Bits and pieces... pieces and bits

Yup, I'm just like the cat that got the cream. I want to say thanks for everyone who passed birthday wishes along. I scored in a big way for my day: clothes (didn't go TOO stupid - still have a fair bit of weight to lose.. so chose from shops that are mid-priced.. not K-mart but not the upscale boutiques either - which by the way give me a mini heart attack when I look at their prices!!) I got a beautiful pair of gold hooped earrings, and some other stuff. Lucky girl I am!

Yesterday I also had some news which made me rant some. I don't know if you remember but I did a post about my last fill some weeks back about how Dr Couch had let this new Doc do the fill as he was learning all about it - including subjecting us poor guinea pigs to his administrations. Well, it seemed Doc Couch had an evil plan in mind. I rang yesterday in response to a voicemail message from his office.. they need to change my Nov 11 appointment (which was rather weird actually as I was going to ring and change my appt. too as I don't want another fill yet lol) Anyway, I ring and I'm told...... get this........Dr Couch is no longer doing the fills. Full stop!! In fact, he's no longer travelling to his offices any more and it's all being taken over by this new Doc. WHAT THE HECK!!! I was like........nooooooooooo.. oh yes, said the not too happy secretary herself (she's as annoyed but for reasons unknown). I went into shocked silence when she told me. What? So like never? Not at all? ........ No, she says. He's just not doing fills at ALL now.. not in Perth, not here, not anywhere.

Maybe he's had enough, maybe he wants to focus on something else, but wouldn't you think it would be at least common courtesy to give your patients a heads-up? I was like.. but Dr Couch is my doctor.. I neeeeeed him! I chose him when it came time for this band to go in.. and here I was thinking we had the start of a beautiful relationship. Well, pfft to that. NOT HAPPY JAN!! I will be sending him a letter and letting him know he's a bit of a shit lol

I went out walking with Riley this morning. And boy, it was the last thing I felt like doing. I tried everything to get out of it.. there's a storm brewing outside and it's going to rain (true story!!) It's like 30 degrees out and humid and hot and I am too tired (also true.. sigh.. I don't sleep well when it's too muggy) but this kid was NOT giving in. He rightly pointed out that I skipped yesterdays walk due to going out early to hit the shops, so hands tied I made the effort.

But blahhh, it was a long drawn out walk and it seemed I was never going to get home. Along one particular stretch of road I felt like I was in one of those drug induced hazes the central character in a movie is going through. He's looking down a long road but it seems to go on forever and you never reach the end.. well the that was me. But I do enjoy the time together as Riley can be so random in his observations. This morning we were walking and chatting.. then we went through a silent patch. Then suddenly he says, "Mum. It's a true story that all cars must have a spare wheel." lol That was it. He looks at me earnestly and nodded as if daring me to disagree. I left that one for later. A few minutes later I get,

"Mum, I really feel sorry for magpies."

"Do you? Why?"

"Well, it's like they don't have much purpose in life."

"Sure they do," I said. "They are raising their babies just like we are so they can send them off eventually into the big wide world, and then they will have their own babies and so on."

"Yeah, but they're not .. well, like bees, are they? Bees are useful. They make honey and help the pollen travel from flower to flower so you can get more flowers. Magpies are just annoying.. they swoop you and you have to make sure they don't peck out your eyes. Even dung beetles are more useful than magpies."

EEK! lol I always knew I had raised a thinker but even this one had me laughing.

Brookey, this part is for you because you asked about my writing. The long and short of it is, is that I've had heaps of stuff published. I'm a fiction writer who deals mostly in short stories. I mostly get published in the national womens magazines here in Australia. But even that is getting harder as they have been taking excerpts from other well known international writers novels and had stopped taking outside manuscripts. That seems to turning around again so hopefully things should pick up.

I finished a kids book about 6 months ago and was a little bummed as I got so close to getting it picked up. Penguin (who I went though) had JUST signed a writer who had written something similar so they declined on mine (two books of the same nature and all that) but they had passed my manuscript to the other four editors and sub-editors and everyone agreed it was a great book and if I wrote another would I think of them first. Done deal.. if I can actually get this 2nd one written. Time is a big factor right now and I'm lagging a bit. I've also had a piece of poetry published in an anthology. It was a set of four books, hard bound and printed on the most beautiful paper. I received runner up in a competition and they picked it up. That was nifty. I've also written three adult novels but again time has stopped me from finishing the final editing. Maybe one day I will get back into it fully and slam those suckers home!!

I hope all you girls and guys have a lovely weekend. I have a few plans.. tentative dinner tonight, and a bbq tomorrow night.

Be good, stay safe

till next time

Cara xx