It's Standby

Since Bill has Sunday and Monday off, starting Tuesday, he's going to clock in at 7am, sit all day, and come home at 3pm.

Whee.

I think she's gone.

Yesterday Vicky and her friends went to play the Star Wars RPG at the boyfriend's house, so she took Jeli over there to get her acclimated. Apparently, some time during the day, the boyfriend decided she should stay.

I have mixed feelings. On one hand, it's better for us if she's over there. Chloe can stop being a hermit (has, in fact, already stopped), Ryan and Tess won't miss her one bit, and there should be no more laundry peeing. She won't be around to try to push Ryan and Tess out of the way when I feed the herd. On the other hand, Jeli doesn't like the boyfriend. When he would come over here, she would run and hide. I'm concerned that she's going to have a hard adjustment and get into so much mischief over there that he either sends her back or gives her away. At the very least, she'll be alone for longer periods of time with no one to play with, and she's very social for a cat. I'm concerned she may get depressed.

Then there's the fact that Vicky didn't know to tell me Jeli would be leaving. I had no preparation time. I would be lying if I said I wasn't grieving a little. It's so quiet now. I'm not fussing at her to stay out of my water, but I'm not laughing when she comes running to the siren song of the ice maker. I know I'm over-thinking this. I haven't been sleeping well and am hormonal, so my Chicken Little nature is kicking in.

What it all boils down to is the day I knew was coming is here. The timing stinks and it would have been nice to know it was coming this soon, but I can't do anything about it. She's not my cat. I really hope she settles in all right over there. At this point, I can't do this again.

A few things

Well, a few things new in my world this week. They are:

1. Lulu just shipped an order of Murder by the Acre (Second Edition) with the new covers to me. Or they should ship Monday. Which means, unless the hurricane interferes since Lulu is in North Carolina, that I should get them in plenty of time for the Chisholm Trail Book Festival on September 17.

2. Was supposed to have a writers group meeting today, but it got cancelled. I was actually disappointed. It's good to get out of the house and meet with other people.

3. Have developed some foot problems that have interfered with my walking each day. Both feet are healing nicely, and I will return to the gym on Monday. Probably going to switch to the recumbent bikes to give my feet a bit of a rest from having to support my weight.

4. Been working on Circles. I had plunged into it without knowing a thing about this new world. Got to a point that I needed some background and at least a semblance of plot. Have a notebook dedicated to it now and been jotting notes and ideas as they come to me.

5. Also been working on the Ryton Atlas. Ryton is the fictional town where my mysteries are set. I didn't update the Atlas with all the changes that happened in Murder by the Acre. Makes a big difference, especially in cozy mysteries where the locale and townspeople are constant characters in the book. If that makes sense.

Anyway, the Atlas will help me finish Murder by the Mile. I already caught a couple of errors in MBTM from the MBTA entries. Cool.

6. Speaking of cool, it's been anything but as the temps continue to soar here. Been terribly hot. So looking forward to fall and cooler weather. Winter even -- and I hate the cold. Been soaking in my pool when the sun goes down. Water is still warm, but you don't boil.

7. Next up, a huge project as I work to launch Oakleaf Harbor Cards online. I plan to have 50 original cards in a Cafepress store -- and maybe other places if I can find them -- where people can order them online. Harder work than you might expect. I know I didn't think it would be this much work. Don't know if it will fly, but won't ever know if I don't try.

And I think that's it for my week. Hope we all have a great week next week. You're all in my thoughts and prayers.

Week 34

Yup.  That's what it is.  Thirty-four weeks out of fifty-two in the year.  And all is well.  At least for me, personally, I can say that.  Not so much for some other people I know.

Polar Bear on the Loose - I broke the stall.  I used my Camp NaNoWriMo file on Scrivener and my revised scene cards and wrote a line detailing the conflict for each of the sixty scenes.  If there were scenes that seemed to be missing conflict or having really weak conflict, I highlighted them.  Fourteen scenes are highlighted.  I have a few more things to do, but I made it past that blockage.

750words.com - Still on track there.

Camp NaNoWriMo - I did well with this every day this month until I finished the conflict scenes.  Then, I keep forgetting to go back.  Need to fix that for the last couple days of the month.

Internet Responsibilities - Pretty much the bare minimum there.

Pets - Everyone is doing well.  The kittens turned 11 months today, and Lady celebrated by, once again, turning over and digging through every small trash can in the house.  We tried to give her a name to live up to, but Miss Alley Kat would have been more appropriate.  Sigh.  Yesterday, she carried a tube of Neosporin downstairs.  Last night, she brought it upstairs to me in bed.  I thanked her and put it on the nightstand.  What else can I do?  A few weeks ago, I forgot to put away a stainless steel scrubbing pad from the kitchen sink.  It disappeared.  I have no idea where it went.  A couple of days ago, it appeared on the rug in the parlor.  Thank you, Lady.  I was looking for that.   Hubby calls her the Pack Cat.  Is there any wonder why?

Property -
We got the bottom three boards replaced on the front of the house this week.  Hubby has gotten them nailed in, puttied, and primered.  He still has some puttying to do, another coat of primer, and a color coat.  I don't believe he'll get the color coat put on before he heads back to San Antonio on Monday morning.  On the other hand, he just might do that before he heads out.


Health -
- Weight is up .2 pounds.  It seesawed a little this week -- at one point being the lowest it's ever been since I started this journey at the end of Feb, but ultimately, it swung back up a couple tenths.  I'm not losing sleep over this, but I'm not sure if I should be concerned or not.
- As I've posted elsewhere, the rheumatologist recommended a change in my over the counter meds, prescribed some isometric exercises, and offered me a cortisone injection, which we decided should be given 10 days before I'll need to do a lot of walking for Hershey in October.
- All that is fine, but when I cut Aleve out, my whole body hurt.  Increasing the Tylenol did nothing for me.  I specifically had more pain in my feet, knees, hips, shoulders, neck, head, hands, and wrists (did I miss anything?).  I could barely hold a glass of water last night.  It's nice to know my OTC pain meds do such a good job, and there were no new pains -- just pains the OTC meds have masked for some time.
- I began to wonder if there are dependencies built for Aleve, so I searched on line, and found at least one website that says stopping NSAIDs (Aleve is a minor one) can result in blood clots, so one shouldn't just quit taking them.  Hmm.  Just to be on the safe side, I am going to take one before bed for the next week.  Then for the next week after that, I'm going to take one every other night before bed.  Then I'll quit taking them.  And, if this pain stuff continues, the doc and I are going to have a talk when I see him again on the 22nd. 

In other news -It's been a tough week for a few people I'm aware of.  I know there are always painful things going on, but it seems like they came to a head this week.
- Tammy's Bill getting the news about his processing station shutting down.  Even though you guys have known it was coming, it still feels like a blow to the gut when you finally get the word -- and things are still pretty nebulous, so I think that makes it even worse.
- The lady who boards Millie when we go out of town, was thrown from a horse while giving riding lessons last Friday, and she's in intensive care for the foreseeable future.  I talked to her daughter this week, and, while they have a lot of positive signs -- she squeezed hands and wiggled toes on command on Tuesday -- she lost her right eye and has reconstructive facial surgery - a 16 hour operation if all goes well - scheduled for Thursday.  I'm pretty sure there will be more surgeries scheduled, but they're taking it one day at a time for now.  She was an endurance rider, so she was in great physical shape before the accident, which has to help, but I've been heartsick for her and her family all week.
- A friend of Stephen's, who I've become friendly with, is preparing to lose her mother this week.  While I believe she's been preparing for this point for several months, the moment is at hand this week, so it's bound to be a tough time for her and her family.
- Stephen's life is still in a tough place -- I know it will work out for him, but I still worry about him.
- Like most you, I have many friends and acquaintances who live on the East Coast, so I'm concerned for their well-being with Hurricane Irene bearing down upon them.
- Our town has lost it's second military member in Afghanistan, and his body came home this week, and the family buried him today.  The man had seven children, some of them very young.  That's always tough.  My neighbor was a couple years behind him in school and says he was a great guy.

Just a lot of little stuff (well, not little stuff for the people directly affected, but for me, well....I dunno).  Nothing seriously wrong for me, but I'm a little bummed.

Question, if it's okay.

Can you all tell me a bit more about Weight Watchers? Are you going to meetings or doing it online? What materials do you get starting out, and how are they updated as you advance? What was the biggest challenge to changing your lifestyle? Is it a good value? I hear lots of great things, but what are the not so great things? Have any of you tried to acclimate a family/spouse into the plan and, if so, how did it work? Are there any questions about it no one ever asks but you wish they would (or that you wish you would have asked before starting?)

Do you have any comments, suggestions... anything? I've been trying to exercise but am finding 'eating right' difficult. Part of it is the current life insanity, but most of it is just me, ya know?

tambometrics August 27th

I'm not going to do a full breakdown, just a quick post if that's okay.

Bill received notice on Wednesday that they're ceasing processing at his plant next Saturday (Sept 3). He can't be laid off without a congressional action - it's against the postal union contract - so that's good, but we don't know if he'll be Excessed (forced to take a different job in a different permanent location and ultimately relocate our family), Detailed (transported and housed - at postal expense - at another temporary location) or On Standby (where he goes to his current location, clocks in, and sits all day every day, paid for doing nothing).

We're not thrilled with any of those options, frankly (especially considering travel time and a likely cut in pay as he loses weekends and overtime), but it's happening next weekend and we'll adapt accordingly. We've already cancelled the satellite dish, and are prepared to cut out the land line and internet, if we need to. Mostly, we will have to sell the house, since our payment is almost precisely half of Bill's new monthly income. We simply cannot afford to stay here much longer.

I'm on chapter 5 of Stain of Corruption - stalled since the new posty news this week - and I'm reasonably happy with it, at least so far.

Otherwise, nothing around here has changed, at least not that I can think of. I hope you all have a great weekend and a fabulous next week!

Word for the week: overwhelmed.

I've plunged into allergy apathy this week. That's what I hate about this time of year. Stuff starts pollinating, and it all falls into the river valley, and the wind doesn't disperse it. It all just sits here making people like me miserable.

Writing: Not a lot. Some editing. I really need to get to work threading Frank's pranks into the story but I'm overwhelmed and have no idea where to start. I need to be working on my one sheet for the conference, but so far I've gotten nothing done on that.

Clutter: I bagged up some stuff. It's ready to go.

Health: I lost 2 more pounds and hit my original goal weight. Anything I lose in the next few weeks will be that much I won't have to lose after the conference. That's about the only thing I'm happy about this week.

The issue I'm dealing with now is food boredom. I don't know what to cook, so I haven't. Normal comfort food isn't on the menu while I'm in loss mode, and it's too hot for mac & cheese or mashed potatoes anyway. I want to cook something really yummy that doesn't have 27 points and I'm coming up dry, so I fall back on the same things over and over, or we go out. I cooked dinner Monday, and I haven't cooked since. Eric is in class two nights a week, so it's easier to grab something out. I've just spent the last hour trolling recipe sites and cookbooks for easy healthy sides to go with chicken and am no closer to dinner. So frustrating.

Misc: The Pet Rescue Remedy might be working. Chloe came about four steps outside the bedroom, but she still isn't tolerating Jeli. I haven't caught Jeli peeing in laundry this week, although the clothes I washed earlier in the week had been peed on. Not sure when; everything was dry but I could smell it. I'm continuing to spike the gooshey food and the downstairs water dish.

Vicky's first week of college classes went reasonably well, and they got her car registered today so she'll be able to drive to school. Apparently her books were too heavy to haul around all day, every day, and she got tired to dealing with it. That took less time than I thought.

Good advice

Was playing with Photoshop Elements tonight after working on the new cover for Murder by the Acre and made this. Thought I'd share since it's advice I have to remind myself to follow.

Fast Week. I Think.

Writing: Just a little more editing. In a related field, I started doing market research, looking for more books like Hope. Not having a lot of luck, which isn't so bad, but I feel like I should have at least one or two to compare it with when I talk to the agents next month. Surely Hope isn't so unique that there isn't another book like it. Anyone know of a historical novel that deals with childhood abuse and faith issues? Or of an easier way of tracking down a book by topic besides trolling Amazon?

Clutter: Eric said something about my frumpy shirts the other night, and I had no idea what he was talking about, so yesterday I made him sit in the closet with me (we have a ginormous walk-in) while I tried on almost every shirt I own. Then I did skirts, dresses and a couple pairs of pants before I puttered out. In the end, almost 1/4 of my wardrobe was gone, all stuff that's too big or never fit well in the first place. I need to go through my shoes, too, because somehow my feet have grown almost another half size. I don't understand it since I've worn the same size since I was 13, but the shoes I've had for years don't fit anymore. (Darn, I see shoe shopping in my future. Sad face. No, not really.)

Health: I was down another pound this morning. (That puts me past the 3 bags of flour mark.) Then we went to Panera for lunch after church, and instead of my usual soup, I got a panini that I hadn't researched beforehand. Long story short, I ate a whole day's worth of points in one meal. So much for my activity point buffer. I'll be having salad for dinner.

Misc: We toured the new high school this afternoon (kicking myself for not putting on my pedometer). It opens in two weeks. It's huge and Vicky is glad she graduated last year!

We're still having issues with Jeli marking. I caught her peeing in my laundry pile yesterday, and I'd scooped litter not 10 minutes before. She's been picking on Chloe, too. I don't think she's being overly aggressive; she's just grown bigger than Chloe, and she likes to play rough. Chloe likes to play rough, too, but Jeli is 9 1/2 lbs to Chloe's 6. Chloe hasn't come out of my bedroom in over a week. I had to move food and litter upstairs for her. She hides under the bed whenever Jeli comes into the room. Ryan has started standing up to her more, which is interesting (he's a lover, not a fighter), and this morning, Tess swatted Jeli while she and Ryan were tussling. I ordered Pet Rescue Remedy from Bach Flower Remedies. I'm going to spike all the water dishes and hope that it chills everyone out because I'm over the cat pee.

Oh, yeah, and Vicky's first day of college is tomorrow. She and the boyfriend are still juggling transportation issues, but that's a rant you don't want to get me started on right now. Both my kids got a double dose of stubborn, and she's wanted to do things her own way since she learned how to say, "Me do!" I'm staying out of the way and mostly keeping my mouth shut.

Third but before Wendy!

What? Am I beating Wendy to posting? Woohoo! Now I can tell her it's her turn! It's these small victories that add spice to my life lately. Of course, her news will be better than mine because she's awesome, but still, I was first this week. Have to do a jiggly swingy dance now.

Writing:

Continuing to write on Circles. Sex has reared its lovely and dangerous head. I confess I'm uncomfortable about confronting the barely 16-year-old Thomas with it, but in his world, he would have been officially declared an adult if he had survived the Testing. So it's consistent and works with the story. Don't worry; no explicit stuff is on its way. I could never write that ... well ... hm. We'll see where the story goes and where we need to draw the curtain. Check out the story (from the beginning) on my blog at the Circles page on 51313 Harbor Street.

Should receive a proof copy of the second edition of Murder by the Acre with its new cover and content either Monday or Tuesday. Very excited about this. If it turns out well, a second edition of Murder by Dewey Decimal is on the horizon. Hoping to have the new MBTA by the time of the Chisholm Trail Book Festival rolls around in September. Deadlines are getting close, though.

Health:

Haven't done well this week. My IBD flared Tuesday night, so I've been mostly confined to my house. Very annoying. Not that I miss the exercise, but my blood sugar spikes when I don't exercise. I'm better today. Hope I can resume walking Monday. Besides, I kind of miss my friends at the gym.

Job Search:

I'm stalled out. Don't know any place new to send a resume. I need to update a few that I sent out before. Keep watching the paper and the employment website. Keep my eyes and ears open. A new Radio Shack is going to open soon here. Thought I might try there.

Financial:

Quite dismal. Living off my savings, and book and card sales. Garage sales. Speaking of the latter, I will be having another one September 1 & 2. I have a bunch of stuff in the back bedroom ready to go. I'd sure like to reduce the clutter.

I still have a bit of money in a retirement account that I can pull if I have to. Sure don't want to, but will do what I have to do to keep my ends meeting.

Life:

Well, maybe the increased Vitamin D is helping, but I've been feeling better about things despite all the problems. Maybe I'm just adjusting to the changes finally. Whatever it is, the Black Dog Pack haven't been nipping at my heels as much. I'm profoundly grateful for that.

And that's it for this week. Hope next week will be great for all of us.

Week 33

Really.  Yes. We're 33 weeks into the year 2011.  September is coming, and, I hope, the end of this infernal drought we're experiencing here in Texas.

Polar Bear on the Loose -  I remain stalled.  I will get moving on it again.  I'm sure it is a matter of overcoming the brain freeze I experience each and every time I see the word "conflict."  It's silly, really.  I'll figure it out.

750words.com -  I've still participating in this.  Some days go better than others, but I always get the words.

Camp NaNoWriMo - I've written 6056 words this month by making an entry each and every day of some kind geared toward brainstorming new ideas.  I'm sure there's some brainstorming value in yesterday's entry, scrawly quickly before heading to bed, "I thought I had an idea for today, but it slipped my mind."  Fortunately, most days aren't that bad.  I'll never reach 50k, but that hasn't been my goal for Camp NaNoWriMo.  My goal has been to generate some words that may be useful someday, and that is happening.

Internet Responsibilities - I've done a couple of blog entries, run some analysis at FM, and generally wandered around the internet, not causing too much trouble.

Pets -
- Millie is getting obnoxious about wanting in the house in the afternoon.   I try to bring her in when local weather shows on my Firefox Add-On indicates the temperature reaches a hundred, but, today, the thermometer on the back porch read 105, so maybe she was yipping to come in when her ambient temperature was at 100.  I'll have to check tomorrow.  Maybe the dog knows something I don't.
- The cats are a barrel of laughs, as always.

Property - 
- The yard is about three-quarters green in some way, shape, or form --usually with weeds.
- Keeping up with dishes, laundry, and basic household chores (this isn't particularly unusual)
- Hubby is back in town
- I packed up the yard sale stuff at the shop and cleared that side of the showroom so hubby can paint the ceiling and walls whenever he gets around to it
- I filled the two seven gallon water jugs with water in the event we need emergency water.  That's the beginning of getting emergency water set aside.  The containers are available at WalMart for about $8 and are stackable.  We plan to rotate the water annually but spreading it on the lawn and refilling the containers.  We'll get more containers as we think of it when we're in Wal-Mart.  It's an easy preparedness measure.
- I received new batteries for the old electric lawn mower this week, but when I tried to use up the charge on the original batteries, I was able to mow two-thirds of the front yard.  Maybe those batteries aren't as spent as I thought.  I taped the box on the new batteries and stored them in the closet under the back stairs for using at a later date.
- Two new mower blades for the new electric lawn mower arrived this week, and they're ready to install (it only takes one) whenever I feel like it -- probably not for this season.

Health - 
- Weight showed as down 1.2 pounds this week (still above my lowest weight by almost a pound), so I'm okay from that perspective, but I'm not pleased with how I'm doing with handling my program points.  I am pleased that I've been basically stable for the last month plus.  I figure I'm on an inadvertent maintenance while I deal with some mental issues.
- I've been concerned about when the mental aspects of weight loss were going to kick in.  I'm not sure what the best approach is at this point.  I'm reassessing where I'm at and what I plan to do going forward.
- Right leg status.  I have a podiatry appointment for my foot and a rheumatology appointment for my knee.  That was an unexpected but, I think, welcome development.  I was anticipating an orthopedics referral, but when the staff explained a little about what rheumatology does, I'm interested to see how it works out.  I'm sure part of their reason for referring that way is the proximity of a staff member for the appointment, but I'm willing to pursue that avenue.  I've never been confident surgery would be the right answer for this problem, so I'm very interested in seeing what alternatives might be available.

August 20 tambometrics

Not much excitement around here.

Writing

Another declination for M - this time because it started too slow and wasn't commercial enough, which is pretty much the exact opposite from last week's declination. It's off to another publisher, though, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I'm just about through the end of the beginning (aka Chapter 3) of Stain of Corruption and I'm pretty sure I've introduced (or at least mentioned) all of the major characters and plot threads. The best part, for me, is when Kia and Fyn are both at the same place at the same time. They're a joy to write.

My mid-week writing retreat went well. Was a lovely B&B and I came home overfed but really relaxed.

Life

Bill's still working 60 hours a week.  Laura's still round. I'm still clogged and flabby, but I've been walking. There really isn't much postal news other than Bill has been officially notified that his job will officially disappear and he will be excessed. Still don't know where, when, or what job he'll actually get, but more official news it's going to happen.

House

No showings for 2 weeks now and it concerns me. There are a LOT of houses for sale in our town and the bigger nearby one most people work in. Super slumped housing market. We've talked about lowering the price, but it might suck up what little equity we have and might not make any difference. I just don't know what else to do, but Bill's still working here, so I guess it's not all bad. I'm very worried though that they'll transfer him somewhere else and we'll be stuck with the house. What do we do then??

Health

Weight went up about 5 lbs while I was on the writing retreat, but I've already lost most of it.

Everything Else

Laura and I have been going to garage sales and have found some great baby stuff cheap. Also, we have KITTENS!! Two of them, Echo and Peanut (Peanut was called Pretzel, but we kept calling her Peanut by mistake, so now she's Peanut. Weird, huh?). They're both very sweet and Super Good Writing Helpers, especially when I want a small, purring cat to walk across the keyboard or tug on the laptop power cord or bat at my fingers and generally look cute doing it.

Of writing and weather and other things

How ye be doing? Well, actually I guess I know since all the other Createslaters have already posted. Here's how be with me.

Writing:

11,000 words or so on Circles. I didn't start out to write a steampunk novel. No, it was going to be a group of kids who attended a magic school and learned to work together when they were Tested at graduation time. Instead, they were attacked by soldiers in a dirigible. One of them died. Most all of the other students were slaughtered. A concubine trafficked with evil spirits. An emperor of the most powerful nation on their earth revealed his powerlessness. An extinct creature out of nightmare attacked a squadron of gyrocopters. I'm so far off my outline that there's no point in pretending I have one anymore.

I'm having great fun with with. Don't know if it will lead anywhere, but it's been so long since I really really really enjoyed writing that I'm delighted and willing to ride this story as far as it will go.

I signed up for CampNaNoWriMo, but I'm not going to make 50,000 words. I'm frankly disappointed in the camp. I expected the events and forums of NaNoWriMo. Not so much. Still, maybe it will grow. Not blaming that, however, for me not making the 50,000. The writing isn't going that fast, but that's okay. Words on paper, words on paper.

Life:

Well, it's here. Sold a few more birthday cards. Got to figure out a way to put them online so people can buy them like that. Perhaps they can't be as personalized, but I could reach a larger audience. My card "company" is Oakleaf Harbor Cards.

Clutter:

Nothing. In face, more clutter as I've gathered card making supplies. I've only had to buy a couple of things. I had most of the needed supplies in various boxes and closets. (Score one for the packrats!) Slowly I'm getting everything in one place.

Health:

Continuing to walk. Doing okay, but wish I could get my two miles in less time so I could add more exercises. Maybe some weights. More muscle is good.

Blood sugar is just okay. I keep cheating and eating things I shouldn't. I get so hungry at times. Bought some low cal and low carb treats today. Hoping they will help me slay the hungry beast when it comes ahuntin' me.

Weather:

We finally got some rain! An inch or so. We're still nearly 20 inches behind for the year so it didn't break the drought, but it sure was nice. We had days in the low 90s and nights in the low 70s. The forecast calls for more 100+ days ahead. Sigh.

And finally, a bit of advice that I'm trying to take to heart.

Non-food Rewards

I was thinking about rewards while I was swimming today. Since we all seem to have a hard time with them, I thought maybe we should post things as we think of them. Mine may not be feasible for you, but maybe they'll make you think of something that is. If you have ideas, we'll be able to find them faster in the future if you start a new post.

Activity points. They're the only thing that keeps me going to the pool. Since I don't always use all of my activity points, I don't consider them a food reward.

Pedicure. Yes, Stephen, you can skip the nail polish. I was thinking that an occasional pedicure wouldn't hurt the circulation in your feet, but maybe I'm wrong.

Martyr points. I give these to myself when I do something I really don't want to but that has to be done. Usually it's something that I have tried unsuccessfully to delegate. They're not good for anything or you wouldn't be a martyr, but they do help me feel better. A little.

Retail therapy. I don't go crazy with this one. I might go buy some new Post It notes or a couple new (cheap) work shirts. There is sometimes a food component to this one. I might buy a new tin of tea, or stop at Starbucks for a chai.

Reading. I try to keep a book or two on hand that I put off reading until I need a motivator. Maybe I'll spend the day in menial domestic drudgery and then break out a new book.

Quiet week

Writing: Nothing new. Just editing, which I should be doing right now.

Clutter: We took a small load to Good Will this morning. The plan is to take something every Saturday until we decide we're done. Vague, I know, but vague is better than nothing.

Health: Holding within a half pound of where I stopped. I went to the gym 4 times this week--three times to swim, once for yoga. I'm up to 30 minutes in the pool, and I get 5 activity points each time. I usually hoard my activity points for ice cream.

Misc: Nothing exciting. My sinuses have been achy lately, which affects my energy and concentration. Acupuncture helps, and I've been making liberal use of my peppermint oil.

We had Vicky's orientation at the local community college, and that's when I realized she's a college student now. Both my babies are in college. This is the first of 2 years we've been dreading since they were little--the double tuition bill years. Alex heads back to school tomorrow, and they both start classes the following week. Eric starts Masters classes this week. I will remain in my current education level. I have to be different.

August 13 tambometrics

It was an okay week. I guess.

Writing

I have totally scrapped Stain, again, and started over. None of the 'old' stuff was meshing at all with the new - which I like better - so I'm starting over and following Dubric through to the end. I'm not happy about it, I really don't like writing Dubric, but at least the book will get done. Right?

M received another gushing declination from the S&S imprint and I was rather bummed, they seemed like the PERFECT fit. Their reason for declining it? Too commercial. Last I knew, being commercial wasn't a bad thing, but apparently it is. 

My friend Virginia and I are going to a B&B for a couple of days next week to write and that should be fun. :)

Life

It's keeping on keeping on. The pollens or air pressure or something is wreaking havoc with my sinuses, so I've had a pretty constant headache. Bill's still working 60 hours a week, Laura and the baby are fine... I really must, somehow, find the oomph to exercise. Not liking this flabby-achy thing one bit. Yet I still just sit and sit. Dangit.

Bill's boss is really, REALLY trying to get him to stay here so the current likely outcome is that Bill becomes a mail carrier. He'd keep the same pay rate for 2 years, then drop to the standard carrier rate. So we've been talking about that. Or he might become a janitor, same deal pay wise. Or just transfer. Or, God forbid, get caught in the upcoming round of postal layoffs, which is really scary. They're cutting 230,000 workers, more than ONE THIRD of their staff. Scary.

Laura interviewed for the new Kohl's this week and she came home all excited and pretty sure she nailed it. Also, the manager for the movie theater that we go to a lot pretty much asked her if she was looking for a job, so she's turned in an application there. We're a bit concerned she might ultimately lose the Kohl's job because she'll have the baby right before Christmas and before her 90 days probation would be up, BUT the movie theater would almost certainly keep her and be a lot more flexible about baby birthing and things. So, I dunno, at least she's getting nibbles and it's something.

House

No showings this week. We're within 15 min of spotless pretty much constantly - sweep, put a quilt on the bed, toss dirty glasses in the dishwasher and head out the door. If we don't have an offer by late September, Bill wants to install more shelves in the basement and get our stuff out of storage so it's not there all winter. I dunno, I think we just have too much stuff and if we're going to bring it all home, we ought to not have the house for sale.  Maybe we should just trim down and get rid of more stuff (mostly furniture, books, and seasonal clothes, tbh), but I dunno.

Health

Up a little, down a little. Am down about 8.5 lbs from when this all started, so I guess I'm holding steady. I need to stop late night eating - and getting seconds. Also need to exercise, but I dread it so. Been trying to walk with Bill or Laura, if they're game, and that helps.

Everything Else

My Mac died. Mostly. Won't keep power and it totally locked up several times the other day. I've transferred my files to the desktop (which we've brought out of storage) so I'm now working on the kitchen table. We might get my desk and get it set up in the living room bump out, but this is working all right so far, other than it's making my upper back hurt since my posture is different typing on the table vs my lap.

Still missing Malaysia. All the other pets are fine, though, but Abbie is frustrated. She wants something, but it's not here, in the house, so she wants out. But it's not out there, either, so she wants in. Much mrowowing and demands to be catered to. Fwiw, I think we're between batches of baby bunnies and she's bored and has nothing to hunt, but I might be wrong. Maybe she's just old, fat and cranky like me. :p

Haven't sewn anything all summer. I need to, for the baby, if nothing else, and for my mood, if I'm honest about it. Been kinda blue and numb for a long time. That needs to change, somehow.

Week 32.

Thirty-two weeks into 2011.  

Polar Bear on the Loose (Revision, using How To Revise Your Novel):  Did not get back to this this week -- didn't take it to SA with me, and I have to pull it out of the folder -- maybe tonight.

750words.com:    I've written at least my 750 words seven of seven days.

CampNaNoWriMo: I've done a little session each day on brainstorming.  Usually a couple hundred words.  I'm at 4995 words for the month of August.  I'm not going to get 50,000 words, but I didn't go into the game with that as my goal.

 Internet Responsibilities:
- Kept up with FM.
- Spending too much time on line since returning to Central TX 

Pets:
- Everyone is doing well.

Property:
- After less than a week, there were still hints of green left on the grass when I returned to Central TX.  San Antonio's grass is doing well.  I used the electric mower here to "level" the grass where it's growing.  The rest isn't worth messing with.
- Done some watering here.  I have some dead boxwoods to pull out.  They weren't in our long-term landscaping plan anyway, but it's still disappointing to see them killed by the drought. For the record, none of our landscaping here will survive painting the house, but I haven't been actively trying to kill it either.  In fact, I need to do some research to decide what landscaping we might want to put in.
- Probably one reason I'm procrastinating on line is I'm dragging my feet about heading over to the shop to finish packing up the yard sale stuff and moving some things.  Since it's only 92 degrees outside today (10 degrees cooler than it's been for the last couple of months), and it's slated to get downright unbearably hot again next week, this afternoon might be the best time to head over there and get some things done.

Health:
- Up 1.4 pounds. No yo-yoing.  It's just up.  Probably because my body seems to have looked at Tina Kulesa's calendar and saw that Sunday is the "Zombie Apocalypse" and Thursday is "The End of the World" and decided to eat accordingly.  
- Or maybe it was my inner child Natalie running amok -- with my permission.  We talked about it last night and decided it wasn't as much fun as we thought it would be.  We both agreed a little moderation might be a more satisfying thing.
- I didn't use the crutches this week.  My calf is still feeling pretty good.  My foot (where the break is) isn't too bad, but I need to do something about it and my knee (which is still bothering me in an uncomfortable and annoying manner).

Temples of the Holy Spirit

Today's verse of the day:  1 Corinthians 6:19-20:  Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Maybe God wants various flavors of Ghirardelli chocolate, almonds, mixed nuts, and HEB Veggie Chips in addition to a very delicious summer vegetable spaghetti with shredded mozzarella cheese on top.

What?  You think so?  Well, I suppose I could be projecting my inner child Natalie's desires and calling them God's.  Are you sure?  All that stuff was awfully good even if it did completely blow my points.

You're sure?  Awwww. *kicks at the dirt* Shucks.

Carpe jugular

Seriously, do something interesting tomorrow. Or now. Just don't sit there. Life is passing us by. I say we grab the sucker by the throat.

My turn

Wendy reminded me that it was my turn to post now. Or actually I think she wasn't reminding me; she was telling me to post. Wendy's got a bit of coach in her, she does.

Life: 
The start of last week defined frustration. The sewer stopped functioning Monday, and after a lot of digging in the backyard, we discovered that tree roots had broken into the city's pipes so they had to called. A man came out and looked at the line and said a crew would arrive at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, dig it up, and fix it. Then we'd have to reconnect our line. Tuesday rolled around, and another man showed up to assess the line (again) and said they would send a crew out, but couldn't say when exactly. My roomie and I discussed getting hotel rooms for the duration of this lovely experience, but as it turned out, we didn't need to do so. The city crew showed up with a backhoe and fixed their line AND tied ours back into the city line AND filled in the huge hole, too. Nicely done, and I appreciated it.

The car remains broken. My roomie is letting me drive his car, and he's driving his truck. I appreciate him and his willingness to help me out. Don't know what to do about the car. It needs to be towed to a mechanic -- which I can get done with my roomie's truck and a tow rope -- but paying the mechanic remains impossible currently.

Continuing to walk almost every day. Sometimes it's really hard to go and even harder to keep going after I get there. But I can't get the results on my blood sugar any other way. I'll keep doing it until I can't. I WILL NOT STOP BECAUSE OF LACK OF WILL.

Had some bad things happen Thursday and Friday. Sometimes people can't resist kicking you when you're down. Not really worth talking about now, but it threw me for a loop. Hate it when I let other people affect me like that.

Need a job. So tired of searching. So tired of being told no. Taken so many hits to my ego that I don't know if it will ever recover. I've stopped self-examination because the word failure rises too much. Now is not the time for those thoughts. Those thoughts can take me to places I can't go again. Sometimes I get angry at people who think they understand and think they can solve my problems and are so smug in their happy lives ... Well, that's an ugly thought, but I'll let it stand. I've never been afraid of what's inside me. And if I'm bitter now, I'm certainly paid for the right to be so. For a few minutes. Heh. What a whiner.

Is fall ever going to get here?

Writing:
Signed up for CampNaNoWriMo. Was doing okay until Wednesday, and then things fell apart. Well, I'm picking the story back up tomorrow. I may not make 50,000 words, but I'm going to try. We'll see if Circles survives the experience. Also, working on Murder by the Mile. I feel desperate to finish something, anything. I keep getting this weird feeling that if I don't finish a book soon, I won't ever again.

Clutter:
Have been organizing my paper supplies, mostly because I need to be able to find them when I make a card. Sold a few more cards. The personalization and my weird humor seems to be the selling points. I worry about the appearance more than they do. I want/need/insist that the cards look professional. Seems a strange thing to make a point of pride about, but people are paying for the cards. I want them to feel like they got their money's worth.

Otherwise, still planning for a garage sale, but the weather has been so hellishly hot that it's hard to plan anything. I've talked to a couple of friends who have had sales, and they've been disappointed by the turnout. No surprise really.

Finis:
Nothing else to tell you. Was reading one of my poems from EndlesS. Seems appropriate at this moment.

Counting My Regrets

These are the mistakes I made
  the ones that got away.
These are the kisses I should have taken
  the ones I thought would come again.
These are the joys I put off
  the ones left for times never to come.
These are the sorrows I hid
  the ones I thought someday I would share.
These are the truths untold
  the ones that would have set me free.
These are the lies I lived
  the ones I thought protected me.
These are the bodies untouched
  how could I have known?
These are the waters undared
  afraid of depths I drown in shallows.

This is how I pass my nights
  counting regrets instead of sheep.

Copyright 2008 by Stephen B. Bagley.

Your turn, Stephen.

Just sayin'. :)

August 6 tambometrics

First, I have to tell everyone that nothing exploded, imploded, died, broke, or otherwise complicated our lives this week. Which, frankly, is AWESOME.

Writing

I have written a little. Not a lot - it's just about impossible while grieving - but a little. I've done some minor tweaks to Stain, and written a split-scene where Dien 'gently' interrogates a captured criminal. That's just about it. Earlier this week, one of my online writing friends sold her first novel, a YA, in hardcover, so that was really exciting! No news yet on M, but they've had it about 3 weeks now. Trying to keep my fingers crossed.

Life

Bawled a LOT over Malaysia (it's literally all. I. did. Thursday) but maybe I'm finally all cried out. Seeing her pic now doesn't make me cry, I just feel a little tight in the eyes and I can actually smile at her. Miss her still, but it's better. I hope. If I start the endless weeping again I'm going to haul myself to a counselor. I know I'm under a lot of craziness and stress, but this is too much crying for too long.

Laura got her driver's license!! YIPPEEEEE!!! It's about time! lol Everything with her pregnancy is going well and we bought too many baby clothes at the mall clearance sales today. Hey, getting a 2-piece Carter's outfit for $3, I'm there, baby! 

We also shopped for clothes for Laura today since she's interviewing for a job at the new Kohl's on Monday. I hope she gets it, even if we aren't going to be here long, because she really needs to get out of the house and converse with people her own age, or at least someone besides her parents.

New dishwasher is installed and so far so good there.  Ran it for the first time this afternoon while we were gone. I haven't unloaded it yet, but I don't expect any issues.

Bill actually gets a real weekend this weekend. He got off work at 1pm today (Saturday) and doesn't have to be back until  4:30am Tues morning. So all of Sunday and Monday off, plus Saturday afternoon and evening. We went driving around the country and ended up in Des Moines to visit with his dad before heading back up here. Was nice.

House

Had another showing and they LOVED the house, especially the bathroom and kitchen, but didn't like that we didn't have central air. They're thinking about it. Whee. 

Health

Back down to where I was before the big end-of-July-implosion. Now it's not so much stress eating as I don't want to eat, unless I sit down specifically TO eat, then I don't want to stop. Sigh. Walked some today at the farmer's market and at the mall with Laura. My feet are a little achy, but I've noticed the past few days that my pulled muscle in my butt doesn't hurt much anymore. An occasional achy twinge, but nothing like it's been hurting, so that's pretty good, I think!

Everything Else

Either the power cord for my Mac is dying, or the port that it plugs into is, because every now and then it'll switch to battery, even though it's plugged in. VERY worrisome and I've been super diligent about emailing my active book files to myself. With all the other stuff we've had to pay for lately - and M not yet selling - I can't justify buying a new puter. Hopefully it'll last a little bit longer.

Me again!

All in all it was a quiet week.

Writing: Y'all have seen what I've been up to this week, and I really appreciate the feedback. For the record, it's very helpful to have my writing ripped to shreds. I reserve the right to take or not take advice, but a lot of times what makes sense to me doesn't to anyone else. Criticism makes my writing stronger.

Clutter: Progress! I packed up some 'heirloom' stuff from my sideboard and opened up space to store other things. Of course, I haven't gotten anything new in there yet, but at least I got that much done. I need more plastic boxes, and I still need to make a Good Will drop-off.

Health: Weight is holding steady as of Thursday. I haven't weighed since then, and after looking over my food log today I'm not so sure I want to weigh in tomorrow! Who knew spinach artichoke dip had so many points? Apparently, spinach and artichokes are healthy; it's the dip that gets you into trouble! I did get to the gym three times last week. At some point I'm going to add a Saturday swimming session, but I may wait another couple weeks until summer swim lessons are over. It's so much easier not to have to deal with other people's kids in the pool. Adding Saturdays will get me a 4th day at the gym well ahead of when I had planned. I'll take that small victory.

Misc: We got school supplies bought for the year, and I went with Vicky to the Community College bookstore to get the books she can get ahead of time. She's going to rent her chemistry book, and she has to wait for the first day of math class to find out which book her professor wants them to use. Oh, and I found Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream on sale at Office Depot when we were school shopping. I'd just been thinking that my cuticles were looking very ragged. Score! It doesn't take much to make me smile.

Week 31

Thirty-one weeks into 2011.  Yes, time is flying by. 

Polar Bear on the Loose (Revision, using How To Revise Your Novel):  Pulled out lesson 13 and am paralyzed at the idea of analyzing conflict arcs.  I just don't get it.

750words.com: I've written at least my 750 words seven of seven days. 

 

CampNaNoWriMo: I've done a little section each day on brainstorming.  Usually a couple hundred words.  I'm at 1365 words for the month of August.

Internet Responsibilities:
- Kept up with FM. 

- I'm a little irritable with online stuff -- not you guys or my other "Inner Circle" people but the wider internet circle in general. 

Pets:

- Everyone is doing well.
 

Property:

- We got back to Central Texas, and the lawn was golden and crackly.  I'm glad nobody threw a cigarette butt out their car window, because this place would have gone up in smoke.  We've been watering again, and there are hints of green.  Some of our St. Augustine grass is recuperating.

- We had our second yard sale of the year this weekend.  We had good turn out yesterday but a slightly lower yield than we usually get.  Today was about half what we usually get.  I'm not sure if it was the heat or the economy or both.  There's a lady in the appraisal district who is interested in a sofa and two chairs we haven't brought downstairs to sell yet.  She's supposed to call me next week, and we'll set something up.  We'll give her a super good price on the set -- it's harvest gold naugahyde, brand new, but a little dirty and shop worn.  A vacuum and wipe down should do the trick.

- Heading back to San Antonio for a couple of days for hubby's follow up doctor appointments.  If all goes well, I'll come back up here on Thursday.

Health:
- I rode the exercise bike one day this week.  Hauled some boxes and buckets of dirt and rocks.  Usual stuff.

- Up .3 pounds, and, yes, the weight has still been yo-yoing this week.  Up one day, down the next.  I think it's a typical transition window, but it's stretching out a little longer than I'd like.  I'm at least happy to be consistent within .5 a pound from one week to the next.  Frankly, I really went off plan quite a few times this week -- mostly recorded everything, but the numbers were appalling.  It's a minor miracle I'm only up .3 pounds.

- Using the crutches for a few days took care of the calf pain I was experiencing.  The knee is so-so and I would say the same for the foot.  I still need to call the Podiatry Clinic to see how to go about getting the bone stimulator the podiatrist mentioned during my appointment.  I also need to decide when to try to get into my doctor about my knee.  Unfortunately, I need to decide quickly, because I'm going to be bumping up against our October trip to PA if I don't get things squared away soon.

"Unsearchable Things"

I subscribe to the Bible Verse of the Day, and sometimes, they really strike a chord.  Yesterday's verse was from Jeremiah 33:2-3:  “This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name: ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

So, if you can't find it on Google or Bing, give the Lord a chance.  He's got the answer for "unsearchable" things.  Who says The Bible isn't relevant to today?

Hope And A Future, 1B

The house was at least twice the size of my cabin, two stories with a covered porch and flanked by a large kitchen garden. Inside was warm and bright. Three people gathered around the table, two women and a boy. Relief flooded through me, making my legs a little weak. Mother Mary, thank you for sending me to a place with women.

Mr. Vance led me inside and hung his hat on a peg near the door. "You can put your things there," he said, pointing to a settle nearby. I put my bundle and cloak down and followed him to the table, keeping my eyes downcast and my hands folded in front of my belly.

"It's about time," said the young woman seated at the foot of the table. A prim white cap covered her hair, and her brown eyes passed over me as if I wasn't there. "I was about to bless it before it got cold."

Mr. Vance took the seat at the head, motioned for me to take the seat to his left, and bowed his head. Everyone else did, too, so I followed suit.

"Lord, we thank thee for thy bounty and providence. Bless this food to our bodies that we may continue to do thy work."

Everyone said, "Amen" and the younger ones reached for food.

"Now, now," said the woman. "Can you not see that we have a guest?"

The boy, an impish looking redhead with freckles, nodded. "Yup, and I'll bet she's hungry, too."

I suppressed a grin and the woman frowned at him. "Ben, would you care to make an introduction?"

"This is Sadie LaSalle, who until a few minutes ago was an Indian captive. Mrs. LaSalle, my sisters Charlotte and Eleanor, and my brother, Frank."

My mouth was dry but I managed to say, "I'm pleased to meet you all. Thank you for your hospitality."

Charlotte smiled stiffly. "You are welcome."

We served ourselves and for several minutes no one talked much.

Finally, Eleanor, also a redhead, said, "Mrs. LaSalle, did you escape from the Indians?"

I shook my head. "I was released. The family who adopted me didn't want me anymore."

"Why?" asked Frank.

"My adopted mother died yesterday. Her husband wanted to kill me, but the medicine man stopped him."

"How did you end up there?"

"They killed my husband and captured me."

"You were married?"

Eleanor snorted. "Why do you think we're calling her Mrs. LaSalle?"

Charlotte shot her a warning look.

"I'd rather you call me Sadie, if it's all the same."

Charlotte's look transferred to me, and I got the feeling she'd rather not call me anything. "Where are you from, Mrs. LaSalle?"

Her formality felt like a gut punch but I let it pass. "I grew up in the Virginia back country, somewhere south of here. My father and husband were fur trappers."

"You father is dead, too?" asked Frank.

"Francis!" hissed Charlotte.

"Well she said he 'was', not he 'is'."

"That's not your concern," she hissed back.

"Actually, maybe it is," said Ben. "Sadie, since you are a widow, I assume you would like to go back to your family."

My stomach clenched and I began to tremble so much that I had to lay down my fork and clasp my hands in my lap. "No. I don't want to go back there."

They all looked at each other and back at me. I could feel my face flaming and I focused on a scar on my wrist, stark white against my tan, where I had burned myself as a child.

Tension built around me until Ben said, "Well, we could use the extra help here if you'd like to stay on."

"I don't want to be any trouble." I met his eyes for a second before focusing again on his collar, a tiny bit of hope blooming.

"It's no trouble. We have an extra room upstairs and with harvest in a couple of months we'll have more than enough work. I can't pay you wages, but I can provide room and board and clothing."

"Thank you." Tears pricked my eyes and I swallowed hard. "I promise you won't regret it."

Charlotte put down her fork. "Ben, could I speak to you outside for a moment?"

He looked up, surprised, but put his fork on his plate and led her out the front door.

Eleanor and Frank looked across the table at each other, eyes wide.

"Should I go listen?" asked Frank.

Eleanor shook her head, her long red braid swishing against her back. "She's asking him what he thinks he's doing, taking in a complete stranger."

"I'm sure it's not without reason," I said. "After all, I showed up out of nowhere in an Indian dress. She has a right to be concerned for the safety of her family."

Eleanor grinned. "It's not our safety she's worried about. We don't have many neighbors but Charlotte's worried about keeping up appearances. We keep waiting for her to give up her city ways but she won't. Don’t worry, she's getting married in the spring and moving to her husband’s farm."

That piqued my curiosity. "You lived in a city?"

"They did," said Frank.

Eleanor grinned. "So did you; you just don't remember it." She turned to me. "We were born in Richmond. Our father got this land for his service in the war, and he moved us out here about seven years ago."

"You've build all this in seven years?"

"Not just us. Our other sister and her family have helped, and some of the men from our father's regiment helped us." She glanced up as Ben and Charlotte came back in. "We had regular barn raising and house raising parties for the first three years."

"Yes," said Charlotte, resuming her seat. "I'll be married to one of those neighbors soon. In fact, he was the regiment vice commander, second only to our father. Did you have any kin fight in the war?"

"I don't know; if I did, it was someone from my mother's side, but I never met anyone from her family."

"Oh," she crooned with fake sympathy. "What a shame."

"Why not from your father's side?" asked Frank.

"My father is a French fur trapper. His family lives in France."

Charlotte smiled. "He's French, is he? So you speak French?"

Again I felt the color rise in my cheeks. "Oui."

Eleanor's face brightened. "Really? So you could teach Frank and me?"

"Of course, if you want to learn."

Charlotte stood and picked up her plate and took it to the worktable under one of the two windows in the room. "Only polite language, if you please. None of the coarse fur trapper phrases." She swept from the room without a backward glance.

Hope And A Future, 1A

Swims Like The Otter handed me a cloth wrapped bundle, the cloak they had taken from me four months earlier, and led me into the woods. It was too hot to wear the cloak, so I folded it over my arm, happy enough to have it back that I didn’t mind the weight or the way it trapped heat against me. I was surprised at the lack of contrast between my arm and the brown wool. The Indian women spent far more time working in the sun than I was used to, and my skin had darkened to a golden tan. When I stepped over a fallen log, my braid fell over my shoulder and I could see blond streaks in the brown.

“Swims Like The Otter, where are we going?”

“Hunting Crane had a vision of your future. He told me you must go back to your own people.”

The sun was high in the sky when we topped a hill. We stood for a moment as he got his bearings. From where I stood I could see the Kentucky River to the south, curving away from me and flowing lazily, debris from the spring flood still on the bank. It had been much higher when my captors took me across in a canoe on our trek north.

Swims Like The Otter touched my arm and started down toward a farm. Fields of oats and wheat reached toward the sun. The house and barn seemed, from a distance, to be in good repair. The only person I could see was a man a few hundred yards away fitting a rail into a fence post. He looked up as we approached and watched us warily.

Swims Like The Otter held his hands out and greeted the man in Shawnee. The man stuttered through the appropriate response and apologized for his poor command of the language.

"Parlez vous Francais?"

The man’s shoulders relaxed. "Oui."

I kept my eyes down. The man’s long pants and sturdy black shoes looked strange to me since everyone I had ever known had worn moccasins.

In heavily accented French, Swims Like The Otter introduced himself to the man. He took my arm and said, "This is Works Hard. I must make a trade for her."

"What kind of trade?"

"Trade goods. Not people." He stepped closer to the fence. "She will not live with my people. If I do not find a trade, I must take her back and they will burn her."

Fear clutched my stomach and squeezed hard as my heart began to pound. Blood roared in my ears and drowned out the conversation. I struggled to fight down my panic as the man stepped back. Swims Like The Otter ducked between the rails of the fence and motioned for me to join him. I swallowed hard and followed them to a small barn.

He traded me for two knives, three blankets, and an iron cook pot. After he said good-bye to the man, Swims Like The Otter turned to me. "Hunting Crane said he knows you did not kill Stands Straight. You must follow your heart and forget your past to reach your destiny."

I watched him walk away and duck through the fence. The man beside me shuffled his feet. "Je me pelle Benjamin Vance."

His beard and mustache were neatly trimmed, his dark hair tightly bound. I focused on his collar. "I speak English, Mr. Vance. My name is Sadie LaSalle. Thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome. How long were you with the Shawnee?"

"About four months, I think. They killed my husband the first week in March."

"I'm sorry."

I fought back the urge to say, "I'm not" and instead murmured, "Thank you."

A distance voice called, "Ben! Are you going to eat?"

"I'm coming. Set an extra plate,” he called over his shoulder. “Mrs. LaSalle, come and eat with us. After dinner we'll figure out where to go from here."

Last week

I signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo today. Yes, the heat has driven me crazy. Yes, I will probably not complete the 50,000 words ... but I might, too.

Here's my news for last week.

Breakdowns:

My car stopped running, and after spending $300 on it (that I didn't have and had to borrow) it still doesn't run. Don't know yet what to do, but will attempt to get it to a mechanic this week.

The toilet backed up into the bathtub. Had to call a Mr. Rooter. Turns out tree roots have invaded the sewer line. Mr. Rooter cleaned it out for now, but line needs to be dug out soon and fixed. More money. Bathtub was scrubbed and bleached.

Writing:

Started a new fantasy novel on my blog. Circles. Don't know where it's going yet, but it's the most fun I've had in a long time. It's also going to be my CampNaNoWriMo novel.

Two rejections from two agents on two different novels. Poor Dragons Gather and Darkness, Oklahoma. I hope they find a home someday.

I remain muddled in Murder by the Mile. Well, not muddled, just tired. I know how to fix it -- lots of cutting and rewriting -- but I can't work up enthusiasm for it.

Health:


Continuing to walk at the fitness center. My blood sugar is dropping slowly. Making progress. Weight loss is still stalled, but it will come. Started working with barbells Thursday.

Surprise:

Saturday was my birthday. I turned the big five-oh. And my roomie and friends conspired to throw me a surprise birthday party! It was the first surprise party I've ever had. Very awesome! Family and friends with cake and cards. I was delighted and humbled.

And that was my week. After reading everyone else's week ... mine wasn't bad. And all of y'all are in my prayers and thoughts. We're going to make it through these problems and this heat. As long as we hold on. And we will.