The Sun Shines Today

The sun is shining and all's right with the world. I remember my mother saying that so many times. That's a pretty true statement today. Right this minute, the sun is shining and last night was such a good night.

Yesterday I sent a proposal to an author who had requested it. I didn't know whether she would even look at it or not, but she did. Not only did she look at it, but she called her editor, and acquisition editor for a major publisher, and told her about it. The she wrote me to send the proposal to the editor.

I came running through the house to tell my husband. He was on the phone with our minister, but I almost yelled, "I have to send it to her publisher." Everyone got into the act and they were happy for me.

This has motivated me to get more done. This morning I will be writing and this afternoon I will be packing. So much to do and such little time to do it in. I am still walking on cloud 9. I slept well, except for the couple times I woke up and realized what I had to do.

My proposals are in the hands of two major publishers. I am so happy.

Two Days in a Row

How exciting! I'm writing two days in a row! This is big news for me. I am feeling more like myself, not well, but better.

What shall I write today? It isn't easy to come up with something fresh everyday. Let's see what I can pull out of my brain.

Several things have happened, small things, but important. I found out this week that a new writers group is being started where we will be moving. The first meeting is on November 7 and I am excited about it. I hope it is something that I can become a part of when we are completely moved.

I hope I can go to the first meeting. It will also help me to get to know people in the community.

Yesterday I didn't work on my book, but I did pack. I wish I could clone myself and make possibly three of me. That's too many for some people. If I had one who would clean house, one who would cook, one who would pack, then I would have time to work on my book. It ain't gonna happen, but it is a thought.

I have plenty to do today. I'm putting a pork roast in the slow cooker for tonight. It's a wonderful recipe with ginger, lime juice, honey, Dijon mustard, garlic, onion and Worcester sauce. Good eating and I'll be busy today.

It's not raining today!

If you read yesterday's post, you know we attended a funeral yesterday. It rained all day. Aren't funerals always sadder in the rain? There were so many people there. We waited in line for about 30-45 minutes, but it was worth it to tell the family how much we loved them. It was a beautiful tribute to a beautiful lady.

Back to reality today. Our house has been shown, but so far no offers. Today I am going to get it in better shape. I may have to go out and drum up some boxes. We have filled all of ours.

The realtor called at four o'clock Monday that someone wanted to see it at five. I had not felt good in so long, but I jumped up and between us, we got it in some shape. Don't open any drawers, they are full of everything. I did get it in better shape yesterday.

I have worked on my manuscript. Editing is a lonely job, but I must get it finished. I feel at times that my story droops. I have to keep it interesting and exciting. This is a challenge of writing.

My day will be spent today in packing, going again to the doctor and writing. Probably in that order. I want to feel better. I want to get packed and I want to write. Oh, the days of a writer.

Structure is one thing a writer has to have. Right now, mine has tumbled. The pieces need to be picked up and made right again.

Today is starting out as a beautiful day. I see sun streaking through the clouds. The trees are beautiful colors of red, orange and yellow. The evergreens are a lush green, so enjoyment is in store. I'm going to try to get a picture of my view to post tomorrow.

A Tribute

Today my husband and I will travel to Elizabethton, TN to attend the funeral of the daughter of a good friend. This is a sad day for us and will bring back lots of memories.

Candy Phillips passed away Saturday. She left a husband, Tim and parents Elva and Wesley Simon. She had an older sister, Karen, a niece and a brother-in-law. We had never been around her much until this summer. I wish I had known her longer. Her parents have been friends of ours since before she was born. Time and distance enters a lot of friendships. Candy was 32.

How can I describe Candy? A true Christian in every way. She taught the Word of God to anyone who would listen. She was making an impact on homosexuals. No one was ever too small or too great for her to teach. Someone said the other day that her boss told her she would lose her job if she didn't stop teaching people the Bible.

I'll miss her although I didn't know her that well. This also brings back a lot of memories of our daughter who passed away 34 years ago at the age of six. Wesley, Elva, Jerry and I went through a lot of the same pressures during the waiting. We understand how they feel. It is terrible to lose a child, especially for a mother. You carried that child for nine months inside of you and now it is ripped away. How do you get through it? You pray to God to give you a little more strength each day.

We all think of heaven sometime or other. Today I know it is a lot happier with Candy's smiling face and wonderful personality. I know her kindness on earth is showing in Heaven. I am so thankful that God allowed us to know her and love her.

Busy Two Weeks

I didn't realize it had been so long since I had blogged. It has been busy and a lot is still going on.

Just to recap, the move is taking over more of our life. Right now we are getting ready for a yard sale. We've made several trips to Kentucky and have several more to go.

On the 17th, I went to the First Annual Christian Girls Day. It was held at Marshall County High School in Benton, KY and area churches of Christ sponsored it. It was different than Ladies Days that I had been to and it was directed to girls. The speaker was Sheila Butts and she is amazing. I felt blessed to be there with around 290 other women and girls.

On the 19th, we closed on our house in Kentucky. The owners are still there. Their house is not finished yet, but they should be out soon. Now we have two houses, no make that five houses. We still have rental property, our house in Tennessee and the house in Kentucky. A big undertaking.

On the writing front, I have sent a proposal to a publishing house. I need to send two more out today and tomorrow and start editing the remainder of my book.

On top of all this, I have been sick for three weeks. Today is a better day, but my husband is now sniffling. This is not the time for all this. I have too much to do! There is a reason, I know, but I want to feel better.

Then it doesn't get much better. We have dear friends, Wesley and Elva Simmons. Wesley is the director of Tri Cities School of Preaching in Elizabethton, Tennessee. Tuesday, their daughter had an aneurysm and passed away on Saturday. This brought back so many memories for us when our daughter passed away thirty-four years ago. The ups and downs are hard on everyone. Tomorrow we will attend her funeral. Candy Phillips was 32 years old and lives a husband, Tim. She was a precious lady, beautiful inside and out. Heaven is more beautiful now.

Still Packing

Moving is like writing a book. You think you are about through and then you find more things to pack. It's the same with writing. You think you're finished with your book and then you find out you're not as good as you think you were and you start all over again.

This happens a lot with me, in both areas. We have had a lot of side-steps in moving. We were going to have an auction to sell our personal items, antiques, junk, etc. The auctioneer thought we did not have enough to do a good sale, so that was off. Another auctioneer has not returned our call to set a date to come see what we have. So another side-step, not a step back. I can always have a yard sale, which I will probably do.

When I think I am doing so good with my writing, then I find I have more to do, or more to learn, and that is another side-step. The one thing I hate to do is proposals. I will play games all day long instead of getting it over. It is a necessary evil and I have to buckle down and get it done. That is my dilemma for today. I must get it finished.

The proposal is blocked out, but needs a little fine tuning. I even have a multi-published author who will read it. I need to get it finished. So, here I am with my second cup of coffee, with chocolate-caramel creamer, and doing everything except what I need to do most.

Okay, today is the day! I will get that proposal finished!

Back for a few days

Separating what to keep and what to sell is coming along well. We are going into the last room today and then hope to have most separated. It takes a lot of determination not to keep everything we have.

Our house is listed with a real estate agency, and we are hoping for a quick sale. I would love to be in Kentucky by cold weather. The way it feels this morning, cold weather is here. I hope to pack up more of our belongings to move today.

Thursday the auctioneer who was going to do our personal auction decided we did not have enough to sell through him. He was never optimistic when he was out here anyway. We finally decided he didn't want to do it. I did call another auctioneer Friday and he will be out this week to see what all we have. We are pulling in more things that we don't use or need. I hope we can come up with the amount he wants.

When we got started with this, I knew my book would take a second place. It has. I am in the mood to write today, but I know I will be doing other things instead. I am almost ready to do the proposals and send out to publishers. I would like to finish that before we close on the place in Kentucky.

There is a lot to do today, so I must get busy. Have a blessed day!