Ready for a Good Rain

We've had a long sunny spell here in Spokane County, and judging by the overcast sky, we're about to get a much-needed sluicing with rain.

Bernice has a new routine--she gets a walk with Jenni every morning, and she dearly loves the outing. 

Thanks to all of you who offered kind comments--I'm still not the most technically savvy person in the world, and it took me a while to find them.  :)  Someone asked about Buck, the grand old man of the barn, and I'm  happy to say, he's still hanging in there.  He's scrawny, but he eats and wants to be out with the other horses every day, roaming the pasture.  So far, so good.

I had a great writing day yesterday and plan on another great one today. 

I've been dabbling at artist trading cards lately--made some new ones that I really like.  My new favorite toy is the Vagabond, a die-cutting machine made by Sizzix and promoted by Tim Holtz, a superstar in the world of mixed media and paper arts.  My favorite use of the gizmo is embossing cards with different designs.  This gives them the most amazing texture.  Later, I paint them with craft paint and, when dry, highlight them with metallic oil crayons.  Another drying session follows, and then I can collage and embellish.

As I've said before, for me, art is about experimentation and discovery--I'm not nearly so attached to the end product as I am to the process.  :)

Today would have been my grandmother Selma Hanson Bleecker's birthday.  Happy birthday, Grandma!

And that's the news from the Triple L.

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

Doing my best to get over them, though.  :)  One thing about life--it definitely goes on, and that, of course, is a good thing.  There are, thank heaven, family and friends to love, critters to look after, home repairs to be made. 

I'm back on the job, working away on "Big Sky Country" and loving it.  I'm so proud of this book, and I'm madly in love with Slade Barlow--I can hardly wait for you to meet him! 

I haven't been cooking--that was one of my favorite things to write about on the blog, but alas.  Now that I'm on the D.I.E.T., food preparation involves sticking a frozen meal into the microwave and giving it a five-minute zap.  I'm not complaining, mind you.  It's good stuff, and filling, and probably costs no more than a weekly trip to the grocery store.

As I write this, Bernice the Yorkie is out for her walk with Jenni.  Bernicie gets so excited we can barely get a leash on her, and last time her little feet were already gobbling ground in anticipation, even though she was standing still.  :) 

We haven't seen our herd (band?) of mooses for a while, but the wild turkeys pass through every so often.  The other day, the Canadian wrangler spotted an elk down in the draw--that, believe me, is a rare thing to see in this neck of the woods.

And that's the news from my kitchen table.

My Weekend

Still recoveriIng from a lot of things around here, but there is comfort and solace in work, and in friends, and in the many loving messages expressing condolences. 

I did some art therapy over the weekend, right here at home.  Our main freeeway, the I-90, is under contruction, so traffic is at a stand-still much of the time.

I hope neither you nor your loved ones were in the path of Hurricane Irene.

Stay safe and stay well.

Your Friday is My Tuesday

I've missed so much work lately that I have declared this day to be Tuesday, even though it is really Friday.  :)

I received author copies of my new book, "A Lawman's Christmas", coming out in October, and I am very pleased.  Christmas is coming up fast--I'm sure you've noticed that there are already cards, decorations, etc. on display in the larger stores.  It's certainly colorful, and I'm a great believer in planning ahead, but as I've said before, I miss the old days, when the holidays didn't run into each other the way they do now.  There was time, it seemed, to enjoy Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then New Years--and eventually Valentine's Day, and on through the year.  Each celebration was distinct from the others--a person (okay, a child-person) could savor them...

I promised not to bore you with the new D.I.E.T., so I won't.  I'm on it.  :)  That's all I'm going to say.

I've been watching "Through the Wormhole", hosted by Morgan Freeman, in the evenings, via Netflix.  Fascinating.  I don't understand all that science by any means, being very right-brained, but I get some of it, so that's good.  I listened to Linwood Barclay's new book, "The Accident", and enjoyed it very much--although I knew right away who the culprit was, though the motivation certainly came as a surprise.  I'm reading "Wendy and the Lost Boys", a biography of the late playwright, Wendy Wasserstein, on my Nook.  My only complaint about my Nook is that it keeps me up too late, reading.  :)  I don't even need to leave the lamp on.

What would this world be without books, in all their various forms and versions? 

I shudder to think.

More on Monday.  Thanks for sticking with me over a rocky road.  It means a lot to know you're out there.

Back to Normal

Dare I say it?  Am I tempting fate?  :) Things seem to have settled down around here--okay, it's early--and I'm hoping it's a pattern.

Wendy went home to California yesterday--she's in the middle of a new script--and although I miss her very much, I know we both need to get back to our regular lives and our work.  My little girl has grown into such a fine, gracious, funny, smart and hardworking woman--I am so proud of her.  Although the reasons for her visit were basically very sad--Sadie and a dear friend passed on the same day--we managed to share a lot of joy, too.  We visited my stepmother, Edith, in Grand Coulee, along with a gang of family members, took my mom to Red Lobster for lunch and some catching up, even made a couple of forays to the casino.  We visited Wendy's favorite fast-food place, Scholtzky's Deli, checked out Hobby Lobby and watched "Celebrity Ghost Stories" on TV, surrounded by three little furry four-leggers.  Wendy is an app-wizard, and showed me all sorts of new ones for my iPad.  :)

Today is a fine day, sunny and warm--our belated summer continues.  :)

And now back to Parable, Montana.

Thanks for being you.