Life with Lucy #15

Hey, all! Lucy and I are back to show you what we’ve been up to lately. And yes, it’s Saturday, not Friday, but I’m nothing if not sporadic.

I was given a gift in May. A child between jobs came to stay, looking for chores to do for some extra bucks. Ha! You know if you own a home that there’s always a to-do list that you never quite get to. And bless him; he worked his way right through it. Finally, it came up that I’ve been thinking about this little plot that’s a pain to mow and turning it into some sort of flowery, herby, garden-y something. So he could literally dig the grass out if he wanted. Kinda shows how far down the list we’d gotten. I’m thinking it would be a few days’ work.

Well, what do you know? A few short hours later I now had a place to plant. And the progeny loaded up his truck and moved on to his new job in another state. I hurriedly thought about how I could re-arrange my schedule to accommodate buying plants, planting plants, etc.

Once I actually looked closely at the plot, I realized that a major component was missing. The top soil. Ahem. In a former life I gardened, and I know little planty things don’t grow without it. Ha! Now if you’re like us, you don’t have a tractor, a tiller, or any of those garden type items just sitting around the house. Amazingly (have I used enough y’s? Just checking.) we had some top soil delivered for another project. The only thing remaining was for it to get from one side of the yard to another. We were able to borrow a tractor from a neighbor. Bless him! And the man of the house filled the plot with top soil. In big piles.
 

I seriously considered a landscape plan for those piles of dirt. Then gave in and committed to the exercise it would take to level it. And my dearest, Lucy, has been beside me all the way.

She’s as worn out as I am. Sniffing everything we’re planting is a big job. She also feels it's important to chase out the frogs, and try to eat the worms and other creepy crawlies. As you can see, napping between the dill and oregano is just perfect.

It’s raining here again today, so I don’t have to water. We’re lucky that way.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!
 



Happy Fourth of July

To All of My American Friends - Happy Fourth of July!!

I know it's not fashionable, and it's certainly not PC these days to really like much of anything. Unless it's celebrities. It seems to be far more popular to point out the flaws or differences in everything. All I can say about that is if you look for the flaws, you'll find them.

Our country is far from perfect, she could use some work, but I love her still. I'm damned proud to be an American. And I'll be forever grateful to the men and women who came before me to make this country free. Our independence is a gift to us, that came with much sacrifice. We should celebrate!

Here we'll be celebrating with umbrellas because it's raining. I hope the sun is shining where you are. Enjoy the holiday!!

My Favorite Romance Trope

Romance tropes are many, and yet, so few. They are used again and again, because they are timeless. They can be refashioned or refurbished to fit any time frame. And here we are, year after year, sucking them up like oxygen. Why? Because we love them! There doesn’t have to be another reason, folks.

 

Here’s a list of the most often used. At the end I’ll tell you my favorite if you tell me yours.

 

• Best friends turned lovers
• May/December
• Secret crush
• Love triangle
• Secret baby
• Arranged marriage
• Enemies turned lovers
• Governess to wife
• Reformed rake
• Reunion or reunited lovers
• Secret love
• One character physically unattractive/disabled
• Best friends little sister

 

Actually I have three. Enemies to lovers would be number one because sparks fly in these. I love the challenges this presents to the characters. Reformed rakes are awesome - who doesn’t love the soft side of a hardass? And lastly, one character physically unattractive/disabled because these characters have amazing hidden strengths and the trials they must overcome to find love make for a fantastic story.

 

I shared mine. Now what’s your favorite?

 

 

 

A Lovely Wedding, A Beautiful You

Hey Everyone!

I'm over at Through Heart-Shaped Glasses talking about tips to look your best on your wedding day.

 

 

Come on over and join the fun. And don't forget, one lucky commenter this month will win an Amazon GC. 

 

Happy Father's Day

I didn't know my dad. Not only didn't I know him, I have no idea who he is, or was. And there was no charming step-father to swoop in and save the day. So I've missed out on a lot of things that girls with fathers take for granted.

However, that being said, I know some awesome dads. Not only are they great dads, they are wonderful men. And I feel very blessed to have them in my life as relatives, friends, and co-workers.

This one’s for you!

Wishing you the best ever, always.

Finding the Right Title

Not so very long ago, writer’s came up with a working title for their novel knowing that the publisher would likely change whatever they decided on. Those days are over for quite a few. With the advent of small presses and self-publishing, titles are more important than ever.

They are also very busy. Here are a few things a title should do:

· Identify your story

· Set the tone or mood of your work

· Attract attention

· Create interest

 How do you find the right title? Well, first off, you need to identify your market. Remember, all books don’t appeal to all people. So think about it. Mull it over. Once you’ve come up with what you feel fits, give it a rest. Let it go for a few days, or weeks. Then come back to it. Does it still resonate? When you think about it, does it still do all the things you thought it would in the beginning? Do you love it? If your answers are yes, yes, and YES! It’s time to send it out into the world.

Tell a few people that you trust about it, and ask their opinions. If one of them doesn’t care for it, but most do, you’re good to go. If they all comment on the same thing, you might want to rethink your title. I know, believe me, I know it’s easier said than done. It’s tough to encapsulate months of work into just a few words. But it’s very important. It’s what we do. And we’re going to live with it a very long time.

Do you have any tricks or tips for coming up with a great title?

Life with Lucy #14

Greetings, everyone. This has been a big week for Lucy. She had more than one adventure, so I’ll let her tell you about it.

 Hi, it’s me, Lucy. This has been a week, folks. Mom said she put up the pictures of my new toy. I found it in the high grass by the woods. It was easy. I could smell it. I just ducked my head into the grass, sniffed around and what do you know? I brought it to Mom right away so she could see it. I was so proud. Until I saw the look on Mom’s face. She didn’t look happy at all. So I figured I’d better drop the toy.

I wish all of you could have seen it. She was so thrilled. She popped her head up out of the grass and came running to me, wagging her tail, with the turtle tucked into her mouth. Obviously she can’t play with a turtle for a variety of reasons, mostly because it’s a turtle! To be fair though, she has a number of stuffed toys about the same size that she carries around constantly. I’m sure she could smell the difference, but it fit just fine in her mouth. The poor girl. Her confusion was obvious. We spent some time learning that turtles are not toys.

 

Mom says I’m all grown up now, that means I can stay home by myself and babysit the cats. I did it twice this week. The first time Mom and Dad went out to dinner and they were only gone an hour. I napped on the bed with the cats. It was nice. Before I knew it, Mom and Dad were home.

The second time, Mom said something about a cookout. I don’t know what a cookout is, but it took almost two and a half hours! That seemed like forever. I got bored so I did some exploring. Mom made sure I had food and water before she left, but that’s the same old stuff. It didn’t smell nearly as good as the loaf of bread I got off the counter.

I took it to my favorite place under the dining room table. And ate the whole thing. Yum! I did leave the plastic wrapping though. Who eats plastic? Dad told me later, when I had a tummy ache that he only had one sandwich out of that bread. I wanted to tell him that wasn’t my problem, but I’m a smart girl. He was petting me, so I kept my mouth shut.

Wasn’t Lucy just a busy girl this week? It's now way too hot to even think of leaving her in the car, so she gets to stay at home in the air conditioning. Thank goodness there were only minor ill effects from the bread. She had to have gotten up on the counter to reach it. Just between you and me, I wish I could have seen her. Other than the fact that it was the kitchen counter, it probably would have been pretty funny.

For a dog that had severe separation anxiety issues when we got her, she did amazingly well. She didn’t tear up anything, didn’t get into the trash we forgot to take out, and she didn’t harass the cats. We could tell because they weren’t hiding when we got home. Next time we’ll just make sure there is no food out anywhere, and see how she does.

Enjoy the weekend!

 

 

*No turtles were harmed during the creation of this post. The only sacrifice was a brand new loaf of bread.