I'm Hooked -- GoT Got Me

While channel surfing late one night last summer, I came upon a title I'd seen mentioned both in books and in television.  George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones.  I'll admit that I'm not one who watches or even reads a lot of fantasy.  Not that I don't like it, but both my reading and TV viewing is somewhat limited.  There just aren't enough hours in the day to do even half of what I want.  I'm also not into shows with a lot of medieval battles, either, so GoT wasn't really something I was itching to try.

So back to the channel surfing and my intro into a truly unusual and fascinating (to me) series. I was lured in when I caught a glimpse of platinum-haired Daenerys "Dany" Targaryen walking into the blaze of the huge funeral pyre for Khal Drogo, her deceased warlord husband, and disappeared.  Cut to the next morning, after the fire had died out:  Dany (or Khaleesi, as she'd come to be called by the Dothraki) is still alive, sitting near the remains of what had been her husband, her clothing burned, her face smudged with ashes and soot.  A small crowd of the faithful are watching what was obviously a miracle that she'd survived.  But that wasn't all.  Just over her right shoulder, we see something slowly moving.  The small, parrot-sized dragon that appeared was what put the finishing touch on a mesmerizing scene...and the end of the first season.

The end?!!  No, it couldn't be!  But it was.  That was Friday night.  On Saturday, I did a quick look to see if I could catch more of it on HBO OnDemand.  Lo and behold, I could!  I had enough time to watch two episodes, and as I checked how many were left, I learned that Sunday--the next day--was the last day the series would be run.  Huh?  Oh, good grief.  But my daughter was gone, I had until midnight on Sunday, and the TV was all mine, so I watched the other eight episodes, one after the other, to the end.  I was hooked.  Totally.  And then I learned that the second season wouldn't begin again until April.

April?!!  Aaaaaarrrrrrrgggggghhhhh

So here we are at April, and I wish I'd taken the time to watch season one again, just as a reminder of who was who and what was what, because after all this time, I've forgotten far too much.  There's a lot to learn about the fictional universe of Westeros and the people and beings who inhabit it.  That alone might very well might require reading the Song of Fire and Ice series of novels.

Because Game of Thrones is an HBO series, there's a lot of graphic scenes and images, sometimes a bit more graphic than my comfort zone usually allows.  Those haven't stopped me.  I've learned to blink when a head is lobbed off with a sword. (Ned, I do miss your sanity. sniff)  I've learned to watch scenes in the brothel without giving it much thought.  And I've learned to know which characters to love, hate, and who not trust.

The story is totally engaging, complete with gore and sex.  The characters are fully written, with human qualities of good and bad in all of them.  The location shots are mind-blowing, thanks to the 7 Kingdoms of Westeros, each different, ranging from forests to deserts to ice-covered lands.  Those alone are enough to take a viewers breath away.

If I've tickled your curiosity, or if you've always wondered what all this Game of Thrones talk is about, here's your chance to get hooked like me.  Game of Thrones Season Finale - Last Scene (Because of the graphic nature of this scene, I'm posting only the link, instead of the clip.)

All this watching is going to be tricky, because Mallory and I have become huge fans of GCB (I adore Annie Potts!), which is on at the same time as GoT on Sunday night.  Thankfully, HBO has multi-viewings of their best shows, and ABC shows can be seen online and, thanks to our cable provider, On Demand.

Yes, life is good!

Game of Thrones
The only hour each week in which we really truly feel alive has arrived! Tonight's episode of Game of Thrones, entitled "The Night Lands," involves Theon's return home to deal with his father; Tyrion's ruffling of feathers around the royal court; Arya's discovery by Gendry; and Davos' plea for naval assistance from a notorious pirate! (Sigh.) Love this show so much.  - Price Peterson, TV.com, on Episode 2, Season 2.

'Tis the Season...for Baseball

While I'm not particularly a baseball fan, it was a part of my life when I was young.  How many of us can there be who don't recall the crack of a bat hitting a ball?  Or the feel of the hard, flat surface of a bleacher in the hot, afternoon or early evening sun?

One of my earliest memories is of my mother, sitting in the old (and I mean old) recliner, with a clipboard in her lap as she watched the World Series on the black & white TV, while she kept a detailed running score of the game.  I don't know what teams played in those games, but I know for most of my growing up years, I was a Roger Maris fan.  Mickey Mantle was a close second.  I also remember Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays, Johnny Bench, George Brett, Hank Aaron, Joe DiMaggio, and Don Drysdale.  Those were the days of baseball.  Of course there were hundreds more, but those were the ones I remember best.

My mom wasn't the only one who watched baseball.  We lived not far from Lawrence Stadium, now Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, which was built in 1934 and has been the home of the National Baseball Congress World Series since 1935.  On summer nights, my dad would attend games there.  My mom would take me, usually in my pajamas and very sleepy, to pick him up when the game was over.  Across the street from the ballpark was a Dairy Queen.  Not the fancy brazier kind there are not, but one where you walked up to the window and ordered.  My mom was a banana split person, and my dad usually ordered a sundae of some kind.  My favorite was a chocolate malt...that I rarely finished and was put in the freezer for the next day.  Frozen DQ chocolate malts are great!  The DQ has been gone for years, but I'm always reminded of it when we go watch my oldest granddaughter perform in the annual ice show or we go skating at the Ice Center (upper left of the stadium in photo), built in 1996.  I've had the pleasure of attending a few games at L-D Stadium over the past 20 years and enjoyed every minute, including the beer that was accidentally dumped down my back by a zealous fan. ;)

Childhood became teen years, and we'd moved to a small town.  I became a Dodger fan.  In fact, like former manager Tommy Lasorda, I've been known to bleed Dodger Blue.  Third baseman Ron Cey was my favorite during those years, but was closely followed by Steve Garvey, Don Sutton, and others.  If I still watched baseball, that would be my team, in spite of KC Royals being only 3 1/2 hours away.  I'll root for the Texas Rangers, too, just because.

When I finally grew up and became a real adult, I went to slow pitch softball games, usually two to three games a week and several weekend tournaments, for most of 20+ years.  I learned to keep score and swore that my backside had to have been as flat as the bleachers I sat on, game after game after game.  There were lots of bleacher tans: shoulders and arms, upper chest and back, and tops of thighs and feet, not to mention my scalp if there was a part in my hair.  I made friends with the wives and girlfriends of players and enjoyed spending time with them on the bleachers.  I learned the rules of baseball and softball, not by playing, but by watching, listening and cheering on the team.  And, oh, the stories I have of those crazy times.  If I had to choose between watching softball or baseball, I'd choose softball in a heartbeat, even in spite of Maris, Koufax and Cey. ;)

So here's my salute to baseball and the boys of summer, complete with a super, upbeat tune and old-time photos that bring back those childhood memories.  Thank you, John Fogarty!

Baseball is the only place in life where a sacrifice is really appreciated.  ~ Author Unknown

PLAY BALL!!! 

Give Me Liberty...or a Vacation

va·ca·tion   [vey-key-shuhn, vuh-]


noun
1.
a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel; recess or holiday: Schoolchildren are on vacation now.


2.
something I haven't had for years and years.



Is there anyone that doesn't agree that we all need a little time off?  Certainly not me.  And make that a chunk of time off for me, because at this point in time, a "little" just isn't going to cut it.

You see, I haven't had a vacation---of any kind---since the summer of 2007, and even that wasn't a real vacation.  It was a working vacation.  I attended RWA's National Conference in Dallas.  Fun, yes, because I got to spend time with my friends.  But believe me, a lot has changed in five years.  I'd just sold and finished my first book for Harlequin American, and I've just contract to write books eight and nine.  No, working vacations, even when spent in the company of the best of friends, are not real vacations.

Even when I was married and especially AK (after kids), there weren't a lot of vacations.  For a few years, before the youngest of the four girls was born, we drove to Missouri and spent long weekends at my aunt and uncle's home on Table Rock Lake.  Two to three days of Silver Dollar City was fun, and the girls enjoyed it.  But staying with relatives and trying to keep 1-3 boisterous girls contained proved to be stressful and very UNvacation-like.


Then there were the then-hubby's softball tournaments that I --and sometimes the girls-- attended.  Vacations are not meant to be spent on hard, butt-numbing bleachers or being tied to a tight schedule of games-to-be-played.  In Savannah, Georgia, I put my foot down and insisted the girls and I visited the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts in the U.S..  In Battle Creek, Michigan, we'd hoped to visit Kellogg's and watch cereal being made, but visitors were no longer allowed.  (Makes one wonder just what they put in those cereal boxes...)  And those were the only two national tournaments the whole family attended.  He said they were vacations.  Uh, no.

My last eight "vacations" haven't been.  Vacations, that is.  Something is wrong with this picture.  My oldest daughter works for Royal Caribbean.  Her working vacations are spent on cruises and in places like the Galapagos.  I've rarely managed to get out of the hotels, except to attend dinners with editors (somewhat stressful) and the always fun Harlequin parties.  But there have been times when I've tried to turn some of those working vacations into more fun than work.  In 2000, I took the Washington, DC metro---alone---to the Washington Mall to see the Vietnam Wall.  In 2003, a writer friend and I traipsed through NYC and I mastered the subway enough to get myself and even others to Ground Zero, the Harlequin offices, and yes, all the usual tourist-y spots, then back to my hotel...more than once.

So here I sit, with no chance of a vacation in sight.  Not this year, at least.  Whether it's time or money, it seems there's always something keeping me grounded.  If I could sprout wings...  Sadly, I can't. But I can DREAM, and if that's all I can do right now, then so be it.  I'll take that vacation...that dream vacation...in my mind.

Islands as yet unnamed in the Caribbean, here I come!  Greece, here I come!  Historical places, here I come!

What and where is your dream vacation?  If you could go anywhere and do anything, what would it be?

A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in. - Robert Orben

Happy Friday the 13th!

Are you superstitious?  Do you think Fridays that fall on the 13th of the month are unlucky?  Do you have Triskaidekaphobia?  Because if you answer yes to either of those, this is not a good year for you.  Today is only the first of three Friday the 13ths in 2012.

While I admit to being very superstitious about many things, Friday the 13th isn't one of them, nor is the number 13.  In fact,  I like to think of it as lucky, not something to fear.  Yeah, I'm weird.  When I was in high school, many people told me I was...and it never had anything to do with *13*.  Maybe I'll share more on that someday. ;)

But what makes Friday the 13th so feared by so many? I'm glad you asked!

THE HISTORY OF FRIDAY THE 13TH

• Friday the 13th traces back to a Dutch holiday where mischievous children would sneak into graveyards at night and defecate on tombstones.

Some mischievous children needed a different hobby...and attention to their backsides.

• In France, Friday the 13th often fell on the day after the Feast of Saint Imbibecus.  Thus the day was often associated with terrible hangovers and poor choices made the night before.

Leave it to the French with their wine.  Maybe they shouldn't have Imbibecused so much.

• The Aztecs brutally killed 39,000 in one day on Friday the 13th of August, 1539.  This was done at the request of the recently arrived Hernan Cortez, who claimed to be a god seeking tribute.  The next day he overthrew their empire.

Trisky jerk, wasn't he?  

• One source says the number 13 has been unlucky since the Last Supper of Christ, where thirteen people were in attendance.

It's rumored by some that 1 of the 13 was a woman.  And the 13th was the woman, of course.

• Hammurabi’s Code, the first set of state initiated laws, omits the number 13, leading some to believe the superstition dates back to Babylon in 1700 BC.  However archaeologists agree that there indeed was a thirteenth law that was scratched out.  Studies of ancient tablets indicate the law condoned cross dressing of government officials, but was probably removed at the advice of Hammurabi’s aides.

With that in mind, shouldn't the number 13 be feared only by cross-dressers?

• Genghis Khan is said to have tasted his first defeat on Friday the 13th.  This fight between Genghis and five other larger children fueled the inferiority complex which drove him to conquer a continent.

Just goes to show that bullying isn't a new thing and can cause all kinds of trouble.

• Most skyscrapers do not include a thirteenth floor.  Gregory Johnson bravely included a thirteenth floor in his designs for the Empire State Building in New York.  Three days after its completion, on a Friday, the weight of the building caused it to buckle and it crushed the thirteenth floor.  It has been structurally sound ever since.

Not numbering the 13th floor does not change the fact that it is still the 13th floor.

• In London’s summer of 1865, seven prostitutes, two flower sellers, three secretaries and a nun were assaulted on Friday July 13th by a crazy man wearing an athletic mask.  The assailant would jump out of the shadows and present them with literature supporting the Conservative Party.  As the women screamed and tried to run away, they were asked for donations repeatedly, up to 18 times in one case.

Due to two words in this one, I'll skip commenting, but boy did I have some good ones!

• In 1881, a group of New Yorkers started The 13 Club, aimed at removing the superstitious stigma from the number.  At their first meeting on Friday the 13th, all thirteen members walked under a ladder into a room filled spilled salt and broken mirrors.  They all died in a freak accident involving a runaway truck and a rabid wolverine on its way to be put down.

Just goes to show you can only push your luck so far. 

• On Friday June 13th of 1952, Massachusetts Governor Kyle McArthur banned all private automotive transportation on the unlucky day.  Nine overcrowded city buses crashed into each other in downtown Boston.

Maybe it was because it happened the day before my 2nd birthday.  Makes as much sense.  Besides, if it was become of the number 13, wouldn't it have been 13 overcrowded city buses that crashed?

• Billy Ray Cyrus, Bobby Brown, and Michael Bolton all released albums on Friday the 13th.

For fans of the above, I'll leave this one to you. ;)

http://www.hauntedamericatours.com/HOLIDAYS/ 

Fear is the main source of superstition and one of the main sources of cruelty.

To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.  - Bertrand Russell 

'Tis the Season for Much

What a busy time of year, and the craziness isn't over.  Christmas is only 3 days away, it's Winter Solstice--the shortest day of the year--and it's also the 10th birthday of my oldest granddaughter.

That's Scarlett on the left when she was a few hours old.  The doctor was certain she wouldn't arrive until after the first of the year, but what babies waiting to enter the world listen to doctors?  Her mom made a late entrance.  I'd begun thinking I'd be pregnant for forever, but Sabrina, Scarlett's mom, finally decided it might not be so bad out in the world, after all.  Obviously Scarlett didn't take after her mom.

This evening will be the first of the family get-togethers over the next week and a half, as we gather to celebrate Scarlett's birthday.  I hear there's pizza on the menu, and of course the obligatory cake.  And, yes, it's hard to believe that there'll be ten candles on that cake.  Time goes by quickly.

I can't imagine not seeing my g-kids and sharing not only in the milestones of birthdays and holidays, but the little things.  That makes me one of the lucky ones.  I've been able to watch them grow from the beginning.   Each one of them is special in his or her own way, and talent of all kinds abounds.  Who knows what the future will bring for each of them?  Good things, I'm wishing.

Enjoy these days ushering in the final holidays of the year!  If you're lucky like me, give the kids and grandkids extra hugs, and treasure the time you have with them.  It may be the season to be busy, but it's also the season to make special memories.  Enjoy making yours!

What do you call people who are afraid of Santa Claus? Claustrophobic.- Anonymous 

The Holiday Push

I was feeling a bit like the dogs on the left, slugging along and not much concerned with anything special.  And then I looked at my calendar and realized there are only 12 days until Christmas.  Less than two weeks.  Just around the corner.  Will be here before you know it.

Is your heart beating faster, making your blood rush a little?  I'm picking my jaw up from the floor where it dropped.  You've I've got to be kidding!

I spent a wonderful evening with my critique group last night at the home of Love Inspired author Patricia Davids.  She should be sick of me, by now.  I was there, along with many friends from our writers group, on Sunday for our annual Christmas party.  Her house is beautifully decorated for the holidays!  I'm green with envy.  Or would be if I was into the holidays.  Not that I'm the Grinch or completely into the Bah!  Humbug! thing.  I've spent a lot of years decorating and cooking and shopping and wrapping and...

It's taken a few years, but I've finally abdicated my role of holiday hostess in the family.  As it is now, I might fix the turkey and another dish or two, and I'll help set the table and clean up after the meal, but I don't have to worry if there's going to be room for all 14 (gasp!) of us or if dinner is going to be late/cold/wilted.  I don't have to clean.  I don't have to decorate.  It's not that I don't miss all those things, especially the holiday decorations, because I do.  It's just that there are other things that have become more important, such as not worrying or having to rush. When I used to wish for a small slice of peace, now I get to enjoy the big chunks. I like that.

On Friday night, my youngest daughter and I will attend the local ice skating show.  This is the third year that Scarlett, my oldest granddaughter, has been a part of it.  It's fun.  It's a bit cold.  And it's always a pleasure to enjoy the local talent, from the tiniest little skater who has mastered staying upright, to the competition skaters who are definitely professionals.

Twelve more days.  Yes, the holiday push is definitely on.  And while many will be hustling and bustling around, making sure everything is perfect, I'll be enjoying the fruits and sparkles of their labor.  Maybe next year I'll do a little more.  Or maybe I'll enjoy this year so much that I won't. ;)

Anyone who believes that men are the equal of women has never seen a man trying to wrap a Christmas present.  - Anonymous 

Just...Relax

While the weather isn't favorable for sitting outside in shorts and a tank top, with bare feet propped up on a porch railing, that doesn't mean we can't relax.

Yesterday at Diary of a Mad Romance Writer, I blogged about writing through the holidays.  Not only are there thousands of writers participating in National Novel Writers Month (NaNoWriMo) and trying to conquer the 50,000 word goal, but there are many writers who are on deadlines and don't have the luxury of putting either their writing or the holidays aside.

Those who aren't writers need to also remember to take a few moments to find a small sea of calm, whether it's holiday time or just day to day.  We live in such a fast-paced world that we forget that we deserve a little downtime or even pampering, now and then.  So this is a reminder to readers and myself to take a little time, as much as we need and can find, to relax.

There are as many ways to relax as there are people relaxing.

• Some spend time watching television
• Some listen to music
• Some, as in the photo above, sit and enjoy the quiet and beauty of nature
• Some take a walk
• Some read a book
• Some work on a hobby
• Some take a drive in the country
• Some go fishing
• Some do yoga
• Some meditate
• Some spend time with children
• Some swim
• Some play golf or other sports
• Some play with pets
• Some even sleep

Even if you don't have time for any of the above or your own favorite relaxing, you can always stop, close your eyes, take a deep breath and hold it for a few seconds, then slowly let it out.  Don't stop with just once.  Do it several times, until the tension is gone from your body and your mind has stopped swirling with thoughts.

Oh, and by the way, if your weather is as great as it is in the photo above, congratulations!  I'm a bit envious.  We're still dealing with a cold spell that blew in--and I do mean blew in--late Saturday afternoon.  That beautiful sky I blogged about Saturday morning?  It didn't last all day.  C'est la vie. ;)

Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence.
Erma Bombeck  

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

It's pretty obvious by the picture on the left that one of my favorite things is Autumn aka Fall.  What's not to like about the freshest and most invigorating season of each year?

While driving to pay my car insurance this morning, I decided to start making myself more aware of the things around me.  Much better than focusing on the driving habits of others. ;)  The weatherman said to expect a beautiful day in the 70s, and at 61 degrees right now, it's hard to imagine better.  The only small drawback is the wind.  There's a stiff breeze (23 mpg) coming out of the northeast.  Still, there's a positive to even that.  The breeze is stirring the leaves that have fallen, sending them skittering and swirling across yards and streets.

There are no clouds in the sky, just a bright, azure blue that is breathtaking.  The air has a whisper of crispness, making it completely comfortable outside.  As I drove, I noticed two men making small repairs on a church building, while at another location, others were raking the multi-colored leaves into piles.

But the one thing that really made me smile was the two small children, a boy and a girl about the ages of 3 and 4, who were playing in the leaves in their yard.  The boy was standing and throwing leaves over his head, while the girl sat in pile of leaves and swirled them around her.  I couldn't hear them laughing, but it was clear from the joy on their faces that they were having the time of their lives at that moment.

I'm beginning to realize how important it is to look for these moments of enjoyment, whether mine or someone else's, and make memories that will always bring a smile.

This evening I'll go to a Porch Party given my a dear fellow author, who is eager to share her new enclosed porch with friends.  If, as the weatherman says, our high tomorrow is barely 40 degrees, I wouldn't be surprised if the party moves from the porch to the inside fireplace.  Wherever it is that we all eventually gather, it will be another memory to hold close.  I can't wait!

Friendship is love with understanding.

A Woofing Good Time

Woofstock is the largest fundraising event for the Kansas Humane Society. KHS is funded entirely by private donations and fees for service and receives no funding from government entities, the United Way or the Humane Society of the United States. The proceeds from Woofstock help KHS provide care and services for nearly 18,000 pets this year.
We don't own a dog, but we have in the past and there's always a possibility we might in the future. Click on the link below for a slideshow of photos I took at Woofstock.
Woofstock 2011

Just over two weeks ago, KHS waived the adoption fee for cats and kittens.  We have two cats, one which we adopted from KHS several years ago, but it was too tempting not to go up to the KHS shelter for a third.  The crowd of people wanting to adopt a kitten was overwhelming, and my youngest daughter and I stood, sat, and wandered the facility for several hours.  We'd been warned when we came in that because our number was so high, there was a possibility that there wouldn't be any adoptables even before our number was called.
As it turned out, there was one cat left at the end of the numbers called.  The cat wasn't even there, but was in foster care, and there was a poster of him hanging on the wall.  We'd seen the cat on the KHS website and had liked him, so I spoke up and said we'd take him.  We're glad we did.
Meet Toby...

Thank you, KHS, for Toby and for a wonderful time at Woofstock!!!

In Memory of Jim Henson on His 75th Birthday

If you're not using Google Chrome, you're missing out on having fun today.  To the left is the Google Doodle that appears on the main page of the browser in honor of Jim Henson's birthday.  The doodle is interactive and took me completely by surprise a couple of times.  I'm still laughing!

I was just out of high school when Sesame Street premiered, so I missed a lot of the early Henson work.  By the time my first daughter was old enough to grasp TV, she not only watched Sesame Street, but she fell in love with Fraggle Rock.  So did I.  And now I've introduced it to my grandkids, who love it, too.

Instead of including a video, I'd rather leave this link to a fellow author's blog, where you'll find two very special videos she chose to honor Jim Henson.  I don't think Myrna Mackenzie will mind if I share. :)