Coming Out of the dark...

...long enough to post a blog over at Lilac City Rochester Writers. Stop by if you can!

You Made Me Love You...

Time is short today, but I wanted to update the blog. Most of my blog thoughts are a bit too long for the amount of time I have today, so I thought I'd post this one.

I fully intended to get a full night's sleep last night. With all the craziness that went on with my dad during the month of May (he's now in a nursing home, most likely permanently. It's a lovely place and he's getting wonderful care but there is a boat load of guilt that comes along with the relief of knowing he's getting mental stimulation and aggressive physical therapy.) I've been really exhausted lately.

Anyway, this is the guy who kept me up past my bedtime.



"It Happened One Night" was on television and once I came across it, I couldn't stop watching until it was over. It's not just that it's one of my favorite movies, or that the plot reminds me of Wild Texas Wind, it's... that Gable magic. You can't look away from him when he's on the screen. Even now, nearly 50 years after his death when male movie stars have changed so much, he's riveting.

My love affair with Clark goes back a long way, I remember the first time I saw him in "It Happened One Night";I don't recall how old I was, probalby 12 or 13--I fell under the spell even then. Not long after, there was a "television event" (remember those? In the days before cable? When things like North & South, The Thorn Birds or Gone With the Wind on television were "events") and Gone With the Wind aired. I had never seen it before, but had read the book a few times. One look at Rhett and I was hooked. For life, LOL.

I won't say I've watched all of Mr. Gable's movies, but I've burned the midnight oil a time or two when the movie channels have had a "Gable weekend". He's worth losing a little sleep over.
Like I said, I don't know what it is about the man, but he's definitely got that indefinable "it" factor. Heck I'll bet he could even teach ol' Brad Pitt a thing or two about being a movie star.

So while to most of us, he'll always be Rhett, I still think of him as my first love, LOL. Right up there with Shaun Cassidy. Only better! Sigh. I have a busy weekend ahead, but I definitely feel a date night (me and Clark, that is!) with Gone with the Wind coming on....

Some Gave All

With a nephew serving in Iraq this summer, and our veterans marching in parades, I wanted to take a moment to remind everyone that this day is about more than picnics and cookouts. It's a day to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Some say Memorial Day began in Kingston, GA for both the Confederate and Union soldiers while the South was still occupied by Sherman's army. New York State was the first to officially recognize the holiday in 1873; by 1890 all northern states recognized the day. Many southern states refused to acknowledge the holiday and kept their own day to recognize their Confederate dead. Things began to change after WWI when the holiday--then called Decoration Day--expanded to include the dead from the Spanish-American War and WWI.

In 1971, Memorial Day was moved to the last Monday in May to give Federal employees a three-day weekend.

I hope you'll pause in whatever you're doing at 3 p.m. today for our National moment of remembrance and think about what this day really means.

A Little Ray of Much-Needed Sunshine

It's been one of those roller coaster weeks. First, we lost my husband's uncle unexpectedly. I've loved this man as if he were my own uncle from the first time I met him. My husband was very close to his uncle and cousins so we spent a lot of time with them, especially when we were first dating. In many ways, I was more comfortable with Uncle Jimmy and his wife than with my own in-laws. It's hard to see those you love suffering, and hard to be strong for them when you'd really like to find a corner and cry your heart out yourself.

Then, just as we were starting to wrap our minds around the fact that Uncle Jimmy is gone, my dad (who suffers, as some of you know, from senile dementia) wound up in the hospital after a fall. Right now it's not clear if he'll be able to come home or when. Until his mobility improves, my mother can't care for him, so he remains in the hospital, possibly heading to a nursing home for short term care --or longer(which none of us wants to see happen) and we remain on that roller coaster of ups and downs.

So when I found this in my inbox this morning it was a nice ray of sunshine in what's been a week of dark skies and rain (both literally and figuratively, LOL).

A four star review from The Romance Studio:

The Model Man
Nicole McCaffrey
Contemporary romance
Available from The Wild Rose Press
ISBN: 1-60154-237-2
March 2008

Single mom Kelly Michaels is a popular romance author whose children always come first. She didn't want to attend the writers' convention but lets herself be convinced to go. She definitely doesn't want to have a liaison with a playboy cover hunk who is fifteen years her junior.

Derek Calavicci is used to women throwing themselves at him. But the author of the novels he poses for isn't interested in a fling. He has a chance to convince her he won't tire of her when they are compromised by the paparazzi and to save their reputations they pretend to be a lovestruck couple.

This is an extremely enjoyable, fun romance. The characters are fabulous and everyone interacts naturally. Derek and Kelly are filled with realistic qualities, but I wish I could have seen more of his feelings involving 9-11. I loved all of the wonderful secondary characters; I want a best friend just like Sharon! I was entertained by every aspect of this story; the chemistry between this couple is hot. Their growing relationship kept me spellbound and I'm a sucker for a well-written older woman/younger man romance. The settings were perfect, the plot flowed so well that I didn't put the book down until the last page and was, in fact, sad when it was over.

Overall rating: Four hearts
Sensuality rating: Very sensual

Reviewer: Theresa Joseph
May 6, 2009

I don't know who Theresa Joseph is, but she sure made my morning!

Mental Health Day -- or Back in the Saddle?

Dilemmas, dilemmas!

It's been a brutal week at the day job--and that includes the mom job. It seems whenever we get to these final weeks of the school year, the whininess kicks in. And my kids have been whining, too! *G*

It's light until well after 8 p.m., so they don't want to get ready for bed and end up getting there later than they should. Then in the morning they're tired and don't want to get moving. Which makes for some very stressful mornings--and this will undoubtedly continue until school lets out for summer break in mid June.

Since it's been a busy, stress-filled week, I find myself in a quandry this morning. Mental Health Day? I sure could use one. Or do I jump back in the saddle to do some writing, which I haven't had time for all week.

If I take the mental health day and read or do something relaxing, I'll probably be calmer and in a better frame of mind by the time my Kindergartner gets off the bus in a couple of hours. In truth though, I probalby won't be able to relax--the house is showing signs of neglect from my busy week and I'll probably end up cleaning. And what self-respecting writer actually has a clean house?

If I choose to write then I have to decide which of my characters I want to spend the day with.

Hmmm...

Which of these two options will feed my soul and bring me inner peace?

Rats, I knew you'd say that! Now I'm off to listen to the voices in my head and see who is calling the loudest...

Wish me luck!

How are you spending this sunny spring Friday?

Green... for all the wrong reasons?

Today is Earth Day. I’m sure you already knew that. I really didn’t; I don’t pay much attention when people start talking about “green” living. Both my hubby and I were raised by depression-era parents so the idea of “recycle”, “reuse” and “don’t waste” is something we’ve had drilled into our heads from infancy. (You don’t know gross until you’ve seen my father-in-law rinse the slime off of old cold cuts or hot dogs and eat them—even if he isn’t hungry—rather than throw them away.)

I learned it was Earth Day at 8:30 this morning when my son, who just rolled out of bed (spring break, lucky me) came downstairs and promptly turned off my kitchen radio and the light above my kitchen sink. I howled a protest; long ago someone added a room off of my kitchen (which I now use as an office) and because of that, there is very little natural light in the kitchen—it’s gloomy and depressing even on the sunniest days, and since I spend so much time in front of that sink—rinsing things, putting dishes away, preparing meals—I usually just leave the light on most of the day. So--as I said to my son--sue me!

The radio, tuned to the local talk radio station, has long been the only link to the sane world I’ve had. I can walk in there most any time of day and hear real, live grown ups talking about intelligent subjects. No talking sponges or star fish; no tween queens living double lives as singing stars and no mop-haired, cherub faced twin boys raising havoc in a hotel—or on a cruise ship. No, that kitchen radio is my link to the grown up world. Back during the days of dancing purple dinosaurs and little blue dogs playing guessing games, it was my life line. If I'm home and awake, that radio is on.

But I can’t leave it on today because it’s Earth Day and we all have to do our part. Or so I’ve been told by my kids. Over and over. Apparently they think I’m not green enough.

This is very un-PC to admit, and I’ll probably even get hate mail, but I don’t do the “green” thing for the right reasons. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to see the polar bears go extinct any more than anyone else, but… I have been known to throw away the odd condiment bottle without rinsing it and placing it in the recycle bin. I know, I know. I’m a criminal. Or just lazy. Your call.

I remember my mother serving nearly every meal on paper plates—we even had little holders for them so your plate didn’t drip or sag. Same with the Styrofoam coffee cups; no one walked around carrying a Starbucks cup made from recycled materials with one of those nice little cardboard snuggies on them to keep their hands from getting burned. If you were drinking coffee in public and weren’t seated at a restaurant, you were probably drinking out of Styrofoam. I even remember those little “bottomless” plastic coffee cups my mom kept in the car to put the Styrofoam cups in at picnics or outdoor events. (I only remember them because she still has them. In lovely shades of 70s-era brown, orange and avocado.)

Well I don’t think my kids even know that disposable plates exist. I have a dishwasher so there’s no reason to use plates I’d have to throw away—what an expensive waste. But here are some things my kids have double checked with me on today, to make sure we’re doing our part to be earth friendly:

Changing light bulbs. I use those little swirly ones in most of the lights in my house—even that necessary one over my kitchen sink. But for the lamps that matter most to me, (i.e., my bedside lamp, or the one on the desk in my office, or the little one in my front foyer) I still prefer the old style. Those fluorescent bulbs give off a cold blue light that does nothing for me on those grey, overcast days we see so much of here in the Northeast. The old style bulbs cast a nice warm glow that feels inviting on a chilly winter evening. But again… I don’t use those “environmentally friendly” bulbs because it’s good for the earth or the right thing to do. I use them because in the long run it saves money. They last longer. Plain and simple.

Use your dryer less. I use it about once a week, if that. And for drying towels only. I would line dry my towels if it were up to me but my family doesn’t appreciate “stiff” wash cloths and face towels—plus I don’t have that much room for clothes line, and they take too long to dry. Again, this isn’t a conscious “green” choice... I grew up on laundry dried outdoors in the sunshine. There’s simply nothing that smells better. Best of all... that sunshine and fresh air? Absolutely free.

Use the cold water setting on your washer. Please. I’m a 42-year-old woman. Do I look dumb enough to wash my jeans in hot water? They’d never fit again!

Only run the dishwasher when it’s full. Well… duh. Why would I run it if it’s not full? That’s a waste of money and water.

Walking more places. Now that the weather is warmer I’m back to walking my kids to and from school. Again… it’s not a green choice, but because it’s a waste of gas to drive them the short distance to school. Not so long ago, gas was up near $5/gallon around here, so it makes sense not to waste it.

Use a tank-free hot water heater. Ahhh, my dream. Our hot water heater is old and due to bite the dust any day now. I want to replace it with a tankless one. Not because it’s the green thing to do but because I’m usually the last one to get the shower at night. Need I say more?

Reduce your use of paper towels and paper products. For a long time now I've used my husband’s old worn out under shirts and the ones my boys have outgrown as wipe rags. They’re white; they’re nice absorbent cotton and best of all, I can toss them in the washer with some bleach and they come out clean and germ free. When the undershirts become too stained or small for use as tee shirts, I cut them into wash-cloth sized rags that I keep under both bathroom sinks and the kitchen sink for easy access. I clean up a lot of “yucky” messes throughout the day (if you have boys you know what I’m talking about when I tell you I wipe down the toilet bowl and the floor beside it daily—sometimes twice daily.) And—you guessed it—I don’t do that to be “green”, I do it because it makes economic sense to me.

Plant a tree. Another no-brainer for me, LOL. I bought a house in an older, established neighborhood because I love all the old trees around here. We looked at the little suburban tracts with their cookie-cutter style houses and spindly baby trees lining the walk but… I didn't want to wait 30 years to have a nice, mature tree in front of the house. So we now have 20 nice mature trees around our house, LOL. It goes without saying that those big trees do a beautiful job of shading the house, which means we run the AC a lot less in summer...

Hmm… I guess I’m greener than my kids thought I was. Who knew?

How will you celebrate Earth Day?

Hanging Out with The Love Struck Novice

Looking for me? I'm not here. I'm spending the day over at The Lovestruck Novice, talking about the mistakes writers make when they first start out. I've even shared my own blush-worthy "oops!" story from my early days in this business. Hope you can stop by for a visit!

Happy Friday!

Nic