Sunday, January 20, 2008

Mentor Monday

Today's my day to be "mentor" on a Sisters In Crime Yahoo listserve, so I'll be taking questions over there until late this evening. But I haven't forgotten you! You all get 'round trip tickets to France for the day, so you can have your cafe or tea at a sidewalk cafe in Paris. Gee, I hope you can get off work. And don't worry, it's on a supersonic aircraft so you will arrive before the croissants get cold, with plenty of time left over for strolling along a boulevard, visiting a museum, doing a little shopping, and then you'll still be home for dinner. Non, non, don't thank me. C'est nothing, vraiment!

34 comments:

Nancy P said...

Bon jour, mon amis!

AndiF said...

Bon matin, mes amis.

It's a heat wave -- we're all the way up to 9°. :)

The Monday Picture Post is all about the cold. I love the patterns I find in the creeks make when they freeze.

Full view.

Up close.

Family Man said...

Morning Andi and Nancy.

Since I don't know French, I wonder if they would understand me if I ask, "Ya'll got some coffee here with them little curled biscuits." ;)

Maria Lima said...

Bonjour, tous mes amis.

Andi: brrrrr!!! But oh, so pretty.

In the spirit of today's theme, I'm watching The Girl in the Fireplace - a 2nd series Doctor Who episode that involves Mme. dePompadour. Il n'ya pas des croissants, however (my French, she is limited).

Hope everyone stays warm. I'll be enjoying my rare holiday. Since we use this day as a floater, it's a bit decadent to be holidaying whilst others at my office are working. ::g::

AndiF said...

Note to self: either go with my first sentence or make sure I clean up all the words from the original one or hire the Pack to be my copy editors.

Maria, that is a great episode, isn't it. My husband thinks it is the best Doctor Who ever but I'm too much of a Tom Baker fan to go quite that far.

Anonymous said...

In my memory, I'm sitting at Paris cafes, sipping cafe au lait and eating a baguette dripping butter and jam...sigh.

But at least y'all are there to share it with me!

Stay warm - we have a chilly 49 with 13mph winds. I had lunch with friends at an outdoor restaurant yesterday, and everyone had on gloves, coats, sweaters...it was funny. But it's relative. No pretty puddle patterns tho, andi.

Have fun mentoring, Nancy - what a great thing to do!

Larry Kollar said...

Andi, is that a French alien baby in utero (or poddero, or whatever it is aliens gestate in)? Looks really spooky. (OK, last night I was writing about a guy who finds an ancient alien space probe in an iceball they're mining for water. Another story I've wanted to write for some time, but am having trouble finding a way to grab it & pull it out of my head. Olga's not helping.)

17°F here. Woke up waaayyyy too late. I guess I'll snag a cinnamon roll (4 left) and stop at a coffee shop on the way to work.

Vroom, vroom, folks!

boran2 said...

Good morning all. I'm a stay at home Dad today. Second cup of coffee anyone?

Rick Bylina said...

Paris, Kentucky or Paris, France?

Packer backer family are all in a bad mood. I tiptoe lightly around them. It's "What if" Monday!

Y'all have a great one.

katiebird said...

Good Morning (waving) I not only slept in, but I slept a full 8 hours straight. I guess the threat of reading Empire Falls worked.

I guess I missed Nancy (how DARE she entertain other friends?)

And I'll be back for real after I have some coffee. I've got a box of cereal next to me, but something's keeping me from opening it....

maryb said...

My condolences Rick - I know a lot of Packer fans.

I'm not even going to attempt any French except Bon Jour! to everyone.

I went to Paris once with my youngest sister. All the way over she practiced saying in French "Excuse me, but I don't speak French." When we checked into the hotel she struggled mightily to say it to the desk clerk who was staring at her impassively through a few tries. When she finally finished he leaned over the desk toward her and said, in a confidential manner, "I know."

Then he laughed and she laughed and they were "waving" friends every morning as she left the hotel.

Conda Douglas said...

Allo, Allo.

Gorgeous pics, Andi, like abstract paintings.

France: as a college student, I lived in Strasbourg in November, December, January. In a 17th Century chateau. So romantic. I've never been so cold and miserable in all my life! Brrr!

Anonymous said...

But what a great experience, Conda! I'd love to do something like that...but in the summer... :-)

Nice pic on your place, btw! Makes me homesick.

Jen said...

You all get 'round trip tickets to France for the day

Make mine a one-way deal, please. Today's as good a day as any to retire in a cottage near the Pyrénées.

Kelly McCullough said...

Quick note on one of last night's comments. Bujold's Civil Campaign is one of the great books in science fiction. You have to have read the previous books to get the full payoff, but when you do...wow!

Larry Kollar said...

I was thinking the Med coast myself, Jen.

So… I get to the office and the parking lot is — empty! ARRRRRRRGH! I thought we were using floating holidays for this one. So I jump on the plane, somehow not getting felt up by the TSA for a change, and here I am. Where's that coffee & croissant?

AndiF said...

Hey, kb. Just checked last night's comments and let me join with Beth in saying that I really disliked Empire Falls.

And thanks to all for the comments on today's pics.

katiebird said...

Well, Andi & Beth -- there must be some reason I haven't cracked it in the 7 years since I bought it. But, since I haven't read it, I'm curious about what the problem is.

AndiF said...

Well kb, I figure you haven't read it because you are so smart you could tell it wasn't going to be a good book just by picking it up. :)

I had lots of problems with it. The women characters were lazily written -- they were literary tropes (the sacrificing sainted mother, the powerful and evil "witch", the harridan wife, the adoring daughter) rather than fully developed characters. The main character's backstory and motivations made no sense, the story arc felt strained, and the denouement was worse than contrived. (But other than that, how did you enjoy the play, Mrs Lincoln?)

Anonymous said...

Wow, andi, are you a writer and I never knew? Thanks for putting into words what I couldn't.

At least I'm not the only person in the world who didn't like it! :-)

AndiF said...

Beth, it's just the lingering effect of my wastrel youth spent getting a B.A. and M.A. in lit and composition.

Anonymous said...

Ah, that would explain it. Not the wastrel part. :-) You are a woman of many talents, andi!

Conda Douglas said...

Thanks, Beth. No need to be too homesick, today there a little snow, some fog, and lots of ice. Brr again.

maryb said...

Well our day started bright and sunny and ended gray and gloomy - but I think that means it's getting warmer. Anyway it's nice to look at the Parisian cafe picture and imagine myself there. The only thing better imo would be Italy.

I'm trying to decide if I can watch yet another candidate debate tonight. Oh who am I kidding. Of course I can.

katiebird said...

When does it start, Mary?

Nancy P said...

Hi, MES amis. Please forgive me if I don't name names. :)

The listserve members asked great questions, but there haven't been many of them, so I've had an easy time.

Easy enough that I took off to go see the movie, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly." Very well done and interesting.

Now I'm watching the debate.

katiebird said...

It's fun so far. I missed most of the first hour, but I'm watching now.

Nancy P said...

I'm having trouble enjoying it because I'm furious at a couple of things.

A certain candidate you like is doing a great job tonight, imo. :)

Larry Kollar said...

After cutting (and loading, and unloading) firewood this afternoon, I'm going to sit back and veg for a while. Maybe do some writing, maybe not. It sure is nice in the living room, with a fire going & insert earphones blocking the TV jabber. Mrs. Fetched & The Boy helped with the wood, by the by.

katiebird said...

What are you furious about? Can you hint at it?

I think Edwards does well in the debates. And Hillary is sounding pretty good too. I think she isn't as consistent. I think Obama sometimes goes on just a little too long -- at least in the 20 minutes I've seen.

Anonymous said...

Far, is the insert in and working? Or are you still using the fireplace?

You can probably guess what I'm doing. Syracuse just lost to Georgetown in overtime; Gonzaga plays at midnight (argh). I won't stay up for that one. Doggone time zones.

Enjoy the debates!

Nancy P said...

Hey, kb and far!

I'm not gonna get into it, because one of the reasons these couple of things make me furious is that they're so unbelievably stupid. So I won't prolong the agony of discussing it. ;)

katiebird said...

Was it from earlier in the debate?

katiebird said...

OO Never mind... You don't have to say!