Well, the Panhandle is on lockdown. So far, we’re keeping sane but I imagine it’ll get harder the longer we’re isolated. Today is my little girl’s 12th birthday. Our plan is to run get a simple cake and some ice cream (we waited to go grocery shopping until today). She’s requested a few items too. We may do some take-out depending on what she wants.
It’ll be nothing like a typical party, but it’ll be okay. We’ve told her when this is over (and eventually it will be), we’ll throw a party. Last year’s was a blast because she wanted a bouncy house, burgers, hotdogs, and jalapeño poppers. We soaked those peppers for four days so they were edible for the wimps (that’d be me). If you’re wondering what we did to kill some of the heat, we used lime soda and changed it out 2-3 times a day. In the end, there was only one or two scorchers. If you’re wondering how I know that, it’s because I was the lucky one who picked them out. Otherwise, they were delicious.
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I've talked about this book before, if I'm remembering right. It's nothing like my other books. It's filled with my faith and that faith is on every page. I won't apologize for that, but I feel as though a warning is the respectful thing to do for those that aren't interested. It's also in first person present--another difference from my other books. And to be honest, I'm a little anxious to put this out in the world. It was previously published but never edited. I took it down roughly a year ago and I've sat on it until this month. Now it's been seen by my editors and they've polished it into something I love even more. I prayed a lot about this particular book. See, when I wrote it, I was hurting. The kind that reaches deep and it feels like someone is squeezing your soul in their hands. This book is a product of that. There are bits of my heart on every page. Anyway, just wanted to warn anyone thinking of reading it. Here in West Texas, things are pretty much the same as last week. Toilet paper seems to be elusive. For a while I wondered why people needed so much of it, and then I saw their carts filled with bags of beans. Question asked and answered!
We're trying to use up what's in our pantry and fridge so we aren't moving so much stuff. Every day we get closer, and every day it feels longer than the day before. I'm kinda ready for more space. This week's question is... well, it's not really a question as much as a checking-in. How are you guys doing? Are you okay? Do you have all the food you need?
Our grocery stores are nearly empty. My husband and I went shopping and there were no bananas at all and there wasn't a super selection of other veggies and fruits; a good portion of the meat was gone and the rice, beans, and peanut butter were cleared out. So, if you just want to talk, email me. I'm working on the first in a new series, but I'll answer. I hope you and yours are doing okay. It's a little scary right now. If you've been reading my newsletters, you'll know that I had a leak in the wall between my two bathrooms. That led to mold growing on the wall and the discovery of a pretty bad problem.
Well, of course, it turned worse because that's just what happens. It's cans and worms and squirrels with rabies. We felt that we had to take the tub out of the guest bathroom because we couldn't do all this nice new stuff and leave the 1969 chipped, ugly tub. A simple problem. Just replace the tub. Oh, not so my friends! The drain broke and the next thing I know we're jackhammering concrete and digging down to find pipes. There was a pile of dirt in my bathroom for a couple of days until the plumber came back and fixed everything. I will say that yesterday we started putting the room back together and I'm excited. The bathrooms were outdated, anything with paint had coats and coats of the stuff which collected dust. (I live in Texas. I bet I could sweep a dustpan full out of my eyes.) Anyway. Fun times. In the middle of all that, I'm working on the next firefighter book. Needless to say, if there is a distraction it's happening in my livingroom that I use as an office. Yep. It's great. (That's sarcasm.) Nearly two weeks ago, I found a leak in our bathroom which led to the discovery of mold growing through the wall and bubbling paint. I think I spoke of it last time, but yesterday, we got the go-ahead from the insurance company to start cleaning up the bathroom. And we did. My husband stripped the bathroom in an evening so we could dispose of the mess and start rebuilding our bathrooms. We're still waiting to hear from a mold person just to make sure we're clear. (We're hopefully moving at the end of the year and I don't want the next person who buys our home to have to worry something icky was left behind. I wouldn't want it done to me, and I'm sure not doing it to someone else.) Anyway, the demo and rebuild have started and while I'm glad we're covered, I wasn't ready quite yet. Needless to say, things rarely happen when I'm ready. Ha. Well, it's been a week, and not nearly as uneventful as the last. I should have just kept my mouth shut. HA.
It all started when I noticed mold growing in our bathroom near the bottom of the wall next to the sink. No big deal, right? Take off the drywall, find the leak, fix the leak, and then patch the wall. This would be a prime example of how things quickly go from small to large. That mold? Well, it was all over the inside of the walls and on the 2x6 stud that happens to be load-bearing. Now it was time to call in a claim. That led to a plumber being called out--after hours--to spray a chemical on the mold to kill it which then led to a leak detection company being called. They'll be here today sometime between 2 and 3pm. My bathrooms aren't large, but it's a big pain not being able to use our sinks. But, it's a blessing we caught it before it got worse. And, typically, worse is usually when I find things so I am grateful we caught it. 2020 is starting off with a bang it seems. How's your 2020 so far? (I've been working which is why I've been so slow to respond. Supposedly, I have a new book coming out on the 1st.) It's the 26th as I sit here and write this out. I've spent the day working on the edits for the sixth Ranger book. Yep, the entire day. It's now back in the hands of my beloved editor hoping I came close to addressing the issues she pointed out.
What a year, right? Last year, I said writing best friend romances were hard. Clearly, not hard enough as I wrote more this year. Will I ever learn? No, probably not. By this time Dec 2018, I'd written one million words. I don't think I hit that this year. I quit keeping track earlier in the year, and honestly, I have no idea how many I wrote. My list of published titles now sits at twenty-six books and two boxed sets. I have plans to pubish at least one a month in the new year. We'll see how long I last. Ha. That whole trusting God thing didn't get any easier either. I think I trust Him more than I did, but not nearly as much as I should. I suspect I'll live my life in that perpetual state. I still love writing, but I'm getting tired. There's only so many times you can arrange the alphabet into a fifty-thousand word novel without feeling a bit drained. This coming year, I think I need to learn how to balance things in my life. One of the reasons I think I've pushed so hard is because, like I said last year, I think I'm pretty decent at this and as someone who has never been good at anything, I find it hard not to write. What if I take a day off and I'm not good at it anymore? Perhaps everyone feels that way from time to time. I also commented that my skin had grown a little thicker, and I think maybe it's grown so over the last year. The same holds true. Not every person is for every book and not every book is for every person. That will never change and it's okay. Here's to the New Year. May it bring you joy, love, and peace. Yep, I'm late sending this out. Yesterday was a workday. An outside workday. We raked up three trashbags full of leaves. I love the tree in my front yard, but I wish it'd clean up after itself. Whew, that was a lot of leaves and then it was windy. So, we'd rake them up only to have them scatter again. Talk about working against yourself. Good grief.
Then we trimmed our Christmas tree so we could bring it in. Oh, and yes, our youngest kitty has already ventured up into the tree, but he was too quick to get a picture. I guess he didn't want photographic evidence of his shennanigans. After that, we worked on upgrading my daughter's desktop computer. We took it in to be tuned up and it was a one-core processor. No wonder it was so slow. Unfortunately, we can't figure out why the video isn't working, so we're taking it to the Geek Squad today to see if it's us or the parts. (I hope its us because returns are a pain.) It's already the 6th of December, guys! Less than twenty days until Christmas. I get that time speeds up the older I get, but did it have to be warp speed? Thank you for all the emails wishing my big girl a happy birthday. They were very sweet. She loved them. I asked her how sixteen felt, and she replied, "I don't feel sixteen." I admit I laughed. I'm forty-five (closer to the six) and I don't feel that age at all. The nineties were just last week. I'm finding the older I get, the less old I feel. I wish my back felt that! My knees too. Funny, my bones seem to take it as a mission to remind that I am, in fact, forty-five. My husband and I were crusing through Target this past weekend, and they had games in their old packaging. It was funny to us how these things are popular again. My husband bought a Magnavox Odyssey game system the other day and he's now trying to find the right cords to play it. He was poor growing up, and his grandparents purchased a raffle ticket and won it. They in turn gave it to him and his two brothers. I didn't even know such a thing existed until he told me about it. I remeber Atari, and I'm only five years younger than him. It's amazing to me how technology changes as fast as it does. Sometimes, I think we should use dog years when talking about it. |
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