Wednesday, July 30, 2014

If you walk a mile in someone else's shoes...

...your feet will probably hurt. Because, really, what are the odds the shoes will be your size? 

Try to understand other people, sure. Be sympathetic to their struggles and problems. But keep your own shoes on, because you won't be any good to them if you're limping. ;)

*Ahem* Moving on...

I like to take long walks when I'm plotting. (My books, I mean. Not a bank job or a murder. Though, admittedly, it sometimes amounts to the same thing.)

I'm lucky in that, though I live firmly in the bustling heart of suburbia, a stream runs through my neighborhood, with woodland on either side of it, and a trail next to it. 



There's even a pond. 



Takes me all of about five minutes to get to it, and then I can pretend I'm deep in the woods. In the spring and summer, the birds and chattering squirrels provide enough background noise to drown out the sound of nearby traffic. It's pleasant. 

Sometimes I get lucky and see a few critters.








I'm the first to admit that I'm a fair-weather walker. If it's raining (or too hot, or too humid, or too cold ...), I tend to stay indoors and confine my ambling to the plot trails in my head. I mean, I'm all for exercise, but there's no need to be uncomfortable about it. ;)

Luckily, we've been hit with a stretch of fair weather here. Heck, it was 49 degrees F this morning! In JULY! And it's only supposed to get up to the high 70s today, with low humidity. Whoa. You can bet I'll be hitting the trail later. 

But before I do, here's a Hump Day camel for you:

Via MorgeFile.com

Keep looking up--you'll find inspiration in the beauty of the heavens. But remember to look down occasionally, too, so you don't step on a turtle. Or worse. ;)


Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Wednesday is for Weird Grammar

Today's grammar lesson brought to you by "Weird Al" Yankovic:





Hey, whatever gets the word out. ;)

"What?" you're probably saying at this point. "No camel? But it's Hump Day!"

Okay, okay. Here's a grammar lesson that includes a camel, from Grammar.net. (Which I'm assuming is okay to share here, since the site helpfully included the embed code for it.) Anyway, it's a very handy site, because it includes a little box where you can enter your text for a quick grammar check. Tres cool, yes? 


Grammar.net [Infographic provided by Grammar.net]


So, do you have any grammar pet peeves? Do share!* 

*Unless I'm the guilty grammar party. Because all of my "mistakes" are, of course, merely stylistic choices. As are, I feel certain, yours. ;)

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

I'm ba-aack! (Admit it. You didn't even know I was gone.)




I know, I know. It's been a while. I had places to go, people to see!

The last two hump days I was in my home state of Texas, visiting my family. Didn't even have my laptop with me. Yup, I did it. I managed to go without my computer for over a week. *buffs fingernails on chest proudly*

Okay, I had my handy-dandy smart phone with me, so I wasn't totally unconnected. But still. No real keyboard! That was a sacrifice, I tell ya. I mean, I was reduced to texting. (On the up side, I'm now a whiz at sending text messages. I can even "Swype," which is basically texting by sliding your finger across the popup keyboard really fast. It's amazing how accurate you don't have to be, and it still manages to guess what you want to say. Most of the time. And when it doesn't, hilarity generally ensues--as anyone who's been to the damnyouautocorrect.com site can tell you. Hilarity a good thing.)

I also learned how to take selfies...but not very well. Here I am in a practice shot with my mom. There are clearer pics of us, but we decided a little blur in the focus isn't necessarily a bad thing when you get to a certain age. ;)


Here's a friend I made at my baby brother's* house (you may have to squint to see him):


Still can't see him? Okay, here's a closeup:


Kind of a "what the heck are you doing in my garden?" look on his (her? hard to tell) face. Cute, though. 

Anyhoo, it was a great visit, but now it's back to the reality of my unreal worlds. Ciel awaits, anxious to see what kind of trouble I'll be leading her into next. Hmm. What sort of shenanigans might she get up to in our space program? Will she be able to prevent an international incident? Or will she perhaps cause one? Only time, and my flying fingers, will tell!

Happy Hump Day to you all! Hope all is well in your corner of cyberspace. :)



*Yes, I still call him my baby brother, even though he's now older than I am. Don't question it--it's one of those weird space-time continuum paradoxical thingamajigs. Way too complicated to understand. You'll only hurt yourself if you try.