If Your House Caught Fire . . .

. . . what's the first thing you would save? The second? The third?

Pets are a given--I'd open doors so the dog and 2 cats could escape. The first inanimate thing on my list, without question, would be my computer back-up disks. They contain my novels and my client work. (I'm a freelance editor)

The next thing would have to be my artwork. I'm an art freak with an eclectic (and much loved) mix, collected from antique stores, estate sales, folk artists, mail order catalogs, and Goodwill. Much of it is original and cannot be replaced. Not a day goes by that I don't give eye service to the beauty of my art objects..

Sad to say, I'd have to let my 5,000+ books burn. Though most are hardback reference books, they can be replaced. The one exception is my personal recipe book--a 3-ring binder containing not only my own culinary creations, but recipes collected over a 40-year span.

And then there are my wonderful trash cans. I haunt Goodwill, and over the years have collected an assortment of precisely perfect receptacles for collecting trash: the one that is exactly the right size for the weird place under my kitchen sink; the narrow one for under my desk where it won't interfere with my leg space; the tall skinny rectangular one that fits nicely into an odd niche and is big enough to hold 2 large sacks of dry dog food; the little bathroom wastepaper basket that is utterly perfect; the one that's the perfect size to fit into a small space by my craft table. What makes these receptacles so wonderful is that they are nonstandard sizes and you can't get them in any stores.

Oh, and I almost forgot my special coffee mug!

So, what would YOU rescue if your house caught fire? (We'll assume pets top the list)

Same Rose, Different View

I guess you could say I love my camera. After taking over 100 pictures of the same rose, I ended up with perhaps 5 really good pictures. Those of you who are photographers will understand.

Here's a picture that I particularly liked. Of course, it helps that I love the color pink.

A Rose by Another Name . . .

. . . is still a rose. Or however that saying goes.

Yesterday I took over 100 pictures of a rose. That's one of the shots on the left. It's from a rose plant, one that consists of a single stem and one rose. I planted the rose in my garden years ago, and it has never grown taller than two feet. It has no branches--it's still a two-foot tall stick. And it has never produced more than one one perfect rose each year.

I love the velvet texture of roses, and their scent is divine. A rose is Mother Nature's gift to mankind.

Perseid Meteor Shower

I watched the Perseid meteor shower two nights ago, and it was fabulous. In 45 minutes I saw 17 shooting stars. It's all so wonderful and mysterious. When I see something like that, I am reminded of how much I take for granted. Mother Nature is amazing, the Universe astounding, and shooting stars are like the cherry on top of a banana split.

Have you seen the Perseid meteor shower? Did you think it was as wonderful as I did?

Funeral Duty

My cat, Christopher the Assassin, is a killer. If it moves, he kills it. If it's edible, he eats it. If it's not edible, he eats it anyway. I've never owned a more bloodthirsty cat.

Today, on my porch and sidewalk, there's an interesting array of victims: a rat, a mole, a mouse, a shrew, two birds, a snake, and (sob!) a baby bunny. And what does this macho cat do after he's spent the morning hunting and eating? Comes into the house and demands lap time, with accompanying purrs and kneading. Just as if he were a normal, law-abiding cat without feral tendencies.

But I guess that's okay. For the first time in 34 years, I don't have moles in my yard. Since Christopher began hunting moles, I've been mole-free for years.

Now it's time for me to go out and do funeral duty, which means picking up the various bodies and flinging them into the woods. How about your pets? Do you have any critters that are hunters like Christopher?

Making Beautiful Cards #7

This card was made using two stamps and one color--eggplant. First, I stamped the lace background, then sponged more eggplant color around the edges. Next, I stamped the goddess, then carefully cut out the image and glued her to the lace background. Then I glued it to lavender cardstock. I like the simplicity of the card.

Making Beautiful Cards #6

This is one of my more unusual cards. The "bubbles" were made by combining equal parts water and liquid dish soap, and then adding tempura paint. Then you take a straw and blow bubbles in the mixture until the bubbles foam up and form a large mound above the rim of the bowl.

Next, you place a piece of paper on top of the bubbles and press gently down. The result is what you see on the left. When the bubbles pop, they leave a lovely impression on the paper.

I love these bubble images! They are fun. They have depth and look almost three-dimensional. And they make interesting images for cards.

Loretta Chase Does the Bluestockings

The Bluestockings discussion board over at Candice Hern's site, that is.

Loretta will be the Guest Author at the Bluestockings the week of July 14. She'll be blogging about her latest release, Your Scandalous Ways, and any other topic that pops up. Visitors are welcome. Please drop in and leave a comment, discuss Loretta's books, chat with Loretta, and meet other Loretta Chase fans.

At the end of the week one lucky commenter's name will be drawn to win an autographed Loretta Chase book. See you there!

The Life of Riley

Today I glanced out my slider and saw both my dog and my cat snoozing on the deck. The weather was beautiful, and both animals were dead to the world.

I absolutely had to take a picture of my cat. His name is Lord Byron, and he was lying on his back, hind legs spread, one paw flung out, the other curled on his chest. He was snoring. That's him in the picture. You can see my dog's hind legs in the left side of the picture.

I once had a very large orange cat who curled up inside a very small cardboard box for a nap and got stuck. He had wedged himself in so tightly that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get out.

Animals are so entertaining. Nova, my Doberman, has a whole box full of expensive toys, but does she play with them? No. Her favorite toys are a plastic 1 gallon planter from the nursery, and half of a tennis ball that split open. What about your pets? Do they shun their store-bought toys in favor of something more rustic or unusual?

Moment of Grace

The other day I was driving to the grocery store and saw a DOT tractor in the highway median. The driver was mowing down the tall grass and scotchbroom. On the way back home, I saw that he had missed little spots here and there. I thought, Well, that man is just careless or lazy. And then I realized that he'd missed those spots on purpose. Because each "spot" was a foxglove flower, tall and pretty.

You could tell he had carefully mowed around the flowers, leaving them standing while mowing down the rest of the weeds. It brought a smile to my lips and happiness to my heart. I have carried that image in my heart ever since. It was a moment of grace for me that has had a lasting effect.

Have you ever had a moment of grace? Something like a beautiful sunset, a hug from a child, or unexpected kindness from a stranger?

Making Beautiful Cards #5

Here's another card I made using blue card stock. The horse part is stamped on glossy paper, which absorbs the ink so incredibly that it ends up looking and feeling like a photograph. You absolutely cannot smear the thing once it's done, even if you run your finger across the checkerboard surfaace.

I inked the checkerboard stamp first, then used a paper towel to rub away the ink from one part of the stamp. Then I stamped it on glossy paper. I then sponged a small amount of topaz ink off-center, for drama. Next, I stamped the horse.

Then I glued the glossy card onto dark blue paper, and glued that to the blue card stock

Free Books for Reader Groups

Do you belong to a reader group or book discussion club? Do you know of any such groups? I am looking for legitimate reader groups that I can send free books to. My client is a well known NY Times bestseller. She writes both historical and contemporary romance, and the free books are brand new reprints of her popular backlist. At the back of each book is a teaser chapter from her next book, which will be released in September. It is hoped that these books will introduce the client's work to people who haven't read her before, as well as create interest in the new book.

If anyone knows of a reader group I can send books to, please contact me privately at sholmes (at) holmesedit.com. (Replace "at" with the @ symbol, and no spaces before or after.)

Loretta Chase at Book Smugglers

Come join the fun! Over at The Book Smugglers Loretta will be their guest for the next several days, starting today with a review of her latest book, Your Scandalous Ways. Today and tomorrow will be open for comments, and on Saturday The Book Smugglers will interview Loretta, and again, it will be open for comments.

Ms. Chase will be dropping in now and then to respond to reader comments, so if you've ever wanted to go one-on-one with Loretta, now's your chance! Bonus: leave a comment and be eligible to win an autographed copy of Your Scandalous Ways. Loretta will be giving away three copies. See you there!

Making Hay While the Sun Shines

Friday I had 2 tons of hay delivered. It was so beautiful that I ordered another 2 tons, and today they delivered those extra 2 tons. But first, I had to clean out the barn to make room for the extra hay. I nearly killed myself doing it. The picture above shows a small portion of the 4 tons.


I'm not a packrat, but I had accumulated far too much "stuff" in my barn. Some of it I'm hauling to the dump. Some of it I'm burning. Some of it I'm giving away (my 2-wheeled horse cart and harness--sob!). It's liberating to get rid of junk, but it's depressing when your body just doesn't act like it's 27-years-old anymore. My feet hurt. My back hurts. My knees hurt. Getting old is not for the faint-of-heart.



To end on an upbeat note, here is a picture of Lord Byron, my cat. He is Official Hay Inspector. He likes to climb all over the bales, poking around and, I suspect, looking for mice. He sits on the bales and talks to me as I work. He's great company!

Making Beautiful Cards #4

This card I made for my best friend, Carol. Oddly enough, the darling little dragon blowing out a candle was a freebie given to me when I purchased some other rubber stamps at a stamp show. Vendors often tuck a little freebie in the bag with your purchase. It's a nice touch, and while the freebies are often something I wouldn't normally purchase (like the little dragon), I frequently end up finding many uses for them. This dragon is my "birthday" stamp. I've made many birthday cards with it.

Everything except the smoke is a stamp. The dragon and candle are one stamp. The stone floor is another. I made the smoke by tapping a Q-tip on my ink pad and drawing the smoke freehand with the Q-tip. Then I added "Happy Birthday Carol" with a gold ink pen.