Oh, teh kittehs!

Like many people, we have cats. Sadly, we lost one of our cats this summer. We'd had Eeky since was a kitten, and she lived for 16 years. We miss her terribly.

Somebody sent me this link to cheer me up. It's Dreaming of Kittens and boy, are they cute!

Getting back up to speed...

I spent the long Easter weekend at the folks' cottage, helping to take the leaves off the garden. Appropriately for the season, I saw a bunny hopping by early in the morning.

What wasn't appropriate for the season was the cold. The cottage is not winterized, not insulated, not heated except for space heaters which are not left on all night. So when you wake up in the morning after a night where it gets to freezing or below?

BRRRRRRRRRR.

Still, it was good to get away, to unplug and get away from the electronics (there's no TV, DVD player or VCR there, either). But now, alas, I'm trying to play catch-up, and not just because we were away. Before we left, I got some work that had to be done ASAP. I got it done, and then rewarded myself with chocolate because (a) it was Easter (b) I deserved a reward and (c) my scale said 133.8 on Friday - a new record low.

I was back up to 135 this am. but I'm not surprised. Chocolate will do that. But now it's back to the exercise/watching the food and working. Holiday is over!

Oh, and I took some pictures of the cats, all cuddly.

These are the brothers, Luis and the Count.


Here are all three, the brothers and Eeky, the Dowager Cat, with her back to the camera. Sometimes, I get to sit there to watch TV, too.

What, I can't do laundry? Oh, hap-- gosh, what a shame...

Well, technically, I am able to do laundry. The machine is fully functional, but we've got two kitties currently using the laundry room as a dorm until they meet the Dowager Cat and are allowed all over the house. But alas! Crisis looms in the clean clothes department. So while my daughter rides herd on "the boys," I'm sorting, etc.

When I'm writing, the laundry can be either a nuisance or a good excuse for a break. It depends if it's a "good" writing day -- dialogue flowing, words a-pumpin', or a "bad" writing day, when it seems getting out a single word requires massive creative effort. If it's a bad writing day, having to move a load from the washer to the dryer seems like a ton o' fun instead of a nuisance. If the writing's going really well, that load'll just sit in the washer until later. I once left wet clothes in the washer for two days, but that's an extreme case, and of course, I wasn't chained to my computer the whole time. I just got busy, then forgot about it completely.

Ah, this author's glamorous life....

The Brothers Cat....

Now not only am I starting a new novel, I've got two new kitties at my house! Our dear old cat passed away at the end of June, so today we went to get a new kitty and we couldn't bear to separate two brothers. Eeky, our 12-year-old female cat, is upstairs sleeping and generally ignoring what's afoot in the laundry room. That's where we've put Luis and the Count until Eeky can get used to them.

This meant I didn't get to my writing until after dinner, but that was okay because there was a MAJOR thunderstorm this afternoon. Instead, I read. I'm rereading the book that made me want to become a romance writer, THE WOLF AND THE DOVE by Kathleen Woodiwiss. What a great way to spend an hour or two on a rainy day!

The break had an unexpected bonus: I came up with a solution to a plot problem involving the timing of relaying some information. I figured out when and how to do that, which was a relief.

Last night, I came up with an idea for another scene. I know exactly where it should come in to the story, which is always a bonus! And I now know that there's another bit of information the heroine will have to have before I get to that scene.

Of course, it would be good if I could have these scene ideas when I'm not trying to fall asleep, but the muse comes when she will....