I've been on holiday to Scotland lots of times, it's one of my favourite places, especially the Outer Hebrides, a group of islands off the north-west coast of Scotland. I had a book on Skye when I was younger and there was a picture of a house in it that I was determined to buy when I got lots of money. When I went there on holiday I made my Mum drive round the island until we found it!!
We went on a trip to Lewis and saw the Callanish Stones, I love ancient monuments, especially mystical ones.
One of the things I love about the Islands is the beaches. With the white sand and the azure sea it's hard to remember you're actually looking at the Atlantic Ocean!
Now I'm getting all nostalgic for Scotland...I think I need to go there again on holiday.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Very Short Update
I might as well just copy+paste from earlier posts.... I failed my driving test again - for the third time!!!
My manoeuvres went okay this time because I didn't have to parallel park. It was the rest that was rubbish. My gears went to pot, I tried to pull out of a junction in third instead of first, I stalled twice, I was bloody useless!!!
I have put in for it again - March 18th. It's so expensive so I better pass soon. The test is £55 (more expensive on a Saturday) and £38 for a two-hour lesson.
I hate driving.
My manoeuvres went okay this time because I didn't have to parallel park. It was the rest that was rubbish. My gears went to pot, I tried to pull out of a junction in third instead of first, I stalled twice, I was bloody useless!!!
I have put in for it again - March 18th. It's so expensive so I better pass soon. The test is £55 (more expensive on a Saturday) and £38 for a two-hour lesson.
I hate driving.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
pbwiki - still great!!
I've written about pbwiki before, in September when I started this blog. I've found it really useful for my writing, a good back-up along with my hard-drive and my flash-drive. I've been using it for my F2K work as well as my novel.
Mine is a private one as it's got all my work on it, but there are public ones out there too.
Here's a few I found that show how some people use them...
Narnia Confidential
FrauBucher: Books and Book Searches
Spam Legal Action
The Reading Cat
Mine is a private one as it's got all my work on it, but there are public ones out there too.
Here's a few I found that show how some people use them...
Narnia Confidential
FrauBucher: Books and Book Searches
Spam Legal Action
The Reading Cat
Monday, February 13, 2006
F2K : Lesson Three
I found this difficult to write, I cried a lot. It's about Jake.
From your own writings, pick out a paragraph you like; then tell it from a different POV.
The lead slipped from her hand and the dog nimbly dodged underneath the couch, jumping over the metal struts supporting the legs.
"Hey you, come back here!"
Annie chuckled a little as he faced the corner then headed back around the room. However, her laugh was strained, the tears were falling. He walked back towards her, his trailing lead getting tangled round the vet's legs as he tried to move out of the dog's way. She sat down on the floor, leaning back against the wall, "Come here darlin', come and have a cuddle".
He headed straight for her and, turning round, sat down on her outstretched legs. "That's a good boy." She put her arms around him and gave him a hug, breathing in his doggy smell. Normally she hardly noticed it, but now she wanted to remember everything she could. His white fur tickled her nose and she sneezed, surprising them both.
The nurse came into the room carrying a metal dish and she and the vet both looked down to the pair sitting on the floor. Annie nodded slightly and nudged her dog off her lap. She stayed on the floor, kneeling up to hug him again as he stood in front of her, his side pressing against her. She could feel his heart pitter-pattering under her hand as she held him close.
The vet spoke softly, "Hold him tight for me; I just need to shave a little bit of his leg."
He knelt down too. The electric razor whizzed but it was so quick that the dog didn’t seem to notice the noise. The nurse knelt down beside him and passed over a small antiseptic wipe.
"This will be a bit cold for him, hold him and keep talking to him."
Annie hugged him again as he moved his leg away from the coldness. The vet took one of the syringes from the metal dish that the nurse was holding.
"How...how long will it take?" Annie asked, tears running down her face.
He smiled gently, "It's very quick, less than a minute, just keep talking to him all the time". She nodded, and buried her face in fur.
"It's all right my love...it's all right." Hot tears ran down her cheek and spilled onto her dog's back. She deliberately didn't watch what the vet was doing but heard the clink of the syringe in the dish and tried not to think about the liquid death that was pumping round his body. She knew that it was nearly time.
"I love you darling, you know I love you, I always will." She repeated the same words over and over, kissing the top of his head. She wanted the last thing he heard to be her voice, the last thing he felt to be her arms around him and her kisses. She wanted him to know that he was loved. Her voice turned thick and croaky as she cried.
She felt him sag against her, and gently supported him as she let him slide to the floor. She started to sob even more. It was over.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jake could smell the scents of strange creatures. He recognised his own kind, and those pesky cats, but there were others in the air... He skipped across the room under the bed, there was one wafting on the air over in the corner and he wanted to have a closer sniff.
He heard her voice calling from behind so turned back and, pushing past a stranger, trotted up to her and sat down heavily on her lap.
This is much nicer than sitting on the cold floor, he thought. He felt her arms around his tummy and smiled happily to himself as she scratched one of his ears.
He stood up again as she nudged him and then pressed himself against her as she hugged him. Hug me again, he thought, I love it when you tickle my tummy and scratch behind my ears. Scratch my back too, in that place I can’t reach however hard I try.
He felt someone else kneel down beside him and looked round, confused at the new people who were here with him. The whirr of something strange distracted him a little but he snuggled back against her and closed his eyes in pleasure.
What’s that, it’s cold...ouch...and it’s sharp...
He could feel water splashing on his coat and looked up, worried for a moment when he saw she was crying. She smiled at him again and he felt reassured, everything’s fine.
He could hear her voice telling him she loved him and he wished he could tell her that he knew, and he loved her too. But these humans, he thought, they just never seem to understand what we say.
Her voice seemed to be getting further way, and he felt a sudden wave of tiredness sweep through his body. His eyelids felt heavier...he leant against her.
So tired, just need to sleep for a little while.....
From your own writings, pick out a paragraph you like; then tell it from a different POV.
The lead slipped from her hand and the dog nimbly dodged underneath the couch, jumping over the metal struts supporting the legs.
"Hey you, come back here!"
Annie chuckled a little as he faced the corner then headed back around the room. However, her laugh was strained, the tears were falling. He walked back towards her, his trailing lead getting tangled round the vet's legs as he tried to move out of the dog's way. She sat down on the floor, leaning back against the wall, "Come here darlin', come and have a cuddle".
He headed straight for her and, turning round, sat down on her outstretched legs. "That's a good boy." She put her arms around him and gave him a hug, breathing in his doggy smell. Normally she hardly noticed it, but now she wanted to remember everything she could. His white fur tickled her nose and she sneezed, surprising them both.
The nurse came into the room carrying a metal dish and she and the vet both looked down to the pair sitting on the floor. Annie nodded slightly and nudged her dog off her lap. She stayed on the floor, kneeling up to hug him again as he stood in front of her, his side pressing against her. She could feel his heart pitter-pattering under her hand as she held him close.
The vet spoke softly, "Hold him tight for me; I just need to shave a little bit of his leg."
He knelt down too. The electric razor whizzed but it was so quick that the dog didn’t seem to notice the noise. The nurse knelt down beside him and passed over a small antiseptic wipe.
"This will be a bit cold for him, hold him and keep talking to him."
Annie hugged him again as he moved his leg away from the coldness. The vet took one of the syringes from the metal dish that the nurse was holding.
"How...how long will it take?" Annie asked, tears running down her face.
He smiled gently, "It's very quick, less than a minute, just keep talking to him all the time". She nodded, and buried her face in fur.
"It's all right my love...it's all right." Hot tears ran down her cheek and spilled onto her dog's back. She deliberately didn't watch what the vet was doing but heard the clink of the syringe in the dish and tried not to think about the liquid death that was pumping round his body. She knew that it was nearly time.
"I love you darling, you know I love you, I always will." She repeated the same words over and over, kissing the top of his head. She wanted the last thing he heard to be her voice, the last thing he felt to be her arms around him and her kisses. She wanted him to know that he was loved. Her voice turned thick and croaky as she cried.
She felt him sag against her, and gently supported him as she let him slide to the floor. She started to sob even more. It was over.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jake could smell the scents of strange creatures. He recognised his own kind, and those pesky cats, but there were others in the air... He skipped across the room under the bed, there was one wafting on the air over in the corner and he wanted to have a closer sniff.
He heard her voice calling from behind so turned back and, pushing past a stranger, trotted up to her and sat down heavily on her lap.
This is much nicer than sitting on the cold floor, he thought. He felt her arms around his tummy and smiled happily to himself as she scratched one of his ears.
He stood up again as she nudged him and then pressed himself against her as she hugged him. Hug me again, he thought, I love it when you tickle my tummy and scratch behind my ears. Scratch my back too, in that place I can’t reach however hard I try.
He felt someone else kneel down beside him and looked round, confused at the new people who were here with him. The whirr of something strange distracted him a little but he snuggled back against her and closed his eyes in pleasure.
What’s that, it’s cold...ouch...and it’s sharp...
He could feel water splashing on his coat and looked up, worried for a moment when he saw she was crying. She smiled at him again and he felt reassured, everything’s fine.
He could hear her voice telling him she loved him and he wished he could tell her that he knew, and he loved her too. But these humans, he thought, they just never seem to understand what we say.
Her voice seemed to be getting further way, and he felt a sudden wave of tiredness sweep through his body. His eyelids felt heavier...he leant against her.
So tired, just need to sleep for a little while.....
Friday, February 10, 2006
Word Cloud
I found this on mentalexcrements' site.
My Blog summed up in 100 words.
You can buy T-shirts with your very own Blog Cloud on.
My Blog summed up in 100 words.
You can buy T-shirts with your very own Blog Cloud on.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
F2K : Lesson Two - Writing Exercise 2
Write one (1) paragraph using all the senses. Include at least three (3) words or phrases that suggest something without saying what the sense is.
She walked, trying to move silently through the trees. Dried brown pine needles crackled under her boots and she winced in dismay. Quickly she turned to see if there was any sign of someone following her but there was no one there. Her chest hurt as she breathed in the Christmas-scented air quickly and deeply, her heart still pounding from running into the forest. Her misty breath clouded her vision as she peered into the blackness behind her. As she reached the bottom of the slope the ground became very soggy. Mud squelched under her pink wellingtons, dirtying the bright white daisy pattern. She skidded a little in her hurry, trying to keep her balance on the sloping ground. Suddenly a crow cawed loudly as it flew up from a nearby tree, breaking the heavy silence. Turning again to look behind, her foot slipped in the mud and she fell heavily. The mud was thick and viscous under her hand. She tried get up but her hand kept sliding away so she turned herself over to push herself up from her knees. She tried to stifle a sob as pain shot through her ankle where she'd twisted it as she fell. She could feel the sweat running down her face but when she wiped it she was shocked to see streaks of red amongst the dark brown mud on her hand. She felt around her mouth gingerly with her tongue, and tasted the coppery tang of blood seeping from the inside of her cheek. She must have bitten it as she fell but hadn't even realised until she saw the blood on her hand. Daylight was starting to fade and the forest was becoming gloomier all the time.
She walked, trying to move silently through the trees. Dried brown pine needles crackled under her boots and she winced in dismay. Quickly she turned to see if there was any sign of someone following her but there was no one there. Her chest hurt as she breathed in the Christmas-scented air quickly and deeply, her heart still pounding from running into the forest. Her misty breath clouded her vision as she peered into the blackness behind her. As she reached the bottom of the slope the ground became very soggy. Mud squelched under her pink wellingtons, dirtying the bright white daisy pattern. She skidded a little in her hurry, trying to keep her balance on the sloping ground. Suddenly a crow cawed loudly as it flew up from a nearby tree, breaking the heavy silence. Turning again to look behind, her foot slipped in the mud and she fell heavily. The mud was thick and viscous under her hand. She tried get up but her hand kept sliding away so she turned herself over to push herself up from her knees. She tried to stifle a sob as pain shot through her ankle where she'd twisted it as she fell. She could feel the sweat running down her face but when she wiped it she was shocked to see streaks of red amongst the dark brown mud on her hand. She felt around her mouth gingerly with her tongue, and tasted the coppery tang of blood seeping from the inside of her cheek. She must have bitten it as she fell but hadn't even realised until she saw the blood on her hand. Daylight was starting to fade and the forest was becoming gloomier all the time.
Monday, February 06, 2006
F2K : Lesson Two - Writing Exercise 1
Write one sentence for each sense (all 8 of them).
Sight
As the flames reached ever higher, sparks and flaming flakes of ash rode the wind upwards and disappeared into the smoke.
Hearing
The child covered his ears with his hands and shut his eyes tightly, but the screams of the women still echoed in his mind.
Touch
She tried to free her wrists tightly bound behind her, the coarse rope rubbing her raw flesh.
Smell
There was a rancid stench from the thick smoke billowing from the pyre.
Taste
The taste of death was in the air.
Time
The silver moon hung low in the sky, its reflection fractured in the frozen surface of the lake.
Space
As she sank to the bottom of the lake the trailing weeds entangled themselves around her, getting tighter as she struggled.
Unknown
His breath was hot against her cheek...she gasped slightly as his hand tightened around her throat, she could feel herself slipping into darkness.
Sight
As the flames reached ever higher, sparks and flaming flakes of ash rode the wind upwards and disappeared into the smoke.
Hearing
The child covered his ears with his hands and shut his eyes tightly, but the screams of the women still echoed in his mind.
Touch
She tried to free her wrists tightly bound behind her, the coarse rope rubbing her raw flesh.
Smell
There was a rancid stench from the thick smoke billowing from the pyre.
Taste
The taste of death was in the air.
Time
The silver moon hung low in the sky, its reflection fractured in the frozen surface of the lake.
Space
As she sank to the bottom of the lake the trailing weeds entangled themselves around her, getting tighter as she struggled.
Unknown
His breath was hot against her cheek...she gasped slightly as his hand tightened around her throat, she could feel herself slipping into darkness.
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