Life Changes with Learning

Quicky Hail Storm March 15, 2014

It's been a crazy winter for everyone.  Because of it, we've all learned a new term: Polar Vortex.

Now, I'm sure this isn't something weather people suddenly came up with, but in all my years, I can't remember ever hearing it.  Yeah, that many years.  And now I sound like my mother. *grin*

As I posted on Facebook this past Saturday, I heard the rain, thought one of my car windows was down a couple of inches, and ran outside to roll it up.  I'd just opened the car door to climb inside, when the hail started.  Hail?  Oh, hail, yes!  And it was coming down hard and heavy.  Aha!  It's spring!  Well, for a while.  We had snow flurries during the night.  Or at least I heard we did.  Just a touch of winter to remind us that it's only March.  Don't get your hopes up.  Temps of 78 or so for a day don't mean anything.  Mother Nature enjoys teasing the mortals.

That's the micro version of life.  That's the kind of thing we notice.  But later that night and thanks to a friend on Facebook, I sought something much bigger.  Something macro.  Something huge, enormous, gigantic, (fill in your own adjective) that boggled my mind.  Yes, boggled.  I watched the first installment of Cosmos: A Space-time Odyssey.

Yeah, me, watching a science show.  That, in itself, is mind-boggling.  Before entering 6th grade, I loved
 science.  I loved it so much that I begged and pleaded for a microscope, which I got for Christmas when I was 11.  All the neighbor kids offered fingers for bloodletting, so we could see it on a slide under the microscope.  We found dead bugs and checked out their legs.  Bits of leaves and flower petals were scrutinized.  My life goal emerged.  I wanted to be a research scientist.  Jump forward to a year later, and I had a science teacher who totally burned me out on science.  I've never had the tiniest bit of interest in science since then.  Don't believe it?  Fast forward to July 20, 1969.  Does that date ring a bell?  The first man walked on the moon.  I remember leaving my bedroom and walking through the living room, while my parents, watching TV, asked where I was going.

"Out," I answered.  "Down to the park.  Wherever."
"Aren't you going to watch Neil Armstrong (and Buzz Aldrin) walk on the moon?"
"No."

I have no idea what they said after I closed the door behind me.  I'm sure there were sighs and the shaking of heads, followed by the bemoaning of what would become of me, more than likely.

My dad worked at Boeing for just short of 25 years (mandatory age 65 retirement) and was a part of that company's involvement in the Space program.  As a person who had only received a 7th grade education, he broadened his mind and learned more than I ever have with reading.  He knew a lot about a lot of things.  One of his favorite things to read was Carl Sagan's Cosmos.  That and National Geographic Magazine were his mainstay.  He loved to learn new things.

So there I sat on Saturday night,  watching a show on my computer that I wouldn't have dreamed of watching all those years ago, my eyes wide with wonder and astonishment.  Age and maturity sure do make a difference.  Afterward, I told my daughter how amazing it was, so she found it on TV, and we watched it together.  The second in the series aired on Sunday night, and we were there again, fascinated by everything we saw.  And we'll continue to watch.


I'm not going to debate the Bible vs. Science.  For me, the two can easily be interwoven.  For those who don't agree with that and would avoid watching Cosmos?  You're missing some of the most beautiful images ever produced by God, nature, and, yes, even man.  (P.S. It's on the Fox Network.)

Give it a try.  Check it out.  More information and previous episodes can be seen via computer at cosmosontv.com. Let me know what you think. ;)

That deep emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God. ~ Albert Einstein

It's Not What You Think

No, I was not on vacation last week, although I truly wish I had been.  Sometimes work and deadlines and family completely take over life, and other things must take a backseat.  In fact, I shouldn't even be here writing a blog.  I should be working, but my conscience is bothering me, so, well, here I am.

It's a good thing February is a short month.  By the weekend, we'll have run the four weeks of the second month of this new year and be on our way to what will hopefully be spring.

Does anyone remember Spring?

We've been on a long run of cold and ultra-cold this winter.  Polar Vortexes, included.  I'm yearning for warm.  Not hot, mind you, but a nice 75-80 degrees to thaw my feet, hands, nose...  On the other hand, as I complain about the cold, and the snow, and the sub-zero temps, I realize that it could have been worse.  I could live in the Northeast. ;)  Blessings to all of you who have had a rough winter.  May you thaw quickly and soon!

I'm impatiently waiting to see the first green buds on trees.  They will come, as they always do each year, but sometimes the wait seems eternal.  Spring, it's been said, is eternal, but this year I'd have to say that Winter has been.  This week is supposed to be another cold one.  Not frigid, as some of them in the past couple of months have been, but still cold enough to wish for a few more days of 60 degrees, when a jacket is all that's needed.  I'm more than ready to put away the long, down coat, gloves, three pairs of socks and the rest of the layering.  I yearn to sit barefoot at my computer.  If I tried that now, I'd have a severe case of frostbite.  I'll even try to be grateful when my 6" fan, buzzing away on my desk, is needed to keep me cool.  And I know it won't be long until I'm complaining about unstable weather and threats of tornadoes, along with power outages.  Although I hope this year those outages don't cause another computer monitor to die.  Which reminds me, I need to find a chimney for my oil lamp.  One more thing to add to an ever-growing list of needs, thanks to the weather.

As I sit here, I gaze longingly at the photo above.  How I would love to have a hammock, where I could rest and dream!  I've been so busy, even dreaming has crowded into that backseat with work and deadlines and family.  But I have given myself permission to watch college basketball.  Our beloved WSU Shockers are now the only undefeated team in the nation.  I'm convinced that's the only thing that has kept me from complete insanity.

Oh, have no fear.  By May I'll be whining about storms and tornadoes.  By mid July it will be the heat.  By August it will be the need for school to start again.  If only I could learn how to accept and enjoy each season, each turn in life as it speeds by, faster and faster.  Maybe I'll work on that...when  spring arrives.  And maybe, if I'm really, really lucky, I'll get a vacation, even if it's a working vacation.

Now back to trying to dream about that hammock and the beautiful beach with a gentle, cooling, tropical breeze...  Dream on!

I'd like to dial it back 5% or 10% and try to have a vacation that's not just e-mail with a view. ~ Elon Musk

Crunch Time

It seems as if I'm always crunched for time, but right now, it's at the point of crucial.  Deadline looms for the last of the Desperation books.  I'm a scene + one chapter + an epilogue from having it written.  That will be done by the end of the week, but then there's editing and polishing.  Deadline is the 24th.

This past weekend, I'd planned to be much closer to being finished.  Weekends are usually my best time to get caught up on word count.  Not this past Saturday and Sunday.  I'd forgotten about college basketball.  I didn't even make a note of it, and the schedules I'd printed seem to have buried themselves under quickly scribbled plot notes and snips of dialogue. When I realized my beloved Wildcats were playing, it was far into the game.  And since two granddaughters were here for basically the weekend (more bad planning on my part) and had commandeered the TV, I watched the last half of the game on my computer.  The game wasn't going well, so I missed the last few minutes to switch to another.  Thanks to friends on FB, I realized that my beloved #4-in-the-nation Shockers weren't playing in the evening, but were just beginning their game.  It wasn't televised, so I listened to the play-by-play on the radio.  This game had a much better outcome, with a 23rd straight victory.  GO SHOX!!!  But then that other State university was playing yet another beloved team, the Longhorns, and UT was leading by a wide margin at half-time.  Obviously a must-see and well worth the time.  I giggled for a couple of hours over that one.  An impromptu dinner at oldest daughter's house took up most of the evening, but I came home and hit the keyboard, at least finishing two more scenes.  Can we say 'dedication?'  Can we say 'panic?'

My intention on Sunday was to bury myself in getting words on paper.  I ended up spending more time on line edits for the August book than I'd planned, and time went by without much notice...except for that nagging in the back of my mind that I really needed to finish the line edits and get cracking on that new manuscript.  Then came the sad news that Philip Seymour Hoffman had died, as I eagerly awaited 8 p.m., when the CNN documentary, The 60s: The British Invasion, a lead-in to a new series, was to come on.  But PSH news kept that from happening, and it wasn't until 10 p.m.that the CNN docu finally aired.  I'm really looking forward to the full CNN The 60s series in May.  I truly enjoyed The British Invasion, listening and watching all the great bands and music from that era and how it all shaped, not only the music of today, but the world.

So this is my life at this point.  The usual running back and forth to schools to drop off and collect the g-kids, checking Facebook off and on during the day, and racing to that deadline.  A threatening snowstorm over the next few days may put a crimp in my crunch if school is closed due to weather.  Which would be better?  Refereeing 5 kids or having to drive through snow to get them to and fro?  Something tells me I won't get to choose.  Mother Nature sometimes has a lousy sense of humor.  I'm working on mine. ;)

The thing that would most improve my life is 27 hours in a day. I could meet all my deadlines. ~ Yoko Ono

Or not. 

Old Man Winter Brings a Hodgepodge of Thoughts

The weather yesterday was beautiful!  62 degrees.  Not bad at all for late January.  And then evening came and so did the cold front, sending 60 mph winds through the area.  Today's high?  24, and I'd bet that lasted the few minutes it took for the weather guys to chart it, then dropped again.

It's been a weird winter for everyone, what with polar vortexes and snow in places that rarely see snow.  Last year, we were hit with a snowstorm that dumped 20 inches in our area.  A record, for sure.  I've seen a foot or a little more a few times, but 20 inches?  That's crazy!

With two more months of winter--we have our biggest snows in March--I shudder to think what else we'll get to deal with.  Then I shudder with the cold from what we have in the present.

I spent most of the weekend writing, trying to catch up on days I wasn't able to write during the weeks before.  My total for our first BIAW this month was 82 pages.  I chart that, and even my mouth dropped open when I saw my word total for so far this month.  Last January my total word count amounted to zero.  With a goal of 200,000 words for the year in 2013, I wondered if my expectations might have been too high.  But things have a way of pushing us, and I finished with more than my goal.  Some of that was need, some of that was determination, and the rest is just plain being stubborn.

Today brought line edits for the next to last Desperation book.  With a February 24th deadline, I don't get to lay around and watch TV.  In fact, what little TV I usually watch has dwindled to very little.  I like to watch TV.  I used to do a lot of it.  I was once a soap opera junkie.  General Hospital was my drug of choice.  I'd watched it for so long, I could remember the original characters from the early days.  Not necessarily by choice.  My mother was a soap opera junkie, too.  But one day I realized what a waste of time it was and I quit.  Cold turkey.  I set a date.  Felicia and Frisco's wedding.  I'd watch that, then no more.  Amazing, even to me, I stuck to it.  I haven't gotten hooked yet.  Strange, but I've never missed it.

We all have our passions.  Reading has always been mine.  Sad to say, but time for reading has shrunk to very little over the past couple of years.  I pat myself on the back for reading Stephen King's 11/22/63 last fall.  With over 800 pages, it took a while, and most of it I read in bits and pieces.  Considering the length, should I count that as at least two books?  I think so!  I'm currently reading, although it's slow going.  I work until midnight, sometimes later, then read a little before turning out the light.  When I realize I've just read the same sentence or paragraph more times than I can remember, I put it away.  I'm currently reading a book I'd wanted for some time, found it discounted on Amazon last week, and grabbed it.  It's slow going.  Not because it's not a good book, but because of the lack of time to read.  No doubt I'll finish.  I have to know if the main character's son is the murderer.

But tonight is Castle, so I'll enjoy an hour of it, then go back to the keyboard and see if my characters will behave or at least talk to me.  Yes, those voices in my head are real. ;)  At least I'm never alone.

Winter is nature's way of saying, 'Up yours.' ~ Robert Byrne

Life's Little Adjustments & Changes

Roll With the Changes.  Or so says REO Speedwagon.

Changes are hard, and the older we get, the harder it is to make changes.  But let's face it.  Trying to fight change is an effort in futility.  It's much better to roll with the changes and make the adjustments needed.

That's where I am.  Rolling.  Making adjustments.

We're finishing up our second week of school today, so life is getting a little smoother.  I have four trips each day to two different schools, so I'm on the road for short periods of time.  When I head out on the two afternoon trips, I leave early and take something with me to read, edit, or sometimes I even play games on my Kindle, if I feel I need a real break.  It's quiet time for me, something that's in short supply in the summer.  I like quiet time. ☺

We're even having to adjust to weather changes.  We started the summer with hot and dry.  In July, we finally had rain to ease the drought of the last few years.  That rain picked up and ran into August.  At the halfway mark of this month, we'd had two days when it didn't rain.  It got a bit soggy.  Now that we're nearly done with August, it's hot and dry again.  I have no doubt that will change.

While we don't always like changes, we'd get bored without them.  Beginning something new, finishing something old, and looking forward to more new things keep us going.  And isn't that what we want?  To keep on going?

Have a blessed end-of-summer, and roll with the changes it brings.

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. - Alan Watts 

Vacation? Not on the List of Things to Do.

Yesterday, life changed.  Why?  It was the first day of summer vacation for our local schools.  That meant that it was also the first day we were invaded by the children of my children.  Four of them, plus the three-year-old, who is here throughout the school year, will spend the weekdays with us, until sometime in August.  I haven't yet counted the weeks.

When does the writing get done?  Whenever there's a little piece of peace and quiet.  Rare, but it does happen, even in the middle of the day.

Staying up late and working into the wee hours isn't an option for me, even during the school year.  Setting a schedule of writing from 8 to 3 or any specified time doesn't work either.  Not only are the grandchildren a constant during the week, but I also own a website design company, and requests for updates come in randomly.  But the writing still gets done, although it isn't a constant each and every day.

One of the things that helps me is the BIAW program that my writing group has twice a month.  We post our page goal for the week (first and third Sunday and ends on the following Sunday) and report the number after the last day.  My participation has been spotty this year, I'll admit, but for this week, I decided to jump in with both feet.  My goal is 40 pages.  Not so bad when factoring in that we have eight days, which breaks it down to 5 pages a day.  It's doable, but requires actually putting words to paper, sometimes after a day that screams for sleep.

This week didn't start out well.  Our group's meeting was scheduled for that third Sunday.  Because we're wrapping up a writing contest and I'm the coordinator, Sunday morning meant tallying scores sent by members who judged to determine who won.  Of course the numbers didn't add up correctly, because I was rushing to get it done, so it took more time than it should have.  With the final tally done, I had barely enough time to shower and dress, then drive to the meeting.  Except...  As I was climbing out of the shower, the tornado sirens went off in our city.  I grabbed clothes and fumbled around as I gathered the things needed to head for my oldest daughter's house, three blocks away.  The meeting was, of course, cancelled.  We were lucky and received only large hail, high winds, and a whole lot of rain, instead of what could have happened.

Monday was taken up by website work, until school was out.  After dropping off the others, I left to take my oldest granddaughter to her ice skating lessons.  Ten minutes before it was over, someone turned on the television, and I saw the pictures of the tornado that had destroyed a large area of Moore, Oklahoma.  Once home, we spent the day checking on friends in the devastated area and watching the news.  By Tuesday, the images were still burned into my brain, but I finished the website work started the day before and took donations to the ice rink for the tornado victims, while my granddaughter had another lesson.  The evening called for other things and writing was forgotten.

Along came Wednesday, with it's usual interruptions that included a Kindergarten graduation and a 5th Grade graduation.  Another day to write sinking quickly.  Once the house emptied of small people after school--the Last Day!--I sat down at the computer.  At that point, I had a total of 3 pages the day before, although I don't remember when.  It wasn't a good start, but I'd managed to write those 702 words in bits and pieces of time.  By evening, I was at my desk and netted another 4 pages (768 words), finishing a chapter.  I then moved on to a new chapter.  By the end of the day, I'd added another 7.  Wednesday's total was 11 pages.  Word count for the day was 2394.  I was up to 14 pages for the week.  Not bad for three days of sheer madness.

Thursday (yesterday) I hunkered down at my desk, amid total chaos of the first day of School's Out for the Summer, and by late night, there were 11 new pages (2224 words).  I now have 25 pages written toward that 40-page goal.  Only 15 pages to go.  I'm determined to reach it.  After all, today is only FRIDAY, and the weekend promises some quiet writing time.  Still, I wonder what and who will come along to interrupt the flow of words, because I know something or someone will.

While I'd hoped I would have the first draft of this book written by tomorrow (dream big!), it won't happen.  That doesn't mean I'll stop.  Being behind can be inspiration to keep going, to keep working toward the goal.  One bad day or even a string of them, doesn't mean it's time to quit.  Writing every day helps keep the brain in writing gear, even if it's only a page or even 100 words.  Unfortunately, life can come along and keep that from happening.

The key is to set goals.  These should be reasonable goals, set with the knowledge of the amount of time necessary to complete, along with accepting that there were always be obstacles.  Learn to work around them and overcome them.  If a goal falls short, don't toss it aside.  Continue toward it, because in time, the goal can be reached.

Once your goal is met, you can celebrate.  Take some time off to enjoy yourself.  But don't let it take over.  Even though it's summer, we still have priorities to set and work to do.  I intend to make this a prosperous time, where writing is concerned.  You'll find that life has new meaning and that pride can lead to success.

Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.   ~ Tony Robbins 

Rainy Days and Mondays

It isn't really raining.  The streets and sidewalks aren't wet, just showing occasional big drops.  It's barely enough to have to turn on the windshield wipers even less than the lowest intermittent setting.

But the sky is cloudy and gloomy, keeping the sun from brightening the room...and me.  It was a blah weekend, while I searched for a project I could sink my teeth into...or put my heart into...or just get into.  I'd think I found it, only to discover after settling at the computer that my interest had already waned.

So it isn't really the rain or the cloudy skies.  Sometimes it just happens.

I read The Help this weekend.  Although I found it slow going at first, due to written dialect, which always give me a little trouble, once I got the hang of it and attached it to the character, the story and all the characters grabbed my attention.  By 5 a.m. on Sunday, after reading all Saturday evening and night, I forced myself to put the book away so I could get some sleep, with a promise to finish the book later.

The ending holds promise for people of all color.  Segregation ended--or was supposed to have ended--several decades ago.  But I remember it, and although things have changed, I still see remnants of it.  I expect there will always be some, at least in my lifetime.  Even on this cloudy, raining, and gloomy Monday, there's hope.

Here's wishing all a happy and productive week, no matter what your weather or even your current mood. :)

Taking the Heat

We're having a heat wave...  A tropical heat wave...  (Marilyn Monroe did it best!)

So what does a writer do when July hits with hot, hot, hot temps?  It's the perfect time to stay inside and make some progress.  Whether it's working on a current WIP or just making the writing life a little neater and easier, this is the perfect time to do it. 

Yesterday I worked on an old story that didn't fit the parameters of a specific line, so it's never seen "print."  It's always been one of my favorites, so I'm hoping I can do something with it.  There are others to follow, and I'm currently trying to work out a system of how best to keep track of what I want to do with them, how I'll do that, and then actually getting them ready to share.

Today I'm purging my office of paper to be taken to the recycle center tomorrow, along with getting ready to shred old bills and other things I'd rather do myself, and just doing an overall getting-it-together sorting and shifting.  It's an ongoing battle.  Paper seems to breed around here, no matter how much I recycle, shred, or simply throw away.  Just looking at the boxes of paper to recycle makes me cringe.  There's no denying that I've killed a lot of trees in my lifetime.  I try not to.  I've been teaching myself to edit on screen.  It's getting better, but I still need a hardcopy on paper for a lot of things.  Having a Kindle for book reading at least makes me feel a little better.  None of those books will end up in a landfill somewhere.

Because summer Fridays are library days with the grandkids, I'll take three of them to return last week's books and get new.  I'm a sucker for books, so I'll check out one for myself, too.  I'm hoping Inkheart will have been returned (it's due back today).  If so, I'll check it out and set aside some time to read.

Even though tomorrow begins a three-day weekend, it's still working time for me.  Because I'm between contracts, I need to take a look at what I want and need to do to make the best use of this time.  Thanks to experience, I'm learning that I need to keep writing.  Now to decide what to write! ☺

It may be hot out there and forecasted to stay this way far into next week, but life and writing goes on.

Have a fantabulous Independence Day weekend!

Green, Green, It's Green They Say

Okay, it's part of an old, old song, but it popped into my mind as I drove down our street on an errand run and saw all the green grass in the yards. The Bradford Pear trees that have been blooming for the past couple of weeks are now half and half--half white flowers, half green leaves. It's as if the world is waking up all at once. Too bad that also includes the dandelions. There was way too much yellow in the green yards already. The greening of spring is one of the good things about the season.

Add the weather to the spring list, except it's more on the maybe good and maybe bad list. A week ago, we set new records with 80 degree temps that changed to 40 degrees the next day. Then a warming trend, of course, which again went south. And by south, I don't mean the direction. I mean the temps. The temp is slowly climbing into the 70s again, but with spring, it's a toss up as to how to dress in the morning, and usually means a change by midday.

And then there are the storms. My heart goes out to those in the southeast part of the country who dealt with tornadoes early this week. Having grown up keeping an eye to the sky and a clear path to the basement, I know the devastation they wreak. L. Frank Baum knew what he was doing when he chose Kansas for the setting of the beginning of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. But it seems the big baddies are spreading their badness around more. I think Tornado Alley has grown over the years and encompasses an even broader area than it did back then.

With the violent weather getting in full swing this spring, let's hope it's only the grass that's getting green, and not the sky. Be careful out there. And that means everyone!

Spring Break

This year the one-week break for kids and teachers has netted me a driver's side window that won't roll up, a driver's seat that won't move back, and laryngitis. It could be worse, and because it isn't over yet, I'm not holding my breath that it won't get worse. I believe in the old saying, "Don't count your chickens before they hatch."

We've had some beautiful days this year to kick off spring, but it's Kansas, so the weathermen are predicting a little snow to greet those kids and teachers as they go back to school on Monday. If nothing else, the weather here isn't boring, and it's that time of year to have winter clothes for cold days, while dragging out some of the more summery things for other days. It keeps life interesting. ☺

I wish I could say I've accomplished something over this past week, but so far that hasn't happened. The book proposal I should be working on is sitting silently next to the keyboard on which I'm typing, still not done, but beginning to call very loudly. (Yes, it's true. Inanimate objects do have a voice!) I'm ignoring it, but will have to do something about it later. There's always the weekend, I tell myself, but I know that's nothing more than a procrastination tool. I am so-o-o-o-o good at those. Too bad I'm not good at doing the things that need to be done.

So Happy Spring Break to those who are lucky enough to be able to enjoy it! And for the rest of us? Life will get back to normal in just a few days, so hang in there!

Ah, Saturdays

It's a cold rainy day, with the temp hovering right at freezing. I'm glad to be inside and know that by tomorrow, it'll be back up to near spring weather...hopefully without the rain. Okay, we need the rain. It's been a dry winter, except for those crazy snowstorms that dumped on us and shut down school for more days than I can remember.

I love Saturdays, rain or shine. There are no screams of small children trying to murder each other, no lemon juice poured in my cable box (as happened this week), and I can usually do pretty much whatever I want to do. My oldest granddaughter is here on weekends, while her mom is at work and has two weekdays off. It's like the Rolling Stones said in their song. You can't always get what you want. But this particular g-kid is the more quiet one. Being an only child as I was, she manages to keep herself busy watching TV, playing with the cats--or trying to--or getting on the computer to play games. It's not a problem.

So what do I have on my to-do list today? Tons of things, but only a few will get my attention. There's a website client who needs some updates done, a book proposal that needs more work, dishes to wash, house to clean, and other jobs clamoring for attention. A typical Saturday. Hope you enjoy yours!

Snow and Ice and Blizzards, Oh My!

If you live in the 2/3 of the U.S. that isn't experiencing the enormous winter storm that's creating havoc in the other 1/3, count yourself lucky. After reading comments on Facebook by those getting hit the hardest, I've decided not to whine.

It's strange that less than 10 days ago, my daughters and I were talking about the time we and several of our neighbors were caught in a blizzard 2 miles from home. Home at that time was a farm, where the nearest neighbor was 1/4 mile away.

The snow had begun while I was still at work, and for once the company owner gave permission for those of us worried about getting home safely the choice to leave. I left, drove the 10 miles to pick up my three girls--ranging in age from 3 to 7--from the baby-sitter, then started for home. We were halfway there when the station wagon I was driving decided to do a complete 360 in the middle of the road. Shaken, I made it slowly to a small gas 'n go, where we met up with my husband. We followed him the 2 miles north to our road, then turned west, but hadn't gone half a mile when we learned that the snowplow was stuck on the road...and blocking it. We and 6 of our neighbors who used that road to get home were stranded. The closest house was over half a mile away, and it was blizzarding. Not ideal conditions for small children who weren't dressed for walking around in that kind of weather. But then neither were most of the adults!

A neighbor who lived farther away heard about the trouble and drove his 4-wheel drive tractor to our line of stranded cars. A few at a time, he took us to the nearest house, where those neighbors had made coffee, hot cocoa, and sandwiches. By now we'd been stranded for over 4 hours. My brother-in-law showed up sometime later in a second 4wd tractor and took us home. Believe me, 2 adults and 3 kids in a tractor cab is a crunch! He drove across snow-buried wheat fields that were like washboards, causing us to hit our heads on the top of the cab several times during the 2 mile journey. Finally coming to a stop across the road from our house, he let us out. We tromped through a deep ditch full of snow that wasn't recognizable as ditch, crossed the road, then another ditch, and were finally home. By the time we were inside the house, it was after 10 p.m. Our 6+ hour adventure was finally over!

Times like these don't happen very often in our part of the state, so we're usually caught off guard when they do. I won't lie and say we had a fun time during that long ago blizzard, but we certainly did have an adventure we'd always remember.

Kindle and Me pt. 3

My Kindle is currently resting while I read my new paperback copy of Susan Elizabeth Phillips' Fancy Pants. Her latest, Call Me Irresistable, waits on my Kindle to be read. Why? It's complicated.

I haven't even come close to reading all the thirty-some books I've downloaded, and I'm itching to buy more. Such as?

1. The next two books in Amanda Hocking's Tryle Trilogy.
2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
3. Room by Emma Donahue
4. After by Amy Efaw
5. Hate List by Jennifer Brown

Those last two are YA books. Since discovering and reading Sarah Dessen's YA's, I'm drawn to them again. When I first started writing (as an adult), they were the kind I read and wanted to write. Instead, I ended up in romance, because I love the HEAs!! Still, I enjoy reading in other genres and discovered some fantastic YA and Middle Reader books available that by far surpass anything related to Twilight or The Clique series. Someday I'll compile a list of my favorite books and authors. Someday.

But no reading today, even though it's snowing outside, the temp is currently 5 degrees, and the windchill is all the way up to -17. Instead, as soon as I hit PUBLISH, I'll be making lunch for the four grandkids who are here for the day, because school is closed, thanks to that lovely windchill.

If you're in the area being hit by this huge winter storm, make use of it. Curl up with your favorite blanket, a hot drink, and a great story, whether in hardcover, paperback, ebook, or audio, and enjoy!

Happy First Day of Spring

Ahhhhh, Spring! Yes, it's the Spring Equinox on this side of the world. Autumn Equinox downunder. Winter, here in Kansas, where overnight, after a beautiful 60+ degree day yesterday, a storm dumped 2 or more inches over much of the state. Typical.

Today is cold. It's 30 degrees at mid-afternoon, but the forecast says the temp will be in the 40's tomorrow and quickly climbing back into the 60's the rest of the week. I can accept that, but I'm really, really hoping this was the final blast of winter until much, much later this year. We've had more snow days than I can remember, and that's a long time.

I know there are a lot of people out there who pooh-pooh Global Warming and Climate Change, but I've been saying for the past 20 years that the weather as part of the climate has been changing. It's been slow, but it's been happening. I don't want to debate GW or CC. I'm not a scientist. But I have experienced the weather for many decades and have a fairly good memory of, at least, the past.

When I was a young girl, we had seasons. I remember Spring, especially in high school, and experienced many days of Spring Fever. I loved Fall and still do. It's my favorite of all the seasons. But the change in seasons, at least where I live and have always lived, has been slowly changing. Now the coming of Spring means a slow back and forth between days and days of bitter cold, interrupted by a day of warming. That back and forth continues as the bitter cold warms a few degrees for less days and the warming lasts for more days, until cold runs out, and it's hot summer. The opposite is true between summer and winter. Disagree, if you will, but I'll stick by my experiences. And I just don't like losing my 4 seasons.

So I'll stay inside today and avoid the snow as much as possible. At least the roads are clear, but wet, and driving isn't dangerous. There's plenty to keep me busy, and by the time I'm done with all that, the temps will be hovering 80 degrees. Deadline hell has arrived.