Saturday morning, May 20, 2006

Good morning and greetings to everyone!

Well, folks, I did it! I finished the second book! Yeah! Now it is off to the printers this morning. Whew! It took forever to get it done!

I re-did the cover. I emailed it to my computer guy this morning, and hopefully he will have the revised cover posted soon. He is such a busy guy!

I also sent him a "synopsis" and part of Chapter One- revised. Check it out!

Is it ever going to quit raining???? Goodness! Our grass is so long, I believe hubby may have to use the brush-hog to get the first layer down to where it can dry out some and be mowed with the riding mower.

Last evening, when he had the dogs loose, slightly raining, the temperature was in the middle fourties! Yikes! I did not go out as I was still putting the book files on a C.D. to send to Infinity Publishing. I decided to go with them again. Hopefully with in the month of June, it will be released. Once they get the files, it is printed, then they send me a proof copy, and I go through it again for errors. Hopefully there will not be too many. Then I send a list of corrections, if needed, and then two weeks from that, it is released. It takes a while.

I haven't heard lately how Tom is doing...hopefully he is still progressing.

Hubby and I had our 25th, Silver Wedding Anniversary on Wednesday the 17th. He stayed home and we had a great day together!

I will have my computer guy, in the near future, post some pictures for the second book. It is sooooo expensive to include them in the book, I opted not to do it.

Gotta go. Laundry awaits, and then I have to go to work at D.G.M. at 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Then hubby and I have to fix a leaky facet at an apartment rental.

Have a great week!

My best to all of you, and thanks for visiting my website! Tell others about it, so they can get help dealing with Domestic Violence and abuse.

Becky :)

Sunday morning, Mother's Day-May 14, 2006

Hello Everyone!

To all the Mothers out there---I hope you have/had a grand day! I hope you get a day of relaxation---a day of reflection on the happy times of being a Mother or remembering your Mother.

For some, it may also be a time of sadness, because your Mother is no longer here on this earth. She may have passed a way a long time ago, or just recently. I am sorry for your loss.

It will be two years at the end of July, my own Mother passed away. I miss her.

When I pause and reflect on days gone by, of times spent with my Mother, I try to remember the happy times. When I was a child and we would have foot races through the yard to see who could run the fastest---she always beat me! I remember how she taught me to plant flowers, vegetables, and how to pull weeks after a spring or summer rain. I remember when she made chicken pot-pie, or chicken and dumplings, or stuffed veal pocket, or a scrumptious roast with potatoes, onions, and carrots, and of course with the most delicous gravy. I remember how meticulous she was with her sewing. On occasions she would make me do mine over...saying: "If you take the time and do it right the first time, you wouldn't have to do it over. Do it right the first time."

I remember when she would send my sister and me, with buckets in hand, out to pick the lucious, ripe cheeries on the trees by our long lane. Sister and I would eat more than what we brought back in the buckets. Mother would make the most delicious pies.

Sometimes she would send my sister and me to pick elderberries. They were quite a ways away through the neighbors' field. We would get on the horse, and ride to the area where they were and pick eldeberries for quite some time. It took a long time to fill a bucket with them; they were so small, but so good. Mother would make elderberry pie or jelly, or jam with them, along with the strawberries we grew in our strawberry patch, or plums from the plum tree.

We had a fruit cellar in the back of the basement. (A very scary place for me as a child!-We also kept the coal there for the furnace.) In that fruit cellar were numerous jars of her endless canning. So much variety in jars upon jars, that certainly tasted scrumptious in the winter months. The peaches were my favorite!

I remember sitting in the strawberry patch, waiting and watching for the first strawberries to ripen. They were so delicious! So many good memories; I recall the good memories. It is better to do so.

I am getting the next book organized to send in. I am hoping for next week, if it all works out.

I had my computer guy post some pictures of the first book. Check them out.
Email me if you get a chance.

Until next time---Peace, Love, and Laughter...do it often. It is good for the soul!

Becky :)

Friday evening May 5, 2006

Hi folks,
Glad you stopped by my website. Thanks!

I am going to have my computer guy put some pictures on the website that I take to book signings. The pictures will be from various things in the book, like Chocsun, Caesar, cottage, Ranchero, horse trailer, hammerhead shark I caught, etc. etc.
Hope you enjoy them and can put the story to the pictures!

I have been so busy! Between working at the Victim Assistance Office, Dollar General Market, home stuff, car stuff, flower beds, the pond, mowing the yard, (which takes 2 hours to do), week wacking, etc, etc...spring is here and it is a busy time!

We have had some really bad domestic violence cases in our area. Really sad. I just hope the women can find it in their power to leave, stay away from their abuser, and get a better life. They soooooo deserve it! I will try my best through my W.I.S.H. program, and of course the others at the office to help them do this. I feel so badly for any children involved. What a tragic event in their lives to have to deal with all of it.

I had to run my hubby up to the emergency room this past Monday evening as soon as I got home from work. He got another one of his horrible gut-renching headaces. We went through something very similar back in August of 2005. He has two herniated discs in his neck, and although the second MRI showed one is improved, the other is the same. He really needs surgery, but is terrified to do it. If he does too much, wham...he gets really, really bad. The nausea is non-stop, and the only relief he gets is to get him up to the hospital, get a shot for the nausea and a shot for the pain.

He has only missed maybe five days in 14 years of teaching because of illness. He stayed home on Tuesday, as that evening after we got back around 10 p.m. Monday night, the neausea started up again about 11:30 p.m. His Chiropractor did adjust his neck on Tuesday morning. He had to go back in the afternoon to see if it was still in place. It was. He stopped in to vote in the afternoon. (I was Presiding Judge for a precinct and had to be there at 5:15 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. when the polls closed. We had trouble with the printer on the machines, so alas, I did not get home until 9:50 p.m. What a day! I was tired. Thank goodness I didn't have to be at work until noon on Wednesday! That was a blessing!) He is feeling better now, but also realizes he did too much on Saturday...chopping/sawing up a neighbor's tree, discing the garden, planting five rows of corn, etc.)

I put up the hummingbird feeder a couple weeks ago. I spotted two male hummers yesterday, changed the solution, (I do it about every 3 days anyway), and they were flitting everywhere. I think they are so cute!

Herman, the turtle is doing well. I need to take more fish out of the pond. I lost a Koi the other day. It was by itself over by the edge of the pond. I took it out and put it in a bucket of water, but by the time I left for work, it was history. I noticed it had a lot of scales missing. Probably from spawning. The fish have been very active in that catagory.

I spotted, or rather heard first, a Baltimore Oriole! I think they are so beautiful! I love their bright orange color that blends in with the black. There song is so pretty. They usually nest in our neighbor's huge pine trees. Most of the time in the spring, I usually spot two pairs. Pretty soon we will see more birds. I did hear a meadow lark the other day but I could not spot him. His song is so beautiful too.

Supper is cooking, hubby is downstairs in his sanctuary (basement), and I am trying desperately to get the sequel finished. Hopefully in two weeks or less I can send it in to be published. Check my website about then, and I should have someting on it for a possible release date. I have had many people asking for it. That is so wonderful.

Those I have talked to really want to know the "How and Why" you move from total control someone has over you, to getting your life back!

We are going out to dinner tomorrow night. It will be nice. We are meeting hubby's Dad and his girlfriend. Hubby's birthday is Sunday.

Thanks for visiting!
Until next time! Enjoy the gentle warm breezes, the sounds of spring, then scent of a fresh rain.
Becky :)