Free Writing Workshops

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Linda Andrews

Free Writing Workshops

2/10/18 

10AM-6PM

During the Glendale Chocolate Affaire

Glendale Civic Center Annex

10AM: Social Media Made Simple by Leslie Keller

11AM: The Art of the Short Story by Tina Radcliffe

Noon: Organized Pantsing by Patricia Batta

1PM: MARKETING IS NOT FOR SISSIES – How I’ve Failed to Grow My Readership with Costly and Even Free Promotions by Cathy McDavid

2PM: Rich Characters Require Research by Merle McCann and Susan Budavari

3PM HOW MANY PUBLISHERS DO YOU NEED, IF ANY? by Vijaya Schartz

4PM From Dreams to Reality by Ross Caligiuri

5PM Putting it All Together by the Butterscotch Martini Girls

For more information visit: 

http://valleyofthesunrw.com

Posted in Books, Business, craft, Hobbies, Promotion, Writing | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Returning to the Bar

Posted on January 17, 2018 by Linda Andrews

I live in a house with others. You know the kind. Kids. The ones who swoop in an take the last of something but graciously leave the empty box, carton, or just empty space.

And so it is with soap. Liquid soap, that is. I had 2 bottles of shower gel when the hubbinator and I went shopping on Friday. Then the hubbinator took a shower and poof all those bottles are gone.

Now, we’re left with the seven bars of soap we bought 2 years ago. It’s weird how one kind of soap can last a long time and others will be gone as if by magic.

I’ll admit I love the suds created by a soap scrunchie. And nothing works as well as liquid soap in creating those bubbles, especially bar soap. It is weird, as soap is soap, but that doesn’t change the fundamental truths. Liquid soap gives more lather.

Alas I am on a bar soap regimen for another week when we can venture to the store and restock. By then I’m sure to be down to 6.5 bars of soap at least for the next few years:D

Until next time.

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Murder, He Wrote

Posted on January 15, 2018 by Linda Andrews

We have a little white board on our refrigerator to remind us to pick up things at the store. The hubbinator wrote this on the board.

IMG_0811

Naturally, I read that the hubbinator wanted shears from HoDe’s but then underneath I read that he wanted death aides and a clip.

I didn’t have a problem with this scenario, but obviously the guy at HoDe’s did when I asked him where he kept his death aides. He asked, what? And I repeated myself. Then he just kinda stared at me. The hubbinator chose that moment to round the corner and explained the garden shears were outside.

Truly, the best place to be in any ZomPoc scenario is a DIY store, as let’s face it, they have plenty of items to take care of zombies. And shovels are pretty handy in burying things. Dead things. That could make them death aides.

The hubbinator couldn’t believe I’d asked for death aides. In his defense, he says he wrote double sided clip.

But my story is better. 🙂

Until next time!

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How the Internet Started

Posted on January 12, 2018 by Linda Andrews

Warning: Bad joke ahead.

In ancient Israel, it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a healthy young wife by the name of Dorothy, known as Dot.   And Dot Com was a comely woman, large of breast, broad of shoulder and long of leg.  Indeed, she was often called Amazon Dot Com.
 
And she said unto Abraham, her husband, “Why dost thou travel so far from town to town with thy goods when thou canst trade without ever leaving thy tent?”
 
And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said, “How, dear?”
 
And Dot replied, “I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale, and they will reply telling you who hath the best price. The sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah’s Pony Stable (UPS).”
 
Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums.  And the drums rang out and were an immediate success.  Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever having to move from his tent.
 
To prevent neighboring countries from overhearing what the drums were saying, Dot devised a system that only she and the drummers knew  It was known as Must Send Drum Over Sound (MSDOS), and she also developed a language to transmit ideas and pictures – Hebrew to the People (HTTP).
 
And the young men did take to Dot Com’s trading as doth the greedy horsefly takes to camel dung.  They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Sybarites, or NERDS . And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches were going to that enterprising drum dealer, Brother William of Gates, who bought off every drum maker in the land. Indeed he did insist on drums to be made that would work only with Brother Gates’ drum heads and drumsticks.
 
And Dot did say, “Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others.” And Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or eBay as it came to be known.  He said, “We need a name that reflects what we are.”
 
And Dot replied, “Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators.”  “YAHOO,” said Abraham. And because it was Dot’s idea, they named it YAHOO Dot Com.
 
Abraham’s cousin, Joshua, being the young Gregarious Energetic Educated Kid (GEEK) that he was, soon started using Dot’s drums to locate things around the countryside.
 
It soon became known as God’s Own Official Guide to Locating Everything (GOOGLE).
 
That is how it all began. And that’s the truth.
Posted in Friday Funny, History | Tagged , | 2 Comments

I want to see this movie

Posted on January 10, 2018 by Linda Andrews

While watching BBC America on my fire stick, I saw this clip of a snownado. Yes, it really is a thing. Click here to watch

Having watched all five of the Sharknado, movies, I can honestly say if someone made it into a movie and had Yetis thrown out to kill, maim, slice, and dice people, I would so watch that movie.

And I would root for the Yetis!

Who’s with me?

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Darkness Falls Again

Posted on January 8, 2018 by Linda Andrews

It is done.

After hours of work, all the Christmas decorations are stowed away. The cats helped. At least that was what they claimed when I found their stash under the tree.

I will miss the house lights most of all. Between Halloween and now, we had lights on the house. It was nice to come home to their warm glow.

Now, the house is dark when we return form walking the dog.

Sure we still have the motion lights but what fun is that. Guess I have a case of post holiday blues.

And I still haven’t found that missing bin of decorations.

Until next time.

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I Got the Fever

Posted on January 5, 2018 by Linda Andrews

Every three years or so, I get a really bad flu bug. Apparently 2018 was my  year because starting January 2nd, my temperature started climbing. And climbing. And climbing.

At its peak, I was at 103.6 and was starting to hallucinate about magic things happening on the fringes of my vision. I shouldn’t be surprised as my normal body temperature hovers around 97 degrees. But what always surprises me is that cold that seeps into your bones and no amount of blankets can take it away.

Even aspirin and Nyquil had no affect on the fever, although I did get to pass out so that works. I went to sleep shivering and teeth chattering and woke up the same way. Always fun. I did think I was over the worst and managed to work yesterday only to come home and discover I was at 101.2 again.

That explained why I was cold most of the day. I woke up this morning soaked in sweat but not cold. Well, until I walked the dog. Then it was the outside temperature that made me cold. And when I came inside I warmed up. Bliss.

Now I just have to wait until my food tastes normal again. (FMI about why food tastes off when we’re sick click here.)

Until next time.

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The Gift No One Wanted

Posted on January 3, 2018 by Linda Andrews

Family holidays are always fun times. There are the remembrances of embarrassing moments past, the fact that hubbinator and I, our daughter, and son all got our FSIL 9 bottles of body wash. To be fair the oldest daughter and her partner received enough spatulas to keep her dogs in egg heaven for the new year (her dogs eat them especially when coated with eggs).

And then there is the gift that no one wants.

Yet someone always brings it.

You know what I’m talking about.

That’s right, the flu.

Our  youngest suffered the week before Christmas and after Christmas. Coughing and hacking and sleeping.

Hubbinator felt icky on New Years Day but didn’t stop him from accepting smooches from me until later. Of course, he bragged at how he’d kicked rid of the flu in a day or two.

Which meant he’d transfer it to me, because that’s how he rolls.

Came home from work with a 100 degree fever. That did break overnight but now I have the cough and sore throat.

My youngest refuses to take it back.

Ah, well. Until next time.

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Happy New Year

Posted on January 1, 2018 by Linda Andrews

Welcome 2018!

Happy New Year

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Learn Something New Every Day

Posted on December 29, 2017 by Linda Andrews

Today I learned that adding a piece of hard candy to hot tea adds flavor and sugar:D.

Added a piece of cinnamon candy to my cup of Constant Comment. Delicious!

Who knew candy had so many uses.

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