Catching Up--and Why You Should NEVER Buy a Red Bic Lighter

We had a blast at my online Halloween party. If you didn't get the chance to join us, don't despair! It was such a success that I think I'll have another next year. My author friends showed up, donated books, and answered questions. So a big round of applause for: Angie Fox, Laura DiSilverio, Mollie Cox Bryan, Sparkle Abbey, Monica Ferris, Linda O. Johnston, Deb Sharp, Alan Orloff, Vicki Doudera, Julie Compton, Sharon Hopkins, Penny Warner, Casey Daniels, Camille Minichino, Terri Thayer, Betty Hechtman, Emilie Richards, and Ellen Byrrum. (The last two were an extra-special unplanned treat!)

My friend Linda Hengerer and me at the CROPtacular.

I lucked out. We managed to finish the party hearty, and then my Internet server crashed. My husband hooked my computer up to a "hot spot," and I had intermittant service, but gee...once you've known the wonder of fast Internet, you are HOOKED.

On Saturday, I spent most of the day in Vero Beach at the Vero Beach Scrapbook Store's Third Annual Christmas CROPtacular. A lot of people have asked me, "What is a crop?" It's a term derived from the journalism verb as in to "crop" a photo, or to trim off the edges. But for scrappers it's a party! And this one started at 9 a.m. and went until 11 p.m. My dear friend Linda Hengerer came and helped me set up and meet readers. Linda is the Queen of all things football. Check out her football book--and you'll never be "lost" at a football game again!

Her dear pal--Suzanne Fox--stopped by and dropped off treats in case we got hungry. Suzanne was in and out quickly, or I would have shown her the 8th Wonder of the World...THE KITCHEN, aka Heaven. I mean, most of the scrapbookers brought sweets to share. Oh, golly. There were cakes, cupcakes, cookies, fudge, and brownies. I mean, everytime I walked through on the way to the bathroom I nearly swooned with delight.

So today is Sunday (since I usually try to get my Monday posts up early so they'll be waiting for those of you who might read them at work), and after a lot of chores around the house, I decided to take my usual walk on the beach. Oh, my! The ocean is roiling like a pot on a hot burner! I was hit by a rogue wave and the water came nearly to my waist. The beach is covered with foam and as always, lots of plastic. I've been reading Plastic Ocean: How a Sea Captain's Chance Discovery Launched a Determined Quest to Save the Oceans. 

Want to get scared? Really scared? Read that book. See, for years, we've thought that plastics were inert and could not be broken down. WRONG. Bits of them cover a section of the Pacific so big its SURFACE is twice the size of Texas. And we don't know how deep those pieces go. Furthermore, plankton is feeding on the plastic. That means that plastic is invading our food chain.

This is why sea oats are so important. The waves came up to their roots. An aggressive ocean!

What can we do? I'll try to share my ideas as I get them, but to start...Never, EVER, buy a RED Bic plastic lighter. Why? That particular color is very attractive to a type of albatross that thinks the lighters are squid and feeds them to its babies. Evidently, the Bic lighters float, unlike lighters before them, and that makes them especially easy for the birds to grab.

Okay, the lights have flickered. The ocean gods are angry! Will say, "Goodnight," for now.