Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Downhill Thursday


Slalom among the trees!
Crash, bang, oof.
"Ow!"
Drags herself up off the ground.
Leans on skis.
Catches breath.
Smiles, and says, "Photo by Andif."

51 comments:

Nancy P said...

Are the trees casting shadows, or are the shadows casting trees?

AndiF said...

In between here Crash, bang, oof. "Ow!"

and here Drags herself up off the ground

you left out this part: The Pack says "What a fun game. We want to play too" and jump on her as she struggles to stand, falls down, tries to stand again, falls down some more.

Anonymous said...

Then she runs inside for cocoa with Schnapps. The pack snoozes at her feet. She has tamed the elements. And now doesn't have to do it again for another year.

Off to Belize, folks. Back Monday afternoon. No internet or phone, so you'll just have to imagine the fun I'm having with my SAS friends. I'll miss you! And hope you all have a great weekend. Big hugs and smooches thrown to everyone!

Someone root for my teams for me this weekend, since I'll be missing ALL of the games...

GhostFolk.com said...
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GhostFolk.com said...

Fair sails, Beth!

AndiF said...

Have a great trip, Beth. Take lots of pictures.

Note to self: decide if "The Pack" is singular and plural or at least stick with one or the other when you write a sentence.

GhostFolk.com said...
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Nancy P said...

Welcome back, Ghost! And many congrats on the approval of the cat book. Wow, you've got a lot to do now. You'll be dreaming cats, if you aren't already.

I had no idea there were any good Shoney's. That's been an experiment I've never had the nerve to run. There are some borders of science one fears to cross.

I can, however, speak for Perkin's. Great pancakes.

Nancy P said...

Andi, lol. And it's hell when the slobber freezes on her face.

Nancy P said...

Beth, Belize! Have a great trip. Have we spoken of the Blue Hole? Scared me to effin' death, and all I did was swim to the edge of it WITH a life jacket on. I'm pretty sure I made myself swim "over the edge," but I was as terrified as if I thought Nessie was down there and she had teeth aimed for my ankles.

Why am I directing words to someone who has already gone?

"Have fun!" I yell into the abyss.

Oh, and DON'T you hate it when the abyss yells back.

Jen said...

Heh, Nancy, that's exactly how I felt about swimming over The Wall in Grand Cayman. I'm not sure why, but I am far less afraid of outer space than of undersea. Probably the sharks.

Nancy P said...

Me, too, Jen, re: outer space versus wet space. But then I've always been scared of being in the ocean. I think it's sharks and jellyfish. And something just basic and primitive about feeling like bait. Great big LET ME OUT OF HERE. Maybe we were eaten by sharks in a former life.

Jen said...

I knew you looked familiar! ;p

Larry Kollar said...

New post about the time I was dragging off to bed last night. Seems to happen that way most nights!

Andi, I've been knocked down by a dog. Neither one of us were terribly thrilled about it. (Longer story available.) No snow involved, though, let alone skis. (There's really not enough snow in that pic for skiing anyway!)

Beth, have a great time in Belize and think about us poor schlubs dealing with winter or a facsimile thereof. Preferably with drink in hand.

Hey Ghost, welcome back! You missed the excitement: one of my other blog-buddies started his blog with a first-person ghost encounter. Of course he would do it while the resident ghost expert is out of town. :-D Sounds like things went about as smoothly as one could expect, though! And congrats on the thumbs-up — are you saying the proposal was 140 pages? That's half to 2/3 of the book right there!

Nancy, the Shoney's around this planet (with one exception) tend to be pretty good. We don't eat there much anymore, though… that Breakfast Bar will kill ya.

Hi Jen! I've never had the chance to visit those places, so I can't say I wouldn't do the same in your flippers. But outer space? No thanks. I prefer to not explode due to a suit malfunction. Give me ocean. :-)

The cinnamon rolls are ready, y'all dig in! I'm going to borrow a recliner and rest today; yesterday was a bit intense.

Nancy P said...

Jen! Is that you?! Last time I saw you, you had your head in that shark's mouth, so I wasn't sure. How you been?!! I got my other leg back. :)

Nancy P said...

Didn't you write nearly 5,000 words yesterday, far? Intense, no kidding. Does Olga also do back rubs?

You have reminded me of the time I walked into the house of some friends who owned a Great Pyrenees. Up went her paws onto my shoulders. Down we went together to the floor.

Jen said...

Nancy, this time around I'm a girl! Never have acclimated to it quite entirely, but having a face again sure is nice, heh.

Hey Far, 'splodey spacesuit doesn't really scare me -- it'd be over before I felt it, I think -- but the sharks are all yours, man. :)

katiebird said...

(sigh) After compulsively watching my email for signs of life on this post, I realized that SOMETHING must be wrong....

Nancy NEVER goes this long without a comment.

I assumed I'd forgotten to check the email box. But NOOOOOO......

My comment isn't even here! I wonder what I did? I THOUGHT I published it, but maybe not.

So, (hours late) Hi Nancy, Andi, Beth (sniff -- I miss her already), Ghost, Jen & FARfetched. I wish I hadn't blown it this morning. It sounds like you guys have had a good time.

Ghost, sometime I'd like to hear about that non-writing part of your day. It sounds interesting.

AndiF said...

Far, that scene I described was based on my own experiences of trying to crosscountry ski. My best knockdown by a dog though was on my bike when a dog came tearing out of cornfield chasing a deer and ran right into my front tire. We both got a big dose of road rash. And every time I rode past him after that, he'd give me a big glare but then slink away.

Hi Ghost. Hi Nancy. Hi Jen. Hi kb.

No, no, bad sharks! No hi for you.

Nancy P said...

Jen, lol.

Hi, katiebird. I wish you could have been here earlier, but at least you're here!

Nancy P said...

Note to all: You know my front page post where I listed tips about short story markets? I have removed one of them that arrived from somebody we don't know. Upon doing a little investigation, it began to look fishy to me. I'll check a bit more and see what I can find out. Will explain more later. If you have any immediate questions, e me.

Larry Kollar said...

Slightly over 5,000, Nancy. The last 1000 or so, I was mostly on my own. Olga just sat back and watched because I wanted to finish the damn story. I'm glad I did it, it was a stretch in a couple of ways. I'll let it sit for a while; I have to get back to Old Guy and start sending it out.

Dog story: Samson, an Akita mix who weighs probably 80 pounds, has enough sense to stay away from the road but otherwise has the brains of a rotting stump. He's also very shy around people who aren't part of the immediate family; when M.A.E. was living with us, he let her barely touch him after a year. My dad, for some reason, just scares the living $#!+ out of him.

So Dad & I were having a little fun with El Stupido one day: Dad crouched behind me, Samson came up to me, Dad popped up over my shoulder, Samson about had a heart attack on the spot. For several weeks after Dad left, he would start barking when the door opened, Just In Case. So one morning, Daughter Dearest was waiting for the school bus and came in to tell me about a woodpecker outside. I came out watch, and Samson settled next to me to see what was up. Then Mrs. Fetched opened the door… and Samson freaked out. He spun around to see who was coming out, and took my legs right out from under me. We went down in a heap, me cursing, Samson doing the dog equivalent of "oh crap he's gonna kill me!" and running for it as soon as he could get out from under me. And Mrs. Fetched was ROFL, of course.

Lunch begins to call. Hey KB, I've been known to start a comment, then get distracted and come back to it an hour later… or not at all. I saved you a virtual cinnamon roll.

Larry Kollar said...

Nancy, if I don't ask you this now I'm going to forget. Looking at a stack of your books at the bookstore not too long ago, I remember you saying you hoped I wouldn't read one or two. Which ones would you "anti-recommend"?

Nancy P said...

lol, Far. I'm glad you asked. Do you like harder-edged or softer-edged books? If you like somewhat harder-edged, start with The Whole Truth in the Marie Lightfoot series, then go to Ring of Truth in that series.

Skip the Eugenia Potter series. I wrote them, but it was for the estate of another author and I was going for her style more than mine.

In the Jenny Cain series, I never know what to tell people. There are light ones and dark ones. Most fans seem to like best: Bum Steer, No Body, I.O.U. (kind of heavy duty, about her mom's death). My least favorite in that series is the second one, Say No to Murder, but some readers--unaccountanbly--like it. :) The first in the series is Generous Death. I loved it at the time, but I'm almost afraid to look at it now after all this time.

I probably shouldn't even try to steer you, beyond saying that the Jenny Cain series is about a 30-something woman in a small New England seacoast town. Jenny runs a foundation and has a habit of tripping over dead people. The Marie Lightfoot series is about a true crime writer, ala Ann Rule. Set in south Florida.

I think probably one of this helps you. You can probably tell from the first pages if you're going to like any of them.

Nancy P said...

Oh, and (shakes finger at self) thank you for being interested in them!

katiebird said...

(From the WebMaster)

Also Nancy's got some interesting information about The Jenny Cain Series here & The Marie Lightfoot Series here.

If you'd like a little more information about them.

Nancy P said...

I'm not going to be able to restore that Australian short story market tip to the list. According to their website, they claim not to be a vanity or self-publishing press that charges writers for publishing work, but then they go on to say that they charge writers a "membership" fee of over $200 to have their manuscripts read. Oookaaay. They've apparently published only two books. Supposedly they're going to publish "thousands" of stories ranging from 9,000 to 30,000 words.

The "membership fee," alone, raises alarms, and there are other red flags.

Anonymous said...

Mornin all - I'm not listing people after my Olivia miss yesterday ;)

Well, we had sun this morning and now it's gray and rainy. But no snow until this weekend they say.

When you run inside for cocoa and Schnapps you will find me already sitting by the fireside (we're at a ski lodge right?) in really cool looking ski resort wear (even though I don't ski and never will). Ah, this is the life.

Nancy P said...

::Author slaps forehead and goes, Well, Duh::

Thank you, Katiebird. :)

Nancy P said...

Author is off to lunch with another author. One of them shall return here later.

katiebird said...

A webmaster's job is never done! And The Talent shouldn't have to worry about the details....

GhostFolk.com said...
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GhostFolk.com said...
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katiebird said...

Thanks Ghost, I'll stop by there after work.

I've sold stuff on eBay (just stuff from around the house -- mostly books) and I've always wondered how people get Big Lots of stuff to sell. It's fun to do. I think.

GhostFolk.com said...
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katiebird said...

I dream about doing that. But whenever I get rid of a load of stuff, one of the kids asks us to STORE a load of stuff.

They call it the archive. And it haunts me.

katiebird said...

Still I think it might be fun to buy stuff for selling. Especially if I didn't have to stand around in a store waiting for people to come in.

Conda Douglas said...

About the "Australian Market", the Internet is a great tool, but I think we all sometimes forget (being people of good character) that like everything else, there's abuses out there. $200? I don't think so.

And Andi--great photo. We've got snow this year in Boise (not always true)and that means great skiing nearby on groomed trails--fewer trees...

Maria Lima said...

OMG, there you all are!! It occurred to me this morning that I'd not been reading posts from the blog in a few days.

When I went into my Google Reader settings, I discovered that somehow, the feed was missing.

I missed you all!!

You're back now. :)

::hugs group::

Yes, I'm feeling a bit needy today. Have a raging case of the don'wannas, cranky people at the office, and the weather is getting rainy and colder.

BUT, of the good, I'm going great guns on Blood Bargain.

Larry Kollar said...

Thanks for the backlist recommends, all.

Ghost, yeah: 70 pounds of dog, 10 pounds of fur (it comes out in handfuls in the spring), 100 pounds of stupid — that's Samson. Another time my Dad was visiting, he started walking backwards toward Samson and the dog just stood there, not quite sure what was going on. He moaned and ran when Dad looked over his shoulder to avoid tripping.

Larry Kollar said...

Maria, we ought to grab a conference room and do some tandem writing instead of working. Too bad we're not at the same office. :-D

Maria Lima said...

FAR, no kidding! I've got about 30-35K words left to write and some clean up on aisle 4 (ahem) I mean, the first part so I can turn it in so they can produce some advertising material.

Virtual offices, perhaps? ;)

Nancy P said...

(((Maria)))

I wondered where you were!

Maria Lima said...

{{{NANCY!!}}

::snugs and doesn't let go::

Nancy P said...

Lol, Maria, and I'm in on the tandem writing, too. Triadem writing?

Wait. That would mean I had to write, wouldn't it. Never mind!

Larry Kollar said...

Hooray, I got something work-related done today! And I just found out what I'll be concentrating on tomorrow!

Leaving the weekend (and lunches) for the other kind of writing…

Hi ho, hi ho, it's commuting in fog & rain we go…

Nancy P said...

Wait. "Leans on skis?" That would be ski POLES, wouldn't it? Sigh. No wonder she ran into a tree.

Rick Bylina said...

Ghost...congrats.

Hmmm. Shadows casting trees. I feel a story here, but I can't quite pull it...uhhhhhhhhhh...the pain. Snap.

Oh well...I need a nap.

boran2 said...

That's a nice photo, Andi. I don't know about the skiing though. Actually I've been hoping to take lessons this winter but definitley not there. ;-)

Nancy P said...

Tiptoeing past Rick in case he's still asleep.

Whispering, Hi, boran2. I hope you get to learn to ski with the little borans.

katiebird said...

(smiling & whispering) Good Night. It's been a nice day.