I had forgotten

I had planned a nice long blog about my first days of work, but sadly, I'm too tired. Things are going good though and I'll post longer when I'm not quite so tired. Between a weekend away, a new job (after being off work since May), a busy class last night and getting groceries after work tonight, I'm not even sure I'll make it through Dancing with the Stars!!

Anyway, I'll do details when I'm a bit more with it :)

'til later

Lest We Forget

Today is Rememberance Day. My father served very proudly in the Royal Canadian Air Force in WWII.

He lost two brothers and we never got to meet two uncles.

Whatever one's opinion on war, we have to admire and honour those who choose to serve our country.

I will think of my father, his brothers and so many more who lost their lives. And the brave men and women who are continuing to loose their lives - for us.



And I will wear my Poppy proudly today.

Here's my haul

As Cindy mentioned, I drove to her place yesterday. It was my second last hurrah before I start back working full time come Monday. There were a few books I've been looking for that haven't shown up yet so just for the heck of it, knowing I'd be visiting and she kind of asked if I might want to check out the Chapters in her neck of the woods, I looked them up in her Chapters. And low and behold - they were there!! The only store within a 25 kilometer distance of either the city I live in or the city she lives in. It was fate I tell you!

So once I got to Cindy's and after we had about a two hour gab-fest we headed out - shopping. We went to Home Sense first. Now I wish with all my heart I could show you what I got there, but I seem to have bungled up my IE somehow and I can't download pictures from the digital camera. Lisa is nowhere around to fix it for me. I told her about and she said it sounds like I'll have to reinstall it. *snort*. Like that's going to happen. Risk another call to Cable Guy - I don't think so. I'll just wait until the next time she comes and very pitifully ask if she can help me. But, once this little problem is taken care of I'll post pictures. In the meantime and because the internet is my friend, I found pictures of what I got.




This one is a Cutty Shark


This one is The Bounty. Now if only I had a little Mel on board. Well - maybe not.

These ones are much bigger than the other ones. I had no idea how big until I put them on the book shelf. But - I'm starting my Armada!

Then we headed over to Chapters. And my purchases there:


Cindy made me buy this one. She did! She pointed out the nice low price so how could I refuse? And I think we both bought one in honour of Maili's return knowing how much she adores Scottish historicals :)


This one got a most excellent review recently at Dear Arthor, so I just HAD to have it!


I read the first one of this series and really enjoyed it and I just started the second one which has been hanging around for a while. When I read Nath's review, I just knew I had to get the third one.


This one I bought just for me. I've read all her books and adored almost everyone. And by the way - this is the second time she has outbought me on books *g*. But we did have a most wonderful time staring in rapt adoration at the bookshelves and comparing reads. There's no doubt she's read a lot more paranormals than me, but I think I beat her in historicals and RS.

So, I said the trip to Cindy's was my second last hurrah. My last one starts early tomorrow. Lisa and I are travelling to Port Huron Michigan for the weekend to meet up with Nancy our youngest sister, the sister we haven't seen in well over a year, the sister who I'm going to have to find all the presents I squirrled around the house for. And guess where I'm going to see if I can talk them into going? Heh heh. I have my American money just waiting to be spent! So depending on what time we get back on Sunday, I may be MIA for the next few days. I start work on Monday, then have class right after that. And I expect I'll be one tired puppy by the time I get home considering I haven't worked since May.

'til later

The Last of Last Night's Lost

Oh! Wow!

Oh! Wow!

OK - I watched it twice and if it was on for a third time, I would have watched it again!
Tonight (or last night since it's after midnight in this section of the woods) was the best episode of the season I thought.
So what did I love about this one?
I loved Kate's back story, it was so sad, even though I've lived in caves and didn't know who Nathan Fillion was until C2 was kind enough to tell me.
I loved how for a change, they didn't raise more questions that drove me nuts.
I loved how Jack turned the tables on the Others for a change.
I loved how Locke went back to get Eko's stick.
I think I'm missing something.

Oh. Right.

I LOVED the scend in the cage between Sawyer and Kate. My sympathies to all the Kate and Jack fans but since I'm in the Kate and Sawyer camp, Oh Wow! That sure as hell beat The Kiss in the first season. I LOVED how Sawyer asked Kate if she was just saying she didn't love him to save him from getting beaten and I LOVED how she didn't answer. And I LOVED how the then told her he loved her too. And I LOVED that little smile Jack gave when he saw them together on the camera. And I LOVED how brave Sawyer was when he thought what's his name was going to shoot him. And I LOVED how he told Kate that he didn't mention they were on a different island because he didn't want her to give up hope. And I LOVED how hot the love scene was.
There was only one thing I didn't love. And that's the fact that we have to wait until next February before we get to see it again 'cause I wouldn't mind watching that episode all over again.

'til later

Recent Reads

OK - I couldn't wait until morning.

Here are a couple of recent reads.

Cold as Ice by Anne Stuart
This one seems to be getting very mixed reviews! Jennifer B of I Just Finished Reading loved it! BAM didn't! Janine of Dear Author really liked it! KarenS didn't! Tara, once she found her glasses liked it.

My thoughts. I'm going to take the middle ground. I didn't think it was one of her best but it was OK. I started it, put it down and read another book I liked much better. Then I picked it up again and very shortly put it back down to read the next one I'm reviewing. I finally picked it up again and finished it this time.

I found Genevive annoying after a while. For the first part of the book, I liked her quite well. I thought she was rather plucky - a different sort from some of Ms. Stuart's other heroines. But then, after she was rescued and she kept trying to get away, I thought she lost a few bricks there. Trying to escape from Peter with no money, no car, wearing only black silk pajamas wasn't the work of the brightest toothpick in the log they were cut from. (we practiced similies in class tonight so bear with me). And I just didn't buy the fact that after one night of most excellent sex she was in LOVE. Absolute, love him forever, never gonna end LOVE. It was too drastic a change in too short a time. And I found Peter to be a slightly faded carbon copy of Bastien Toussaint from Black Ice. Mind you I liked him - I like all of her heroes. He just didn't pack the wallup that Bastien did though. And I kind of got the feeling he thought he was all that, when, well, really, he might have come close but didn't quite take the biggest stuffed animal at the fair prize.
The villian, Harry Van Dorn was a hoot though. I thought his plan of 7 was wacky enough, but when he kidnapped the orphans - well, that was certainly the top star on the Christmas tree.
So to sum it up, I'm glad I read this one. Everyone seems to be reading it and I hate to be the only one missing the pajama party. And she did a most excellent job of setting up her next book in Takashi O'Brien - waiting for that one already.

Grade 3 1/2 out of 5

I was going to do two books tonight, but it's almost 1:30 and I need to be bright eyed and bushy tailed tomorrow so I will continue then.

'til later

Music to soothe the savage beast

Well - I had a choice of two things to blog about. Black as Ice and movie soundtracks. I decided to go with movie soundtracks first. After Ames posted about her favourite movies, I told her I would do a post about movie soundtracks. Now when I say movie soundtracks, I don't mean ones like Grease or something like that (see, I can't even think of any recent movies - I had to go way back in the time machine!) What I mean is the musical scores in movies. For some reason, I really seem to notice them and if I like the score, I'll get the soundtrack even if the movie itself wasn't that good. Case in point is this first one


I don't really remember much of this movie other then Brad Pitt gets it in the end. But I did love the musical score.

I loved this next movie, but I don't own it. When Ames included it in her favourite movies that got me to thinking I really should track it down - maybe see if I can find it in one of the cheapo movie bins. But I do love the soundtrack.


Now this one is another movie that I loved but don't own. I do own the soundtrack though


In fact, I love the sound track so much, I went Back to Titanic for a second one


This next one is the score from various movies, Rob Roy, Treasure Island, Tristan and Isolde (a much older version than the one just recently released), Barry Lyndon (anyone remember that movie with Ryan O'Neal? I saw it but can't for the life of me remember it)

The Chieftans are an Irish band with very infectious music!

And now we come to the movies I love, have and bought the soundtracks of


Ahhhhh Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom - or rather Captain Jack Sparrow and Will Turner.

Next we have

The first one


The second one (hmmm - looks like I need to do some dusting there)

And last but not least

(Is that not a drool worthy cover :)

And finally - my latest acquistion.

Actually I did have this on tape but the tape got all mangled and twisted and completely unlistenable.

So there you have it - my movie CD collection!

And Ames - I wish I did know how to do audio clips 'cause I would love to include some!

'til later

Don't you love it when you score?

I decided to celebrate by - surprise - visiting a couple of book stores. I made a few good scores!

I've been reading Take Me by Lucy Monroe and really enjoying it so naturally I had to see if I could find the two previous books.

And sweet - I did! Chapters purchases



And last but not least

Score!!

And then on the way home I stopped at a UBS 'cause I had quite a nice little credit and got these ones
I've kind of been keeping my eye for this one. Score!

I think I've heard good things about this one. It's a spec buy and since it was free - Score!

And - last but not least.
Are you ready?


One of the few Stuarts I didn't have.

Score!!

And it stays good. I'm off to see POTC II shortly!

'til later

We interrupt this regularly scheduled program!

What a flippin' roller coaster day it's been! And it's not even noon yet!!!

I noticed I had a light on my car last night and thought it would be best to take it in. I hadn't had it in for servicing for a looooonnnnnggggg time so I figured it would be costly. But I didn't think it would be as costly as it will be. Bad brakes in addition to regular servicing in addition to the reason I took it in the first place don't you know. We're talking over $1,ooo. And dummy me! I didn't think to ask if any of it would be covered under warranty because in the meantime I got another call.

I got a job!!! I got a job!!! It's the one I mentioned a few weeks ago working for a non-profit organization. I had called last week to see what was happening and was told the place decided they didn't want anyone after all. I was very bummed about that. But she called back this morning and said it was back on again. They had looked at my resume and decided they wanted me to work for them. And I didn't even have to go for an interview!!!

I start November 13!!

'til later (I need to recoup!)

ETA

After speaking to the car/dealership again, I found out that the warranty I have does indeed knock almost $200 off the repair bill. It's still higher than I thought but somewhat more acceptable. I thought since I hadn't kept up with the scheduled check-ups, I might have somehow voided the warranty - but luckily I didn't.

Last Nights Lost

OK - I'll admit it. I was in a bit of a panic before the show started last night. I saw on the previews that someone dies and in another scene, Brian says that only two of the three will survive. I tried to brace myself for Sawyer's demise, thinking if it was him I wouldn't be watching the show anymore. I've said the same thing before about shows only to end up watching them a few weeks later. I did that with Dancing With The Stars when Willa and Max got booted off, but *sigh* I'm back watching it again. (I'm hoping Joey wins although all three of them are most excellent dancers).
But back to Lost. It seems the last few weeks have seen more of a return to the Lost of old. We get to see more of the other survivors. I had a feeling once the show started it would be Eko's turn. Well, more than a feeling I guess since it was pretty obvious. I kind of thought through previous shows that he had turned himself around and become a good guy, but it didn't seem as if he really did did it? At the end, when he thought he was confessing to his brother, he obviously wasn't the least bit repentant.
And that was kind of an interesting clue about the black smoke wasn't it? Locke said he saw a bright light and Eko saw black smoke. I wonder if it's a Ghost kind of thing?
And what was with the deal with Juliet? I can't figure out what the heck is going on with these people. Are they really staging a revolt against Ben or is it another mind game?
And if they are doing everything just because Ben wants Jack to operate on him, why the heck didn't they just ask him instead of messing aroung like they seem to like to do?
And again, at least by the previews, I'm going to be worrying if it's the end of the line for Sawyer.
As per usual, more questions than answers. Lisa will be real cranky now*g*. She watches it but doesn't like the fact that nothing seems to get answered.
And I think next week is the final episode for a while.
I know I've said it before, but I really don't like what they are doing!! They have overdosed me on previews of the show that's replacing it and while it looks interesting, they have now oversold me.

'til later

Recent Reads

I'm fortunate that even though I'm mired in a horrendous reading slump, I think I've read four or five books this month compared with the normal twelve or 15 - in fact I'm even in Very Serious Danger of making AngieW's Wall of Shame, the books I have managed to read so far have been Very Good Ones.
Such is the case with this one

Hard Evidence by Pamela Clare

It's no secret how much I adore her historicals. In fact Ride the Fire cracked my all time top 10 list and was my favourite book of 2005. I read her first Romantic Suspence and while I liked it, it didn't quite grab me the way her historicals do. So I wasn't sure what I would think of this one.
I LOVED IT!
From the back cover blurb:

After the murder of a teenage girl, a mysterious man in a black leather jacket was seen lurking near the crime scene. Investigative reporter Tessa Novak has him in her sights as the culprit...

That man was Julian Darcangelo, an undercover FBI agent working with the Denver Police. He's closing in on the trail of a human trafficker and killer. Tessa's accusations could blow his cover, and he wants her off the investigation.

But just as Tessa has made Julian a target of interest, she is now a target of the killer. And as they are forced to trust each other, their physical attraction escalates as intensely as the threat from a ruthless murderer who wants to see both of them dead...

So what is so appealing about this one? Number one would have to be the hero Julian Darcangelo. Wow - is he a great hero! A former FBI agent, he's now working on a contract basis trying to track down and find a sociopathic Russian mobster who deals in human trafficking. Julian had screwed up a few years earlier while on the trail of the same villian and has been suffering guilt because of it ever since. He tries to remain in the background but is spotted by the heroine Tessa Novak. Having come from a fractured and disfunctional background, he's still pretty rough around the edges, and deep inside he longs for a normal family but doesn't think he will ever get one. He makes one really really good hero.
And I also really liked Tessa Novak as the heroine. She too has come from a background of poverty and disfunction and really made something of herself as a top investigative reporter. She was standing right next to the young girl who was gunned down and feels a great deal of anguish that she wasn't able to do more. As a result she tries even harder to find out what really happened. She did one thing near the end that some readers might consider a TSTL kind of action, but I didn't see it that way. It was a dumb thing to do yes, but even as Tessa did it, she knew that it was and admitted it. To me a TSTL heroine is one who keeps making the same kind of stupid move over and over without even realizing what an idiot she is. For me, Ms. Clare has made me feel the devastation Tessa feels, the need to do something, anything, even if it involves doing something that might not be the brightest of ideas.
And the chemistry between Julian and Tessa! Wowzers is it hot! A recent review gave this a warm rating and I have to admit, that had me scratching my head as this has some very well written smokin' hot sex scenes.
And while I often buy books based on covers alone, in this case I would have bought the book because it was written by Pamela Clare, but even if it wasn't, I would have bought it on the cover alone. This cover is HAWT!
It's a rare author who can write books I love in such opposite genres but Pamela Clare is definetely one of them!

Grade: 4 1/2 out of 5

ETA - It's now November and *shaking head sadly* I do indeed have to be put up on AngieW's wall of shame.

'til later

What I did this weekend

Ron loved trees. When we moved into the house, there were already five of them on the property but that wasn't enough for Ron. Over the years he planted five more. And we don't have that big of a lot! I think we have more trees per square footage than most homes in the city! They didn't all make it though. He planted an oak tree that was doing very well, but then he decided it was too close to the house and would cause problems once it really started to grow so he transplanted it further away. Sadly it didn't survive the move. Oak trees are rare around here and it would have been nice to have one. He also had a tree that was doing pretty good until a neighbour across the street kind of hit the gas instead of the break when she was in reverse and rammed very heavily into the tree. I was at work that day, but I guess it was quite the crash. I think she felt a lot worse about it then Ron did. The tree developed a gash over the years that kept getting bigger and bigger until finally a couple of years ago, Ron cut it down.

We also had a couple of fruit trees that were deeply affected by the summer droughts we had 3 years in a row and half of both trees died. Ron cut them back until now they look more like flowering bushes than trees. I never really minded this weird kind of hobby of his. They all gave nice shade in the summer. And since I rarely cut the grass, having to mow around them didn't really affect me. And as for raking leaves in the fall, well I helped in a very half assed kind of way. I'd rake for about an hour and then take a three hour break to read a book while he and the boys continued to rake.

But I've found out since, what a pain his hobby was. I cursed those trees when I had to start mowing. And I began to dread in August what I knew was going to be a killer of a job in late fall. Well, that day arrived last Sunday. Yep - time to really rake leaves. And boy oh boy were there a lot of leaves. I knew it was way to big a job to tackle alone so I had asked both boys if they could come and help me and I bribed them with the offer of pizza for dinner. Pizza and Sunday football when we were done.

Things started off bad when five minutes after we began, I told Brent, the oldest son to go home. Just go home! He's my Peter Pan son. I love him to death, but for some reason, he stopped maturing about the age of 14 even though he is now 28. He's the one I recently offered up to Romancelover as a possible husband so she could be my daughter in law but then rescinded the offer and told her in a Mr. T like way, "I pity the fool who marries him" He started of whinning and complaining - how he didn't see why he had to help, how this is the reason he would never own a house, how his back was so bad and on and on and on. Since he can't complain without interspersing four letter words throughout, I just didn't feel like listening to him and told him to leave. He stormed in the house but came back out 10 minutes later with a slightly better attitude. The scary thing is he's the one most like me. We're both left brain thinkers - leaning more towards the art side of things. And he can be quite the "Drama King" when he wants. He then proceeded to rake for the next 1/2 hour - while talking on his cell phone at the same time. Ryan and I just looked at him and shook our heads. This is son #1 who just the day before complained about his $300 phone bill.

Sometime later I managed to overhear a fascinating conversation between the two of them. Ryan was telling Brent what it takes to be a man. It meant doing things you didn't want to do, like raking leaves because sometimes that was what was the right thing to do. I kind of teared up at that and looked into the sky and told Ron we did good with Ryan. See in addition, the Atlanta Falcons were on, Ryan's favourite team, and he doesn't have cable and rarely gets to see them, but not one word of complaint did he utter. Instead he worked like a trooper and did the majority of heavy work. Ryan is the numbers son and more like his dad. He works 'til the job is done with no breaks. Now he's single too, but I think he's a bit too young. And he has a girlfriend although their relationship is kind of rocky. He's wants a commitment but she's dragging her heels.

It took us over 3 hours to rake those damn leaves and we didn't rake under one tree that still has most of it's leaves on. So I know there's probably an hour or more worth of work left, not all of them are down on the other trees either, but I can handle that myself.

But I look outside now and don't have that panicky feeling I did on Saturday.

And to show you just how much work was involved, and because I wanted to play with my new toy again, here are pictures!






And here is what we have ended up with - so far!



See - not nearly so scary anymore



'til later

What is the point?

Although I don't think many of them are worth the time and effort readers put into them, sometimes if I'm trying to remember the storyline of a book I haven't read in a while and I can't find one anywhere else, I'll check out the reviews for it on Amazon. This can be most frustrating at times as I notice a lot of them don't give any kind of outline at all of the story.

Take this one for example:

I was captivated by this book. I enjoyed coming home every night from my hectic life to escape into this book. Penelope Williamson is a CLASSIC writer!!!!!! I highly recommend THIS book as well as her others. You can't go wrong opening any one of her books!

What the heck is the point of that? It tells you nothing! It doesn't even mention the characters names! Then there is this review of the same book:

Browsing through Amazon reviews for fun, I saw this book had none. Can't have that! I've read all of Ms. Williamsons books, and as always - this one doesn't disappoint. It has great character development, a plot with surprises, and enough steamy romance to keep the pages turning. She also touches upon a great time in Early American History. Treat youself to a great read!!!

Again - not story outline, no character, not nothing. The thing that amused me though was seeing that 6 out of 8 people found it helpful. Helpful for what?

The book by the way is A Wild Yearning by Penelope Williamson - going for $25. And I have one!

Here's another review of a different book by the same author:

This book is in my top five all time favorite book list. I have read this book at least ten times and I love it as much now as I did when I was 16. I highly recommend this book to all romance lovers this is what a romance book is suppose to be like. ENJOY!!!!

Once in a Blue Moon by Penelope Williamson

If I'm in a contrary mood, I often answer the "Was this review helpful to you" question - always saying NO! It didn't tell me a thing.

I also get a kick out of reading 1 star reviews. Here's real gem:

I couldn't enjoy this book because the heroine got treated like crap the whole book by everyone because of the sins her sister committed. Even at the end of the book, they were all still treating her like crap. And none of the people who hurt her ever got their comeuppance.

Again - no plot, no characters, nothing. I answered No to this one being useful. But 4 out of 8 people did find is useful. In what way I have no idea.

This Side of Heaven by Karen Robards

Here's another 2 star review that is completely meaningless:

I feel like the lone ranger here, but I did not enjoy this book. I finished it all the time hoping that something would click, but it just never happened. I never came to care about the characters and the story dragged on for what seemed like forever.

Swan's Grace by Linda Francis Lee

I dunno; it seems to me if you are going to go to the effort of writing a review on Amazon, you should at least mention character names, a brief summary and maybe a more detailed reason of why you liked or disliked the book. Harriet Klausner, although many mock her (myself included at times), at least makes an effort to tell something of the story. And that's very helpful when I need help with my memory

'til later

My next assignment

Since I got such great feedback and wonderful advice on the first assignment I did for the writing course, I thought I'd share my next one. This again was to be a 500 word more or less description of a place. Once again I sent it to Cindy for her to critique. The one I'm working on now is "My Most Embarrasing Moment" so I'm not sure about that one :) and nope - it's not the GU story *G*

I close my eyes and can still see the scene so clearly, as if I was there only yesterday instead of the dozen or so years it really has been. It has become a part of the fabric that makes up my being. I can hear the raucous cries of the seagulls as they drift across the sky, wings spread and bandied about by the wind that whips up the waves and carries the myriad of birds with their gray and white bodies lazily where it will. Or I can hear their harsh guttural cries as they land and do battle with each other for the morsels of food thrown their way. The waves that crash across the rocks create music of their own. The faint sound of traffic overhead as cars travel from one country to the next over the majestic bridge is a background accompaniment to the music of life. The occasional blast of a horn from a ship that is heralding its passing echoes deep inside me with its resonating tone. I hear the laughter of children as they race up and down the green space of grass between the road and the rocks that line the shore, their joy expressed for all to listen to fondly with the nostalgia of age. Added to the orchestra of sound is the hum of the jet skis as they race across the river, swelling and then disappearing into the tunnels of the swift flowing river current.

I look out as the waves, angry and boiling, their varied shades of winter grey, with their whitecaps rising and cresting hypnotizes me. I glance up at the magnificent structure rising above me, marveling at the work that must have taken years to complete, its two cement bases, with the plaques commemorating its completion, the steel girders, and the expanse of the bridge reaching across and joining the two countries. My gaze then turns to the right and I see the vastness of Lake Huron opening up, the colours different now, calmer and with softer shades of sapphire and azure blues and grays, sailboats bobbing up and down in the distance, like toys that young boys love to play with. The lighthouse stands alone; a beacon warning the ships that approach of the danger of rocks that awaits them if they travel too close. And even further away I observe two freighter ships slowly making their way to the entrance to the St. Clair River, just a brief run-by on their journey across the Great Lakes.

As I close my eyes, I feel the breeze on my face, mixed with the hot sun of another beautiful sun-drenched summer day. The moisture that ascends from the river helps cool what the sun has heated its rainbow of moisture another testament to the beauty of nature.

The smells, ah the smells have never been forgotten. The air is thick with the aroma of a mixture of grease and vinegar from the chip wagon that has been a staple on the landscape for close to 50 years. The smell of the lake seaweed and decaying fish adds it own pungent tang.

This is a place I will carry always in my heart, a place of fun, of memories never forgotten, a place of reminiscence that still to this day has the power to make me weep.

And this is it in case anyone is wondering

The Bluewater Bridge in Sarnia, On.
'til later

I Finally Did It!!!!

What??? What??? you're all asking.

I finally watched the Keira Knightley version of Pride & Prejudice! I noticed that it was on TV the other night and thought about watching it, but it was on a regular station and I didn't want it interrupted by commercials. So when I was in Walmart the other day, I noticed they had it there. I decided to go for it. Later that day a friend and I went out for dinner and then we went back to my place and watched it. She hadn't seen it either so it was a new experience for both of us. (and yes, she saw my 'library and was suitable impressed although I think she agrees that I have a wee small addiction)
So! What did I think of the movie?
I loved it! I'm going to have to watch it again soon because I don't know if it was because I didn't have the volume high enough or because of the accent or because Kiera Knightley just spoke so darn fast, but I didn't catch much of what she or the others were saying during the first part of the movie. But once I turned the volume up (d'oh) and kind of caught on to their speech patterns, what a wonderful movie it is. I'm glad I decided to buy it so now I can watch it again at my very own convenience any time I want. It makes a most excellent collection to my historical type DVD collection!
And of course what would a trip to the mall/Walmart be without also purchasing new books? I was really looking for Take Me by Lucy Monroe that Jazz of Santuary's Finest gave such a glowing review of. I knew I had seen it at Walmart! But damn it all - they didn't have any copies any more. Neither did the book store at the mall. So naturally I overcompensated in my dissapointment. Instead I got:


I go curious about this one after seeing Valeen's review at Turn Another Page.


I loved her last one.

I'm a bit behind on her books. I really enjoyed the first two but haven't read the one previous to this one.

OK - this one got me because of the cover and I was in overcompensation mode.

I've read her other books in this series and really enjoyed them. And hey! It's a Western!

One I picked up and then put back down was this one:
I love the cover but the back blurb made it sound annoying. Has anyone read it and what do you think? Any good?

'til later

Last Night's Lost

OK - I watched this one twice tonight. I missed the first little bit the first time around so I decided to watch it again 2 hours later. Can I say I love the fact that I can catch missed shows as long as they play on a Canadian station and I can watch them again when they play on the West Coast? But both times, I had to actually leave the room when a certain part came on. Think Sawyer strapped to the table. Think BIG needle. I don't know what happened exactly since I left the room - twice. I'm very sqeamish!

So - except for the part I missed - twice - I loved this episode! I thought when Sawyer poured the bucket of water (presumably cold) over his head when Kate was changing was a riot! I enjoyed the back story. Of course since it was Sawyers, that's a given. I think he is such an interesting character. Just when you're ready to write him off a complete scum, he does something like leaving money to little Clemintine, and he draws you back in again. Of course the fact that I find him mucho hoto doesn't hurt! And if nothing else, he's a well read con man.
I just don't get The Others. They keep saying they aren't the bad ones, yet they keep doing bad things!
And Desmond is turning out to be just as mysterious as Locke and Ekko. I'm glad I watched it the second time 'cause I didn't get what the pole with the golf club was for. Then I realized it was because he was protecting Clare, Charlie and the baby.
And even watching it twice (minus few seconds there) I still can't figure out what the whole point of conning him was. Are The Others on a different island? I always thought it was the same island. And what did showing Sawyer have to do with anything. Won't they still try and escape anyway? Anyone else understand the point?
And *sad sigh* it looks like we only have 2 or 3 more episodes of Lost until January. I do not like that they are doing this!

And while it's not Lost, I love The Nine. I think it's a very good show too!

'til later

Truth time

I was tagged by Suisan to tell 5 truth's so here goes:

1. I'm getting scarily lonely. I'm the only one in the house except for the cat and since I'm unemployed at the moment - but working on it, I have no one to talk to all day. I can go an entire day or longer without hearing the sound of another human voice unless it's on the television and it's terrifying. I'm a people who needs people.

2. I miss sex. Boy am I starting to miss sex! As one can gather, we weren't very adventuresome in that area of our married life, more on Ron's part than mine. I was willing to try all kinds of things but he wasn't. I kept offering to tie him up or vice versa but he always thought I was kidding. I wasn't. (and now that tells you something else :) )But when you have a steady partner for 30 years and then it's gone - well - it's something you don't realize until you don't have it anymore how important a part of your life it is.

3. I used to be a lot more judgemental of people. I would meet them and make snap decisions (and often I was wrong about that person and had to revise my thinking) but getting to know people online without the benefit of face to face contact has made me sit back and wait before deciding on someone.

4. Like Suisan, I am a Christian and I am saddened by the anger that inspires in so many people. Yet at the same time, I think many so called Christians have brought it on themselves with their intollerant judgemental "I'm somehow better than you because" attitude, so while I'm sad at the anger, I can understand it. I just would like to say we aren't all like that and just like so many of different groups, don't paint us all with the same brush. I couldn't have gotten through what I have without my faith.

5. I hate politicians (Suisan excluded of course) I hate them with every fibre of my being. I always vote but at times it seems pointless because even if they start out with the best of intentions, I just know that corruption is sure to follow.

Whoa - that was scary!

Now - whom shall I tag

Cindy, Devonna, Tara, Renee, Nicole

'til later

Keepin' it simple

For now I'm just going to be a blog pimp.

Dear Author has a great post today about author websites - what makes them work - what they should have. There are a lot of good ideas there

Mailyn asks a very interesting question about Anne Stuart heros.

Suisan has a hilarious story! She also won a great gift at Megan's place

Tara Marie is looking for the best of the best of alpha heros for her scale.

If you like sports at all, Margee, Devon's sister (who also has a deliciously funny post herself) has a wonderfully entertaining blog with a woman's take

Bev is looking for ideas on why some sex scenes just don't seem to work.

And not a blog, but the latest At The Back Fence at AAR is very interesting!

And I get to play with my brand new non-romance book!



'til later

The writer in me

I've always loved writing. I went through an anguished poet stage early on when I was much, much younger. I have no idea whatever happened to them but alas they are gone. And I remember way back in grade 4 or 5. I wrote a poem that came in first in the glass. A few fellow students accused me of having one of my parents' write it and I can still dredge up the indignation that I felt at that accusation. In the back of my mind I always had this nebulous idea of someday maybe writing something that might sell but it always remained way back there where it didn't bother me much. Having a blog really soothed it. But I signed up for a creative writing course when my life changed so drastically. Every week the teacher assigns us an assignment. The first one was a 500 word (or thereabout) character description. We then have to read it out loud in front of the class for critiquing. So - laying it all out there - here is my first assignment.

One of the reasons she had been promoted through the ranks and into the role of executive assistant quicker than most was because of her intuitive powers of observation. She spied him getting onto the private elevator that would bring him to the top level.

He stood there in the elevator, his hands clasped loosely in front of him. His dark gray suit jacket was obviously an expensive one; it hugged his well built frame just right. She guessed that it had been tailor made just for him. It would be hard to find one with such perfect fit for his large frame. The gray shirt she noticed was also costly and the matching silk tie, was tight against his throat. It was clear it had been done by an expert hand.

Most people would fidget if they knew they were being watched and the small camera high in the elevator with its green light glowing was a sure indicator that he was under observation. Yet he remained perfectly at ease, as if he didn’t give a damn with whatever someone watching might think. His close cropped golden hair shone in the artificial lights, his skin tanned as if he had just returned from a tropical island.

She judged his age to be around 35, and although it was from a camera, she could still see the steel glint in his vivid blue eyes, framed by his dark brows. His nose straight and slim but for a slight crook in the middle as if it had been broken once or twice. His lips appeared full but firm.

Overall he was a very good looking man, with the kind of charisma both men and women would notice as he walked by. There was stillness to him, a calmness that indicated he was comfortable in all situations. “He would need that” she thought to herself.

The elevator reached the top floor and opened. He exited and she switched her glance to the next camera and watched as he strode down the hall, looking neither to the left or the right. He walked on, not even glancing at the names on the other doors as if he knew exactly where he was going. He reached the door to the outer office and she held her breath – waiting to see what impact he would have in person after watching him so intently. She quickly turned off the cameras and prepared herself. The door opened and he walked in. He glanced briefly at the closed door on the right and then directed his gaze directly into her eyes. She knew instantly she hadn’t braced herself enough for the powerful gaze or the intensity of his deep blue eyes, the colour of the deepest ocean, as they zeroed in on her. Power seemed to radiate off him as she raised her eyes to his. His perfection was marred only by the slight crookedness of his nose, more noticeable in person.

“Yes? May I help you?” she asked suddenly shaken by the knowledge that she was in the presence of someone cold, someone chilling.

“Stirling. Stirling Fletcher to see Mr. Warner” he answered, his gravely voice deep and commanding.

She knew right away that her boss just might have bitten off more than he could handle with this man. She picked up the phone to dial and let him know that his next appointment was here.

The general consensus of opinion of the class was that it was pretty good, but I should have opened with a description of him, rather than starting with her. Of course the class doesn't know yet about my OVERWHELMING love of romance and that, of course, I was thinking romance between her and Mr. Fletcher. I sent it to Cindy before the night we were too hand it in for her opinion and she seemed to think it was good. One of the difficult things to do was to make it "correct" grammatically speaking. I have a tendency in writing in the blog or emails to not really care about grammar. I think most of us do; we write more the way we speak than the way we would write. Plus it has been many years since I was in school and it's very easy to forget many of the rules I learned.
Now - if only I can get going on this weeks assignment. It's a 500 word (or thereabout) exercise in dialogue. This one is giving me fits! I don't know if it's because of the week I had or what - but I really must get to it! Soon!

'til later

PS - and why the heck have the fonts gone all kerfluie???

And less you thought I had forgotten my new found love

You Tube and going along with the previous post theme,

This one is SO funny

If it's not books - it's

Movies!

I don't have an extensive DVD collection - not nearly like the book one, but as I was going through them last night trying to pick out a couple to take to a friend's house to watch, it occurred to me that the ones I do have are very much like my books!!

I have My Historicals



My Medievals


My Western/Colonial



A nice sports contemporary


A real tear jerker


A couple of pirate adventure
(ok, ok - this one is on VHS.
And here is a mighty fine picture of Mel Gibson before we all realized what a pysho nut job he really is)


A couple of really sweet fairy tales


And this one which I'm not sure how to categorize. I'm thinking - paranormal!


Now this one just represents one of the six I have - yes 6. The original releases and then the extended versions when they came out.










So there you have it! My rather small but ALL romance oriented movie collection!

'til later