There are many lazy words in English. I try to avoid them in my writing, and the few that slip through are usually deleted in a second draft. What do I mean by lazy words? Words that aren't missed when taken out of a sentence. I just used the most common one: that....
Are you feeling a little down? I know I am. Covid is still with us long after I thought life would get back to normal. The days suddenly became much shorter and colder. I’m not motivated to do anything outside even with my horse and I’m having trouble writing a scant...
Last Throwback Thursday, I posted this photo on Facebook with the comment: "My Grade 12 yearbook photo. I wrote my first novel that year and I still have it. It is TERRIBLE!" Friends said they'd like to read it and decide for themselves. So, here is an excerpt: "The...
My daughter Tiffany manning the fruit picker. Tiffany is starting the peeling/coring/slicing. The horses are patiently awaiting the emptying of the bin of peels and cores. My sister Lorna (left) and I have a turn at peeling. If you don't have one of these peeling...
I was enjoying a drive on this rainy morning. Enjoying the rain, because it's August, it's been very hot and dry, and we seldom get rain from now until the fall. Our pastures really needed it! Enjoying the drive because my sister is with me and we were on our way to...
Sometimes I think life should be like golf and give you a Mulligan. The whole world should call a Mulligan for 2020, mostly because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but also for the climate situation. In fact, it would be nice to reset to 2010 but knowing what we do now, so...
Fall has definitely arrived here on Vancouver Island. In fact it’s more like winter has arrived, and with very little warning. Yesterday was a perfect sunny fall day. No rain in the forecast. Our winter supply of hay was delivered and tucked in the barn (thanks,...
Eponymous: (of a person) giving their name to something. "the eponymous hero of the novel" synonyms: identifying, after whom/which something is named, designative, appellative, denominative. I suppose it's no surprise to anyone that writers love words. For...
It's a beautiful sunny morning in mid-July. You might wonder about two things: 1. why am I inside? and 2. why the Winter Wonderland photo? The answer to #1 is that I'm working on the fourth book in the Secrets Series, tentatively titled Astrid's Secret. When the story...
For those of you who aren't aware, I'm vegan. Or at least mostly vegan or trying to be vegan. What I haven't been able to give up yet is cheese, and about once a month I succumb to a tuna sandwich craving. Also, when I'm making a Roast Beast for carnivore guests, I...
I've had a lot of compliments on the cover of Call Me Lisa. If you're interested in where the art came from, here is the original painting by Nina Smart. Nina is an Australian artist whose numerous paintings of dressage horses caught my eye. I've been asked if I own...
Greetings all! I'm not a prolific blogger, as you've realized by now. A couple of years ago, I thought I'd take a stab at it and started a blog on another site, long since abandoned. I just found it today (February 22, 2019) and thought, since I have a website now,...
Thursday, March 2, 2017 Can't believe it's March already. Historically, February is the month I have strong urges to re-arrange furniture. Hang wallpaper. Take down wallpaper and paint. Go to Hawaii. So the last item is off my list, as any urge I ever had to travel is...
You will need: 2 cups C.O.B. (sweet feed) 2 cups wheat or oat bran 1 cup flax seed 1 cup molasses 1 cup whole wheat or multi-grain flour Mix together until you can form it into approximately one inch balls. It's okay for the "dough" to be kind of crummy as in the...