Moments of the Week(s): Crickets and Creepy Places

Hey everyone! Been a few weeks, I know. I haven't really had much to say. My Discworld reading is progressing (29/41) and I have no idea what I'll be working on come NaNo in a few months. I'm sure I'll panic as soon as I'm done reading. For now, here are the moments I've managed to scrounge up.

• If you need to drive a character batty in an innocent way, I've discovered that a hidden indoor cricket or other mysterious noise does the trick a charm. There's nothing like storming through your house only for the sound to stop, start, step, stop, restart, step, etc. After a day of this, I caught the culprit hiding in our laundry room: a large cricket that was very happy to be let outside, and two homeowners happy for some peace and quiet. He was a fascinating little critter, with a body the length of a quarter and legs twice that. He also seemed to have his own kind of gravity, because after I'd caught him in a glass with a paper towel over the top, he hung around at the bottom for a minute, his front legs up on the side. Then he tipped over backwards and as soon as he hit the ground bounced up onto the paper towel. I never saw him flip over. It was just as if he'd decided Up was Down. He hung around there until I let him go.

• I've talked before about my friend who invites us to her house in the woods for a writer's day every few weekends. This past Sunday, we took her dogs for a walk down to the small main road in front of her neighborhood. Out on the main road, we passed a pair of ivy-covered cement markers with a sign that declared the inside to be an arboretum. Sadly, my friend informed us, pointing out a newer Do Not Enter sign, it is now private property and entering would be trespassing. A block down the road, there were two other ivy-covered concrete columns. Atop each one was a large, detailed gargoyle, watching and daring anyone to enter. Shortly inside, the driveway ended in a small pile of rocks, making the path impassable. In the middle of the day, it was a lovely sight, but at night, by the light of a low moon, I'm sure the statues have scared many a roadside traveler.

Not much, I know, but I couldn't leave everyone hanging another week. I'm hopefully going to finish the remaining books in the next two weeks and then I'll be back to my writing and panicking. Have a great weekend, everyone!