Spam and peas.

Tonight is Walpurgis Night in parts of northern and central Europe. For those who still celebrate it - enjoy your bonfires.

Tomorrow is International Workers' Day. Have a good one everybody - and (as Wolfie would say) WOTWU

Tomorrow is also Beltane (in the north) and Samhain (in the south) we wish all our Pagan and Wiccan readers a good feast.

I was looking at my email just now and thinking "I really must sort out my SPAM folder". I suddenly seem to have a lot in there. Yesterday there were around 20 or so and I was thinking that I aught to look at it soon, today there are 76. This probably means that somebody I'm connected to via a yahoo group has had their email hijacked and it's peppering various lists. That's usually the case when there's a sudden jump in the numbers.

Actually it's about time I sorted my inbox out too - and deleted some of those hundreds of read mails. That's one of those little jobs - a bit like defrosting the fridge/freezer - where you can always find something else to do rather than tackle it. And it's only when the ice is so thick that you can't squeeze so much as a packet of peas in - or in the case of email you have six pages to scroll through to find the one you need at that moment - that you finally do something about it.

Which reminds me - I need to defrost the fridge. The peas are in there but I can't get them out because the ice is so thick!!

I'll do it tomorrow.

The email that is - the fridge will have to wait til the weekend.

Ze

BtVS
• Too Seriously by KW_Jordan (BuffynFaith.Net).
  
  Glee
  
• Chapters 1 to 6 of That Almost Perfect Moment by salerate (brittana).
  
  Original
  
• Chapter 37 of Eikasia by Illise Montoya (Her website).
  
  
• Her Name Is Melony by Lex Taylor (Sapphic Voices).
  
  
• Part 1 of The Story Of Us by Lex Taylor (Saffic Voices).
  
  Pitch Perfect
  
• The Barden Bellas Conspiracy by cdybedahl (GirlGay).
  
  Stargate Atlantis
  
• Second Chances by Tamoline (GirlGay).
  
  
• A Year in the Future by Tamoline (GirlGay).
  
  Xena Warrior Princess
  
• March 26th, 1943 (Mel & Janice) by CN Winters (Her website).
  
  
• Part 1 of The 10th Muse by CN Winters (Her website).
  

Monday has gone by.

One day down and four more before the next weekend. My first day back after vacation and the day went as expected. It's over now and on to Tuesday we go.

Enjoy your updates and chat at you closer to the weekend.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

BtVS
• Chapter 20 of Broken Bonds by Rebelrsr (her web site).
  
  
• Chapter 7 of By the Book by jonesingjay (BuffynFaith.Net).
  
  Comics
  
• Jane's World:04/29/13 by Paige Braddock (Go Comics).
  
  Grey's Anatomy
  
• Chapter 16 of Once Upon a Calzona by fluffycalzona (Callie_Arizona).
  
  
• Stumbling Along by A. Windsor (Callie_Arizona).
  
  Once Upon A Time
  
• Ricochet by Regalish (Regina & Emma).
  
  
• State of Mind by Faithinthepoor (Regina & Emma).
  
  Original
  
• Sundown by Geonn Cannon (his lj).

Back to Reality

Back to school and work for all of us tomorrow. Farewell, Spring break, you were much needed.

Tamara

BtVS
• Chapter 47 of Whatever Doesn't Kill Us by invalid_reality (BuffynFaith.Net).
  
  Grey's Anatomy
  
• Chapter 14 of Once Upon a Calzona by fluffycalzona (Callie_Arizona).
  
  Legend of the Seeker
  
• Chapter 2 of You Saved Me by fortunata13 (LotS Femslash).
  
  Original
  
• Part 2 of Hoosier Daddy by Maxine Redwood (Academy of Bards).
  
  Warehouse 13
  
• Making Time by Rebecca (Meet at Gunpoint).

Day of Rest

Couple of chores and some serious cleaning and filing, but overall a very calm day of rest. After all our walking in Portland it was nice to be home and taking it easy. We did have beautiful weather in Portland and I had hoped spring had moved along a bit in Seattle, sadly it was an overcast and coolish day.

Have good weekend, enjoy those updates.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

Bad Girls
• Secrets & Lies by Filbert Fox (Passion & Perfection).
  
  
• What If by Filbert Fox (Passion & Perfection).
  
  Criminal Minds
  
• Fragile Truce by Kayryn (Passion & Perfection).
  
  
• Letting Go by Kayryn (Passion & Perfection).
  
  Harry Potter
  
• Paris Is Big and We Are Small by holyfant (Femmeslash).
  
  Lost Girl
  
• The Brave by Kate (Passion & Perfection).

Home Sweet Home

We made it home safely today. Portland was beautiful. I'd like to go back and see more of the sights.

Both of us managed to spend a little bit at Powell's. I didn't go crazy there, keeping in mind we don't have a lot of room for me to stack unread books. I managed to get enough that I'll be re-arranging some book piles this weekend.

Portland also has a lot of comic stores. By far the two best we saw were Cosmic Monkey Comics and Excalibur Books and Comics. Cosmic Monkey Comics had more non-comic related merchandise than Excalibur but I liked them both. And the back issue selection at Excalibur was fantastic. Since I don't live near Austin Books & Comics any more this was a nice surprise.

Tomorrow will be E's birthday. Wish her a good one if you get the chance.

Tamara

BtVS
• Chapter 15 of Disappear by Hayley (Electra's Fanfiction).
  
  
• Chapter 3 of First Day of My Life by Hayley (Electra's Fanfiction).
  
  Comics
  
• Jane's World:04/26/13 by Paige Braddock (Go Comics).
  
  Grey's Anatomy
  
• Chapter 13 of Once Upon a Calzona by fluffycalzona (Callie_Arizona).
  
  Original
  


• Episode 32 of Hollywood Dreams by Fiur & Vlamme (Academy of Bards).
  
  


• Zoned In by D (Academy of Bards).

Sunshine

In Portland we have found plenty of sunshine. Our few days here have been filled with lots and it has been great. Today we spent money in Powell's Books and than saw the Pittock Mansion plus the Portland Japanese Gardens all splendid. Our time here is coming to an end as we pack and head home on Friday. Back to the basics of life. Overall a great honeymoon with Tamara.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

BtVS
• Chapter 19 of Broken Bonds by Rebelrsr (her web site).
  
  
• Chapter 30 of You Can't Hurry Love by Really-an-angel (BuffynFaith.Net).
  
  Comics
  
• Jane's World:04/25/13 by Paige Braddock (GoComics.com).
  
  Devil Wears Prada
  
• Part 3 of The Lord of the Nile and the Lady of Grace by xenavirgin (dvlwears_prada).
  
  Glee
  
• Chapter 5 of The Lateness of the Hour by (Brittany & Santana).
  
  Grey's Anatomy
  
• Part 12 of Once Upon a Calzona by fluffycalzona (Callie_Arizona).
  
  Legend of the Seeker
  
• Chapter 1 of You Saved Me by fortunata13 (LotS Femslash).
  
  Original
  
• Chapter 10 of Secretions of Philathymna by kendralynora (Warehouse 13).

Swallows (But No Amazons).

First it's Hanuman Jayanti, we wish our Hindu readers a good festival. It's also Mahavir Jayanti, we wish our Sikh readers a good festival.

And it's ANZAC day. To our Aussie & Kiwi readers - thank you.

Another nice day. And - the swallows and house martins are back. Spring is definitely well established and summer's on the way.

Not a lot for you tonight I'm afraid. So many fic writers use FF.net and AO3 these days (and they're a bugger to track updates on) and fewer using specialised websites that finding stuff to post is getting to be quite a problem. Still - we do our best.

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

Ze

Grey's Anatomy
• Chapter 11 of Once Upon a Calzona by fluffycalzona (callie-arizona).
  
  Original
  
• Hoosier Daddy by Maxx Redwood (Royal Academy of Bards).
  
  Star Trek: DS9
  
• Minerva by sophia_gratia (Where No Woman).
  
  Xena Warrior Princess
  
• Part 10 of Princess of the Realm by WarriorJudge (Royal Academy of Bards).
  

England and St. George.

Today was St. George's Day. Patron Saint of England (among other places). But since the English don't make a great deal of fuss about that sort of thing we didn't really pay a lot of attention to that fact.

For that matter neither do the Welsh (St David) nor the Scots (St. Andrew) about their saints. In fact none of us make anything like as much fuss as US Americans make about the Irish Patron Saint - even the Irish don't!! How is it that US Americans don't celebrate a Patron saint of the USA??

There is a small movement trying to get St. George's Day recognised as a bank holiday, (as if we need another spring bank holiday!!), but most English people aren't really that bothered.

Of far greater importance is the fact that it's also William Shakespeare's birthday. Now that's something worth celebrating. (And, yes, he did write the plays. No, the conspiracy theorists are not right, in fact they're so far off the planet that they're orbiting Alpha Centauri.)

And as far as the weather goes - what a glorious day. The sun shone. The sky was that particular shade of blue you only get in spring. It was warm. There were bluebells, and primroses, and the robin sang beautifully. The blue-tits cheeped their Morse code squeak. I saw the first butterflies of the year.

It was one of those great-to-be-alive days.

Ze

(The) Devil Wears Prada
• Good Morning by lennonandstreep (dvlwears-prada).
  
  
• Say Goodbye by lennonandstreep (dvlwears-prada).
  
  
• Chapter 3 of A Flawed Fragility by theladyholl (dvlwears-prada).
  
  
• Favorite Things by judroozz (dvlwears-prada).
  
  Doctor Who Universe (SJA)
  
• Chapter 4 of Heaven, Hell, or Someplace In Between by faedevil (The Second Time).
  
  (The) Good Wife
  
• Something Different by Tamoline (GirlGay).
  
  Grey's Anatomy
  
• Chapter 10 (Chapter 9 is friends-locked) of Once Upon a Calzona by fluffycalzona (callie-arizona).
  
  Legend of the Seeker
  
• Part 22 of A Little Evil Comes A Long Way by raug_moss (LotS Femslash).
  
  Once Upon a Time
  
• Absent Friends by faithinthepoor (regina-emma).
  
  Person of Interest
  
• Part 3 of An Item of Mutual Interest by Tamoline (GirlGay).
  
  Rizzoli & Isles
  
• Part 13 of Play The Game by e-dog (Rizzoli & Isles LJ).
  

Ready for Portland

The kids are at their respective other houses. Laundry is done. Suitcase is 95% packed. Tomorrow morning we'll head to Portland for a few days. I'm really looking forward to seeing some cool comic shops and checking out Powell's Books. E is prepared with her Nook to give me a lot of time to browse.

Just in case you think E won't have anything to keep her busy. I'm ready to sit and read while she checks out local pubs that are well stocked with pinball machines.

Tamara

BtVS
• Chapter 15 of Disappear by Hayley (BuffynFaith.Net).
  
  
• Chapter 6 of By the Book by jonesingjay (BuffynFaith.Net).
  
  
• Chapter 3 of First Day of My Life by Hayley (BuffynFaith.Net).
  
  Legend of the Seeker
  
• Part 1 of I Want You by cassanova33 (LotS Femslash).
  
  Nikki & Nora
  
• Chapter 10 of Near Life Experience by 1shinyboat (Lady Cops).
  
  Once Upon a Time
  
• Chapter 9 of Satin Town by Coalitiongirl (Regina & Emma).
  
  ST: Voyager
  
• Ice Cream, Coffee and Strawberry Tart by Llin (Where No Woman Has Gone Before).

Announcement Night

Another giveaway comes your way!

April 23 is a day to be marked:
It’s my birthday and World Book Day – all in one. To celebrate both occasions the Ylva team is giving away quite a few books on this day.
There will be e-books (from all our published books) as well as some rare autographed paperbacks.

So, come and visit our blog on Tuesday, 23 April, and celebrate World Book Day and my birthday.

http://ylvapublishing.wordpress.com/

Astrid Ohletz
Soon a year older and (maybe) just a little bit wiser...

www.ylva-publishing.com
________________________________

Hey go get a book! Enjoy the updates.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

BtVS
• Chapter 18 of Broken Bonds by Rebelrsr (her web site).
  
  
• Chapter 46 of Whatever Doesn't Kill Us by invalid_reality (BuffynFaith.Net).
  
  
• Chapter 4 of First Day of My Life by Hayley (BuffynFaith.Net).
  
  
• Chapter 6 of By the Book by jonesingjay (BuffynFaith.Net).
  
  Glee
  
• Our Day Will Come by Lazarus_Girl (her web site).
  
  Grey's Anatomy
  
• Chapter 8 of Once Upon a Calzona by fluffycalzona (Callie_Arizona).
  
  Once Upon a Time
  
• A Cure by modestroad (Regina & Emma).

Time to Relax

Spring break has begun for me and Cal (Duncan had his last week). I actually slept until 9 today. E and little e got up bright and early for two Ultimate frisbee games. I had good intentions of going but sleep was so much nicer than freezing my butt off outside. I spent my time at home being productive...dishes and laundry.

After they came home we ran a few errands then stayed in for the rest of the very rainy day. Tonight we're watching 2010. Makes me feel old to realize I saw this in the theater the same year I graduated high school.

Tamara

Grey's Anatomy
• Chapters 6 & 7 of Once Upon a Calzona by fluffycalzona (Callie_Arizona).
  
  Original
  
• Episode 31 of Hollywood Dreams by Fiur & Vlamme (Academy of Bards).
  
  
• Lady Yvonne's Reel by Norsebard (Academy of Bards).

Vacation is close.

Tamara and the boys are on spring break, however my vacation is not until Tuesday. I will go to work Monday and hopefully breeze through the day. Get home and pack up for our vacation to Portland. Look out Powell's here we come.

Until then a weekend of usual for us. Couple Ultimate games with my daughter and chores all about.

Enjoy those updates.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

BtVS
• Chapter 17 of Broken Bonds by Rebelrsr(her web site).
  
  Birds of Prey
  
• Part 1 of What the Butler Saw by Dev (Clom 'n' Dev's).
  
  Comics
  
• Jane's World:04/18/13 by Paige Braddock (Go Comics).
  
  Grey's Anatomy
  
• Chapter 4 of Once Upon a Calzona by fluffycalzona (Callie_Arizona).
  
  
• Chapter 5 of Once Upon a Calzona by fluffycalzona (Callie_Arizona).
  
  Glee
  
• BSB + 2 drabbles by kiarcheo (Glee Femslash).

Spring Break!

After tomorrow the boys and I are off for a week. Portland here I come....

Tamara

BtVS
• Chapter 29 of You Can't Hurry Love by Really-an-angel (BuffynFaith.Net).
  
  Nikki & Nora
  
• Chapter 9 of Near Life Experience by 1shinyboat (Lady Cops).

Baaaaa

Happier stuff tonight.

Such as this - Kiwis are awesome. Why can't the House of Commons be this much fun. (Not that I really want the nightmares that watching Ian Duncan Smith hugging Kenneth Clarke would bring).

Due to a mix-up at work (not my error) I was surplus to requirements this afternoon. (In other words they had arranged for me to prime a whole batch of timber and forgotten to order primer!!). So I got the afternoon off - with pay!!

I took the opportunity to do something different. The Easter school holidays being over, I decided it was safe to go to Crealy. Crealy started life as a kind of glorified petting farm (attached to a working sheep farm) for lambs, rabbits, miniature goats, pony rides, etc. Then it grew and they turned it into an amusement park as well. It's pretty small though.

After being revived by the by the staff at the ticket office - blimey!! Talk about expensive. I went in and had a look around. I bought goat food and hand fed the goats. I bought duck food and hand fed the ducks - and got pecked by a swan because I wasn't feeding him too!! I looked at the meerkats. They really do do that standing-on-guard thing. (Didn't see Sergei though. LOL.

I rode the roller-coaster. Twice. Because I was the only one on it. I rode on the swinging pirate ship. Me and a woman with two middle-school-aged kids, (around 9 or 10 years old).

And I checked the programme and found that - yes - the thing I went there for, the one thing I really wanted to do, the thing I'd been willing to pay that amount for, was on the schedule for 15.30hrs. So I went and waited in the queue. I say "queue" but in actual fact it consisted of me and a six-year-old girl.

The staff came out and looked at us. They looked a little hesitant. I nodded. "Yep. Me too, please". The chap shrugged and opened the gate. I went in, and the little girl's father led her in. Her mother stayed outside. The chap handed the little girl a bottle. He offered me two. I took them. He took two and his assistant took two.

And then we bottle-fed the orphaned baby lambs. Big kid that I am. I had a grin as wide as the Bristol Channel!!

Made my day, that did!!

Hope your day was as magic as mine. Not a lot for you tonight, I'm afraid. See you next week. Goodnight and may your God/s go with you.

Ze

Birds of Prey
• Part 2 of What the Butler Saw by Dev (Clom & Dev's).
  
  BtVS
  
• Chapter 5 of By The Book by jonesingjay (BuffynFaith.Net).
  
  Grey's Anatomy
  
• Part 20 (conclusion) of Aftershocks by pens_co927 (callie-arizona).