The River O'Shea

Before I get going on my blog, I have an interview up at Leah's Literary Lair. Stop on over and take a look if you have time. This includes a little sneak peek at my July book, Edge of Dawn.

There's been some thawing going on in Minnesota--believe it or not--and I have a river flowing through my backyard. I've christened it the River O'Shea. It originates in my neighbor's yard--I've dubbed it Lake Smith. (I don't know their name. ::blush::)

This is the first time I can remember seeing all this water standing like this and I've been in the house three years now. I think. Time flies and all that.



You can see my poor butterfly bush is in danger of being drowned!



You can't quite see the terminus because it's behind the trunk of the tree, but it's there. I also have my other neighbor's water flowing into the terminus which makes it Lake O'Shea, I guess.

Keep in mind that I am not complaining! I love watching the snow disappear. It's the sign that my misery is nearly at an end. I am so not a winter girl.

Interesting Items in the News

I read a really interesting article this morning about solar power in the Telegraph. I'm pretty sure it's the London Telegraph, but since it doesn't specify the city, I'm erring on the side of caution. The part I found particularly fascinating was that new technology is emerging in this area so quickly, that the people interviewed believe solar power will be cheap enough within five years to compete with our current modes of energy.

Someone in the article is even quoted as saying that they don't need subsidies, that all they need is for the governments around the world to do "no harm." Which of course, got my brain swirling with potential story ideas. :-) What can I say? It's the hazard of being a writer. Anything and everything can spark the imagination.

I also saw a report on the TV about organic fruits and vegetables. I watched it on the web. (Have I mentioned I love having a high-speed connection?) This story talked about how expensive organic produce ran and what you should buy organic and what was okay to buy "regular."

There are some fruits and vegetables that have pesticide residue even after repeated washings, and according to the report, these are the "dirty dozen" that you'd be better off buying organic:

Apples, bell peppers, celery, imported grapes, peaches, nectarines, pears, potatoes, red raspberries, spinach, cherries and strawberries.

Merely buying organic for these items can cut your pesticide intake by 90%. Now, isn't that reassuring? Gah! After reading this, I shudder when I think of all the apples I've eaten.

Here's the list of produce that are the most consistently clean:

Asparagus, avocados, bananas, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet corn, kiwi, onion, pineapple, and sweet peas.

No new story ideas from this, however, I did find it interesting. Pesticides, genetic engineering, hormones, and other crap like this in the food supply worries me, but with organics so expensive, it's nice to know what I can skip spending extra on.

I think I'll quit here because the other item that interests me is the snowstorm from hell that's supposed to hit the Twin Cities today. And while I'm from Minnesota and there's nothing we love better than to talk about the weather, I know it bores people from other states. Y'all don't know what you're missing, though. :-) We can have twenty minute conversations with complete strangers and there's never an awkwardness as we search for a topic. ;-)

Wake Me Up In April

It's funny how weather can affect my moods and energy level. In the summer when it's nice and warm, I can wake up and feel determined, industrious and ready to tackle mountains. In the winter when it's cold and/or snowy, I just want to sleep. It makes me wonder if once, long ago in the predawn times if humans hibernated. If this desire for extra sleep was simply limited to me, I'd say it's a personal quirk, but I know a lot of people who really spool down in the winter. When the vernal equinox rolls around, it's like people here in Minnesota come out of stasis.

Take my plans for today. I'm going to my chapter meeting and I really should wash some bedding and clean the house. I also need to write. Right now, though, what sounds good is a nap. :-)

I think the bears have it right. They go to sleep in fall and wake up when the weather warms. No dealing with temperatures in the negative numbers, no shoveling snow out of the cave--just wake me when it's spring. Sounds like a plan to me.

I'll go into my cave right after New Year's (the holidays make early winter seem okay, but by mid-January, I'm done with winter) and come out when I can wear my light jacket again.

What's bringing these thoughts on? Aside from the fact that I'm still really sleepy, of course. It's 1 degree here this morning. The wind chill takes us to -10. A few days ago it was in the mid 30s. I am so ready for spring!

My book on Polynesian mythology arrived yesterday. I only glanced through it real quickly since I'm not allowed to play with my new characters just yet. It looks like it's going to have exactly the kind of information I was looking for, and I was right--it is a textbook. It's so cool what some colleges have for class offerings. My university didn't have any of the really intriguing classes like the ones where they study television shows, but we had Intro to Theater where we were required to go to 3 plays and write reviews where we had to cover certain criteria. I didn't particularly enjoy 2 of the plays I saw, but I loved The Importance of Being Ernest.

I had a love for theater, though, long before I took that class. I can't really attribute it to my parents since I was always the one begging to go to a play. This is one of the truly great things about living in Minneapolis--our theater. Minneapolis has acting talent that easily rivals what I've seen on Broadway. Our Guthrie Theatre is nationally renown, maybe even world renown, and we have lots of big productions travel through town. We've even had shows destined for Broadway start here before going to NYC. It makes me one happy camper, although, I haven't had much time for the theater in a while now.

Musical theater, though, is probably my favorite, although anything by Shakespeare is a close second. (Favorite Shakespeare play is Much Ado About Nothing because I love the romance between Beatrice and Benedick.)

Anyway, before I run through and review all the plays I can remember seeing in my life, I suppose I should logoff and take a shower. The nap sounds better, though.