Chapel

Today we lunch at the wonderful New Yard Bistro at Trellowarren. As always the food was fabulous and it gave me a chance to show friends the chapel that used in my mind for the chapel in Trevenen in August Rock. The one at Trellowarren is large but in Trevenen it is less than half the size.

Research

Today I dragged dh and eldest out to the setting for A Cornish House. We walked along ancient paths and heard the wind howl above us. Inspiration was almost tangible :-)

A Cornish House

My mind is running through the missing elements for A Cornish House. The key one missing is the period of history from which the two women come. They provide Serena with the insight into life beyond her reality. Their stories are vital and where I place them in time makes their stories more poignant.

So I think my mil is speaking from the grave. Bless her. I was waiting for dd in the bath flipping through the rotating bookshelves and I came across A. Rowse's Tudor Cornwall. Could this be the answer? Maybe. I'll let you know when I finish reading the book!

Happy Christmas

Hope you a happy Christmas. We did:-) Although the weather is a bit grey this photo captures what I think Christmas morning in Cornwall should look like.

My children and dh surprised me with a lap top so now I am mobile and not hogging their machine.

Happy Boxing Day!

Fog

Yesterday I woke to my Cornish garden frosted white with the sun climbing through the trees. This morning I can not see the end of my garden. Normally i rejoice at this sight too but not today. Today I must drive to Bodmin to collect eldest ds and hopefully Newquay for dh. I say hopefully as whether he will get to leave Gatwick at all is open for debate. Christmas doesn't really begin here for me until he is with us. The village is missing him as our house is not covered in white lights.

Our first Christmas here the village laughed a bit at the yank's white lights and wreaths on every window but the next year one other house had lights. Then at year six we didn't come home for Christmas and the complaints rolled in! Yesterday in the shop the complaints were also arriving. Where are your lights and wreaths???? Still in the shed is the answer. Although the American and the one who wants to recreate my New England Christmas where I am, I don't do the work. Its my long suffering English dh who does. If the fog doesn't lift then this might not be a white light Christmas......also no tree as I can't find the base for it either!!!!

Tagged

It's taken me over a week to get to this....Christmas!!!! Jessica Raymond http://www.jessicaraymond.blogspot.com/ tagged me. I reallly enjoyed reading her list of things that she had to "bold up to". But I haven't got time for that with getting everything done (at least that is the excuse that i am sticking to!) I have also been tagged by Nell Dixon http://nelldixonrw.blogspot.com/ and i think I can just about handle it!

Here goes:-)

Four Jobs I've held:
1. waitress
2. gift wrapper
3. insurance agent
4.global coordinator schlumberger spouses association

Four Places I've lived:
1. Boston, MA
2. Calgary, Alberta
3. Moscow
4. Jakarta, Indonesia
I could keep going on this for a bit more :)

Four favorite foods:
1. ice cream
2. chocolate
3. steak
4. lettuce

Four Movies:
1. Lord of the Rings (all three!)
2. Kate and Leopold
3. High Society
4. An Affair to Remember

TV Shows
1. Spooks
2. The State Within
3. Dr. Who
4. MASH

Four Place I've Traveled
1. China
2. Oman
3. Jordan
4. Mexico

Four places I'd like to Visit
1. India
2. Austraila
3. New Zealand
4. Spain

Four Websites I Go To Daily:
1. Julie Cohen
2. Jessica Raymond
3. e-harlequin
4. Dantu Kean

i won't tag anyone as it is now to close to the holidays!!! Back to organizing Chrsitmas :)

Back

It's been a week since I last had time to post! So much has happened. The party, finishing August Rock revisions, not doing my Christmas cards, Christmas lunches, Carol concerts just to name a few of things.

August Rock went into a padded enveloped to the esteemed Hilary Johnson today. It is my Christmas present from my DH and my parents. It could mean the end of my literary aspirations but more hopefully it will provide the guidance I need to get August Rock in publishable shape. Here's hoping anyway.

The best thing about shipping August Rock off is that it clears the decks for A Cornish House. I have been dying to start writing. I have never been patient and I have had to learn that skill. In past years I wouldn't have bothered to rework August Rock it would have been shoved in a drawer and the next project begun. So now with a clear conscience, until AR comes back, I can begin. YAY. Doing a happy dance :)

New Star Rising

As I mentioned, I am having a drinks party on Saturday. Yesterday I bought the tree. Snowy our beloved cat thought this a brilliant wheeze - his own personal plaything! Once decorated it lost some of its appeal but he still wants to be top cat!

White Hot

As a treat for finishing the major re-work of August Rock I slipped into the bath with Trish Wylie's White Hot. Well, the bath didn't need extra hot water. The book sizzled. I forgot to look and admire the skill of the writing and got lost in the emotion of the story and the heat between the characters. Wow. I loved the Irishness of it too. Of course I'm very partial to all things Irish:)

Yay

Finished in-putting all the changes on August Rock and now must sit on my hands to stop from beginning all over again - YET.

Thursday I will read the script as a whole and hopefully not find too many holes!

The rest of today is for Christmas Prepartions :) Can you hear the carols???

The picture is the one of my chicks for the Christmas Card. Now to make and write the cards. The first three Christmas Cards arrived in the post this morning! Suddenly feeling behind!

Tomato Soup

The good news is that I finished with this re-write of August Rock. Now I just need to input on the 'puter the last sixty pages of changes. Sleep on it a few days then start again!!!!

I did these edits while killing time at Blackfriars Crown Court. No, I was not in the dock but a witness. Over a year ago a friend was mugged quite near our home. I had picked the middle ds up from his cooking class and I was parking my car when three men watched me rather closely. I had parked badly and had to re-park. All this is rather boring and it sounded even more dull today in court and maybe that is why it slipped out that I nearly throw my son's tomato soup at the two men who attached my friend. The tomato soup urge was not on my statement but somehow in court it came out much to the defense barrister's amusement and the jury's. There went my credibility in one go. I can hear them now.......the tomato soup woman.

On a sobbering note we won't know the verdict for a few days.........Now to start inputting the changes on August Rock:)