Hurricane Project

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

One of my hurricane preparation projects is to preserve the family photographs. I'm the keeper, but if I ever have to evacuate, it would be hard to transport them. By the time I load the cats, the bird, Maddie, their food and myself, there's not going to be a lot of room in the car. I have been working on consolidating the photos into slender acrylic albums rather than those bulky ones, but there's still a lot. So now I'm in the process of scanning them, which is tedious. I'm scanning a night here and a night there when I'm too exhausted to write. Once I have them all scanned then I'll burn them onto CD's and send a set to my sister for safekeeping. I'll also make a set for myself. As to the albums, I'm going to put them in those gigantic ziplock bags. Here's a shot of my Dad in his WWII uniform. He wrote 'love and kisses' to Mom on the photo. Yes, I need to preserve these photos. :) Carol Stephenson

Maddie's Journal Entry

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

One of Carol's very nice friends got me a sun visor for our anniversary party. Now I personally prefer yummies as gifts. However, Carol is my property and there are times I need to humor her friends. Gotta keep up the ol' dog-human relationship, you know? So I model my new necklaces and other outfits during the party, but Carol's permanently glued to her camera. This weekend she just had to take me outside to model the sun visor while she took a few pictures. I really couldn't make up my mind which profile was the best. Carol's a smart pup, though. She made this collage of several angles. Gotta go roust the girl to take me out. :) Maddie

Hurricane Season countdown

Monday, May 29, 2006

Many of us in Florida have been using the sales tax-free period on hurricane supplies to begin preliminary preparation. On Saturday I uncovered my generator, only to discover it had flat tires. After inflating the tires, I checked the oil and then put the generator through a test run. It ran like a very noisy dream. I've already have my water and batteries and began working on the food supplies. I almost have my cat food tub filled; I work on their supplies first as they won't touch human food like Maddie. However, I also have Maddie's food tub started as well as my own. I bought shelf-stabled milk. For the next few weeks I plan to buy a few hurricane groceries each time I shop. That way should the hurricane cone descend upon my neck of Florida once more, all I'll have to do is to fight the crowds for the perishable items. Hopefully, the Atlantic Ocean will remain as serene and beautiful as this shot I took from my hotel room of the Daytona Beach pier. :) Carol Stephenson

Daytona Beach's Movie Complex

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Next to the Hilton at Daytona Beach is a shopping mall/movie theatre complex. Handy dandy for Starbucks, ice cream, margaritas and of course souvenirs for the tourist. However, it was even more convenient for escaping to a movie. On Friday night at the RT convention my friend Evelyn Vaughn and I skipped the main party and went to see the DaVinci Code. Despite the critics, I enjoyed it. It took me a while to get used to Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon [I still think it was a miscasting of the role], but Paul Bettany rocked in his role. I have never been able to get past the first chapter or so of anything written by Dan Brown; his writing simply doesn't do it for me although his concepts are intriquing. So I finally got to see the 'whole' story. I particularly liked seeing Rosslyn Chapel and the Templar Church. The picture below is the outside of the complex. :) Carol Stephenson

X Men III

Saturday, May 27, 2006

What a perfect way to start off the Memorial Weekend...seeing X Men III. Hunka, hunka Hugh Jackman and the rest of the gang. Kelley Grammer is a kick. There are some surprises, but I suspect that if the box office is good, Last Stand won't be the last X Men. It may be with the crew of actors who have been in the first trilogy; however, there is room for a new set. They'll have to search hard though for someone with Hugh's panache. :) Carol Stephenson

Daytona Beach

In the early 1900's, on the weekends people would drive their cars along the beach in Daytona. Thankfully, the general traffic is no longer allowed. While I was at RT, every morning I would go for a walk along the beach before convention activities began. It was a nice way to fill the artistic well. :) Carol Stephenson

The RT Cover Models

Friday, May 26, 2006

Okay, fair is fair. RT has the cover models attend all the functions plus engage in promo such as play volleyball every morning. Now, it was quite obvious most of the models weren't ace players. Grab a group of guys along any Florida beach and they probably could beat the models. However, they made for good photo ops. :) Carol Stephenson

Forget Those RT Cover Models

Thursday, May 25, 2006

One of the interesting sidelights at RT are the cover models. While there's a lot of hubbub and events featuring these models, I found an even more memorable sight while walking along the beach in Daytona. Early Friday morning I happened to be walking at the same time that the lifeguards did a work-out. :) Carol Stephenson

TAYLOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Woohoo!!!!! Taylor was my pick from his first audition for American Idol. Alabama is celebrating tonight!!!! And...it was wonderful to see Clay Aiken again. :) Carol Stephenson

Madonna Key

Of course at RT one of my biggest thrills was hanging out with my fellow Madonna Key authors, Evelyn Vaughn, Cindy Dees and Lorna Tedder. Cindy's cover is up on Amazon and it's smashing. I can hardly wait to see mine but the earliest will be mid-July. Here's a photo of the Madonna Key gang at RT. :) Carol Stephenson

Taylor, Taylor, Taylor

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Okay, I admit. I'm an American Idol junkie. I got hooked second season during the bad auditions stage and have watched it since then. This year I went for Taylor during auditions and have been his fan throughout the entire season. Taylor rocked tonight and now I'm in redialing mode trying to get through to vote for him. But if nothing else...Taylor, Taylor, Taylor! :) Carol Stephenson

RT: my critique group

I had such a ball at RT because of my critique partners Marcia King-Gamble, Linda Conrad and Sandy Madden. I never cease to learn from them, and they made my birthday so special. I didn't get a shot of all of us together, but here is one of Sandy and Marcia with me in the center. :) Carol Stephenson

RT

Monday, May 22, 2006

I'm still recovering from RT, but I had a blast and got to be with so many great friends. Here's a picture of me with one of the greatest Bombshell fans in the world, Karmela Johnson. :) Carol Stephenson

Maddie's and my Anniversary Party

Sunday, May 7, 2006

I had a hectic week as I was supposed to have a trial on Thursday. Fortunately, it settled but then I rolled straight into a book signing on Saturday. Then today was the anniversay bash I threw for Maddie and me. Maddie got lots of yummy gifts, but she wasn't quite sure about this new 'necklace' collar they're making for dogs. We're both exhausted but had a great time. :) Carol Stephenson