Thursday Thirteen - 240 - 13 Things I'll Be Up To in 2012

1 - I'll start with the more personal items, although even these have writer's-life spillover.

Giving the garden some TLC. I was SO busy last year getting SAINT SANGUINUS ready to release in November, the garden was pretty much left to its own resources. As it filled out through the spring and summer, I could only mow the lawn and do emergency triage gardening. This year I'll be able to pace myself better.

2 - De-cluttering the apartment. For my husband and me, this is going to be a year-long project.

3 - Continuing with my acupuncture. For a migrainer and chronic pain sufferer like me, acupuncture has given me more concrete relief in a two-and-a-half-year time span than my previous treatment which lasted for more than a decade.

4 - Here at A Piece of My Mind:

I'll be taking part in the year-long Movie Madness Challenge.

5 - In April I will once again take part in the month-long A to Z Challenge hosted by multiple bloggers but with a central sign-up site.

6 - In November I will take part in my 5th Blog Blast For Peace.

7 - This year I'm planning to expand my author interviews to include more arts industry folk.

8 - I'll be concentrating on widening my Facebook reach.

9 - And also expanding my Twitterverse.

10 - This spring, my serialized dark fantasy tale following Scorpius, the falconer's apprentice turned lord's manservant, will be collected into novel form and self-published through Amazon and Smashwords.

11 - That will require making a non-live-action book trailer to promote it.

12 - Then I will be sending my little darlings out for reviews.

13 - And most exciting of all, I'm planning to attend Fan Expo in Toronto this August as a vendor, with both of my books.

Aug. 23rd - 26th Hope to see you there!

Thursday Thirteen - 109 - 13 Things I've Been Doing While My Computer's in The Shop

My computer has needed an overhaul for quite some time. So I had to surrender it into the care of my best friend's husband, who is an IT guy. He already performed heroics on a previous computer when my current WIP was trapped on the hard drive of a tower whose battery went dead.

So what have I been doing in the meantime?

1 - Well, I did try to stay on schedule with my book review for Stella MacLean's Baby in Her Arms. However, that will have to be pushed back to next week. My day job work schedule has been very grinding of late. Over the years, I've gradually learned to put balls down when my juggling act gets too ridiculous. That has been a lifetime lesson, I assure you.

2 - After work, once I've finished my daily visit with my mom upstairs, I generally head downstairs and hop onto the computer. But every evening this week I've headed into the garden instead. Sigh. That's been nice.

3 - I've had way more Pack Time on the couch. Because we are two humans and a dog, we are a Pack. Pack Time is my favorite time of day. We all pile onto the couch, where my dog and I fall asleep curled up together and my husband watches TV. Bliss.

4 - I've headed over for Pack Time much earlier than I do when I'm writing. So I've gotten way more sleep. This morning I woke up at 4:00 because my body is used to waking up with only 5 hours of sleep. But I realized I could go back for two more hours. Mmm.













5 - I watched the hockey game. Stanley Cup play-offs on Tuesday night, game 3. Lots of woo-hooing in our Cole Harbour house for Sidney Crosby!

Normally I would be at the computer with the game on TV to my left, which I would glance at in between writing. What luxury to simply sit down and watch the whole thing.

Photo by Peter Diana

6 - Listening to a whole bunch of CDs that we haven't heard in awhile. We usually use the CD player in the computer to listen to music. With that gone, my husband pulled out the big ghetto blaster and stacks of CDs that have been collecting dust and we've been enjoying some favorites. Like this one:



7 - As often happens, when I'm in the middle of one WIP, I start getting ideas and scenes for another WIP. So instead of thinking about my early Victorian gardener, Robbie (who resembles Ewan McGregor,) I've been doing some heavy-duty thinking about my dark fantasy and the Chamberlain of the Keep, Scorpius (a dead-ringer for Richard Armitage.)

8 - Doing some pre-planning for the mega collage event at my writers' group Book in a Day all-day workshop on June 13th.

9 - Tending to my husband's erupting cyst on his neck. Good times. Three bandage changes a day. Yay.

10 - Mowing my enormous lawn. I actually find it relaxing, in a sweaty sort of way.

11 - Visiting over at my best friend's house when we dropped the computer tower off. Such luxury!

12 - Doing overtime at work to try to get caught up on a huge backlog of scanning. This actually makes me feel like I'm getting somewhere instead of digging a hole in mud, just to watch it immediately fill in again. Added bonus - no one to interrupt.

13 - Taking a tiny chip off the clutter mountain that is our apartment. Yay me!

Janet says You've sure got a lot going on!

Alice Audrey says Even if I'm supposed to be working on one WIP, another keeps cropping up.

Anthony North says I always keep a cheap back-up, so this doesn't happen to me.

7 More Things About Me

VaBookworm tagged me with 7 Things About Me.

The rules are as follows:

A) Link to your original tagger. Post the rules.

B) The rules are Zen-like in their simplicity. Share 7 things about yourself.

For any who might be sweating at this point about being tagged - worry not. I'm leaving this one open to all players.

*rubbing hands together*

Okay - let's get started, shall we?


1 - I'm currently deep in obsession mode with the Absolution CD by Muse. I go on these on a regular basis. I sit down at the computer, put my headphones on, put the CD in and jam to the music while I write. It's the only way.




2 - I am a serious Russophile. Huh? A what-o-phile? A Russophile - someone in love with Russia and Russians.

I always have been, as far back as I can remember. There's no Russian connection in my family history. We're 13th-generation Canadians of French descent - Acadians.

I grew up in Nova Scotia, a serious chip off the Aulde Scotia block. Not much of a Russian emigre community here. But still, I can never get enough of all things Russian.

So I can't wait to watch this DVD Brad brought home for us this weekend. 1612 tells the story of the rise of Andrei, a servant in Boris Godunov's court, who rises to heroic status during the wars between the Russians and Poles. Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!




3 - I'm currently reading Year of Wonders - A Novel of The Plague by Geraldine Brooks.



























4 - Whatever happens during the week, I know I'll get to have lunch with my best friend on Thursdays. Sigh. Like yesterday. She's my oasis of sanity in the madhouse.


5 - Because this has been my week at work.







6 - My garden beckons...

Soon, dear one!








7 - I'm gaga for these Real Fruit Gummies. The yogurty ones and the tropical ones. Yummy.



Nikki says Nice. Thanks for sharing!

Susan Helene Gottfried says Ooh, I hope you love Year of Wonders as much as I did.

Deeptesh says Wonderful.

Wordless Wednesday - 98

Sandee says That just screams spring. :)

Joanne says I like the color of yellow when it's summer and spring :)

Lori says Wow...beautiful.

Wordless Wednesday - 97

Bobbi says So that's what lungwort looks like!

Sandee says I see spring has sprung in your neck of the woods.

Sherry says That's lungwort? I didn't know.

My Bucket List

I've seen a few of these lists roaming around the blogosphere and on Facebook. It's always fascinating to see what my friends have been up to. One of my blog friends was able to check off Visited a Nazi concentration camp on her list, one had Saved someone’s life, and one had Ridden on an elephant.

I've decided to really personalize this list, as most of the things on the roaming ones wouldn't truly be on my Bucket List. There are 100 items on two of the lists I've seen, and about 70 on the other. So I'll average it out and put 85 items on mine. This is a list of things that would have been on my list if I hadn't already done them, plus all the things I long to do.

Things I've done will be in bold.

1 - Sit in an audience watching a film and see Written and Directed by Julia Smith appear onscreen. (my fourth year student film - 27 minutes long and my heart pounded the entire time)

2 - Watch a King Arthur film that makes me weep with joy because it's so perfect.
(lots of almosts - still waiting for bliss)

3 - See the Northern Lights.

4 - Find out where my ancestors came from. (the Poitou region of western France)

5 - Own a black Jaguar XJ6. (currently have a monthly bus pass)

6 - Get replicas made of my original engagement and wedding rings. (they were lost when I moved back to Nova Scotia.)

7 - See Mikhail Baryshnikov dance live onstage. (1994!)

8 - Travel to Saint Petersburg, Russia.

9 - See the Faberge eggs in the Kremlin Armoury.

10 - See The Police in concert. (1982, Pine Knob, Michigan! Ghost in the Machine tour!)

11 - Create a Food Bank cook book. (This is an idea I've had for awhile. I think I'll brainstorm it in a future post.)

12 - Live in a Big City. (Toronto! Woo hoo! 1986 - 1999!)

13 - Watch a meteor shower.

14 - Become a bride.

15 - Go to the Romance Writers of America national conference to meet all of my blog friends face to face.

16 - See the Narnia books get made into films that make me weep with joy because it's so perfect.

17 - Have employee of The National Ballet of Canada on my pay stub.

18 - Visit Portmeirion in Wales, the location for The Village in The Prisoner.

19 - Promote win/win conflict resolution.

20 - Get a university degree. (Bachelor of Applied Arts - yes, BAA!)

21 - Eat fish and chips at a restaurant overlooking the sea.

22 - Visit the British Museum.

23 - Get paid for writing. (narration script for a television documentary)

24 - Go to my own book signing.

25 - Sing in a concert hall.

26 - Grow an heirloom shrub from a cutting I started. (A quince and a rambler rose)

27 - See a pod of whales in the ocean.

28 - Get the box set of The Prisoner. (Christmas present to us from Santa a few years ago.)

29 - Use a transporter to get home.

30 - Stumble upon the perfect book for writing research.

31 - See the Amber books get made into films that make me weep with joy because it's so perfect.

32 - Go to Victorian Week in Cape May, New Jersey and stay in a bed and breakfast.

33 - Go Christmas carolling door-to-door.

34 - Attend the Chelsea Flower Show in London.

35 - See the Lipizzaner stallions perform. (They came on tour to Halifax!)

36 - See the Lipizzaner stallions perform at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna.

37 - Sail on a tall ship. (The Mar)

38 - See the can-can performed at the Moulin Rouge in Paris.

39 - Have an incredibly intimate, emotionally uplifting relationship with my dog.

40 - Travel to Stockholm, Sweden.

41 - Watch the Musical Ride performed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. (They came on tour to Halifax!)

42 - Watch a proper Dracula film that makes me weep with joy because it's so perfect.

43 - Go to Disneyworld. (Went with my family when I was 16. They were still building Epcot Center.)

44 - Go to a Broadway musical.

45 - Sing Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. (with my university choir)

46 - Travel to Copenhagen, Denmark.

47 - Discover new actors that inspire my muse. (Keeps happening! Thank heaven.)

48 - Dance naked in the rain.

49 - Own a sword.

50 - Go to a writers retreat.

51 - Identify the constellations.

52 - See a bluebird in nature.

53 - Hear someone say that something I wrote made them cry.

54 - Travel to Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Scottish Highlands.

55 - Go to mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

56 - Sing Mozart's Requiem. (with my university choir)

57 - Visit the Old City of Jerusalem during Holy Week.

58 - Realize the most handsome, intelligent, funny, talented, compassionate man you've ever met has fallen in love with you. (I keep pinching myself, but I'm still awake!)

59 - Become a published poet.

60 - See the Malloren books get made into films that make me weep with joy because it's so perfect.

61 - Travel through England. I'd especially like to see the Arthurian sites. A lot of those are in Wales, actually.

62 - Become a permanent employee with benefits. (Squeee!! 10 months since that glorious day!)

63 - Visit Ottawa during the Tulip Festival.

64 - See Kimba the White Lion again. (I had longed to see Kimba again, ever since I'd watched it on TV in the late 60's. Brad special ordered video copies for me as a surprise gift as soon as they were available for purchase - Kimba was mysteriously unavaiable in any format when Disney released The Lion King and for several years afterwards.)

65 - Walk along the beach at sunset.

66 - Visit Venice during Carnival.

67 - See a lady slipper in the woods. (behind our house)

68 - Attend a Victorian Ball re-enactment event.

69 - See The Rockettes. (They were on tour in Toronto when I was there for a visit a few years ago! They performed at my old theatre, and my friend Jacquie got me a comp ticket to the dress rehearsal! I'd still like to see them at Radio City Music Hall.)

70 - Get The Ballet Ball poster from the Ballet Boutique. (I'd always loved that poster best, which was sold among other posters to raise funds for the purchase of new choreography for the National Ballet of Canada. But it was expensive, and I never bought it. On my last day of work at the theatre where the ballet performed, the woman at the boutique told me to pick whichever poster I wanted as a parting gift. Then - my friend Jacquie, one of the usher captains, brought the poster backstage. When she brought it back out, it was signed by the whole company!!)

71 - Work downtown. (I've worked in downtown Toronto and now I work in downtown Halifax.)

72 - Attend the Cannes Film Festival.

73 - Get swept away by an intoxicating story idea. (It happens over and over, thank heaven!)

74 - See the Saint Germain books get made into films that make me weep with joy because it's so perfect.

75 - Walk the red carpet on my way to the Oscars ceremony.

76 - Dance the night away.

77 - See all the great ballet companies perform in their home theatre venues all around the world.

78 - Raise money for child-centered organizations.

79 - Do the sword dance.

80 - Walk in the woods at night. (I don't find this spooky - I find it energizing and beautiful.)

81 - Get a second university degree.

82 - Swim in the sea.

83 - Attend a gallery showing of my mom's work. (Twice!)

84 - Visit the most beautiful rose gardens in the world.

85 - Have my heart filled every day with joy because my love loves me.


Nicholas says You're going to be doing a lot of weeping in cinemas!

Travis says I need to get my list down on paper.

VaBookworm says Let me know when you achieve #2... I'd like to know which film is worth watching lol

Wordless Wednesday - 95

Annette says Our daughter planted a bunch of bulbs - now I'm wondering if the squirrels got them. :-(

Akelamalu remembers that one spring I labouriously planted 200 only to see a squirrel digging them up! I could have cheerfully strangled it with my bare hands! :(

WillThink4Wine says I use to have the bulb-stealing squirrel problem, but then I moved to a Pecan Orchard!

Thursday Thirteen - 82 - 13 Photos of My Mom's Garden Buddha

1 - First snowfall this evening. A good time to remember how hilarious it was to discover a snow-covered Buddha earlier this year.


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Wordless Wednesday - 75

Thursday Thirteen - 76 - 13 Highlights From My Garden This Season

My husband and I live with my mom, so our garden is shared between my mom and me.


1 - My beautiful forsythia, which I bought as an 8-inch cutting from the Yarmouth Garden Society when we lived there. I dug it up and brought it to Cole Harbour with us. The bush is 8 years old.


2 - Mom's bleeding heart, tulips and heuchera in her front garden, with shasta daisies, liatris and yellow loosestrife just coming up as greenery.


3 - Red leaf Japanese barberry in the front rock garden, plus white alpine flowers, purple creeping phlox and tulips about to open.



4 - Mom's morning glories which she grew from seed, wrapped around the trunk of one of the maples in the front yard. That's the leafed-out forsythia in the background.



5 - Lavender and strawberries from my wildflower garden in the side yard.



6 - Hostas and astilbe in the woodland garden.


7 - English ivy beside Brad's and my entrance to our apartment.


8 - Lady's mantle on the slope beside my wildflower garden.


9 - A glossy dark euonymus evergreen shrub, a new rugosa rose from my sister's boyfriend, a wonderful hosta and purple clematis at the edge of Mom's front flower bed.



10 - Feverfew and ferns in Mom's back flower bed.



11 - Yellow loosestrife, plus a rose my sister gave to me. These are in a bed in the backyard which my sister's boyfriend dug up for us. So we call it Newt's Garden.



12 - Pink phlox in the side flower bed by our neighbors. I got these from my other bus buddy neighbor a few doors down, when she was splitting up her perrenials.



13 - Rosy sedum at the edge of the woodland garden.

Wordless Wednesday - 67

Another Glorious Day in the Garden

I am still learning how to use both the new computer and the digital camera my aunt & uncle got for my mom a few weeks ago. So sometime in the near future I will be able to download pictures of my very own garden when I have spent the whole day in it. Until then, here are borrowed internet pictures of some of the lovlies I hung out with today: