G took this pic -- I really like it. It is almost like his beak is wrought iron too.  And
the rough wall makes a nice background. Its seems like the blue bird of happiness sits somewhere between a heart and a fleur de lis. :)

One full week and only seven hundred words further along on my story. It's falling apart a little. I have too many robots   -  Anyway it is going to get done.
I will probably have to take Bow to the vet -- she somehow managed to hurt one of her dewclaws.  It is tender to touch and jutting out at an odd angle.  I'll take her tomorrow if it looks the same.  I sound like a horrible pet owner but once the swelling goes down it may look normal again.  I wish I could say the same about my story.
Have a nice weekend.

I am caught up on little jobs around here -so no excuse not to write 1000 words today.  Tomatoes and red peppers are planted.
Raspberries are thinned and runners (so many runners) dug up and removed. My raspberries moved into my strawberry territory and blocked the sun from my one strawberry plant. Give those guys an inch --
M has a boyfriend that she has been seeing the last few months. They had been friends longer than that and actually became closer friends on line when he was away in his first year of University. He's home now for the summer and well, he often stops by after work to visit her :). He's actually  a very nice, polite guy. I haven't interrogated him yet (I'll leave that for G) but  I know he has  read all the Game of Thrones books and he's into World of Warcraft.  Which is nice because M loves World of Warcraft - she played it since she was eleven but  she cancelled it  a year ago  when none of her other friends were into it.  Now she has a renewed interest. But what was funny was several months back she asked me for my Game of Thrones books and I was sort of glad she wanted to read them - I thought she would like the series. (the dragons especially) But actually she only wanted to have them on her bookshelf so he would see them in the background when he was in University and  they would Skype.  Her response to me was, "Hey, every little bit helps, Mom."  -- Too funny.   :)
Edit: I mean  "A Song of Fire and Ice" books -- the miniseries has me calling it all Game of Thrones.

The writing has slowed a little but I am getting a few other things done. I’m almost finished removing the wallpaper in the upstairs bathroom. It’s not easy. In areas that old paper was sealed to plaster never to be parted. Sometimes, when  I managed to get under it just right and slowly pull on it – I could pull nice long strips off it – but then other times I could spend half an hour trying to remove one small section.
I also planted some flowers.  Our front yard has a few grubs but our neighbours - just on the other side of the walkway seems to have a big problem with them. So instead of trying to keep a lawn they planted a  flower garden. It looks nice. Anyway while they were digging, whenever they found any grubs they threw them on the cement, which attracted robins over the week it took them to finish. Now, when either one of us looks like we are about to start digging around in our front yards, one robin in particular will land and wait for lunch. So, of course when I find any grubs I toss them to him and he gobbles them down or flies off with them, only to be back for more a little later. It’s neat having a robin at arm's length  watching you plant flowers, cocking its pretty head from side to side, waiting patiently for a grub.
And yesterday G and I ran the Spit. The extra push I have been attempting on my treadmill is working – my pace is improving.  At the end of the run I was only eight minutes behind G.  I’m usually fifteen to twenty :)  And of course the Spit is such a nicer run than my treadmill.
G is off to Boston today but I may just continue with this splendid long weekend with more yard stuff - . After I finish the wallpaper.
Here is a pic of me and the Captain (G's dad) . -  at a winery last weekend.

That was an awesome Preakness run by both  I'll Have Another and Bodemeister . My heart is still racing. 

The weekend was really nice.  Well, it started off slightly embarrassing when we went to G's cousins' place for brunch. It was warm and I was nervous and add a hot flash or some other inconvenient hormonal occurrence and the next thing I know I’m trying to will the moisture back into my pores.   They had a huge pool and for a second I was thinking what if I just wander over, pretend to trip and fall into it -- that would solve my problem –
I don't belong in certain company :) I don’t really belong in any company but these lads were so out of my league– first their house was jaw-dropping spectacular  and when they started telling us about some of their travel - I was thinking you guys should have your own PBS show). This March they spent three weeks in Nepal and India. They climbed to Mt. Everest base camp – ten days of hiking. A Yak almost bumped her off the path into open sky.
All I could think of – that’s nice but is it okay if I use your hair dryer to blow-dry my armpits.

Anyway, G’s dad seemed to really enjoy the weekend and he was quite entertaining. He is 89 but man it is hard to keep up with him. At one point he was quoting Virgil, singing songs from “My Fair Lady” and giving us all a complete history lesson on The Battle of Hastings. Since he is a history buff we took him to Fort George because it is the bicentennial year of the Battle of 1812 – he really liked that. He got into a conversation with absolutely everyone there–:)

 He broke the heel of his shoe at one point and he says, “that shouldn’t have happened - I spent a hundred dollars for these shoes in Buenos Aires.’
G says “When were you in Buenos Aires last, Dad?”
“I was down there in 1998.”
“Well, then they did you good.”

I love listening to him because he had such an interesting life – although he can get long winded so you have to be in the right mood to listen :) – (he joined the Merchant Marines when I think he just turned sixteen-). He spent V-Day in Algeria (half his shipmates got drunk celebrating and oh my gosh it was quite an entertaining story).  I think that was VJ – Day. On VE- Day he was in Leningrad – on the ship- bringing in supplies.

When he was in any port he would swim because he was not a good swimmer (coming from northern Ireland) and he had a fear of drowning if  the ship ever went down (and he did end up in the water once after his ship was torpedoed so his fear was well founded.) Anyway he has very nice recollections of swimming in almost any sea you can think of -It was certainly an interesting weekend with him.  Now I should go mow the grass before the day warms up anymore. Have a good day.

I heart Insurance Companies. Our health/dental insurance declined my crown work - said it wasn't necessary. Or should I heart my dentist who said it was necessary. -- actually I'm declining all love for either today  - that should hurt them. Right --
i met my writing goals for yesterday. Revised one story (still needs tweaking). Finally started the lighthouse one. Critiqued a story.
today goals - already got several lines (at what i think is a prose poem)  down
1000 words on borrowed time inc.
Tomorrow we're having brunch at G's cousin's place just west of the city - his dad is visiting with his sister (G's Aunt) for two days and we're picking him up there and taking him to Niagara-on-the-Lake and surrounding area for the weekend. G's brother is coming along too so should be a fun weekend.  Out of the city anyway. Yippee :).

G’s dad is visiting. We had a very enjoyable meal with him and G’s brother last evening. G smoked some ribs. They were so good. But the weekend got away a bit on me so I have to catch up on a few things around here today. And run a few errands –  and run a few miles –
My poem “The Old Museum” went up at Every Day Poets yesterday.  –  May 6. I was a little sheepish to mention it  because I love poetry but I'm a bit of a novice at writing it and I was nervous how it would be received.

And I have an idea that followed me since Thursday.  I need to jot it down in some form today (M’s art gave me the idea) I'm calling it The Lighthouse Keepers. – SF.

Have a great week.

Derby day - going to spend the rest of the afternoon doing yard work and then watch the derby. I sort of have to go for "I'll Have Another" - because he has so many Canadian connections- including his jockey. So, yeah, and although he is starting in the nineteenth post position - I still think he has a good chance.

G is in Boston but he is back this evening.

M’s school’s Art show was very nice. Creativity is alive and well in our neighbourhood. Some pieces were quite breathtaking. Funny, when I came home I started channel surfing and landed on this documentary about the artist Ian Fairweather.  What an extraordinary person. His life and art were incredible– His art went through many stages  depending where he was living and what he was experiencing – by the time he got to Bribie Island, Australia his work was very abstract (I think this was the time he did some of his most famous work) Some of his paintings had fifty layers to them.  And he painted on anything he had at hand not caring if the art would last on it – even newspaper. –
He lived as a recluse in a hut and it was full of empty paint cans and brushes. Two things that struck me – he never went to his shows but was convinced to go to a huge one later in his life and became very upset because he had thought some of his works were touched up or recoloured – but it was just the lighting in the gallery compared to the lighting in his hut – making the art appear differently to him.  But I also think – the art for him just lost something (something internal) displayed like that.

Also – here was this driven artist with wonderful works in galleries all over the world, who lived entirely for his art, where one look at him and one glance inside his hut you would notice that he was fanatical about his craft – and this reporter is interviewing him and says “So what do you do all day?”  

Fairweather pauses for a second like he can’t believe the question and then says, “I paint, dammit.”

I just thought there you go.

ahh....sunshine. Both the dogs and I could use a walk.
M has her art show tonight. Oh, man,  procrastination appears to have a strong genetic basis   -- a week ago I think I mentioned M had a wonderful idea for her final art project -- since it's the final one and she only just mentioned it I was thinking it is due sometime in June. So last week when she came home with three long canvases and started  telling me her ideas  I got all excited-  she wanted to do a lighthouse theme  -- the first idea she had were these really colourful twisty/off kilter lighthouses - one per canvas (I loved that idea) The second idea she had were three similar  lighthouses but each one having a different background - city, rural, whatever. Sorry, she explained it so much better than I'm doing here.  She decided to go with the second idea and I said, love it but it sounds really ambitious - so plan it well, get some sketches down, blah, blah ... get at it..  anyway, a few days ago she painted the canvases -- one  all in cream, one a stormy grey, the other a sunny blue... I'm thinking... yes, so glad to see her thinking through the process.  I'm hoping she'll  take her time through each step ---Then I find out about midnight last night that the drop dead pass it in date is today and the art show is tonight and so she stays up the entire night and does three separate paintings without even one rough sketch to work with. .Straight from her head onto the canvas .. and then she rushed out this morning with the last one still wet. SIGH.....this assignment was given to them back in February. Wish I knew that :(
actually, they still came out decent-- but they're certainly not her best work. To pull it off she  substituted detail for simplistic and  quirky. But all in all -- they still kinda worked for me. I am not so sure her Art teacher is going to agree. I'll find out how they go over tonight.