More Miscellaneous Chatter

Maybe that should be the new name for the blog.  :)

I'm feeling better every day, though of course I still miss my Sadie-bean something fierce.  I'm so grateful for every moment we got to share, that beagle and I.  She was a joy to me the whole time she was here, and I treasure every memory.

Bernice had a big adventure this morning on her walk with Jenni.  They met up with a family of wild turkeys and suddenly this Yorkie was a mighty hunter.  :)  Of course she couldn't catch them, but she sure tried.  And then there's the question, "What would she have done if she had
caught one?  Most of them are three or four times her size.

I'm reading a memoir called "Breaking Night" on my Nook.  *The author's name escapes me, but it's absolutely riveting, though sad.  If you like memoirs, as I do, I highly recommend this one.  My all-time favorite of the genre is still Jeanette Walls' fabulous, "The Glass Castle", though, with Lisa See's "On Gold Mountain" running a close second.  And then there's John Grogan's wonderful "Marley and Me"--well, I could go on all day.

I'm off to write a new chapter--Slade was on a roof, shirtless, when I left him.  :)  Mama mia.
He looks mighty good from any angle.

And that's the news.
*Liz Murray

Miscellaneous Chatter

I wrote yesterday, and was I ever into the story (Big Sky Country)--this is the part of a book I most love to write, the last third.  By then, things are really rolling, and there are lots of loose ends to tie up, and the work is usually fast and furious (in the energetic sense), the words tumbling out of my brain.

My good friend Debbie Macomber and I are planning a girls-only get together for November--neither of us have a free weekend before then.  I'm looking forward to the long talks and the laughter and even the tears. 

I'm also looking forward to the big rodeo in Las Vegas this December!  WOW.  It's going to be more fun than ever and, thanks to the D.I.E.T. and the Treadclimber I just ordered, I might even be into some (fairly) skinny jeans.  :)   My fabulous, wonderful, amazing publishers--Harlequin--have all sorts of great stuff lined up for me to do while there, and I'm already chomping at the bit to get started.  Also, I'll be seeing my buddy, Steve Miller, "the buckle guy", and his lovely lady, Sammi, the inimitable Flint Rasmussen, and hitting Cowboy Christmas at LEAST twice.  All I've got to say is, BRING IT ON!

And that's the news.

Welcome, Tuesday

The holiday weekend is over and, even though I enjoyed it, I'm glad it's time to get back to Real Life--which, for me, includes writing.  :)

I finished listening to "The Language of Flowers", and enjoyed it, though for some reason I thought it was set in Victorian times, and it was modern instead.  Good story, well told, though.  Now I've started, "Becoming Marie", a novel about Marie Antoinette, ill-fated queen of France.  She's very big in the mixed media art world at the moment--lots of artist trading card swaps feature her, for instance.

My new book, "A Lawman's Christmas", will be released the last Tuesday of this month, and I'm excited to tell you that my friend, Josanne, is pitching it to Hallmark for a holiday movie, next year.  Cross your fingers!

The D.I.E.T. continues to go well.

I continue to miss my Sadie-girl, but the other critters certainly keep us all busy.

This Friday, I'll be signing books at the Safeway store on Wellsley, here in Spokane, from 4 to 6 pm.  If you live in the area, stop by and say howdy.

That's the news from my kitchen table.

I'm Just Sayin'...

6 pounds.  That's all I'll say about the D.I.E.T.  (Picture me doing the happy dance.)

Or not.  :)

It's Friday, the beginning of a long weekend.  I'm going to be working, except for a probable dash to Hobby Lobby--like I need more art supplies, see yesterday's blog--but there you go.  I love all that visual stimulation. 

Anyway, I'm thrilled to be working--August was a tough month, but September is off to a promising start.

Our weather is beautiful, sunny and warm, but with that faint crisp snap of fall in the air.  Fall is my favorite season--sometimes I wish it was year-around.

I just finished listening to, "The Kitchen House", by Kathleen Grissom, and was it EVER good.  One of those books that make you want to flip right back to the first page and start all over again.  LOVED it.  Next up for a listen is, "The Language of Flowers", by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.

Books.  What would we do without them?

Have a good weekend, and be safe.  I'll be blogging Monday morning, though of course I can't promise I'll have anything sensible to say.  :)

Invasion of the Art Supplies

It's official.  My art supplies, half finished paintings and unused sketchbooks are taking over the house!  They've already conquered the basement, and now they're encroaching on the kitchen.  Yikes.  This can't be good fung shei.  :) If that's how you spell it, and it probably isn't.  Unless I want my own episode on "Hoarders", and who needs that kind of publicity, I'd better start using my evenings to sort out all this infernal stuff-- there will be three categories: Throw away, Give away, and Keep.

I would be better off, I suppose, if I specialized.  One woman, one hobby.  Crocheting, say.  Or watercolors.  But NO.  That would be way too easy.  Trust me to choose mixed media--which means I love to experiment, as I said yesterday, with practicaly every new product I can get my hands on, which means, in turn, that I have a little bit of everthing and nothing
is organized.  The fabrics are over here.  The paints--some of them--are over there.  There are stacks of collage materials, which, of course, resemble clutter to the casual onlooker.  :)  (It's all a matter of perspective, I guess.)  There are teetering piles of art magazines....

Well, you get the picture.  Unfortunately.

But I am a writer.  I am a creative person.  I can envision what now looks like a badly-planned yard sale as a spacious, well-lit area with clear surfaces to work on and everything in its place.

I can dream, can't I?