Summertime Guest Bloggin'

Giles Hash of High Aspirations is out of town this month, and he asked me to write a guest post for his blog to keep his readers entertained while he is away. You can check it out HERE.

And while you're over there, you should mosey through the rest of Giles' blog! It's full of good, writerly advice and camaraderie.

Happy Wednesday!

The Inconstant Blogger and Motley Mondays

Turns out, I'm not very good at being consistent.  I mean, I can consistently brush my teeth in the morning, and walk my dog, and write, and (usually) remember to eat food when I'm hungry... but the blogging thing still isn't second nature.

In an effort to instill some consistency into my blogging self, I've devised a plan.  It's called:

Motley Mondays.

mot·ley[mot-lee]  adjective, noun, plural -leys.

–adjective

1. exhibiting great diversity of elements; heterogeneous: a motley crowd.

2. being of different colors combined; parti-colored: a motley flower border.

3. wearing a parti-colored garment: a motley fool.

–noun

4. a combination of different colors.

5. a parti-colored effect.

6. the parti-colored garment of a jester.

7. a heterogeneous assemblage.

8. a medley.

Origin:
1350–1400;  ME; see mote¹ , -ly

—Synonyms
1.  varied, mixed, incongruous.

The idea is that Mondays will be reserved for whatever I have floating around in my brain at the time of the post.  Naturally, I'll try and corral those thoughts into useful things--like links to good blog posts, book recommendations, beet recipes, gold nuggets, writerly quotes, etc.--but the idea is that there is no rhyme or reason to it all.  Now, be warned: sometimes strange things float around in my brain.  So you might encounter anything here on Motley Mondays.  But this plan guarantees me at least one post per week.  And it gets better.

I want YOU to be involved, too.  Any given Monday, if you find you have an incongruous assortment of things to share and you don't want to tie them all together into one coherent and artful entry, just show up here and post your link, and we'll all celebrate being Motley together.

So, with that being said, I'm going to share a few awesome things.


If you like bumper stickers and/or Harry Potter and/or Shakespeare, you should have a look at this sticker.  If I didn't already have a sticker of the Hogwarts crest on my back windshield, I think I'd buy this.
http://www.cafepress.com/+shakespeare_expelliarmus_oval_sticker,196686770


Also, if you are among the lucky humans on the continent who is currently experiencing that crisp and elusive season we call Autumn, or Fall, you might enjoy this scone recipe.  (Because scones are wonderful in the fall.)  I've made it a handful of times to good results, and since I am an incompetent cook, I think that makes it foolproof.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Worlds-Best-Scones-From-Scotland-to-the-Savoy-to-the-US/Detail.aspx


And if you've never been to Hyperbole and a Half to laugh your face off, I think now is a good time.  Mondays seem to need extra laughter, and this blog sure does provide.


Finally, I'd like to point out that we are exactly 41 days away from NaNoWriMo.  I'm excited.  How about you?  If you're planning to participate this year, do you know what you're writing about yet?  Do share!

Happy Monday!  I hope it is very motley indeed.  (Post your link in the comments if you have an entry you want to share.)

Credit Where Credit is Due, or The New House

I don't know where I've been all these months of my blogging existence.  Under a virtual rock, evidently.  Because until last week, I had no idea what Shabby Blogs was.  Had no clue that the entire time I was pulling out my fingernails to get my Blogger template the way I liked it, a site existed just a mouse-click away that offered all the kinds of things I like as blog decoration... FOR FREE.  (Check out their blog, too.  It's as beautiful as everything they offer.)



And, what's more, Shabby Blogs lead me to another site which exists purely for the editing and decorating of photos.  FOR FREE.  Fotoflexer.com.  This was another brilliant revelation for me.  Maybe I'll stop lurking under my rock.  It seems that the virtual world is full of wonders.

After much deliberation over my selections, I have redecorated this place so that it fits my tastes, and feels more like home.  Of course, even moving into a home decorated the way you like it feels strange at first, because nothing is familiar.  So, it will take some getting used to.  But I like the results.  My template is called "French Flea Market".  (Just like when I buy paint, I find it difficult to resist something with a good name.)

So, welcome to my open house!  Have a look around, pour yourself a glass of French wine, and stay awhile.  It's lovely to have you here.