Zee Reads July/August

Okay, so we’re watching Hurricane Dorian. This morning’s forecast was looking dire and rather grim. Slowing down in movement, revving up in windspeed. A Cat 2 hurricane striking up the Georgia Coast on Thursday. Things have changed in 6 hours.

They are now saying it’s tracking further east. South Florida will be missed altogether. It’s not going to make landfall, just slide up the coast. We will see Cat 3 storm surge on Wednesday.

Being off shore, means it will suck up moisture on its eastern side and sling it at us on its west. LOTS of rain. LOTS of flooding. LOTS of wind, close to the coast. Again, I’m worried for my children and pray their parents get them the hell out of Dodge!

My mother is desperate for me to come home. She’s now pulling her trump card – she’s not calling: Dad is! I’m a Daddy’s girl! Dad can talk me into things she’s can’t. It’s a low, under-handed trick.

Sigh.

So we’ll see.

In other news… Zee Reads.

Yes, I did do some reading in July – most of it in bed, late when my body was so exhausted. I couldn’t find my kindle for 4 weeks, and my Kindle Fire refuses to go online anymore. so I did a hardback I’d unpacked early as well as an audiobook, even though audio isn’t on the list for a short while. But regardless. I was wanting to read books in order, but that didn’t happen. So sorry.

First up!

Yule Ball: Fairy Tale retelling

The Kingdom series – there are a SLEW of these. A dozen or more. Fairy Godmother has many fantasy beings under her watch, but the one she is most fond of – Hatter – is in a sad predicament. Constantly screwed over by his many Alice’s, he’s given up and is determined to love no more, meaning he’s starting to go crazy, meaning all of This Fantasy World is getting ready to cough up phlegm and die. And he doesn’t care.

Fairy Godmother brings him one last Alice, fresh from Earth. She’s just opened a bakery, her life is on the up and up and she does NOT have time for a half-mad hatter who’s hotter than hawt.

Oh and did I mention her grandmother – or was it great grandmother – was his last Alice – the one who did him in, betrayed him like no other and she’s a dead ringer for the woman?

This book was short and things happened too fast and I was none pleased at all. and there is how many others??? Meh.

Hedge Maze: A maze or a labyrinth

I read this many years ago. I’ve read these authors before as well and enjoyed their works. I enjoyed this one again. Adventure, intense, a lot going on.

A secluded island with one owner, wealth beyond compare and yet, he could care less. There is something on this island, no one wants to talk about. A great treasure that doesn’t want to be found. When he was young, he and his brother went into the caves, the cave you know, your parents tell you to stay out of, but 2 went in and 1 came out. Decades later, he’s talked into allowing a scavenger company to map the caves. And look for the treasure, that he’ll get a large portion of, if found.

They find more than they bargain for.

I liked this book enough to go back and read this now for the 3rd time. I’ll read it again down the road.

Free Space

A historical retelling of the last year in the life of France’s Philip the Fair. This guy’s life and court’s antics make the Game of Thrones look tame.

Taking place during Edward the Second’s reign (yes, he of William Edward’s time.) Philip of France is not called the Fair because of his dealings with his court and subjects – quite the opposite. He’s simply blonde and blue eyed and good looking. However, he’s rather stoic and has a stare that would drive nails into a concrete wall.

Philip has a problem – he’s deep in debt to the Jews and the Templar Knights. Needless to say, he doesn’t want to pay them back! In addition, his three sons wives – all of who are Kings on their own, are either screwing around on his boys or is helping the two sisters screw around on the sons. And there are people who are interested in exposing that bit of news due to who the girls are related to!

Ah yes, fun times!

Male Author

How would you feel if your dad believed in government conspiracies – to the point you had no phone, the television was deeply monitored, no internet, your house was surround by trees, trees, and more trees, that no one came to your house, that you lived so far off the grid it wasn’t a concept. All food was foraged, home grown….

and then he disappears… and is presumed dead. And then the department of family services shows up and now you have all sorts of willies… and the people who rescue you from them gives you MORE willies…

yup.

Audio Book

This is what I listened to in the car last week. Read by Richard Armitage, it is simply precious. Now I want a green mountain bike with big fat tires!!!

 

New update

Dorian’s path has shifted – and not in a good way for us.

After talking, Spawn and I have decided to make a decision tomorrow. This thing is slowing down and getting bigger. 150 is a Cat 5 and it’s at 145 now with nothing but open water.  you can see how slow it’s moving and I honestly believe it will reach that stage.

If we stay, we’ll do laundry and grocery tomorrow. If we go to the Interior, we’ll do laundry at mom’s and we’ll do grocery when we come back.

Right now, I don’t even want to clean or unpack, but I do need to clean. If we pack for the interior, I need a clean slate in my room and I do want to clean the kitchen. Neither will take long. I should have both done in an hour.

Another meme thing I like!

Red: What type of writer’s block do you experience the most?– Typically, when my muses go to the beach for days, weeks and in one case, years! Just leave me high and dry!

White: Are you a supporter/lover of fanfiction? Seeing how I write it, yes I am. I admit I don’t read as much as I used to and I feel badly about that. I also admit I judge people who bash fanfic.

Black: Would you want to live in one of the fictional worlds you’ve created? Yes. Contemporary Guy’s!!!!

Blue: What’s more important to you: characters or plot? Both are equal. Strong plot, strong alpha males and hellcats!

Yellow: What’s a common writing tip that you mostly ignore?Pretty much all of them!!!

Grey: What’s a common writing tip that you almost always follow? Well I don’t know if it’s common. An English professor beat this one into our heads – never use the same verb/adverb/adjective twice in a paper or in my case – a chapter. Not if you can help it! I also tend to steer away from ‘he said/she asked/they yelled. If it can be ‘seen’ or stated with punctuation, don’t repeat it.

Orange: How many projects do you usually have going at once? Oh dear God… Right this minute, I have 2 that are on long hiatus and then there is The Shepherd, Aside from Heaven, Raising Nemo, and When the Ribbons Dance. Oh also, The Diary of Aefre of the Wold.

Pink: Which of your characters would become your best friend? Probably Genevieve.

Purple: Which of your characters would become your sworn enemy? I don’t think any of them would be my enemy – I mean, MY character. I’m sure Isabella would hate me… so would Vaisey… Laurel would DEFINITELY hate me because her taste in music sucks!

Green: Pencil, typewriter, or computer?Computer. When I worked cheapass retail, I would take a notebook with me and handwrite during lunch and breaks and then I’d put it to the computer when I got home. I still have my originals. The Majority of Rider of the Mark is on paper.

Brown: Do you have a set writing space? Or do you write everywhere? Well, I write at my computer and I have place (usually) for my computer.

Silver: Are you comfortable writing in public places?   No, not really. I’m easily distracted by surroundings, so again, I prefer my little writing corner.

Gold: Do your stories usually contain lessons or morals? Yes. I think so.

Clear: Do your characters control where the story goes or do you maintain control? Oh, definitely the characters. Manna from Heaven shouldn’t have been 350K+ words. Honestly, I thought 150k would be it. There is so much in it that wasn’t in the original bullet arc and plot that the muse put in as we went. The joust wasn’t in the original. Guy and Gen getting married in 12c England wasn’t in the original. The reveal of the surviving items from the fire wasn’t in the original plot. A lot of smaller things weren’t in it.

Tan: Are you open to co-writing a story?    I honestly don’t know.

 

Dorian is now a Category 4 Hurricane. It was a Cat 3 for maybe 12 hours and there is still a lot of warm water to cover. Many models are now showing for him to head north sooner. Getting a tad concerned.

Dorian update

And my sinuses are taking a jog.

My room has ants. I take it they’re coming in from the impending storm, but they sprayed and my room all afternoon made me quite ill. My sinuses are acting out and I have a headache. Don’t need this.

So, much has changed since I posted this morning.

Since this was updated 12 hours ago, this bad boy has gained in strength to a Cat 3 and is slowing down. Getting bigger. And the cone of danger has changed.

They have already cancelled school for Tuesday and I suspect they’ll cancel for Wednesday, possibly the rest of the week. Most of the roads where I teach are dirt and I’m worried for my children.

On my way home tonight, there were many cars heading north with Florida tags. Don’t blame them. This sucker is going to be a monster when it hits.

My mom has already called, asking what time to expect me. We’re riding this out. We pretty inland, so I think we’re safe. I have plans – unpacking, moving furniture, setting up my cave and writing corner. Grocery store. Laundry.  Upon realizing I have no intention of coming home, she went low and had Dad call. I’m a Daddy’s girl and usually, he can cajole, but once I reiterated how far off the coast we really are, he relented.

I’m sending Spawn out for caffeine and Tylenol sinus. I’m really achy.

Happy Guy Day!!!

And how are we???

We are watching Hurricane Dorian. He is now up to a Cat 2 and has nothing but open, warm water for the next several days. We are watching when it turns north – because that’s when it will affect us.

Now, I’m going to be honest – I’ve never seen these things to be very reliable this early in the game. It’s just too early.

We have a 3 day weekend. Thank you, Jesus! We had a few bumps this week, but NOTHING like last year! A 2nd grader informed his friend – in my hearing – that I had – for a lack of better words and in less words – that I had ‘an impressive set of mammary glands’. You figure it out. LOL! Depending on the final path of Dorian, it might go longer. I have a feeling it probably will.

What are we doing this weekend? I am putting up Zee Reads as well as laundry, grocery shopping, praying small funds go far, and unpacking! If it’s not horrid on Monday, Spawn and I will find a park or something to go explore!!!

And now – Guy Day!!!

See that? That’s the Adam’s Apple Bob of Sex!

And this completes your morning (well, in my case morning!) Friday ritual of Guy. Have a great weekend!!

Happy Humpday!!!

And how are we all?

I’m learning to love Wednesdays again! When I first moved to Savannah, for the first 2 and a half years, my Wednesday was lovely. 3 classes. I got so much done on Wednesday! I did! All of my lesson planning, copies, extra stuff. I typically ATE OUT! because I had time to go out and grab something. It was lovely.

And then there were changes and my new admin was jealous of every minute any of us had, so she made sure we were packed so tight, there was no time to pee. Add to it admin pets who thought any spare minute of mine (to pee) was flex time for them. I came to very loud words with one in particular and we had a very unprofessional screamfest in the hall, much to the delight of the students. I’m going to be honest – that is one bitch I don’t miss!

But I digress!

Here, in my new abode, I have THREE classes on Wednesday. All three are late, so I have this large block of time in the morning to lesson plan, make copies, deal with life, love, and the pursuit of happiness.

We have a 3 day weekend coming up! The ‘rents are making ‘Come to visit you’ noises and I would like to have the house in some semblance of order come October, when I have a FOUR day weekend and health willing, will probably come. This does NOT mean, everything unpacked and what not, but I would like to have the furniture in place, rooms set up, pictures hung, and all boxes in the garage. Right now, my cave, dining room, family room, and living room are garage overflows. Meh! Spawn and I are targeting the labeled #1 and #2 boxes (Important and Important but not AS important) to get unpacked.

So my weekend project is getting one room (my cave) in working order so I can write and rip albums and get things started. Also clean my room, my bathroom, my closet floor and the kitchen. That’s a never ending project!

I have found both of my kindles. Yay. My fire refuses to go online and has dumped ALL of my books. What GOOD is it? It won’t do anything but wants me to talk to Alexa. No. My old kindle still works, but it won’t go online. At least I can add books to it manually. Just not the things I’ve obtained through Amazon! Might be time for a new Kindle.

Speaking of Kindles, it’s time to get back ON the reading wagon. I DID read in early July – just didn’t get it posted, but I’ve really not read anything in a month. 2 books were hardbacks and I’ve packed them and I can’t remember the name OR the author. (I bought them at a comic convention!) Yeah, they were THAT memorable. \

My archive here is at 89.1% full. Another project will be deleting pictures. I’m starting with the clothes, followed by the ‘scenic’ stuff (vacay, etc) followed by personal. Just a heads up. Some Mancandy might go as well. I remember when we could load pictures from our harddrives and didn’t have to load them into an archive here. I think this was a way to get us into buying packages for this blog space. Sorry. not doing it.

There! That’s plenty of gratuitous Richard. I know several have told me Richard mancandy is all that’s for them, but I have Richard on here all the time, so it doesn’t hurt to look at what the world has to offer.

NOTICE – I said just LOOK!!!!

Sheesh!

Get your mops

I refuse to be responsible for your puddle

ManCandy Monday!

Happy Monday! Did we have a good weekend? I certainly did! I did

NOTHING!

No unpacking, no cleaning, nada. Spawn made Fish n Chips for dinner on Sunday… I think we had chicken stew on Saturday. Kitchen looks a mess. But I’ve started running down and I needed some down time and rest time!

Also had to do seating charts and lesson plans. Lousy use of my planning time this past week.

ANYWAY! I hope we are well and up and moving!

Are you ready for some mancandy??? I certainly am!

 

I admit it. I want this one to tie me up and ravish me! hmm mmm!

 

I’ll buy anything he’s on the cover of!

What is it about a kilt?

Always save the best for last!!!

(Had a battle-Thorin screen shot cross my dash yesterday that made my nipple perk! I’ll repost it here tonight!!! That man has NO RIGHT to be this gorgeous, but I’m glad he is!)

Crap on my mind (I’m on a rant!)

Here. Have some Richard and then it’s your decision behind the cut.

Seriously judgmental stuff behind the cut. 

Happy Guy Day!

And how are we all?

I am under the weather, feeling a tad bit better than I did yesterday, but still not up to where I need to be. Friday is gearing up to be my challenging day. Not that I have THAT many challenges, but still. Doesn’t help I have very little voice. I’m down to the last 2 classes of the day and I’m thinking Moana is on the docket for today.

I’ve at a point in my unpacking where I can’t do ANYTHING until the boxes are out of the way. Somehow the boxes I packed back in 2002 are the ones that came into the house. How did this happen? I’m going to work on the boxes that are #2 and then put these rogue boxes out in the garage to take their place. Actually, the vast majority of the rogue boxes are destined for the trash or the filing cabinet. Perhaps I should just deal and put the extracurricular in another box and…

See the problem?

Regardless, I need to get furniture placed where it needs to be. That would be the bookcases in the living room, the table in the dining room, my cave, and the family room. At that point, I can deal with boxes.

Spawn and I are looking at an extremely lean month come September. When I get paid next Friday, that’s it until the end of September. Gas is going to be an issue as are other bills.

Either way, I need some Guy in my life. How about you?

Enjoy your weekend!!!