Category: Anything but writing

Procrastination

Updated on June 13, 2014 by Myretta

Admit it. We all procrastinate. But I’m not here to tell you how to avoid it, I’m here to give you some great procrastination tools. Now, granted, I have some go to procrastination tools: house cleaning, desk organizing, cooking, errand-running.

But today, I am providing some of my favorite online tools other than email, which goes without saying.

Bao Bao – National Zoo

Today we have a plethora of panda cams available to us. My current favorite is The National Zoo Panda Cam. Bao Bao was born on August 23 of last year and just keeps getting to be more fun to watch. I was similarly obsessed with her older brother, Tai Shan. Also fun, although the cameras are not as good, are the twins at Zoo Atlanta. No new cubs at The San Diego Zoo, but an excellent Panda Cam. If you’re not into pandas (although frankly I can’t understand that), they also have Tiger, Koala, Polar Bear, Ape, Elephant and Condor cams.

A less time-consuming and more domestic animal-centric page is Cute Overload. Always good for quick animal fix. I don’t get the lizards and bugs on this page, but I guess cuteness is in the eye of the beholder.

If your online procrastination tends toward the interactive, there’s always Facebook (I know I don’t need to link to this) and Twitter (nor this). If you like your interaction more focused, I refer you to my own pemberley.com where you can discuss Jane Austen ad nauseum (really!) or A Forum of Ice and Fire for you Game of Thrones fans. (Caveat: I’ve never participated in this, so I cannot say how friendly it is).

Looking for something where you don’t have to interact with other people? How about Mahjong Solitaire. I sometimes click to this when I’m on hold. Jigsaw puzzles? I like The Jig Zone where you can choose the number of pieces for each puzzle.

I also spend quite a lot of time looking at recipes. The Food Network is always good for this, as is My Recipes.

Of course, you can’t go wrong with research-related procrastination but I think I’ll save that for my next blog.

What’s your favorite procrastination tool or site?

Posted in Anything but writing, Frivolity | 8 Replies

The dog ate my homework and other excuses

Updated on May 9, 2014 by Elena Greene

I was meaning to do a giveaway of the paperback version of Lord Langdon’s Kiss today, but well, for that, I’d have to have the paperback ready.

I am grateful for the patience of my fans who prefer paperback, because I had originally advertised a date of April 20th. That was madness, considering I was visiting in-laws over spring break. Since getting back, I’ve been trying to catch up with household stuff, college financial aid paperwork (my oldest made her choice about a week before the May 1st deadline) and church lady (minus the hairnet) activities. Plus, I volunteered to help judge the Royal Ascot, a contest run by the Beau Monde, RWA’s Regency special interest chapter.

Nonetheless, I was on track to proofread this week…un LLK_Page_Proof til my two year old printer died, amid screams from daughters needing to print homework. This is the second printer I have bought and installed in the past four years. How come the 25 year old TV that used to be in my apartment when I was single is still working, but printers last 2 years or less? I know, it’s planned obsolescence (not even talking about the highway robbery that is involved in the selling of replacement print cartridges). Anyway, I have splashed out a little more money on a laser printer this time, in the hope that reports are true and it will last longer and need less frequent toner cartridge replacements. Because I’d rather be writing!

Anyway, I finished proofing yesterday, but it hasn’t gone live yet, so the giveaway will happen in a few weeks.

So how do you feel about gadgets and appliances? Are you like those people in the commercials who throw their old stuff out the window so they can get shiny new stuff with added features? Or are you a curmudgeon like me who wants things to just keep doing what they’re doing and gets grumpy when they don’t?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

Posted in Anything but writing | 10 Replies

Apologies from Carolyn

Updated on April 16, 2014 by Diane Gaston

Carolyn is prostrate with sorrow that the wonderful blog post she fully intended to write for today entirely slipped her mind!!

She promises to do better next week and we’ll all hold her to it, right????

What matter of importance have you forgotten lately? (The number of things I’m in danger of forgetting became so long I had to create a To-Do list)

Posted in Anything but writing | 4 Replies

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Updated on March 17, 2014 by Diane Gaston

I hope you are “wearing the green” today, because, if not, you might get pinched!

Today is St. Patrick’s Day, the day everyone is Irish. But did you know that St. Patrick wasn’t Irish? At least not by birth.

St. Patrick was born in Roman Britain in a place called Bannavem Taberniae. It is not known what part of Roman Britain that might have been. His was a wealthy family. His father was a Christian deacon, although Patrick himself was not particularly religious.

When Patrick was 16 years old he was kidnapped by a group of Irish raiders who sold him into slavery in Ireland. For six years he was a slave. He was a shepherd and in the lonely days and nights he spent tending his sheep, he turned to the religion of his childhood for solace and strength.

He later wrote that he heard God’s voice telling him he should leave Ireland. He walked 200 miles to the coast and talked himself onto a ship that sailed to France. While in France Patrick studied for the priesthood. He wanted to return to Ireland to serve the Christian communities there and to convert the Celts who worshiped the sun.

The rest is, as you might say, history. Or at least legend. Patrick did not actually chase all the snakes from Ireland, and he didn’t introduce Christianity to Ireland, but he did make conversion easier by incorporating pagan practices into Christian worship. He put together the symbol of a sun with the Christian cross, creating the Celtic cross.

So lets all dine on corned beef and cabbage and raise our glasses of green beer to St. Patrick. But let’s keep our celebration under control. When I attended Ohio University, its spring break always fell on the week of St. Patrick’s Day. That was because the students used to get rowdy on St. Patrick’s Day and run through the town breaking windows and such.

I’ll be Irish today, though when I asked my mother and aunt one day during which potato famine did our ancestors flee Ireland, their answer was, “Ireland? Well, I suppose we might have had an Irish ancestor, but our family came from Alscace Lorainne.”

Mon Dieu!

(It is snowing here in Virginia on St. Patrick’s Day. Here’s the scene on our deck)

(Hurry up, spring!!!!!)

Posted in Anything but writing, History | 7 Replies

The Corcoran

Updated on March 3, 2014 by Diane Gaston

Last week my good friend Victoria Hinshaw (Of Number One London) was in town and together we visited the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

The Corcoran was founded in 1869 by William Wilson Corcoran. In 1897 it moved to its present location, a beautiful building designed in the Beaux-Arts style by Ernest Flagg.

It has these wonderful bronze lions in front. The lions were purchased in 1888 from the estate of Bill Holliday, the founder of the Pony Express. They are copies of originals of Antonio Canova.

The gallery had many noteworthy pieces of American Art, but they also had examples from English artists.

A Gainsborough

A Reynolds

A Raeburn

There was also a beautiful room – The Salon Doré, an 18th century French room that was originally part of the home of the Count d’Orsay and his wife, Princess de Croÿ-Molenbais. The Princess died in childbirth and the Count fled to Germany before the French Revolution and died in poverty.
The room was donated to the Corcoran in 1926.

The Corcoran will no longer exist as a privately endowed museum and art school. Because of financial problems, its art school and building will be taken over by GW University and its art will become part of the National Gallery of Art. I feel like I made my visit just in time!

How’s the weather your way? We’ve got snow AGAIN. In Virginia. In March. Unheard-of.

This Sunday my pal Sally MacKenzie returns for an interview and giveaway of Loving Lord Ash.

Posted in Anything but writing, History, Regency | 5 Replies