Perceptions and Illusions

Sigh.

Pepper is outside barking again. Every morning, every night, and several times during the day she runs outside and begins to bark and howl and make all kinds of noise.

I'm trying to be patient with her, but I cannot figure out what she is barking at! There are no cats slinking across her territory, no kamakazee birds swooping down to steal her food, no militant squirrels marching across the fence to their acorn stash, nothing. I can find absolutely nothing that could make her bark like this unless....

Sigh.

Now that I'm listening for it, I can hear it. Chuckles, giggles, and guffaws. It's the Jupiterians, up to their old tricks. Again.

I wonder if it would be possible to train a dog to ignore something that I cannot even see?

Sigh.

Labels: frivolity, Jupiterians, life, myth or reality

What a day Father's Day was!

Jade gave birth to a healthy baby boy, 7 pounds 12 ounces, 20 inches long.

Gazing at the child, I had to wonder what he will grow up to be. There is so much potential in his little self--why, he can be or do anything!

He is not yet a week old, so he is still so unformed, so young, that the color of his hair and eyes are a mystery. And what about his other characteristics? Will he be bookish or sporty, tall or short, husky or slender, bold or shy?

Ultimately, it really doesn't matter. He is a little bundle of potential just waiting to be loved by his family.

Welcome Connor.

Labels: family, life

I'm happy to say that this morning I finished the Department of Temporal Adjustment (working title)!

It is such a satisfying feeling to complete a book. This book represents 2 years worth of hard work, 2 years of Saturday mornings spent on my computer, and 2 years of fun!

Okay, okay, I'll admit it. The hard work isn't really over yet. I now need to let it "brew" for a few months, and then I need to read it from start to finish. Again. I'm sure I'll make a few changes here and there.

And then the publishing process will begin.

In the meantime, I have two more books fighting to get out of my brain. One is a picture book, and the other is a YA novel.

I wonder if I can work on both at the same time?

My, my, my. Haven't I got a lot of fun times ahead of me!

Labels: DTA, publishing, writing

It had been many years since I had a dog. As a matter of fact, the last time I had a dog for any length of time was when I was a child.

So did I forget what dogs ate, or are Schnoodles unique?

If Pepper (our Schnoodle) was allowed to eat whatever she wanted her diet would consist of 5 main food groups: the front yard, paper, wood, socks, and plastic.

It is bad enough that she eats our yard, but things inside our house aren't safe either. Around our house, "my dog ate my homework" isn't a joke, it is a fact. Anything left on the floor or on a low table is fair game for Pepper. Homework, books, credit cards, sunglasses, pens, pencils...you name it, she has probably consumed it.

I wonder who I should talk to to correct the name of her breed. She isn't a Schnoodle, she's a Schnoodloat.

They didn't really mean to leave out that she was part goat, did they?

Ummmm, or did they?

Labels: family, frivolity, life, myth or reality