Open Mic Saturday

Exciting night last night. A big storm system moved into the area between 3 and 5 a.m. Much thunder and lightning; biblical deluge-class rain. The dog went nuts.

I suppose I could say the dog went "barking mad," but that would be too cute by half. Dimwit—a.k.a., Pyro Puppy, a.k.a. a whole lot of other names I'd rather not put into print right now, but for clarification, see Steve Martin's The Jerk—is a force to be reckoned with. I usually call her a Labrador for simplicity's sake, but she's actually a Labradinger. A Labrador-Springer cross: she's as big as a Lab and as highly strung and neurotic as a Springer, plus she suffers (she suffers?) from severe separation anxiety issues. Ergo when all the thunder and lightning began, the neurotic mutt tried to dig her way under the bedroom door, so that she could get into our bedroom and hide under Mommy—

So let's just say I'm a little short on sleep this morning.

Anyway, here it is, Saturday again. If you're new to The Friday Challenge, this is Open Mic day, and the place to share your news and perhaps do a little bragging. If you're writing a novel: how much progress did you make this week? If you're writing short stories: did you finish anything or submit anything this week? If you've sold or published anything recently: when is it coming out and where can we find it? In short, as a writer, what kind of progress did you make this week?

Or what else is on your mind, that you might feel like sharing with the group here?

One idea I've been toying with for the last few days is that of a Book Exchange. I've got books out the wazoo. In fact, I have so many books, I had to rent an extra wazoo to store the backlog. I've also been exchanging email lately with one of our regulars, who's moving soon and looking to unload a heap o' books. It seems to me that there should be some reasonable and fairly inexpensive way for us to engage in an ad hoc redistribution of books. Any interest? Any suggestions?

Anyway, that's all I've got this morning—well, that, and an insecure Labradinger who's trying to lay on my feet while I write this. Over to you.