I’m so thrilled that I’m carrying a camera with me everywhere. I had the great good fortune to speak at the monthly Orange County Chapter of RWA last week. Here’s me with the WANA folks that came. I was so happy to see them! From left to right – Jenny Hansen, me, Tameri Etherton, Kate Wood, Bethany Lopez, and Debra Kristi, all of whom are kick-ass writers and bloggers, so please go check them out. We have Kristen Lamb and the We Are Not Alone group in common, so it was doubly nice to see them in person.
The WANA gang at OCC RWA 1-12-13.
As you may know, we here in So Cal have been bitching whining upset about the cold temps we’ve been going through. A couple of weeks ago there was ice – not only all over my poor basil, killing it dead, but even in the streets. Here’s a photo of the partially-frozen gutter water. Hey, to a San Diegan, this is way cool stuff.
Ice in the gutter outside my office, about 9am.
The other day I tried to explain to someone my unreasoning hatred of palm trees. I couldn’t convince this guy from Ohio that palm trees are pretty dang useless. I mean, they don’t provide lots of shade from the sun, and they don’t give us anything to eat. And when they’re planted with a pine tree of some sort between, it causes a synapse interrupt for me. As in, these trees do not compute. (Don’t talk to me about date palms. Would you eat dates from a palm tree grown in Los Angeles? Yeah. Didn’t think so.)
Do the palm trees look out of place, or is it just me?
I guess there’s no changing the whole palm-tree thing now. I’m just a few decades too late. Are there trees planted in your neighborhood that just don’t go together? I’d love to know!
That’s it for today. Thanks for stopping by! On Writer Wednesday, Marian Lanouette will be here with her latest release, so we hope to see you then.
~ Until the next time, cheers – and remember to drink responsibly! ~
Demon Soul, Blood Dreams and Demon Hunt are all available for the Kindle! Have you fallen into the Caine Brothers’ world yet?
It’s 10 degrees here in Utah. Sigh. It’s good to remember that things are still green somewhere.
I love palm trees. Being raised in Southern California, they bring back my childhood. They can be a mess and odd among the other landscape, but I still smile when I see them.
I like them from a distance, but they’re kind of useless as far as trees go. A great image but not much substance, lol.
I have two queen palms in one corner of my backyard and have to pay someone every year to scale them and take down the dying fronds etc. It’s a pain. On the other side I have a grapfruit tree a tangelo and an orange tree. There used to be a lemon tree but I had it cut out. And I have to pay someone to take off the fruit and haul it away to a shelter. There’s just too much fruit for me to handle. Double pain in the butt. : )
Don’t get me started about the freaking palm trees! The one on the berm in front of our house is ripe with dates right now, which means I have to start walking VERY carefully so I don’t sprain my ankle AGAIN. Every time it’s windy, the fronds end up all over town in the middle of the streets. The city doesn’t maintain the palms so they’re too tall and have lots of dried fronds…and yet last year, they planted MORE, the idiots.
(Whoops, I got started…!)
I miss actual shade trees…
I’m glad you had fun speaking at OCCRWA! When are we getting together for writing/hugs/talking nonstop? 😉
xo
Talking about palm trees. The birds spread the seeds and then their sprouting up in places where you don’t want them. We once had one pop up out of a crack in the driveway. My sister hit it with the car and I’ll give you one hit which won. We had to cut that sucker out and pour poison on it to make sure it didn’t come back.
On another note, it was so wonderful seeing you at both meetings. Hugs!
You seem pretty angry about those trees…
Looks like you ladies had a good meeting!
I actually enjoy the palm trees. Even in SW Florida they have the big heavy fronds that fall – but the trees look so beautiful lining the river. In our yard down here we have a some kind of pine and several palms. I think the pine looks out of place – but hey – half my year is spent in Northern MN and that’s where THEY belong. Sounds like you ladies have fun in CA.
I love palm trees, but they make sense in hurricane country. They mostly bend in the wind and palm fronds shed in the storm are relatively benign to property around. They’re pretty too. But ice? Yeah, hate that. I’m enjoying our 50s-60s temps in January. 🙂
Palm trees have their own beauty which this Northeastern gal can admire plus the fact they grow in warmer weather than what we have here. With the temp around 25 today I can appreciate that too.
But if you ask which i’d rather have, I’d take a maple or oak over a palm tree any day even with raking leaves every fall.
I’m with you, Donna – a maple or an oak. Or a really big magnolia tree. Sigh…