My New year's resolution has worked in the past and will again this year. Should I tell you? Is it like the wishbone of the chicken, or wishing on a falling star? Does spilling the beans break the spell ... come to that is watching a full moon through a closed window bad luck? If you cross your eyes and the wind changes you stay cross-eyed for eternity? Well I'll be brave and let you in on the secret... spill the beans ... expose the promise ...
1. I MAKE NO RESOLUTIONS.
That's it. And I want to tell you. It works a treat!
Last night on a very very expensive harbor cruise I was part of one million people on Sydney Harbor to witness the fantastic 'Festival of Light'. The shores were lined with watchers, but I was privileged to be on one of the boats festooned with lights celebrating various significant dates in relation to the antipodean wonderland of Oz.
And I was one of one million people who made an orderly escape from the city after midnight. We all smiled. Drunks were not marring the footpath. It's nice when that happens.
Happy New Year everyone. Mine starts with a new anthology. Check out Romance Spinners. You'll find the link up in the corner. It also starts with a new blog that will be more frequently used by members of my critique group, RWU. This is the greatest bunch of support-groupies I've ever had, and I treasure the talents and the friendship of each and every one of them.
So from Coward's Castle, 'Baby', His Lordship Hewhoshallbeobeyed and myself...
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Welll my darlings...
It's almost Christmas. Cowards Castle is going into ultra neat mode. WE are the mein hosts of the day, for a rather diminished family.
My son, is in London. He who has the wisdom and knowledge of the beastie inside the computer - the philospher - the dreamer I wish him more success in the pursuance of his dreams.
My daughter, will be with us. She the daughter of her father. Practical, sensible, quick, smart, adorable, with the personality of such that radiates.
My husband, best friend, putterupperer with my nonsensence antics.
My sister, she who spawned three offspring, none of whom she shall be seeing on the day for varying reasons, far beyond her control. All those taxi fares to various sporting, academic and talent on Saturday morning, and none of them coming home for Christmas.
My Brother in Law, dear sweet man, who will be the driver on the day and tuck into one Scotch.
My mother. Oh my mother. My dear sweet as lemon mother who is no longer the mother I knew but some character who dwells inside a soul drifting in and out of dementia and delusion.
Me. One of my friends once named a queue of celebrities with which she was interacting. (with whom? oh well you know what I mean) "And then there's me," she said. I wonder if that's how we all feel. And if we don't then I don't quite know if I like the person that doesn't have a little of that essential humbleness. The "and then there's me"ism. People who don't possess it have huge egos. And jackboots.
Merry Xmas to all of you people who don't read my blog. May your Christmas be full of the joy of the season, your families gather around you, may you also eat too much and just enjoy the fact that for one day of the year you forget your diet and enjoy the moment. I intend to enjoy myself and forget about the sillyness of my day to day life and the futility with which I pursue this little piece of human folly.
The snow is falling around. Drifting in layers on the footpath. Icicles are hanging from the eaves and thin wires of smoke drift up to the clouds from chimneys all around Sydney. Official lie.
But the truth is, this Xmas eve:
The Fish Markets are full of shoppers. They are queueing up for hours on end to purCHASE kilos of very large king Prawns, lobsters, fish, crabs, Balmain bugs, etc. YOu see Australia is usually barbecue territory during Xmas. If Santa comes, he's probably not wearing the official Coca Cola sponsored red suit.
The shops are madly scrawling to service the crowds of last minute masochists.
But moi. We went to the fish markets last night at 1.00am. WOW! Piles of fish. Who eats it all. Yet apparently we do.
Happy Xmas every body.
My son, is in London. He who has the wisdom and knowledge of the beastie inside the computer - the philospher - the dreamer I wish him more success in the pursuance of his dreams.
My daughter, will be with us. She the daughter of her father. Practical, sensible, quick, smart, adorable, with the personality of such that radiates.
My husband, best friend, putterupperer with my nonsensence antics.
My sister, she who spawned three offspring, none of whom she shall be seeing on the day for varying reasons, far beyond her control. All those taxi fares to various sporting, academic and talent on Saturday morning, and none of them coming home for Christmas.
My Brother in Law, dear sweet man, who will be the driver on the day and tuck into one Scotch.
My mother. Oh my mother. My dear sweet as lemon mother who is no longer the mother I knew but some character who dwells inside a soul drifting in and out of dementia and delusion.
Me. One of my friends once named a queue of celebrities with which she was interacting. (with whom? oh well you know what I mean) "And then there's me," she said. I wonder if that's how we all feel. And if we don't then I don't quite know if I like the person that doesn't have a little of that essential humbleness. The "and then there's me"ism. People who don't possess it have huge egos. And jackboots.
Merry Xmas to all of you people who don't read my blog. May your Christmas be full of the joy of the season, your families gather around you, may you also eat too much and just enjoy the fact that for one day of the year you forget your diet and enjoy the moment. I intend to enjoy myself and forget about the sillyness of my day to day life and the futility with which I pursue this little piece of human folly.
The snow is falling around. Drifting in layers on the footpath. Icicles are hanging from the eaves and thin wires of smoke drift up to the clouds from chimneys all around Sydney. Official lie.
But the truth is, this Xmas eve:
The Fish Markets are full of shoppers. They are queueing up for hours on end to purCHASE kilos of very large king Prawns, lobsters, fish, crabs, Balmain bugs, etc. YOu see Australia is usually barbecue territory during Xmas. If Santa comes, he's probably not wearing the official Coca Cola sponsored red suit.
The shops are madly scrawling to service the crowds of last minute masochists.
But moi. We went to the fish markets last night at 1.00am. WOW! Piles of fish. Who eats it all. Yet apparently we do.
Happy Xmas every body.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Thursday 13
I'm late. Yes. My Baby has been discovered to have a heart murmur. I got the news and it bowled me over. But here's my Thursday 13 (which I haven't even decided about yet to let you in on a deep dark secret)
Okay I've decided. Things I hate.
1. Revving motor bikes that creep up on me when I'm driving.
2. Why do dentists and doctors think they can make me wait? Like if I'm late for an appointment I apologise. Have you ever had an apology from a doctor who is running late?
3. When two lanes turn into one lane. Usually this works in society. He goes, she goes, he goes, she goes... people just merge. But you get a smart arse that has to roar along to the absolute n'th of the merge and barge in. I like to stick my nose in the air and take up two lanes like an old witch.
4. People who walk on the pavement as if they owned it. Don't mind if you need to stop and talk about the shopping you've just done. Don't mind the fact that I might be in a hurry. Just take your time and I'll be patient.
5. Zebra crossings. Give a pedestrian the right of way and they'll sneer and jeer at you. They are waiting just for you. They like to pick on you because it gives them fun to walk slowly in front of you. Suddenly they jump in front of you. London is the worst place for these.
6. When somebody has just been rescued out of an avalanche. They are barely alive but they are saved. And along comes the journalist. "Are you glad you've been saved?" Huh? Is there some 'it' I'm not getting here?
7. People who say that is 'exactly right'. I'm missing something here too. It's right of wrong. Is there some grey area nobody has told me about?
8. Have you ever come up to the lights and had the "window washer"? This is a dreaded creature who comes along and without your permission simply takes it upon himself to wash your windscreen. Get out of my space person. Go make somebody else's life misery.
9. Cocktail parties. Yes I hate cocktail parties. "Hello I'm Zara Penney."
"Pardon?" "Zara Penney, my name..." "Hello, nice to meet you." "Pardon?" "Nice to meet you, Harry Belafonte." "Pardon?" "Harry Belafonte." "Nice to meet you." "Pardon?" "Nice to meet you." "What do you do?" Pardon? "What do you do." "WRite." Pardon? "I'm a writer. What do you do?" "Pardon?" "Sing." "Pardon?" "Singer." "Well it was nice to meet you." "Pardon?" And the canapes have just gone past at a hundred miles a minute.
10. Politicians. "How long is it since you laid straight in bed?" "Mmmmm that's a very interesting question. It reminds me of my mother's granny who used to crochet her cardigans. She always used blue wool because..."
11. When I lived in Hong Kong, there used to be a department store. They had 100 percent employment there. And every shopper had their own nag. This is an assistant who follows you around and every time you pick up an article, then put it back, they'd straighten it, check it to see you didn't leave fingerprints or spit on it... so much for browsing in that free spirited mood of the lonely shopper searching for the perfect - oh go away!
12. The nanny state. The politicians in my life seem to feel they need to tell me how to do everything. Leave nothing to chance. Example. I had to have a fence around my swimming pool. It had to have a special gate that locked in such a way that the child, who never came to my house, wouldn't drown because they never came to my house. Yet out in my front yard was a very busy road? Is there something I'm not getting here? Did somebody say why while I was at the supermarket?
13. By now you have worked out that I'm a grumpy old lady. If you are the one who is throwing coca cola cans into my paper recycling bin on rubbish night then go get nicked!
Okay I've decided. Things I hate.
1. Revving motor bikes that creep up on me when I'm driving.
2. Why do dentists and doctors think they can make me wait? Like if I'm late for an appointment I apologise. Have you ever had an apology from a doctor who is running late?
3. When two lanes turn into one lane. Usually this works in society. He goes, she goes, he goes, she goes... people just merge. But you get a smart arse that has to roar along to the absolute n'th of the merge and barge in. I like to stick my nose in the air and take up two lanes like an old witch.
4. People who walk on the pavement as if they owned it. Don't mind if you need to stop and talk about the shopping you've just done. Don't mind the fact that I might be in a hurry. Just take your time and I'll be patient.
5. Zebra crossings. Give a pedestrian the right of way and they'll sneer and jeer at you. They are waiting just for you. They like to pick on you because it gives them fun to walk slowly in front of you. Suddenly they jump in front of you. London is the worst place for these.
6. When somebody has just been rescued out of an avalanche. They are barely alive but they are saved. And along comes the journalist. "Are you glad you've been saved?" Huh? Is there some 'it' I'm not getting here?
7. People who say that is 'exactly right'. I'm missing something here too. It's right of wrong. Is there some grey area nobody has told me about?
8. Have you ever come up to the lights and had the "window washer"? This is a dreaded creature who comes along and without your permission simply takes it upon himself to wash your windscreen. Get out of my space person. Go make somebody else's life misery.
9. Cocktail parties. Yes I hate cocktail parties. "Hello I'm Zara Penney."
"Pardon?" "Zara Penney, my name..." "Hello, nice to meet you." "Pardon?" "Nice to meet you, Harry Belafonte." "Pardon?" "Harry Belafonte." "Nice to meet you." "Pardon?" "Nice to meet you." "What do you do?" Pardon? "What do you do." "WRite." Pardon? "I'm a writer. What do you do?" "Pardon?" "Sing." "Pardon?" "Singer." "Well it was nice to meet you." "Pardon?" And the canapes have just gone past at a hundred miles a minute.
10. Politicians. "How long is it since you laid straight in bed?" "Mmmmm that's a very interesting question. It reminds me of my mother's granny who used to crochet her cardigans. She always used blue wool because..."
11. When I lived in Hong Kong, there used to be a department store. They had 100 percent employment there. And every shopper had their own nag. This is an assistant who follows you around and every time you pick up an article, then put it back, they'd straighten it, check it to see you didn't leave fingerprints or spit on it... so much for browsing in that free spirited mood of the lonely shopper searching for the perfect - oh go away!
12. The nanny state. The politicians in my life seem to feel they need to tell me how to do everything. Leave nothing to chance. Example. I had to have a fence around my swimming pool. It had to have a special gate that locked in such a way that the child, who never came to my house, wouldn't drown because they never came to my house. Yet out in my front yard was a very busy road? Is there something I'm not getting here? Did somebody say why while I was at the supermarket?
13. By now you have worked out that I'm a grumpy old lady. If you are the one who is throwing coca cola cans into my paper recycling bin on rubbish night then go get nicked!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Today I found
myself talking to my new puppy in baby bark babble.
"Woofy woofy woofy." in a high pitched slightly retarded falsetto.
Eat your heart out Tiny Tim.
"Woofy woofy woofy." in a high pitched slightly retarded falsetto.
Eat your heart out Tiny Tim.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Thursday 13
This can get hard but I had recourse to use some French words today, and I thought mmmm... I do spatter my spoken word with a lot of French, don't always know how to spell them when I write them down. So here's a few of my most used ones...
1. a propos
2. c'est la vie
3. comme, comme ca - imagine me waving my hands around as I say it.
4. deja vu - it's hard to remember the spelling though.
5. encore - I like them - en masse ;-)
6. de riguer - I use this a lot.
7. faux pas - oops. but it's a fait accompli
8. joie de vivre - yep that's me.
9. piece de resistance - but the only problem I have too many of them
10. raison d'etre - why, for haute couture, of couse.
11. Rive Cauche - in a bottle.
12. Cause celebre - entre nous ;-)
13. Panache - that's a very me thing.
Voila!
Finis!
1. a propos
2. c'est la vie
3. comme, comme ca - imagine me waving my hands around as I say it.
4. deja vu - it's hard to remember the spelling though.
5. encore - I like them - en masse ;-)
6. de riguer - I use this a lot.
7. faux pas - oops. but it's a fait accompli
8. joie de vivre - yep that's me.
9. piece de resistance - but the only problem I have too many of them
10. raison d'etre - why, for haute couture, of couse.
11. Rive Cauche - in a bottle.
12. Cause celebre - entre nous ;-)
13. Panache - that's a very me thing.
Voila!
Finis!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Oh dear
"Whom are you?" he said, for he had been to night school.
(George Ade)
I took a speed reading course and read WAR AND PEACE in twenty minutes. It's about Russia.
(Woody Allen)
"I used to keep my college roommate from reading my personal mail by hiding it in her textbooks"
(Joan Welsh)
"Shut up," he explained.
(Ring Lardner)
The last one is for any of my crit group. Knew it'd rile 'em.
(George Ade)
I took a speed reading course and read WAR AND PEACE in twenty minutes. It's about Russia.
(Woody Allen)
"I used to keep my college roommate from reading my personal mail by hiding it in her textbooks"
(Joan Welsh)
"Shut up," he explained.
(Ring Lardner)
The last one is for any of my crit group. Knew it'd rile 'em.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Xmas Cheer
If you want to see something to make you smile and feel some small cheer, then click on the link Xmas Card
Merry Xmas everyone.
Merry Xmas everyone.
The it's about time I blogged blog...
Coward's Castle is full of the love of a little dog called 'Baby'. I tried to call her Avery, but somehow 'Baby' is winning. Put it down to one of those funny syndromes closely related to eggless nest but He Who Shall be Obeyed and She Who Forgets to Obey have both gone ga ga over 'Baby'.
I'm on my last chapter on the WIP but don't seem to be in a hurry to finish it. I think I'm suffering from character withdrawal symptoms. They've been my companions this last few months and I do like them. I don't really want to say goodbye so my muse said:
"Why say it?" She shrugged and like the floozey she is, she wiggled off into the void leaving me to answer into the air.
"Because every novel has to have an ending. Because I want my HEA. Because I want there to be life after WIP. Because I want to make new friends to take into 2008. Because I need to return to edit the long, long, long significant others." (That's me shouting at her as she retreats.)
But my muse is off in the distance and all I can hear is those spikey red high heels as she slinks off looking for whatever muses look for while they aren't musing.
Mmmm I am blinking at you empty audience. What a vanity of the bonfires this blog is. Laugh a minute eh?
Okay... I'm the last one out. I'll switch off the lights.
Zara
I'm on my last chapter on the WIP but don't seem to be in a hurry to finish it. I think I'm suffering from character withdrawal symptoms. They've been my companions this last few months and I do like them. I don't really want to say goodbye so my muse said:
"Why say it?" She shrugged and like the floozey she is, she wiggled off into the void leaving me to answer into the air.
"Because every novel has to have an ending. Because I want my HEA. Because I want there to be life after WIP. Because I want to make new friends to take into 2008. Because I need to return to edit the long, long, long significant others." (That's me shouting at her as she retreats.)
But my muse is off in the distance and all I can hear is those spikey red high heels as she slinks off looking for whatever muses look for while they aren't musing.
Mmmm I am blinking at you empty audience. What a vanity of the bonfires this blog is. Laugh a minute eh?
Okay... I'm the last one out. I'll switch off the lights.
Zara
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