Dick Francis, author of dozens of popular mystery novels has died. He was 89. Most of his stories were set in the world of racing, where he had once been a champion jockey.

I have on the table beside my computer, two Dick Francis novels I found in a used bookstore that I have never read. His latest book, co-cuthored by his son, Felix, (I think it is called Silks), I also have not read. I may have missed a few more, here and there over the years but will doubless find, read and enjoy them as I have all of his work.

Asthma and bronchitis brought on from my usual sinusitis. May have to go to the doctor today or tomorrow. Will try to keep an eye out on site but I'm short of air. Sorry.

Hugs,
Erin

We've got some rough weather here and there is the possibility that we may lose connectivity and the site may go down or I may be unable to get to it,

Just so you know. :)

Hugs,
Erin

There's been a rash lately of people moralizing about other people's stories. If a story offends you morally, you're probably not the target audience. It's probably a fantasy story based on a concept that makes no sense to you. Getting on a moral high horse about it makes you look prejudiced and clueless. Better to just say the story did not appeal to you if you comment at all.

On December 15, 2009, Fictionmania author Tommy Davis died as a result of a heart attack. His name has been added to the Memoriam board here at BigCloset. Let us all spare a moment to think of his friends and family in this holiday season.

Hugs,
Erin

Google Chrome Beta has a bug in it, apparently, that considers the javascript that syndicates the Skin Horse comic from WebComicsNation to be malware. This produces a warning when you visit the blogs here.

Unfortunately, the warning also goes out to Google's automated reporting system which has put WebComicsNation on several blacklists. Depending on how you have your settings set in other browsersi, you may not be seeing Skin Horse when you visit the blogs here.

The furnace in my mobile home has failed. I'm using electric space heaters to keep warm and they work well enough but they keep tripping the breakers since this is a very old mobile with only 50 amps service. Three space heaters adds up to 36-45 amps. Add computers, lights and refrigerator and I can't run the washing machine without turning something off.

I'm checking into getting the furnace repaired but my handyman is of the opinion that it may cost enough to be worth just replacing it, which would be $1000 to $2000 dollars, a pretty big hit on my budget. More word soon.

Hugs,
Erin

I made another version of my pork roast for Thanksgiving Dinner. This time I used allspice, soy sauce and mustard. :)

In a small pan over low heat, cook about 1/4-1/2 cup chopped yellow onion in olive oil until tender. Don't use much oil, maybe a teaspoon and don't get the onions brown.

Laughing babies. I don't know of anything much more cheerful. :)

Hugs,
Erin

Well, I kind of like the way it looks now, any comments?

Hugs,
Erin

Well, it's that time of year -- time for teachers to demand a report on summer activities, at least, it's traditional in North America to do so. So, here's the deal, a contest that isn't a contest.

Last Day To Get Your Assignment In!

It's almost too late in the season here but some of the heirloom varieties ripen late. These are really good and so simple.

Clean and slice several green tomatoes, about 1/3 inch (8 mm) thick, more or less. Salt and pepper them liberally and leave on a cutting board to dry out very slightly while you get everything else ready.

The challenge ends September 21, 2009, but of course, you can write more such stories after and tag them with the Back-to-School category, they just won't be eligible for the non-existent prizes in this non-contest. :)

Since I travel around and carry my laptop, I've come up with various strategies to keep my data synced on as many as five different computers with two different operating systems.