The Week Between Things

Posted on December 28, 2015 by RieSheridanRose

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Jo, Fred, and Alistair decorated for the holidays…

I’ve been most pleased with the nominations for the kittens’ names so far. I’ll be collecting them all on Sunday, and next week, I will figure out how to have a vote. If you submitted a name, and it isn’t in the final five choices, one of the main reasons may be because it post-dates the era of the books. I should have specified that better. Still great names all of them!

Feedback has started coming in on what edits the books need, so that will be under way next month as well.

Jo will be making a guest appearance via the short story “It’s…Complicated” in Wolfsinger Publications’ upcoming Lightships and Sabers.

It’s been fairly quiet this week otherwise. Next week, we’ll have the voting, and after that, we’ll see if we can shake things up a bit somehow. 🙂

 

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Happy Holidays!

Posted on December 25, 2015 by RieSheridanRose

It’s Friday, so I am blogging, but it won’t be anything extensive, or witty today. Just a heart-felt wish that your upcoming year is filled with everything you wish for, and that I learn how to schedule posts next year. 😉

It would be awesome to have it post for me on days when it is hard to get to the keys on the correct day. You ever have that problem?

Still the To-Do list is working. Some days I look at all those check boxes and sigh, but they are all done by the end of the day. And I am NEVER that organized. 🙂

If you have an Android phone (apparently, it isn’t available for Apple) I highly recommend the Splend Apps To-Do List. Not saying it couldn’t be improved, but definitely the best one I’ve tried.

Anyway, that’s enough for me to check this off the list today. I hope you have a great day with your family and friends. I plan to.

 

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Happy Holiday Project

Posted on December 23, 2015 by RieSheridanRose

Before:

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Those of you who have been following my cleaning blog for a while know that I am a HORRIBLE housekeeper. And it drives my sweet husband insane (though somehow, not enough to step in himself…)

He’s going to be off work for the rest of the year, so I thought I would do something special for him and clean up the spot we use most in the house–aside from our gaming computers.

As you can see–there’s a long way to go. 😉

First up, getting my birthday presents put away. (My birthday was in July…)

In Progress:

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Getting better. Still a long way to go. The thing is, Newell likes to sit on the couch and snuggle. Hard to do when there is so much stuff in the way, but I have been using the living room as an office, because the TV is better. I know, I’m a hedonist. Still, now that I have basic cable in the office, I am going to be moving back to the actual office. Making the living room more functional for togetherness. 🙂

After:

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Much more inviting, no? Of course, there are still a lot of bags to go through, and things to file/sort/trash, but at least the couch is clear, the remotes are in reach, and there are trays to eat on. 😉

It’s been a real hard push to make sure it was done by the time he gets home for the year.

 

 

 

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Happy Holidays from the Conn-Mann Crew!

Posted on December 21, 2015 by RieSheridanRose

Can you believe this year is nearly over? What a wild ride it has been. The winds of change have blown over us, and next year will see a new edition of The Marvelous Mechanical Man for sure, new edition of The Nearly Notorious Nun hopefully, and the launch of The Incredibly Irritating Irishman potentially. Without the daily submission requirement hanging over my head, it COULD happen.

Continue sending in Kitten names. I will compile them on the 1st, and we will be voting on them in January.

So many plans teeming in my head. So many deals in the works.

Short and sweet for now. May expand when I am off the tablet and on the REAL computer. This one, I am still learning. 🙂

Fullposter

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I Find This Fascinating…

Posted on December 18, 2015 by RieSheridanRose

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I promised more pictures from Galveston, but this struck me as something I wanted to talk about more. After all, the pictures will still be here next week, or the week after…

So, last Saturday, there was a special showing of Mary Poppins on TV. I recorded it and watched it on Monday.  I was incredibly impressed how well it held up. I sang along with most of the numbers, and rediscovered some that I had totally forgotten about.

It got me thinking about the recent Saving Mr. Banks. I wanted to see the story of the movie getting made. I’d never seen it, and I hadn’t read a lot about P. L. Travers, though I knew a bit about her life. So, I watched this film immediately after Mary Poppins. I was amazed how different the film the fictional version of the author wanted was from the final version.

It made me wonder what the original book was like. I started reading it Monday night. I haven’t gotten terribly far in the novel, but it is substantially different. I also have copies of The Real Life Mary Poppins: The Life and Times of P.L. Travers and Mary Poppins, She Wrote: The Life of P.L. Travers in my queue, because I want to see how accurate the portrayal of Travers was according to her biographers.

Am I obsessing? Is this a trip down the rabbit hole–or maybe up the chimney? 😉

I think it is a good example of how interesting following a research thread can be. 🙂

It’s also an interesting tale of how a writer’s work can wind up totally different than their vision if they are ever lucky enough to get that “Big Hollywood Break.” This is something that every writer needs to be aware of. (Though I’d still love to have to worry about it…)

 

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Here’s the Deal…

Posted on December 16, 2015 by RieSheridanRose

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I’ve decided to keep at it, and I have a plan. Having a set day for each blog is working on the other two, so I have added this one to the rotation. I will be blogging on this site every Wednesday.

Going back to the original purpose of this blog: to chronicle the getting of my house into the shape Newell deserves it to be in.

The Submission-a-Day writing goal has made things even worse, but that is almost done, and cleaning will be added onto the daily goals next year. There’s a garage sale on Saturday, so I hope some of the clutter will be leaving on its own. 🙂

I even bought a new de-cluttering magazine yesterday, which I will be reading as soon as possible.

Hmmm…maybe I should be watching more of the DIY channels. I really enjoy make-overs, so maybe I can get some ideas there too.

Today, I haven’t got anything to say about cleaning, except these bits of brainstorming, but I will be better about that in the New Year. It’s one of my goals, and you know how I feel about goals. 😉

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Name the Kittens Contest!

Posted on December 14, 2015 by RieSheridanRose

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1) Butterscotch for reference. He’s mine, and he’s been named!

 

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[photo credit: Please Miss, am I still pretty? via photopin (license)]

2) Gray and white short hair with pink nose. Isn’t she sweet? So delicate. (And she looks so much like Priss!)

 

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[photo credit: brody3 via photopin (license)]

3) Solid black male. Such a handsome fellow.

 

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[photo credit: Jenny is such a sweet little girl and 1 of 5 kittens we are fostering. via photopin (license)]

4) Tri-color Tabby (or Calico) — and no, Jenny will not be accepted as a suggestion…

To participate in the contest, just leave a comment with your suggestions for names. Number them as above, so I will know which name is meant for which kitten. At the end of the month, I will gather the suggestions into a poll and have a vote on the final names–though I may extend the deadline if there are not enough entries. If your kitten name is chosen, you will win acknowledgment credit in the book, and a surprise fitting for the challenge. 🙂

 

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Promised Pictures from Dickens on the Strand

Posted on December 11, 2015 by RieSheridanRose

I said in last week’s post that I would be posting pictures from last weekend’s trip to Dickens on the Strand. We didn’t stay too long at the event, what with bad boots and tired child…but we had fun, and there were some wonderful sights to see!

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We dressed up Saturday morning and headed for the Strand, but needed to stop for some supplies on the way. Like something to carry my things in. That turned out to be a great little basket.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We split into two different lines to see if it moved any faster. Jamison and Lauren discussing the doll Grace and the parasol…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Nurse waiting in line.

Love the detail.

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Beautiful costumes were everywhere.  🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the street performers

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Suffragette City!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20151205_135012[1] Little Lolita

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Absolutely gorgeous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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My favorite hypnotist!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This skirt is some of the dual color fabric that I just love. I can so see Jo in this material…20151205_130300_001[1]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Bobby and his Sergeant

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A doctor and his nurse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Tired child.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Steampunk beauty.20151205_123347[1]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Truly Dickensian family of Beggars

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Bobby stand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Punch and Judy show. 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20151205_113450[1]My favorite part of the event!

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Loved this girl’s outfit. I can so see Jo wearing this in green. Practical and pretty!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Adorable child. She didn’t like to have her picture taken, but I caught her when she was distracted. 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Chimney sweeps
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He made Sunny’s vest for

Into the Badlands!

One of the talented members of Airship Isabella — I am a major fan girl.

I had to buy one of his handmade journals…

Their official website is here.

 

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One of the many Penny Farthings to be found.

This was the biggest one, for sure!

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Jo definitely needs one of these cycling costumes!

So much more practical than trying to fly in a fancy dress…

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My friends Glenda Jordan and Annie Walton dressed for fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was the Dickens part of the day. 🙂 Next week, I will show you some of the evening’s entertainment at the Pleasure Pier.  😉

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Well…Darn

Posted on December 8, 2015 by RieSheridanRose

Not a good way to start out. Today, I promised the Name the Kitten contest, but I haven’t had a chance to go back and find the descriptions of the kittens to go and find pictures to use so that you can name them. Instead, Jo will tell you about our trip to Corpus Christi for Dickens on the Strand. After she tells you about her kitten…sigh.

The one I am keeping is Butterscotch, of course, and I DO have his picture:

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Isn’t he beautiful? But the others, I still have to pin down…

So, instead, I will show you some of the lovely costumes I saw at Dickens on the Strand last weekend. Some of them were quite inspirational!

This one, for example, I simply MUST have made up for myself in green:

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So charming and practical.

And this bicycling costume would be quite the thing for Fred’s inventions. Much more practical than trying to ride a flying machine in a fancy dress!

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This family reminded me of some of the people I saw in Five Points when I was…um…visiting there recently. You’ll hear more about that later.

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A proper mother and daughter, Lauren and Jamison–in an odd little store on the way to the Strand.

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So many lovely people in lovely clothes. I can’t wait to go back again next year. (Though I might have to leave Rie at home…)

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[I’d like to see you TRY, Miss Mann…]

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Decompression Time Almost Over

Posted on December 4, 2015 by RieSheridanRose

Well, I finished NaNoWriMo despite Jo’s last minute stalling, and I have had a lovely week of doing pretty much the minimum daily list work, which will culminate this weekend in my first visit to Dickens on the Strand, which I have always wanted to go to.  My sister Lauren and I are taking my niece, and dressing up and everything. I am really excited about it.

Have you seen the new Conn-Mann Chronicles website. It will be a one-stop location for all things Conn-Mann. Though it is currently a work-in-progress. Suggestions about what you want to see there are appreciated. 🙂

But I still have my dailies to do first, and blogging here, and Patreon updates, and…isn’t being an adult fun? 😉

Time for the end of the month statistics…through today:

Subs — 375 (after I sub today…and you KNOW I will.)

Rejections — 167

Acceptances — 147

 

Still have some packing to do, so this is short and sweet today. 🙂 Pictures next week.

 

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