March 18

When it rains, it pours. That is an old saying meaning that sometimes everything happens at once. We fixed the oven and the refrigerator went out. I'm not kidding. The fridge is not something I can fix. So I'm off today to spend the money we would have spent on a stove to buy a new fridge. If the dishwasher goes, then I'll do dishes by hand. But our food is spoiling and I need to go out and purchase a working fridge as soon as I can. At least the freezer is still working. There is always a sliver lining.

I hope you have a good weekend. That spring comes to your house and sunshine falls lightly on your skin. Cheers~

March 17

Happy St. Patty's Day!

This just in... the cover to my latest book, THE COUNTERFEIT BRIDE, out this June and already available for pre-order on Amazon and BN.com

What do you think?

March 16

I'm listening to birds. It is so awesome when they come back. I've heard a crane, geese, a kildeer, redwinged blackbird, robin, cardinal, grackle and chickadee. It's a regular chorus out there. So different than the deep quiet of a snowy winter day. The sun is out and my windows are open, but there is still snow. The lake is still ice covered but the edges are water now, leaving the white ice to float in the center. The weeping willow trees are bright yellow. You can see that the sap has risen in the branches and the buds are coming out.

My heat just kicked in, so I should go close the windows. For a moment it was fun to pretend.

Tell me about the weather where you are. Do you have flowers yet? Or, for those of you south of the equator any signs of Fall?

March 15

Oh, the Ides of March, plus a crazy full moon. It is going to be an interesting week. I could not get my head in the game yesterday with the time change. I'm not even sure my blog made sense. I hope you all are not experiencing this same trouble.

Lately, I've been having a time with all things electrical. Do you have a days when every light bulb you turn on pops? That happened the day the oven went out. It simply wouldn't heat. Now, I do have a background in repair work-fixed the DVR when I found a shorted wire. So, instead of calling a repair man who charges $100 just to come look at the oven I did a little research. (Yay for google how-to.) I ordered a new igniter switch for the oven. It came in yesterday. When we opened up the baking shield we discovered the unthinkable. Someone had replaced the igniter switch before, but instead of opening the back of the oven and plugging the wires into the sockets, they had spliced the wires to the old plugs. These spliced wires burned up. Everything was charred and one side was separated. Thus the igniter not working. Crazy. The oven could have started on fire at any time. *shakes head* We were lucky. We replaced the switch with the new one and plugged it in properly. The oven works. But it makes me wonder what else in the house is rigged. Time will tell.

Do you have horror stories like this?

March 14

So am running behind today, because I'm not used to the time change. Some people love the time change, but I wish they would stick to one time or the other. They keep making "standard" time shorter and shorter- why not get rid of it all together?

I say, we start a movement to keep to one time or the other. Studies have proven that heart attacks happen over time change, etc. It's not good for our health...so, stop. Who is in charge of these things?

That's my rant. LOL.

How about you? Do you love time change or hate it?

March 11

First off, I need to say that I'm sending out prayers to those who are suffering from the giant earthquake in Japan and the resulting tsunami. The earth is rumbling around, isn't it? There was an article about the fact that on March 19th the moon will be the closest it has ever been to the earth in it's orbit and it will be a beautiful full moon. So go out and get a lovely look. That article also stated the author's worry about the effects of the moon's pull on the earth, but I read somewhere years ago that the moon was closer to the earth in the past and has been slowly moving away. Therefore if damage was to be done, it would have already happened, right?

I don't get into politics here, but someone said to me yesterday that the world, including our country, with all it's unrest, earthquakes, animals dying, etc. seems to be in big trouble. The truth is that the world has always been filled with unrest, earthquakes, mass extinctions, etc. But today we get the news instantly and with much drama to drive up ratings. What we once would have never heard about, or heard about days or weeks later is now a second away.

The answer to all this trouble? Living in the moment. This moment, right now, today. Making the right choices for this moment, right now, today. Right now, I'm sitting in the sunshine watching the snow melt. Today I will make small choices that will help my writing career-like writing at least 100 words. I will drink water, eat fruits and veggies, and I will go for a long walk. Small choices in my moments to live the creative life I want. Small choices don't dismiss or ignore the big problems of the world, but they prevent you from being overwhelmed by it all.

Have a great weekend my friends. Be safe~

March 10

Maintenance guy has come and gone and little dog and I are settled back into our usual work routine. I love routine because my brain is always half in a story and I get lost stumbling around in the real world without some sort of structure. Don't get me wrong it can be fun to take a day or two and float around, but I prefer structure.

As for little dog- she is tummy sick today. Perhaps from the grout fumes, more likely from all the cookies she ate yesterday as I tried to keep her quiet. Yes, I spoil everyone rotten.

So, how is your writing going? What are you reading?