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I put everything on hold yesterday and attended a soap and lotion making class held through The Goat Farm. OMG I had so much fun. Was like a play day with several lady friends. My hairdresser told me about The Goat Farm, and I intended to schedule a meet and greet sometime soon with Mindy and her husband, who own the farm. Then I discovered she was having two classes on making soap and making salves and lotions – I got in and Ta Da! Another new world has opened up for me.
You already know I do paper collage. And I love to quilt. I have been an organic gardener for over 40 years now, and I have a big local family, a business to run, helping with the family business occasionally (my former career in Real Estate), and on and on and on. I'd always thought I would make a wonderful grandmother, staying home to knit, sew things, make collage art, decorate the house, make candles and soap, write romances and garden.
Well, my life is sort of like this. Today, I will be taking my expecting daughter on a little mother-daughter shopping. Her baby is due in October, and her shower is next week. Then I spend a week partially in Las Vegas for some real estate things, and then off to Ottawa for Romancing the Capital, Eve Langlois's wonderful event, where I hope to see some great dedicated readers I've never met in person before…
So this week is about finishing, getting my instructions ready for the garden watering so that doesn't turn into an epic fail, making sure everything I need to get done gets done this week. And so why not take a soap-making class? Meet some new friends and indulge myself in scents and beautiful soap and lotion art?
My long term plans are sort of turning out. The part that isn't is I forgot to meditate and dream/look forward to the deadlines in my life. The trick, for me, is to float through life, doing all these things, and make it look artsy, effortless and soul-affirming, while making sure I keep to my commitments to others. After all, I am not independently wealthy. I didn't marry Prince Charming who has a trust fund and unlimited resources. And I'm the primary bread-winner in our family. So I can't piddle and dawdle too long. But I have to trick my brain into thinking I am living the life of ease and luxury, the life and soul-affirming things of my every day, so that the stress doesn't get in the way of me actually doing anything.
I have several partnerships. First, and foremost, I partner with myself. Am I getting healthier as I age? Am I doing what things I want to do while I can do them? Am I managing my finances and my time in such a way that there is more life at the end of the month instead of more stress? Do I live in a house of my design, a place where I enjoy being and where I can feel my soul growing? Or, does it limit me? And is the cost (time/emotional energy) worth the result?
I partner with my husband. Not everything is perfect all the time. After some 46 years of marriage, we've done a pretty good job of balancing the urgent and the necessary, with the folly, leaving time for creative endeavors and explorations. I think we do best at the explorations. For me, that's travel. Part of being a good partner is learning and telling the truth on what we can and are willing to bring to the table. I'm no Cinderella either. But partnerships don't do very well under stress or chaos, and a lot of our time is spent making sure these things happen only on a limited basis. Gardening, traveling, going on soap-binges or shopping (in moderation) helps with this, too.
I partner with my other family members. I am nearly the oldest woman member of my little tribe. That comes with it some responsibilities to pass on what I've learned in a way that doesn't make my family feel like I've hit them between the eyes. I want to give them memories they can laugh about when I'm gone. And yes, I admit, I'd like there to be a big hole when I leave. I'd like to be missed.
Partnerships with others in my real estate or writing community, in other endeavors I'm involved with requires telling the truth and learning who and what I can trust. I have some partners I'd love to listen to but would never count on in a crisis. I have others who I can count on for different things, but not for all things. I sort and pick, and yes, occasionally dead-head my friends and associates. No sense trying to make or keep a friend who is drifting, or not wanting to reciprocate, or for whom I have to do all the heavy lifting. As I get older, I've been better and better about discerning those things. And I've made some major screw-ups along the way being too trusting. But the lessons have been massive, and the circumstances have taught me a lot about myself. Just like raising children, being long-term married, growing a garden or starting a successful business — failure is part of the story.
I guess I could sum up my life as a patchwork of things, some found, some discovered, some worked for, some gifted and some lost, or lost and re-found. It is a blend of highs and lows, colors and blandness, determination and creativity, art and science and a little magic thrown in along the way.
I guess these are all life skills I'll need some day when I take my next great adventure into the unknown. I take that hole that hopefully will be made here and bring that value to wherever else I'm going. And then give it all away again.
Because, in the end, all of it is a series of giving everything away, in various stages of our lives. It's not about receiving all day long. For me, it's about watching how my gifts change the world around me. My gardens. My books. My loves. My family. My quilts. My spaces.
My heart.
What about you?
If you hadn't met me, you'd think I was seriously mixed up. Well, maybe I am. Here I like flowers and gardening, romance and all that goes with it. Expensive lingerie and kids and family and kisses. Going barefoot at the beach, and Happily Ever After.
But I also love my men to be men. Having a man's man around makes it easier to be a woman, I mean a real woman. That is different things to different people. But I find a man who respects women, who honors our country and protects me and my freedoms, is worthy of my undying love and loyalty. It is something bred into my DNA. I can't speak for all women, but this is what it is for me.
So when I read about this real hero, believe it or not, it makes me want to sit down and write romance. I can't explain it, but it brings out all the romance in my body and soul. I'm sure there is some biological chemical reaction to this, which is way beyond me, and not important for me to understand fully. It is what it is.
I'd like to share this interview with the folks at Black Rifle Coffee Company. I am a coffee club member, and I get these shipments regularly, and I have since stopped buying anything from those big box places. This company is owned and operated by Veterans, who help other veterans. And it's darned good coffee too. I love their attitude, their very non-PC approach to freedom, living a life full-out, and being men among men and the women who are lucky enough to love them. It's a family and kith not everyone can understand.
So hope you'll read this newsletter, and perhaps subscribe yourself. And with your first cup of Joe, you let me know which blend is your favorite. I haven't tried Berzerker Blend, but I'll be ordering it today.
My favorite so far is Black Beard's Delight, with the flag logo of Edward Teach, the most notorious pirate of the Caribbean. I got the patch, the hat and the thermos to go along with it.
Enjoy and I hope I've expanded your world today.
Here's an excerpt from their blog and the link to read more:
Happy Birthday America! Today we remember those who went before us. I wrote a whole post on my visit to Valley Forge last year, and how moving it was for me. I loved it so much, we're planning on a military salute at the same location next August, and would love you to join us.
There are some times recently when I've forgotten how hard it was for those early freedom fighters, and the men who commanded them. Most of these men did not fare well during the Battle for Independence. But they fought for the cause of freedom. Not many of them knew this was going to be the case, but they fought and died so we could have what we have today.
It is an awesome choice we have these days: honor our tradition of fierce independence, or ignore it, scrap it all and let someone else figure it out. It is frustrating to know what is the right way to do it. How about we just agree to let them get it done and stay out of the way. We show up, we vote, and then let's have faith that our system will survive, even if, at the time, we may or may not like what's going on?
I looked at those photographs, the film that chronicled the fact that so many men died just from lack of food, or shoes. It was a cold winter that year at Valley Forge, and perhaps it would have been easier to give up. But they didn't.
We'd do well to remember that.
Here's my blog about Valley Forge from last year here.
And if you'd like to join us, here's all the information on the Salute With Love military author signing – for readers and authors alive. Help us spread the word.
And celebrate your independence, your freedom, by living the best life you can live, standing for the highest principles we can, and including everyone in our tent, but excluding those who would do us harm. And I hope you join with me in honoring those who fought so that we could have a more perfect union. I celebrate us all.
Happy Independence Day!
Yesterday we took a road trip from Santa Rosa to Santa Cruz. The excuse was to attend a farewell family gathering there organized by my husband's sister's family. But we took the whole day to enjoy the scenery along the way and to just mark this page in our lives. My daughter is due in early October, and it had been years since just the three of us spent a day together.
Mac's Deli, in Santa Rosa was our starting place. Omelettes (I admit it: ortega chilis, sour cream, cheddar and black olives is my personal favorite) with Santa Rosa Chili Gods sauce, and pancakes (shared amongst the 3 of us, of course), a choice of light or dark coffee, and greeting locals and friends, great conversation, and our day was primed. I felt like I wouldn't need to eat until supper.
I was wrong.
At San Francisco, we took Hwy 1 to Pacifica and followed the coastline all the way to Santa Cruz. It has been over 20 years since I've taken that two-lane highway – a testament to my rushing around trying to get from point A to B fast, and missing things along the way. A nice reminder for me to slow down a bit. I don't have to do it all…
We passed through little towns of Davenport, Pescadero, larger ones like Half Moon Bay. We were tempted by berry stands and local truck farms, as well as places where you could pick your own veggies and fruit. One of our highlights was the trip to the Pie Ranch. Now, what a great store name!
Gardening for me is near to religion, but I don't go to the extreme some do. Still, I like the fact that people take sustainable and organic gardening seriously. It's more than not using sprays and chemicals, it's about feeling the pulse of the warm soil, and nurturing growing things. My garden shows me when I neglect it. It actually hurts me to see it untended, or to see weeds I can't get to. Almost like ignoring to feed our dogs, which I would never do! So, when I walk into a barn that nearly worships the work in the garden, I'm in church. I find church at Farmer's Markets and nurseries, greenhouses, or demonstration gardens. Yes, I sometimes am moved to tears when I smell the damp earth and musty tones in a greenhouse, or the way the moisture bathes my face as I wander through. It holds a perfume that uplifts my soul on dozens of levels. Nearly orgasmic!
I had to buy a onesie for my new granddaughter coming this fall. Eat Pie. That sums it up rather poetically, don't you think? I love the Just Laid duck tee. But the strawberry rhubarb pie and lemon buttermilk pie were showstoppers.
Another unexpected find was the Abalone Farm at Pescadero. Off the highway, and with little fanfare, only open Saturdays from 10-2, we lucked out and watched abalone being grown in large saltwater bubbling vats. There's a little back room where all the magic happens, we were told. The water ph and extra nutrients created microscopic baby abalone that get moved to the nursery when they are old enough to actually be seen with the naked eye. We learned what they ate, and that they are voracious eaters of kelp and kale. We came home with 10 steaks we will partially devour tonight like candy.
At Santa Cruz we parked after driving past the old Boardwalk and arcade, passing by the lovely homes overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the beaches with volleyball nets and the surfers dotting the waves everywhere. We strolled down the pier in search of a perfect bowl of clam chowder and a view, and found it. Best
chowder I've ever had. I limited myself to one bun of sourdough French bread. We examined the tourist shops, bought a lovely sweatshirt that summed up my sentiments exactly, and some socks for the baby to come.
We met up with the rest of the family at our relative's home, bracing ourselves for that final good-bye. My husband's sister will be leaving us shortly, and this was on her bucket list: to get the family together one more time, to whisper things to her little brother and walk the beach one more time. All the treatments are done, and now it was time to prepare for her final journey. I heard music she'd made, her clear, beautiful voice. She instilled in all her children the love of music, and singing in particular. There was always music at every wedding, funeral or family event, sung by family groups or solos throughout the years. Lovely memories we reflected on. Life moves on. New babies are born as we all age and take our place as we enter and leave this wonderful family of ours.
We were home safely before midnight, and yes, we took the fast way back. Each of us quiet, thinking about the day and what was shared. Like most things in life, it was perfect in its complexity, like multicolored beads strung together to make a beautiful necklace. A necklace of found and discovered things.
I like days like yesterday, which are measured both by what we gave, as well as what we took home to ponder secretly. Footsteps taken, and little ones yet to come.
I used to wonder when I was a little girl what my future would be. I think most of us with any kind of imagination would. That little record player and I when I was 3 or so, living upstairs in the big old house in Oakland, California, were best friends. The wonderful Disney stories like Cinderella and Snow White helped me escape. Truth was, that big old house with the double dark attics and the two vacant rooms haunted me. And I was afraid. Falling in love with the music, the dancing and the Happily Ever After was my escape from fear.
Part of being a successful writer is learning things about myself that keep me going: my favorite friends to visit on social media, or when to stay off social media, that I love to get all down and dirty with a story until it consumes me (I don't ever do anything in little bites), that writing intense, like living intense is way more exciting than being safe and secure. Sort of like being on a big ship and daring yourself to imagine falling overboard and considering just for a minute what it would feel like to be plunged into the cold ocean.
Our fears are sometimes what drive us, compel us to do things. It works with performance as I've heard actors say if they aren't just a little nervous before they go on stage, they don't give a good performance. Athletes train for extraordinary results. Competing is training in itself. The thing that drives us is the fear of failure in many realms.
Our brain filters what is "good" for us and what is "bad" for us, and for each one of us it's different. I've learned that there are only a few people I really need to know about during every day, and I'm not missing out if I don't turn on every follow or worry about what someone's friends of friends are saying or liking, or whether or not I'm "trending." Those are fears that are unhealthy.
And tuning out all that "chatter" comes with its own set of fears: missing out on something. I've made decisions to hire people based on not wanting to "miss out." I've worried when I didn't need to. Birds make nests this time of year. Flowers bloom. Gardens grow. Living things respond to the sun and are enhanced.
So here's the right mix for me, and maybe it will help you. At some point, you put aside the fear, and you just have faith. That's little letter "f", but it works for the big one too. The fear is like the double yellow line, or the white lines on the side of the road that help you steer. So anything that doesn't drive faith to me, is unnecessary. Not that it's bad or evil or anything, it's just unnecessary.
Worry is unnecessary, but effort, laced very gently with the fear of failure or success, just a tiny bit, is a good thing. Fierce writing is good. Setting goals and deadlines are the roadmaps. Achieving everything on a To Do list is good. Having a plan is good. Abandoning a plan is good if it causes too much fear. Re-evaluating goals and dreams, adjusting our course is good. Feeling like the tail is wagging the dog, running to catch up, to be good enough is unnecessary.
I think understanding that word, unnecessary, means I have a healthy set of filters in place that protect me. Protects my spirit, my humanity, my graciousness and my gratitude. Protecting the work.
Loving is protecting the heart. Loving with the fear of it not being returned enhances the experience, in my opinion. Always striving, improving, adjusting and broadening my experiences make me a better writer, lover, mother, wife, friend and all round human being.
So while my future wasn't anything like what I'd planned, it does more resemble what I listened to as a youngster of three. That love will win not just some times, but every time. That being connected is more important than frequency or following of trending. And in that wonderful process called trial and error, course correction and that drive to never give up, blooms that beautiful flower of creativity that decorates the gardens of my heart.
While it wasn't what I thought it would be, life has been even better than I could possibly dream it could be.
Writing is work.
There are days when you just write because you don't know what else to do. Or because not writing feels like giving up. Or that you don't fit in anywhere else. Or that you've forgotten how to be or do anything else.
You have to have a thick skin.
Some days you disappoint yourself.
Other days others disappoint you.
Nothing is for sure or stable.
The world is burning.
And I'm still writing.
The fairy princesses have flown away.
Duty, honor and true love are still possible.
But darn! There are so many potholes.
It's day 5 of BUD/S.
I hear the bell ring, but someone else pulled the strap.
I'm still here.
And so are you. Are you listening now? When do the clowns come out and play?
Last weekend I attended a book signing at Valley Forge, at the Freedom Foundation Center building, hosted by Renee Fisher and A.L. Wood. I'd never been to Valley Forge before, and it moved me greatly.
I trust my gut instincts when it comes to events. This one was on my list because I have a lot of readers in the area, and I'd never been here before. I try to switch where I go so I can network with readers. As next year comes around, I will be cutting back, or hopefully so, so I'm going to be careful with my time and money. But Renee and I began emailing back and forth, and I found a new, warm friend, and one who I hope to get to know even more as the years go by.
As events went, it was wonderful, especially with all the planning Renee and her team did. Awesome fans, and people helping her. But the whole area was what made it even more special to me. Cloaked in history, I found myself so moved, it was hard for me not to cry as I toured the State Park and looked at the history of my country.
Remember, politics is completely separate from love of country. I wish it wasn't so, but especially this year, it is. Somehow, as a country we muddle through, because of the foundation that was laid nearly 250 years ago now. I was struck with the sacrifice, not only in terms of life, but title, fortunes lost and titles or privileges removed, including the impact the Revolutionary War had on Native Americans, who fought with either side. Their fortunes were caught up in the war as well. It happened again in the American Civil War.
It's been said more than once that we form an imperfect union. And yet, this union has withstood the battles of nasty elections, strife, intrigue, treachery, greed, and the life blood of the nation, a belief in a principle far greater than all of us combined: freedom. The quote that comes to me when I think about walking around the Valley Forge center is: "I never said it was going to be easy. I said it was going to be worth it."
In California, we don't have these types of monuments to honor our history of this time period. We have very few patriotic displays in California. Our local post office just repainted their lobby, and they took down all the pictures of the men and women serving in the military, some of whom bore gold stars, which was erected after 9-11. How things change, go back to the way they were before. I see fewer and fewer American flags and more and more bumper stickers for campaigns. I haven't had a political sticker on my car since I had the "Reelect Nobody" back in the 1990's. "Wag More. Bark Less" is another one I had for years.
As I had my tomato soup in the bar at the hotel after the signing, looking at the celebrations of two wedding parties, the glasses crushed, hugs given and kisses shared, the loudness of people celebrating and just going on with their lives, I was pulled back to what George Washington would think if he were sitting with me.
I don't know that I would have an adequate explanation for how our country has fared, except to say, we've made it this far. I hope we will continue. We continue to right some of the terrible wrongs of the past, we continue to try to hold up our system of laws and government that has proven to be the most stable in the whole world. I was reminded about what a special country we have here, how it's bloody roots were hard fought, and how much I appreciate the sacrifices. And just like the fallen heroes, the best thing I can do to honor them all is just to go on. Not give up. Keep the memory of the miracle that is this nation alive in my heart. And maybe to remind others.
Valley Forge is a place everyone should see. 10% of the men who wintered over here that third year into the war were diseased and would eventually not see the spring. Another 10% didn't even have shoes to wear. Dissertions were high, expectations were at an all time low. Our Commander In Chief knew that even in the worst of times, it was the time to prepare. The outcome of the war was uncertain. Philadelphia had been lost. Washington looked across the Delaware, and envisioned a country and it's freedom.
And he decided it was worth it. All those men did. They trained. They healed, those who could, and they got equipment and clothing, often having to seize it from local inhabitants who also needed the clothing and equipment, and sometimes at gunpoint. Loyalties were tested. The army of Washington faced a better armed British army, larger and better trained than our rag-tag Patriots in the Spring. And the Patriots eventually won.
It took 7 years. Even years later things were not stable. I complain about our political season lasting so long. But those woes are peanuts compared to what was fought, and lost during those 7 precious years. Families who were lost, sacrificed, interrupted by something bigger than themselves.
In the end, it was worth it.
Many of you know my narrator, J.D. Hart, has become my best friend. But there was a day when we first met in person. Now, this man has read my most intimate sex scenes, and lived the ups and downs of a writer who wants to become more and more successful. It's a bumpy road, and with already a lot of things on my plate, I decided to jump into the world of audio books. We started working together and I think after five or six books, I had the opportunity to come to Nashville for a conference, and meet him for the first time.
Next day he took me on a tour of places that were meaningful to him – these were all things I'd asked him to show me. We saw where he first lived when he came to town as a young songwriter, where he wrote music, where other famous stars had lived, or performed for the first time. I got to meet his lovely wife, Cherokee, and have dinner at the Grand Ole Opry We went to a Country Diner taping at Northstar Studios, where I personally met Roy Clark, Larry Gatlin and others.
This talented actor, singer-songwriter, voice over artist and now narrator has done for me what no one else has ever done: take my stories and turn them into additional works of art.
As he told me about his many stories, I asked permission to write a story based on him as a character. So, Nashville SEAL, the novella came out last year as a Christmas present to my readers and you guys loved it. We then recorded the audio book and it was in high demand, still is. J.D. sings in this audio book some original works he performed years ago. Book 2, which is to be released tomorrow, is Nashville SEAL: Jameson. It is the ongoing story of this young CW star who marries Lizzie, and who goes on his first deployment with SEAL Team 3.
My SEALs are buying a vineyard and will be expanded into Wine Country as a theme in upcoming books. Since most SEALs don't stay in 20 years like perhaps other branches of the military, some of your favorites, like Nick, Zak, and others, will find their way to Sonoma County to get into the wine and beer business. Oh yes, they'll have Frog Piss beer, and it will be green.
More will follow in upcoming stories, but I hope you'll read along with me as we continue to tell the stories of young brave warriors who change, take different life choices, fine the women of their dreams, and still remain in a very tight community as they raise their children. I plan to have other authors write in this Wine Country world as well. More about that later!
Enjoy Nashville SEAL: Jameson!! You'll get to hear J.D. sing again…I promise you'll love it.
Join us on Monday for the big release party. We know how to party! Link here.
Those of you who garden understand this. My mother used to spend hours and hours in the garden, just "playing with the plants" as she would say. She loved roses, which has become my favorite as well. I go for the scented ones as much as possible, the deep rose-red and intoxicating scent of the Chrysler Imperial being my very favorite. This rose is the Peace rose, another favorite of mine.
We've built our rock walls spanning the past 2+ years, and the sprinkler system was removed to do this, so it has been barren around our house, save for the occasional calendula or nasturtium volunteers. Several foxglove have been discovered, and even some potato plants that cropped up when we were filling holes created from the wall building, importing soil from our rear old garden yard.
As has been said before, "Life finds a way." That's certainly true of my plants. I let volunteers bloom and grow where they are planted, even if planted by mistake. I think the garden faeries reward me by doing so. Just doesn't seem right to pluck out a young plant just because it couldn't know where to put itself with it's own kind. Sort of like my life.
Now that the kids are gone, my garden has become my outlet for the need to tend and bear children.
I negotiated a little compromise and got a plot rototilled and fenced so I could have a small vegetable and flower garden this year. I've kept it small because I only got a few man-hours to use and I used our helper on the hard stuff – pulling weeds and tilling the soil. My garden soil is nice and sandy-loamy, after 30+ years of putting 6-8 yards of mushroom manure on it every year before I planted. But the front of the house has, like the rest of our property, thick black soil loaded with nutrients, but makes the roots work harder when allowed to dry. I can dig a hole a foot deep, fill it with water, and a week later, it's still there.
My roses have had lots of chicken manure over the years from the chickens I used to have. They actually became pets when they got too old to lay eggs, but at least I got to collect their manure embedded in the bales of sawdust lining their boxes! My 66 very expensive pets, most of them hatched on my property (and I watched nearly every one being born), eventually had to go the way of the garden, my koi pond and everything else on our outside landscaping after the fire and rebuild. I was sad to see them go, but that's when I threw myself into writing. A silver lining.
I don't think I have seen my roses so lush as this year. And now, a new venture for me: my small vegetable garden. I'm good at negotiating, so got some tractor time in the rear yard and now have it set up to plant corn, as soon as I finish my next book. If you look at my calendar, you would see garden things noted, as well as editing deadlines and story launches. It's that important to me.
This time of year is magical for me – before the hot weather puts me into overdrive to protect and water, buds forming and branches are not yet leggy and needing to be pared back. Everything is small in the vegetable garden, ripe with possibilities for a savory summer of cabbage, kale, squash, peppers, beans, peas, eggplant and swiss chard.
Gardens are hopeful, like new love, they start out precious, perhaps a bit fragile. These lovely beings take their own time. Like falling in love, I'm learning how to enhance their beauty, and that brings me great joy.
It's always a wonder at this time of year, how my garden will come back. This year, I'm charmed with the magic of possibility for a wonderful blooming adventure and prosperous year.
Playing catchup to the #A-ZBlogChallenge, and my topic for the month is gratitude.
G is for:
Grateful today for the letter E. I like evening. I must admit, I like that dusk and dawn kind of magical place, especially for some of my romantic scenes. My guardian angel is awakened at dawn after having spent a glorious evening in her lover's arms. For the first time, at the very end, she is finally being able to sleep at last.
Readers of mine will know I always end my books with a lovely bow: a love scene that somehow transcends all the danger and pain and hurt, misunderstanding and confusion. When the couple finally relaxes into themselves and enjoys just the intimacy of the two of them.
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Dusk is a special time for colors, for those Maxfield Parrish type sunsets where the sky is turquoise and the horizon is deep orange. The trees overhead are black. You can see the effects of the glow on reflections outside, through windows, and the overall dark fabric of the ceiling of nighttime to come mutes everything except for these firery sunbursts. A magic time.
Vampires see this as an awakening (those that have to go to ground). Others see it as the death of the day. That space between light and dark, where both dance together. Like that image in Ladyhawk where the hero and the heroine can meet, but only briefly because one has to stay in the night and one lives in the day.
Evening is more emotion than time. Color more than idea or thought. When I see the sun fall below the horizon and on those special nights when the glow is extra bright, my ideas wander and my heart bleeds something good.
I have no idea what it is. But that's what Evening is to me.
What is it to you?
Well, I was going to pick Dogs, Do-overs, Dumb Stuff, but I guess that's why Discipline is so important today. Let me explain.
My letter D (above) doesn't look like it would belong on a Navy SEAL Sweatshirt, does it? But it is very important, and here's why. We are the sum of all the life experiences we've had. As a storyteller, I spin these stories, placing one flower here, or a vine there, a color here or there, and all of a sudden we have a bouquet, a tapestry of stories filled with emotion. These come from my past, from my fantasies, from the future, from others. Who really cares where they come from, as long as, being a writer, it isn't plagiarized.
And here's the gratitude part (my theme for the month). Thank goodness we have all these experiences. Thank goodness we have the variety, color, the pain and the joy of living. Thank goodness we have more than enough to choose from.
Discipline means to Decide. To "kill of other options." In a world where we are lucky enough to have so many options, we have to learn to pare down to the useful and focus on our goals, or out energy gets pulled away, wasted, if you will, in thousands of different direction.
The word Decide has the ending like other "cides" – and I know you can creatively think of them on your own. We choose what to let into our lifespace (my new favorite word), we choose what stories to tell. In terms of working with addiction issues, we learn which Dog to feed. We starve the dog that isn't good for us, and feed the dog that brings about all the miracles. Sometimes we are drawn and choose unwisely. Then we get a do-over the next time it comes up.
Here's some Double D's – my favorite thing to write about (crazy, I know). But I just love my heroines to be big chested.
|Yes, I think these are DD's
Now, that's a lot of dumb stuff, but I managed to include all my words, weave them together with today's word, Discipline.
What Dog are you feeding and what Dog are you starving?
I'm grateful for books. I love reading books. I love writing books. I love book conventions and all the beautiful readers there. Here are some other B things I'm grateful for:
1. Boys. I dated them, married one, bore two and fell in love with lots of them. What would my life be without boys? Not so sweet.
2. Band of Bachelors – and here you thought I wouldn't pimp my series? I am finishing up one now, and he's a very messed up bachelor, and that's my next grateful point!!
3. Bachelors! They shield themselves from women, but they fall and they fall badly. The give wrong advice. Without Bachelors to write about, what would life be?
4. Baseball. I'm grateful for the new Giant's Stadium, for lazy afternoons out at the ballpark, getting sunburned and loving every minute of it.
Better come back tomorrow!
My Away We Go! #atozchallenge is doing a blog every day on Gratitude! Listing everything that starts with the letter A, here's a few of them. Hello from Blogger #110!!!
1. Best new self-help book: The Power of No by James and Claudia Azula Altucher.
2. My new SEAL book: Band of Bachelors: Alex which will be coming to preorder very soon, and is available for preorder on iBooks here.
3. My favorite blog sister: SOS Aloha and her book Blog SOS Book Blog.
4. My quilt project, Operation Aloha Shirt. If you have a few snippets of fabric and old shirts you want to donate to this quilt project, please send them to me. I'm making a quilt to go to a military family in Hawaii, and another one to auction off at to donate money to Navy SEAL/UDT Museum in Ft. Pierce, Florida.
5. Spring Fling Audio Giveaway (use the #SpringFlingAudioGiveaway to be connected to all the other authors who are participating in this. I'm giving away an Audio Book every day this month. You're welcome!
6. AMORE! The Italians do so many things well. I've wanted to learn Italian for years. Just so I could speak love in their beautiful tongue. We need more Amore. Always.
Be sure to join the other bloggers. Remember, I'm #110 on this list. Come back and see me anytime!
I'm doing it again this year. And this time, like I did in I think 2013 or 2012, 30 DAYS OF GRATITUDE.
You have to understand I'll be posting other things too. but with this logo at the top, and with the label A-Z Blog Challenge, you should be able to pick it up on my site anytime.
I already know what April 1 will start out: 30 Days of Gratitude: Amore!
We need a little more love in this world, wouldn't you agree?
My mind is flooded with ideas and things I can do to help my writing career. I'm also very grateful to all the presenters and awesome authors who shared so freely and gave me such wonderful inspiration. We rarely get to go to things so jam packed with material. Although most of my pictures were taken in front or behind an umbrella drink, most of my time here has not been spent drinking.
I described my mind as "frizzy" like a bad hair day. It will take a couple of days to calm it down.
Getting to meet Hollywood people who have actually read and enjoyed my books was a super rush for me. I learned some things about what I need to do with a screen play to make it more packaged for the TV series I think it would work for. I also learned what had to be done to create the screen play for a movie, which is very different than the TV series.
There were lots of author platforms and retail platforms I hadn't considered using that I will now be doing. Learned the importance of FB ads and now I'll be getting blood with them.
Highlight was of course the Pearl Harbor tour, which I sponsored. The trip to the Arizona Memorial, the Mighty Mo, learning more about the Kamakaze pilot who perished on the deck of the Missouri. Saturday a small group of us signed books at Hickam AFB in the beautiful Community Center building built in the 1930's. I love that style architecture. We toured buildings on grounds that had absorbed divots in the concrete where Japanese rounds had landed. Viewed the flag that was standing that day, and the eternal flame commemorating all those who lost their lives.
I poked my head into the Officer's Club and I did feel like I'd been transported back to those days.
The beautiful beaches, outstanding food and drinks, the shopping, and weather was just a plus. I'd have come here if it was just for the classes, but to have all the other wonderful things about being in Hawaii too, well, it was indeed learning in Paradise. I go back richer in ideas and excitement, a little poorer in the pocketbook, but satisfied.
I get kind of crazy when I'm finishing a book, which usually means I'm anti-social and hermit-like. Not this time. This time, for whatever reason, I'm connected with lots of people. I've been working on Romancing The Vines, book signing at Coppola Winery on 2-20-16, coordinating things with the wonderful event staff there and making sure all of us are on the same page. There's more about that, but I best not put it in writing until after the event.
Then I fly to Hawaii to participate in an author's conference, and then another book signing in Honolulu for military writers. I'm sponsoring a trip to Pearl Harbor, and the Missouri and Arizona memorials. While I'm there, I'll be going to a swing dance (stag), but who knows? Perhaps I'll find a young officer to dance with, since my husband has to stay home this time.
End of February I'll be attending an Indie Un-Con in San Francisco. Next week I give a luncheon address for a group, talking about Navy SEALs and the heroism they display. This will not be my normal group of writers and avid romance fans, so I'm bringing to them brand new material.
We saw 13 Hours, which is a movie everyone should see, and watched some interviews with the real survivors. I finished Black Sails and Mozart In the Jungle, two new programs for me, which rival my previously favorite: House of Cards.
I've completely straightened my writing area, AGAIN! I've uncovered my gym, put material and quilting supplies that were encroaching into bins and boxes so I can see what I have. I've raided the Salvation Army and Goodwill stores in Healdsburg and Santa Rosa and walked out with every aloha shirt I could find for my quilt.
This is behavior I had when I was pregnant! Impossible now, but perhaps the birth of the book is bringing out all the nesting instincts in me. And I'm still enjoying Christmas, even though the tree is torch-like dry. I'm leaving up all the decorations until the book is done. I have other writer friends who are stressing over deadlines farther out, and I've kept my mouth shut.
And I've done all this without coffee, can you believe it? And I've stuck to my diet, and have lost about 6#, perhaps more now.
I guess what's happening is I'm organizing my whole world so my focus is sharp and detailed. I call it Fierce Writing. In the zone, as one of my good friends says. I love writing this way. When I walk in and out of rooms, I get excited because they're clean, orderly and I'm not distracted. I don't feel bad because everything else has been allowed to slide. This is a planned attack, just like my SEALs do in the books I write. Writing fiercely and clear-headed is a practice, a devotion to something hopefully greater than myself.
Interesting that when I decide to clean up my spaces, I write better. My relationships are cleaner. Even three of my kids said thank you to me for being the mother I was. Two of them actually asked for advice!
Yes, I've gone to Heaven.
Okay, now back to the book. I'm working hard, and I do it for you!
|First Christmas Tree, Madison Square Park 1906
I am guilty, especially this year, of holding on to Christmas, perhaps a little too tight. I will be a mess the day we take the tree down and put away all the ornaments and decorations. I like to buy things after Christmas, and this year I haven't done any shopping, except exchange for a jacket that didn't fit my daughter. It's a do-over.
I wish we could make Christmas a do-over. I have a lot of work staring me in the face in January.
I took a lot of days of rest this December, got well, emersed myself in family traditions, put on a big dinner with 38# of prime rib that was out of this world, gave some presents that were close to my heart. At the end of it all, I still wonder if I did enough. I know I shouldn't feel guilty of taking a few private days for myself – watching Knick in binge mode, going to the movies twice and just watching as the Christmas lights danced in my grandchildren's eyes. The bears were a hit and we got a beautiful video of all three Eastern Grands playing with them.
My dogs have eaten 3 rib bones already, and I've been lovingly vacuuming up white bone splinters here and there. My bedspread has paw prints on it and will have to be washed.
We wore ugly sweaters for Christmas morning breakfast, our tradition, and carried on the tradition of my grandparents some 90 years ago when they were a young newlywed couple. Forgive me if you've heard the story before, but here it is again.
My grandfather was a young preacher in Illinois, at his first church. Many of you know he started from a wealthy family in upstate New York, his mother was a concert pianist and his father was a "man of business." They had racehorses and a beautiful home that stood above the Hudson River he liked to say the New York Stock Exchange was copied after. My grandfather was training to be a stock broker.
My grandfather witnessed a suicide, a man jumping from an office window, when he'd lost his fortunes. It had such an impression on him, he felt called to do something about it, and so began preaching in Madison Square Park. Yes, it was the park Madison Square Gardens was named after. As a child I was told it was, "On the corner of 5th Avenue and Broadway."
Apparently it was known in the day as a kind of Speaker's Park, where people could get up on a box and begin to protest or to preach. My grandfather became a well-known regular, and turned his back on his wealthy upbringing. A gentleman used to stop by and listen to him, later telling him he should get a degree and become a leader of a flock. He even helped pay for an education at the divinity school. Grandpa got involved in the Riverside Baptist Church, and became an ordained Baptist minister some years later. I can remember a picture of this church was on his wall.
|Madison Square Park today
His first church, then, was in Illinois. He'd already met and married my grandmother, an invalid he'd called upon, and with the help of his readings and the love of the handsome young preacher, she got out of bed and became his partner in all things. A woman who was supposed to die in her late twenties, she went on to bear two children and live to be 73 (outliving 3 of her doctors). I always loved hearing that story, because it read like the Brownings.
That first Christmas they were snowed in, and Grandma wasn't able to go out and get the shopping done for Christmas dinner. All she had were eggs, canned pineapple rings, and some sausage. She made a dinner, using red and green sprinkles on the pineapple rings, served the sausage and eggs and her famous fresh biscuits. And that has become our family traditional Christmas morning breakfast ever since.
When we went back to visit the 9-11 memorial some years ago, and to visit our son, then attending NYU Film School, my husband and I sat in the park, and yes, I could hear my grandfather's words echoing in the distance, bouncing off the faces of now-famous buildings, one of them the Flatiron Building. I felt the connection to my past, his past.
Maybe this year we'll leave up all our decorations until Easter, like we did one year, until my youngest burst into tears and told me he couldn't invite over his friends because "our Christmas Tree is still up."
Yes, I am guilty of holding on too much. I never give up on a good story, or a memory. I never forget that who I am today is the result of those who came before me and who gave their life's stories, customs, and history.
But I don't have to worry about it today. I have a book to write, a book to finish, and it's a long time before Easter.
|Carneros Inn
WOW. Just Wow. I spent yesterday at an all-day seminar in the beautiful Carneros Inn in Napa, with the awesome Elizabeth Gilbert. It was a gift to myself for a year of inspiration, frustration, tears and mostly wonder. I'm at the point in my career I'm ready to hit the re-set button. Taking classes outside of writing, more in inspiration, the brain function and what it means to be in connection and relationship. That goes everywhere. And right now all these thoughts are like a school of colorful angel fishes swimming around my brain as I write them down.
To say I got inspired is to say I am alive. Several things she gave to me, but the first one was her connection with her readers and her audience. Her new book, Big Magic, Creative Living Beyond Fear is a #1 Bestseller, and there is no wonder why. It is, as she puts it, her manifesto. I think every writer on the planet should read it. Here are only a few of the things that have settled in enough to be identifiable. And how perfect is it that I've booked a room at the Kenwood Inn for 3 days of writing, reflection and planning out next year's schedule for me. The Kenwood Inn has been prominent in some of my yet-to-be works, and some of my SEAL stories. I have an encounter with the uncompromisingly hunky Victorian British explorer in a time travel novel that is half finished, based upon bringing Sir Richard Burton (the explorer) to modern times, where he would have lived a perfect life. A man living before his time, for sure.
Anyway, that's another story or ten. Here's what I learned yesterday:
Have a conversation with Fear. Let Him Speak. Yes, for me, Fear is a man. He asked me some questions and suggested that perhaps I don't want to run away so fast from him, that his rooms were populated with some of the most interesting characters I've written, hope to write and real-life people who scare me with their brilliance. He was sultry and suggestive, I have to say, even sexy. Does that sound insane? He suggested I hang out with him more, that life would be a little more exciting, that he'd have my back, and would make sure I didn't really get into the kind of irreparable trouble I worried about…He asked me this question, "Sharon, when was it that you stopped riding on roller coasters you loved as a child?" And then he asked, "When was it you decided safe meant you'd live longer?"
Have a conversation with my Faery Godmother. She wrote me a long letter about what's in store for me. It involves dressing up in costumes, going to exotic places, going dancing in a big ball gown by candlelight. "Claim back some of the fun you folded and put away in lavender-scented drawers. They looked nice, Sharon, all folded up, and you thought you were practicing good self care."
|Better to eat more gelato
Like the Velveteen Rabbit conversation, she suggested my fun have all the hair rubbed off it and get squishy joints. It doesn't deserve to be folded in a drawer, even if it is lavender-infused…
She also suggested more hair color. More laughter. Finding more people to share the vision with. Oh! I loved this lady, and she didn't look anything like Cinderella's Fairy Godmother, HBC, but she would have been her sister.
Write a Permission Slip. You know the ones, the hall passes you used to get in High School, the permission to do X,Y and Z. What if your inner principal gave you a permission slip for the rest of your life? What would it say? Some of the things on mine were: Permission to be inconsistent. Permission to play the music too loud. Permission to feel and to mine for the feelings. Permission to express love, to be deserving of pure everlasting love.
This was the hardest list of all for me to write in. My inner principal is looking for another appointment. Summing it up, I think he wants to give me Permission to be happy.
Elizabeth gave me permission to do a creativity triage. Suggested we read this poem every day, and I will, by Louise Erdrich:
Advice to Myself
Leave the dishes.
Let the celery rot in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator
and an earthen scum harden on the kitchen floor.
Leave the black crumbs in the bottom of the toaster.
Throw the cracked bowl out and don't patch the cup.
Don't patch anything. Don't mend. Buy safety pins.
Don't even sew on a button.
Let the wind have its way, then the earth
that invades as dust and then the dead
foaming up in gray rolls underneath the couch.
Talk to them. Tell them they are welcome.
Don't keep all the pieces of the puzzles
or the doll's tiny shoes in pairs, don't worry
who uses whose toothbrush or if anything
matches, at all.
Except one word to another. Or a thought.
Pursue the authentic-decide first
what is authentic,
then go after it with all your heart.
Your heart, that place
you don't even think of cleaning out.
That closet stuffed with savage mementos.
Don't sort the paper clips from screws from saved baby teeth
or worry if we're all eating cereal for dinner
again. Don't answer the telephone, ever,
or weep over anything at all that breaks.
Pink molds will grow within those sealed cartons
in the refrigerator. Accept new forms of life
and talk to the dead
who drift in though the screened windows, who collect
patiently on the tops of food jars and books.
Recycle the mail, don't read it, don't read anything
except what destroys
the insulation between yourself and your experience
or what pulls down or what strikes at or what shatters
this ruse you call necessity.
My hope is that I be able to play in this arena forever and that all of you who chose to join me will find your lives inspired as much as I have been by all the wonderful people around me. Enjoy your Sunday, my friends. May it be this way forever…


text:
Ian Blackford MP is welcoming plans for a new publicly-owned, not-for-profit energy company to be set up by the SNP Scottish Government.
The new company, which they aim to be fully operational within five years, will deliver electricity to consumers "as close to the cost of production as possible".
Ian Blackford has long campaigned in Westminster against Scotland's higher electricity distribution costs, which see consumers in the Highlands paying up to 15% more for their electricity than other parts of the UK.
He said: "I welcome this announcement by the First Minister at the SNP conference which will benefit so many people and make a real difference to their lives.
"The Highlands and Islands weather is more severe than most parts of the UK and many people depend on electricity to heat their homes. Due to higher prices imposed on us by the big corporations who answer only to shareholders, a large number of our people are living in fuel poverty, unable to heat their homes properly.
"For many the only choice at present is 'heat or eat', which is not acceptable.
"The Scottish Government has taken action to directly combat this disgraceful situation by offering consumers a supplier whose only job is to secure the lowest price for their energy".

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Best Kids' Hanukkah Gifts and Activities for 2018
The hottest hands-on art & science gifts for boys and girls of all agesLearn More
Celebrate the Festival of Lights with a unique gift for your children and check out our DIYs for fun Hanukkah activities to do with kids. Explore electric circuits by building a light-up paper menorah, assemble a dreidel lightcatcher, and more!What sets KiwiCo Hanukkah gifts apart? »
Hanukkah Gifts
Top Hanukkah Gifts Under $10
KiwiCo offers a wide variety of science and art projects to celebrate 8 days of gifting, perfect for creating something fun and educational. Our crates come with all the supplies needed to assemble an awesome project.
Check these out
Teddy Bear Sewable Circuit
Learn needlepoint basics and how circuits work to sew up a teddy bear zipper pull that really lights up! Recommended for Ages 9-16+.
Fruit Stamps
Carve up some creativity! Learn how to create a set of your own rubber stamps to decorate cards, notebooks, and more! Recommended for Ages 9-16+.
Blue Cape
Make your own one-of-a-kind cape and personalize it with felt stickers! Recommended for Ages 3-4.
Pom-Pom Hedgehogs
Wind up yarn to make fluffy hedgehog friends! Bring your handmade pom-poms to life with felt, stickers, and pipecleaners. Recommended for Ages 5-8.
DIY Menorahs
Make Your Own Hanukkah Menorah
Put a DIY twist on this year's Hanukkah Menorah (also known as a hanukiah) by teaching your child a new skill or craft activity. Building something together is an excellent learning opportunity.
Check these out
Paper Circuit Menorah
Test your tinkering skills by creating a menorah using copper tape and LEDs. This can be an interesting challenge for kids to tackle.
Hanging Menorah
Learn how to hand sew while making a Hanukkah-themed wall hanging!
Candlemaking for Hanukkah
Creating your own candles makes for a very special menorah. Experiment with colors and observe how colors change as wax cools.
Clothespin Menorah
Create a kid-friendly menorah for your Hanukkah celebration! Perfect for ages 3-6.
Handprint Menorah
Celebrate Hanukkah and make a keepsake of your child's handprints. A good project for younger kids.
Edible Hanukkah Menorah
What better way to celebrate Hanukkah after all the jelly donuts and potato latkes than with more food - an edible menorah!
Holiday Decoration Ideas
DIY Decorations for Hanukkah
Try out a some new decorations for this year's Hanukkah!
Check these out
Homemade Cookie Cutters
Make your own unique cookie cutters! Then, enjoy some delicious cut-out holiday-themed cookies!
Creating a Dreidel Garland
Create a beautiful dreidel garland to decorate your home for Hanukkah this year.
Hanukkah Suncatcher
Make a delightful Hanukkah suncatcher! A great project for younger children.
Foil Dreidel Collage
Use colorful foil paper to create a dreidel collage.
Tissue Paper Garland
Decorate the house for the holidays with colorful paper.
Hanukkah Themed Beaded Sun Catchers On Recycled Lids
Gather some recycled plastic lids, pony beads, and white glue, and your kiddos are ready to make some festive beaded sun catchers for Hanukkah - perfect for hanging in the window above your menorah!
Hanukkah Gifts
Explore The Science Behind Lights
Delve into the science between how light and electricity work with these projects.
Check these out
Color and Light
Create a color-mixing light jar, project colorful shadows, and play with rainbow glasses to learn about color and light! Recommended for Ages 5-8.
Light Refraction
Sculpt a firefly, create a color-changing fireworks display, and learn about light refraction! Recommended for Ages 5-8.
Light-Up Wire Art
Create two custom neon signs with EL wire. Choose from five existing templates, or create your own from scratch. Recommended for ages 9-16+.
Hand-Crank Flashlight
Assemble your own hand-crank flashlight, great for outdoor adventures, emergencies, or just battery-free fun. Recommended for ages 12+.
What Sets KiwiCo Hanukkah Gifts Apart?
We deliver quality materials along with clear instructions and inspiration for assembly.
We ensure that projects give kids plenty opportunities to tinker and explore.
Every crate is tested rigorously by our experts and lots of kids.
Our crates are enriching, accessible, and fun for kids of all ages.
Each crate presents kids with a multi-faceted experience that can last for hours, or even days! Our crates include lots of rich content to dig deeper into the theme.
Awards and Press
- Parents' Choice Gold Award
- Dr. Toy's 10 Best Creative Products Winner
- Academics' Choice Brain Toy Award Winner
- Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Toy Award Gold Seal
- Dr. Toy's Best Picks Winner
- Purdue University - Promotes Engineering Thinking & Design


text:
Thank you for reaching out! To contact someone at the Charleston Jewish Community Center Without Walls, please call us, fax us, write us, or email us using the contact for below.
Phone: 843.571.6565
Fax: 843.637.3315
Physical Address: 1630-2 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29405
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 31298, Charleston, SC 29417


text:
Like it promised two weeks ago, Apple has finally released iOS updates for both the iPhone and iPad. The two firmware updates sport the more accurate signal bars thanks to an updated reception formula and contain fixes for WiFi connectivity issues, respectively. The iOS 4.0.1 for iPhone update (build 8A306) contains minor bug fixes and improves the formula to determine how many bars of signal strength to display on the iPhone 3G/3GS and iPhone 4. AppleInsider noted that the software doesn't fix the laggy proximity sensor issue or the iPhone 4 death grip beyond the cosmetic change with the taller signal bars.
iOS 3.2.1 for iPad update improved WiFi connectivity, fixes an issue that could prevent copy and paste of single-page PDF attachments in Mail, addresses an issue that could cause video playback to freeze, improves reliability of video-out when using iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter, and adds Bing as an option for Safari's search field, Apple noted.
To update, connect your device to a computer, click it in the source list on the left, click the Summary tab and choose Update. You can also use the following links to download a desired iOS firmware build for your device:


text:
The Pegasus Club aims to provide a safe and stimulating environment for children aged 4-12, out of school hours, in a caring, relaxed atmosphere. It is open to all children in the area, not only those who are enrolled with us.
The Group runs according to National and Local Authority Guidelines. It is staffed according to the number of children on the register, with a minimum of one adult to eight children.
A light snack is provided on arrival. Activities include:
If you would like your child to attend Pegasus Club, please contact the school office for prices and availability.
Pegasus phone (available from 3:20pm to 5:30pm only): 0208 864 1684


text:
Mail snooping 12 Sep, 2002
Having users sneak on themselves: well I really can't condone this. Oh no no no. But hey, it was fun to code…
Many organisations have problems with the size of their users' mail files. You can set up the mail quota system, even use shared mail!!) and do various other tricks to work with this issue. At our place, we already have scans for ludicrously-sized mail files, which are then imported in to a Notes database, from where stern warnings can be sent (via Notes mail. Hah! Oh the irony…).
The code
The code I append here is designed to be run from a form
Queryopen or
Postopen event, but could be easily tweaked for use pretty much anywhere. The idea was that we sent out a stored form to users, and as they opened it, it would scan their mail file for all documents > 3MB in size. The resulting document collection would be looped, and various details about those documents logged in a simple email, which was then sent back to the Notes database mentioned above. OK, so you can scan mail files on the server, but that takes a lot of resource, and access to all the mail files for the agent signing ID. This code runs under the mail file owner's ID, so is much easier.
It's very simple. All user messages and things like the document size threshold are stored as constants in the
(Declarations) section of the form. The code initiation, as mentioned above, sits in the relevant form event. Finally, there's a custom subroutine called
ProcessDocs which actually populates the report email.
So here it is. The database contains an example form with all the code in it. To test, just dump the form in your mail file, and preview the form in Notes. After a short delay, the snooper will open with a "finished" message, and in the background it will send a report off. However before you do that, take care to edit the
K_SENDTO_ADDRESS constant, as that contains the email address used by the report email!
This is very much version 1.00 code, and could bear improvement, I'm sure. Apart from anything else, there's no error trapping in the code. I'll leave that up to you…


text:
Lessons In Chocolate
Mattia (Luca Argentero), a 32 year old building contractor in Perugia has all the trappings of success; nice suits, a flash car, a gorgeous girlfriend and is on a promising career path. But behind this facade he is cutting corners with site safety and hiring immigrant workers. He is about to close the biggest deal of his professional life, when one of his illegally hired workers, Kamal (Hassani Shapi), is badly injured when falling off a roof because of lack of scaffolding. Kamal, who had came to Italy from his native Egypt to realise his dream of opening his own pastry shop, threatens to sue Mattia unless Mattia takes his place in an advanced chocolate making course at the Perugina factory! Mattia has no choice but to take Kamal's place in the school and assume his identity.
1hr 35mins long
M Contains offensive language and sexual references.
Violante Placido
Neri Marcore
Monica Scattini
Matteo Oleotto
Luca Argentero
Josefia Forli
Hassani Shapi
Francesco Pannofino
Claudio Cupellini


text:
Hot Stocks: National Semi, Apple, KB Home and More!
Some hot stocks to watch this morning, courtesy of our friends at Dow Jones.
Texas Instruments Inc. agreed to buy National Semiconductor for about $6.5 billion in cash–a lofty 78% premium to the company's pre-deal valuation–as the Dallas chip maker looks to expand its analog chip business. National Semiconductor shares surged 73% to $24.30 after hours, though they remained below the $25-per-share offer price. Texas Instruments slipped 1.9% to $33.45.
The deal also lifted shares of peers in the analog chip market: In late trade, Analog Devices rose 4.4%, Linear Tech was up 2.8%, and Maxim Integrated climbed 5.1%.
Cubist Pharmaceuticals said it granted Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. a license to sell a generic version of its flagship infection-fighting drug, Cubicin, to settle a patent claim it filed against the generic drug maker. Shares in Cubist jumped 14% to $28.75 in after-hours trading to $28.50, while Teva's were up 0.6% at $50.32.
AMR Corp.'s American Airlines said it has reached an agreement with Expedia to restore its fares to the popular online travel agent after a dispute kept them off the site for months. Shares of Expedia climbed 5.4% to $23.65 after hours, while AMR shares rose 1.2% to $6.34.
Diamond Foods Inc. has agreed to a $1.5 billion merger agreement with Proctor & Gamble Co.'s Pringles brand, its second big chip bet in as many years. Diamond's shares gained 10% to $63 in pre-market trading.
Nasdaq OMX Group Inc., the New York exchange operator, said Tuesday it would rebalance the Nasdaq 100, effective May 2. The Wall Street Journal reported that the rebalancing was driven partly by the rise in Apple Inc. shares, which have more than quadrupled in two years. The rebalancing will reduce the tech giant's weighting in the index, which is currently more than 20%. Apple shares slid 1.1% to $337.40 in pre-market trading.
KB Home's fiscal first-quarter loss widened sharply as plunging orders led to a bigger revenue drop than analysts had predicted and charges weighed on the bottom line. Shares fell 6.6% to $11.40 in recent premarket trading.


text:
Our Blog
Sponsormob keeps you up-to-date with the latest news from our company as well as trends in the online and mobile industry. Please subscribe to our RSS Feed to follow us.
So in the US today, people are spending the day eating turkey and pumpkin pie, watching (American) football and parades on tv, and generally enjoying a day off. Well, most of us here in Germany are still hard at work on Thanksgiving (except for those of us American expats who take the day off to celebrate!), since it is not a holiday we celebrate. But we do want to wish everyone a wonderful holiday and a great time relaxing with friends and families.
And since Thanksgiving is such a great time to reflect on what we are grateful for, it is also appropriate for us to take time to thank those who have worked with Sponsormob over the past four years. We appreciate your business and your trust, and the ability to help us grow as a company. Thank you!


text:
Ambulance in Motion by Benjamin Ellis on Flickr
The M5 remained closed this morning following a fatal accident in the early hours of the morning on Tuesday 26th July.
Police were called when a heavy goods vehicle collided with a bridge. The male driver of the lorry was pronounced dead at the scene. His family have been informed.
The motorway was closed in both directions between junctions 4 (Lydiate Ash) and 3 (Halesowen) whilst emergency crews attended the scene. Part of Carters Lane running over the motorway is also closed due to damage caused to the motorway bridge.
Access to the motorway at junction 3 northbound has re-opened this morning, however the motorway still remains closed in both directions between junctions 3 and 4.
Police are investigating the collision and are appealing for any witnesses to contact them at CMPG on 0121 626 1285.
UPDATE: 13:20 26th July 2011 – Southbound carriageway reopened


text:
Wednesday 23 October 1940
|A young lady is rescued from rubble after an unexpected daylight raid. 23 October 1940.
Battle of Britain: The day remains cloudy and dreary. As on previous days, the poor weather on 23 October 1940 greatly slows the tempo of all operations. It also causes various flying accidents which are becoming almost as deadly as actual combat.
The morning is taken up with scattered reconnaissance flights. One of these just past noontime penetrates the London Inner Artillery Zone successfully and causes damage there. There are a couple of abortive raids in the early afternoon in which planes cross the Channel but don't actually make any attacks. RAF No. 145 Squadron intercepts this raid and loses two Hurricanes for its pains.
After dark, London bears the brunt of the damage. The Luftwaffe also hits Glasgow and mines off the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire areas and off the west coast. A land mine at Tynemouth Park creates a huge crater and damages numerous nearby buildings, including well over 200 homes. St. Pancras is bombed, cutting the rail line and damaging rail cars.
The weather appears to be implicated in some crashes. A RAF No. 600 Squadron Blenheim on a training mission crashes into a hillside at Kirkby Malzeard, Yorkshire, killing the pilot.
In France, a Heinkel He 111H of 1,/KG 27 misses the runway at Tours and hits a nearby barracks, killing not only the four crewmen but 13 occupants of the building. There are 11 other casualties from the ground crew.
In another bad weather accident, a Swordfish of RAF No. 767 Squadron collides with a Shark aircraft of No. 758 Squadron, killing the pilot of the Swordfish.
Overall, there are fewer than a handful of losses on both sides, probably the lowest number of overall planes lost since the battle began.
European Air Operations: After a respite due to poor weather, RAF Bomber Command returns to the attack today. The primary targets are railway installations and power plants around Berlin. Other bombing raids are sent against the port of Emden, oil installations at Hanover and Magdeburg, the port of Hoek van Holland, and various communications points in northwestern Europe, including airfields.
Battle of the Atlantic: It is a quiet day at sea because the U-boat fleet is back in port after a stunningly successful week. Convoys SC 7 and HX 79 are still struggling into port after being mauled. The Royal Navy Admiralty reassesses how its escorts are performing.
Royal Navy submarine HMS Taku torpedoes and sinks Norwegian freighter Prinsesse Ragnhild off Bodo.
Swedish 65 ton trawler Essie hits a mine and sinks in the Skagerrak about 19 km south of Skagen, Denmark. Six crew perish.
Norwegian 1590 ton liner Prinsesse Ragnhild hits a mine and sinks in the Norwegian Sea off Bodø, Nordland. There are 78 deaths and 62 survivors.
The Luftwaffe damages British 7603 ton freighter Empire Ability at Gardoch.
Battlecruisers Hood and Repulse are at sea supporting Operation DNU, a destroyer sweep in the North Sea by HMS Somali, Matabele and Punjabi and accompanying vessels.
German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer sails from Gotenhafen (Gdynia) in Poland to Brunsbuttel en route to a raiding cruise in the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean.
Convoy OB 233 departs from Liverpool, Convoys FN 316 and FN 317 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 318 departs from Methil.
Battle of the Mediterranean: The RAF raids Gura, Asmara Airfield, Gondar, Tessenie, Kassala and Sidi Barrani.
At Malta, the island loses a scarce Swordfish when it ditches in the sea close to shore. A trawler recovers the crew. In addition, after a lot of hard work all the ammunition recently received is stocked away, and a one-week bomb disposal course - the island's first - is instituted. Previously, untrained men have been disarming bombs.
|Hitler and Franco at Hendaye.
German/Spanish Relations: Hitler travels by train to Hendaye. Ramón Serrano Súñer, Francisco Franco, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Hitler meet in the Hendaye railway station. This is one of the most fateful meetings of the war. They speak for three and a half hours. Franco is completely noncommittal about entering the war and repeats the demands for enormous supplies he would require that previously have been communicated by Suner. Hitler offers Gibraltar and North African territory, but Franco wants territory on the far side of the Pyrenees, Morocco and much of Algeria. All of these demands would spoil relations with France and Italy, and Franco probably knows that. It is becoming clear that Franco is not interested in entering into another war so soon after gaining power. However, for what it is worth, he reaffirms that he is strongly pro-Axis and does promise to enter the war at some point if his numerous and onerous conditions are met.
Hitler leaves with nothing, and later comments that the discussion was worse than "having three or four teeth pulled." He likely expected more cooperation given the aid he had given Franco during the Spanish Civil War - without which Franco likely would no longer even be alive. Unlike the talks with Laval on the 22nd, this meeting at Hendaye absolutely can be deemed a failure. There now is no possibility of performing Operation Felix, the conquest of Gibraltar. After the war, Reichsmarschall Goering will claim that the single biggest mistake that the Axis made was not simply invading Spain after this failed meeting and seizing Gibraltar anyway. That would have closed off the Strait of Gibraltar to the British fleet and vastly improved communications to North Africa.
Next stop on Hitler's itinerary is a meeting with Marshal Petain. The trip is becoming an exercise in why you should have agreements ready to sign due to prior negotiations before you actually travel to meet with your counterpart. The idea of a "continental bloc" against Great Britain is evaporating before Hitler's eyes. However, he still might be able to work something out with Petain, who today meets with Laval at Vichy regarding Laval's meeting with Hitler on the 22nd and appoints him Foreign Minister.
|Reichsfuhrer SS Heinrich Himmler and Franco. 23 October 1940.
German/Italian Relations: Hitler's journey to France already is having an effect - a bad one - on Italy. Mussolini is described as being in "a black mood" over the fact that "the Germans prefer the French to us." Mussolini instructs Count Ciano to demand control of the French Mediterranean coast and Marseilles, which is far more than they could ever hope to achieve through military action. The sole reason for this apparently is Mussolini's feeling abused like a spurned lover.
German/Italian/Arab Relations: German radio endorses German/Arab relations. There is a lot of support within the Middle East for Germany, though Great Britain and France maintains a somewhat precarious hold on the region. Italian radio does the same thing at the same time in obviously coordinated outreach.
Anglo/French Relations: At the same time that Hitler is about to woo Marshal Petain, Petain has his man in London, Louis Rougier, meet with British Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax. They work to see if there can be some kind of reconciliation between the countries.
Anglo/US Relations: Another tranche of US destroyers are transferred to the Royal Navy pursuant to the destroyers-for-bases deal. They are:
USS Evans -> HMS MansfieldThe new Royal Navy destroyers man up with Royal Navy sailors and begin departing piecemeal for ports in Great Britain.
USS Philip -> HMS Lancaster
USS Wickes -> HMS Montgomery
USS Stockton -> HMS Ludlow
USS Conway -> HMS Lewes
USS Conner -> HMS Leeds
USS Twiggs -> HMS Leamington
USS Yarnall -> HMS Lincoln
USs McCalla -> HMS Stanley
USs Rodgers -> HMS Sherwood
Luxembourg: What remains of the Luxembourg government, the Chamber of Deputies and the Council of State, is formally dissolved.
Japan: The country gives a one-year notice of withdrawal of the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911. Signed by the United States, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Empire of Japan, and the Russian Empire, the treaty led to later treaties of a similar nature. The Convention is considered a landmark in wildlife preservation issues.
Holocaust: The Gauleiter of the Saar, Robert Wagner, boasts that he has made the area "Judenfreie" (free of Jews) due to the Aktion Wagner-Burckel begun on the 22nd. The Aktion will continue for another year.
American Homefront: President Roosevelt gives a speech in Philadelphia in which he vigorously denies wanting to lead the country into war. He emphasizes:
We will not participate in foreign wars and will not send our Army, naval or air forces to fight in foreign lands outside of the Americas except in case of attack. It is for peace that I have labored; and it is for peace that I shall labor all the days of my life.Roosevelt will abide by this promise, though one could interpret his blatant support of Great Britain in the war against Germany and embargoes he has imposed against Japan as subtly pushing the Axis to attack the United States. In other words, Roosevelt may be provoking an attack on the United States in order to achieve a larger goal of entering the war. However, there is no direct evidence that this is his plan.
British Homefront: Prime Minister Churchill and wife Clementine inspect Polish troops at St. Andrews in Scotland. General Wladyslaw Sikorski, Premier of the Polish Government-in-Exile and commander of Polish forces, accompanies them.
Future History: Edson Arantes do Nascimento is born in Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Brazil. He receives the (nonsense) nickname "Pelé" in school due to his fan worship of a Brazilian goalkeeper with a similar name. He becomes a local amateur soccer (football) star, then in the late 1950s a member of the national team. This begins a legendary soccer career that makes Pelé a household name around the world. He remains an ambassador of Brazilian soccer.
|Winston Churchill, Clementine and Sikorski at St. Andrews. 23 October 1940.
October 1940
October 2, 1940: Hitler's Polish Plans
October 3, 1940: British Cabinet Shakeup
October 4, 1940: Brenner Pass Meeting
October 5, 1940: Mussolini Alters Strategy
October 6, 1940: Iron Guard Marches
October 7, 1940: McCollum Memo
October 8, 1940: Germans in Romania
October 9, 1940: John Lennon Arrives
October 10, 1940: Führer-Sofortprogramm
October 11, 1940: E-Boats Attack!
October 12, 1940: Sealion Cancelled
October 13, 1940: New World Order
October 14, 1940: Balham Tragedy
October 15, 1940: Mussolini Targets Greece
October 16, 1940: Japanese Seek Oil
October 17, 1940: RAF Shakeup
October 18, 1940: Convoy SC-7 Catastrophe
October 19, 1940: Convoy HX-79 Catastrophe
October 20, 1940: Convoy OB-229 Disaster
October 21, 1940: This Evil Man Hitler
October 22, 1940: Aktion Wagner-Burckel
October 23, 1940: Hitler at Hendaye
October 24, 1940: Hitler and Petain
October 25, 1940: Petain Woos Churchill
October 26, 1940: Empress of Britain Attack
October 27, 1940: Greece Rejects Italian Demands
October 28, 1940: Oxi Day
October 29, 1940: US Draft Begins
October 30, 1940: RAF Area Bombing Authorized
October 31, 1940: End of Battle of Britain


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ATP Ricoh Open 2016
Event: Ricoh Open
Category: ATP 250 Series
Date: June 6 – 12, 2016
Location: Autotron Park – Rosmalen, The Netherlands
A deep field is set for action as 8 of the world's top 50 players take to the court on the first stop on the road to Wimbledon as the ATP stages the Ricoh Open. David Ferrer, Ivo Karlovic and defending champion Nicolas Mahut headline the field in Rosmalen
The 2016 Ricoh Open will be a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It will be the 27th edition of the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, and part of the 250 Series of the 2016 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA International tournaments of the 2016 WTA Tour. Both the men's and the women's events will take place at the Autotron park in Rosmalen, Rosmalen, Netherlands, from June 6 through June 12, 2016.
The RICOH Open is an international tennis tournament which is held in Rosmalen, near 's-Hertogenbosch. The competitions of the gentlemen, ladies and doubles tournament are played on the outdoor courts of the Autotron.
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The first edition of the grass court tournament in Rosmalen took place in 1989 and was considered a test event with eight international players. Miloslav Mečíř, gold medal winner of the 1988 Olympic Games, won on the grass courts of the Autotron. A year later, in 1990, the tournament was part of the newly established ATP Tour and the tournament was won by Amos Mansdorf. At that time the tournament in Rosmalen was the only grass court tournament on the European mainland.
In 1996 the ladies single and double competitions were added to the tournament. Anke Huber was the first winner, and Hlasek/Stich (gentlemen) and Neiland/Schultz (ladies) won the doubles competitions.
Up to and including 2014 the tournament was organized one week before Wimbledon and was reckoned as preparation tournament for Wimbledon. From 2015 the grass court tournament of Rosmalen is organized one week after Roland Garros and is still seen as an ideal preparation for Wimbledon, the world's largest and leading grass court tournament.
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Held on the outdoor grass courts of the Autotron Tennis Center, this is the 27th staging of the Ricoh Open, which has seen past champions such as former major winners Patrick Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt, home country favorites Richard Krajicek and Sjeng Schalken, as well as David Ferrer and Nicolas Mahut, who have won 4 of the last 8 titles here. This the second tournament in the Netherlands after Rotterdam, which is held in March.
ATP Ricoh Open 2016 Information
Finale WTA:
Ladies double final: Saturday 12 June 2016
Ladies single final: Sunday 12 June 2016
Finale ATP:
Men double final: Saturday 12 June 2016
Men single final: Sunday 12 June 2016
Qualifications: 4 and 5 June 2016
Surface: Grass
Prizemoney ATP / WTA: €820,000
Players: National and international tennis top players
Number of spectators: 58,000
Former Champions and Results
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2015 – Nicolas Mahut def. David Goffin – 7-6, 6-1
2014 – Roberto Bautista Agut def. Benjamin Becker – 2-6, 7-6, 6-4
2013 – Nicolas Mahut def. Stanislas Wawrinka – 6-3, 6-4
2012 – David Ferrer def. Philipp Petzschner – 6-3, 6-4
2011 – Dmitry Tursunov def. Ivan Dodig – 6-3, 6-2
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