It's The Weekend

~*~

Freedom

For more information: http://www.ad-international.org/animal_rescues/go.php?id=4101&ssi=24

Shame On Us

Have you been following the situation in Flint and in Detroit? Honestly, I don't get it. We send billions of dollars all over the world, and not all of it for humanitarian purposes, while people in Flint have been drinking water that's poisoning them and several of the schools in Detroit are in such bad shape they look like they need to be condemned. I appreciate that we help other countries, we should be. Every country should reach out to others when in trouble. But I don't understand why the American Government (federal and state) hasn't focused more attention on horrific problems inside our own country.
What's your take?

For more information:
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/22/health/flint-water-crisis/index.html

If you want to help:
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/water-crisis-flint-michigan-article-1.2506225

For more information:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/12/us/detroit-public-schools-sick-outs/index.html

The Weather Outside Was Frightful

Early Friday

Skylight in the Cave

Friday P.M. still have power.

Sat A.M. Still have power. Whew.

Sun. We lucked out. It hit 50 degrees and the snow is melting.

Philly Saturday. Not as lucky. 20 inches.

Weekend

Cat and Mouse

Detergent

Okay, it's not a sexy topic, but hopefully helpful. Then again how many sexy posts do I have, not too many.  Hmm, maybe I should rethink that, but back on topic. We bought this box of detergent a year ago, give or take a week, and have just finished it. Given the cost of detergent, I think this is amazing. And I like the product. It does a good job, for us, and hasn't left streaks.

Happy Birth Day

Or as the HH says Happy Orbit Day. Want to learn more about EC, birds, gardens, and see beautiful photos? Check out her blog.

~*~

Thanks for all the birthday wishes.

I woke up to this:

Then Got To See:

The Babies and their lovely parents. Best birthday ever!

 

Weekend

 I discovered picture tube. As you can see, I 'm like a kid with a  new pack of stickers:) 
I'll be partying down with the fam in Raleigh Sunday to celebrate my bday.
Enjoy your weekend, buds.

lovethispic.com

 Heh Heh

Mother Love

Eggs are Back and Sugar is Out

lovethispic.com

So the latest government guidelines are suggesting sugar should be limited to ten percent of our daily caloric intake--the equivalent of a soda--but it's probably okay to eat more eggs. Since I'm a vegetarian and always scrounging for protein, the egg thing sounds good to me.  But cut my sugar to ten percent? Uh huh. Like that's going to happen.
What about you? Are you giving up your chocolate, ice cream, jams and jellies, and sauces or are you one of those disgusting, err, healthy people that don't care for sweets?

~*~

Time Warner had an outage in our area Sunday (NFL Playoffs). Needless to say the HH was not a happy camper.

A Little Help From A Friend

Thanks, Rye.

IWSG Wednesday

It's the first Wednesday of the month and you know what that means. It's time to share  information, encourage others and express our doubts and concerns, and talk about our fears.
Let's face it. We're not in it for the money, even though that would be a huge bennie.  Inside most of us lurks the innate desires of a storyteller. Stephen King said it best: "Writing isn't about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it's about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life as well." Writing is challenging. It's not an easy gig. But we do it because its right up there with eating and breathing. So when you have one of those days--and you know what I mean by 'those day's--just remember, you're not alone. You have a huge circle of writing friends that are right there with you, ready to pick you up and urge you on. So here's to new beginnings and a wonderful, productive year for all of us.

~*~

My project this month:

I am converting this:

Into this:

The book itself, other than some small nits will remain the same, but I wanted to put more emphasis on the gardening piece of it. What do you think? Like the cover? Pixelstudio at Fiverr did that for me. You're probably familiar with Fiverr, but if not you may want to go visit.  They have all kinds of options for writers at extremely reasonable prices. 
As mentioned yesterday: Loves, Lattes and Mutants, and Queen of Diamonds are on sale for ninety-nine cents.
And last, but not least, I'm very pleased to mention that my short alternate/parallel universe story, Rainers, will be included in the IWSG Anthology. I've always wanted to do an alternate universe work of fiction and this gave me the perfect opportunity.  To the powers that be: a heartfelt thank you.
I've told you mine, not let's hear yours. What's going on in your writing world?

Grumbles and Sales

Is anyone else out there tired of picking out gift boxes and cookies or is it just me? Captcha is appearing at nearly every blog I visit, but not all require verification. If verification is showing up on mine, please let me know and I'll try to turn it off. Sometimes the simplest things allude me. Or delude me:)

Okay enough grumbling, on to the advertising piece of the show:) Both Queen of Diamonds and Love, Lattes and Mutants are on sale for ninety-nine cents. Queen of Diamonds will be on through the 7th and Love, Lattes and Mutants till the 31st.

Logan Hunter is a bestselling author with a penchant for the ladies. Kendall Theron, his efficient publicist is prim and colorless—at least on the surface. Beneath the proper facade is a woman who will do anything to protect her family, even if it’s not quite legal.

Amazon

Kensington

Finding love is hard, even when you aren’t a mutant.
Like most seventeen-year-olds, Piper Dunn wants to blend in with the crowd. Having a blowhole is a definite handicap. A product of a lab-engineered mother with dolphin DNA, Piper spends her school days hiding her brilliant ocean-colored eyes and sea siren voice behind baggy clothing and ugly glasses. When Tyler, the new boy in school, zeroes in on her, ignoring every other girl vying for his attention, no one, including Piper, understands why...

It's Really January 2016

lovethispic.com


Can you believe it? The weather has finally decided it's winter.  Before the weather turned there were Crab Apple Trees trying to blossom. Poor things.

How did you spend New Years?  Ours was zany but fun.  We did our weekly pilgrimage to Walmart for groceries, along with half the other people in town, and picked up games to play. We entertained ourselves with Yahtzee and a Memory Game with Disney characters for age 3 and up.  Just let me say, we have no memory:) Have you ever played it? It has seventy-two cards that are laid face down and you have to match the figures.  The person who ends up with the most cards win.  We found ourselves picking up the same cards over and over again.  Lots of head slap moments. After three rounds we decided to give our poor overworked brains a break and watch some mindless TV. The HH counted down the last eleven minutes, EVERY minute. At midnight we had our toast then I toddled off to bed.  Oh yes, and I colored in my adult coloring book:) Beat that for wild and crazy.  Yes, the chandeliers remained in tact.
What did you do to celebrate? We want to hear all about it.

Happy New Year!

May this year be the best year ever, my friends.
~*~

Ever wonder about google and your personal information? If so, there's an interesting article over at Altered Book Lover.