We are so blessed

I am so blessed to be able to hear the rain pour down on my house. There are no leaks and I am dry even though it is raining buckets outside.

I am so blessed to have beans. This year we have an abundance of beans and last year we had very few. There are so many more in the garden. If we run out of other food, we will have green beans. I complain about having to can so much, but in the winter I am so thankful I can open a can of home grown green beans. They are so good.

I am blessed with a loving family. I see other families in so much turmoil and I thank God that mine is not like that. My husband, children, son and daughter-in-law, and grandchildren are one in a million. They warm my heart in so many ways. I thank God everyday that I am so blessed.

I am blessed to live in a free country. I wonder how long it will be free, but right now it is. How do we keep it free? Contact your senators and representatives and tell them you want the freedoms we have to continue. Don't take our freedom to choose away from us. Let us worship when and where we want to. I am concerned that we will not have these freedoms forever.

I am blessed to have a loving God who cares for me. I am blessed to be able to pray to Him and confide in Him. We need to be stronger Christians by studying the Bible and worshiping as we should.

I am so blessed to have this day. My prayer is that I will use it to the best of my ability and honor God in the process.

Menu for Romance

Menu for Romance was written by Kaye Dacus. Kaye has a very winning way to steal your heart with her characters. Her light-hearted writing makes this one book I could not put down until it was finished.

The story involves a family, the Guidry Family, who own an event business. The chef is Major O'Hara and of course he is in love with one of the family members, Meredith Guidry. They are a very tight-knit family and as most families, knows what is going on with everyone. You will laugh with the family and love every minute of it.

Kaye is a very charming person. She is an accomplished author with several books on the shelves now and more coming soon. I look forward to reading more of her books. I had lunch with her recently. She encouraged me to write more. Thanks Kaye for this charming book.

It's Been a Long Time

Well, have I been traveling? Not in distance so much, but time spent away from home and there is always a story to tell.

First vacation was at Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN. Luxury is the key word. It was very luxurious. My cousin teaches at Oakland City University in Oakland City, IN and she won a $750 gift to Opryland. You may think that was easy to spend there, but it was hard to spend that much money.

We walked all over the hotel trying to find where we came in. We finally found the way out when we left and we had to asked someone. It is so large and you go from one area to another and the greenery is lush and beautiful. I did speak to one of the gardeners about raising orchids. He said I probably loved mine to death. I am anxious to try to grow one like he said to do. They need lots of air and little water.

We rode on the river through the hotel. That was fun. So many beautiful trees and waterfalls. It was so nice to spend a couple of nights in that famous hotel. No, we did not see any country music stars. We did have a wonderful time.

We arrived back at my house on Thursday afternoon and I began canning beans and doing laundry. I packed on Friday and picked my husband up at work on Saturday morning. We headed to Kentucky to visit my son and his family.

My grandchildren are the sweetest in the world. Lots of hugs and kisses were received when we got to their house. We went to church with them on Sunday morning and afternoon. Sunday night we went to Paducah to the area wide gospel meeting. Dan Winkler was the speaker and he was wonderful.

You may remember the Winkler's when their son Matthew was killed by his wife. The Winkler family has been an inspiration to all of us. I enjoyed his sermon very much and there were over 1200 in the audience. The singing was awesome.

Yesterday, our oldest grandson had his tonsils and adenoids removed. He did very well and was eating yesterday afternoon. I know he will be fine. The doctor told them his adenoids were the biggest he had ever seen. When Chet came in the house yesterday, he said, "I can breath through my nose." I had realized how much trouble he had lately breathing. He will do much better now.

I'm home now and a lot to do. I have neglected my book for two weeks and I am ready to get started back on editing. I've enjoyed the last two weeks, but I am tired of luxury.

Busy Week

We all have busy weeks, but this has been exceptional for me. Last year our garden was not so good, but this year it is. We have canned beans almost every day, except today. It is raining and the garden will probably be flooded. It will be next week before my husband can pick them.

Our friend's son is getting married tomorrow. The bride asked another friend to direct the wedding. She in turn asked me to help. Tonight is the rehearsal dinner and tomorrow the wedding. Of course it is out of town and we need to go early to help with getting the rehearsal dinner together. Hopefully the rehearsal will go smooth and we will get home early.

This week there has been very little writing accomplished. Next week is going to be as busy, if not busier, than this week. I've always heard that busy people get more things done, but right now I am doubting that.

Have a good week-end.

One Quick Blog

There are less than fifteen minutes before I need to get ready to leave, so this will be quick.

For the last several weeks I have gotten behind reading the blogs that I get each day. This morning, I took a few minutes to read Michael Hyatt's blog. It has changed my day.

Michael is the president of Thomas Nelson Publishing and I am amazed that with his busy schedule he takes the time to daily write a blog for writers. His message is so uplifting.

This morning he wrote about things that happen and how you look at them. Haven't we all said, "I can't write today. I have too much to do." Instead what if we said, "I need to get everything finished early so I can write." Isn't that more positive.

This week-end I attended a webinar with Tiffany Colter. One thing we talked about was doing more positive things. In writing we are our only co-workers and we all have lives outside of the computer. So many times we get bogged down and then have a writers block. Instead take a day to day dream. I loved that idea. Plan your next book or maybe you have one in the back of your head that you seem to never have the time to plot. Relax and do it. You will be amazed how rested you feel and you did get work accomplished.

Do you "write" in your head while you do other things? I do. I think about the book while I am folding clothes, doing dishes, dust mopping, etc. It is amazing how that character comes to life when I think about him or her. Right now I am trying to make Jacob a man any woman will love. I've just made him pleasant before. He is going to have character, so I will be thinking about him today. I've held him at bay for a reason and I didn't realize what it was until Tiffany told me Saturday. I can't reveal it yet, but you will learn in the second book.

I've got to run, but I hope everyone has a scrumptious day.

Rushing

Does it seem you are rushing all the time? I do. Sometimes I wonder how I will get through the day. I know I need to work on my book, but there is housework to be done, a garden to freeze and can, visits to be made and a lot more. So much goes undone that it scares me.

Lately I have had a horrible time with my joints. I didn't think getting older would be this bad. The pain was controlling my life and I didn't like that. I could only sit at the computer a few minutes before I was in so much pain that I could barely walk. I had enough!

Yesterday I went to the doctor and finally someone listened. I am now on a arthritis pain medication. This was the first morning I could get out of bed without pain in years. I have more energy already and I wonder what it will be like when this medication gets into my system.

Today I feel like I may be able to start exercising again. I haven't been able to do that in two months and I feel so much better when I can.

Yesterday I worked on my book more and cut out a purse to make for Examiner.com. I need to finish it today. I stood up and cut it out without any trouble. The scissors dd not hurt my hand. This was wonderful and I hope it continues.

I am so thankful for our medical professionals who can treat us. Today is the best I have felt in years.

Finally Blogger is back

I'm so glad to have blogger back. I couldn't write for several days and I don't know what was wrong with it. I do miss writing.

Let's see what has happened. I finished the re-write I was working on and now I am going over and bringing more character out of my characters. Well, that doesn't sound right, but you writers know. I don't tell my emotions well and that is what I am doing now. It's hard for me to do that, but I am improving. I hate to dig down to the bottom of my soul, but it is coming along more natural.

My sister had knee replacement yesterday. We were worried about her having surgery, but she went through this very well. The doctor ordered a spinal. She was not put in a deep sleep and her heart did not start racing. She will have surgery on her heart when the knee recovers.

My garden is coming in. I have canned beans and have more to can today. I"d better get busy, but I need to go to the grocery store and buy more can lids. I'm out and they won't can without them. Have a super day!

Tomorrow's the 4th of July

Tomorrow we will celebrate our independence. All of us need to be thankful for what we have and try hard to make sure it remains as it is. Our fore fathers fought hard to gain our freedom and we should work hard to maintain it.

Pray for the President and the Leaders of the whole world to make the right decisions. We are in perilous times with so much going on in the world. Write to your senators and representatives and let them know how you want to be represented. Keep our freedom.

In researching for a historical novel, I have been impressed by what the men and women were searching for. They wanted a life that would be peaceful and free from tyranny. They wanted their children to grow up in a free country. Don't we want the same today? We should treasure our freedom and remember we did not always have it.

I'm going to write an article about Besty Ross and the flag for the Examiner. She must have been a quilter. She sacrificed a lot to make that first flag. Let's remember the freedom we have and have a wonderful 4th of July.

Surprised about Examiner

This morning I was very surprised to see the activity on my page at the Examiner. If you went there, thank you. The more people clicking in, the better. I know some of you are writers and if you would be interested in becoming an examiner and making some money, please let me know. I would love for you to sign up under me.

The best thing about Examiner is you do it as often as you want to. If you are a dedicated writer and trying to make money before you publish, this is a good way to go. Being an Examiner will look good on you bio. It is not a pyramid program, but I do get paid if someone signs in from my recommendation. We all have something we know about and can report on. It is also a good way to hone your writing skills.

It is quiet today for the first time in several days. The roof is on the closet, or maybe I should say room, and the workers are gone for a few days. It is moving along well. I am anxious to get it finished and move in.

This is a good day. I have already gotten things accomplished and have more work to do. I plan to write several hours today to make corrections. This is the slowest thing for me. The brain will be going on overtime before night. Have a good day yourself.

Back to Work

Finally I am able to work again. It was good to get back to writing. It is also good to feel like writing and thinking. You don't know what you miss until you can't do it.

My first article was published yesterday for Examiner.com. You can access it by going to www.examiner.com/x-15450-Nashville-Quilting-Examiner. I am getting another one ready for today.

The more I write, the more I improve. I can see such a big difference from when I started. It's just like cooking. The more you cook and learn new recipes, the better cook you should become. At least most of the time.

Our little group of writers are the most precious people I know. I am so blessed by their comments and encouragements. Even some who read this blog and make comments are encouraging to me. It means a lot when I see a comment. At least someone has read what I said.

My plans are to finish my current book by convention. I am trying hard to do that. I want it edited and ready to go by then. That gives me 2.5 months to get it ready. If I can work several hours a day, I can do it. I am dedicated to finishing it before then. I hope I can do it by August 30. We will see.

The guys are roofing the closet today. It is big, but I hope I can have chests in it and a place to sew and store my stash of material. We will have so much room. My clothes will not be squeezed between each other.

Have a good day.