THE FALLS ...

Hi, everyone.

Before I begin with the main post, I'd like to welcome my new friends from the Rach's Campaign. I do apologize for not stopping by your blogs. As most of you know I am on vacation in Canada. Not much time to hop around, so I hope you can forgive me. I will be visiting soon. You can count on it.

As I promised, you will be experiencing Niagara Falls in this post. After a very long day of driving and partying with the TART, I finally arrived at the Falls around nine o'clock. Talk about bedlam. It seemed like a Saturday night in Las Vegas. A huge Casino dominated the strip as people everywhere filled the streets and sidewalks while cars honked. I pulled into my hotel and checked in.

Excited about the fact my room had a coveted Falls view, I took the elevator to the fourteenth floor, exited, and rolled endless luggage and computer crap down the long corridor. Entering, I ran to the wall to wall windows and looked for the falls. Within the darkness I could only see what looked like a trickle. Disappointed, I changed and ran to the casino next door and walked out to view the falls from the smoker's deck off the deli... My jaw dropped.

Before retiring, I left all the drapes open and crashed.

Filtered light woke me up the following morning. My eyes opened to a stunning view of Niagara lake and the side corner of the Falls.

But let me tell you friends, there is NOTHING more thrilling to be right in front of them as you will see from the pics.

Although a cloudy, overcast day, thanks to hurricane Irene, the Falls still stopped all its viewers in their tracks. By late afternoon the sun came out and I managed to capture a rainbow inside the FALLS. YAY! (Please remember friends to enjoy my pics, but please don't repost or use them without my permission. They are all originals.)

Are you now wanting me to clam up and show the pics? Okay.... HERE THEY ARE!

As if the Falls isn't awesome enough, lets add a bird in flight....  (No, there is nothing wrong with my camera... this was a very gray morning)

Can't you just fell the rage and the spray?

A little color on this gray morning.... These lovely gardens are adjacent to the Falls.

 A hint of green as the water thunders down the rocks.

A truly magnificent view...

You just can't take a bad picture....

MOI ...   This proves I was there.

STOP!

A bit of light really brings the Falls to life.

And now...  RAINBOW FALLS....

Well, I hope you all enjoyed the tour... Stay tuned for more pics... Next stop Montreal.

FROM A WATERY TART TO A WATERY FALLS ...

Greeting everyone from Ann Arbor, MI. I hope you all had a fantabulous weekend; I know I did. As you all know on Saturday I left for my Canadian adventure, but first stopping off in Ann Arbor to meet the one and only Hart "The Watery Tart" Johnson.

For all of you who know our Royal Tartness, it was such a thrill to meet her in person. Not only is she witty, charming, and outrageously sweet, Hart lights up a room. After lunch an a two hour tour of Ann Arbor, I am even more of a fan of this fantastic woman. It is definitely worth a trip to visit her in person. We had the most amazing day and Ann Arbor is a gorgeous college town with classic architecture, ivy walls, art galleries, cafes, and even fairy doors.

Today's post is a quick one. I am leaving Niagara Falls today for Montreal.... an eight hour drive... Phew! So I leave you with highlights of Ann Arbor. In tomorrow's post, you MUST drop by for some of THE most amazing pics of Niagara Falls. 

Have a great day everyone!

THE WATERY TART AWAITS ...

Happy Friday everyone.


Well as our summer is almost gone, we still have two more weekends before it officially ends. Remember to pack up all your whites ... no white after Labor Day... LOL.


I hope you all plan a bang-up weekend. As many of you know I leave for my vacation to Canada tomorrow. If any of my new friends live either in Montreal, Quebec City, or Toronto, I would love to meet you! 


To start it off my day I will be meeting up with none other than Hart Johnson, EVERYONES favorite naked TART....  


Yes, Hart, I am still working on that design for the NAKED TOP: a patent pending waterproof laptop. Everyone of you naked followers wants one including me!


I was looking back over my archive posts and since many of you have become my friends after Hart's Ides of March Blogfest, I decided to repost my entry in honor of our first meeting. It is sure to give you all a good laugh and a great start to this weekend.


If you've new to the blogosphere and haven't heard of this incredibly wonderful lady, make sure to drop by her blog and say hi.

Without further ado ...

In the channel ten newsroom, a tousle-haired young woman meanders through an assembly line of cameramen and their equipment to reach a dark-haired man in the corner, sipping on a cup of coffee.

“Excuse me, Mr. Coletti. I was asked to give you this, sir.”

“Thank you, Miss—”

“Reynolds.”

The assistant’s pale face looses her remaining color. With trembling fingers, she places the message in the palm of his mitt-like hand.

He smiles, then stares down at the slip of paper as his square jaw drops. He raises his thick-browed eyes.

“I-Is this true?

The assistant nodded. A single tear splashed onto the floor.

Thank you, Ms. Reynolds. I’ll get right on it.

Mike Coletti rushes through the studio headed for the elevators. He presses the top button and is catapulted to the roof. A chopper is waiting at the top of the Chicago Times building. His perfect black hair is blown in all directions as he races to the chopper and hops inside. Seatbelt fastened they take off. 

An hour later, Mike stands in front of a modest home. His brows raise into his hairline and he shakes his head in disbelief.

“You’re on in five, four, three, two, one.”

“LIVE in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This is Mike Coletti at the home of Hart Johnson. Hundreds of Naked mourners are frozen, waiting for a glimpse of their mentor.

“Today across America, the UK, and Australia people are ripping off their cloths in honor of our dearly departed Hart Johnson, aka, the Watery Tart. 

“Hart Johnson single handedly brought nudity to a whole new art form. Writing her critically acclaimed novels in the bathtub, she started a world-wide sale on waterproof laptops. Thousands of authors are now writing in the nude, hoping for our sweet Hart’s success. 

“But right now on the lips of every NWDT minion including myself is ... Why didn’t she have one?! This NEVER should have happened!

“What was she thinking bringing her PC laptop in the tub? Did she believe she had a Naked-top? Was she loosing her mind? 

“We will never know. I still don’t understand why with the billions of dollars Naked-top computers made on Hart’s genius, they never sent her one of their waterproof creations.

“I, as well as, millions of people will hold Naked-top responsible! No longer will we enjoy the immortal words coming from The WATERY TART, naked from her bathtub.

JOIN me and thousands of others in the boycott of this product. RUSH NAKED to your local franchise and chant “Murderer! Murderer! Murderer!

FOR OUR TART ... RIP OFF YOU CLOTHES NOW!  Mike flings his jacket, loosens his tie, and  tears of his shirt, revealing a muscular goose-bumped torso. He reaches for his belt ...

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE .... I will be posting pics of my vacation, so do drop by!

WELCOME CAMPAIGNERS AND NEW FRIENDS

Hello everyone. As I am all sure by now most of you have heard about Rach Harrie's new platform building Campaign. For all the detail about joining click onto the badge to the left. 

Already I have had new campaigners dropping by to introduce themselves to me. What a great group! WELCOME! I will be by your blogs the first chance I get.

Since it is a custom at my blog to officially welcome my new friends to my blogging family, today I would like to give a virtual hug to Sarah, Mary, Brittany, Kathleen, Angelina, and Ladygwen. It will certainly be an exciting campaign reading about you and discovering you writing talent.

What I love mostly about all of this, is writers come from so many different places. All over the world we are meeting new friends and learning about their writing and cultures. It's amazing how writing styles and prose changes from country to country and even in the United States, depending on where you, our speech represented in our prose and dialogue is regional. How cool is that!

So for today, I would like to tell you a bit about my background. I was born in New York City and raised in the neighboring suburb of Pelham Manor. My parents were from a working class background and managed to purchase a small house in a very affluent neighborhood. 

It was tough being the poor kid amongst the rich. But it did open my eyes to a world of beauty and opulence. My artistic talent flourished by this influence and I quickly learned how to create stunning apartments on a budget. It's amazing what you can find in thrift stores these days if you have a good eye.

At sixteen, I was discovered by a catalog photographer and this began my modeling career. For over a decade I traveled the world and lived in many cities throughout the United states. Every place, person, and creature I met along the way influenced me. From this I have an amazing basis for my writing. Life experience is our best teacher.

How about you? What region or country are you from? How has your life experience influenced your writing? I would love to know.

Have a great day everyone!

THE OFFICIAL NOTICE IS OUT...

Hi everyone,

Today I had to feature Rachel Harrie and the Third Writer's Platform-Building Campaign. I'm sure most of you know Rach, but for those who don't, Rach has been hosting this event know for the third time. I missed the first, but I was very lucky to be part of the second.

This event gives ALL writer's an opportunity to meet writers in their genres as well as meeting other writers from similar or totally different genres. This year Rach gives you the choice to what groups you'd like to be placed into. It is a great way to make lasting friendships and having fun through Rach's writing challenges.

So please drop by Rach's blog here. Fill in the form and get to work spreading the word. You have only until August 31st to sign up. Rach has gone to great efforts to organize this with clear cut precision, but she can use some help. If you have some spare time let Rach know at her blog.

We all know that part of being a successful writer is building your platform and making connections. This event is a fun way to do both. I so enjoyed the last event and can't wait until this Friday for it to officially launch.

Next week I will have tips on staying fit while on vacation. Yes, I will be in Canada in cities that boast some of the world's greatest cuisine. How will I do? Stay tuned to find out. Lovely French cuisine. Oh, how tempting ...

Have a great Tuesday everyone.

THE SOLUTION ...

Happy Friday everyone.

Thank you for all your comments yesterday... What a dilemma. Well after searching online, and in almost every store in downtown Chicago, I did find two new sofas... YAY! The only thing is I have tot wait ten to twelve weeks for them to be made.

I made sure the framing and support systems were solid and that the pieces are made in North Carolina. The only drawback is that they are NOT leather, but I couldn't afford to do two leather sofas in the quality I demand.

It's fine though. I am hoping I can have them made in a fabric that may not be offered. Of course, the fabric I choose in their fabric book is the one that may only be available in a different sofa. So I am thinking positive.

In the meantime, I will be sofaless for three months. I am not happy. But I do have a daybed in storage that I can use for now. What can you do, right? Life always plays tricks on us when we either don't have the time for it or the patience. At least I will have them by the holidays.

I am posting a pic to show you the place before the whisk my sagging sofa's away... LOL. These pics don't have the cool sofa table I had created but I will post new pics when the new sofas come in. BTW this is my work/living space. I do my illustration and design on the drawing table and write on the sofa.


One good thing did happen this week, I won Alex J. Cavanaugh's CASSASTAR in the Tessa Conte's HATEFEST. This will be a great escape from reality.

 

Any fun plans for the weekend? I'd love to hear about it.

BUYER BEWARE ... HAS THIS HAPPENED TO YOU?

Good morning, everyone.

In today's post I'd like to share with you something that has happened to me recently. As many of you know I am an interior designer by trade and am a very savvy shopper.

About three months ago I had decided to redesign my living space to make it more suitable for my design/writing work.

I had always favored traditional decor mixed with a bit of eclectic. Since I live in a hundred-year-old building, this look was most suitable. Actually after I had bought my condo, I designed the space after 1920's parlor style. Think Great Gatsby. Overstuffed acanthus leafed damask down sofa's and chairs accompanied by antique mahogany tables. The only modern piece, the coffee table, a hand wrought iron French knotted creation curved into a magnificent swan's neck on each corner, and topped with a simple round beveled glass. Definitely and eye-catching room.

After seven years of this formality, I decided it was time to enter into the twenty-first century. After all we are in the age of high tech toys and simple, easy living. I decided to go sleek and modern. Two low-profile leather sofas in a pearlized creme. For a splash of color a pumpkin, burnt orange leather studded accent chair. Mixed with the same antique mahogany tables.

The flat screen proudly placed on top of the fireplace. Something I swore I would NEVER do. But this is no longer my formal showcase. I wanted a functional and modern space and I had achieved my goal.

For the final touch, I added a cool sofa table of my own design, topped with a stunning hand blow frosted bowl, an hour glass, and hand blown glass tropical fish. The stage was set.

Enjoying my new space for the past month or so, something odd happened. Both leather sofas started to show signs of wear. After four weeks? Was it my imagination? NO. The seats sagged, the leather wrinkled, and the overall appearance of sleek sophistication, now looked aged and worn.

Needless to say I contacted the store. Immediately they sent out their repair person. He analyzed the situation and set up an appointment for the following week to repair the sagging seats.

A week later, he returned with an assistant and flipped the sofas and pulled the backing off. To my horror, the whole frame was made of particle board. Stunned, I watched the technician re-support the ELASTIC webbing with the proper industrial strength kind. We discussed the workmanship and he rattled on about how all the new furniture manufacturers today are cutting corners and using inferior products.

For the record all... these were NOT cheap sofas. I bought them from a very reputable department store. I have shopped there for years and had always been happy with their products.

After he re-stapled the backing, we tested them out. One sofa was fine but the other still sagged. He called the company and they set up an appointment to replace both sofas for this week.

Well, last night I got to thinking. Do I really want such inferior furniture in my home. I would never allow one of my clients to house such garbage, so why was I? Yes, it looked gorgeous, but the new sofas could sag exactly the same way in another month. Do I really want to have to go through this again? We know the answer to that question. NO WAY. So I called customer service.

Thankfully they will be picking up these sofas and I will get a full refund. Even the rep agreed with me a hundred percent. She was shocked that no hardwood was used in the framing of these beautifully designed pieces.

So a lesson learned my friends. Remember just because it looks beautiful and might be expensive, make sure the structure is strong and durable.

Not unlike good writing, all fluff and no substance makes for a sagging piece of prose.

Have a great day everyone.