A Newsy Sort of Post.

Just because I haven't been newsy for a few posts.

Here are three of my babies.  They are getting more grown up but it takes a while.

The little little roosters already fight a lot.  They all like to sit on stuff for naps.  They are having an absolute ball being free range around the place.   Guinevere is prettiest.  King Pellinore is the biggest and bossiest.   I have yet to decide which rooster is staying. Actually apparently they should be called cockerels and pullets until they get used for breeding.  I've been watching a Wyandotte Fanciers' group on Facebook and learning a lot.  :)

Word back from my first readers is that they love my new book and it is better than the first one, which is good news since the first one was pretty popular too.   It's very encouraging for an author to hear such good news!  I am doing my final read through now, then it is time to do the formatting for kindle and print editions. 

The cover art is almost painted, but I won't show you that yet.  Only this sketch I did as part of my working out.   It's Grace O'Malley, a new character from the book.   She is going to drape herself across the back cover.

I took this pic of the Jimny the other day.  It amused me how tiny it looks amongst the tall trees of our home. 

The two new lyres are coming along.

It took quite a while to rout out the hollow for the deeper lyre, to be called Torc.  It got easier once I'd done the free hand stuff and could lock the router into the jig to do the bulk of the work. 

The second lyre, Fréowine,  is shallower, like my own Mondream.  It was faster to rout as only took one pass on each area instead of three, but I nearly had an accident when the router took off at the end of a bit I'd been working on.  I just managed to stop it from getting right through the wall of the lyre!  Yikes!

Anyway, both are now hollowed out and I have made the tops for them.  Next is glueing and clamping. 

  
I'm currently determined to make sure I get some quiet time in nature on Druid Wednesdays, as I call them, so this week we took our lunch sandwiches up to Lake Leschenaultia, which is quite near where we live.  We don't go there enough because dogs are banned.  Mainly because of all the tame birds.  The Australian Marsh Hens are stupidly tame and terrible raiders of people's bags! 

Dinosaur much?  :D

Who you calling a dinosaur?  And give me some of your lunch!

It was lovely, bird raids and all! 

Last sunday I went and watched my darling sis, Jenny, ride her new horse, Snow, in the her first riding club rally since her big accident five months ago.  She had fun and they looked gorgeous despite it being their first real chance to try jumping together.

I think they both enjoyed it! 

 
How cute is he?  Like a great big pretty pony! 

Jen, Molly and I have been going to a women's only Kung Fu class with these guys.  It is the same school that did the great self defence class some months back.  I love the instructor, Rachael, and the atmosphere is so nice being only ladies.  If you have ever wanted to have a go at a martial art but felt intimidated by the possible blokiness, this might be the class for you!  (And by the way, the men of the school are also lovely and not blokey either.) 

We had a pretty cool sunset last night.  I like how the clouds obligingly went light in the dark bit of the sky and dark in the light bit of the sky.  :D

The afghan is coming on slowly, but Mr Fitty Kitty keeps beating me to the punch and sitting on it, so it isn't coming as fast as I'd like.  Maybe he knows how well it matches his eyes?

I hope the week treats you well.  I have some interesting things afoot, but more on that anon!