Ramblings

I started this blog originally because my local writer's group had a meeting about the efficacy of blogs in generating notoriety for a writer. I wasn't so sure about that, but I was willing to give it a try. Now that I'm writing like a mad woman, it's hard to get time to post!

Then, of course, the cancer appeared for a return engagement, so I switched to using this for updates on how I'm doing. Well, the show's been a bit boring (thank you, God!) and I've had no growth in the cancer for close to two years now.

Soooooo, I'm thinking of turning to discussions of topics near and dear to my heart (or at least on my mind at the moment). Right now the articles I've been reading and many news items have to do with going green. Being into my own convenience, I'm not so sure about the green thing.

I should qualify that. I do not like deforestation. I like doing whatever I can electronically and saving trees. I do not like pollution. I'm willing to do without a few things (like that extra trip to the store in the car) to cut down on my contribution in that area. There are other areas I can stand to be conservative about.

What I'm thinking of today are my leisurely baths in my huge (and I mean HUGE) tub. I read recently that I should turn the water off while I'm brushing my teeth. Okay. I shouldn't water my lawn during the day because so much of the water evaporates. No problem (but only because I have a sprinkler system). However...

I'm a twenty-minute showerer (or bather - I have a shower head in my tub). Then I read that I should keep my showers to under 5 minutes. Jennifer Aniston uses 3 minutes. Holy cow!! Does she turn the water off while soaping her hair or bod? That would be the equivalent of my bathing in about an inch and a half of water. I don't think I can do that.

Did I mention I haven't even used our walk-in shower since we moved into this house 14 months ago? I *love* my bath. I love filling it up and watching movies on my little bathroom TV. And why are we so concerned about water? I always thought it was a renewable resource. Water evaporates from the ground, turns into clouds and rains back down. I'm sure the article told me why it's so important, but I've blocked it out. Thank goodness I threw the magazine away!

I think I'm going to have to find other ways to be green. Did I mention I use all compact flourescent bulbs? I planted six trees in my yard this year? I guess I'm going to have to suck it up and use one of those carbon foot print calculators and see how much I really have to change to be a good citizen of earth. *Sigh*

If you have the cajones to map out your carbon footprint, you can visit https://gozero.conservationfund.org/calc/household or http://www.carboncounter.org/offset-your-emissions/personal-calculator.aspx. There are tons of them if you google "carbon footprint calculator." Get out your utility bills and be prepared to answer some fairly complicated questions.

You know, I think I can contribute to the green effort. It's kind of like a maturing process. I gave up my pacifier when I was less than two. But my baths... Now that really give me the shivers!!

Happy greening, guys!
~pinkie

Surfacing from my travels

I’m rounding out the end of a busy couple of weeks. The best kind of busy, too!

My daughter came home from Indiana University for a short visit May 21-24. We had Alec on Thursday, so she got to spend the day with him. We invited Grandma Peggy and Brooklynn over to swim The neighbor boys joined us too, so we had a great time. She and Brian left on Saturday, and on Sunday, I left for my mom’s in Texas.

Oh, and my best friend’s baby had his first birthday. Judging by the way he dived into the cake, I’d say he had a great time.

Mom and I didn’t do a whole lot, which is just the way we like it. Dad is doing really well. He still needs the walker, but he gets around pretty fast. We took him out to eat every day and to Hobby Lobby while I was there. Mom and I went to JC Penney’s but it just wasn’t the same shopping without my sister. I didn’t buy a darn thing.

We watched 8 or 9 movies, mostly old ones like Esther, Ruth, and David and Bathsheba. We also watched Overboard and As Good As It Gets. I hadn’t seen any of those in ages. I worked on the kids’ scrap/recipe books and got my niece’s caught up with the rest of them. My aunt (Mom’s twin) came up with more old family photos which was awesome. She had some old pictures of my cousins that really brought back memories.

I came back from there on Thursday and left for the lake on Friday. We had a great time. Brooklynn and I were nigh inseparable on Saturday which makes my heart glow. On Sunday Brady and I got quite a bit of quality time. He is such a cutie and a tooter at the same time. That child fears nothing and tries everything. He’s hard to keep up with but so fun to watch!

We came back yesterday, and I have Alec all day today. We’re going to invite Brooklynn and the neighbor boys to swim again this afternoon probably. I have a ton of work to get done because we’re leaving on vacation to San Antonio either Saturday or Sunday and will be gone a week. After that my summer pretty much returns to normal. I’ll be glad, but I’ve really had a great time.

Hope your summer is going well!

~pinkie

If at first you don't succeed...

I started this post a few minutes ago, went to highlight and save it since Blogger was having troubles, and the entire post disappeared. That is so annoying!!

Anyway, I was saying I got my Golden Heart scores back. The straight contemporary did lousy, but the paranormal did really well. I rewrote the opening to the contemp so hopefully I fixed the problems. To be in the top quarter required a score of 36. something, and the paranormal got a 38.something. I'm quite pleased with that even though I didn't final.

Of my 10 agent queries I sent out, I've gotten 3 requests for more material, 2 no thanks, and 1 'let me know how this turns out' (meaning let her know if a contract is offered). I'll probably forget about that last one. Not quite the enthusiasm I'm hoping for. Still no word from the editors, but that's not a surprise. They pretty much have to read uncontracted stuff on their off-work time, so it's likely to be at least another month or longer. As long as they don't keep it for years like a certain editor did (who is now with the peace corps - who knows where the manuscript ended up). That's the second really interested editor to flake out on me. Perhaps the third time will be the charm?

The dh and I have been doing some home improvements this year. We had the front and back porches acid stained, and they are beautiful! The back looks like red flagstone (to match the red mud that gets tracked across it so often), and the front porch is Italian Mocha with a circle in the middle. The circle looks like it's edged in light brick with multi-colored flagstone in the middle. We covered the rest of the back porch with a pergola with a drop down screen to block the afternoon sun. It's heaven!!

We're sodding the rest of the back yard (about an acre's worth) to hopefully cut down on the mud tracking. I'm also getting some trees - yippee!! I picked out two red maples, three evergreens (don't remember what they're called but they're gorgeous), a river birch, and a smoke tree. When the smoke tree blooms (which is right about now), it looks like it's surrounded by pink smoke. Next year we're going to do the front yard. By splitting it up, I was able to get bigger than usual trees. The maples are about 15 feet or so.

Well, I'd better run. Still lots to do today. Hope you all are having a great spring!!

~pinkie

From the Deepest Web

I know, I know - I've been remiss in my duties as a blogger. I don't have a ton of time to blog right now either, but I did want to share some good news. My health is doing so well, my oncologist has changed my appointments from every three months to every four months, so woo hoo!!

~pinkie