Bones, tomatoes and spiders.

Writing is going well this week.  I'm really enjoying the freedom of once more writing for that free spirit, Freya Fjordrider.  She is so rude and funny.  The Freya books are definitely not quite like the other stuff I write!

Not much other authorly news.  I've got my Chicken Soup cover decided after much scribbling, it's just to start the final drawing (the hardest bit!) and get it painted now.  Dog Slobber! is almost ready to go, so if you have kids aged 8 to 13, access to a kindle or ipad, and would like to be a test reader for me, let me know via email.  I'll send a digital version for free so long as it's before it goes up to Amazon, because after that I can't distribute Digitally except via them, due to the deal I chose with them.
  
Got a pic of my girls enjoying what's left of their bonies together last night.  Tandem bone chewing!  I love how they can do this without being snarky with each other, in fact they choose to be so close together.  The bones only get to come inside after two sessions outside, by which time they are nothing but the last bit of clean bone, and in between sessions they get wrapped up and go back in the fridge, so it's not too gross!

   
Bucket O' Tomatoes, all ready to be cooked down for sauce.  This is the third batch I will be cooking up.  We've had a good year for tomatoes.  Yum!

 
We have big spiders here in Oz.  To be honest, I don't think we deserve the reputation we have for deadly animals, but we do have some big spiders.  I don't love them, but I live with them and try not to harm them.   

The other day I got a bit of a surprise to find one of our huntsmans had managed to put herself into our outside temperature gauge through a small hole in the top.  I guess in the dark it felt like the perfect place to crawl into and sleep the day away, but come the daylight she realised it was not exactly the private shelter she'd thought it was.  By day they get very slow and sleepy, so it was too late for her to find a new hidey spot and and she was stuck for the day.  We made sure to help her out that night.  By 'we,' I of course mean my husband.  :)   I can catch them in a glass and bit of card and take them out of the house, but this particular operation was too much for me!  

I had to take a photo for proof!  Sorry, is a bit crappy but you can see her in the glass and my hand for scale.  Do not scroll down if you are spider phobic! The photo is the last thing in this post so you won't miss anything else.  :)