Indy got his bandage off from his ACL surgery…hopefully the staples will be coming out soon.

I hope he doesn’t have too much of a hard time getting adopted since he’s an older dog and one of those big black dogs that people pass over.  He’s a really nice dog and has managed to be rather silly even while restricted to his crate.  He knows how to relax, but he also has a lot of energy, so he has plenty of good years left.  I do agree with the humane society’s assessment that he’s better off without cats (Enigma, Ophelia and Jebby concur!).

Little Miss Olive seems to have finally kicked her bladder infection and it appears that it was just an infection, not bladder cancer.  I’m perfectly happy if she continues on for quite awhile pretending that she doesn’t have mammary cancer!

Juno’s new food has been working really well for her sensitive tummy!

Turtle’s increased thyroid medication dosage helped her find her waistline!

Last, but not least…Sierra’s allergies are laying low.

Good Dogs!

Some cliches are obvious - they hit you like a bolt of lightning.  Other phrases or images seem more original…until you come across them in two totally different books that you happen to be reading at the same time (which, of course, just happened to me this weekend).

Is there any way to avoid this? 

Assuming that plagiarism is not a factor, there’s no way that you can be sure that nobody else has used your beautiful phrase.  Unless you’ve come up with something harvested from the depths of your own twisted imagination.  But even then, you run the risk that your phrase/description/metaphor won’t work for anyone who doesn’t share your twisted imagination.

I know some people who are masters of metaphor, but for many others, I feel like less is more.  You’re better off using simple, direct language, especially at the peak of an important scene, rather than attempting flowery language that ends up as dead as my garden in November.  The right words can enhance a scene, but dried up plants and weeds are really just a distraction from what’s important. 

This confessional post is brought to you by LaFreya, aka Karen Simpson, aka Grace’s Creator, aka Nyla’s Mom, who tagged me for my very first meme.

Here are the rules:

Link the person who tagged you.

Mention the rules in your blog.

Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.

Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.

Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.”

I can just hear some of you murmuring that you know damn well how quirky I am.  Save it for the comments section…which I get to moderate just in case anyone tries to overshare.

Here goes:

1) I have a thing for accessories - shoes, bags, jewelry…while this may not seem particularly quirky, it is for someone like me who is a pretty low-maintenance woman, and even more so for someone who works in the grassroots environmental advocacy movement.  We’re all entitled to our guilty pleasures, right?

2) While there are plenty of evil foods that I adore - including classics like chocolate, fries, and mac n cheese -  my favorite food is broccoli.  I used to beg my mom to make broccoli.  Love it!

3) A lot of revelations about my novel and intricate plotting happens in the shower.  I’m a shower thinker.  Instead of singing, I work out my characters and plot twists.  When I’m done with the shower, I throw on pajamas and race over to my desk to jot down notes or start typing.

4) Anyone who has ever been grocery shopping with me knows that I can’t stand the thought of warm dairy products.  I won’t buy things like milk, yogurt, or sour cream unless I’m at one of the stores closest to my house where I can rush them directly home to the fridge.  Maybe I was meant to be the person who transports coolers of transplant organs?  One of the obvious related things to this is that the concept of a glass of warm milk makes me shudder, so please don’t ever suggest that’s what I need to relax.

5) While I can sleep perfectly fine while the cats fling things from shelves, slam cabinet doors, and throw themselves against walls, or while the dogs rearrange positions 400 times (all within inches of me, of course) and chew nylabones on the pillow next to my head, I have the total mom instinct of flying awake if anyone whimpers, groans, or paces uncomfortably anywhere in the house.

6) I can’t keep plants alive.  You know those “air plants” that aren’t even in dirt, you just spritz water on them every so often?  Yep, I’ve killed one of those.  Last year I bought a perennial for my garden and it died within a week.  I guess I can maintain a flower bed of annuals for a few months because they’re destined to die anyway.  In my defence, I am very good at caring for four-legged mammals!  And at least I don’t have to worry about keeping plants in the house that might be poisonous to the critters.

Over so soon?  I suppose that’s enough quirks for one day.  Now it’s time to share the love….

Halley, Adrianna, Fritz, Jose, Mulitia…you’re up!  (Yes, I know that’s only 5. Looks like I need to find more friends who blog!)