Saturday, March 31, 2012

Sunshine

Some slipped by the rain showers today. A good thing as I stood on the sideline watching my daughter play in her ultimate frisbee game (actually two of them). Tamara and the boys were off at the Emerald City Comic Con with thousands of others.

Other than that, and we are a bit late tonight, not much else going on. Time for night night for me. Perhaps my headache will go away while I sleep.

Enjoy the updates.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

Friday, March 30, 2012

ECCC 2012

Emerald City Comicon weekend is here once again. It's been a three day con for the last two years but this year I can't make it to Friday's events. Cal's school has its yearly Talent Show and he's singing a song in it.

Tomorrow Duncan, Cal and I will get up bright and early and head down to the con for the day. Cal wants to go with me all weekend. We'll see after Saturday if he's still game for Sunday. Last year he was with me all day Saturday and by about 3 he was complaining about his aching feet.

Enjoy the updates!

Tamara

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Say Happy Birthday, Ze!!!!!

Yep it is that time again. Ze tomorrow is facing a full day of delight. She shares her birthday with her cousin as well, so I wish them both a big Happy Birthday from this side of the pond. Sending you both the best and may the year be filled with Joy!

Take the time please to wish Ze a flawless accident free day.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Easter Break.

First - I doubt we have any Zoroastrian readers, but you never know - it's Khordad Sal (birth of Prophet Zaranhushtra/Zarathustra) we wish you a good celebration.

Another gloriously sunny day today. Forecast says tomorrow and Friday will be more of the same. And then Saturday and Sunday will be cooler and cloudy - naturally.

Schools break up on Friday for Easter, so I expect there will be kids at the boundary fence again. Haven't seen young Barbara for a while - but I bet she'll be there.

Funny expression that, when you think about it - schools break up. It sounds as though there will be school buildings crashing, in pieces, to the ground, all over the country.

Easter signals the start of the short, but densely packed, Bank Holiday season. First there's Good Friday, then Easter Monday. The start of May gives us May Day/International Workers' Day. Then Whitsun/Late Spring Holiday at the end of May. And this year of course we have the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebration at the start of June. After that the next one isn't until the end of August. Then there's nothing until Christmas. I wish they could spread them more evenly over the year. Firstly it would be nice to have a break sometime in October, and secondly because it means wages are a bit slimmer over these two to three months with all these days off at once!!

Ah well, if the weather holds at least a bit of sunshine to relax in will be nice.

Enjoy your updates. Goodnight and may your God/s go with you.

Ze

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Oh, What a Be-yoo-tiful Morning...

In fact several beautiful mornings. The past few days (since last Friday) have been sunny and hot (for the UK in March it's hot at any rate). The sky has been that shade of blue that you only get in spring, what few clouds there have been were wispy and pale. The sun shone for all it was worth. We had temperatures in the 20s (Celcius). And my cold cleared up.

So I've been cheerful and bouncy - to the point of being extremely irritating. *g*.

In fact I was told to "shut the f*** up with the f***ing whistling" today and asked if I'd been eating budgie food.

Well - there was that millet casserole last Thursday... but no, it's just that it's impossible for me to be miserable when the weather is so nice, and I get to be outside all day.

But not everything this week was beautiful...

We went to see The Hunger Games at the end of last week. I thought it was a pretty decent attempt at the story. I enjoyed the film and can recommend it.

I was slightly appalled by some of the reactions I've seen on the web though. There seem to be an awful lot of obnoxious prats who are unhappy that one of the characters - Rue - was played by an African-American actress. Several comments that this "spoilt the film" or suggesting that the casting crew should "read the books". There were a few comments that were downright nasty. All I could think was - "Did you bloody tossers read the damn' books at all??" Because the description for Rue (and her companion from her district) quite clearly indicate that they are black!!

And I thought rather sadly that, given that kind of irrational hatred, that unthinking racism, it's unsurprising that a perfectly innocent - unarmed - young man could be gunned down by a vigilante with an obvious problem, who should never have been allowed to own a gun. I know that a lot of US Americans are defensive about their right to own guns but rights come with responsibilities. You don't let people drive a car without lessons, a test, and a licence. Why let them have a gun without lessons, a test, and a licence.

And equally unsurprising that a chat-show host who really, really should know better could suggest that it was understandable because of the garment he chose to wear. A garment type that millions of people of all shades, all faiths, all classes, all ages, world-wide, wear. A garment type that I have worn every day since October. But a garment that somehow becomes threatening when worn by someone who doesn't share my (privileged) skin tone.

The more things change...

Ze

Monday, March 26, 2012

Hype!

Mark your calendars for Thursday, March 29th....
Shared Story Worlds - the Creators of Tales of Ryh'na

www.blogtalkradio.com/allaine/2012/03/30/shared-story-worlds--the-creators-of-tales-of-ryhna
The theme for F4F Radio this month has been talking about the changing ways in which the Internet is allowing writers and filmmakers to create, as well as the ways in which fanfic authors are becoming something to encourage, not just put up with. Having first spent time discussing "transmedia storytelling" with guests Christin Mell and Bridget McManus, tonight we'll be looking at a similar phenomenon, the "Shared Story World" (SSW). In an SSW, a detailed "canon" background is created for a brand-new universe. Then the universe and background becomes public property, made available to anyone who wishes to use it for artistic expression - writing, art, video, etc. One such SSW is the upcoming "Tales of Ryh'na" (TofR), a world which merges sci-fi and magic as space age colonists clash with the native population of a new planet. Of course, since we're talking about TofR HERE, you can count on it being QUITE open to stories involving lesbian relationships. If you needed further proof of that, consider the people behind this project, four of whom will be on the show. Jojo Stratton is a SSW veteran who has written fan fiction for numerous lesbian pairings and was involved in the last two FemslashCons. QH Fletcher was also an organizer of FemslashCon 2011, as well as the prominent writer of femslash Quiethearted for "Devil Wears Prada" and "Rizzoli & Isles". Carson D. Fletcher is an award-winning writer in the Stargate SG-1 fandom who talked about her Sam/Janet stories on F4F in 2010. And A. Sadie Timm, well, if I told you what her psuedonym was, you'd know you've been reading her femslash fanfic for years, and you might have even heard her on this show before. My guests will tell us all about TofR, where it got started, and what their ambitions are for the project.

Allaine
www.blogtalkradio.com/allaine


Plenty of time to get ready for this show. Enjoy the update!

Tamara

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Weekend is Over

Another work week up next. My daughter is off at her other Mom's for two weeks. I'm gonna miss her big time, but this allows us to get the schedule for her and the boys back on track and they really enjoy being together so that is important.

Long two weeks coming up for me. Back to your updates, enjoy.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Finally Spring?

Last weekend we were subjected to watching little e play Ultimate Frisbee in the snow. This weekend we had lovely sun. The kids did much better too and won both their games. Hopefully next weekend's double header will benefit from nice weather as well.

I'll let you get to reading....

Tamara

Friday, March 23, 2012

Another Tired Friday Night

Glad the weekend is here. We'll go see my daughter play another couple of her ultimate frisbee games tomorrow. Other than that I believe the weekend plan calls for slow and relaxing.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Feel better, Ze!

I'm a wee bit headachy tonight...not sure why...so I'll be brief. Light night...have at it.

Tamara

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Still Feel Like Crap

OK. It's the new year today for those of the Zoroastrian faith, and also for those of the Baha'i faith. And on Friday it's the new year for those of our readers who are Hindu. Happy New Year to you all.

Friday is also the anniversary of the Prophet Zarathustra's birth (Zoroastrian religion), a good festival to you.

And since I still feel bloody awful and can't think of a single witty thing to say I'm going to call it a night.

Goodnight and may your God/s go with you.

Ze

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Sniff. Sniff. Sneeze.

First - it's the Vernal Equinox today, so for our Pagan and Wiccan readers Happy Ostara in the northern hemisphere, Happy Mabon in the southern hemisphere.

I have a cold. I hardly ever get sick. Injured - oh yeah - all the time. But sick??

Seldom.

I was almost bound to get something though. At the end of last week, instead of being out in the fresh air, away from all the germs, I was locked in a room with 35 other people. It was time for my (mandatory) first-aid, site safety, and fire precautions training. This means 7 hours trapped in a stuffy hall, listening to all the coughs and sneezes from the rest of the reluctant attendees. And losing a day's pay.

Now (some of) the training is necessary. Site safety is very, very important. First-aid is pretty useful too - especially if someone is daft enough to cut through the town's main power cables with a pneumatic drill. (Yes, I have seen it happen - blew him right across the street and through a plate-glass window. He got away with cuts and bruises.) But as for the fire stuff - it's simple. Don't let it start but if it does, ring the bell and run like hell.

And 'phone the fire brigade once you've reached a safe distance.

At least I didn't have to pay for it this year, the main contractor did that.

But I still had to suffer the coughs and sneezes of outrageous brickies and take arms against a sea of paper tissues.

So I now have a cold. And a sore nose. And I'm feeling sorry for myself. Therefore I'm going to finish this, grab a hot drink, and go to bed early.

Enjoy your updates. (Don't waste your sympathy on me, though, it is just a cold.)

Ze

Monday, March 19, 2012

Long Day

Mondays seems a bit long to me, hence tired tonight. So enough, enjoy those updates.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Excellent News

Nene Adams met her goal of raising $6,500 well before the end of March deadline. The final total was $7,538. As a 'thank you' she has written a new story. Enjoy it along with the rest of tonight's offerings.

Tamara

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Spring....

Snow? WTF? My daughter had her first ultimate frisbee game this morning, in snow. Spring is how many days away? We all (kids and parents) got soaked. It snowed hard covering the field. As snow was not in the forecast I saw (or anyone else at the game) we were totally unprepared. It was not really very comfortable and yet kids played on. Two games actually. And of course as we were driving away from the field the snow stopped. The sun actually came out late in the day. Reminding us early spring can be filled with literally anything.

Enjoy your light night of updates.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

Friday, March 16, 2012

TGIF

Kind of pooped tonight so I'll let you get to reading.

Tamara

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Rain, Rain and More Rain

I don't mind it at all. Unlike the grumpy folks at work who are unhappy with the wet stuff. Find a new city if this one is too much for you. The rain has actually been heavy and accompanied by wind and some cool temperatures. But soon enough Spring will be on our doorstep. Until then, pull up your hood everyone.

Back to your updates...enjoy.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Make Mine a Beamish, Please.

Wore the thermals today. Glad I did. Dull, grey, overcast, cold.

Happy Pi day to the mathematicians.

Paddy's Day this weekend. All our Irish Readers (and those of Irish extraction) - sláinte mhaith, and have a great day.

And those of you in the USA don't be heathens - drink your Guinness (or Beamish, or Murphy's) the proper way - from a glass!!

Oh, and if you're wondering why I didn't wish you all a Happy International Women's Day last week, (since I try and mark as many religious and secular feasts worldwide as I can) it's because I couldn't see anything in the situation of women worldwide to be happy about.

What with genital mutilation still so prevalent (I refuse to call it "circumcision" - that's almost a benign procedure, this is castration without anaesthetic!!). "Corrective" rape widespread in South Africa. Repression, physical attacks, denial of basic rights, (such as education), in many Islamic countries. "Honour" murders happening everywhere. And in the USA the religious fundamentalists trying to impose a "Christian" version of sharia law whilst the political right-wing are waging war on women in ways that make The Handmaid's Tale look almost utopian in comparison. It all seemed far too bleak for chirpy greetings.

Enjoy your updates, have a good weekend whether you celebrate St. Patrick's Day or not. (Note - Paddy's not Patty's - Patty is a girl's name. *g*)

Goodnight and may your God/s go with you.

Ze

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The Weather. (And other stuff).

Weather. After all, I am English, what else am I going to talk about if not the weather?? Sunday was beautiful. Warm, sunny. So yesterday I left my thermals off. (Haven't needed them much this winter anyway.) I was glad I had. Yesterday was even warmer. And sunnier. Not so much spring-like as summer-like. I was far too warm in my donkey jacket. So today I decided to wear a denim jacket instead. Oh boy, was that a mistake. Could two days be more different?? Today it was foggy. Very foggy. All day. And cold, and damp. And I was bloody freezing. Lord only knows what I'm going to wear tomorrow.

And the fog is still here. So I didn't get to star-gaze tonight. Which is a pity. I've been watching Jupiter and Venus for the last week or so. They've been getting closer together. (There's a Roman mythology joke in there somewhere I'm sure.) I think tonight was supposed to be the closest they'll be. Ah well.

Got a parcel from Elisa & Tamara at the weekend. It had a wicked t-shirt in it!! Black, white writing which said, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself...and spiders." Even the little pic of a spider at the end isn't too bad. It doesn't look quite enough like a real spider to give me the screaming abdabs, so I can wear it without trouble. Brill!!

Now all I need is for the weather to warm up again so I can wear it.

Ze

Monday, March 12, 2012

Rainy Night

Spent a nice relaxing day with my daughter. I like those teacher workshop days where I take the day off to hang. Unfortunately I then had to drive her off to the ex's house for her week there. (week on - week off)

Back to work for me tomorrow. One good thing going for it...short week.

Y'all enjoy those updates we will ramble at you later on in the week.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Hype!

Mark your calendars for Thursday, March 15th....
Christin Mell, Bridget McManus, & the return of McManusland

www.blogtalkradio.com/allaine/2012/03/16/christin-mell-bridget-mcmanus-the-return-of-mcmanusland

F4F Radio kicks off March by welcoming back Tellofilms.com creator Christin Mell, who will be making her fourth visit to the show. Tonight will be the second in a series of bimonthly appearances Mell will make in 2012 to discuss the next big project(s) premiering on her website. This time we'll be joined by actress and stand-up comedian Bridget McManus ("Brunch With Bridget", "Cowgirl Up") to talk about the return of her webseries "McManusLand", which will begin airing its second season in early April at Tellofilms. McManus and her real-life wife Karman Kregloe are technically playing themselves as subjects of a documentary, but the events of each episode are pure farce, similar to Larry David's life on "Curb Your Enthusiasm". Not only will we learn about what to expect from Season 2, but also we'll hear from Mell about "The Throwaways", a brand-new webseries in which Tellofilms will be employing "transmedia storytelling" - or the telling of stories across multiple platforms - for the first time.

Allaine
www.blogtalkradio.com/allaine


All of you fanfic writers, be sure to give this show a listen. Allaine tells me the creators are interested in fanfic about their series.

Tamara

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Middle of the Weekend

Tamara, I and the kids (minus Duncan) got out this morning and helped with the Brightwater school auction. We help set tables up and put items out for display. Then we went to Tamara's favorite Mexican restaurant (El Farol) for lunch.

We came home and I took a nice long nap as my crappy cold is hanging on. Then everyone minus me trotted off to see John Carter. I putzed around doing nothing much.

Tomorrow the boys will go back to their dad's after lunch, but nothing else is scheduled.

Enough of my rambling. Enjoy your updates.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

Friday, March 09, 2012

Seussical Jr.

Cal has been rehearsing since February for the school play...Seussical Jr.. His elementary school does one play every year and it's considered the 5th and 6th grade play but 4th graders can be in it too. 5th and 6th graders get the lead roles, however. Not every 5th and 6th grader was required to be in the play (like when I was in school). Auditions were held (audition and you got a part) and as long as you committed to the rehearsals you were in.

Last night was opening night and I was very impressed with how good the kids were. Cal played one of the Wickershams (monkeys). Of all the parts that one suited him quite well. He put his all into acting like a monkey on stage. The music teacher and everyone who helped with the school play this year outdid themselves. I just wish all of the people who bitch about public schools could sit through something like this and see how much love and dedication went into creating a memorable experience for a bunch of elementary school kids.

Okay...must jet because tonight's performance will be attended by all of us.

Tamara

Thursday, March 08, 2012

Friday Yet?

I look forward to the weekend. Had one of those cruddy colds this week. The kind where my nose feels raw due to having it run and be blown far too much. But not sick enough to stay home, just annoyance.

Here is hoping the weekend can provide relief.

Enjoy the updates and holler if you have something to say because my rambles are super boring.

Peace, Health and Happiness all that may help you find your Truth.


Elisa

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Op Report

First - three feasts coming up tomorrow - For South-East Asian Buddhists it's the important festival Magha Puja Day. For Hindus it's Holi. And for Jews it's Purim. We wish all of you who are celebrating these feasts a very blessed day.

Just in case there's the remotest chance that anybody is interested. A report back on my operation. They went in through the old scar so there are no new ones to bother about. It was a one day thing - in first thing in the morning, out again that evening. And it's done the trick. Oh I'm not 100% pain-free - never will be I'm afraid - but that screaming agony every time I moved my arm out sideways is no longer there. The surgeon thinks he's got it fixed at last - finally - it's only taken him five years and six operations!! He's a nice bloke though - for a surgeon. And I'm pretty much on first-name terms with the physios now. (Needed a couple more weeks of physiotherapy after the op. As usual.

Went back to work this week. Just in time for lambing. I like to eat my sandwiches at lunchtime away from the site. For several reasons. 1) We're close to farmland and it's beautiful and nicer to look at than a muddy construction site. 2) I like the lads. I'm treated as one of the lads. I'm butch. I'm a walking stereotype. I like a pretty face or a nice bum as much as the next person. I can be a bit of a... well... tart. I love women. But... I'm not in the business of being that crude about whatever page three girl is the topic of the day. Or similar discussions. So I absent myself in order not to fight with my colleagues.

One of the fields a short stroll from our site has sheep in it. And they're lambing. I got there just as one was being born. New-born lambs are beyond cute. It staggered to its feet. Looking drunk and bewildered. It couldn't get its legs to work properly. Its mother nuzzled it and encouraged it and it started to nurse. By the end of my lunch-break it was bouncing around - well - like a spring lamb. I walked back to work feeling blessed beyond measure.

A good day.

Not a lot to read tonight but enjoy the stories anyway. See you next week, goodnight and may your God/s go with you.

Ze

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Got Fanfic??

Got a femslash fandom we don't cover?? A website we should check??

Updates have been a bit thin-on-the-ground lately, (compared to when we started this joyride). A lot of once-popular sites don't seem to update much any more. I guess all fandoms have their high spots before fading gently away. It would be really nice to have more stories to report for you though. So... Anybody know any sites we should be covering but aren't?? Fandom specific or multi-fandom archives, as long as they're femslash, not members only, preferably not FanFiction.net or AO3 type (coz they're really hard to check/report), and not LJ communities for the really popular fandoms (because Femslash Today does an excellent job of reporting on those already. As does its sister site, Yuri Today, for anime & manga based fandoms).

Suggestions?? We live to serve... sort of. Sometimes. *g*

Ze

Monday, March 05, 2012

Brrrrrr....

It was cold, wet and windy today so I came home after work and started a fire. Now the computer room is nice and toasty. I'm ready for spring but I'll sure miss our fire.

Get to reading.

Tamara

Sunday, March 04, 2012

Weekend Closure

The work week lays ahead. We had a no kid easy weekend in which I was sick most of it. Figures. Feeling a bit better today, just in time for work tomorrow.

May you all have a great week. I will ramble at you later on. Enjoy your updates.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

Saturday, March 03, 2012

Weekend

E and I spent a relaxing time at home today. I managed to reconcile my bank account and pick up my comic books from the last two weeks.

You have a decent amount to read tonight. Have at it.

Tamara

Friday, March 02, 2012

TGIF

Really not much more to say about that. Sleep is what I am looking forward to this weekend.

Enjoy those updates.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

Thursday, March 01, 2012

Sugar Shock

E is about done with her Dessert-of-the-Month duties thank goodness. We're a bit late for February seeing as I just made the dessert tonight. We wanted to do Red Velvet cupcakes due to Valentine's Day. Not that we were trying to shoot for the dessert being done on Valentine's Day...if so, we sure missed it by a lot.

I couldn't find my original Red Velvet Cupcakes recipe so I used the ol' Google and Paula Deen's recipe popped up on the Food Network site. I am officially replacing my old recipe with this one. If you make them, be warned, the icing makes a ton. I wonder how much Ms. Deen expected me to slather on each cupcake? I have enough icing left over for at least 24 more cupcakes. So...you can probably half that for one batch of cupcakes.

Tamara