sara, I'm saving that for my first born.

how are the parentals?

How about something spooks the horse and it runs off?

Hmm. The problem with that is it'd have to throw both the characters, and they'd lose everything that's strapped to the saddle, which would be problematic. Also, I've characterized the horse as patient and longsuffering, and it's a cavalry horse, so probably tougher to spook than most.

Susan, just have the horse get something lodged in it's hoof like a sharp stone. After removal, that would bruise the pad enough to make the horse lame for a few days but wouldn't cause long term damage. The horse probably wouldn't fall to its knees, but it would certainly stumble and start limping.

Hmm. At the bare minimum, I want something that both my characters would notice, and right away, since I'm interrupting them mid-bicker by giving them something else to worry about.

"Hole" makes everything funny, it is true.

Is there any chance I can steal you away from Saget, O Pithiest and Prettiest of Rios?

Well, he is out of town till Saturday...

Oh trust me--if a horse gets something sharp in its hoof, the riders will know it. The stumble could be bad enough to unseat someone, easily.

(And yes, speaking from experience here. Alas.)

Cupcake.

how are the parentals?

Quite well. We hit the science center and wandered around the harbor today. I think we'll go to Gettysburg (mom has always wanted to go, I've never been, and it isn't far at all!) tomorrow, provided no rain. I feel like I'm not being entertaining enough (since tonight, all we did was sit around and READ. When I wasn't lying on the bed, talking to mom) but...heck, it is what happens when I am there too.

Haven't felt an overwhelming urge to kill, though I think my countertops might never recover from the coffee stains. (My dad...makes coffee messily.) But, as is his wont, he's fixed my lamp and tightened probably every knob, pull and handle in the apartment. I'm kinda afraid he'll tackle the visor in my car next. He's an unrepentant and undeterable fixitman.

fixit dads are a good time. I picked up another free floorlamp on the street tonight. It needs to be re-wired and that may keep until dad's next visit.

Thanks, Kristin! I think when I had the hivemind help me through a lame horse scenario in my first book, we did the rock in hoof thing in a less dramatic way, so I didn't immediately think of it for this one.

You know, if I stick to my plan and have my next book be set mostly at sea, the hivemind will be much less helpful, since somehow I doubt we have as much tall ship knowledge as we do equestrian. But at least it'll keep me from having a horse with a stone in its hoof in every single book I write.

SONGHOLE.

Man, this cracks me up! In honor of Rio, we've been adding hole to everyting for the funny.

I call mine MyPod.

I HATE FIREFOX. I want tabbed browsing on the Powerbook, and Opera keeps dying on me. But Firefox seems to think that I want to tab out of this entry box to the search box, instead of to the Post message button. And then it refreshes the screen when I page back.

ANYWAY. LET ME RETYPE.

TARDIS -- Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. It's Doctor Who's mode of transportation. Bigger on the inside than the outside.

fixit dads are a good time.

Yup. I often feel like he feels underappreciated (how's that for feelings) when it is more than just me & him becuse mom & I are such chatterboxes. But I gotta just grin and shake my head as he is dismantling my poorly fixed lamp and swearing at my poor fixes and asking me if I have any metal skewers. He & I have always been a good team. He swears, I tease and fetch and offer suggestions.