Eating Like a Horse

Freckles:

   The other night I was delicately munching on my dandylions and Deb made a rude remark. She said that I ate like a horse! This statement was not only disrespectful to me, but also to horses everywhere.   

   I glared at her, but she commented that I looked “cute when I disapproved” and went on with reading her book. After I finished eating, I headed out to the stables to see for myself what it is about horses eating that resembles me. “Hey, Max,” I said to my horse friend, “whatcha eating?”

   "Hay,” Max said.

   “Yes, Hey to you too, but what are you eating?” (I would have looked myself, but the trough was a bit too high for me to reach.)

    Max chomped his big old teeth again and said, “No, you don’t understand. Hay. I’m eating hay.”

   “Hay? Hey, I like to eat hay!”

    I backed up and hopped the highest hop I could. By golly, I made it to the feeding trough and sure enough, there it was – hay.

    “Help yourself,” said Max.

    And I did.

   And the moral of this story is:

   Hey! Rabbits DO eat like horses – and horses DO eat like rabbits.

Another Blog!

Writer Sites

Freckles:

Deb won't shut up about her new blog! She just goes on and on and on about it when she should be feeding me and giving me nose rubs. 

She set it up to organize her writing websites and resources. The original plan was to keep it a private blog, one she could categorize the sites she visits and keep her informed of the blog updates. But, then she was so pleased with how it came out that she made it public and announced it to a few people. Now, she's spending far too much time on the computer adding to and organizing Writer Sites!

Here's some of the stuff she's put there:

• 
  
  Writing Websites (with information about writing)
• Writing Resources (like dictionaries, character generators, databases, lists, videos, etc.)
• Ezines, Magazines, & Stories
• Publisher Websites (mostly of publishers who are accepting submissions of children's materials)
• Writing Blogs (people who write about writing)
• Author Blogs
• Illustrator Blogs
• Publisher Blogs
• Agent Blogs
• Editor Blogs
• Book Blogs (book reviews and information about books)
• Author & Illustrator Websites
• And a For Fun section (usually related to words or writing, however the Squirrelizer and Kitten War are there also!)

So, please go visit the site and click that little "Follow" button she's got set up. Then, she'll think she'll have lots of friends. (Oh, and don't forget to click the "Follow" button on this blog  -- it's over there on the right -- so she doesn't forget that she has a responsibility to me and all of my friends right here!)

Bunny Cafe

This video was on Daily Bunny. We thought it was an interesting idea, and although we discussed it, Freckles was not interested in starting a cafe like this here.

It's Our 2nd Blogoversary!!!

We almost forgot! It's our 2nd Blogoversary today!

Happy Blogoversary to us!!

Beauty Doesn't Just Happen

Freckles:

After a delicious meal of dandylions and carrots, a gal's got to work on looking her best. It's a lot of effort, much twisting and turning involved. But, I do believe that the results are worth the effort.

Giant Leaves

Deb:

Guess I'll have to be the one to post this, because Freckles is a little busy chomping down these giant dandelions! Can you imagine the lawn that has weeds this big?

Begging and Bananas and Heat

Freckles:

Tonight I was really, really hungry because I've been left alone all day with nobody here to feed me and it's been over a hundred degrees here and I have a fur coat, you know, and Deb's had the flu (who gets the flu in August???!) and did I mention I was really, really hungry?

The begging worked.

I got banana!

The Oregon Coast

After we left the Oregon Caves, we drove up the Oregon Coast.

There are beautiful sandy beaches all along the coast, and we couldn't have asked for better weather. Gorgeous clear skies all the way. There are long stretches of blue ocean as far as you can see and sometimes huge rocks rising from the sea that look like a giant plopped them right down in the water.

I had to take a picture of the warning signs. Might be easier to have a sign showing what you CAN do at the beach!

The last two pictures were taken at Lincoln City. There are always kites flying there (could have something to do with the kite shop right across the highway from this public access!)

We stayed at a hotel right on the beach. Lovely!

Cave Housing

Deb:

While we were visiting the Oregon Caves, we stayed at The Chateau, a rustic hotel built in 1934. Along with it's log cabin ambiance and original Monterey furniture, it has no elevator, no air conditioning, no television, and no phones in the rooms. Built into the side of the slope, the building is six stories high. We, of course, stayed on the top floor. The top two pictures are the front and side. The next two pictures are the back of the building. If you look closely at the pictures you can see the tiny top floor with the dinky windows (guess it could be the attic.) We stayed in the two connected rooms on the far right side in the back (a suite!)

Quiet, peaceful, and surrounded by the beauty of natural elements, it is a lovely place to retreat, read a good book, take a walk, and talk to one another.

This last picture is the entrance to the cave. See that hole in the middle?

Where in the World was Deb?

Deb:

I posted about the first week I was gone from home to the PNW Children's Book Conference in Portland, so here's the scoop about the second week that I was gone.

My husband and I drove down to the very southern part of Oregon to the Oregon Caves National Monument. They were celebrating their 100th anniversary as a national monument (we didn't know that when we decided to go there.) They were actually discovered much earlier in 1874 by Elijah Davidson and his dog while chasing a bear during a hunting trip.

The Oregon Caves consist of a system of connected caves that people can tour. The tour has 576 steps, mostly going up and mostly uneven and wet.

It is beautiful inside the caves. I've included a couple of pictures, but they can't capture the magnificent shapes and colors of the nooks and crannies that greet you throughout.

One extra adventure we had: the website and the articles we read in preparation told us that the last 20 miles on the road to the caves is winding. What they don't tell you is that the road goes up, up, up and has a dinky shoulder with a steep drop off and no guardrail on most of the route.

But we survived the road and the tour of the caves (huff puff!) It's a wonderful place to visit, if you're ever in that part of the country.

(Sorry about the blocks of text in this post. Blogger is being stubborn today and won't let me put blank lines between my paragraphs or indent with blank spaces at the beginning of my paragraphs!)

Furry Butts Fursday

Deb:

Bunnies all over the Blogosphere are presenting their best furry butt shots today in honor of our little buddy Hans over at Furrybutts.

Here is one of the very few shots I have of Freckles' adorable little bottom.

If you check out our Blogroll today (on the bottom right side of the Blog) you'll see a lot of other blog post titles for Furry Butts Fursday!




Freckles:

I'm just lying here all spread out trying to get cool!

It has been super hot here (weather man said 103 degrees on Monday, 106 degrees on Tuesday, and 107 degrees on Wednesday!) We're not used to that kind of weather. I don't even feel like eating!

I think I'm melting!

PNW Children's Book Conference

Deb:


I've been out of the loop for a couple of weeks. As Freckles shared with you, one of those weeks was spent "getting smarter" at the 10th Annual PNW Children's Book Conference at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. What a week! My head is still whirling with all of the information and motivation from this amazing experience. I chose to stay in the dorm so I could focus totally on the writing. Although Freckles was not pleased with my choice, she was not neglected. My husband and oldest son gave her lots of attention and treats in my absence.


Here's some of the gang from the dorm posing with Freckles:

After spending our days in workshops and critique sessions, we'd meet after dinner (wow, did I mention how great the food was???!!!) in the lounge on our floor and talk about our lives, our writing, our hopes for our future.

And we read to each other.

I know what you're thinking, but when you get a bunch of writing-crazy geeks together, we read out loud. What can I say?

We've vowed to stay in touch and I hope that we do. That's always easier said than done. We're scattered all over the U.S. and Canada. But when you've found your soulmates, you have to hang on to them.


There are more pictures of my experience here.


During the conference I got great feedback on the middle grade novel I've been working on and am busy revising it yet again.


All in all a very successful and memorable week!

Goodbye, Hans!

We are very sorry to have to say goodbye to our little Furrybutts friend Hans.

Hans captured everyone's hearts with his adorable little face and winning ways. His buddy Bailey will be very lonesome without him.

Freckles and I have followed his adventures and health problems since he arrived at Furrybutts, where he managed to shake up Buttons' and Yohji's worlds. Even Nice Guy followed along and our nightly conversations were often sprinkled with, "Did you see what Hans did today?"

We'll miss you, Hans. We are sorry you had to go. But, we know you are holding a place for Bailey at the Rainbow Bridge.

Hop on!

Happy Birthday, Freckles!

Happy Birthday, Freckles!

Freckles is five years old today! I rushed back from my vacation to spend this day with my lovely little bun. (I see that she has been eliciting sympathy from all of our friends because she has been at home while I've been away. But, we all know she would have been thumping with displeasure if I'd stuck her in the car!) Anyway, more later about what I've been doing -- today is Freckles' special day!

Deb

Freckles Still in Charge

Freckles:

Okay, so Deb comes home from the getting smarter thing, but then she rushes around all weekend unpacking and washing stuff and packing again. Monday, she and Big Guy took off on a vacation! They're going to climb through caves and play on the beach. I like caves! I like the beach! (I think. I've never actually been to a beach, but it sounds like something I'd like.)

So, here I am, wasting away to nothing. If Nice Guy didn't offer me a few treats now and then, I would be a skeleton!

I know, I know -- most people would say that the fact that she left Nice Guy to make sure I was okay meant that she wasn't neglecting me. But, sheesh, she's like some jetsetting whirlwind. She's not getting any younger, you know.

Sigh!