Monday, December 31, 2012

The End of 2012

It started with immense Beauty all around. I stopped on my way into work to watch it sweep across the sky. Feeling happy and lucky that my timing was such.

I slid away early from work and took the family to lunch, unfortunately we then had to take the boys over to their dad's. Sadly they will miss out on the New Year's Feast tomorrow.

2012 is coming to a wrap as our politicians continue on a path of doing nothing. This would be something they are very familiar and comfortable with during 2012. I think here in the USA we hope 2013 brings change to that, but then again I won't be holding my breath.

2013 will be my ten years of knowing Tamara, that is a beautiful thing. Tamara and I also will be going on 7 years of ownership of yhr Uber Etc site...wow seems like yesterday.

Okay, here it is...may 2013 bring you Joy throughout. Share it always, it will come back twofold.

Enjoy the updates (thank you P&P).

Peace, Health and Happiness to all.

Elisa

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Sunday, December 30, 2012

Light Night

We saw The Hobbit. I didn't leave the theater with quite the same I can't wait for part 2 feeling as I did when I saw the first Lord of the Rings movie. That said...it was entertaining and worth seeing on the big screen.

Tamara

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Saturday, December 29, 2012

Long Weekend

I took Friday off making for another long weekend. I do have to return on Monday and then Tuesday is off again. Monday is only because my co-workers wanted that day off as well and one of us had to work, hence my turn. However, Friday we took the kids downtown for our annual trip to visit the gingerbread houses and Westlake center's carousel.

Today Tamara and the boys went and saw The Hobbit, while my daughter and I went and saw Parental Guidance. Ours was a cute and easy thing to see. I think the other three really enjoyed The Hobbit. I will need to wait and see that one at home. Many of the new movies are just too action packed for me and seeing them on the big screen makes me very nauseous.

Back to your updates, enjoy them.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

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Friday, December 28, 2012

Ramble from Joan

Yay! I get to post a ramble from Joan.
Show, don't tell.

For those of you who don't write yourselves, this only affects you when you put down a story for being boring. For those who write, it's a ground rule. To apply that rule is not as obvious as one could wish, though.

It's not that I have not read countless advice on the topic, even with examples. But it only really hit home when my editor commented 'SDT' on a part I had never been satisfied with to begin with -- I just didn't know how to make it better.

The part in question was to women describing their respective jobs to one another. Like this:

-- long monologue, followed by "And you?" -- long monologue.

When I seemed to be (and, admittedly was) unable to do anything about that, my editor lost her patience (I think:) and suggested breaking that first monologue with a question like "But how do you..."

And suddenly, I saw the light. I rewrote the entire section as a dialogue. And just prayed that she would approve. By the time I was finished, I was getting cross-eyed staring at the part.

She said, "Much more readable, now." /me did a silly dance!

You see: My editor did not tell me, but she showed me how to improve the story. SDT at its best.

Joan

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

Tamara

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Thursday, December 27, 2012

More Holidays

Tomorrow is another day off for me. I like that. Holidays continue for us. We will make our usual downtown trek tomorrow to see the holiday sights. Here is hoping whereever you are that you are enjoying these last few days of 2012.

Enjoy the updates.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Boxing Day

It's Zarathosht Diso (Death of Prophet Zarathustra) we wish our Zoroastrian readers a blessed day.

It's also St Stephen's Day - the Feast of Stephen. Hope you're having a good one.

Good King Wenceslas would have trouble finding his deep, crisp, even snow round here today. We've had rain. Lots of it. Again. Rivers locally are either flooding or close to flooding. All that rain made it a perfect day to sit indoors with a cup of coffee, a mince pie, and a good book, though. So that's what I did.

See you next week. Goodnight and may your God/s go with you.

Ze

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Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas

For those who celebrate, hope you're having, or that you had, a brill day.

I did. And I managed to neither eat, nor drink, too much. So I'm feeling well fed but not stuffed to the point of ludicrousness.

Got several cds I wanted, and a couple of dvds. But only one book (from a friend). How is it possible that I only got one book?? I don't recall a time when I got so few.

As a kid I got loads - my mother was one of 17 children - 15 of whom made it to adulthood (2 boys, the rest girls) - and it seemed that every one of my aunts each bought me a book every year. Well, I suppose it was a safe choice. You could guarantee that I would always be delighted to receive a book. And there was a series of (very cheap) hardback, abridged-for-children, classics when I was a kid. And it was all the classics - Dickens, R L Stevenson, Walter Scott, Anna Sewell, L M Alcott, The Brontes, John Buchan, Mark Twain, Dumas, etc. I amassed quite a collection of those via Christmas presents.

Ah well, I did get some "High Street" gift vouchers that can be used in a number of different shops. One of which is Waterstone's. So I can buy some books with those.

Oh - and little Barbara's gift?? A Bob the Builder T-shirt. Fantastic!! *g*

Ze

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Monday, December 24, 2012

Christmas Eve

Today we let the kids open all of their presents. Since tomorrow all three go to their other homes we figured it would be cruel to make them wait until Christmas morning and then only get a few hours with the new stuff. A lot of what they got is easily transportable back and forth but some we prefer they keep here. Little e's house isn't such a big deal but the house the boys return to is a bit chaotic. Things have a tendency to get lost and that drives me crazy.

Our Christmas morning will consist of a few items out from Santa for Cal and little e. The stockings will be put out then. The kids will be leaving by lunch time, which means we don't have to cook a big Christmas day dinner. Instead I'll make a big Christmas day breakfast. The rest of the day for us will likely involve watching many DS9 episodes and/or one or two of our new movies.

Whatever you celebrate this holiday season, stay safe and hug your loved ones.

Tamara

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Sunday, December 23, 2012

Wishing

Peace and Joy for all.

Our day was filled with a few errands and ways to avoid the shopping crazies. Home this evening resting up.

If you celebrate Christmas, please enjoy it. If you do not here is hoping your days are splendid and far far away from the crazy folks who do celebrate it.

Enjoy your updates.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

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Saturday, December 22, 2012

It's a Grey's Anatomy night....

Most of the LJ sites seem to be down tonight. The good news is the Callie_Arizona site was up when I checked it so we have some links. Hooray! The bad news is you can't access them right now because LJ is down.

Anyone know what's up with the BuffynFaith.net site? It's gone again.

Tamara

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Friday, December 21, 2012

An Offer

Take it away.
Hello folks,

I'm BlueMoonWriter. Some of you may have heard of me, while others may have even read one or two of my stories. Though most of my stories are original, some of them do incorporate characters that may occasionally resonate with some famous TV characters (i.e., Uber Xena and Gab).

It's been quite a while since I've last written/posted anything new but the desire to write is still burning bright (hey, you even got a rhyme in there). I guess my chosen moniker lived up to its name. But real life does have a way of doing that sometimes, bars you from doing what you want, when you want.

Anyhow, back to the reason why I'm rambling on, which seems fitting considering the fact it is called "a ramble," I've decided (due to unfortunate circumstances) to offer my writing services. In other words, I am offering to write a story on demand. If there is something specific you'd like to read, a particular plot with particular characters, that is what I will do. Even if you don't have a particular plot in mind, I'd be happy to write a story for you. 'Tis the season and what better time to have a personalized story to give to your loved ones.

I have set up a PayPal account where you can place your order/request along with the payment. I am not planning on putting a price on these stories as I think each person should pay whatever they feel is fair. The account it; bmoonwriter@yahoo.com which also serves as my email where anyone interested can of course contact me directly.

All the best and Happy Holidays!
BMW

There you have it. An interesting offer. Best of luck to y'all.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

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Thursday, December 20, 2012

Holiday Break Begins

We're off tonight to see little e perform in her class production of The Hobbit. I've officially started my holiday break. Clothes got washed and the house got a little tidying today. Tomorrow holds more tidying and tackling my bank account. I also have a bunch of presents to wrap before the 24th.

I also thought I'd mention something in response to a person who emailed E and asked if she'd ever purchased a gun at a gun show. The answer to that is 'no'. I don't believe any of E's relatives have ever owned firearms. She also has no intention of owning a firearm.

Both my grandfathers owned rifles but they were raised on farms and were WW II vets. They knew what damage a gun can do and neither one fetishized weapons.

For too long our country has been whipped into a frenzy by irresponsible politicians, advocacy organizations and media outlets about how our country is going to fall apart and it'll be every American for himself. Better get your guns while you can because the government is either 1) going to take them away or 2) collapse and chaos will reign.

Neither one of us prefers to look upon our country as being made of such fragile stuff that we need to stockpile guns and ammo to protect ourselves during the inevitable descent into anarchy. It's time for Americans to stop listening to the paranoia and fear being pushed on them. It's time to take a serious look at how many guns there are in our country and realize they're not making us safer.



Tamara

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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Infinity and Beyond.

Friday is the Solstice. Good Yule to our Wiccan and Pagan readers, in the northern hemisphere. Good Litha to our Wiccan and Pagan readers in the southern hemisphere.

LiveJournal is back up, so I managed to finish checking my sites. And yesterday's links should work again. (Especially since I fixed the one I bolloxed.)

BuffyFaith is still blocked by my AV for malware/threat, so I can't check that.

It's nearly Christmas. *bounces*

Cards all posted, presents all wrapped and under the tree (or in the post). Started taking a mince-pie for lunch, instead of a fruit & nut bar.

Took a small pressie round for little Barbara after work today, as it's her last day of school before breaking-up for Christmas. I didn't get her first choice. When asked what she'd like for Christmas her first request was for a ride in a spaceship. Definitely a child after my own heart. I'd give my eye-teeth for a chance at that.

Her second choice was a Lego Superheros Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman set. So that was what I bought her.

She gave me a hand-made card and a small - shall we say creatively wrapped parcel. I don't think I've ever seen so much Christmas tape used before - especially not in three different (clashing) colours. It was really sweet of her to go to so much effort. I just wish I'd had my sunglasses with me. *g*

I have no idea what it is, it's soft and squishy. I'll let you know after Christmas.

See you next week - for Christmas. Have a good week, goodnight and may your God/s go with you.

Ze

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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Language

I'm still getting a malware warning & block on BuffyFaith so couldn't check that tonight. And I was halfway through checking various LiveJournal sites when LJ went down!! If you click on a link and get nowhere - or get that rather alarming goat and a 503 error - that's why. So there aren't as many links for you as normal. Though at least that means there'll be more links tomorrow.

I read Joan's ramble yesterday with a great deal of interest. And I definitely endorse her message to get a beta reader. And I would emphasise the point - a good beta reader. Not just a friend with worse grammar than your own, who just wants to read your story early *g*. The number of fanfics I've started to read, and abandoned in despair at the appalling spelling, grammar,and positive canyons in plot rather than simply holes, and the writer has thanked their beta...

A beta familiar with the place/fandom your story concerns is a good idea. If your story is set in England and you are not English it's a good idea to have an English beta. We do not have rattlesnakes, poison ivy, or - despite what Disney tells you - skunks in Europe. And yes, I've read stories with all those things. It applies both ways of course. If you aren't from the USA but your story is set there - have a beta from the USA.

Though proper editing can cause problems sometimes. With editors suggesting changes which go totally against correct usage in the variety of English being used. For example, in British English we don't tend to use the "m" dash. Nor is the use of the Oxford comma common. And that sentence is wrong to my mind, too. Though apparently correct in US English. Why?? Because I have a "nor" without a "neither". Either/or. Neither/nor. Using don't/nor or not/nor just doesn't sit well with me.

Although - I've grown used to reading stories in American English and consequently become accustomed to the Oxford comma. This means that I frequently find sentences in newspapers, or on British news websites, to be humorous that were intended to be very serious.

And in British English we still love the hyphen. There is a great deal of difference between no-one and no one.

And how about this - different to, different from, different than.

One of those is common British usage, one is common US American usage, one is correct. There is no overlap. (As far as I'm aware.)

And punctuation is different in some circumstances - full stops (periods) inside or outside parenthesis?? - depends which side of the pond you're on.

OK. I've quite possibly bored you all rigid now. *g*. You probably don't find language and dialect as fascinating as I do. (Only history is more interesting to me.) So I'll stop now.

See you tomorrow.

Ze

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Monday, December 17, 2012

Ramble from Joan

Feeling lucky, Monday and I don't have to come up with words as Joan once again shares with us.
Some of you might recall that a publisher (Ylva-Verlag) is interested in publishing my story "On the Road". Meanwhile, I've been contacted by the editor and I want to share the experience.

I consider -- well, considered -- myself a careful reader. No longer. I cannot believe how many things I have let slip by, or have nevereven been aware of. Example: -Her voice softened, "So I take it that I'm invited?"- Wrong! You don't describe the sound of a voice before it has sounded. Argh! Besides, not putting the example in a paragraph of its own would probably earn me a red mark from my editor as well. And the exclamation mark after "Wrong" might result in "Use exclamations
only sparingly."

It's a very chastening experience. (I would have liked to put an exclamation mark after the previous sentence, but God forbid she reads this ramble -- and I've used the term "exclamation mark" far too often in this short text.)

Call me a masochist, but this is the very reason I agreed to pull my story from the web: the opportunity of working with a pro. I may be getting more than I asked for, but *wow* do I learn things! (exclamation mark justifiable here, I think -- but it might be better put after the closing parenthesis :)

So all of you scribblers/writers out there: I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Get.Yourselves.Beta.Readers. Hug them, love them, nourish them. It is not *virtually* impossible to be your own beta, it is *absolutely* impossible. Believe a once-proud e-scribbler! (excl... oh, shut up!)

Dedicated to my editor, S.

Joan

Editing is always a good idea and appreciated by many of us. On that note enjoy those updates.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

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Sunday, December 16, 2012

"Tis the Season...to Be Sneezy.

Duncan has been sick all week with a head cold. Today it hit Cal. I'm thinking it's trying to get a toehold in me too. If I run true to form, I won't succumb until Wednesday after school (our last day before break).

Of course, we're under a blizzard watch until Monday at 6pm so I may end up having some unintended days off school this week anyway. I know the kids are hoping so. Me...not so much.

On an up note...BuffynFaith.Net is back!

Tamara

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Saturday, December 15, 2012

A Day Goes By

We go on our with our basic weekend chores. Basketball game and other pieces fill our day. Hundreds of miles away is Grief, so much so that sadness is felt everywhere. Today we feel sad for people we don't know, but we empathize with their loss and only hope that time can give them Peace.

I am still angry and I really hope we can seriously consider taking some of these guns away. Sadly my expectation is extremely low. People's lives up against an incredibly rich lobbying group. Only in America can you walk into a gun show, buy a weapon and not even get a background check. The land of the free, brave and stupid.

Peace will not come through more guns and folks who think that need to seriously look around. What will it take?

Peace, Health and Happiness. All those seem far far away, but we can always hope for change.

Elisa

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Friday, December 14, 2012

What will it take?

I'm stunned and saddened and angry today. My country has too many guns. I have to get licenses and pay to operate a vehicle but any schmoe can plunk down money and buy weapons. That's wrong and it's past time to remedy it.

Oh, and Bryan Fisher and Mike Huckabee...I don't want any part of a god that requires obeisance before he'll stop bad things from happening. You and your god can kiss my ass.

Let's hope more than a fence festooned with flowers and teddy bears comes out of this tragedy.

Tamara

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Thursday, December 13, 2012

Comfortable

Spent the morning and early afternoon in urgent care. I learned that kidney infections hurt a lot. I have a 10 day supply of Cipro a powerful antibiotic that should take it down. Damn I hope so as that was not pleasant.

Here is hoping the rest of you are having a better week.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Time Is, Time Was, Time is Past.

As you've no doubt noticed, (since the web is full of the news), today's date (well, today here in Europe & all points west at any rate - by now it was yesterday for NZ, Australia, and most of Asia), is a special one. 12/12/12 (whichever method of writing Common Era dates you use, it's the same).

Perfectly balanced dates like that only happen in the early part of each century - years 01 to 12 - so, barring a miraculous advance in medical science, and the extension of human lifespans, occurring any time soon, it's unlikely that any of us will be alive to witness the next time it happens - in 2101.

Mind you, I'm not really sure what all the fuss is about. I mean, why is there suddenly so much interest in it?? There wasn't this much attention paid to 09/09/09 or 07/07/07 was there?? Or did I sleep through it.

It's just a day.

And when you think about it all dating systems are pretty artificial really. All of them rely on some arbitrary point in time suddenly being declared of supreme importance. The founding of Rome. The (mistaken) year of a Jewish chap's birth. The birth of a prophet. The Emperor who devised a zodiac of animals. And some nomadic groups don't even bother with years at all. Only seasons matter.

All because humans have a need to mark time's passing. We're a strange species.

See you next week. Goodnight and may your God/s go with you.

Ze

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Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Treats.

Hanukkah started last weekend- we wish all our Jewish readers a happy one.

Well, I've scrabbled round all over the place to rustle up some things for you to read - done my best, hope it's enough.

I couldn't check BuffyFaith.Net for updates - so I don't know if they have any - my anti-virus blocked the site - said it's infected with malware.

It's turned decidedly nippy here this past week. Thick frost on the ground. Got my thermals out!! But at least the rain has stopped. It's been crisp, sunny, beautiful blue skies. Exactly what December should be like.

We've had a small Christmas market here for the past couple of weeks - several stalls from mainland Europe, the usual German sausage/gluhwein sellers, a French patisserie, an olive seller, a few craft stalls. And a sweets/cakes stall from the Netherlands. This means I've been able to get hold of one of the little treats I like from time to time. Something you can't usually buy in the UK - salted liquorice. Brilliant!! (I'm a salt junkie, I love salted popcorn too.) Not much else could have got me into the city centre in December!!

Ze

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Monday, December 10, 2012

Ze will likely have more tomorrow....

How very sad. One. Where's P&P when you need 'em?

Tamara

    Chicago Fire
  • Score by MJ Duncan (GirlSlash).
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Sunday, December 09, 2012

Thankful

Today feels like a bonus day. One where bad things happened but they could've been so much worse. I happily will go back to work tomorrow. Here is hope sending out the best for all.

Now enjoy your updates.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

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Saturday, December 08, 2012

Christmas Preparations

Today E and I inventoried our Christmas purchases. We took a little time to visit Cost Plus to pick up stocking stuffers. Tonight I'll be wrapping up the presents that are heading to Oklahoma. Christmas cards are well out the door. The tree is up and chock full of lights. Ornaments will be put on once the kids arrive.

Tonight E is going through a year's worth of pics for the Grandparent calendars. I'm so glad she does that part. Actually putting the calendar together is easy. The big job is picking the shots.

The update is kind of small tonight. Hopefully there'll be more tomorrow.

Tamara

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Friday, December 07, 2012

Equality

I knew some day gay marriage would be legal, however, I never believed it would be in my lifetime. So reality sets in and Tamara and I will have to figure out a date. Nothing major but perhaps dragging all the kids down to the court house and have a judge verify our family. We can become like all the other families with kids. A piece of paper (yeah signed with a little nifty stamp), not sure why it matters but it does and I am very happy that we get to have one.

Now all we need is our Federal Government to actually recognize it and treat us like any other married couple. Who knows...that may not be this lifetime, but it will happen eventually. Fairness.

Back to your update, enjoy.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

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Thursday, December 06, 2012

Short and Sweet

Okay, my initial words on this post were really short. Then E poked me about not mentioning the fact that today was the first day for same sex couples in Washington state to apply for marriage licenses. This state is going to see a lot of December weddings.

Tamara

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Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Must Buy Stamps...

Tomorrow is Saint Nicholas Day - celebrated in a great many countries - for all of those who do mark this day - I hope your shoes are full of sweets and not coal.

Got half my cards written - I'd better get them posted soon. But first I need to buy stamps. Which will probably cost more than the cards they're stuck on.

And I really aught to finish buying presents. Preferably without having to trek into the city centre at the weekend. Far too many people, all being far too rude and stressed. All those crowds, blocking shop doorways, with their hands full of too many bags. Elbowing past you and knee-capping you with those bags. Makes me want to start biting people - and not in a good way.

I love Christmas. I'm just not too keen on Christmas shopping.

See you next week. Goodnight and may your God/s go with you.

Ze

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Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Mince Pies

I do so love mince pies. I'll only eat them in December. As far as I'm concerned - mince pies are for Christmas, hot-cross-buns are for Easter, crumpets are for winter, strawberries are for summer. Yes, you can now buy these things all year round, but it's not the same. They're only special if they're limited.

I have a fair bit of trouble finding vegan mince pies in the shops. Sainsbury's "basics" were vegan but they've stopped making those. They've replaced them with mince puffs - which are not the same. Even the Co-op pies aren't vegan.

My sister said, "Why don't you make your own". My response was, "Are you effing serious!! I can set the kitchen on fire just heating a tin of beans, if I try actually baking my own pies I'm going to make the Great Fire of London look like a glow-worm!! I'll probably burn the whole of Devon and Cornwall to ashes!!"

She thought about that for a moment and agreed that it probably wasn't the best idea. Then she said, "Get our cousin to bake them for you then, idiot". I did consider that as she does the cooking anyway (I clean up afterwards). But it seemed a bit too much of an imposition really, given the quantities I eat. She'd be baking non-stop from now til Christmas.

Eventually I found some, in the least likely place. The bargain-basement, few-famous-brands, German owned, supermarket chain Lidl. They had pies that are completely dairy-free. In packs of 12. Brilliant.

I bought six packs.

That should last me til Christmas Day.

I hope.

Ze

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Monday, December 03, 2012

Re-Hype

The other night I posted few words from Astrid, but in reality I totally missed the words she attached to the email. Yes, I'm a little slow. So sorry about that gang, but tonight we try again.
As it is this time of the year….

Every Sunday and on December 24 (since this is the day we celebrate Christmas in Germany) we’ll be giving away free eBooks and printed books. This is part of us sharing the joy and spirit of the holiday season.

We'll be starting on December 2 with an eBook: Manhattan Moon by Jae.

On December 9, we'll be giving away our Christmas anthology Gingerbread Hearts (eBook).

On December 16, we'll be giving away the eBook of Something in the Wine by Jae.

On December 23, we'll be giving away two eBooks of Gingerbread Hearts.

On December 24, we celebrate Christmas by giving away a signed copy of the printed version of Something in the Wine. And yes, we'll send it to whoever won it wherever on this planet. Big words. Gulp.

Visit our blog (http://ylvapublishing.wordpress.com/) and participate in the giveaways. We're looking forward to your visit.

The Ylva Team

So there is the full scoop. Now off to the updates, enjoy.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

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Sunday, December 02, 2012

Craft Show Fun

We went to a really cool Craft Show today...Urban Craft Uprising. I suspected it would be a pricier craft show and I was certainly right but the selection of artists was amazing. I even managed to find two Christmas gifts (not in the too pricey range. Both were for the notoriously hard-to-buy-for older kids.

No school tomorrow and my big plans for the day include driving the boys to Bellevue and picking up my comics. Hope your weekend was fun and productive.

Tamara

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Saturday, December 01, 2012

Hype!

Letting you all know about book give away. Here is what I know:
We'll be starting a book give away that will happen every Sunday until Christmas and on December 24 (when we celebrate Christmas in Germany).

It would be really great if you could post this on uberetc.
Wishing you a great weekend.

Take care
Astrid

www.ylva-publishing.com

There you have it. I would say you all should at least check it out. Free books is not something to pass on. And note they have a really splendid logo. And Astrid here is hoping your weekend is going well!

Enjoy those updates.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

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