Whoever You Were—Rest in Peace and Thank You

So, one of my local friends who knows of my obsession with all things counted cross-stitch, woke me up Saturday morning to tell me about a yard sale just a couple of blocks from her house. She was excited because she scored an office chair for $5. But she knew I would want to see the massive amount of craft supplies.

Not that I need any more @#$%, mind you. I have more patterns and supplies than I will ever be able to do in this lifetime or the next. In fact, I got rid of a bunch of stuff by shipping it to a needlework store where they sell such things on eBay. While I only get 60%, I don’t have to mess with it and I’ve done pretty well over this past year. Since Mr. Laptop died last month, I went through and got another two boxes out a few weeks ago and STILL have two boxes (one of XS magazines) to go out to them.

But, I went to worship The Cash-Giving Goddess and drove across town for a look-see. Oh my. She was right. They had about a half-dozen big boxes of all sorts of craft stuff and about that many bags. I went to my car to get my cloth Half-Price Books bags, because I knew, well, that the mystery woman would love for this to go home with someone who would appreciate her years of collecting stash.

I tried not to be greedy. There were two other women there going through stuff. I helped one by offering her first crack at some of the kits and patterns that seemed to be her style. Most all the stuff was more country, but there were a lot of Christmas leaflets. I recognized a few of the patterns that had been in my collection at one time. A lot of them had tags from the three cross-stitch specialty stores or the one craft department store that had closed. I probably saw her at Red Rooster or Stitchers Count, as much time as I spent there.

My bags and another were packed full. I got to go through them tonight and I wanted to share a small fraction of my S.E.X. (Stash Enhancement eXperience) with you. Even if you don’t like needlework, it’s fascinating to see what other people bought. I had an auction service deal with my parents’ house in 2003. I came up to one of the tables and a woman said, “This is someone’s life!”

I replied, “And yes, it was a very good one.” I hope it was the same for this lady.

There were dozens of pieces of fabric for stitching. I kept the even-weave and linen (a whole half-yard of a beautiful cream Irish linen!) and put the aida and other stuff in a box to be sold, including a baby’s blanket that was still in the packaging. This is a small sampling of what I kept.

My mystery friend had one of her pieces framed. It’s not my style, but I wanted to keep it as a remembrance of our shared passion.

I have a goal of someday sewing a Christmas tree skirt of hand towels and I added to my collection. The one she actually stitched (only one side, the other is partially finished) and the others are store bought.

I kept the dozens of partially used DMC embroidery floss skeins, but collected a gallon-sized bag full to ship off to sell. You guessed it, I already have all the colors. Kind of pretty though, don’t you think?

Here is a small fraction of the kits and ornament frames. There were a few finished pieces I sent on for sale too and some unfinished that I tossed.  It made me sad, but I have dozens of little projects of my own to finish.

I picked up this CD of Christmas music. Or so I thought. Look what was inside.

So, I went up to the bored and not-so-grieving family, plopped the bags down and said, “How about $20?” I think they were relieved they wouldn’t have to cart that stuff to Goodwill. My friend chided me when we got in the car that I probably could have given them a ten. I know, but it was worth it.

I got a blue and white teapot pincushion for her (still in the package) and I’ll take her out to dinner when I get the check from the service as a “finder’s fee.”

Somewhere, there’s a stitcher looking down at me with a smile. I enjoyed visiting with her for a while and I hope her soul is at rest knowing everything will go to new homes and people who want it. I’ll think of her whenever I use my new laptop and say a quick prayer of thanks.

Various and Sundry for Sunday and a Happy Surprise!

I have a huge file on one of my flash drives with ideas and photos I've found that would be cool to share, so I thought I'd give you just a taste of my warped mind.

First, some advice from the awesome Toni Morrison:



Then from toothpastefordinner.com, a frightening view of a possible future:

Sorry, I don't remember where I got this one and I didn't label it, but I like it a lot:

Finally, from thingsweforget.blogspot.com, one of many little sticky note pictures they post all around the world:

Finally, please share my excitement with my happy surprise!

Julee J. Adams is getting a Kindle!

Everybody say, W0000T!!!!!!

Even better, I won it by having a good time. Minnette Meador is a author I've been following on Facebook these past few months and she just informed me I was the winner of the Grand Prize of her blog tour to promote her latest book, The Gladiator Prince. I have learned so much by following her on the blog tour about promotion, brand-building, hunky gladiators and Celtic/Roman history. How very cool is that?

Link to Minnette's Facebook page (please stop by and Like her):

www.facebook.com/pages/Minnette-Meador/19208183951

Link to Minnette's author blog, where you can read excerpts from her various books (please stop by and Follow by GFC):
http://minnettemeador.blogspot.com/p/books-by-minnette.html

The link to her books on Amazon (please stop by and buy--she also has an epic science fiction series, if that's more your thing):

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_10?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=minette+meador&sprefix=minette+me

While I still live for my books from trees, I look forward to having an eReader for traveling and just because I'm a gadget kind of gal. While two of my friends have that other kind of eReader, I already have sixteen books on my desktop Kindle file. Thanks so much, Minnette! May your books soar to the top of all the lists! How do you like being linked in a post with Toni Morrison?

And may you all have a super week!

On Saints, Goddesses and a Very Fine Cat

I am blessed that I have very few regrets in my life. Of course, part of that is that I consider most of what most people would consider regrets, “Learning Experiences.”  At the time these events occur, they are huge, gaping, traumatizing suck holes, but when you look back on them with perspective, you realize you almost needed to endure them in order to get where you are now.

One of the regrets is for the end of life experience for my cat, Lucy. Let me introduce you to her:

For our first Christmas as a married couple, my husband asked me what I wanted. I looked him straight in the eye and since we promised honesty, said, “I want a kitty.”

“We’re not getting a kitty. What else would you like?” This from the man who told me his best friend in high school was Mr. Grey, who was of the feline variety.

“If we can’t get a kitty, I don’t want anything else.”

 It was the truth. It was also the first time I ever nagged. Oh, just the teasing kind of nagging, but I wanted to make sure he knew I was serious about it. Now, I’m not one to snoop and unwrap gifts before and re-wrap them, but when a rather large package appeared under the tree right before the holiday, I did gently poke at it. It was enough to determine the wrapping contained a kitty litter pan, a bag of litter and a couple cans of cat food.

I acted appropriately surprised and grateful and told him the truth, that he was the bestest husband ever. So, the day of New Year’s Eve, we went to the pet store. There, sitting alone in a cage, was the most beautiful tortie tabby kitten. It was love at first sight. As she was put in my arms, she stretched up to touch her nose to mine in a kiss, and then she cuddled close and started purring. I knew her name was Lucy, because in profile, her smile looked like Lucy Van Pelt from the “Peanuts” cartoons. Standing in line at the checkout, my husband, who’d been quiet up to then said, “I can’t believe we’re paying for a kitten.” When he found out the cost included the first veterinary visit and neutering, he felt a little better.

There are hundreds of Lucy stories. She was part Siamese and all Bitch, fierce, with the vocabulary of a precocious five year old. She fetched crumpled balls of paper, fiercely protected the Christmas tree from the interloper Sky Kitty, who was added to our family three years later and slept cuddled up next to me most every night. Did I mention she was leash trained? I would take Lucy on adventures with me, but she would only grumble if we were going to the vet. Her official name became Her Royal Luciness, The Petite Goddess, though said vet told us, “She’s not very petite.”

Right at what would have been her tenth birthday, she dramatically lost weight. She didn’t have the energy to grumble this time. While a different vet in the practice held out hope and offered exploratory surgery, I should have gone with my gut and taken my friend home to die in my arms. Instead, she died alone, in a cold cage and in pain on October 2, 1999.

While I am writing this through tears, some things did come out of that regret. Husband buried her in the back yard, under the window of what became my office. I see the leaves of the burning bush we planted for her turning red as I write. My friends saw how I was mourning and when we almost lost Sky Kitty, we decided to adopt our current tabby twins, Boris and Natasha for him and for us. I learned the lesson of dying at home and worked to get my father home from the hospital in 2001. But, I did feel guilt that I cried more for Lucy Cat, my near constant companion, than when either of my parents passed.

This is Heart in Hand’s Girlfriends Forever framed with a funny picture of my friend. She was trying to fit into a box and it burst open, with husband capturing the moment.

One of my human friends, who has also passed, gave me a Saint Lucy prayer card. St. Lucy was not only the patron saint of vision, she also protects cats. Another friend found a St. Lucy medal at a rummage sale.

The woman who would become St. Lucy was betrothed to marry a wealthy older merchant, but she wanted to enter a nunnery instead. Being as how this was at a time when that was not considered the thing to do, she was prosecuted. She was blinded and while the judgment was that she was to be taken to a whorehouse (much was made of her being a virgin), when the guards seized her, God “turned her to stone.” When she escaped to the nunnery, God restored her sight.

Now, I’m not Catholic, but I can say that memories and visions of Lucy Cat appeared at critical times. Like when we went to pick out the tabby twins. We let them out of their cage and they ran over to play for a couple of minutes, then came over, sat in front of us and said, “The audition’s over. It’s time to take us home.” Like when my glasses were damaged on a trip out of town and I was frustrated trying to drive and got waylaid by a detour. That passed right in front of an optometrist’s office where they fixed my glasses and wouldn’t take my money.

The back of the prayer card reads:

PRAYER IN HONOR OF

ST. LUCY

Oh God, our Creator and Redeemer, mercifully hear our prayers that as we venerate Thy servant, St. Lucy, for the light of faith Thou didst bestow upon her, Thou wouldst vouchsafe to increase and to preserve this same light in our souls, that we may be able to avoid evil, to do good and to abhor nothing so much as the blindness and the darkness of evil and of sin.

Relying on Thy goodness, O God, we humbly ask Thee, by the intercession of Thy servant, St. Lucy, that Thou wouldst give perfect vision to our eyes, that they may serve for Thy greater honor and glory, and for the salvation of our souls in this world, that we may come to the enjoyment of the unfailing light of the Lamb of God in paradise.

St. Lucy, virgin and martyr, hear our prayers and obtain our petitions.

Lucy was a very fine cat and I think those are very fine things to ask.

Some Saturday Snapshots

So, hope you all aren't as freaked as I am that we're coming on to the end of September. Really, my head hurts.

I've been scooting around Facebook and different blogs this past week and I found a few things that were especially interesting. I also scored over 500,000 points on Jewel Quest Solitaire. While I didn't get all the writing done that I wanted, I did make some major changes to my fiction.

My original manuscript for the first story in my series, Seven Days, was over 700 pages long. I've since edited it down to a much more manageable length, almost half. I realized that part of the story was told by the heroine's sister and her story was told in book two, Seven Months. I started SM with her POV of the events in SD, then realized I had enough for a whole other book. The great thing is, everything is already written in my notes, it is just cutting, pasting and editing.

So, there will be:
Seven Days: Will and Elizabeth
Seven Days: Rob and Mary
Seven Months: Will and Elizabeth
Seven Months: Rob and Mary

More than enough craziness and loving as these two couples, two brothers marrying two sisters, discover life together. Other books will follow, with friends' and children's stories to be told, but I'm well on my way to getting these stories out. There will be some overlap, with the same scenes told from two different points of view, but we'll find out what was happening to dramatically change lives, while the primary story unfolds.

So, I promised pictures. I found this one posted on FB by Teresa Medeiros:

Found originally on the Random House site. While I watch some reality TV, pardon me if I really don't care to follow the train wrecks on "JS."

I found some pictures, going through my files, that represent each of my characters. The first is from my extremely hot, but very geeky hero William:

Found on SF author David Brin's FB post and from the NASA website originally. Will would have this up on his office wall to remind himself just how insignificant almost all of our problems are.

One of the first scenes I wrote was between Will and Elizabeth at a Chinese restaurant. I had eaten at one with my husband and my fortune in the cookie had the Chinese word and character for blessing. I thought, isn't that great? Will would say Elizabeth is a blessing to him and start calling her that. A few months later, I was up in Indianapolis for work and went into a Half-Price Books to find these at the checkout. I grabbed about a dozen and I wrote another scene into the book where Will does the same.

It is the Chinese character for "Blessing" and it has the word in script on the border. The orange ribbon is quite long and while I have one out of the package, I haven't used it yet. But, I have them and they're very special to me. I think God sends me signs I'm on the right track and this was certainly one of them.

Elizabeth/Lizzy's next younger sister is Mary Margaret. She works in computer software support and is completely thrilled when Will sets up a job interview with his computer gaming company. Because she has spent most of her life reading, on the computer, practicing her piano or flute or working in her beloved garden, Mary Margaret often bemoans she is Mary of the Perpetual Virginity. When she finds out Will has a younger brother and he is coming out for the oldest sister's wedding, she knew her life would totally change. Here's an iris (one of her favorite flowers) from my garden a few years ago:

Love the purple--I didn't prune the faded blooms, because I wanted to show all the stages of the flower. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it......

Finally, we have Rob, short for Michael Robinson D'Arcion. He performed under his first and middle name in a boy band in his teens, but walked away and is "hiding in plain sight" in New York City. He is more than willing to help Mary Margaret with her virginity "problem," but she has to spend a few months in Japan first. Can't make it too easy--Michael had a HUGE following there and he has to resurrect what he hates to show her he is really serious about a life together. He loves being in the big city, so I chose a picture that author Linda Francis Lee posted of Manhattan with a view of Central Park. Yes, our boys have money.

So, as I look through magazines or books, I try to scan and save things in my character files that make me smile and inspire me to discover how he or she would react to all the @#$% I throw at them.

What pictures inspire you?

Books acquired--new and used

Freely admitted--I'm a book ho.

I grew up in a library. Mom worked at our small town library in the '60s and '70s. I volunteered in the middle school and high school libraries. One of my college workstudy jobs was at the library. I was a retail bookstore manager for almost ten years. I had a temp job at a medical library. On vacations, my husband and I usually scour the local bookstores. You get the picture.

So, when I started writing again, I wanted to get back into the swing of things. I was on the road for work and spent a lot of time reading, which I considered research. I got back into my Regency romance obsession when I found Stephanie Laurens' Cynster series, the first two in one volume, on a bargain book table. Since 2007, I've kept a list of books read and in 2008, I read well over a hundred titles.

When I signed onto Facebook, Blogger and Goodreads last year, I discovered whole new worlds of authors and reading communities in which to wallow. While it's been very enjoyable, it's significantly cut into my reading time. Plus the fact, I've been writing my own stuff. I've skimmed through parts of dozens of books, but only read enough of maybe two to consider I've "finished" them.

That hasn't stopped me from buying books, though. Whether it's checking out what they've got for $3 at Big Lots, spending a hour skimming the huge wall o' books at The Mission Store or pointing and clicking on-line at Better World Books http://www.betterworldbooks.com/ I check my printed out list (not that I've EVER bought duplicates grumblegrumble) and give an inner squeal when I find things I don't have. I've been checking the book giveaways on various blogs and on Goodreads periodically http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway and it's a real thrill when I get a package in the mail with a "freebie." Another obsession is autographed books and if I see a posting by an author I follow that they're doing an autographing somewhere, I have a credit card and I know how to use it, unfortunately. Other new and used bookstores, Walmart and last month's Evansville Vanderburgh County Public Library sale add to the growing piles of books in the dining room. Let us not forget the closing of our local Borders, where my husband and I purchased our birthday and Christmas presents for ourselves at 40-70% off.

So, here's a PARTIAL list of what I've acquired this past three months, new, used and freebie. Imagine if I started reviewing stuff--no, therein lies madness.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_8?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=viscount+breckenridge+to+the+rescue+a+cynster+novel&sprefix=viscount

Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue by Stephanie Laurens

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_4?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=geek+wisdom&sprefix=geek

Geek Wisdom edited by Stephen Segal  

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_9?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=no+proper+lady+isabel+cooper&sprefix=No+proper

No Proper Lady by Isabel Cooper

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_13?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=lord+langley+is+back+in+town+by+elizabeth+boyle&sprefix=lord+langley+

Lord Langley Is Back in Town by Elizabeth Boyle

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1%209?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=georgiana+duchess+of+devonshire+amanda+foreman&sprefix=Georgiana

Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_10?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=caught+by+harlan+coben&sprefix=caught+by+&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Acaught+by+harlan+coben

Caught by Harlan Coban

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_8?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=jeanie+london&sprefix=Jeanie+L&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Ajeanie+london

Then There Were Three Harlequin Super Romance by Jeanie London

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_10?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=chains+of+ice&sprefix=Chains+of+&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Achains+of+ice

Chains of Ice by Christina Dodd  (autographed)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Cn%3A283155%2Ck%3Ajust+like+heaven+julia+quinn&keywords=just+like+heaven+julia+quinn&ie=UTF8&qid=1316121847&ajr=0

Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn (autographed)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Cn%3A283155%2Ck%3Ahis+country+cinderella.+karen+rose+smith&keywords=his+country+cinderella.+karen+rose+smith&ie=UTF8&qid=1316121947&ajr=0

His Country Cinderella by Karen Rose Smith  (Special Edition autographed)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Cn%3A283155%2Ck%3Amy+favorite+countess+by+vanessa+kelly&keywords=my+favorite+countess+by+vanessa+kelly&ie=UTF8&qid=1316122093&ajr=0

My Favorite Countess by Vanessa Kelly  (autographed)

http://www.amazon.com/Parable-Sower-Octavia-Butler/dp/0446675504

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_19?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+truth+about+lord+stoneville+by+sabrina+jeffries&sprefix=The+truth+about+Lor

The Truth About Lord Stoneville by Sabrina Jeffries

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_12?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=nowhere+near+respectable+mary+jo+putney&sprefix=nowhere+near

Nowhere Near Respectable by Mary Jo Putney

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_13?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=a+kiss+at+midnight+eloisa+james&sprefix=A+kiss+at+mid

A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_15?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=kristan+higgins+books&sprefix=Kristan+Higgins

Kristan Higgins books

Too Good to Be True

The Next Best Thing

Just One of the Guys

Fools Rush In

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_10?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=a+fatal+waltz&sprefix=A+Fatal+Wa&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Aa+fatal+waltz&ajr=0

A Fatal Waltz by Tasha Alexander

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_14?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=oliver+macdonagh&sprefix=oliver+macdona

Jane Austen Real and Imagined Worlds by Oliver MacDonagh

keywords=on+this+day+in+history&sprefix=on+this+day+in+h&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Aon+this+day+in+history

On This Day in History by Leonard and Thelma Spinrad

Which ones would you want to read?

101 Plots--Used and Abused for your pleasure

I was looking downstairs for some items and saw a thin volume on top of a box of books. Sure enough, it was a book titled 101 PLOTS –USED AND ABUSED, by James N. Young, The Writer, Inc., publishers. I’d gotten it from one of the “bargain book” outlets over twenty years ago, probably for less than $5. Originally written in 1945, the revised edition was reprinted in 1961, which is what I have. It is only 71 pages and while some of the items in it are very outdated, it is frightening how many of these plots I recognized, reinterpreted and combined into an “everything old is new again” movie script or book.

Of course, the first thing I did was check to see if it was still available. First, I checked Amazon, to find it selling for $99.95, WITH the dustcover. It is the 1961 edition I have, in very good shape, but no dustcover.

(http://www.amazon.com/plots-abused-James-Nicholas-Young/dp/B0007E53JC)

Ooohhh! How interesting. So, I checked Alibris, a website for antique and out-of-print books. They were selling the 1946 edition in “good condition” for $85.50 for one of my favorite websites, Better World Books.

(http://www.alibris.com/search/books/qwork/-87116059/used/101%20plots%20used%20and%20abused)

Still, IF I should ever want to get rid of my copy, I’m betting I could get a decent sum. All in all, a pretty good investment.

In the Forward, Young tells about getting a call from a friend, who has a great idea for a story, that just happened to his cousin/friend/uncle/whatever. The author bursts his bubble by interrupting, telling the rest of the story and saying it is Plot No. 46. (A pickpocket/thief returns a favor by helping the protagonist escape.)

Don’t you wish you could do that?

“In this little book you will find briefly outlined a number of old plots (with a few of their many variations) which have become hackneyed through much use….Old though they be, the skilled craftsman can still reclothe their bones so as to produce the illusion of novelty.” Mr. Young worked as an editor, so he compiled his list from what he saw submitted, but also wrote himself.

Rule Number 1 is from Francis Lewis Wellman, author of The Art of Cross-Examination.  “Rule 1 for every writer should be: Write a certain number of hours every working day in the week. Whether you’re in a writing mood or not, write: Let nothing, other than illness, keep you from your typewriter!”

Rule Number 2 is from our author. “And, however impatient you may be, never submit a story to an editor until it is as near perfect as you can make it. Work over your plots again and again, before you start writing. Live with them, take them out to walk with you, sleep with them. Edit your stories line by line, word by word; and, if necessary, rewrite them again and again…and again…and yet again. When you have put the finishing touches on a story, when you have done your ultimate best, hold it for a time—with a little further thought you may be able to improve it.”

Rule Number 3 is on page 15, where our author is trying to write his own story for publication. “Which reminds me: One of the most important things the beginner must learn, if he hopes to succeed, is how to avoid the use of cliches. Many a piece of fiction never finds a market simply because of the author’s choice of trite words. If you are a beginner, go over your stories before you send them out, and delete as many hackneyed words and expressions as you can—and as many adjectives! This, take it from me, is good advice.”

He includes the super short story he gave to his editor, called “A Song in France.” It was his fifth draft. Remember, that was in the pre-photocopier days of the manual typewriter. I remember those and carbon paper, don’t you?

In fact, I have this very typewriter from my mom and dad on my quilt case.

Then, he goes into the plots, with the addendum in the headline “(With twenty-four extra, for good measure).” He numbers them, each one paragraph synopses, sometimes with generic character names.  While most would not sustain a novel, I recognized these old chestnuts, every one.

Number 114 is the: It was only a dream. (Remember that whole season of “Dallas”?) Number 55 is the: He’s dead, but the reader doesn’t find out right away. (Remember “The Sixth Sense”?) Number 72 is: The husband went off to war and was reported as dead, but returns years later, having just been captured. (Remember “Castaway”?)

So, it’s safe to say, anything we write has been written before. How many secret baby, fake marriage/engagement, misunderstanding keeps them separated books have you read the past few years? Quite a few from me, but I know I’ll keep buying them and reading them. It is simply up to us to make it interesting, different and worthy of our readers’ dollars.

Progress--slow but sure

First, may we observe a moment of silence to mourn the passing of my laptop. [insert prayers and good thoughts here.] Thank you. It makes me sick, because the HP was my Christmas gift in 2006 and birthday gift in 2007 from my husband, expressing his faith in my desire and drive to write. It has served me very well and I am grateful beyond belief. While there are a couple of good repair shops around the area, I daresay I can get a reconditioned one or a little net book for about what it would take to repair this bad boy. Only one file I didn't get transferred over from MS Works (which the laptop had) to MS Word (which the desktop has) and it is easily recreated from copious notes. It is on a flash drive in Works, if I ever find a way to "translate it" (save it in Word).

Which reminds me again to tell all of you: Be sure to back all your work up frequently and keep a copy in a secure location.
I'm quite serious about this, folks. The first time the laptop tanked, I would have lost a week's worth of work, so it was panic time. You can get thumb or flash drives very cheaply at Wally or Target. Keep one in your desk and one in a firebox or safety deposit box at your bank or credit union. Or even with a friend across town. Swap them out weekly or monthly. If you're old school, burn a CD and date it, that works. I also backed up the thousands of family pictures I've scanned in and all my digital music on flash drives. By the way, also in the safety deposit box at the credit union, I have car titles, insurance papers, my autographed Asimov, Heinlein and Bradbury books and a bunch of old coins and money.

Respect my paranoia, please.

Also, I have to step up my efforts in the job search, because the TV station my husband works at has been sold. The employees will all be "interviewing" for their jobs over the next two months and needless to say, after 27 years at the station, my husband is handling this as well as could be expected. I promise to redouble my efforts, while being the supportive wife, not panicking if I find the perfect job here and he decides he wants to move to Louisville or Indianapolis to get another job in his field.

So, while I've had this past year and a half to hone my writing skills, get my notes in the computer, finish one manuscript and get running starts on at least four others, I will have to go back to grabbing a few minutes here and there or more targeted editing time. Probably good for me, so I won't spend so much time checking email and Facebook or playing Jewel Quest III, right?

We will be fine, really. We haven't touched the "Oh sh@t fund" and we have several certificates of deposit carrying pitiful interest rates if our Worst Case Scenario happens. Chris jokes about keeping enough money for one way tickets to Hawaii--if you're going to be homeless, may as well be where it's warm. Or cashing in all the retirement money, taking it down to the boat and putting it on 34. Somehow, I don't think either option is very funny.

There's also the question of benefits, of course. And I know you're asking, "Julee, how is your wonky anti-yeast infection diet coming?" Why, thanks for asking. It's easier than I thought it would be. At Texas Roadhouse the other day, I had the grilled pork chops, green beans, carrots and broccoli and it was a great meal. At Los Bravos, I had the steak fajitas, with the rice and beans on the side for Chris to eat. It was a huge amount of food and there was only a momentary flash of lust for the fried ice cream.

My ENT doctor prescribed some anti-fungal/anti-yeast medicine without me even asking and said the diet was a great idea. I have lost some weight, because I can fit into my jeans again. I've been taking some pro biotic capsules and just went in for a fasting blood test for my physical next week. We shall see what we shall see. After another week, I get to add beans, sweet potatoes with butter only and peas back into my diet. Life IS good.

But, other than a couple of days having to stay close to a bathroom, we're feeling better, thank you very much. So, while there have been many changes in my life, I've been doing some good writing, I'm getting healthier and I've even done some beading and counted cross-stitch. We are grateful.

So, what sorts of craziness has been going on in your life? Aunt Julee always strives to be a good listener.