Sunday, February 24, 2008

I wasn't here,


and you didn't see me.

xxoo by Np
Photo by Andif

83 comments:

AndiF said...

I wonder where Nancy is? I certainly haven't seen her.

But I'm in St. Louis and Iwill see Mary tomorrow. w00t! There will be something good about this work trip.

The Monday Picture Post is a tribute to the last blast -- I hope -- of winter.

Shiny sparkly. [picture link]

One impossible thing before breakfast -- dogs and unfooted snow! [picture link]

Anonymous said...

Morning, andi and not-Nancy. And everyone else who shows up later!

Have fun with Mary, and be safe in the Big City. We'll save your seat at the table.

This is the last week of no travel before the onslaught. I'm going to enjoy peacefully snuggling with my laptop on the couch for a few final days.

Hope spring is springing, wherever you are.

Nancy P said...

Beth, (said the invisible one), have we ever talked about tentative dates for when you'll be here?

Anonymous said...

You're up early, Non Being!

I'll send you a note, N, rather than drag everyone through my tedious road trip planning. :-)

katiebird said...

Good Morning Everyone (waiting for coffee before naming names)

Anonymous said...

Morning, kb, the coffee-less one! I'm the oatmeal-less one right now.

Larry Kollar said...

Andi, sounds like fun — both St. Louis and walking dogs in the snow. On this planet, at this time of year, the natives define "cold" as anything below 40F.

Hey Beth, kick back and charge your batteries. Lots of time at the beach, if the weather allows, should do it.

Someone at church brought a huge quantity of pastries and the like to the lunch yesterday. I snarfed a bunch of goodies; they're in the kitchen now. What the morning crew doesn't eat goes to the weekly core team meeting (which sucks slightly less since they moved it to the afternoon). Maybe I'll have another chocolate beershake tonight — but I'm gonna have to try making my own sometime!

Larry Kollar said...

Hey Nancy & KB! Y'all slipped in while I was typing....

Maria Lima said...

Morning, gang and she-who-shall-remain-invisible!

Another fun work week again.
/sarcasm

I am so ready for spring and some sun!

katiebird said...

Another general wave! I don't know why I'm dragging today -- but I still don't dare name names!

xxoo to Everyone.

Kelly McCullough said...

Also invisible. MythOS needs finish today.

Family Man said...

Good afternoon to everyone who is not here.

Things have been going the same here. Nothing new, just slacking all the time.

Andi tell Mary I said hi and you two enjoy yourselves.

Kimberly Frost said...

am playing hookie from all forms of work 2-day. Not going to fix zillion typos from 10-day writing marathon. Believe that is why have editor. Yep, on my way 2 getting fired, but am with Fam on this slacking thing. Need rest. Can not even muster many parts of speech & punctuation, as u can see. Rest is mucho bella thing. (see how well spanish and italian combine? i should be linguist, i.e. j.r. tolkien when i recover.)

Far: houston weather: sunny, medium balmy; no snow, but neighbors walking poochies all the same

Andi - pictures Xcellent. love them. u r genius photographer; have fun with Mary

Mary Lima - quit job and become slacker i.e. me & fam man. u will like it. promise

Beth - 'ello. With regards to laptop snuggling, if a mac or contains a webgoblin, give it kiss for me. PCs get a pinch.

Kb- am back from Starbucks. have afternoon coffee for you. take sugar?

Invisible writers (aka km & np), heaps and bunches creativity and word counts 2 u

hugs 2 all

katiebird said...

Kimberly!! PERFECT! I was (am) just getting up to get some coffee (I've got 10 minutes 'till the coffee shop closes)

I take mine black. It's my new rule. You can have coffee in the afternoon, but don't make it dessert....

Let's drink it together!

Anonymous said...

I just poured myself a glass of huckleberry riesling - can I join you, even tho there's no caffeine in it?

Yay for Kimber and her achievements and her day off! And yay for kb and her will power! If coffee isn't dessert, I'm not interested. :-)

Kimberly Frost said...

huckleberry reisling...want that! will have black cup decaf, ie not dessert with kb. then will the wine ie dessert with beth. can do it 'cause have all day to sit with friends and have beverages.

xoxoxo

Anonymous said...

It's luscious, Kimber, and an Idaho specialty. I brought 2 bottles with me. If I can swing it, I'll try to bring one to Erlanger.

Til then, sharing vicariously!

Kimberly Frost said...

p.s. speaking of huckleberries... anybody else fall in love with val kilmer in tombstone? when ringo, bad cowboy, is trying to trap wyatt into duel that will kill him and val says: "I'm your huckleberry." I was like, "would definitely kiss him despite the TB. consumption is excellent diet anyway. could have double mochas and reislings if wanted to and never gain weight.

Kimberly Frost said...

idaho makes wine? their tourist bureau has not been doing the right kind of advertising. from now on ads should say...

Idaho: Come for Huckleberry Wine, Val Kilmer does.

Kimberly Frost said...

Oops, I guess the part about Val would have to go, but the rest would work.

Anonymous said...

No, the Val part stays! It's a heck of a lot better than being known for potatoes! Which, by the way, we folks in North Idaho DON'T get. We get Watatoes from - you guessed it - Washington. The famous Idaho taters go to other places - like Texas.

This one is actually from Spokane, just across the border, but the Pend Oreille Winery makes a killer one. And St. Chapelle is another famous Idaho winery, although we actually have over 20 wineries in the state.

We're not called the (hidden) gem state fer nutin'!

Nancy P said...

anybody else fall in love with val kilmer in tombstone

::invisible hand sticks up in back of room!::

Jen said...

lol, Kimberly you're much too clever for advertising. Big congrats on all the recent production.

PS. I don't know (or care) what this says about me but I fell in love with Val Kilmer in Real Genius.

Kelly McCullough said...

Book=done.
Brain=jello.
Stare=blank.

Thud.

katiebird said...

(slapping-away something that's waving in my face)

I LOVE Val Kilmar & Tombstone was great.

I don't think I've ever been near a Huckleberry. Except when I was a kid all the streets in the neighborhood were named after berries. I lived on Appleberry & a friend lived on Huckleberry. I thought it had more to do with a cartoon hound than a fruit though.

And lately we've been getting our potatoes from Florida of all places.

(Who IS that with the invisible hand? Stop hitting me!)

Anonymous said...

::toasting kelly with smushed huckleberries::

WOO HOO!!!!

You guys are so inspiring!!

Congrats Kelly!
Congrats Kimber!
Go go go Nancy!

PS - Val, Tombstone, yup. Didn't see Real Genius, Jen - do I need to add it to the list?

Kimberly Frost said...

Kelly,

Yahoo!!

Since you don't need brain anymore more, here's some of Beth's wine.

Anonymous said...

Huckleberries are just wild blueberries, but SOOOOO much tastier! Especially when you hike through deep dark forests and stumble across a clearing full of them.

Montana is big on them, too.

Anonymous said...

::pouring wine for EVERYONE!::

(the work day is almost over - who'll know?)

katiebird said...

Kelly? Really!! Wow -- Congratulations! That's great.

Would you like some of my coffee (it's all I've got to celebrate)

(slapping that flapping hand AWAY WHO IS that?)

Kimberly Frost said...

Oh. My. God. Jen, I loved Real Genius. When Val walks around in the bunny slippers and has a guy living in his closet? and they make a weapon and use it to destroy a house with popcorn? why don't they make movies like that anymore. That writer was the real genius.

katiebird said...

That sounds wonderful. Real Genius. I'm looking it up right now.

Kimberly Frost said...

kb - truth be told, the closest i've ever been to an actual huckleberry was when i met a boy with the last name finn. but since i've never met a berry i didn't like i'm sure i'd like huckleberry wine. it's one of those things i just take on faith.

Anonymous said...

if you like wines that are a little sweet, kimber, you'll love it. i call it "suckin' wine", good to suck down on a warm summer afternoon. or a cold winter one.

my pea brain is trying to figure how to get a bottle or two to KY in may...except it's kinda fuzzy right now...

Kelly McCullough said...

Thanks all...mmm, wine.

Congrats Kimber!

Kimberly Frost said...

kimberly crawls across floor like a commando with bottle of wine strapped to back. her movements are whisper quiet as she sets the wine next to the invisible feet of the writer who shall not be named. the note on the bottle says, 'for when the characters are asleep for the night and you want to toast v. kilmer movies.'

Kimberly Frost said...

beth,

can't you carry the wine in your duffle? my friend hand-carries wine bottles back from italy that don't even have the FDA required preservatives. surely we can move that wine in a duffle across state lines. i'm planning to smuggle a scotsman home that way whenever i make my journey to the highlands. surely you can manage one or two bottles. i will mail bubble wrap.

Kimberly Frost said...

okay let's make a list of required kilmer watching...

tombstone and real genius (as per above)

willow (LOVED it)

top gun (was dumb enough to like Tom Cruise first time i saw it. now would go with the iceman all the way)

kiss kiss bang bang (recent addition to list. LOVED it. had added benefit of brilliant robert downey jr being lead)

Anonymous said...

I just finished one of Janet Chapman's Highlander books. And am a huge fan of Diana Gabaldon. Believe me, if I could find a duffel big enough for a Scotsman, I'd SO be smuggling one!

I can stash a couple of bottles in my suitcase. Unless I can leave one with andi, and convince her to drive it to KY. I don't know if Nancy is flying or driving.

I'll figure it out! :-) I'm flying from Denver to Boston, then driving to NH, then to ME, then flying to Cincy for WRW, so it'll be well-traveled wine.

Anonymous said...

Duly added to netflix!

Nancy P said...

Kimberly and Kelly, you're both so funny. . .AND IMPRESSIVE!!!!! I hope it's catching.

Gosh, Kb, I have no idea what you're talking about.

"Real Genius?" Never heard of it. Must see. I've got the impression Val is a jerk in RL, but I don't care. I LIKE 'im.

Pass that wine.

Kimberly Frost said...

beth - wow. u should star in around the states in 80 days. maybe we can get val for that. trudging off to e-mail his agent.

katiebird said...

Hi Nancy! It's great to SEE you. I don't know WHAT that thing was (sweaty fingers) that kept waving in my face....

It's gone now. I think.

Jen said...

General warning: I love really dumb movies (although I maintain that the dude living in the closet was sheer brilliance) so follow my taste only with caution and/or hookahs. :)

Big congrats to you, too, Kelly!

katiebird said...

The nice thing about having a crush on a famous person is that we don't actually have to put up with them.

AndiF said...

I have been polite, nice, understanding, and very adult all day long and I don't like it one bit. Feh.

Anybody want to drool over Jean-Paul Belmondo in Cartouche?

Anonymous said...

I'm nuts. In the next 3 months I'll drive through FL, GA, SC, NC, TN, IN, MO, KS, CO, UT, WY, MT, ID. Visit MA, ME, NH and KY before returning to CO and collapsing.

:::head spinning::

Kimberly Frost said...

is val a jerk in RL? that would be tragic. this is the exact reason that i write books. so the characters can't jump on couches and make complete asses of themselves by talking about their silly uniformed opinions on medical conditions, etc. so that i hate them so much i can't see their movies.

fiction rules. down with celebrity interviews. they should be banned. what is obama and hillary's positions on celebrity interviews. then i will know how to vote

Nancy P said...

Oh! I just found some wine down at my invisible feet! Here, Andi. . .do you mind drinking it out of the bottle? ::wipes off mouth of bottle with sleeve::

Anonymous said...

Sorry half of it is gone, Nancy/andi - hic!

Kimberly Frost said...

andi what is cartouche? kimber slinking off to google...

AndiF said...

If it's Boones Farm or Ripple, from the bottle is de rigueur.

Val Kilmer is very good in Thunderheart. I think the creepy professor (William Atherton) steals Real Genius from all the kids.

Kim, IMDB on Cartouche [LINK].

Kimberly Frost said...

as i suspected by the name jean-paul (i am very familiar with the characters jean-claude (french vampire in anita blake series) and jean-luc (french vampire in book called undead next door by kerry sparks), jean-paul belmondo is a french vampire. did not know there were any vampire gunslingers. is an excellent twist on vampires. hee hee hee.

oh wait, it's not paranormal. it's okay. i'll still put it in my queue. my imagination is excellent. i can easily turn any cute frenchman into a vampire in three seconds flat.

Kimberly Frost said...

wow. someone named kimber is monopolizing the entire comments section of a blog that belongs to someone that is not her. hmm. some of the writing mania seems to be lingering. no more regular coffee and sending self to room to inventory movies.

Anonymous said...

Such is the risk when Nancy turns her blog over to the community at large.

What's the saying about the inmates running the asylum? :-)

AndiF said...

Person-who-is-monopolizing-the-comments, does your vampire thingy extend to females because if so, let me highly recommend the Sonja Blue books by Nancy Collins.

Kelly McCullough said...

Come back Kimber. Mania is entertaining! Especially manic writers.

Book=still done.
Jello=leaked out ears.
Stare=frenetic.

Thud...boing!

Book=done starting to actually sink in. Own mania will commence soon, especially since this is the book that wouldn't end. It took forever and two days...well maybe not that long, but it sure didn't go fast. At least not subjectively, and since I'm the one who's been living with the thing, that's what counts.

Right? Right? Anyone? Bueller?

Pouts. Has another glass of wine.

Ooh, shiny.

katiebird said...

I never said, but that is a beautiful photograph, Andi. It's perfect.

Kimberly Frost said...

hi people. am back. like the kids in the wardrobe, time moves differently for the manic writer. i was gone two hours in kimber time. ten minutes in blog time. movies are alphabetized. emails are attended to.

andif - yes, female vampires are excellent too. will put sonja blue (cool name) books on list to check out when next i am in bookstore (probably in one to two hours as it is an almost daily trek. scary, i know.)

kelly - have wine. you earned it. what with the lapsharing troubles and everything. i am proud of you. i will do snoopy dance in your honor.

Kimberly Frost said...

wow, is almost 5 pm houston time. who wants to go out to dinner together? i vote tex-mex. anyone?

Anonymous said...

Me! Me! I love Tex-Mex! We have no decent restaurants here, though, so I'll have to eat Doritos and pretend.

Kelly McCullough said...

No Tex-Mex here, but most excellent Mex-Mex which Laura just called and suggested we go eat. So, I'm off for Chiken Adobo and daiquiris.

TTFN

Anonymous said...

::reaches into her box of Girl Scout cookies with a sob::

AndiF said...

Thanks kb (and also Kimberly from earlier).

Kimberly I would be shocked if a bookstore had any of the Sonja Blue books -- most of them are out of print. You can get the first three books in a single volume called Midnight Blue (you should be able to get a used copy online from Powell's).

Nancy P said...

"Ooh, shiny"

laughing so hard.

I love Manic Kimber and Manic Kelly! Let's all go eat Tex-Mex and watch them run around the tables.

(Children, this is what mother meant when she warned you about growing up to be novelists. Do not attempt it without adult supervision!)

Kimberly Frost said...

people, i will share tex mex, vicariously right now. for real when nancy loads everyone in scooby van to visit houston. no, i did not forget the plan. although if more people live east maybe it would be easier for me to drive convertible to you. i can do the beth "ring around the states in thirty days" travel plan. beth, please advise while i put shoes on for tex-mex run.

Nancy P said...

You have a convertible???!!!

Anonymous said...

it's quite simple, kimber. people say come visit me, and you say okay. then you look at the map and scratch head a lot, and draw zig zaggy lines across many states.

and close eyes when numbers roll at the gas pump.

Kimberly Frost said...

andif - okay, powell's it is. have heard excellent things about them.

Kimberly Frost said...

nancy, i have convertible. come visit. i will roll us down to Murder by the Book with the top down. we can wear dark sunglasses. we will be extremely stylish authors. passers by will stop and take our pictures and buy our books. (well yours. i still have no pub date. sob)

Kimberly Frost said...

beth, thank you for travel advice. zig zaggy lines sound brilliant. tho' i like the jason sitzes travel method too. leave days before you have to be someplace and wander, occasionally using GPS device to head in general direction of where u need to be and finally arrive with many good stories about places nobody ever heard of.

Anonymous said...

i have done versions of that, but usually end up filling time with friends instead of having extra to wander around strange and marvellous places.

guess i need to take lessons from j.

gps is a gift from the travel gods. i go nowhere without mine (named marge).

Kimberly Frost said...

okay, i'm going offline. i must have actual rather than virtual dinner.

xoxoxox

thanks for sharing my day off with me while all my friends with "real" jobs were off doing them.

AndiF said...

Powell's is the best bookstore ever. It's worth going to Portland just to go there. One thing I really like is that they sell both used and new books -- no passing off to outside vendors -- so you can easily get out of print books.

And if you don't find it, I can bring my copy when we have our meet up.

And I think I'll follow up your suggestion and go to dinner.

Anonymous said...

Unlike my productive friends, I still have words to put on paper before I can stop. Enjoy your dinners!

(waving)

boran2 said...

Late for dinner, so to speak. I hope thay yours were good.

Kelly McCullough said...

Hi Boran,

How are you? Long time no overlap.

Dinner was lovely. Of course, after finishing the book, pretty much everything is lovely.

boran2 said...

Congratulations Kelly! I hadn't read that you've finished it. That's got to be a very good feeling.

Kelly McCullough said...

Thanks, Boran. It is. I'm at the decompressing stage, where I'm still adapting to the pressure being off. I should be bouncing off the ceiling in a day or two.

Larry Kollar said...

Wow. Two seriously frazzled brains ponging around this evening! Big congrats to you both, though! I can sort of relate; that afternoon I pounded out the 3000-word short story, I was a bit frazz'ed myself.

Vampire, vampire… oh. Daughter Dearest is reading Stephanie Meyer's Twilight. For the second time. And she only bought it over the weekend. I get the idea she likee.

I don't get the excitement of finishing a novel. I get the excitement of narrowly dodging a game of bumper cars on the freeway this morning.

Kelly McCullough said...

3,000 words, that's great Far. Congratulation. The freeway bumper cars, on the other hand, sounds like a bad idea. Good on you for avoiding it.

boran2 said...

Hi Far. Congratulations on finishing your story.

My morning trip includes a ride along our version of the Pacific Coast Highway. Bear Mountain Road, or the goatpath, as it is affectionately called, runs along a cliff above the Hudson River with a rough stone barrier along the edge. I'd love to find a way to avoid that.

katiebird said...

FAR, congratulations on the story. But, even more on surviving the drive to work!

Boran2, it's great to see you.

I'm stuck on the same web page I've been struggling with since Saturday. Argg!