Thursday 13 #34!

On Monday of this week I had two books released: The Gilded Cage and Hot Couture. In celebration and because it's on my mind, I'm going to tell you some things you may or may not know about these books using my TT.

The Gilded Cage
1. The Gilded Cage is the third book in the "A Passion for Fashion' series.

2. The heroine is a jeweler about to be offered the show of a lifetime.

3. The hero has an interesting set of piercings.

4. The heroine lives and works in London.

5. The hero lives and works in York, but is opening a satellite office in London.

6. The Gilded Cage in the story has a special water bottle as an attachment.


Hot Couture
7. Hot Couture is a collection of my 'A Passion for Fashion' series.

8. The Leather Bride, Taming Marie Antoinette and The Gilded Cage are the three stories in Hot Couture.

9. New York City, Paris and London are the fashion capitals these three stories take place in.

10. The Leather Bride was extended for Hot Couture.

11. The heroes in these stories all have a career somewhere in an environmentally friendly arena.

12. I traveled to all of these locations and brought something I did into each of the stories.


The Series
13. The fourth story will be His High Stepper and takes place in Milan.

Thursday 13 #33!

My trek over the past couple of weeks culminated in the 25th Annual Romantic Times BOOKlovers Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Wow, was it a wild experience. So, let me share with you some of what I happened and a few people I met.

1. We arrived at the hotel on Wednesday around 12:30 and were told our room wasn't ready. Uh-oh, I was supposed to help stuff goodie bags for Ellora's Cave and now I was standing in the lobby with a couple of big boxes and luggage. No problem, the cutie saved the day and got us in only the group had already finished up and cleared out. No problem, it gave me a couple of hours to set up on promo alley for Stella and Audra Price and myself before heading in for the eBook Expo.

2. Ahhh, the eBook Expo was fabulous. The ballroom was filled with long rows of tables with authors ready to sign either books they wouldn't have on Saturday. Before it started I met up with Cat Johnson, a fellow East Coast Author and booksigning partner. She had her new book Model Soldier. Brenda Williamson and Rayne Forrest stopped by the say "hi" before the doors opened as well. They are both at a couple of my publishing houses so we cross emails often and it was lovely to put a face to the name.

3. I was sat between the lovely Bronwyn Green and Treva Harte [the latter went up to sit at another table to sign an anthology]. Bronwyn was such a sweetheart, a beautiful soul inside and out. We chatted in between people stopping by and had a blast.

4. Suzanne, Lisa, Susan [of West of Mars fame] and her friend Ann, all did the social thing. Susan was a crack up! First thing out of her mouth after a hug was "You look nothing like what I thought you'd look like." So yes, I had to ask what she thought I'd look like. This is fabulous, "Curly hair, like out to here." With her hands far from the side of her head, I laughed because that is not me at all. Of course I asked what it was about my emails and online chatter that said that...can't remember the answer because I'm still laughing over the image she had of me. I also had a chance to meet Joy of Joyfully Reviewed...this woman is gorgeous!

5. After the eBook Expo finished I went upstairs and stuffed bags with the Samhain gang. What a spectacular group of ladies and included Jennifer, one of the two Asheligh Raine authors, D. Renee Bagby, Beth Williamson, Bianca D'Arc, Cindy Szolyga and a couple others I'm drawing a blank on right now - forgive me]. Crissy, Amanda and Marty were the magic on the ground and all were there throughout the convention whenever a question arised. But more on that later. There were maybe seven or eight of us and no one brought the same promo item for the bag...what are the odds of that!

6. After this I went back to the ballroom for the Ellora's Cave Fantasy Party. All I remembered was I was in group 5...had no idea what it meant, but I was going with five. It was dark but I found a lovely group of authors and sat myself down to wait for the walk across the stage. There was Anny Cook and her husband, Kelly Kirch, JL Wilson, and Tiffany Bryan [I think :-)] along with her friend. I wasn't pleased in walking and hope the video of that never sees the light of day. All I can say is thank goodness I didn't trip.

7. By ten I was upstairs in the room watching hockey with the cutie. He was such a sweetie in coming with me. We'd been on the road for long enough that the lure of the same bed a few nights in a row was too good to pass up.

8. Thursday I was up and at Club RT for 9:00am. Along with other authors, I helped man the table to answer any and all questions about Samhain, what they had to offer readers and writers as well as encourage people to sign up for the scrumptious gift bags that would be drawn for at the final function on Sunday.

9. I made my way over to the Phaze table for the same thing and met up with Alessia Brio, Will Belegon, Sammie Jo Moresco, Brenna Lyons and Sapphire Phelan. Alessia had a giveaway that was the treasure of the convention...a small bottle of chocolate and cherry flavored lubricant.

10. After attending a session on Promoting through Emerging Technologies, it was back to the Samhain table in the afternoon where I had a chance to meet up with Amy T. and Laura K....both are great ladies. Laura is a reviewer who handed me the June RT BOOKreviews which had Zandia inside...she was thrilled to see her name in lights as well as I quoted one of her reviews for the print copy. The cutie and I went for a walk around the city [it was gorgeous] before heading back up for more ice hockey.

11. Friday started out at a breakfast hosted by Jacqueline Frank with Lisa and Suzanne having saved me a place. After this I spent a little time at both Samhain and Phaze tables in Club RT before heading over to listen and eventually pitch ideas to both St. Martin's Press and Kensington [thank you Susan :-)]...now I need to get those both pulled together and sent off [panic time]. See not all fun and games, there was some business going on as well. And, I went to the awards lunch. We had a great table. Susan, Lisa and Suzanne, a mother from Texas [she has a ms waiting for an acceptance from Dorchester] and her daughter who now lives in Wisconsin. Then there was an EC author from Wisconsin [who unfortunately I don't remember her name but she was so sweet] and a reader from upstate New York. See, what a mix. After this it was over to the Phaze table at Club RT and then to a course on Writing a Marketing Plan [fabulous ideas came from this one] and then back to close out the Samhain Club RT and then the cutie and I walked over to the Original Oyster House. No, I don't eat fish but the beer and fries were lovely.

12. Ahhh, Saturday, the Giant Book Fair. I was set up in the ballroom and sat down by 10:30. Before the doors opened I revisted with many authors I'd met up with throughout the week and then the nerves set in. Yup, I was nervous but also very excited. This was a fun event. It ended with the last five minutes or so in darkness. Interesting and disorienting. As I promised the cutie, little chatting as I made my way out the door with Selena Illyria...we gave her a ride back home. She is such a sweetheart...gave me chocolates :-)

13. It was the cuties birthday on Sunday and one of his pressies was to buy me a fabulous new laptop! Why me the laptop and not him? Apparently not having to listen to my old one's fan is pressie enough :-) Actually after we dropped off Selena I took him to a friends house where he indulged in beer and burgers. In case you're wondering, he survived the convention by spending very little time downstairs amongst the chaos. The next morning I dashed out and picked up a copy of Harlan Coben's latest and a new game for the Xbox...he's very happy :-)

I met with so many other people that I didn't mention and while I'm not a name dropper or anything like that, a couple that stuck out for being genuinely nice people were Jade Lee and Barry Eisler. In the end, all of them so nice and friendly. It was a great book event so if it ever comes to your neck of the woods - GO. Will I be attending next years in Orlando...most likely, if it fits in the calendar. Whenever I get a chance to talk books with readers, authors and everyone else, it's a great time.

And Sparky Duck, if you're reading this...I met up with your favorite author and had a picture of you and the Mrs in my mind :-)

Thursday 13 #32!

With it being women's history month and Zandia coming out in paperback I have women on my mind. Here are 13 that I think about in no particular order.

1. Athena. Zeus had a headache and took an ax to it to relieve the pain and out came his daughter [Metis - knowledge or wisdom - was her mother]. She's the Goddess of Warfare and Wisdom [amongst other things] and I think the mixture is intriguing.

2. Mae West. She was sassy and smart, sexy and sweet, strong and successful.

3. Amelia Earhart. She showed there was nothing wrong with being adventurous.

4. Judy Blume. She is an author who ignores the nay-sayers and writes what kids want and need to read.

5. Audrey Hepburn. She is a person who suffered much through life and yet thought how she could use her success to help others.

6. Edith Head. She inspired me to be a designer and while I didn't go on with this she still is in my mind showing me new ways to push boundaries.

7. Helen Keller. She excelled despite it all.

8. Laura Ingalls Wilder. She wrote a series of books that I loved and took away from it that everything was possible.

9. Rosa Parks. She showed such incredible strength in the face of adversity and kept her dignity in a world of hatred.

10. My Grammy. She was a writer and painter who taught me to never stop learning. I loved that she was started doing aquatic aerobics in her late eighties.

11. My Mom. She installed in us confidence in being ourselves and reaching out for our dreams.

12. My sister. She's a mother of four and each one of her kids, 3 girls and 1 boy, and they are all incredible, can't wait to see what happens for them.

13. Sui Erom from Zandia. When faced with a future that didn't suit her, she left but eventually returns to help makes changes for all women.

What woman influenced you or you think about that gives you a good vibe?

Thursday 13 - #30!

Since it's Read an eBook Week I think I'll give you all 13 things in this business that keep me excited about being a part of it and hopefully encourage others to buy their first or next ebook.

1. With an ebook To Be Read [tbr] pile there's no guilt in not making progress, there's no dusting and there's no need to either buy my shelves to hold them all or donate them to keep your house free of toppling piles.

2. I'm never without copious amounts of reading material on a trip because I can carry thousands of ebooks on a little card. [In fact, I was getting my car inspected the other day and pulled out my pocket pc and started reading - 25 minutes spent exactly how I wanted.]

3. Just about every day of the week there's new ebooks being released at an epublishing house somewhere on the net. I don't have to worry about driving there and the store not having them on the shelves or waiting for the UPS man to arrive with a delivery from Amazon.

4. I've discovered some new authors that I look forward to their next ebook.

5. I've discovered some new genres that I never would have delved into before.

6. I've discovered I'm a bit of a techno junkie and now ask if I can read an ebook on a gadget before I go beyond the looks stage.

7. I like the price! They can be offered anywhere from free to $24.95 [the high price would be from traditional publishers who haven't figured out that there's no printing or storage costs involved with an ebook! [In my eyes they shame the market with this but it's early days for them coming into the emarket.]

8. My favorite epublishers are of Ellora's Cave, loveyoudivine, Phaze, Samhain Publishing and Whiskey Creek Press Torrid because I've chosen to write for them, but I also shop at Loose Id and Changeling Press.

9. My favorite ebookstores are All Romance eBooks and Fictionwise. The latter has been around for ages but if I'm buying romance, which is the bulk of my ebooks, I head over to the former. I don't have a Kindle but since Amazon is such a large eretailer, this reading device is definitely one to check out - along with the WhisperNet that allows a person to purchase an ebook and start reading it within a matter of minutes - NICE!

Here are a few authors and their series that I found not through any recommendations or word of mouth but I bought them because I was intrigued by the first ebook in the series being offered.

10. Jet Mykles's Dark Elves series at Loose Id.

11. Ruth D. Kerce's Undercover series at Changeling Press

12. Morgan Hawke Interstellar Service & Discipline series at Loose Id.

Who is on my 'To Be Bought' [tbb] list for my next trip that I've never read before?

13. Red Garnier at Ellora's Cave.

I'm off to get ready for an interview over on Books Beyond Boundaries in a couple of hours - come over if you get a chance. I'll be talking ebooks, travel, booksignings and more :-)

Thursday 13 #29!

I'm a big movie buff and I love the award season not for the awards or kudos but the fashion, now that interests me. Normally I'm not bothered by the comments made about why something had low viewership. Who cares, right? Well, I care when the excuses being given are because only foreigners won, the movies were too dark or were small budget flicks so movie goers didn't care about them.

Are you kidding me?

No, I'm not a movie snob who only watches foreign or art house flicks, like I said earlier, I love going to the movies. If the cutie has anything to say about it, we'll be in line for the next Batman when it opens. Anyway, because my blood is boiling over with this subject I thought I'd help myself to get over it by using this weeks 13 to offer up flicks I love. You may not have heard of them because they weren't blockbusters or maybe you've forgotten about them, either way, they're worth watching.

In no particular order, here are a few movies I saw last year and a few from this year that have stuck in my mind as being entertaining.

1. Letters From Iwo Jima
A neighbor lent me this one. It was a tear jerker that gives an interesting view of WWII. There's an accompany movie from the US point of view [I think it's called Flags of Our Father] but I haven't seen it - need to prepare for the floodgates to open again.

2. Pirates of the Carribean - At The World's End
Oh yes, loved me some good pirates - although I think the first one was best.

3. Surf's Up, The Game Plan, Transformers and Santa Clause 3
A few of the movies I remember seeing on various flights - entertaining.

4. Pan's Labyrinth
Rented this one and it wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be - it was much better.

5. Elizabeth and Elizabeth - The Golden Age
On the last flight home I caught The Golden Age and rented the first one because it was so interesting.

6. American Gangster
Fantastic! This was deep and thought provoking movie - especially once you find out it's real.

7. Syriana
I watched this one when it came out but wanted to catch it again...I love it when something makes you go hmmm.

8. Eastern Promises
Oh man, dark and great! Viggo in the spa...HOT and scary!

9. Stardust and Becoming Jane.
Caught both of these on a flight and was surprised by how entertaining they were, the latter I had issues with but when I ignored them it was okay.

10. The Last King of Scotland
This is one of those I missed when it first came out and finally remembered to check it out when I was at the video shop. Wow!

11. The Simpsons Movie and Ratatouille
Love me some fun animation :-).

12. Shrek the Third
Yup, I'm easy for Shrek - did you catch this past holiday's Shrek the Halls? Hilarious!

13. Goya's Ghost
Okay, this is a bit of a cheat because technically I haven't seen all of it. Caught this one on a flight and the last 10 or so minutes were cut off by the arrivals in a foreign country speel. Dang! It's driving me nuts to have missed it so I'm putting it on here. I have seen another flick with Bardem in it called No Country for Old Men, oh yes, it was definitely good.

What about you? Have you seen any flicks you think were good, entertaining, made you think twice about them?

Thursday 13 - #28!

Last week my TT was about where we stayed in Milan. It was a treat all on its own. I was on my own for most of it, cutie had to work some seriously long hours - even jetted off to Paris for a day. Today I'm going to list 13 highlights from the trip:

1.

The Duomo is the most noted of all the sights and it is impressive. There are a many many statues decorating the outside, even a few women, placed there over decades by different artists. I found the crypt - not my usual fortay - interesting. I should've realized then that the gems of Milan would be hidden.

2.

One night the cutie and I were in town and this has to be one of the most vibrant sunsets I've seen. The Duomo is at our back and were looking toward the Castle. Wow!

3.

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is right off the Piazza del Duomo [think Traffalgar Square with all the bird - eek] and is full of shopping. No, I didn't take these pictures, mine were far too dark. I had to laugh when I noticed McDonalds was located across from Savini - way upmarket restaurant. Nice. No, I didn't spin on the bull for luck but did shop in one of my favoritebookshops - Rizzoli. Great selection :-) Opposite the Duomo entrance is the one from Teatro alla Scala. Didn't get a chance to go in but would've loved to have - it looks stunning!

4.

The Castello Sforzesco was much more than I'd expected. It's a Castle with a handful of museums inside, but it was the wildlife that caught my attention first. There are over 50 wild cats that have been adopted by the staff and they live in the walls of the building. If you can't see the one white cat in this first pic...



here is a close up...yup, he came out of the hole for scaffolding to sit in a sunny spot on the ledge.

5.

The various museums were a great mixture from Mummy's to musical intruments, but I had one favorite. I could take a picture - too dark - so borrowed these here and here so you guys can get a brief idea of what it looks like. Leonardo Da Vinci was painting the ceiling and walls in this room while working on The Last Supper. It's a pergola and so much more. It's been covered by paneling for decades before they discovered what was underneath. Eventually the limbs and trunks of the trees start digging in through the rock foundation. It is a powerful piece.



6.

Please forgive me for not remembering which church this one is and cobbling the picture together from two, but the beauty is in the differences. This is the backside and interesting to see how many different additions there have been. In front, there was a bride and groom out on the front steps being congratulated and an inside out collande full of young goths. I never really understood what the single row of columns and partial architrave were from, but it was an interesting mixture going on out front and in back. Oh, and the parc where the goths feeling romantic were decorating the benches used to be where they hanged people. Yup, had to laugh.

7.

Did you know there's a canal district in Milan? There is and it's a hot bed of fun! This is where the parties are at night and during the day the shopping is interesting. I forgot to take a picture but there was one guy who had a shop right on the canal and he painted the most incredible purses. Yes, purses that looked so real someone might of picked one off a counter. If he hadn't been closed I think I would've checked it out for one for myself. Fun, quirky, and fell perfectly into the Hot Couture series. Oh yeah, remember, I was in Milan doing research for "His High Stepper" - work, work, work :-)

8.

On the otherside of the canal was a crepe shop! Dang, can't remember what it was called but it was spectacular. The Italians seem to love Nutella. It isn't something I care for so went for a limone e zucchero [lemon and sugar] and it was divine. It was a great little shop, all of those brown things in the cupboard and handmade cones for the gelato, which is found under those brass bells. I did partake a couple of cups of gelato and it was lovely!

9.

I walked, lots. Each morning I'd take the bus to the Central Train Station and from there hop on the Metro and take it to the area I wanted to explore and walk. I enjoy finding the everyday life of these places I visit. Whenever I know I'm going someplace new I get 2 things: popout map and travel guide [like the DK Eyewitness Travel ones because they give you history of the place, details and more about what else there is besides what the place is known for]. Getting off the well known path is how I feel like I get to know some place.

10.

Walking off one of the pedestrian only streets in the Fashion District was a busy street and this was across the way. Really look at it. The windows are different, there's arches for structure but off from those above them, and up top is a fresco. It made me pause - I enjoy finding interesting things like this.

11.

When you see pictures of European cities, you often see these huge double wooden doors, sometimes with a small portal in them and sometimes not. I often wonder what's behind them. Some drive their cars through them for parking, some have private roads behind them, others have extensive gardens. This one had a courtyard with cannons. It was a museum so open to the public.



12.

You guys know me, what's a trip without some cioccolata and once with panna [cream]! Trust me, the cream was a distraction, the chocolate was so thick you ended up with a face full of the stuff before tasting the dark glory :-) The bottom cup won the award for the thickest cup...as it cooled I needed a spoon!

13.

I saved my favorite place for last - the Villa Belgiojoso Bonaparte. This is a place you go to see for the structure as well as the art found inside. Although full of guards, it was all very relaxed with a gem around every corner. One room I walked throug had a young man with a lifesized portrait leaning against the wall and was cleaning it while a young woman was taking detailed photos of the hardwood floors - for repairing. The next room over is the one you see above. Those were the last people I saw for 3 hours when they closed for a 2 1/2 hour lunch :-) From this floor up to the attic was full to the brim of treasures.

My only disappointment, there was no guide for the Villa or any other place other than the Duomo. Such a shame really. The one book I came away from Milan with was The Sforza Castle with watercolors by Jack Tow and text by Amelie Gale.

Many people have mentioned to me that Milan is an industrial city and therefore boring - I beg to differ, I found some of my favorite places and things of all time here. So, if you're ever given an opportunity to visit this city, GO!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone :-)

Thursday 13 - #27!

Back at the start of December the cutie went off to Milan and I went to the New York Small Press & Independent Press Book Fair. It was a wonderful fair, met some truly interesting people, but I knew I would've enjoyed a new adventure with the cutie as well. So, when he had to make the trip again, I went along and what a wonderful hotel he found - and not two blocks away from where he was working. Let me share some of my favorite bits of the Villa Torretta in Parc Nord, Milan.


No, I didn't take this picture, it was dark when I finally thought about doing it. Oh, I guess I should give you a little background on the hotel. It's a renovated 15th century villa that was going to be torn down until they decided it was a true gem inside, because under all the years of white wash and wallpaper were the original frescoes.

The cutie and I were up every morning to eat breakfast together and there were two ways down the hallways from our room to the restaurant.

1.

Downstairs, along the outside hallway and then back upstairs [this is the view of the picture above], or down the hallway from our room. This took us through:

2.

a sitting room,

3.

another sitting room,

4.

a ballroom,

5.

and another ballroom with a coffered ceiling painted with birds,

6.

and into the hallway where the buffet was set up.

7.

And of course I'd enjoy a cioccolata [I could spend another post on this alone, it was gorgeous, thick but not sweet] in one of 3 rooms.

8.

9.

10.

Other highlights in the Villa are:

11.

This is the Torretta Belevedere, which takes some interesting twists and turns to get up to, but it's worth it. I'd bring my laptop up here and get some writing done - yeah, I know, deadlines are deadlines.

12.

This is just one example of how interesting the structure is. The picture is looking down from the 5th floor to the 3rd where there's a glass floor, through which you can see a doorway which doesn't meet up with the current floor - which is as old as mud. These types of unique bits and pieces were all over the place, with a bricked up doorway there and a odd beam ending hanging out over there. Just great.

13.

If you go outside the Villa using the opposite side as the one shown above, then you come out onto a brick courtyard. There's a park on one side and a Chapel on the other. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to go inside, we were out with associates of the cuties the night it was open for a festival. I've seen pictures though and it is as frescoed as the rest of the villa. Incredible!

The staff were very kind and gave me a copy of their guide...research guys, it's all in the name of research :-) I'm not sure how I'll use this gem in "His High Stepper", but it will definitely be there.

Next week I'll show you a few of the highlights from my various trips into the center of Milan.

Thursday 13 - #26!

I'm Back! Okay, we returned sometime on New Years Eve and am slowly getting back into the swing of things - very slowly and with a few really stupid mistakes along the way. With very short notice as in the day after we had all their pressies shipped to the right of us, we decided to spend the holidays to the right of us - I know, but we wouldn't have carried them over with us anyway. We shopped and posted pressies to the left, wrote this sides cards and posted, packed, left SideShow Bob [prelit palm "christmas" tree], and flew away. So how did it go:

1. Hassle free getting to the airport, checking in, and made it to the lounge where we sat down with a glass of champagne and wrote the cards out for the right of us with plans to post from the airport when we landed. See we were thinking ahead! The flight was slightly delayed, but by the time we pulled away from the gate there were 50 planes ahead of us - GASP! Yes, I counted the planes waiting behind us as we rushed down the runway and hit 38 by the time we pulled up. Most of the flight was full of turbulence so sleeping was tricky - and I missed the hot fudge sundae I'd been looking forward to.

2. Despite the delay, we were only about an hour late. Luggage was there so we went up to the cafe, put stamps on our cards and posted them, then the in-laws arrived and the rush rush began. After flying 6+ hours, we drove 4 [okay I slept most of the way] to the brother-in-laws and were thrilled we had the attic room with our own bathroom and a tv. It was deliciously quiet up there - and with 3 kids under 10, that was really nice. One problem, it was flippin' frigid!

3. The next day, we went into town and did a little shopping and narked everyone off by stopping by the pub on the walk home :-) Yup, roped the sister-in-law onto the dark side. Christmas Eve we hung out at home and played with the kids - eating and drinking, you know, the usual. Later, we wrapped up pressies that had arrived before us unwrapped and then the cutie put together a medieval castle, my part was the battering ram.

4. We actually woke up early - or early for us considering our bodies thought it was about 3am. The house was quiet so I took a shower, pushed the cutie in to take one and went downstairs only to find the kiddos had dashed through their pressies from Santa. Niece #4 had been happily snoozing and the other two waiting patiently for her to wake up. BIL and SIL finally took pity on the boys and woke up sleeping beauty. It was a blast watching them play with their pressies - until the cutie showed the youngest, wildest, nephew #3 how to fling the army out of the castle via slapping the drawbridge down to the ground. Yes, someone is not in the brothers good graces but what can I say, the cutie is a genius :-)

5. Did I just call him a genius? My mistake, because the man found in town a hot pink cowboy hat with a tiara that lit up for me me. Of course I wore it, anything is better than those found in the crackers. Oh, yes, we did the christmas cracker thing, ate turkey, the cutie bbq'd a slab of beef, and enjoyed my favorite bad for you sausage wrapped in bacon. There were roasted potatoes, parsnips and more, as well as mashed potatoes that made it on to my plate - all lovely!

6. Boxing day was more of the same, only I od'd on fabulous cheese :-) What can I say, I'm easy for a nice creamy brie on crackers. The BIL was kind enough to buy in a couple of different dark beers - I know, who'd of thunk it, a girl from the left of us who never liked beer, moves to the land of ale and falls in love with it. So, yes, I had some Black Sheep - the Emmerdale special edition was all right - and a few others.

7. Because it was raining on Christmas day, we took the kids out on their toys this day and it didn't turn out so good for everyone. Niece #4 [who is 7] on her roller blades was wonderful, only going downhill gave her a few nerves. Nephew #3 [who is 3] pushed his scooter and was happy doing that - I think he'll be a demon once on the driveway and flat road. Newphew #2 [who is 9] wiped out on the skateboard and wouldn't carry it back home, in fact he put some serious distance between him and it, so the cutie and I took turns. I forgot how much balance it takes to ride one of those things.

8. The next day we made the drive north. I have always disliked this drive and it wasn't any better this time, in fact it was really bad! The FIL had to drive [and he sucks big time, the cuties hand was my saving grace] and there was traffic so a usually 4 hour drive took over 7. I admit to falling asleep at one time and woke up on screaming - no one said anything, but later I asked the cutie and he admitted his father had been speeding then slamming on his brakes. Yeah, I figured it was something like that because I can sleep like the dead if I'm tired. Somewhere along the way we stopped at an "american diner". Yup, I'm always dubious of these things, especially since a beefburger is not a hamburger. But they sold "burgers" and it was actually ok, as were the fries

9. Once we made it up to the north, we went to the chippie [fish & chip shop] and I had a sausage and chips with scraps. No, this is not a healthy meal, it is all fried, the scraps are bits of fried batter that fall off, but so good with vinegar, salt and a bun with butter, mmmm. Later we walked down to the local pub to see if the cutie had any friends in and there was the best man from our wedding, propping up the bar doing the quiz. We joined him and lost, dang, but I love the quizzes. Once that was finished we sat in a booth and were joined by another friend who was up from London for the hols.

10. This day should have been relaxing, but the FIL got us in the car again. He likes to go around roudabout on two reals and floor it to the next one. What does this do to someone who has a dubious stomach - that's right, I was ready to throw-up. We made it to the seaside in less than a half hour and I never thought the north sea looked so welcoming and that's saying alot. We stopped at a pub, I had water instead of what I would've liked to have. We walked along the front and out onto the pier before heading back to town for dinner.

11. That night we met up with best man and friend at the pub for a crawl, but because it was raining we stayed there, ready to take a taxi to the next where we'd set up to meet up with another friend later on. But we pleasantly surprised when another friend and his wife showed up. The last time I saw the wife, she wasn't doing so well. They'd done an around the world trip and caught up with us after having come up through south america [yes, she had the water]. She looks great and I was thrilled to catch up with her. All six of us grabbed a taxi to the next pub and met up with the other friend. The pub had late hours so we closed it down and they kicked us out at about 1 and walked home.

12. This day we took the in-laws out for lunch and shopping. It was an easy day mainly because I think the cutie and I were feeling a little worse for wear. Who wouldn't when one round had been a pint with shots dropped inside it. Later we went to the bowling club to watch the cuties team play away. Now, get your head around this, we were watching the game taking place a few hours drive through Al Jazerra with a turkish commentator. Yup, my head is spinning as well. They won so all was good and we headed home to pack, have an early dinner before heading off to another set of friends. They couldn't make it out the night before - no one to leave the kiddies with - so we went to them. It was great to catch up with them, they bought in bottles of coke for me and yes, I partook. In fact, everywhere I went they kindly had cokes for me - so thoughtful!

13. It was another late night - not bad for us because we thought we were still on the time here - silly us. Next morning we went drove to the airport and stayed at a hotel for the early morning flight. We watched another footie game in the bar before heading up to take a relaxing bath and sleep. Everything went well on this leg of the journey, and I enjoyed the hot fudge sundae :-) The only bad part was they screwed up the customs video thing and I missed the end of the movie I was watching, so if anyone knows how Goya's Ghost ends please let me know.

Get this, an hour and 10 minutes after landing, we'd made it through immigration, luggage collection, customs [without any questions about the duffel bag full of smokey bacon, worcester sauce, and prawn cocktail bags of crisps, oh and some chocolate as well], driving what would normally be about a 45 minute drive, and we were home! No snow to shovel, no more ice skating rink, it was all good. We dashed next door to wish the neighbors a happy new year and then we were home. It was a lovely trip, lots of time with family and friends, just what we needed to end the year on a good note and we needed that.

So, happy new year everyone, may this one be a great one for us all.

Thursday 13 - 25!

Last week I mentioned having spent some time at one of my favorite places, The Getty Villa. If you didn't know, this museum is a duplicate of the Villa deo Papiri in Herculaneum and houses JP Getty's collection of antiquities. The building has recently undergone almost 10 years of renovations. For a couple of years I spent at least a day a week up here, rifling through their old reading room. It's gone now, and so are many other things, but it is still worth a visit. They now both an indoor and outdoor theater, great lecture series, as well as visiting exhibitions. The one we saw was glass and it spanned ancient, historical, and modern examples of various pieces. I honestly wouldn't have picked this one as being interesting, but it was.

Enough, here are 13 highlights and a couple of low lights.

The Structure
1.
The outside peristyle is still the same - there's something rather relaxing about the Drunken Satyr, and his copatriot in debauchery at the other end. I could spend hours out here in the sun, listening to the water falls.

2.
The east garden is the same as well, small, enclosed and totally peaceful. There are benches running along the path for sitting.

3.
Okay, what's exciting about the roof of a parking garage? Nothing, other than it's a reclamation zone. That's right, despite being in an area prone to earthquakes, landslides, and wildfires, they still made an effort at conservation - kudos!

4.
The inside of the museum circles around the inner peristyle. Nothing changed here, although walls have been put up so there's no more immediate view of the Lansdowne Herakles in his special marble alcove.

Infamous Pieces
5.
The Lansdown Herakles is a key piece to the collection and I think a real stunner. This is one the articles I studied in depth, and let me tell you, having to take pictures of a larger than life cock with a guard standing nearby laughing is no easy task.

6.
There's been a problem with museums around the world and how they obtain some of their work. The Getty is caught up in this area, and the Italian government has asked for the return of this bronze. The Victorious Youth now has his own room, sealed so he doesn't fall apart so I guess he's staying for a long time.

7.
This gentleman, the Getty Kouros [male] was accompanied by notes for the viewers to know of his dubious status - rather ingenious of the curators. He is either a pristine very early archaic [530 BC] statue, or a flawed forgery.

Interesting Pieces
8.
The Dionysus Herm, an odd gentleman with one eye watching you check out his cock and balls. It's hard not to.

9.
The way this goddess is dressed makes the experts believes it's Aphrodite. If you can imagine this, her garments were red, pink, and blue, some paint still remains. What never fails to hold my interest is this lady's marble face. It's amazing how her hair, and most likely a veil, fell, but the face remained intact.

10.
Folds, it's all about how the sculptors were able to make such perfect folds, while still remaining true to the body beneath. Later, came the wet fabric look, where the body is show with a thin piece of wet fabric over it [another incredible approach to stone] but in 475 BC, this was HOT!

Missing Pieces
11.
The boys. I miss them so.

12. This centaur used to be the greeter at the old entrance, overlooking the outer peristyle. He is simply stunning.

13. Ahhh, Marsyas, used to rest just inside the inner peristyle, in the room of smaller greek objects. He isn't large, but he definitely packed a punch.

It's interesting how in contemporary times viewers think these pieces are stunning, but their original state is much more garish, gawdy, and scary looking. Maybe I'll do another list on what the gorgeous marble and bronze sculptures would have looked like all tarted up.