Fogged

Belle woke me up four times to take her out last night.  That's the last time I let her eat a bite of Schnuck's brand frozen pizza.  My brain is a little fogged today due to the interruptions.

I've got a roast going in the crock pot today with carrots, celery, and potatoes.  For the liquid content, I dumped in a bottle of beer and a can of beef broth.  I'm expecting magic.  I need to remember to grab a loaf of french bread on the way home.

With only 33 days left, I'm chomping at the bit to get started on Wandering the Web of Worlds.  Things are coming together in my head.  I'm still working on the characters who aren't Fenlock and coming up with more background material.  Hopefully I'll be able to get it all done in November.  I've already got big ideas for the sequels.

I've got my grubby mitts on I Shall Wear Midnight yesterday, possibly Terry Pratchett's last book due to his early onset Altzheimers.  It's good so far.

Dangerous Dan's Book Blog

I created Dangerous Dan's Book Blog this morning in an effort to score more free books.  I'm still working on it.  It will likely be duplicates of my Goodreads reviews.

The Day After

Another family fish fry has come and gone in a blur of greasy food.  I had a good time hanging with the family and gorging myself.  It was nice to see Ricki and Ben again.  I think that was the first time I'd seen them since Thanksgiving two years ago.  I need to remember to post that picture of Chris drinking a Little Hug on Facebook later for Abby.  Abby and Carrie both wore purple.  I don't think that's the first time they've accidentally matched.  My brother makes superior onion rings, btw.  Don't tell my mom.

Any minuses for the weekend?  Carrie has the hives and has determined that it's because of the antibiotic she was prescribed for a sinus infection two weeks ago.  She was determined not to miss the fish fry though.

I went to bed frighteningly early last night.  I only made it to 8 because I was talking to Carrie.  That was before she determined the antibiotic was what was giving her the hives.  Ten hours of sleep later and I felt like a new man.  Too bad it's been a gloomy overcast day.

In closing, here's a visit from Perspective Man:

Fish Fry Eve

The most romantic holiday of the year, the Schwent Family and Friends Fish Fry, is nearly upon us.  Visions of fried fish, hushpuppies, onion rigs, and fried potatoes are dancing through my head.

Yeah, that armadillo is getting pretty ripe.  I don't think the local scavengers know quite what to do with it.  Buzzards are circling and flies are buzzing.  I saw a fox in the vicinity.  If fables are any indication, he'll swindle the others out of the boodle and be well-fed for a few days.

I think I moved one step closer to being a book blogger a few minutes ago.  I accepted a friend request from something called The Cadence Group, some kind of collective that sends books out to reviewers.  I looked at Cadence's friends and saw everyone that's normally ahead of me in the top 50 reviewers every week.  We'll see how this plays out.

Carrie should be here soon, just in time for the corn muffins to come out of the oven.

Conchord School Road Invaded!

So yesterday morning I was leaving the neighborhood.  I thought I saw something dead with all four feet in the air.  I speculated that it was an armadillo but couldn't tell for sure.  There are a lot of things I can't tell for sure at 5 in the morning.

Last night, Belle and I were on our walk and I didn't see the mystery critter.  Did I imagine it?  We turned around at the end of the road and walked back.  There it was in the tall grass beside the ditch.  A dead armadillo.  Was this armadillo the forerunner of an invasion?  Only time will tell...

Ham and bean soup crocking right now.  I've also got the makings of corn bread muffins so dinner tonight will be a delight.

Hobbit Day (and the things bothering me on Hobbit Day)

At some point since the Lord of the Rings frenzy kicked off in the 60's, today was made Hobbit day.  I guess now I have an excuse to lounge around bare-footed this evening.  Like I mentioned way back here, Lord of the Rings isn't one of my favorites, mostly due to the inferior imitations that have glutted the field ever since.

I don't think I mentioned this before but, like many boys, I was a tremendous dinosaur enthusiast as a lad.  This morning on Yahoo News, I noticed an article about new dinos being discovered in Utah.  Imagine my "shock" when I notice when I notice most of the comments are about God creating the universe in seven days and the scientists being wrong.  Sigh. 

After months of drinking tea at work, I had two cups of coffee this morning to complement the donuts Joe brought in.  I'm surprised at how intense the caffeine infusion from the coffee was.  How did I not notice this before?  How have I subsisted on tea for so many weeks?  And how can I go back to tea tomorrow?

On a closing note, I think pork is the most romantic of the meats.  Bacon, etc.

41 Days Left

I've got a serious case of the writing itch right now and I've got almost six weeks before I can scratch it properly.  Maybe I should pick The Isle of No Return back up and finish it as a temporary balm for my writing itch.



Wandering the Web of Worlds is becoming clearer and clearer in my mind.  I've figured out the beginning and the ending.  The middle is still pretty fuzzy but my list of things to include keeps getting bigger.  I still need to work on the characters other than Fenlock a bit more but I'm feeling a lot more confident than I did last week.  Since fantasy space opera hasn't been done very often before, I feel like a bit of a trailblazer.  Should I use aliens that look like humanoid rhinos or horses?  How many insectile alien species is too many?  How would a city on the back of a giant spider survive?  So many choices...

There's a technicolor rainbow of mushrooms on my lawn.  I meant to take a picture of some of them yesterday but I ran out of time.  There was a bright red one, a strange bright yellow one, one that was the color of a bruise, and many in different shades of off white.  I'm almost as interested in fungus as I am in insects and rocks.

My reading mojo is back but still not in full swing.  I'm still less than halfway through Nifft the Lean and I started Saturday.