We haven't gotten there yet, but my Dad said I could swipe some of his photos to post on my blog and Facebook.
There are a lot of them, so I'm splitting the ones I plan to share in to two posts. Here's the first batch:
Come back tomorrow for part 2.
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Battle Abbey - part 1
At the end of September, when we had the big family visit, we were supposed to go with them to Battle Abbey. Except Kelly and I didn't end up going, since we decided to go by ourselves some other time... Preferably when it's not been as wet as it had been leading up to that weekend.
We haven't gotten there yet, but my Dad said I could swipe some of his photos to post on my blog and Facebook.
There are a lot of them, so I'm splitting the ones I plan to share in to two posts. Here's the first batch:
Come back tomorrow for part 2.
We haven't gotten there yet, but my Dad said I could swipe some of his photos to post on my blog and Facebook.
There are a lot of them, so I'm splitting the ones I plan to share in to two posts. Here's the first batch:
Come back tomorrow for part 2.
Friday, November 20, 2015
Furkid Friday - November 20th 2015 (FD)
Hi humans, rats, other rodent types, and anyone else reading this. This is Star the rat.
I heard the human caretakers say it's only five more weeks until Santa Paws comes for his yearly visit. WOW! Is it really almost that time again already? How exciting!
My rodent siblings and I have been talking about what we hope Santa Paws brings us.
My degu brothers are hoping for some more of those hard round treats Santa Paws brought them last year - since they absolutely loved them - and maybe some peanuts too.
My gerbil brothers say they don't mind what they get, as long as they don't get left out.
As for myself, and my ratty sister, Skye... We're hoping for some of the hard treats Santa Paws brought us last year as well. But we're also hoping there's some leftover cheese and fruit going... The cheese part especially... Though we'll take anything that's edible, really.
We're all also hoping we'll catch that Santa Paws guy this time!
Squeak soon,
Star
I heard the human caretakers say it's only five more weeks until Santa Paws comes for his yearly visit. WOW! Is it really almost that time again already? How exciting!
My rodent siblings and I have been talking about what we hope Santa Paws brings us.
My degu brothers are hoping for some more of those hard round treats Santa Paws brought them last year - since they absolutely loved them - and maybe some peanuts too.
My gerbil brothers say they don't mind what they get, as long as they don't get left out.
As for myself, and my ratty sister, Skye... We're hoping for some of the hard treats Santa Paws brought us last year as well. But we're also hoping there's some leftover cheese and fruit going... The cheese part especially... Though we'll take anything that's edible, really.
We're all also hoping we'll catch that Santa Paws guy this time!
Squeak soon,
Star
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Looking ahead to December holidays - part 1
I know you probably don't want to think about it just yet, but it's time...
Five weeks from today is Christmas Eve, and if you don't want to be scrambling for something last minute, you may want to start thinking about the holidays. If it's the Solstice you celebrate, you have even less time to make your plans. I don't know enough about when the other December holidays are to tell you how long you have before them; I could look it up, but I'm sure you know when whatever you celebrate each year happens.
Anyway, whatever you celebrate... Be it Christmas, the Solstice, Hannukkah, Kwanzaa, the New Year, some combination of those, or something else entirely... It's time to start thinking about your plans for this year.
With that in mind, here's a helpful post from Jeanie, which includes some great tips to get you started on your holiday cards and gifts.
Five weeks from today is Christmas Eve, and if you don't want to be scrambling for something last minute, you may want to start thinking about the holidays. If it's the Solstice you celebrate, you have even less time to make your plans. I don't know enough about when the other December holidays are to tell you how long you have before them; I could look it up, but I'm sure you know when whatever you celebrate each year happens.
Anyway, whatever you celebrate... Be it Christmas, the Solstice, Hannukkah, Kwanzaa, the New Year, some combination of those, or something else entirely... It's time to start thinking about your plans for this year.
With that in mind, here's a helpful post from Jeanie, which includes some great tips to get you started on your holiday cards and gifts.
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Wednesday's writing related ramblings - November 18th 2015
In case you didn't figure it out from Jacob's post on Friday, or from my announcement about it on Saturday... Not to mention my posts about it on Goodreads, Twitter Tweets, and Facebook posts about it... So, basically, in case you've been hiding under a rock for the past week, and missed all the announcements about it...
My newest book - the one called "Degu's Day Out" - has now officially been released. At least, the eBook version has... The paperback is coming soon (I had to wait until the official release date before I could start putting the paperback through all the review processes it goes through on CreateSpace, since it wouldn't let me do it sooner if I wanted the release dates to match, and then there are things like waiting for the proof to get to me to deal with; it can take a couple of months to get a book done in paperback sometimes, and that's if all is fine during the first attempt).
Anyway... In the meantime, I'm still working on writing "Zeena And The Mermaid" (the third "Zeena Dragon Fae" book).
Do you write for children too? If so, where do you find your ideas for children's stories? Did you know, spending some time living in a child's world could help you. After all, writing for children is easier if you can look at things from their point of view. So, play pretend to get to know your characters.
Also, if you're participating in PiBoIdMo, make sure you hold on to all your ideas, because you never know which will turn out to be the start of a great story. Yes, even hold on to those stinkers! After all, they could come in handy for future stories. In fact, that's good advice regardless of whether you're participating in PiBoIdMo, and regardless of the genre you write in, or age group you write for.
Plus, don't forget to think about what your book is about about while you're working on it. No, that's not a typing mistake, but an alternative way of generating ideas, as well as something you need to consider; especially when writing for children.
My newest book - the one called "Degu's Day Out" - has now officially been released. At least, the eBook version has... The paperback is coming soon (I had to wait until the official release date before I could start putting the paperback through all the review processes it goes through on CreateSpace, since it wouldn't let me do it sooner if I wanted the release dates to match, and then there are things like waiting for the proof to get to me to deal with; it can take a couple of months to get a book done in paperback sometimes, and that's if all is fine during the first attempt).
Anyway... In the meantime, I'm still working on writing "Zeena And The Mermaid" (the third "Zeena Dragon Fae" book).
Do you write for children too? If so, where do you find your ideas for children's stories? Did you know, spending some time living in a child's world could help you. After all, writing for children is easier if you can look at things from their point of view. So, play pretend to get to know your characters.
Also, if you're participating in PiBoIdMo, make sure you hold on to all your ideas, because you never know which will turn out to be the start of a great story. Yes, even hold on to those stinkers! After all, they could come in handy for future stories. In fact, that's good advice regardless of whether you're participating in PiBoIdMo, and regardless of the genre you write in, or age group you write for.
Plus, don't forget to think about what your book is about about while you're working on it. No, that's not a typing mistake, but an alternative way of generating ideas, as well as something you need to consider; especially when writing for children.
Monday, November 16, 2015
The Blue Reef Aquarium
At the end of September, Kelly and I visited the Blue Reef Aquarium with my Dad, his girlfriend, one of my brothers, his girlfriend, and my Nan. Here are the photos we took while there; for those who either don't have me on Facebook, or missed seeing them when I posted them on there. Sorry I didn't post them sooner... I kept meaning to, but things would come up, and we'd end up not sorting the photos.
It was difficult to get shots... It always is of things behind glass... But here are the photos we did manage to get.
We saw...
Blacktip reef sharks:
Lion fish:
Seahorses:
Stingrays:
Turtles:
And so many other types of fish that I'd be here all day trying to list them all... Here are just some of them:
There was a reptile room, but most of us didn't get to it... We were tired by the time we'd done the rest.
We stopped in at the gift shop though.
Here's my cuddly seal, who I've named Cecealya:
And my cuddly shark, who I've named Fynn:
I brought some little plastic animals too:
After the giftshop, we took some photos of everyone outside the aquarium...
Here's me:
The t-shirt I'm wearing is a Pathfinder Ponies one, which was done by my friend and cover artist, Jacob Blackmon. OK, officially it's called "Ponyfinder" but, either way, it's perfect for me, due to my combined enjoyment of roleplaying and love of horses. If you want one too, you can find Jacob via Twitter, Facebook, or his Deviant Art page. He does other things too.
Anyway... Back to the photos...
Here are me and Kelly together:
All of us... Dad and his girlfriend Cath, me and Kelly, Carl and his girlfriend Tory, and my Nan:
Dad has a few other photos of all of us outside the aquarium, but I decided to only share those few.
Nearby is a shipwreck museum. It was closed, so we couldn't go in, but we decided to take a photo of some of the model ships they have in their window:
And the anchor that was nearby:
It was difficult to get shots... It always is of things behind glass... But here are the photos we did manage to get.
We saw...
Blacktip reef sharks:
Lion fish:
Seahorses:
Stingrays:
Turtles:
And so many other types of fish that I'd be here all day trying to list them all... Here are just some of them:
There was a reptile room, but most of us didn't get to it... We were tired by the time we'd done the rest.
We stopped in at the gift shop though.
Here's my cuddly seal, who I've named Cecealya:
And my cuddly shark, who I've named Fynn:
I brought some little plastic animals too:
After the giftshop, we took some photos of everyone outside the aquarium...
Here's me:
The t-shirt I'm wearing is a Pathfinder Ponies one, which was done by my friend and cover artist, Jacob Blackmon. OK, officially it's called "Ponyfinder" but, either way, it's perfect for me, due to my combined enjoyment of roleplaying and love of horses. If you want one too, you can find Jacob via Twitter, Facebook, or his Deviant Art page. He does other things too.
Anyway... Back to the photos...
Here are me and Kelly together:
All of us... Dad and his girlfriend Cath, me and Kelly, Carl and his girlfriend Tory, and my Nan:
Dad has a few other photos of all of us outside the aquarium, but I decided to only share those few.
Nearby is a shipwreck museum. It was closed, so we couldn't go in, but we decided to take a photo of some of the model ships they have in their window:
And the anchor that was nearby:
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Degu's Day Out - officially released today!
“Oscar has everything a degu could need, or want, in the cage he shares with his brother, Romeo, but it’s not enough; Oscar longs for freedom.
Convinced he’s missing out on an amazing adventure, Oscar dreams of the day when he’ll be able to investigate the world beyond his cage bars without the human caretakers telling him where and when he can explore.
Now, at long last, his chance has arrived. But will it be the exciting adventure he’s always dreamed it would be?”
That's the synopsis for my latest book. It's called "Degu's Day Out" and was inspired by my degu boys, but isn't actually about them; as those of you who are familiar with the names of my degus can easily tell by the names in the synopsis above.
Anyway, the book is officially released today, and you can already buy the eBook version of it from Smashwords in all formats they offer, as well as from Barnes & Noble, Apple iBooks, Kobo, and a few other eBook retailers.
The paperback will become available in the near future... As soon as it can be arranged.
Convinced he’s missing out on an amazing adventure, Oscar dreams of the day when he’ll be able to investigate the world beyond his cage bars without the human caretakers telling him where and when he can explore.
Now, at long last, his chance has arrived. But will it be the exciting adventure he’s always dreamed it would be?”
That's the synopsis for my latest book. It's called "Degu's Day Out" and was inspired by my degu boys, but isn't actually about them; as those of you who are familiar with the names of my degus can easily tell by the names in the synopsis above.
Anyway, the book is officially released today, and you can already buy the eBook version of it from Smashwords in all formats they offer, as well as from Barnes & Noble, Apple iBooks, Kobo, and a few other eBook retailers.
The paperback will become available in the near future... As soon as it can be arranged.
Friday, November 13, 2015
Furkid Friday - November 13th 2015
Hi Humans, rodenty types, and anyone else reading this.
This is Jacob the degu.
I have an important announcement...
Our human is publishing a new degu themed book tomorrow (Saturday)!
I know... Fantastic news, isn't it?
I mean, it would be better if she'd written it about us, but since we did at least inspire it, we've decided to let her get away with not actually making it about us... Especially since she has written two books about us already.
Anyway, it's called "Degu's Day Out" and you will be able to buy it here, or from a few other online places.
Enjoy!
Squeak soon,
Jacob
This is Jacob the degu.
I have an important announcement...
Our human is publishing a new degu themed book tomorrow (Saturday)!
I know... Fantastic news, isn't it?
I mean, it would be better if she'd written it about us, but since we did at least inspire it, we've decided to let her get away with not actually making it about us... Especially since she has written two books about us already.
Anyway, it's called "Degu's Day Out" and you will be able to buy it here, or from a few other online places.
Enjoy!
Squeak soon,
Jacob
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Accessable gaming increases with braille dice
I learned from my brother, Carl, today that a company named 64 oz. Games are making gaming more accessable to visually impaired gamers, like Carl and myself.
Initially it was just dice, but they hope in the future to make tabletop games more accessable.
To learn more, and/or to offer support - either through helping them fund it, or just by spreading the word - go here.
Whether you pledge anything or not, please help me spread the word, because it's awesome news!
Initially it was just dice, but they hope in the future to make tabletop games more accessable.
To learn more, and/or to offer support - either through helping them fund it, or just by spreading the word - go here.
Whether you pledge anything or not, please help me spread the word, because it's awesome news!
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Wednesday's writing related ramblings - November 11th 2015
Having trouble keeping your ideas flowing for PiBoIdMo? If so, check out these tips you can use to re-fill your ideas well if it starts to run dry, and these tips for tuning in to inspiration. Try not to stress too much about coming up with ideas though; just relax, open yourself up to the possibility of ideas, and they will come... You have my permission to play!
On the other hand, if you're participating in NaNoWriMo, and trying to write a novel,, you may want to bear these tips in mind.
Regardless of whether you're participating in a writing challenge, or just writing in general, I'm a firm believer that you should focus only on getting your story down during the first draft; even if your first draft sucks, or your manuscript is turning in to a monster. Fine if you want to do an outline and then your first draft; I don't outline, but whether you outline or not is up to you. Either way, when it comes to your first draft, just write it, and worry about making it look better later. I'm not alone in this thinking, and here's a post on how writing quickly can improve your storytelling to prove it. This is something you especially want to bear in mind if you're participating in NaNoWriMo, but - as I said - applies regardless of whether you're participating, and regardless of the length or genre of your work.
Speaking of genres... Are you struggling to figure out the genre of your work? Not to worry! Here are 7 things you can do to identify your genre. Genre isn't all that important during the initial writing phase. I mean, it can help to have a rough idea, obviously. But the genre matters more when it comes to pitching or marketing your book.
Anyway... Another thing that applies regardless of NaNoWriMo participation, or the genre you write in, is character creation. So, check out this post or these tips on creating characters. Also, here are some tips on creating characters for children's books, for those of you who write for children.
On the other hand, if you're participating in NaNoWriMo, and trying to write a novel,, you may want to bear these tips in mind.
Regardless of whether you're participating in a writing challenge, or just writing in general, I'm a firm believer that you should focus only on getting your story down during the first draft; even if your first draft sucks, or your manuscript is turning in to a monster. Fine if you want to do an outline and then your first draft; I don't outline, but whether you outline or not is up to you. Either way, when it comes to your first draft, just write it, and worry about making it look better later. I'm not alone in this thinking, and here's a post on how writing quickly can improve your storytelling to prove it. This is something you especially want to bear in mind if you're participating in NaNoWriMo, but - as I said - applies regardless of whether you're participating, and regardless of the length or genre of your work.
Speaking of genres... Are you struggling to figure out the genre of your work? Not to worry! Here are 7 things you can do to identify your genre. Genre isn't all that important during the initial writing phase. I mean, it can help to have a rough idea, obviously. But the genre matters more when it comes to pitching or marketing your book.
Anyway... Another thing that applies regardless of NaNoWriMo participation, or the genre you write in, is character creation. So, check out this post or these tips on creating characters. Also, here are some tips on creating characters for children's books, for those of you who write for children.
Monday, November 09, 2015
The A-Z of fruits and vegetables (FD and LBE)
While doing the A-Z list I did last month, I got to wondering if there was a fruit or vegetable for every letter of the alphabet. I spent ages listing fruits and vegetables in my head, but still couldn't be sure if there were some for certain letters... Like X, for example. So, I Googled it.
Turns out there is, and here's the list I've managed to put together from various sources:
A:
Achoccha
Alpalfa
Amaranth
Angelica
Anise
Aonori
Apple
Apricot
Arrowroot
Arrugula
Artichoke
Asparagus
Atemoya
Aubergine
Avocado
B:
Bamboo
Banana
Bean sprouts
Bearberry
Beetroot or beet
Bilberry
Black-eye bean
Blackberry
Blueberry
Bok choy
Boysenberry
Broad bean
Broccoli
Brussel sprouts
Burdock
Butternut Squash
C:
Cabbage
Calabaza
Cantaloupe
Capers
Carambola
Cardoon
Carrot
Cauliflower
Celeriac
Celery
Chard
Cherimoya
Cherry
Chick pea
Chicory
Chinese Cabbage
Chinese Jujube
Chives
Chokeberry
Cilantro
Clementine
Coconut
Coconut Palm
Collards
Comfrey
Corn salad
Corn
Courgette
Cranberry
Cuban Sweet Potato
Cucumber
Cumquats
Currant
D:
Daikon
Damson
Dandelion
Dasheen
Date
Dill
Dragonfruit
Durian
E:
Earthnut pea
Eggfruit
Eggplant
Elderberry
Endive
F:
Fava bean
Feijoa
Fennel
Fig
French bean
G:
Garden rocket
Garlic
Genipap
Gherkin
Giant Granadilla
Ginger
Ginseng
Gooseberry
Gourds
Grape
Grapefruit
Green Bean
Guava
H:
Hackberry
Haricot bean
Hickory nut
Hijiki
Honey dew melon
Horse mango
Horseradish
Huckleberry
I:
Iceburg lettuce
Indian corn
Indian fig
Indian pea
Ita Palm
J:
Jackfruit
Jalapeno
Jamaica Cherry
Jerusalem artichoke
Jícama
Jujube
K:
Kai-lan
Kale
Kiwano
Kiwifruit
Kohlrabi
Komatsuna or kai-lan
Kuka
Kurrat
L:
Leek
Lemon
Lentils
Lettuce
Lime
Lingonberry
Loquat
Lovage
Lychee
M:
Mace
Mandarin
Mango
Mangosteen
Marrow
Melon
Mulberry
Mung bean
Mushroom
Mustard
N:
Nannyberry
Natal Plum
Nectarine
Neem
New Zealand Spinach
Nopal
Nutmeg
O:
Oil palm
Okra
Olive
Onion
Orache
Orange
P:
Parsnip
Paprika
Parsley
Parsnip
Passionfruit
Papaya,
Pea
Peach
Pear
Pepper
Persimmon,
Petit Pois
Pineapple
Plantain
Plum
Pomegranate
Potato
Prickly pear
Pumpkin
Q:
Quandong
Quince
Quinine
R:
Radish
Radicchio
Raisin
Rambutan
Raspberry
Red Banana
Rhubarb
Rice bean
Romaine Lettuce
Rose apple
Runner bean
Rutabega
S:
Saffron
Satsuma
Sea grape
Seaweed
Shallot
Sorel
Spinach
Soybean
Squash
Star fruit
Strawberry
Sugar apple
Sugar snap peas
Summer Squash
Swamp cabbage
Sweetcorn
Sweet potato
Swiss Chard
T:
Tamarind
Tangerine
Taro
Tigernut
Tomato
Truffle
Turnip
U:
Ugli fruit
Ugni
Ulluco
Upland cress
Urad bean
V:
Vanilla
Velvet bean
Victoria plum
Voavanga
W:
Wasabi
Water celery
Water chestnut
Watercress
Watermelon
Wax apple
Wax bean
Wolfberry
X:
Xerophyte
Xigua
Ximenia fruit
Y:
Yacón
Yam
Yangmei
Yardlong bean
Yellow pitaya
Yellow watermelon
Z:
Zucchini
Personally, I think a few of them are debatable as to whether they count as fruit or vegetables; I'd put some in a "herbs and spices" list, for example. But they were included on some alphabet lists I found for fruits and vegetables, and they are certainly growing things rather than being animal based, so I added them anyway.
Did I miss anything? If so, feel free to tell me.
*Please note: the above list is taken from various sources, which you can find if you Google various questions about fruits and vegetables for the letters of the alphabet. If anything is spelled wrong, don't blame me... I copied and pasted from lists I found, and - after putting everything in alphabetical order - only deleted if the item was exactly identical to another.
Also, please note that some of the fruits and vegetables on the list are the same as others, but known by different names... I recently learned that courgettes and zucchinis are the same thing, for example. But I decided to list them all anyway, since I couldn't be bothered to look up everything I wasn't sure of so as to find out what's another name for what, if that makes sense. I will look up what I'm not sure of at some point, but putting the list together took long enough as it was. So... If you're not sure what something is... Look it up. It could be a new fruit or vegetable to you, or it could be that you know it as a different name (which happened to me with zucchinis... I thought I'd never had one, because it was a new vegetable name to me, but it turns out I have, but didn't know that was another name for a courgette).
Turns out there is, and here's the list I've managed to put together from various sources:
A:
Achoccha
Alpalfa
Amaranth
Angelica
Anise
Aonori
Apple
Apricot
Arrowroot
Arrugula
Artichoke
Asparagus
Atemoya
Aubergine
Avocado
B:
Bamboo
Banana
Bean sprouts
Bearberry
Beetroot or beet
Bilberry
Black-eye bean
Blackberry
Blueberry
Bok choy
Boysenberry
Broad bean
Broccoli
Brussel sprouts
Burdock
Butternut Squash
C:
Cabbage
Calabaza
Cantaloupe
Capers
Carambola
Cardoon
Carrot
Cauliflower
Celeriac
Celery
Chard
Cherimoya
Cherry
Chick pea
Chicory
Chinese Cabbage
Chinese Jujube
Chives
Chokeberry
Cilantro
Clementine
Coconut
Coconut Palm
Collards
Comfrey
Corn salad
Corn
Courgette
Cranberry
Cuban Sweet Potato
Cucumber
Cumquats
Currant
D:
Daikon
Damson
Dandelion
Dasheen
Date
Dill
Dragonfruit
Durian
E:
Earthnut pea
Eggfruit
Eggplant
Elderberry
Endive
F:
Fava bean
Feijoa
Fennel
Fig
French bean
G:
Garden rocket
Garlic
Genipap
Gherkin
Giant Granadilla
Ginger
Ginseng
Gooseberry
Gourds
Grape
Grapefruit
Green Bean
Guava
H:
Hackberry
Haricot bean
Hickory nut
Hijiki
Honey dew melon
Horse mango
Horseradish
Huckleberry
I:
Iceburg lettuce
Indian corn
Indian fig
Indian pea
Ita Palm
J:
Jackfruit
Jalapeno
Jamaica Cherry
Jerusalem artichoke
Jícama
Jujube
K:
Kai-lan
Kale
Kiwano
Kiwifruit
Kohlrabi
Komatsuna or kai-lan
Kuka
Kurrat
L:
Leek
Lemon
Lentils
Lettuce
Lime
Lingonberry
Loquat
Lovage
Lychee
M:
Mace
Mandarin
Mango
Mangosteen
Marrow
Melon
Mulberry
Mung bean
Mushroom
Mustard
N:
Nannyberry
Natal Plum
Nectarine
Neem
New Zealand Spinach
Nopal
Nutmeg
O:
Oil palm
Okra
Olive
Onion
Orache
Orange
P:
Parsnip
Paprika
Parsley
Parsnip
Passionfruit
Papaya,
Pea
Peach
Pear
Pepper
Persimmon,
Petit Pois
Pineapple
Plantain
Plum
Pomegranate
Potato
Prickly pear
Pumpkin
Q:
Quandong
Quince
Quinine
R:
Radish
Radicchio
Raisin
Rambutan
Raspberry
Red Banana
Rhubarb
Rice bean
Romaine Lettuce
Rose apple
Runner bean
Rutabega
S:
Saffron
Satsuma
Sea grape
Seaweed
Shallot
Sorel
Spinach
Soybean
Squash
Star fruit
Strawberry
Sugar apple
Sugar snap peas
Summer Squash
Swamp cabbage
Sweetcorn
Sweet potato
Swiss Chard
T:
Tamarind
Tangerine
Taro
Tigernut
Tomato
Truffle
Turnip
U:
Ugli fruit
Ugni
Ulluco
Upland cress
Urad bean
V:
Vanilla
Velvet bean
Victoria plum
Voavanga
W:
Wasabi
Water celery
Water chestnut
Watercress
Watermelon
Wax apple
Wax bean
Wolfberry
X:
Xerophyte
Xigua
Ximenia fruit
Y:
Yacón
Yam
Yangmei
Yardlong bean
Yellow pitaya
Yellow watermelon
Z:
Zucchini
Personally, I think a few of them are debatable as to whether they count as fruit or vegetables; I'd put some in a "herbs and spices" list, for example. But they were included on some alphabet lists I found for fruits and vegetables, and they are certainly growing things rather than being animal based, so I added them anyway.
Did I miss anything? If so, feel free to tell me.
*Please note: the above list is taken from various sources, which you can find if you Google various questions about fruits and vegetables for the letters of the alphabet. If anything is spelled wrong, don't blame me... I copied and pasted from lists I found, and - after putting everything in alphabetical order - only deleted if the item was exactly identical to another.
Also, please note that some of the fruits and vegetables on the list are the same as others, but known by different names... I recently learned that courgettes and zucchinis are the same thing, for example. But I decided to list them all anyway, since I couldn't be bothered to look up everything I wasn't sure of so as to find out what's another name for what, if that makes sense. I will look up what I'm not sure of at some point, but putting the list together took long enough as it was. So... If you're not sure what something is... Look it up. It could be a new fruit or vegetable to you, or it could be that you know it as a different name (which happened to me with zucchinis... I thought I'd never had one, because it was a new vegetable name to me, but it turns out I have, but didn't know that was another name for a courgette).
Saturday, November 07, 2015
Rosemary J Peel
"I can hardly remember a time when I did not write and, considering the fact that I was born dyslexic (although not diagnosed until well into my forties), this is surprising. Poetry was my first love and I still find that I can express my feelings better by that means rather than pros.
I was first published at the age of eight when an astute teacher saw beyond my dyslexic spellings to recognise a creative being, and entered a story I had written for an inter-school competition. It won a prize and was published in a book of stories written by school children. I had to wait a long time after that before appearing in print again. In my twenties and thirties I achieved minor success with short stories and poems for various women's magazines but the mainstream book publishers simply weren't interested. The rejection slips mounted up. Then after having given up on ever getting a book published and abandoning fiction in order to research family genetics and astrological inheritance my book "Astrology and Heredity: The Thread of Life" was accepted and came out in print two years later. I was then in my early fifties. Several poetry anthologies followed but family commitments intervened and although I continued to write I stopped attempting to interest publishers.
Then, as the world of publication began to change, I discovered e-books. The rest as they say is history; at present I have 30 e-books on the market, varying in genre from Biographical, Astrological, Poetry and both adult and children's fiction (25 children's titles at present)."
Visit Rosemary's website: http://rosemaryjpeel.wix.com/my-web
Check out Rosemary's Smashwords profile: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/RosemaryJPeel
Smashwords link to buy "Flat Cats" by Rosemary J Peel: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/477616
Smashwords link to buy "Holiday Blues" by Rosemary J Peel: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/334562
Smashwords link to buy "The Pottery Fish Poetry Collection" by Rosemary J Peel: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/72832
Friday, November 06, 2015
Furkid Friday - November 6th 2015
Hi humans, rodents, and anyone else reading this. This is Jenks the degu.
Guess what?
We have TV again!
We haven't really been able to watch TV since we moved to this new place at the start of the year, because it wasn't working properly. But the human caretakers finally sorted it out.
I know... Took them long enough, didn't it?
Anyway, they finally did it, so we can enjoy some TV time.... YAY!
Now, if only we could get the remote off them, and pick the shows for ourselves...
Although, I do admit they do watch some great shows. The Mummy human, for example, loves to watch shows about animals, which we think is a very good thing!
Squeak soon,
Jenks
Guess what?
We have TV again!
We haven't really been able to watch TV since we moved to this new place at the start of the year, because it wasn't working properly. But the human caretakers finally sorted it out.
I know... Took them long enough, didn't it?
Anyway, they finally did it, so we can enjoy some TV time.... YAY!
Now, if only we could get the remote off them, and pick the shows for ourselves...
Although, I do admit they do watch some great shows. The Mummy human, for example, loves to watch shows about animals, which we think is a very good thing!
Squeak soon,
Jenks
Wednesday, November 04, 2015
Wednesday's writing related ramblings - November 4th 2015
A few days ago, I pre-released "Degu's Day Out" via Smashwords.
I scheduled it for release on November 14th 2015, so the eBook version of it will officially be available from Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, the Apple iBookstore, and a few other eBook retailers on or soon after that date, in all formats those places offer.
Some of those places - such as Barnes & Noble, for example - offer a pre-order option, so you'll be able to pre-order it before that, if you like. That option will be available in the next few days, if it isn't already (depending on how long distribution ends up taking; it's anything from a few hours to a few days, most of the time, but not always).
The paperback will be arranged when possible afterwards.
***
Good luck to all those who have signed up for NaNoWriMo this year!
Also, good luck to those signing up for PiBoIdMo!
I knew NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) existed, but only just learned of the existance of PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Ideas Month). That's why I'm only just mentioning the latter; despite the final day to sign up to officialy participate being tomorrow.
I'm not signing up for either one this year, or even creating my own personal writing challenge, but I will share anything useful I come across on the subject throughout the month; as I've done in the past month or so with NaNoWriMo.
Like this one on how to stay motivated and write 1667 words during NaNoWriMo, and these 30 ways to gather picture book ideas for PiBoIdMo.
I scheduled it for release on November 14th 2015, so the eBook version of it will officially be available from Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, the Apple iBookstore, and a few other eBook retailers on or soon after that date, in all formats those places offer.
Some of those places - such as Barnes & Noble, for example - offer a pre-order option, so you'll be able to pre-order it before that, if you like. That option will be available in the next few days, if it isn't already (depending on how long distribution ends up taking; it's anything from a few hours to a few days, most of the time, but not always).
The paperback will be arranged when possible afterwards.
***
Good luck to all those who have signed up for NaNoWriMo this year!
Also, good luck to those signing up for PiBoIdMo!
I knew NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) existed, but only just learned of the existance of PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Ideas Month). That's why I'm only just mentioning the latter; despite the final day to sign up to officialy participate being tomorrow.
I'm not signing up for either one this year, or even creating my own personal writing challenge, but I will share anything useful I come across on the subject throughout the month; as I've done in the past month or so with NaNoWriMo.
Like this one on how to stay motivated and write 1667 words during NaNoWriMo, and these 30 ways to gather picture book ideas for PiBoIdMo.
Monday, November 02, 2015
Monday's random mutterings - November 2nd 2015 (LBE)
It's been a while since I did a proper general update type post, since I was busy posting the A-Z posts last month. So, I thought I'd do one this week, and get you all caught up on what's been going on around here.
But, first...
It will be Iggy's birthday in two days time. So... A very happy birthday to you, Iggy!
***
I'm glad my family visited the weekend they did, because the weekend after their visit was... Well... I suppose the best description for it would be to call it eventful and messy.
It started off nice enough, and we had a pleasant Saturday. Though I wasn't feeling 100%, so I took something to help me sleep. Then, in the early hours of Sunday morning, I woke up convinced I heard pouring water... Something similar to the sound a washing machine makes when it's filling itself with water... Only the water was flowing faster. As well as Kelly shouting something about exploding radiators.
Naturally, I first thought I was dreaming, or confused by being half asleep.
I wasn't.
Although, it was the hot water pipe to the bathroom sink that had burst, not the radiator. But, with them being right next to each other, and Kelly not being able to get close because of the jet of scorching hot water shooting out of the pipe, I suppose it was an easy mistake to make.
Anyway, the short version of the story is that Kelly had to wade through the hot water to turn off the hot water (there was several inches of it by the time he realized it was happening and woke me, so he burned his leg doing so). Then we had to find someone to help us get the water supply to the sink off, since we couldn't find the knob, which meant calling the landlord, since the only one of our neighbours who would answer was as clueless as us. The landlord had to come help us, which meant a bit of a drive for him, followed by several hours of the landlord running up and down the stairs with buckets of water while we tried to figure out why it rained inside unless our boiler was turned off completely, and Kelly tried to mop up the mess in our bathroom and hallway.
The chaos all started shortly before 2:30am - though how long the water had been pouring at that point we aren't sure... I know it was all fine when I went to sleep a little after midnight, but Kelly had been gaming with headphones on, so hadn't noticed it at first. It was about 5:00am before we had everything sorted well enough that the landlord could leave.
Of course, with it being Sunday, it was Monday before someone could come out to take a look, since the landlord getting the water turned off made it no longer an emergency. So, we had no hot water all of that Sunday.
The plumbers arrived bright and early on the Monday morning though.
It took them five minutes to repair the burst pipe, but took ages for them to figure out the other issue, and as they did the hallway ceiling fell in (luckily with nobody in the way). The good thing about that was, it helped them to figure out the problem.
It turned out that some idiot had done the pipe for our water so that it disappeared in to the wall, and then stopped. I'm not sure why this caused the boiler to keep wanting to send water to it, but I do know it meant the water was pouring in to the wall. It hadn't been noticed before, since they've had some issues to fix in the roof, so assumed the dampness in the hallway walls and ceiling was from that, and the person who did it had nicely plastered around where the pipe disappeared, so it looked like it was done properly when it was checked when our landlords brought the place (which was only in the last couple of years).
Once they knew what the problem was, they were able to sort out a new pipe for our water to go where it's meant to go, as well as pulling up the carpeting and flooring that was too soggy to repair, and replacing rotting floorboards so we could get to our bedroom and bathroom safely. Plus, they made sure we had hot water by the end of that Monday too.
After that it was a case of waiting for everything to dry out so the proper repair work could begin. A process that would have been much quicker if the weather hadn't turned cold and wet right before this, and hardly been dry since. Actually, if I'm honest, things still aren't dried out properly, so they have a dehumidifier set up in the hallway to try and move things along a bit.
Plus, we had to get our towels all clean again, since every single one got used to help with cleaning up the water. I washed each load twice, since the water was gross, and no way was I going to use those towels until they'd had a couple of washes! Good thing we got a dryer when we did.
Other than the building, the only thing that got damaged was my bathroom scales, which ended up under a couple of inches of water. But they weren't working too well anymore anyway, since I'd dropped them, so it's no big deal. Oh, and there was Kelly's leg, but that wasn't too bad, and healed quickly.
I have to say though... It's times like this I'm glad I rent - and only have to pay for damages we cause directly - and I'm pretty sure the landlords are very glad they have insurance!
It turned out that Kevin came for his visit after the above incident. But, thankfully, the guys did a great job of making sure things were clear and safe for me, so it wasn't an issue with us getting in and out, and I explained to Kevin about it all, so he understood why most of the hallway and part of our place is currently just bare floorboards.
***
I ended up back at the dentist at the start of October... One of my old fillings came out.
Good news though: it was a quick fix, and when the dentist checked, there were no other issues.
So maybe.. Just, maybe... I might get a bit of a break from dentists for a while? *looks hopeful*
***
I've mentioned this in passing a few times, but...
When we moved in here earlier this year, we saw that we have two cables coming in to this place for TV options: a cable for a sky dish, and a cable for an arial. Although, someone had cut the end of the arial cable.
I have a freeview box, since we couldn't have Sky where we lived last, and I was given one that had audio description and talking menus. So, naturally, we had someone put a new piece on the end of the arial cable to use that, since the repair guy for the building was willing and able to do that for free for us if we got the piece (which only cost about £1.50 - which is around $3).
Unfortunately, we discovered immediately that either the arial doesn't work properly, or the cable is damaged, so we weren't managing to get signal for most channels (and those we did get were poor quality).
This left us with two options. Either pay someone to sort the TV arial, then continue to use freeview (which means only a small selection of channels) and then sort out something like Netflix for movies, and those TV shows that air on channels freeview doesn't get. Or, since we could have it here, get Sky, which would mean someone would automatically come and sort anything that needed doing for the Sky dish or cable as part of the set-up.
The good thing with Sky is the extra channels (including a large number of movie channels, Animal Planet and all the Discovery channels, etc). The downside is the limited accessability for menus. However, since I've been using Sky since around when it was first out, I have some idea how it works, so it's usable... Just not as accessable as the special freeview box.
Anyway... To cut a long story short... We decided to get Sky.
When the guy on the phone asked me what I wanted from my Sky package, I made both him and Kelly laugh by firmly announcing that, "I want to be able to watch movies and cartoons... Oh, and Animal Planet too!"
Now I can do so, since the Sky was installed last Wednesday.
Much to the relief of the guy who came to sort it out, the cable and dish are both working well, so he just had to plug everything in. Although, I think he also changed the end piece on the Sky cable, to make sure that wasn't damaged in any way. That would have been much nicer for him than the alternative, which would have required him to be very high up during a not-so-nice day. I mean, the weather wasn't as bad that morning as it's been some days, but the wind was quite strong, and he'd have been on the ocean side of the building while quite high up, so there would have been plenty of wind coming in off the ocean at him. I know for a fact he was quite relieved to have avoided that.
So... What's the first thing I did when the Sky guy left?
Curled up on the sofa for a few hours of Animal Planet, of course! LOL!
I miss the accessable menus. But having a good choice of TV channels makes up for it.
I can't say I'm too bothered about the audio description though, since it wasn't available for most shows even on my special box, anyway... It's kind of difficult to miss what you didn't really have. I mean, I should have had it, officially, but only if the producers of the shows arranged it, which many don't seem to have bothered to do.
But, first...
It will be Iggy's birthday in two days time. So... A very happy birthday to you, Iggy!
***
I'm glad my family visited the weekend they did, because the weekend after their visit was... Well... I suppose the best description for it would be to call it eventful and messy.
It started off nice enough, and we had a pleasant Saturday. Though I wasn't feeling 100%, so I took something to help me sleep. Then, in the early hours of Sunday morning, I woke up convinced I heard pouring water... Something similar to the sound a washing machine makes when it's filling itself with water... Only the water was flowing faster. As well as Kelly shouting something about exploding radiators.
Naturally, I first thought I was dreaming, or confused by being half asleep.
I wasn't.
Although, it was the hot water pipe to the bathroom sink that had burst, not the radiator. But, with them being right next to each other, and Kelly not being able to get close because of the jet of scorching hot water shooting out of the pipe, I suppose it was an easy mistake to make.
Anyway, the short version of the story is that Kelly had to wade through the hot water to turn off the hot water (there was several inches of it by the time he realized it was happening and woke me, so he burned his leg doing so). Then we had to find someone to help us get the water supply to the sink off, since we couldn't find the knob, which meant calling the landlord, since the only one of our neighbours who would answer was as clueless as us. The landlord had to come help us, which meant a bit of a drive for him, followed by several hours of the landlord running up and down the stairs with buckets of water while we tried to figure out why it rained inside unless our boiler was turned off completely, and Kelly tried to mop up the mess in our bathroom and hallway.
The chaos all started shortly before 2:30am - though how long the water had been pouring at that point we aren't sure... I know it was all fine when I went to sleep a little after midnight, but Kelly had been gaming with headphones on, so hadn't noticed it at first. It was about 5:00am before we had everything sorted well enough that the landlord could leave.
Of course, with it being Sunday, it was Monday before someone could come out to take a look, since the landlord getting the water turned off made it no longer an emergency. So, we had no hot water all of that Sunday.
The plumbers arrived bright and early on the Monday morning though.
It took them five minutes to repair the burst pipe, but took ages for them to figure out the other issue, and as they did the hallway ceiling fell in (luckily with nobody in the way). The good thing about that was, it helped them to figure out the problem.
It turned out that some idiot had done the pipe for our water so that it disappeared in to the wall, and then stopped. I'm not sure why this caused the boiler to keep wanting to send water to it, but I do know it meant the water was pouring in to the wall. It hadn't been noticed before, since they've had some issues to fix in the roof, so assumed the dampness in the hallway walls and ceiling was from that, and the person who did it had nicely plastered around where the pipe disappeared, so it looked like it was done properly when it was checked when our landlords brought the place (which was only in the last couple of years).
Once they knew what the problem was, they were able to sort out a new pipe for our water to go where it's meant to go, as well as pulling up the carpeting and flooring that was too soggy to repair, and replacing rotting floorboards so we could get to our bedroom and bathroom safely. Plus, they made sure we had hot water by the end of that Monday too.
After that it was a case of waiting for everything to dry out so the proper repair work could begin. A process that would have been much quicker if the weather hadn't turned cold and wet right before this, and hardly been dry since. Actually, if I'm honest, things still aren't dried out properly, so they have a dehumidifier set up in the hallway to try and move things along a bit.
Plus, we had to get our towels all clean again, since every single one got used to help with cleaning up the water. I washed each load twice, since the water was gross, and no way was I going to use those towels until they'd had a couple of washes! Good thing we got a dryer when we did.
Other than the building, the only thing that got damaged was my bathroom scales, which ended up under a couple of inches of water. But they weren't working too well anymore anyway, since I'd dropped them, so it's no big deal. Oh, and there was Kelly's leg, but that wasn't too bad, and healed quickly.
I have to say though... It's times like this I'm glad I rent - and only have to pay for damages we cause directly - and I'm pretty sure the landlords are very glad they have insurance!
It turned out that Kevin came for his visit after the above incident. But, thankfully, the guys did a great job of making sure things were clear and safe for me, so it wasn't an issue with us getting in and out, and I explained to Kevin about it all, so he understood why most of the hallway and part of our place is currently just bare floorboards.
***
I ended up back at the dentist at the start of October... One of my old fillings came out.
Good news though: it was a quick fix, and when the dentist checked, there were no other issues.
So maybe.. Just, maybe... I might get a bit of a break from dentists for a while? *looks hopeful*
***
I've mentioned this in passing a few times, but...
When we moved in here earlier this year, we saw that we have two cables coming in to this place for TV options: a cable for a sky dish, and a cable for an arial. Although, someone had cut the end of the arial cable.
I have a freeview box, since we couldn't have Sky where we lived last, and I was given one that had audio description and talking menus. So, naturally, we had someone put a new piece on the end of the arial cable to use that, since the repair guy for the building was willing and able to do that for free for us if we got the piece (which only cost about £1.50 - which is around $3).
Unfortunately, we discovered immediately that either the arial doesn't work properly, or the cable is damaged, so we weren't managing to get signal for most channels (and those we did get were poor quality).
This left us with two options. Either pay someone to sort the TV arial, then continue to use freeview (which means only a small selection of channels) and then sort out something like Netflix for movies, and those TV shows that air on channels freeview doesn't get. Or, since we could have it here, get Sky, which would mean someone would automatically come and sort anything that needed doing for the Sky dish or cable as part of the set-up.
The good thing with Sky is the extra channels (including a large number of movie channels, Animal Planet and all the Discovery channels, etc). The downside is the limited accessability for menus. However, since I've been using Sky since around when it was first out, I have some idea how it works, so it's usable... Just not as accessable as the special freeview box.
Anyway... To cut a long story short... We decided to get Sky.
When the guy on the phone asked me what I wanted from my Sky package, I made both him and Kelly laugh by firmly announcing that, "I want to be able to watch movies and cartoons... Oh, and Animal Planet too!"
Now I can do so, since the Sky was installed last Wednesday.
Much to the relief of the guy who came to sort it out, the cable and dish are both working well, so he just had to plug everything in. Although, I think he also changed the end piece on the Sky cable, to make sure that wasn't damaged in any way. That would have been much nicer for him than the alternative, which would have required him to be very high up during a not-so-nice day. I mean, the weather wasn't as bad that morning as it's been some days, but the wind was quite strong, and he'd have been on the ocean side of the building while quite high up, so there would have been plenty of wind coming in off the ocean at him. I know for a fact he was quite relieved to have avoided that.
So... What's the first thing I did when the Sky guy left?
Curled up on the sofa for a few hours of Animal Planet, of course! LOL!
I miss the accessable menus. But having a good choice of TV channels makes up for it.
I can't say I'm too bothered about the audio description though, since it wasn't available for most shows even on my special box, anyway... It's kind of difficult to miss what you didn't really have. I mean, I should have had it, officially, but only if the producers of the shows arranged it, which many don't seem to have bothered to do.
Sunday, November 01, 2015
Looking ahead to Thanksgiving (FD)
For Canadians, Thanksgiving happens on the second Monday of October, so it's over. But for those of you in America, Thanksgiving happens on the fourth Thursday of November, so it's a few weeks away, and you're probably busy making plans for celebrating with family and friends.
Perhaps you'll have a turkey dinner? Perhaps you're cooking for vegetarians, so want to find something involving pumpkins or cranberries to make for your guests? Maybe even both?
I actually mentioned Thanksgiving in last month's looking ahead post. Plus, I have some recipes on my website's recipe section that would work well for thanksgiving... Especially if you're looking for vegetarian options. Not to mention, of course, there are plenty of ideas and recipes all over the internet.
Don't forget... Recipes can be adapted. For example: on Friday I used the pumpkin sage sauce recipe I have to make a veggie bake, but I ignored the mention of sage and nutmeg, and instead added a pinch each of paprika and ginger. Where as yesterday, on the other hand, the only adaptation I made to the sauce was to leave out the onions, since Kelly was having some with me yesterday, and he isn't a big fan of onions (there were onions in Friday's meal, since Kelly wasn't having any). Kelly and I had the pumpkin sage sauce with pasta and cheese, if you're interested. Both times there were leftovers, so - since I know from experience that the sauce freezes just fine - I now have two full veggie bake meals, and two little pots of pumpkin sage sauce, which are safely in the freezer for when I want to use them.
Anyway... The main reason I'm actually writing this post is because Jeanie did a Thanksgiving version of her looking ahead posts a few days ago, and I thought those of you who don't follow her blog might be interested in checking it out, since Jeanie has some great ideas and tips to share with you. So... If you are interested in reading her post, then click here.
Perhaps you'll have a turkey dinner? Perhaps you're cooking for vegetarians, so want to find something involving pumpkins or cranberries to make for your guests? Maybe even both?
I actually mentioned Thanksgiving in last month's looking ahead post. Plus, I have some recipes on my website's recipe section that would work well for thanksgiving... Especially if you're looking for vegetarian options. Not to mention, of course, there are plenty of ideas and recipes all over the internet.
Don't forget... Recipes can be adapted. For example: on Friday I used the pumpkin sage sauce recipe I have to make a veggie bake, but I ignored the mention of sage and nutmeg, and instead added a pinch each of paprika and ginger. Where as yesterday, on the other hand, the only adaptation I made to the sauce was to leave out the onions, since Kelly was having some with me yesterday, and he isn't a big fan of onions (there were onions in Friday's meal, since Kelly wasn't having any). Kelly and I had the pumpkin sage sauce with pasta and cheese, if you're interested. Both times there were leftovers, so - since I know from experience that the sauce freezes just fine - I now have two full veggie bake meals, and two little pots of pumpkin sage sauce, which are safely in the freezer for when I want to use them.
Anyway... The main reason I'm actually writing this post is because Jeanie did a Thanksgiving version of her looking ahead posts a few days ago, and I thought those of you who don't follow her blog might be interested in checking it out, since Jeanie has some great ideas and tips to share with you. So... If you are interested in reading her post, then click here.
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