Ashton Park’s rose garden has a path lined with cherry trees, and they’re all in full blossom right now. A slow stream of ice-pink confetti drifts down on all who stroll beneath. On the park pond it’s serious nest-building time. A pair of coots are trying their best to attach a pile of sticks to the base of the fountain. That a 30’ jet of water streaks past their little heads is no deterrent. Maybe this is the same pair of coots who successfully built a nest there last year. The dogs and I virtually had the beach to ourselves earlier today. Right now, they’re flaked out - one stretched out along the back of one couch, and other curled up on a tuffet facing the sunshine streaming in through the French doors. Tonight is Riverside Writers’ AGM. Is our anthology ready to go to the printers tomorrow? Will the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer be re-elected (again)? And will we break our own record for the fastest AGM, which currently stands at ten minutes flat? Let’s be honest here - ha

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I hope you'll use the link below to read this interesting interview with published author Heidi Ruby Miller, the Educational Marketing Coordinator at Frank Lloyd Wright's House on Kentuck Knob and adjunct creative writing faculty at Seton Hill University in America. http://hubpages.com/hub/Interview-with-Writer-Heidi-Ruby-Miller

Yaay, we have sunshine! This means that my two little dogs are gazing at me with their best pleading expressions, which roughly translate into English as, “Walkies! Walkieeees!! Waaalkieeeeees!!!!!” Ok, ok; I get the message, pooches. Un momento, si? As may be guessed, the dusty language CD has been dusted down and (Attempt to) Learn A New Language proceeds (as poorly as before, actually) despite me being rather busy posting adverts for Richard’s studio across every reachable corner of our cyber-realm. After Easter, his tattoo studio will be open six days a week - Monday to Saturday, 11am - 5pm approx. This week, he tattooed a lady who was in her seventies. She wanted roses flowing over her breast and shoulder, and she intends to have the design extended so it will continue down her arm. Chris brought in his new acoustic bas guitar and sat down playing that - and if you visit the studio today you’ll hear Chris and Lee jamming on their guitars together. Lee’s performed in folk

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It has been a busy week in hubby’s studio, and a fun week also - which began with Chris coming in with his bongos and entertaining clients while they waited to be tattooed. Chris is a really cool guy, heavily into Native American shamanism and philosophy. Everyone loved listening to him play his bongos, and a few clients were tempted to have a go themselves. Later in the week, a lady told a hilarious story about her three West Highland White Terriers. Her father is looking after them for a while, and as he’s a barber he thought he’d save her some money by trimming their coats himself. So he whipped out the electric trimmers and gave each of them a No.1 haircut. When she saw what he’d done, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry! Crufts would not approve. Meanwhile, I was talking to Tim - who is recuperating after an operation - and learned that he has had a life-long interest in model-making which began when his father used to bring home sheets of white card (which had been used

I have decided I won’t be moving to the Arctic Zone. We’ve had one week of freezing temperatures here in Wirral and already the novelty has worn off. Snow-gowned landscapes look enchanting in photographs, but the trouble with the real McCoy is that anyone brave enough to venture outside needs to be an ice-skater of Olympic status in order to navigate our treacherous pavements. Even my dogs are bored with it now. When their shiny brown eyes first feasted on their new flawless white world they couldn’t wait to hurtle through it, pouncing and digging and having a merry doggy time. Now they keep looking at the bright sunshine and wondering why the outside temperatures don’t equate. Fortunately our chickens are largely protected by their coop and run. Inside the coop is plenty of dry, clean hay and straw, and it’s surprising how warm it gets in there. They’ve not even stopped laying their daily egg each, which is a big tell-tale sign that all is well with them. Maybe I should try pu