Sunday, September 28, 2008

English Riders !

Dear Readers,
Whenever you all remind me half my readers ride English, not Western like most of my characters, I tell you I have HUGE admiration for those who do it! When I was in college, I spent about half of the "food money" my parents sent me on English lessons.
I loved riding English, however, I did not sparkle with natural skill.
Just thought of this because, if you visit my PHANTOMSTALLION.COM photo album you'll see some of your sister reader/riders "tacked up" in English gear!
Don't forget you only have a couple days left to enter my lazy contest (described in my last blog) !
Keep on reading & riding!!!
Terri

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Sunday, September 21, 2008

Heroic Wild Horse

Dear Readers,
This is a touching story. http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=847544 It tells how heroic a wild horse can be and makes me which all those who want to catch and kill them could have this experience, too.
Best,
Terri

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Wednesday, September 17, 2008

SEVEN TEARS

Dear Readers,
We haven't talked in a while about my shapeshifter fantasy SEVEN TEARS INTO THE SEA, but I just heard from another reader about something that might interest those of you who loved the book!
PEOPLE ARE TALKING about SEVEN TEARS at the Flashlight Readers club, but not all of them know the book very well yet, so you might help out. Here's a link to the conversation: http://community.scholastic.com/scholastic/board/message?board.id=flashlightreaders_nextbook&message.id=8481

have fun,
Terri

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Monday, September 15, 2008

You're Invited to a Wild Horse Circle

Dear Readers,
I know you'll enjoy reading this online newsletter. You've been invited by the publisher and editor:

"ANYONE that loves horses, and especially Mustangs is welcome to join the Mustang/Burro Family ...They can view the newsletter at our web site - www.wildhorseandburroexpo.com, then click on weekly newsletter.
There are several months up on the site. As time permits, I'm trying to list the questions in each newsletter so folks can easily look up subjects they are interested in.
"The more folks that have access to it, the more Mustangs and their families we can help! And, yes, kids are welcome to join. Most of the time, the content is acceptable to any age. Only once did I warn people that the content was tough; It was pictures of horses that had been abandoned, and they looked pretty awful. "

This month, you can window shop for prison-trained horses which will be for sale in October. Enjoy.
Best,
Terri

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Sunday, September 14, 2008

Corruption & wild horses

Dear Readers,
The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has rounded up thousands of wild horses, most recently last week.
Now that they've robbed the animals of their freedom, the Interior Department may kill them to balance their budget.
The agency 's annual budget will drop by about $2 million. In a June 2008 press conference, BLM Deputy Director Henri Bisson said the agency knew just how to fix things. He said killing captive horses may be a “magic bullet for budget problems."
This is no rumor. BLM staffers, including Susie Stokke, Nevada’s Wild Horse and Burro Program Manager and Sally Spencer, Marketing Director for the same program, have repeated the same phrase to the media.
I'd like to suggest a different "magic bullet." Last week (Sept.10, 2008), the Interior Department revealed a $5.3 million investigation discovered that Interior Department officials who handle billions of tax-payer dollars were involved in illegal sex, drugs and bribery.
If the Department of the Interior cleaned house instead of clearing the range, they'd actually save money!

NOTE: Tomorrow, Monday Sept. 15 is National Call-In day for horses. Simply call your Congressman (you can go to http://www.house.gov to find the number) and ask him or her to co-sponsor H.R. 6598 . This is the
Equine Cruelty Act of 2008. which will prohibit the sale and transport of horses to be slaughtered for human consumption, including horses being shipped to Mexico and Canada.

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Sunday, September 07, 2008

Omnivore's One Hundred

Dear Readers,
Just for fun, I thought I'd pass this on a list by Andrew Wheeler, the UK co-author of a blog called VERY GOOD TASTE. Here he lists 100 things that he thinks every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their lives.

I no longer eat mammals, but you can tell from my boldings that I did.

Andrew Wheeler says the list includes "fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food." The items you don't recognize are defined on Wikipedia.
If you want to get interactive, here’s what you do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
*Note from Terri, since I can't do this, I've written NO.

4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.
The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile NO
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp

9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese NO
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar NO
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs NO
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill NO
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse NO WAY EVER
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

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Bernice the Pigeon & Mother Teresa

Dear Readers,
Two weeks ago, Bernice showed up in the dark at the top of the stairs.
Climbing up to the tiny apartment which is my in-town office, I saw movement, then made out a pigeon. Dragging one gray wing, she backed into a corner of the landing.
Was she just too injured and exhausted to put up a fuss at my approach, or were her red-orange eyes full of trust?
I edged past,opened my door with the stealth of a cat burglar -- sorry Bernice, I won't even think cat -- and eased inside.
All morning, I peered out to check on her. Still there.
At lunchtime, I put out little dishes of water and bird seed.
At dusk, she was still there, food and water apparently untouched.
The landing is shared by two apartments, and though I've never met whoever lives three feet away, I knocked on the door to let them know we had company. No one answered, but I figured they'd discover Bernice just as I had.
The next morning, I hurried to work, hoping Bernice hadn't been cornered by a you-know-what, or died of her injuries.
I stopped in the sunshine at the foot of the stairs, and peered up. Once my eyes grew accustomed to the dark, I tiptoed up. Without a flutter, Bernice backed away from her empty dishes.
Happy beyond all proportion because she'd survived the night, I refilled her dishes, then called my husband and children to let them know.
She made it through the next night, too, and her wing tip no longer dragged on the landing's old indoor-outdoor carpet.
On the third morning, she made a little cooing sound when I left her out there alone and headed for the computer.
The next morning, she was gone. I surveyed the landing like a crime scene, but there were no fluids and no explosion of feathers which would have indicated attack.
Yes! I was elated, practically dancing, until I saw the note on my door.
YOU FED THE BIRD. CLEAN UP THE MESS. #7
A guilty glance showed me what my CSI investigation had missed: one bit of gray fluff, 3 white splats smaller than my thumbnail, a scattering of bird food. About fourteen seeds.
Suddenly furious with the strangers in apartment seven, I thought, Mess? Yeah, you bet I'll clean up the mess. Tomorrow morning at 5 a.m., I'll come armed with a broom which might bump #7's door. No, a vacuum cleaner. Hear the whine going after that mess? Or I could rent an industrial rug shampooer. Wake to its roar, oh ye of cruel, uncaring hearts!
I missed most of a writing day, imagining the villains in #7 had kicked Bernice down the stairs, or called Pest Control to have her taken away and gassed.
The only thing I wrote -- and it required 3 drafts -- was a note which began Dear Neighbor. It promised I'd bring cleaning supplies to work with me the next day.
The surroundings of a writer on deadline are usually chaotic, and I was surrounded by stacks and piles and windrows of books, printouts and notes, even on this unproductive day. I was stepping over them, headed for the door, when a line of text caught my eye. Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.
No author. I stopped and reread. Probably words of wisdom from Mother Teresa, something to build into one of my characters.
Yeah, I thought, and it's not only kind words which echo. Words posted by someone who doesn't GET saving a soft-bodied, flightless bird...
And that's when I got it. Those thoughtless words had turned me toward vengeance. A stranger's unthinking insistence on hygiene had become a declaration of war.
I told myself I wasn't like that, like them, and forced myself to buy sweet smelling cleaning supplies, and a scrub brush. After doing research on bird borne diseases, I decided some rubber gloves were in order, too. Then, I set to work, silently, and I thought about echoes and ripples.
My emotional flash point for kids and animals will always be low, but I'm trying to build a dam against ugly words. It'll have plenty of cracks and be low in places,but I AM in control of my own splash in the river.
And my fingers are crossed that at least a few of its echoes are sweet.

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