Have you ever stolen a day?

Have you ever given yourself the gift of time?

When I was young I would go to the Botannical Gardens in the city, every now and then,and spend the day wandering around, looking at the clouds or just lying back thinking. Afterwards, I would feel just wonderful, my mind would be clear and anything that had been bothering me was sorted out. I step back into my life the next day carry on as usual.

When I grew a little older and met Mr Astarte we would steal a day together. After a week or so of heavy rains (which did not occur too often), we would drive up to the Southern Tablelands to see the waterfalls, Normally these are not that spectacular but, after the rains, put on a magnificent display.

Well, today I finally sat down and finished Chapter 4 of the Chippetuck Chronicles. Soooo many Chapters to go......

Yesterday, on Sunday, I went to the scifi club's monthly meeting and bought lots of things at the members"Garage Sale" - loads of videos, some books, a couple of scifi type baseball hats, a couple of action figures, a CD, plus 2 lip gloss(!!) - all dead cheap! Actually, a lot of the sellers ended up buying loads as well, so a funny day.

Caught up with various old friends and also met some more of the club's forum members which was fun. They showed the first two episodes of "Surface", which I quite enjoyed plus various other shows. Lunched at "Vincent's Noodle House", next door to the club where they make the most delicious Prawn Laksa...uummm! So, a good day all round!

Note To Self:

William Safire's Rules for Writers:

* Remember to never split an infinitive.

* The passive voice should never be used.

* Do not put statements in the negative form.

* Verbs have to agree with their subjects.

* Proofread carefully to see if you words out.

* If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be by rereading and editing.

* A writer must not shift your point of view.

* And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.)

* Don't overuse exclamation marks!!

Sat up late last night and finished the second chapter of The Chippetuck Chronicles. Now I just need an 8 year-old to give me their opinion. :)

It's raining today. The dams around Sydney are at 39% capacity. The new city water supply system slogan is "Running On Empty". The State Government had committed to desalination units to combat the problem.

At least the drought has broken around the Yass region, about two and a half hours southwest of Sydney, with good rainfalls recorded all winter and spring. There is talk of buying a ride-on mower as we look out at the overwhelming greenery. Next door asked if they could graze a few sheep in there to keep down the grass. Oh yes, we said! So with two acres of lush grass to munch on, they of course, rushed onto the wide verandahs to eat our pot plants!?! Imagine our surprise when we came down the next weekend!

Well, I've completed Chapter one of "The Chippetuck Chronicles" and have started on Chapter two. It's been quite tiring to write this little bit. I don't know how professional writers set themselves a daily page quota and stick to it without being half dead.

Yesterday, we drove down to the coastal town of Berry. They have a Market there every first Sunday of the month. I bought a large crocheted blanket for the house in the country and an unusual metal and leather hair clip, that was studded with turquoise stones. It's only an hour and a half away from Sydney, so is a pleasant drive, without too much energy being exerted.

I am sitting at my desk observing with great interest, the new things that are going up on the abandoned forum.............

nil/zen is as busy as a hamster putting up all sorts of new things for the forum members to play with!

And play I have! Thank you - zen is always looking for ways to make the forum a pleasant place to visit and, in some cases, stay!!!

I really like this new site. I'm planning to post a children's book later down the track, once things are sorted out re options for enabling it to be written without extra pages contributed by other posters.

I think that other people on here would, perhaps, also like that option - with a work being entirely their own. It is difficult enough editing your own work without worrying that someone has popped in a chapter without your noticing it.....