Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Time out for Tuesday

Tuesday brought me a retro 50's dining room set for my garage sale. Anyone looking for bright yellow? Four chairs and the table.  Things are coming together for that.

Breakfast was returned at the restaurant this morning. I hate hard eggs. They were kind and took it off my bill. I am tired of eating out. (Wait did I say that?)

It was a beautiful breezy day. Most of the top of my refrigerator is cleared off. Making ready for the new one. I can hardly wait. I am ready to start cooking again.

I will be making another baby layette. It's about time I got to make for a girl. Most of the ones I've made this year have been for boys. They are far outnumbering the girls in 2011.

I have all eleven chapters in my current work in progress rewritten. I have no excuse now I have to get back to work. I need at least two more chapters done this week. I am almost done with the book I am reading for review. I'm ready to get that written and sent to the author. I'll post it here, too. Then I have two more awaiting my attention.

Sometimes it's not good to over book. I am overbooked at the moment. I have forgotten to allow time for life. I have lots going on in my life. Never a dull moment.

Thursday I go pick up my granddaughter to help me with the garage sale. She is a big help when she comes. I promised her a trip to see her aunt at the lake cabin and possibly a movie. We'll see how that goes. What ever happens I know the two of us will have fun.

TTFN

Monday, July 25, 2011

Monday Monday

The weather has given us a break in lower humidity. I'll take that. As Monday's go this one has not been too bad.

I found myself at the doctor's this afternoon. I am on blood pressure medication number four. Am praying that this is the magic number. The last one did not bring my pressure down and did not allow me to sleep. I have an aversion to being the energizer bunny 24/7. Even the bunny gets to rest once in a while.

I am getting things ready to set up a garage sale. Thursday I go pick up my garage sale assistant, my granddaughter, Megan is coming up. We will finish the set up that day and be ready to go on Friday morning. We will repeat the process again on Sat. Sunday I will take her back home.

My new refrigerator is also being delivered on Friday. I am looking forward to that. I will not be sad to see this one go. It has had a long life and served me well. It was a hand-me-down when it came to me, so I know we got our money's worth.

Spent yesterday at a baby shower for a cousin. Getting together with family is always fun. The heat did not deter us from having a good time. I picked Mom up so she wouldn't have to drive. We could not believe the round about way my GPS led us to our destination. Just what I wanted was to travel a multitude of dirt roads. I was not out trail riding after all. (Haven't done that in a long time...which is a shame.)

Hope all is well with you.

TTFN

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Irate and Irritated

I live in the country. I have almost three acres of land. I don't bother my neighbors. I keep to myself. I expect the same. However it is 2:30 in the morning and my neighbor to the east of me...who has his own two acres I might add...decided that tonight would be a good night to try out his motorcycle on my property. Yes, I called the police. Yes, they came out. No, they did not catch him. Why? I've never done anything to this person. I barely know him.

Those who know me, know I have issues with motorcycles. I hate them. I don't want them around. If you choose to ride them, ride them far away. That's me. I don't make trouble for people who ride them. I don't tailgate them when they are on the roadways, nor do I play chicken with them. In fact, I am more cautious when I see a cyclist.

For one thing it's rude an inconsiderate to be tearing up someone else's property. It's even worse when it's 2 o'clock in the morning. I just wanted to sleep.

When you live in a neighborhood where most of the people are elderly, it's really not very nice to do this kind of stuff. This neighbor doesn't seem to care. He's just one big party boy. For someone pushing forty, he needs to do some serious growing up. I will continue calling the police. If I had his phone number I'd be calling him every time he woke me up. Then I'd call him again at the crack of dawn, to make sure he was awakened from his sleep. Just leave me alone.

Done ranting for the moment.

TTFN

Friday, July 22, 2011

Looking for Women Writers in Michigan

I am the Northeast Michigan Representative for IWWG-International Women's Writing Guild. The Guild has a presence on Facebook.

I am looking for women writers. I don't care if you join the Guild, that is your option. What I am looking for is women who want to network, get together and talk about works in progress, get feedback on your work,  and in general supporting each other as we journey on the path of writing. The only thing required of you is a willingness to meet, possibly host a writing get together, and join in the fun.

Here's what you have to do: Check out The International Women's Writing Guild- IWWG on Facebook, check out NE MI International Women's Writing Guild Meeting Place on Facebook, or post me a message on this blog.  I know you are out there. Give me a holler and let me know where you are. I'll be happy to coordinate the meeting place for the first meeting.

Bring your writing, paper and pen or pencil, and be ready for a good time. I'm waiting to hear from you.

TTFN

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Another Steamy Day

Heat advisory ends tonight. While we will still have summer temps, we are losing the humidity. I will not miss that. I prefer cooler nights for sleeping.

It's been a non-productive day. Some days are just like that. I spent a couple of hours with my sister at her cottage. Spending time with my sister is always good. We have grown closer as we have gotten older. This is a good thing.

Stopped in at Central Office to see if they had any empty boxes. No such luck. It is good to be able to stop in and know that I am not facing getting a classroom ready. While I sometimes miss the kids and the staff, I do not miss the everyday drama, pettiness, and politics that go with education today. Government has sucked all the fun out of it with their foolish mandates.

I will rewrite chapter four before going to bed tonight. While the temps have cooled outside, it has not yet cooled inside. It will be a while before I can sleep.

Hope everyone has a good Friday.

TTFN

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Wild and Wacky Wednesday

Are we hot yet?  The day started early because who can sleep when it's hot? That's okay, I got a lot done this morning. A box of books packed for the nursing home. A bag of books delivered to the other nursing home. I located my 2 lb. weights for lifting. All laundry is done. Still finding things for the garage sale. Have a date for the sale.

July 29 and 30 we are selling things from my garage!!!!! Picking up my granddaughter the day before to give me a hand and returning her on Sunday.

Chapter 3 got rewrites done. I am keeping at that. Seven more to go then I can start writing again. Sent chapter 11 off to a writer friend for critique.

I've read the first chapter of Wendy Robbins book, Why Marry a Millionaire? Just Become One. So far I have learned that I am passionate, compassionate, and creative and that's not working for me. I am becoming a courageous, passionate, and take-action-now person. My mantra has become: If it's to be, it's up to me. I will be tackling chapter 2 next.

Had a nice lunch with Mom and Dad today. I am working on getting my kitchen cupboards all cleaned off. That way Dad can install a back splash. The only thing that will be left to do in the kitchen will be to put in a range hood.  I am still packing up things and pitching things. Today I shredded four grocery bags (the plastic ones) of documents that I no longer need. Yeah!!!! Jamie will not have to do this when I'm gone. Downsizing is energizing. The clutter is going.

I mailed off copies of Wendy Robbins' books to my daughter and her best friend. I have delivered the other one to a friend. I am really excited to make the changes that lead to prosperity.

Did a bit of shopping at K-Mart, stopped in at Glen's for groceries. Things just came together today. These are the kinds of days I enjoy.

TTfn

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Better Late Than Not at All

Sleep has been slow in coming with the heat. Even when I do sleep it's not restful. I don't mind hot in the day, but I like cool for sleeping. I feel like I've been behind the eight ball all day.

Dishes got done, some laundry got done, I packed up four garbage bags of clothing for the garage sale, did a little grocery shopping, picked up the mail, typical any day. Nothing special.

I ordered the book 'Why Marry a Millionaire? Just Become One' by Wendy Robbins. I am hooked. This is the jump start I need to make positive change in my life. I need to see my own worth before I can expect others to see it. So, my new mantra is: If it's meant to be, it's up to me. I will be repeating that frequently to remind myself that I can do anything I set out to do.

I managed to get one chapter rewritten today. I had hoped to get a second one done, I might yet start it tonight. I find I am not tired.

I am fired up about having a garage sale in the next couple of weeks. I am ready for the stuff I've been amassing to be gone. I need the space for other things. I am trying to reclaim the house for myself as well as potential buyers. I still have projects to finish and have my check list that I cross things off the list every day. That feels good. Each thing done is one thing less to do when it's sold.

I had a friend drop in tonight. She had not seen my new wood floors or my spare room since it was finished. She was impressed. She can see where my house would make a good starter house for a young family. She did not realize how much property I have. Two point eight acres is no small amount. I have just enough to be country, but am close enough to a major freeway and just three miles from downtown. Just enough to be out of town and still be close to shopping, dining, and the cinema.

Hope everyone is staying cool in the heat wave. We are under a heat advisory until Friday. Outside work will not be something I'm doing for the next couple of days. Which is fine, because there is plenty to do inside.

TTFN

Monday, July 18, 2011

Just Another Manic Monday

I'm retired. Monday should just be another day. Why is it that the last two have been awful? Last week it was AT& T and Life Alert. Today it was Life Alert again, and the doctor.

Let's start with the doctor. Okay last month he said I have high blood pressure. I've had it before, so it's possible. Well the two meds we have tried have had bad side effects. So he writes a prescription for a third one. I drop the subscription off at Wal-Mart and go to breakfast. (That was a fiasco I will not take on today). I returned to Wal-Mart, picked up the things I needed for a baby shower on Sunday and went to get my meds. Well, they don't carry it and won't have it in until tomorrow and when it comes in it will cost me $36 over what my insurance will pay...I don't think so. I went home and called the doctor's office. He called in something different. This med was more reasonably priced, however, when I read about it I was afraid to even take it. I did, but I'm no less frightened.

From there I moved to the new contract from Life Alert. Ok. It will now cost me $29.95/mo. Hmmm...did they tell me that they were going to bill me quarterly???? NO. So, I called. I'm done with them. I was going to be reasonable as they already had $59.95 and that should have covered July and August so bill me quarterly beginning in Sept. I could live with that. No, they were billing me in August. There is no refund for the extra $30. So, cancel my account. I spoke to four gentlemen in their "retention" department. Each time I told them I wanted to cancel my account they put me on hold for someone else. The fourth guy said, "Just pack up our stuff and send it back and you will be cancelled." I had already done that last week. I want the mobile cancelled. He says there's a penalty for that. "You will be charged 6 times the monthly bill." I very politely told him he was full of shit and hung up. DO NOT EVER GET LIFE ALERT. Their whole game is to rip-off unsuspecting senior citizens. Check into Phillips Lifeline or ADT's service (ADT by the way offers AARP discounts). I'm sure there are other companies, these are just two other options. I have no idea what they cost, but they have to be better.

So, I have fired up my personal taser, watch out come Taser Tuesday. I am armed and dangerous. In the meantime, I will be working on rewrites of the first ten chapters of book two in my series. Then going on to write more.

TTFN

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Hot Summer Day

No, I'm not complaining. This is what summer is all about. The heat, humidity, and just plain hot weather.  In spite of that I have accomplished a few things. I've packed up two crates of scrapbook supplies. I've emptied a box that will work for packing a tea pot or two. I've almost emptied a box of junk...not sure why I still had it. It too will make a good packing box.

I am in the process of listing all the books that I will donate to a local nursing home for their library. I am hoping they will get lots of use. It will be the second load of books I have taken to them.

I am slowly getting rid of the things that have taken up residence in my upstairs bedroom. Most will be pitched or  sold in a garage sale. Sometimes I wonder why I wanted to keep these things in the first place. Cleaning out 24 years of accumulation is not an easy task. I have outgrown or lost interest in some of the things. Others, well I just cannot explain. I am so looking forward to a garage sale.

Tomorrow I will begin the rewrites on the first ten chapters of the book I am currently writing. Then I will reread chapter 11 and continue writing. With any luck, I will have it well underway by the time my current book comes out. That will be an accomplishment. I'd like to have this one finished and to the publisher by Christmas for release in the spring. That means I will be working on the third in the series while I'm wintering in warm weather. :)

Not much exciting in my life at the moment.

TTFN

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Big Day

Just afternoon and my book submission has been sent to the publisher. I now have to wait for them to decide if I am what they are looking for. I so hate waiting.

To keep myself occupied, I am going to toss in a load of laundry and pack up some things from my upstairs. I have books to get ready to take to one of the nursing homes and scrapbook supplies to pack up. I'm sure there is more around here I can do and I will find it. Getting  a house ready for sale is not a one day job.

I skipped blogging yesterday to finish working on my manuscript. I had some exciting news on Thursday. One of my Facebook friends has gone away for the week-end to work on her memoir. We talked for hours as she has never written anything but a blog before. She was asking me how to get started and the steps she should be taking. I truly enjoy being able to encourage and mentor those who have a desire to write. I think memoirs are one of the hardest things a person can write. They are memories of a childhood or part of a life. Because they involve other people, I think it would be hard to be objective. I admire those people willing to open themselves up and share those parts of their life. I will stick to writing fiction where the characters are not real and no one will step up to say they remembered it differently.

I also have book two in my series to get back to work on. I can do rewrites on the first ten chapters. Chapter eleven is written and I can continue working on the rest. I am as excited about this book as the one I just finished. I've never carried my characters over into other books, mine have always been stand alone.  While each of the books in this series will stand on it's own, they have the same characters in the same town. New experiences for writers are good things. I continue to work on making my work better.

Well, I need to get busy.

TTFN

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Less Productive Day

While I have the first 23 chapters of rewrites done on my novel, I did not make as much headway in my home. I was able to get a box of books packed up for my niece. That means she has two here. I have a pile that I need to make a list of before I cart them off to the nursing home.

I will be packing up my scrapbook supplies as soon as I finish this post. I want things done and I know they are not going to do themselves.  I've made a list and am crossing things off as they get done. I am ready to have my garage sale. Once that stuff is gone I can start putting more stuff out to get rid of. I cannot believe some of this stuff even got saved. I will be glad to see it gone.

I've not seen the friendly little ground hog today. That makes me feel better. I'm still avoiding the breezeway. I doubt he came back in, but I cringe at the thought he was even there. Guess he was just curious. I've not seen one around here in years.

Time for me to get busy. It's been a long day.

TTFn

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Productive Day

Wednesday, hump day for most. I managed to get the jungle that is my south yard mowed, then I took the push mower and went around to all the spots I cannot get to with the riding mower. My front looks so much better. I can actually see my Yucca plant, which is blooming for the first time this year.

I did have a small visitor this afternoon and was not real thrilled. I opened my back door to go to the garage and a small ground hog (woodchuck) ran out of my breezeway. Ugh. I am hoping he is gone, but until I can be sure I will be using the front door.

Then I managed to get my collector Barbie dolls repacked in a bigger container and also put my stuff animals in with them. That is one less thing I need to worry about. I am still sorting and packing books and have my scrapbooking supplies to put in a crate. But I feel as though I have accomplished plenty.

I still need to do some more rewrites on my novel. Did not accomplish as much on that yesterday as I had hoped. Looking forward to getting more things done tomorrow.

TTFN

PS I am looking into Wendy Robbins' book on becoming a millionaire. If you want to get yourself a copy and read along with me as part of a group let me know. There are four of us so far. We should be getting started in the next week or two.

Check out Why Marry A Millionaire? Just Be One! - Demand It

Check out Why Marry A Millionaire? Just Be One! - Demand It

I am forming a group to read this book and put the ideas into effect. Please contact me if you'd like to join.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Wonderful Tuesday

My grandson, Eric and his lovely bride of one year, Angelina stopped in West Branch to have lunch with me today. I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did. The ants at the restaurant will give us something to talk about for a long time. Ewwwww. They were heading back to the Lansing area from Mackinaw Island. They will soon be heading home to Dallas.

After I got them headed on the right highway, I stopped to see a friend who had called me about swimming. She'd been but I didn't have my suit. I will catch up with her next time for that. We had a good long talk, I have missed that. One of those things you lose when you retire is good talks with colleagues. It was nice to spend time catching up on her family and how things are looking for the future.

Later I had a former student text me. It was nice to hear from her. It's nice when I hear from former students and they tell me how well they are doing and how much they appreciate that I took time for them when they were in school. Those are the things that make it all worthwhile.

Now it is time for me to go to work on the rewrites. Just because I took time out for some simple pleasures does not mean I can ignore what has to be done.

TTFN

Monday, July 11, 2011

It's Monday Right????

What a frustrating day. I called AT &T about my ridiculously high phone bill. I have basic phone. 50 local calls a month. The bill $40.66. They can lower it by $10/mo. Gee it will still cost me $28.72/mo. Way too much for a phone that won't get used and has a basic cost of $14.61/mo. The taxes and surcharges double the bill. No thanks. Service cancelled after an hour most of which was spent on hold listening to their recorded moron telling me what a valued customer I am.

My second call was to Life Alert to tell them to discontinue my service as I no longer had a phone line and could not afford their $59.95/mo. (This in addition to the phone bill). The nice lady says you can keep your life alert on your cell phone for $29.95/mo. Now that is what I asked about when I first called. If you should want their services and get a smooth salesman named MJ, ask for someone else. Better yet shop around. ADT offers AARP discounts for their system. I just heard about the Phillips system, have no idea the price. UPS will be picking up the excess equipment tomorrow.

So, with my morning messed up I went to the post office and picked up some things at Wal-Mart. By the time I returned home the rain was over and the humidity was back. The other thing accomplished today was putting out my for sale sign on my house. We'll see if I get any calls. Hope to place an ad at the end of the month for a month.

Tomorrow will be back to sorting books, those for the nursing home, those for Kim, those for the garage sale, and those I am keeping. I will repack my collector Barbie dolls in a larger crate and use the smaller one to pack my scrapbooking supplies. I don't see me doing that for a while. Hopefully I can then have the card table for use during the garage sale. It should also free me up to bring the coffee table down to the staging area for the garage sale. I want the stuff gone.

I was able to get four chapters of my current book with all the rewrites done. That was 4428 words for today and a total of 24,922 total. Book has to be done so I can send first 5,000 words with query to publisher.

Happy Monday all, can't wait to see what Tuesday brings.

TTFN

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Why Do You Write?

I get this question a lot. It's followed by where do you get your ideas? I'll start with the first question. I write because I have stories to tell. My stories are waiting in line to find themselves on paper in book form. They have been waiting for years to escape. I will write until there are no more stories to tell.

My ideas I am afraid come from my mind. They come from life experiences. They come from something I've read and think it needs to be explored more. Some of my ideas don't make it for public reading. They didn't work as complete stories or I need to do research to make them work. For whatever reason, some stories just don't make it.

Do I write about people I know? Not usually. Yes, I might get a name or some trait from someone I know or knew once, but never do I write about a real person. To do that I would need to get written permission. I don't know anyone whose life I want to expose in anyway. So if when reading one of my books you find a trait you think is yours it might be. That just means at some time you touched my life and this is how I choose to remember it. Keep in mind that writers use poetic license all the time.

For now I'm heading to do rewrites. I am behind on that. Had hoped to be over halfway by today.

TTFN

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Much to do today

First it was time to say good-bye. My neighbor died the end of May and a Memorial service was held at Veteran's Park for him today. Close to 100 people showed up. There was a motorcycle motorcade from his house to the park. It was a wonderful tribute to a man I will miss greatly. RIP Bill Clemens, you've earned the right.

Then it was out to visit a cousin at her lake cabin. I got to meet her seven month old grandson for the first time. Patrick is a cutie and a very happy baby. I also got to meet the soon to be mother of her next grandchild. The new baby will be a girl Allie Marie. It was a pleasant afternoon.

Now as I reflect on the day, it was good to come together with neighbors and friends to celebrate a well lived life. Bill left a wonderful legacy. His children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren can be proud. Little Patrick has his entire life ahead of him and I will enjoy watching him grow.

It is time for me to find dinner and work on rewrites. Tomorrow will be another busy, busy day.

TTFN

Friday, July 8, 2011

I'm back

Have set up a new blog, still working on the website. Need to call tech support to get a calendar on the website. I have figured out how to hyperlink my blog. I really want to be back with a website again.

I am working on the rewrites for my newest book. Hope to have them done by Sunday. We'll see how that goes. My weekend is pretty full right now. Then I also need to get back to writing the next one. I am filtering all my professional stuff to a separate e-mail address. I have to be able to keep it separate from the other stuff I get.

The house is coming along and I am planning to put out the for sale sign this weekend. Just have to get the numbers for the phone put on the sign. I am still packing and pitching. I'm ready to have the garage sale.

Hope all of you have your summer reads or are busy writing.

TTFN (Ta Ta for Now)

October Already

 I'm not sure where the time has flown. June was an exiting month. July was a mess. I had a change of medication which caused me to gain...