Today I’m grateful to Bucky Katt for lowering the bar. This first draft of my middle grade novel is at least a couple rungs above a list of the stuff I’ve eaten today.
That’s not to say I want anyone reading what I’ve written so far . . .
Yesterday and today have been frigid in these parts. The kind of cold that makes my teeth ache and my nostril hairs stick together as soon as I step outside. I’ve toted my space heater from room to room while waging an internal debate on the pros and cons of life in Florida or Arizona or Texas. (Okay, that’s melodramatic hyperbole.) However, the stuff about my nostril hairs is true.
But at this moment, I’m thankful for the promise of better things:
That’s a 29 degree swing in the right direction, and I’ll take it!
As that Little Orphan Annie with the freakishly blank eyes is fond of saying:
Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow ….
.
This old Get Fuzzy strip does not represent any personal animosity toward poets.
Rather, it’s more a statement on my current state of mind.
Specifically, my desire to punch something.
Although, stabbing would be equally therapeutic.
As Zebu would say, “Mom’s feeling a little stabby today.”
“Stabby and punchy.”
That’s me.
Shouldn’t there be a t-shirt or bumpersticker?
.
Here is a screen grab from today of the third and last hawk that has yet to leave the nest above the Cornell University athletic fields:
And here’s today’s Agnes episode as she makes her yearly attempt to go off the high dive at the pool:
AGNES by Tony Cochran
The hawk is 70 feet above the athletic field
and Agnes is probably only about 10 feet from the water.
Still.
I very much empathize with both of them
as they summon the energy and courage to take the plunge.
Okay.
I know I have talent, but I'm for sure also wielding my perseverance
(although I hope not in a bludgeon-esque manner).
AGNES by Tony Cochran
I've gotta admit I'm with Agnes on this one: Why do only humans shave?
AGNES by Tony Cochran
Happy New Year, friends!
May 2012 be filled with nacho-bearing pals!
(Okay, a few words: Churchy and Albert are characters from the Pogo comic strip
and they're what my brother and I played with way back when. These and other characters
came in boxes of Biz Laundry Detergent but we no longer have the originals so I bought
these guys on ebay and made them little vests just like the old days.)
AGNES by Tony Cochran
It's not just the long, skinny feet that make Agnes and me kindred spirits.
AGNES by Tony Cochran
I am exceedingly freckled and in possession of several sharpies.
Perhaps it's time to deviate from my regularly scheduled program . . .
Originally published at Tracy Abell: Writer. Runner. Birder.. You can comment here or there.
AGNES by Tony Cochran
I’m crazy-busy getting ready for the conference so my emotional state is neither happy nor indifferent. I guess my song goes something like “if you’re brain-fried and you know it, clap your hands!”
Then again, I’ve never polled well, either.
I wonder if Agnes will deliver meals to my home?
Just wanted to say I’ll be scarce around these parts for the remainder of the week
as I’ll be in the wilds without internet access or cell phone service.
Send up a flare if you need to get in touch.
In the meanwhile, Agnes is facing her fear of the high dive . . .
AGNES by Tony Cochran
I can only hope I’ll have Agnes’s grace and presence of mind
AGNES by Tony Cochran
Okay, I’m hard-pressed to come up with a more original phobia than these,
but I will admit to being seriously creeped out whenever I think back to the video
I saw of a male frog giving birth through the skin on his back.
Not even a spork could make that more scary for me.
How about you?
Got PHOBIAS?
1) For several years I’ve had to walk out of rooms and back into them
in order to remember why I walked in there in the first place.
(A bothersome turn of events but not too scary, memory-wise.)
2) More and more frequently, I feel as if I’m turn turning into my mother
AGNES by Tony Cochran
So is your spirit soaring through the sky right now?
Or are you wiping powdered sugar from your face?
AGNES by Tony Cochran
Sometimes we need to establish boundaries so that our friendships may continue.
That said, I’m confident my friends here in LJ-Land who are all exceedingly supportive (tolerant?)
of my bird mania would varnish my nose if I asked nicely.
From today’s New York Times:
Obama Seeks to Win Back Wall St. Cash
and
From today’s Huffington Post:
Obama Campaign Advised White House Staff To Give Top Donor Sense Of Access
and
From today’s AGNES by Tony Cochran:
At least Agnes only screwed Trout out of a stick of gum.
AGNES by Tony Cochran
I’m easily overwhelmed by the sheer amount of clean-up necessary,
in my kitchen cabinets and
underwear/sock drawer and
linen closet and
manuscript and
flower beds and
storage room and . . .
Let’s face it, I’m freaked out by the mess we’ve made of the planet.
So.
I’m taking it a little bit at a time
and dealing with my personal messes.
AGNES by Tony Cochran
Exactly! And the same goes for an orange.