Squirrel!

March 7, 2014

I’ve been busy lately. The writing thing. Again. I finished a Christmas novella that will be out this year. For a change, it includes nothing of my recent Christmas stories (hot sex against a wall, murder, brain damage, ghosts, actors)

This one has singing, mistletoe, a little kid, a dog, and a wedding.

I am assuming this is the one that will get me the RITA nomination because it is both fun and normal. Thought I’d try normal for a change.

After that, it was edits on my latest book, THE TRUTH ABOUT LADY BELLSTON. At least, I think that’s what it’s called. My editor gave me the title, and I promptly forgot it. Now I can’t find the e-mail to check. Since this is an amnesia book, the fact that I can’t remember what it’s called is really kind of appropriate.

Next up will be TO RECAPTURE A RAKE. I also tend to forget the title on this one. Maybe this is a reoccurring problem. But RAKE is an e-novella which will be up on Kindle as soon as I get around to editing it. I’ll let you know.

The DH and I also celebrated our 30th anniversary. Really, we’ve been together since December of 1978, so it’s longer than that. To celebrate, we went to the Apple Store to see why my IPad died. Actually, I went there. He went to the Microsoft store. It’s important to allow for some freedom in a relationship, to keep it fresh.

Then we went to a casino and played the slots until I had given enough money back to the indigenous peoples to balance my karma for another 30 years.

When I got home, I looked at the front page of the local paper and saw that there had been a taxidermy auction on the weekend. Of course, I complained that the DH had missed an opportunity to get me an anniversary gift. I think the 30th anniversary is probably ‘roadkill’. Sure feels like it, anyway.

And then, I looked closer at the picture.

It’s not every day you look at the front page of the newspaper and yell, OH MY GOD! I KNOW THOSE SQUIRRELS!

Those of you who’ve been around Double Cheese for a couple of years will remember this. (Scroll down to Sept 8th)

https://www.christine-merrill.com/blog/page/8/

Even if you don’t, take a moment to look at the pictures because you will never see the likes of them again. Sam SanFillippo died last year at the age of 93, and his taxidermy collection has been split up and is now in the hands of individual collectors.

And none of those collectors is me.

Really, it’s just as well. It saved the auctioneer the embarrassing sight of me begging, “Please honey. Please. It’s our anniversary. Get me those cooch dancing chipmunks, no matter what they cost. GET THEM NOW.”

And the cost was likely pretty high. My second choice would have been the 8 foot long bar scene with the piano player and the chipmunks playing cards. According to the paper, that went for $4750.

But my husband loves me. Have I ever told the story about the glow-in-the-dark skull I got him for our wedding gift? Because he asked me to.

He’d have totally got me some squirrels.

One response to “Squirrel!”

  1. Hysterical…. I had to go read some of your earlier posts outloud to my daughter. Laughed so hard I cried! And my hubby would have looked at me funny but I’m sure he would have bought me squirrels too… 🙂

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