Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘holidays’

With family visitors, the office needed to be gutted and my desk moved. I have only just now uncovered it. We had two drawers to assemble for our new bed and we had to deal with them before I could sit down and type. How wonderful it is!

We celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve with way too much food and loads of presents. I was so full I feared I would burst. I received Tansy Rayner Roberts’ latest kickstarter because it was so shiny and I asked the Dweeb to get it for me. But he also was my kringle choice so he also got stuff on my wish list. A photo printer, papers, and a voucher to frame a print. Other goodies some lovely tawny port, some really beautiful embroidery items from Ms Li brought from China. A lovely fan and a lovely scarf, some redwood earrings from California, chocolate and more.

A picture of Kickstarter from Tansy Rayner Roberts.

Yesterday, is my day off. People eat leftovers generally and we did and I watched rom coms the whole day. T’was the Text before Christmas, and the commentary was: “would someone really chat to a stranger? ” and you had to suspend belief for this one, but I liked it, I wanted to watch While You Were Sleeping (an oldie). Prime wanted $19.00 for it and I figured I’d just go buy it but then I found it on Disney for free. The Holiday was another one I hadn’t seen before but really liked. I also watched Love Actually before bed.

Christmas presents and not all there yet.

This morning I was out of the house at 6.30am to walk around Lake Burley Griffrin with my younger daughter. A good five kilometres! I needed it and a bit more. Today like I said uncovering the desk and finding my computer after some furniture assembly.

Food

My writing plans before Christmas went out the window. I had to go to NZ in a hurry for my brother-in-law and sadly he passed away after suffering a lot. I had to leave my sister behind but she’s surrounded by her son, her daughter-in-law and grandkids and I’ll go see her soon when she returns to Aussie.

I ended up maxing my credit card and spending all my money. Something I have not done for a while. Luckily I get paid again next week and things are better now and the need for spending has ended. I did save for Christmas but a few unexpected things came up. We also go the dishwasher repaired twice so that was not a nice Christmas expense. We found the problem was these soap sheets we were using made too much suds. We weren’t using them right in any case but the technician said don’t use them and use a level teaspoon of powder. My iphone battery died too and needed replacing. NZ trip and hire car.

We are also dog sitting because my elder daughter and my youngest grandchild have relocated to Sydney and we are watching the dog for a bit until she gets him after New Year. The cat is not impressed as he’s confined to one part of the house and he usually owns the whole place. I had to encouraging to leave our bed last night because I couldn’t get my pretzel shape comfortable and it was too hot to have car fur against my leg.

That’s about it. I haven’t thought of a plan for the year yet. I do need to get more of Amber Rose drafted ASAP. I appear to be more worried about the Dweeb’s deadlines than my own. He got a nice lecture from me this morning. Lol.

The immediate family and visitors are all well and happy and that’s a lovely thing.

I hope you had a Merry Christmas if you celebrate and my best wishes for the New year.

A lovely tranquil view from me walk this morning around the lake.

Read Full Post »

I am off again tomorrow for a few weeks, mostly to Rarotonga. Do not feel bad for me. While there will be tropical distractions and family, I will try to write or at least read.

I didn’t post about Worldcon in Glasgow and I didn’t post about RWAus in Adelaide. Naughty me. Things are just well busy.

Destiny’s Blood is with the editor and sadly will not be ready in time for Fiction and Friction in Adelaide on 12 October. Not unless by some miracle. But it will be available later in October.

I have not been diligent with drafting Amber Rose. I have tinkered and I have thought about things. The downside to seat of the pants writing. I need to think about what comes next. Also, I think I burnt out trying to get Destiny’s Blood ready for the editor. I wish I thought up plot as fast as I do excuses. However, Amber Rose is extremely fun. I just love being with Jemima Hardcastle and Ambrose Fulton.

It is funny how people ask me sometimes, which book is your favourite. All of them are my favourite and for different reasons. The Silverlands (Argenterra, Oathbound and Ungiven Land) is about the world, the magic and the deep joy in there. These days it would be called Romantasy. Of course there’s Sophy and Oakheart. Such a great set of characters. I love the sisterhood of Aria and Sophy and also the pure steadiness and focus of Rae. The trilogy is about romance and magic and finding yourself. Everytime I pick it up, I get sucked into the story. It was my first fantasy novel, which I penned back in 2002 I think. It was hard because it is so difficult to do something different with fantasy and I was so happy to think up a world where everyone can use magic except my heroine and how frustrating that would be.

My online store is functioning so feel free to check it out. I haven’t got all my print books there but all the ebooks are.

I will miss Conflux in Canberra this year. I’m sad to miss it. I love conventions.

See you again soon.

Read Full Post »

We’ve moved on from Nottingham and spent a lovely week in a village just outside Lincoln. Nettleham was so lovely. Lots of quaint stone houses, a beck and great, great company. We loved it.

This photo is Matthew on one of the little bridges over the beck. The whole village was wonderful.

The picture above is Lincoln cathedral. We really liked this and the city of Lincoln was an unexpected pleasure.

The remains of the city wall.

Now we have moved onto South Shields, where my paternal grandfather was born. My paternal grandmother was born nearby in Durham. These next few days we will explore. Today we walk into South Shields and maybe find the house where it began about 200 years ago. There are even some relatives nearby. Not sure I’ll meet them. The people are very friendly.

On BailWe did a big walk today down to Long Row but the house wasn’t the house but a 25 year old one. Later research revealed the Long Row had been subsumed into a wharf/ship building thing and the existing Long Row is just on the end of it. Also, Thrift Street was subsumed too and there was another relative there. We walked to St Hilda’s church hoping to find a cemetery but no graves were there. We walked to the churchyard and it was a car park (apparently the bodies were exhumed and it closed in 1855) and then went to another address but that was weird and I don’t think that house exists either. Then when we got back I did some research and the other place I wanted to find in Catherine Street is now a library. I should write a story about an unquiet carpark. Look, my relatives were poor so their houses don’t exist anymore. I was kind of sad. I haven’t give up hope of finding a grave but we will see.

This is a view of the Long Row but it is a newish construction and only part of the original, the original long row being absorbed into the dock expansion. It did give me an idea of how close they lived to the docks where by GGG grandfather was a stevedore in 1894. There is some historical photos which I’ll buy of these streets that don’t exist now.

A bit of trivia. My great grandfather was Alexander Hanson, but he was born after the other Alexander Hanson, his brother died at 15 months. Alexander is one of those repeating names because Elizabeth Erichsen and John Hanson who married in 1834 both had fathers named Alexander.

The above is the local church I believe my ancestors went to. As discussed, no cemetary.

Also, snow was predicted and we got a short film of it. I think it then turned to sleet but excitement.

A view of Littlehaven beach where we are staying. That’s the head of the River Tyne.

I’m tacking on the trip to Newcastle yesterday. It’s an amazing place. Too short a time to explore and we walked so much. I did my Vera homage, and we went to the castle, the cathedral, the Milenium Bridge and did a M&C cafe lunch.

We walked up the Longstairs on our way back from the bridge.

Read Full Post »

I’m still settling in after the jetlag. Still in transition from being on holiday in lovely historic Britain to being at home again in Dweebenhiem in Canberra.

Here is a shot of Dweebenhiem with peach blossoms! I hadn’t seen those before as we saw the house in late Spring before we bought it.

Dweebenhiem in Spring

Dweebenhiem in Spring

Yesterday it was a fab Sunday roast with friends and some family. I even did stuffing to go with the pork. I’m still trying to hang onto the threads of my trip.

Last night I had the grandchildren over. They’ve just left actually and peace has descended. Tomorrow I go back to work. Mind you I’m not sure how I’m going to get there as Action Buses took my express bus away. No more 788 or 785. I’ll just have to transition to the more convenient but expensive car and leave the inconvenient but cheap public transport along. Mind you before the bus timetable was imposed it was convenient and cheap. Thank you ACT Government! Not!

As I’ll be back at work I won’t be able to do much promotion and writing time will be these treasured moments when time, inspiration and energy levels combine. I’m entering a busy reporting stage of my project that should keep me stressed out until Christmas and maybe beyond. Then again maybe it won’t be that way.

As I may not have books for my launch on Saturday 12.30 at Conflux SF Convention, I’m getting these postcards printed. Provided they make it in time. They will have a discount code for the ebook, which will be fab.I’ll also be on a couple of panels at the convention.

. Along with the fabulous launch speaker Cat Sparks and awesome MC Nicole Murphy. The wonderful Matthew Farrer will be doing the book selling (or preorders).  So for the launch reading there will be just me, raw, everyday me. I was going to say naked me, but not your your life! I’ll be wearing my special launch shoes. I haven’t thought about a dress yet. And I may not do a reading but I’ll need to work that out pretty soon won’t I? I mean there will be people and everything like that.

So the postcard!

Dragon Wine Series Book 1 and 2

Dragon Wine Series Book 1 and 2

Then the special launch shoes! (this is my excuse for buying a third pair of shoes in that store on that day in Maidstone, Kent).

Launch Shoes

Launch Shoes

Everyone needs special shoes on a special day. Now I just have to find something to wear.

Wish me luck. I may have real life print books sometime soon. But the ebook is awesome. Did I mention it had maps? I’ll do another post on the Donna and the map drama later. Why waste a good blog topic? Also, I’m still working on the Four writers on a canal boat for a week post. It’s complicated.

Read Full Post »