bits & pieces

Yesterday was a beautiful day! Cooler temperatures (low 90's) with plenty of sunshine. Today is the same. Sure wish it would stay this way for a while.

Last week Rachel & I were in Dallas for the ACFW conference. Our first writers conference. It was a good conference. We took the Historical continuing education classes taught by Tricia Goyer. I've read her WWII books & really like her. Her teaching style was easy to follow. I've gotten to know her a little through her blog where I entered her Travel Story contest. I didn't win, but it was still fun to write about our cruise that was cut short due to the ship catching on fire.

Anyway, we also took some classes that Susan May Warren taught. Boy, she's an energetic lady! The type that's the life of the party. I've read every book she's written & love them all. She's very talented in that she can write in any genre. Not just write, but write really, really well. All of characters come to life & jump off the page to take you on their adventure. I hope to be able to write characters like that some day.

We met some of the people we've "talked" to on-line. That's always exciting. The world has gotten so much smaller through all the technology available to us. It boggles my mind!

There's a new member to our family. An orange kitten named Aisling (not sure about the spelling). Jason found her abandoned behind the coffee shop where he works. Of course he just had to take her in. She was scratched up pretty bad so he took her to the vet. They gave her a thorough going over & cleaned her up. She's 8 weeks old, anemic, malnourished, & very hyper when she gets the run of the house. She doesn't get along with other cats, but loves people. She growls & yowls really loud at Zoe. Poor Zoe has been so traumatized by other cats during her life that she's terribly depressed that this little thing is in her house. Aisling took on Murdock yesterday & got body slammed into a tree. Didn't faze her at all. I'll have to break the news to DH next week that we have another cat. That could be "interesting".

I'm still knitting on a prayer shawl for my MIL who's getting radiation for breast cancer. She's doing very well. It's taking me longer to get it finished than I had hoped. I have it as long as the directions say but I want it longer to really be able to wrap up in it. Hopefully I can get it finished in the next week. I plan to put fringe with charms attached to it, the charms are all symbols of things that mean something special to her.

Next week is the 1853 funeral re-enactment at Kent Plantation House. This will be my 4th year to participate (I think). Things are all different this year & I'm not sure how it will turn out. Elizabeth insisted that I have a new costume this year. I'll work on getting it hemmed this week. She's in the process of making 5 new costumes for this event. She wanted a new one for herself, but ended up making sure everyone else was properly costumed. If she still works there next year, I'll make sure she has a new costume!!

Now, I need to get back to my knitting.

My how time flies! The entire month of August and half of September gone in a flash. I must be getting senile since I don't seem to know where the time went.

Anyhow, it's raining again! A tropical storm is heading our way. At least it's not a hurricane! I don't really mind hurricane's since the only effect they have on us is some rain, wind, & usually a power outage. We're not in danger of flooding or losing our home to storm surge. With my son & daughter-in-law living south of here, nearly as south as you can get without being in the Gulf of Mexico, I wouldn't mind an extended visit from them as long as they didn't lose anything to the storm. But, you can't pick & choose in these situations.

My baby is in college! He's still at home this year while he goes to LSU-A & works at a local coffee shop. Bless his heart, he's having trouble with math (& it's a remedial class). He never saw the point for math. Now he regrets not doing the math assignments I gave him. Mother does know best after all. It's hard watching his frustration over it though. Mother's still don't want their children to be hurt even if they're grown.

Next week is the ACFW conference in Dallas. Rachel & I will be attending for the first time. I'm nervous about it. All I have are ideas rattling around in my head but nothing on paper. To meet these real authors who have the experience under their belts is intimidating to say the least. Rachel, on the other hand, has flourished getting ready for this. She has her business cards & her one-sheet for her Russian trilogy all ready. I keep telling myself that I'm going to learn! It's been so long since I've done anything like this I sure hope I can remember how to learn something new. And I'll be learning from one of my favorite historical fiction writers, Trisha Goyer. I am looking forward to that. A bonus will be the late night chat I signed up for with Susan May Warren, another favorite of mine. I'm taking a book written by each of them so I can get it autographed.

One thing I've noticed since joining ACFW is the number of authors that also homeschool their kids. I wish I could have been writing while I was homeschooling my kids. But, I couldn't seem to do that with having 4 kids in 5 years and a husband with a very busy rural medical practice. Most of the time I felt like a single parent. The only time he was with us without the chance of being called away was when we were out of town on vacation. We also had 40 acres of land at one point to take care of. I wouldn't trade any of it though. This has been God's plan for my life! And I wouldn't want anything less.

So, I shall embark on this new journey with God leading the way. And my special verse that got me through all those years with 4 little ones hanging on my legs. "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13