A Silent House
The doggies are spending the day at the Canine Health Club, Day Surgery Center and Spa (aka the vet’s) to get their teeth cleaned, claws clipped, bloodwork done, and other delights. They got no breakfast this morning, and they were NOT amused. Hopefully all will go well and they will be home by dinnertime. But the house is unnaturally quiet without them. And how will I get my cardio without getting up to let them in and out a couple of thousand times a day?
I am presently re-acquainting myself with the third-person viewpoint. I’d never written anything in first person until I wrote The Second Duchess, and I found I really loved the sense of seeing and feeling and touching and tasting right along with Barbara and Lucrezia, and also with my beloved Rinette in The Flower Reader. But The Alchemist Prince is turning out to be a different animal altogether. There’s so much happening to so many fascinating people that there’s no way one (or even two or three) characters can be present for all of it. And I want it all—I can’t bear to leave any of it out…
Freckled Paws and Hoppin’ Jim
Kalo Podariko! (“Happy First Foot,” the Greek wish for a happy new year.) The first foot over our threshold this morning (as it is pretty much every morning) was a freckled beagle paw belonging to our Miss Cress. I love her freckles—I’ve given her freckled paws to Seilie, Rinette’s little hound in The Flower Reader. Since Cressie is a typically beagle “merry little hound,” I think she’ll bring us happiness in the year to come.
Living in Texas as we do, we’re also supposed to eat black-eyed peas for luck on New Year’s day—the dish is called “Hoppin’ John,” the etymology of which is obscure. Sadly, the Broadcasting Legend™ and I don’t really like black-eyed peas. Heresy, I know. What we’ve done is create our own version, which we call “Hoppin’ Jim.” Heh. It’s a sort of bean soup made with ordinary white beans and the bone from the Christmas ham, and it is delicious. I’d post a recipe, but none of the things Jim cooks actually have recipes. He’d say something like, “Well, you take the ham bone and put in the beans and some other stuff and simmer it all afternoon.” Right.
I like vegetables—shredded carrots and greens of some sort—in my Hoppin’ Jim, but I have to add those separately so as not to sully the purity of the original.
Warmest new year wishes to all, and God bless us every one.
Fascination
Haven’t posted a beagle picture for a while! Here are Cressie (left–note the white crescent on her rear end that gives her her name) and Boudin, intent on some adventure happening in the front yard. We’ve had enormous geckos this year–not sure if it’s the hot dry summer or what, but I’ve seen lizards the size of squirrels running up the trees. (Well, maybe that’s a teensy exaggeration. But really big lizards.) That may have been what fascinated them so.
In other fascinating news–The Second Duchess is in the finals for the 2011 Goodreads Choice Award for historical fiction! I am amazed and excited and thrilled and so happy. If you feel moved to vote, go here.
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Cressie and Boo thank you!
The Dark Enquiry
Well, Boudin does have cherry eye in his right eye, unfortunately–but it’s a mild case and the vet showed me how to massage his eye (through the lids, of course, with the eye closed) to coax the third eyelid back into place. We also have some eyedrops that are supposed to help. As you can see, Boo is not letting a little thing like cherry eye interfere with his reading.
I loved The Dark Enquiry, the fifth adventure of Lady Julia Grey (now Lady Julia Brisbane, of course), by Deanna Raybourn. Not only do we get to spend more time with Lady Julia herself, her deliciously enigmatic husband Nicholas Brisbane, and her eccentric family–we get to delve into the Victorian craze for spiritualism, with side trips to a gypsy camp (and what you will learn there will astound you!) and the intricacies of Her Majesty’s secret intelligence offices. Muchly recommended!
Choosing a Winner
Sadly, Boudin is on injured reserve this morning, with an inflamed nictitating membrane (the third eyelid) in his right eye. He has an appointment with the aptly-named Dr. Clawson at ten, and we’re hoping it’s just a passing thing. Beagles are prone to something called cherry eye, which is more serious. So fingers crossed for our Boo!
Cressie, however, happily took up the slack as a lone honorary wolf. Here’s how it worked: since we had five commenters, I laid out five kibbles in a row.
I then manned (womaned?) the camera as the Broadcasting Legend™ carefully positioned Cressie in the exact center of the row, about five feet away. He then released the wolf beagle and I snapped the picture.
She made a beeline for Kibble Number Two, so Liz Michalski, as the second commenter, you are our winner! You will be hearing from Dee.
Thanks to everyone who visited and commented, and all our best to Dee Garretson and Wolf Storm.
Crossed Beagle Paws
When I want to wish someone particularly good luck, I wish them “crossed beagle paws” (because of course we have copious beagle paws in the Loupas household). The other day I saw Boudin lounging in the dining room with his front paws crossed like a Victorian gentlemen’s (a Victorian gentleman’s limbs, of course, not paws, but the attitude is certainly there), and I managed to grab the camera in time to take one shot before he rolled his eyes at me and moved.
So next time I tell you I have beagle paws crossed for you, you’ll know just what I’m thinking.
The Second Duchess
Read the First Chapter
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