Don't Let the Parade Pass You By

I didn't go to a parade, it came to me. The Mesquite Championship Rodeo parade kicks off the rodeo season and always comes by the corner where the store is. This is how I spent the first few minutes of my shift, then I got a customer. But not before I got a picture of a cowboy.


And a stagecoach with the grandmarshall - some senator or something.




And of course, a band.







There were actually several bands, but I didn't get to see all of them. One customer who stayed an entire half-hour. Walked several blocks from where she had to park just to get to the bookstore. What dedication. What a way to rain on my parade.

Ode to Spring

So it’s Spring, a time when every man’s fancy turns to love and every allergist orders their new BMW. Yep, allergy season. Flowers bloom and cast their sickening pollen into the four corners of the globe, instantly sending innocent humans into raging bulges of histamine. Sort of the Incredible Hulk of the sinus world. Spring, when the winds still sweep down from the Plains, pulling with them gusts of cedar and any other mountainous, plainous, regionalous piece of gritty dirt and grain it can gather. Spring, which brings rain, which in turn feeds the humidity level and nurturing the growth of tiny armies of spore ready to pounce with merciless fury on every human being. No man, woman or child are spared this ravaging menace. Spring will get you, in one form or another, and yet, our government allows it to continue. Everything else that can make us sick is outlawed, but not Spring. I blame the Spring lobbyist; those bastions of non-allergy mutants that rejoice in the coming of Spring.

Now that we know how I feel about Spring, what's your favorite season?

Checking In

Not much to blog about. We'll be off for the festival Sunday morning, then a day of fun. So I'll leave you with this.

Lost and Found
As the bus pulled away, I realized I had left my purse under the seat. Later I called the company and was relieved that the driver had found my bag. When I went to pick it up, several off-duty bus drivers surrounded me. One man handed me my pocketbook, two typewritten pages and a box containing the contents of my purse. "We're required to inventory lost wallets and purses," he explained. "I think you'll find everything there." As I started to put my belongings back into the pocketbook, the man continued, "I hope you don't mind if we watch. Even though we all tried, none of us could fit everything into your purse. And we'd like to see just how you do it."

Oh, I forgot! Happy Birthday Dru! I hope you have a wonderful day!!!!

Blah Sunday

Not going to The House today, thank goodness. I don’t think I could handle it today, so it’s a good thing that Bebo had something else she had to do. I think all those extra days at the bookstore has added to my not feeling well – we’ve discussed before my allergies and that store.

I’m not feeling 100 percent yet. Not constantly dizzy, but it does come in waves and the nausea isn’t completely gone – I’ve just got to let me body get used to these drugs and then those side effects will go away.

I’m going to have a quiet Sunday, maybe laze around in bed for a while – I might try to get one or two household chores done, but honestly I’m exhausted.

So how has your weekend been?

Monday, Monday

This is the character board I did for The Devil You Know, I've changed some of the people I picked out for my characters though. This isn’t an actual storyboard, but a small (about the size of the flat insert in shirts) group of images that I would take with me if I worked over at Bebo’s house. We used to do that a lot, work in her bedroom while my brother Howard watched TV in the living area. We’d bounce ideas off of each other, talk through storyline problems, search through endless magazines for character pictures. Some days we’d go over to B&N or Borders (whichever had an outdoor sitting area) and write. The original opening scene for The Devil You Know was written while at one of those places. I used to be able to write in long-hand then. But most importantly, I would come home full of energy and excitement about the writing that I couldn’t wait to get started. I miss those days. When we’re through with The House we’re going to try to start doing that again.

They’ve brought the “s” word back in to the forecast (snow) for this Wednesday. I have an appointment early that day that I had to wait three weeks to get. I don’t know what I’ll do if I have to cancel it, so I’m hoping for a light snow and no ice.

That’s it. A co-worker is on vacation and I have to work a 1 – 5 shift today. I hate that. I can’t really do anything because once I get started on something I have to quit and get ready for work. Oh well, it’s only one day. I’ll also be working Wednesday night and a full shift on Saturday, so I’ll be picking up 12 extra hours this week. That will help.

I’m outta here. I have to go to Wallyworld tomorrow and since I have to be at work by 1:00 I’ll need to get up early and get stuff done.

Have a great Monday everyone.

Who Am I?

I bought a cheap piece of art the other day, a Target $40 black framed photo of a street scene in Italy. Why am I telling you this? I’ve never bought anything like that. It’s interesting that I’m just now beginning to figure out what I like and dislike. I’ve never had a place of my own to decorate. The apartments I had during college were fully furnished, and besides my cousins house, they are the only places I’ve ever lived besides this house. I’m learning that there are different aspects of my personality. My bedroom, the one before mom died, is romantic; purple and elegant, with dark wood furnishings. Then I moved into mom’s old room and suddenly I went the opposite with a more modernistic look. Oh, there are still touches of my romantic side in there, but it’s more subtle; a Thomas Kinkaid print on the wall for one thing. The dishes I picked out are totally different than those I’ve coveted in the past. When I was younger I tended towards frilly, flowery china, and what did I end up buying? Oh, there are flowers, but they’re not pastel – they’re on a brown background with leaves. This has been fun, this discovery of who Bailey Stewart really is.

So, does your decorating style realistically reflect your personality?

Damn

I have these salt and pepper shakers that belonged to mom. They’re Christmas ones – red Santa boots with poinsettia leaves on the side. Pretty, and they’ve been in my memory forever. I’m slowly getting my Christmas stuff put away because I’m going through things and trying to decide what I can keep and what will have to go. I won’t be able to take a lot of stuff to a one bedroom apartment. Before I put these away though, I decided that they needed to be cleaned. They were a little grungy, so I thought I’d clean them a little. Putting some lukewarm water and a little soap in the sink, I left them to soak for about a half an hour. Big mistake. I took them out and watched the paint slough right off of them. Yes, my pretty red and green shakers were now white all over. I was crushed, am crushed. I don’t know what to do. Keep them, I guess, until I can figure out how to get them restored.

So, on that note, what are you doing this weekend?

Just Another Post

So, it’s Saturday, whoop-de-do. I only work until 1:00 and then the rest of the day is mine to waste as I wish. I’m in the middle of a project that I had hoped to finish on Friday, but since I got called in to work, it didn’t get done. I’m also in the middle of reading Kink by Sasha White and Saskia Walker. Loving it. I have 4 more books to read and review (two of them I am quite late on, but it’ll get done). I’m having a hard time reading lately. It’s not the books, it’s me – I get this way sometimes when I’m writing. I’m going to lose writing time (at least quality writing time) on Sunday as Bebo and I will be out packing away Cathie’s house, getting it ready to sell. I’m not sure why I’m doing this since she isn’t talking to me. Maybe it’s a reward because she isn’t talking to me? LOL

What’s going on in your world? What are you reading?

If You Give a Mouse

If You Give A Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff. If you’ve never read any of these books (If You Give a Moose a Muffin, and If You Give a Pig a Pancake are two other titles), then I need to give you a couple of lines so you’ll understand this post.

If you give a mouse a cookie, he’s going to ask for a glass of milk. When you give him the milk, he’ll probably ask you for a straw! When he’s finished, he’ll ask for a napkin. Then he’ll want to look in a mirror to make sure he doesn’t have a milk mustache. When he looks into the mirror, he might notice his hair needs a trim. So he’ll probably ask for a pair of nail scissors.

Get the picture?

It’s really all Harry Dresden’s fault that I hurt my back. (Which is better, thank you). You see, our cable has A and B channels. The new series based on the Jim Butcher books about Harry Dresden, The Dresden Files, is on the Sci-Fi channel. The Sci-Fi channel is on the B channels. Still with me Raine? You haven’t fallen asleep have you? I have one TV that gets both A and B, with a little switch box. I have this habit of watching things on one side and then forgetting to switch back over. Although Sunday night’s premier episode wasn’t opposite anything that I want to watch, it will be next week when Cold Case comes back on. Two reasons I didn’t want to set the VCR in the den for the Dresden series. There’s a TV in the guest bedroom that was no longer hooked up, but if I went outside I could hook it up to the B channels, thereby not having to worry about any of the aforementioned confusing things. But wait. Little problem. The VCR in there isn’t very reliable. Has a habit of going into “error” mode when set for timed recordings. So I needed to switch VCR’s.

If you give Bailey a series to watch,
She’s going to want to record it.
But before she can record it,
She’s going to have to switch VCRs.
When she goes to switch VCRs,
She realizes that she’ll have to use the one in her bedroom.
But if she’s going to use the one in her bedroom,
She’ll have to replace the VCR in there too.
So she puts the one from her room,
Into the guest room, with the little TV.
Which of course won’t do.
So she takes the TV from the den, for her guest to watch.
Which means she’ll have to bring the TV from the study (and her favorite anyway)
And put it in the den.
But she didn’t want to hook everything up just to do it again later,
So she moved the entertainment center with it.

And so it goes. I’m hardly in the study anymore anyway, and that was the room that had the entertainment center, plus my favorite VCR/TV/DVD player. Oh, and the 5-disc stereo; that’s for writing you know. Anyway, I couldn’t see myself moving all of those things and hooking them up only to unhook everything in a month or two when I could find someone to help me. The TV in the den wasn’t new enough to handle both a VCR and DVD player anyway, which was limiting. Scenario: Wanting to tape something while watching a DVD with a friend. That’s why the den TV was perfect for the guest room, since there would only be a VCR in there anyway. Anyway, that’s why I moved everything. And I have been waiting to do so since October, but could never get anyone to help me. I have a couch that I need to move out, but I’ve missed that deadline (the trash comes either tomorrow or Wednesday), so it will have to go on the weekend of February 24. You see, mom had “accidents” on that couch, and the cats figured if she could “go” on it, they could. It stinks. Anyway, Bebo is busy clearing out my sister's house, on Sunday I'll be over there too, packing. It'll take us a month of Sunday's to get this done. Basically, I guess I'm tired of waiting for other people to find the time to help me get going again. So I do it myself.

The back is better, but we won’t discuss my head, which I banged twice on Sunday – once again the brick of the house and secondly on the sharp edge of a door on the hutch. Hurt too. As did smashing my hand in the sliding doors of the closet. I think I’m becoming a walking accident waiting to happen. And yes Marty, I remembered about the heat/cold thing and did that Monday.

Sheesh

All together now. “Bailey!” No, you’re not together. Try a little harder. Quit slacking Susan. Brandy, leave that cat alone and pay attention. Once again. “Bailey!” Loreth, this isn’t a marathon, slow down. Pacing. Toni, quit shivering. Michele! This is serious. Now, again. “Bailey!” Duchess, nobody’s paying any attention to your hair. Honest. You look fine. Tori, you’re not paying attention. Kate, close that door, you’re letting the wind in. Marty dear, we're over here - yes, quit procrastinating. Okay, are we ready to try again? “Bailey! Why did you move that huge entertainment center literally from one end of the house to the other – by yourself?” Um, because I got tired of waiting for someone to help me? I know, I know – I shouldn’t have done that, plus moving TV’s, etc. and my back is killing me. As in “it hurts to sit up”. So I’m slumped in my chair, thinking about being slumped in my bed. Better yet, thinking about lying down in my bed with the heating pad. Oh wait, a hot shower, with the water beating down on my back, then the bed with the heating pad. I’ve taken some Aleve, so we’ll see. I’ll explain later why I did all of this, when I can sit up a little more. I didn’t realize how much it hurt until I stopped for a while. Later folks. And practice on your synchronized chastising a bit, will you?

The Wall

No, not Pink Floyd’s The Wall. I mean THE WALL. The one that pops up from time to time in every writer’s life. It’s here. Right in front of me. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in reading everyone’s blogs for a while, it’s not to let the wall get to me. Normally I’d get discouraged and give up, worry about it until the wall is thicker/higher. Not gonna happen. Now, I’m not going to say that if the wall doesn’t shift by Monday evening it’s not going to start worrying me, but I know it will move, tumble down as long as I keep at it.

I have a new toy. See the meter at the end of the column on the right? I love it. It’s fascinating to see where everyone comes from. There’s a couple of lurkers that have caught my attention, but that’s okay. I lurk. Sometimes a lot. There are days when I don’t have anything to say. I know, me not having something to say? It happens. But I still want to know what’s going on with my friends, so I lurk.

I have to do minor surgery tonight. I got a splinter in the fleshy part of my palm below my thumb. The counters at work at very rough and got me quite a few times yesterday – including once under a nail. I got that one, but this other one is long and right below the surface. It’s starting to swell up a little, so I guess I need to go find a needle, rubbing alcohol and start on it. I hate that, but it has to be done.

Have a great Saturday. I’ll be at work until 1:00, and then nothing until Tuesday. There’s some household chores that I have to do (something about clothes being a requirement), but other than that – it’s writing time.

It was a Dark and Stormy Night

Not really, but that’s the name of Kelly’s blog and since today is her birthday –

Happy Birthday Kelly! I hope you have a great day.

Oh, and Happy Anniversary Brandy and Chris!

So, where was I last night? Not on blogger, obviously. I usually post the night before, but for some reason, blogger didn’t like me last night. I couldn’t get on any blogger site. I have it from the best authorities that it was just me. Wonderful. Blogger hates me.

It’s going to be interesting today. We had ice/snow yesterday, and what melted then has re-frozen (is that a word?) over night, so I’ll be facing some possibly slick roads. Fun. That is, if I can get off the porch - the ramp doesn't look all that promising right now. Possibility of more within the next 72 hours. Although one of our stations doesn't think so - but then, this was the same station that said we weren't going to get anything yesterday, that it would stay south of us. Yeah, like I'll believe them this time.

Oh, and while the gums are still swollen, a combination of ibuprofen and boiled cloves has stopped the pain, for now. I’m hoping to get out to my local Vitamin World to pick up some actual clove oil. If the oil works as well as the boiled cloves, then I’m in seventh heaven. I have this book – The Green Pharmacy by James A. Duke, Ph.D. – which has been a great source for herbal remedies, since I can’t afford actual prescriptions. I need to pick up some Nettles too, that’s great for sinuses.

Wednesday was a productive day – on the writing front, not the house cleaning. Oh well, maybe the cats can hold it in one more day. (I really need to get those boxes cleaned) The muses wouldn’t leave me alone, so I got a lot accomplished. Yes, my readers, I’ll get it sent out to you.

That’s really all for now. I know, another brilliant post Bailey. Don’t know how you manage to be both informing and entertaining at the same time. (this is where I need the goofy grin smilie) Hey, some days are like that – usually Thursday’s. Poor neglected Thursday. I still say I need a bear.

Wednesday wordage:

2,028 words (yeah, you’re reading that right)
Total words: 9,809 WhooHoo!