Colic is the number one killer of horses. But it looks like it didn't manage to do old Emma in... Whew! I do not know how I would have told my little niece, Aly, that her beloved pony was no more. But wow, what a gruelling and hideous couple of days it has been.

We checked on the horses at about 11pm on Tuesday night, after a late shift at the bookstore, and found Emma (THE most adorable Section A Welsh Pony on the planet) in some serious discomfort - rolling in her paddock, drenched from nose to tail, completely not interested in even thinking about food (not at all like her...)

It was pretty obvious this was a classic case of colic. Called the vet who came out and gave her a shot of pain killers and then Dani and I stayed up all night, alternately walking her and letting her rest. By 3AM the painkiller seemed to be wearing off and we had a phone consultation with the vet... continued the walk-rest routine all night. At 8AM the vet was back with another shot of painkillers and, since there hadn't been even a morsel of manure all night, the decision to do a stomach tube procedure. However, he only had horse-sized tubes and his partner is more the colic specialist, so we had to wait another four hours until the second vet could arrive.

Poor Emma! After sticking a tube down her throat he let the excess air bubble out before pumping her full of mineral oil and water. If she felt gross before, she certainly felt rotten after that. More painkillers and an endless cycle of walking her for fifteen minutes and then letting her rest. We tried to tempt her with a little grass - nothing. Poor thing was totally depressed, her head hanging down (not a good thing as she was so backed up that the mineral oil mixture would start to dribble out her nose...).

Dani and I set up camp again, this time with one proper bed in the tack room (the night before we had a pile of blankets in her stall and switched back and forth every fifteen minutes) and a corner with blankets in Emma's stall so at least one of us would be comfortable during our sleep phases. Since the vet said the process of clearing the impaction could last anywhere from a few hours to several days (!!!!), we settled in for the long haul with longer shifts on duty and sleeping.

Finally, at about 1AM, a dribble of liquid manure!!!! Then, another squirt and Emma took a bit of hay. Then, a gushing splurt (sorry so graphic, but why wouldn't I share?) and she had a drink. After that, every fifteen minutes she pooped a little more and ate and drank a little more. She has continued to improve all night and now (it's just after lunch), she is resting in her stall, a pile of respectable-if-still-a-bit-soft manure beside her. So, we hope the worst is over! We've come back to the house more than ready for showers and a hot breakfast and a pile of stinking blankets to wash. After a couple of nights like that I really have to wonder why I persist with this animal-keeping business. Needless to say, this is why emails and phonecalls have gone unanswered, work has been left undone.

And more traumas on the email front...

After finally getting things working (or so I thought) on the laptop, I started the Great Office Cleanup Project. I have been merrily emptying out several years' worth of ... stuff... from my little office (details and pix over on the publisher blog... follow link to the left), not worrying that my main computer was unplugged (after all, it was out of the way, my desk was slowly emerging from under the debris, and I could check my email). Hah! Turns out the messages that were arriving on the laptop represented only a random selection of messages that had been sent my way.

This, I discovered, when I set up my desktop in what was formerly my dining room (nothing like starting on a new room when an old one just gets too full!), fired up my email program, and was promply buried in a deluge of 450 emails dating back to February 1st!!!!!!!!! What gives? How is it even possible that certain emails (and quite a few of them, at that) slipped through the ethers quite happily while others stalled out... somewhere...

Egads. My friend, Richard from Chilliwack, your note was one of those caught up in this dreadful state of affairs... Please accept this, my public apology. I shall sign off here and write to you forthwith.

Oh the frustrations of technology.... more email gone missing! The server in Japan where my mail resides has been awfully flakey since January 1. Today, once again, mail has gone astray, never arriving at my inbox. So, if you happen to be a person who a) reads this blog and b) wrote to me this afternoon, please resend...

On a happier note, keyed in changes to the first 68 pages or so of the second draft of TI-3 earlier today. Some of the progress on this novel is being tracked over at the other blog (Journal of a Publisher and Children's Author - link over to the left). Since I am getting heartily sick of calling this book TI-3, or Tarragon Threee, or The War in the Tarragon Woods Except My Publisher Doesn't Like This Title So it Will Probably Change, if you are good at titles, please send me a few suggestions! Thanks in advance, oh wonderful titlers out there!

Oh man, what have I done? Started another blog???? However, as I thought might happen, with Diane's goading, posts are appearing! Not only that, with Diane's encouragement, my office is slowly being excavated. After a very long time nursing my mother, I have returned home and ever since have been digging through piles and piles and piles of papers, folders, sticky notes, stacks of books, heaps of bills (many not even opened - sorry about that people who are waiting for money!)

It is pretty amazing how life just stopped there for a while. If anyone from CWILL pops by, the cheque is going into the mail... I promise. That is, right after I find my chequebook. Who writes cheques any more these days? I do humbly apologize for being such a delinquent member... If it is any consolation, at least half a dozen other organizations (SCBWI, Women Writing the West, the National Pony Express Association, the International Reading Association among them) also lapsed last year... 2005 promises to be much better. My dear mother is now in residence at a nursing home close by and this means I am finally getting back to normal - not that normal was ever highly efficient, but last year was quite extraoridinary in terms of its complete and utter chaos.

Writing from Paradise - Literally!

There really is no excuse not to write - I am being completely indulged at the moment. Diane of Sono Nis Press graciously invited me up to the Slocan Valley to stay in the writer's retreat at the most glorious spot in the valley - on Paradise Valley Road.

So, I'm writing, working busily away on the first set of revisions to the third Tarragon Island book (thanks, Laura and Diane, for preliminary feedback!). Even more exciting (revisions could not exactly be called fun) is the early work we are doing on a new historical novel set in the Slocan Valley. For more information about this new project, click on the link over to the left that will lead you to a blog Diane and I will be keeping as we work our way from initial idea to arrival of book. Since Diane is far better organized than I am, there may actually be a chance that the publishing blog we do together will be updated on a regular basis (if only for Diane to say, "Nikki? It's your turn... again... still..."

I know this blog was supposed to be a chronicle of the writing life... but somehow, life keeps getting in the way. I wonder, sometimes, how long it will be before I can get back to some sort of productive schedule at the computer. Dani is egging me on to produce at least a few words a day and to this end has created a nom de plume for me at the nanowrimo.org website. To be more accurate, it's a nom de plume for both of us as we are working on a collaborative project.

If you don't know about NaNoWriMo yet, it's pretty cool. The lengthy acronym stands for National Novel Writing Month. Each November, countless would-be novelists crack open notebooks, sharpen pencils, and flex their carpal tunnels in an effort to write 50,000 words before the end of the month. The website has tons of info, networking, and fun stuff (plenty, in fact, to distract even the most dedicated writer!) for moments when enthusiasm sags...

Five days into the month you may ask, "How is it going?" I must admit that Dani has completed more that her share of the word-count so far but I have surprised myself by writing more than I have for months. Together we've written about 5000 words - not bad, all things considered!

And so, rather than an update on Nikki's Critterville, I will sign off and try to write a few more words before life, once again, gets in the way.

Breezy - 1980-2004

If I were the superstitious type, I might consider staying in bed on the 13th day of each month. October 13th was a miserable day, all in all. Poor old Breezy decided to roll in the corner of her paddock and in the course of getting up, broke her back leg. The most ironic part of the horrible accident was that the 13th was supposed to be her retirement party. To that end, I had picked up a lovely Shetland pony cross (Emma) and her two best friends, pygmy goats Molly and Casey. These three critters were in the horse trailer waiting to unload when the drama in the paddock unfolded. Perhaps this was Breezy's way of telling me she did not approve of the whole retirement concept.

They say tragedies come in threes and, true to form, Breezy's sad demise was just the first of three deaths that day. My truck has not started since the 13th and neither has my laptop computer. Strange, hmmm?

Photo credit goes to Dani who, thankfully, took a whole series of really lovely portraits of Breezy this summer.

Because a picture is worth a thousand words, here is one of the lmiited edition prints I've unearthed... 

And from the "As if I didn't have enough on my plate department...", here's a new project to check out... http://members.tripod.com/nikki_tate/artist_agent/
Finally, finally, finally - Dad has let me into his studio! And what a treasure trove it has turned out to be! After years of hoarding original paintings, drawings, Artist Proofs and some copies of several limited edition lithographs made over the years, Dad has finally agreed to let me catalogue some of the goodies he has stashed away. I attribute this change of heart to his recent literal change of heart (well, installation of a brand spanking new heart valve, anyway...) During his recovery this summer he had plenty of time to reflect on his 'I'm not showing my paintings to anyone - you can sell them after I die' attitude of recent years. With the new valve ticking away he has come to the conclusion he might actually have a few more paintings in him yet... To make room for the new, he's decided to let me sell much of what I find tucked in the various nooks and crannies of his studio. This is quite an amazing move for a man who has always locked his studio door and kept everyone out...

Other recent activities include the amazing Barnathon project. Many, many thanks to those who spent last weekend pounding nails, hauling gravel, pouring cement, hefting lumber, drilling, screwing, sawing, etc., etc., The barn looks so much better now that Tony's stall door is no longer listing (the result of too much butt-scratching on the door frame!). Alas, we were so busy labouring away, only one or two photos were taken... I shall try to obtain copies and post them here so you can see what we've been up to. Thanks again to Hermione, Emily, Nikki, Holly, Glen, Desiree, and Dad for your hours and hours of back-breaking work! And thanks, too, to Danielle for catering the event - your pancakes made it bearable to wake up in the tack room after a slightly chilly campout!

In response to an email request from a reader, here is a map of Kenwood, the ficticious suburb just outside Victoria, BC where the StableMates novels are set. In real life, this is similar to the area of Cordova Bay north of Mattick's Farm and south of Dooley. The quality of this image isn't great, but all the new editions of the StableMates novels (the series now has seven books...) include a copy of this map. Thanks for asking!

And here's me... about as formal as I ever get.  

Formal nights aboard the ship were lots of fun. Here's Dani in all her finery making the oh-so-tough decision 'Chocolate sauce, or no chocolate sauce on the Baked Alaska...' 

Saw tons (literally!) of ice on the trip... but under clear, blue skies... couldn't have asked for better weather. Actually suffered from heat stroke one day! 

Skagway's friendliest resident... Seen here at the local watering hole.  

Made it! Here's a photo of me in front of my temporary home up in Alaska. Dani and I had a really great time and enjoyed a complete and total break from the crazy schedule back at our land-based home. Read 'Ida B' while away and highly recommend it! 

It seems I can either live life or write, not both. The days are full and bizarre... there is nothing like dealing with serious family illness to make one sit back and contemplate one's own mortality, count blessings and all of that. Despite plenty of challenges these days, there are also plenty of blessings. This past week, my brother visited from Tokyo (he has lived there for the last 16 years or so). While here he decided it was high time that we went whale watching.  

First, we all had to put on the orange, hooded survival suits.
Then, the tour guide showed us where the whales were likely to be feeding.... south end of Saturna Island, though we were told they might have moved 30 miles from there by the time our open aluminum boat arrived....
After quite a bashing on choppy seas, we settled into position to wait and were rewarded with a glimpse of distant fins...
 

 



This was pretty cool, but then the whales headed right for our boat and we were treated to an incredible display far better than any marine world show... 
 




 
Needless to say, this was quite the amazing outing. Reminds me why I love this place where I live. It also makes me wonder why on earth we wait for out of town visitors before we indulge ourselves in the pleasures of our surroundings.... This was my first ever whale watching trip and I've spent many, many years on the coast.
This same, wonderful brother decided that Christmas was a long way off and presented me and my daughter Dani (now 17!!) with an early Christmas gift - an Alaska cruise! We leave on August 7th. We are so excited we can hardly stand it!! If the scenic delights were many on my three hour whale watching expedition, what will a week in some of the most gorgeous scenery in the world be like? Stay tuned...
 

Here's a photo of Iago
,
the savvy barn cat who knows to keep her distance from those hefty horse hooves.
And another one...

down in the forest where we are building yet another fence.

Here's a photo of our back yard... Sigh. This is why I love living on Vancouver Island!

Tony is the chestnut horse. When I first acquired him last year we called him 'Bony Tony.' After nearly a year of steady eating, the nickname no longer fits!

My goodness - another busy month. This post is the first time that I've ever used my new voice-recognition software to compose an entry. I must say that I'm quite impressed with the software even though I'm still in the training phase. In fact, the problem isn't that the software doesn't understand me or can't keep up with my speaking, the problem is that I can't think clearly enough to compose sentences fast enough to dictate them. The result is lots of hmmms and emmms and errrrs (I confess I had to type in those last three words) which then need to be edited out.

Another problem that I've discovered is that my office chair squeaks really loudly. My tireless software keeps trying to interpret these noises and offers me various strange alternatives. And another problem that I hadn't anticipated the is that this is the beginning of allergy season here on the West Coast. After I've been talking for a while, I become quite congested. And as I get more congested, the number of errors increases. Luckily, this is easily remedied by blowing my nose.

The whole process of speaking out loud watch my words appear magically on the screen is completely surreal. However, if I stick with this and keep training the software to understand my particular speech idiosyncrasies (maybe I need to create an allergy season profile and another one for winter?), I should be able to produce a written work at a phenomenal pace. How cool is that? I don't even have to worry about aggravating my carpal tunnels! And if you're wondering whether or not I have to cheat and use the keyboards to insert punctuation -- no! This incredibly smart system actually understands the difference between my spoken words (which, by the way I speak at my normal, rather rapid pace) and whatever commands I need to give to my computer.

Not only that, if I do have to make a correction, the software learns from its earlier mistake and is less likely to make the same error again. If only I were so smart!

Seven days since the crack on the head and finally, finally, I can chew a bagel without wincing. Have been rather distracted over the past few days due to the Western Book Reps Book Fair (or whatever the event is called...) The schedule was pretty brutal for a few days there... Monday and Tuesday started with author breakfasts commencing at 7:15AM!!!! (what are these people thinking??? Authors are not conscious that early... I'm certainly not conscious that early...). Then, spent hours cruising the publisher/book rep tables in search of cool new titles and, after staggering home with bags full of ARCs (Advance Reading Copies) and all kinds of publisher promo items to give away at various bookstore events, we had to do things like feast and dance late into the night at the annual dinner/dance hosted by Bolen Books at the Union Club. Despite the hideous hour, it is always great to get a chance to hear authors speak at the breakfasts - highlights included Dean Griffiths and Troy Wilson dressed in superhero costumes, witty presentations by Susan Juby and M.A.C. Farrant, and being introduced to several new authors (well, new to me...)

Last night was the February meeting of the teen book club at the bookstore (this month's selection was ENDER'S GAME), so by the time I arrived home, brought the horses in, and hit the sack, I was more than ready for a good night's sleep!