth it. He's still my favorite out of all my characters, and I have a feeling he always will be. :)

Unfortunately, the story he's currently a part of isn't his story. I'll have to come up with other things for him to write about while I'm working on Buck's story. Piece of cake...I hope. ;)

And now I need to go take a quick shower, then I'd like to brainstorm for a bit later, since I haven't had a chance to do any of that yet today.

Have a good one!

Lois

Brainstorming the New Story

I've been brainstorming a new story. It takes place in the Raven story-verse, and Lucky appears in it, if only to show the villain's purpose and how far he'll go to "get even" with the hero, Buck L.

I have information on the three main "good" characters. I still need to gather information on the villain. I have his name and a tiny bit of his background. I even have a character model for him. YAY! :D

And I've been brainstorming ideas for the story. There's lots of danger and intrigue, romantic entanglements, humor, frustration, a murder / attempted murder, and complications (though I need to add more to keep the suspense going in the saggy middle).

This has been a blast, and I'm far from finished. I hope to have some friends look at my summary when it's done to give me valuable input.

Lucky has already written a character journal entry, too. :) I need to have the others write some. It helps me get into their heads better. I love that!

Anyway, that's what I've been up to lately. As always happens when I'm working on a story, other things have taken a back seat, such as my knitting. I hope to work on my cardigan later this afternoon, but we'll see. When I'm involved in a story, it's hard to drop it for something else, but I'll try. ;)

Have a good one!

Lois

I'm Working Again!

Yesterday, I wrote the first two pages of a new story. I only wrote two pages because I had to do a lot of research, too. Today, I wrote down things about the three main characters--the hero, his best friend, and another character who plays a very large role in the story. Tomorrow, I'll brainstorm with paper and pen while I babysit. I look forward to the challenge. I just wish I could get some help!

Oh, and this story takes place in the Raven universe. My two main characters know Lucky, his brothers (John and Joey), and his father (Ten). In fact, the main character's best friend is also a very close friend to Lucky. It's a small, small world, after all! :P I haven't yet decided if Lucky will make an appearance. He probably won't, since it takes place in Hawai'i, but there might be mention of him, at least.

And now, I've got to run.

Have a good one!

Lois

Pet Funnies!

I just got this in an e-mail and had to share. It's just too cute!

Dear Dogs and Cats:

The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Racing me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom! If, by some miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge in an attempt to open the door. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years - canine/feline attendance is not required.

The proper order for kissing is: Kiss me first, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough.

Eleven Days - Has It Really Been that Long?

The past eleven days have been good. The weather has been nice. No storms to cause us to run for the storm shelters, but it's been very hot and muggy.

My birthday came and went, and so did Josiah's. I took pictures at Josiah's party. Here are some...



Josiah got an aquadoodle! :D


He was rockin' in this truck (Jeep?)!


Jeff and I bought him an inchworm, a gift I wanted to
get him last year, but couldn't, because he was too
young. Chelsey took this picture and texted it to me.
Isn't he cute? :)


Can he blow out his candles? He sure tried! ;)


My mom started horsing around, and I snapped this! :P
(Actually, I put her up to it, and Jeff was my
partner in crime.) :)
Josiah loves Dora the Explorer, and my mom got him a couple of Dora books, one of which had a music player included. He loved it!

And for my birthday, I got a Kindle from Jeff and my mom. My mom also got me a new slow cooker and an espresso machine. Eric and Chelsey got me a red dish drainer to match my other red kitchen things (I've been wanting this for a long time, so I'm really happy with it!) and some lilac candle tarts...and something else that's coming in the mail.

Speaking of the mail, I'd ordered a cook book for Chelsey, and it arrived in the mail yesterday...just in time for me to wrap it and take it over to the party! :D

We also went to the Farmer's Market yesterday morning. I bought some huge green onions and another small bottle of Goatie Girls Bug Be Gone lotion. My mom bought some snow peas, which I'll add to one of this week's meals, and a small loaf of Parker Pond Farms' Pumpkin Bread. The three of us (Jeff, my mom, and I) shared the bread over some drinks at Sweet Bay while I downloaded more of my Kindle library. :)

And after Josiah's party, we went grocery shopping. We spent a bit too much, but the important thing is that we put some weight on Jeff without buying the cheap, unhealthy crap you find everywhere. I've been fixing most meals in the slow cookers, and they're mostly healthy. I admit to using some cream of chicken in some of them. Next time, I'll get the fat-free kind so it's better for my mom.

Anyway, since I've been using the slow cookers a lot more, we've been having a lot more fruit and vegetables.

Speaking of...I need to write up an article, complete with photos, of the fruit salad I make, as well as the ensalata caprese, for Milli over at Fear of Writing. I'll try to post a link here once it's up.

Jeff's doing a lot better. He's still got some recovery left to go, but he's progressing well and is back at work. I just hope he doesn't overtax himself. Today's temp is hovering at 100°, and I'd hate for him to get sick!

He's also mostly done readying the hallway and part of the front entrance for painting. He just has to remove some wallpaper scraps, touch up with the primer, and then we can paint it. We bought the paint yesterday. :)

I haven't been doing much writing lately, but I've been working on a knit cardigan for myself. It's my first sweater, so it's a learning experience. I've had to scrap it three times (at least), and I have to undo about three rows and redo them. I hope I don't have to keep doing this. It's becoming a nuisance! :/

I plan to get back to my writing tomorrow.

Have a good one!

Lois

Rough Couple Of Nights

We've had some crazy weather come through here the past couple of nights. Tuesday night, we had strong winds that lifted our small shed off the ground and threw it into the neighbor's yard. That's a good 200 feet or so. Those storms also ripped some more shingles off our roof and did some damage to the loaf shed at the back of our yard. We've been wanting to get rid of the loaf shed anyway. Maybe now is the time to do it.

Then yesterday, they were predicting a bad tornado outbreak. It started in Oklahoma and started affecting our area around 9 or 10 last night, I think. But the really crazy weather didn't hit us until about midnight or after. We went to one of the shelters here, but we had to leave the pets at home, as they have a new rule that you can't bring your pets with you (though I did see someone carrying a little dog around inside). :( The whole night, I worried about them. I didn't care if the house got destroyed, but I didn't want Chloe and Nikita to die. Anyway, we had a lot of rotation, lots of lightning and thunder, but everything is intact here. Thank God!

I can't say how many times we've been spared, and I know I should be grateful. I am grateful, but all this weather we've been having really makes me want to run to someplace "safer," if there is such a place...?

It was such a relief to come home and find everything still intact! It was a long and miserable day, but to come home and find everything as it should be really set my mind at ease!

I'm praying the weather will calm down...that we'll ease into a nice, peaceful summer. One can dream. ;)