Just some Musings

I haven't been here for a while.  Seems there is always something going on or I didn't really have anything I felt I wanted to share or talk about, but the past few days I've been thinking about the blog.  I just felt like chatting.

Last weekend, my daughter and I had a yard sale.  Of course the weather didn't want to cooperate as the night before, we had storms and thought we might even have to go to our "fraidy hole".  That is what we call our strom shelter.  But the storms went around us and we only got rain and wind.  But it also meant she was up at 4 AM to begin setting up.  She did allow me to sleep in until almost 6 AM.  But it was a very cold blustery day and even though we had a lot of people stopping by, it was a constant running to catch things that wanted to blow off the tables or to find a place out of the wind.  I even set up a portable heater inside the porch so we could sit in front of it to thaw out.  We could still see if someone came and not sure it helped that much but we tried.  The next day was cool to start with but then warmed up and not nearly as windy so all in all the sale went well and we didn't have a whole lot left at the end of it.

We haven't done anything with the MG as yet.  It still has some problems so when this weather settles, we'll get it out and see if we can get it running again and sell it. 

I've been messing with my golf cart too.  Found out that there was a broken battery cable, so got it fixed and then had two flat tires.  My wonderful grandson, Zach, came out and helped me and we had them aired up and he rode it around the yard with no problem but the next day we had one flat so guess I'll get the tire off and take it to see if it can be fixed.  I really would like to have it running by the end of the month when my youngest daughter and three grandchildren come to visit.

I had a disappointment when I discovered between the drought that we had last summer which really hurt them, plus the extreme cold and snow from this winter, that the Hydrangeas my husband planted had died out along with our Azaleas.  They had been doing so well and I watered and fertilized them but I guess it just wasn't enough.  Although one of the Rhubarb plants did survive and it is looking good.

I'm trying to get someone to come in and level off the old garden spot and have found someone who will take down the old greenhouse and chicken coop and haul off the material.   A storm earlier this year tore the roof off the greenhouse and it is still laying on top of the wood shop.  Once that is all taken care of, it will make the mowing and trimming out there much easier.

We really haven't had the spring rains and warm temps so that I've had to do a lot of mowing but I'm sure that is about to change.  I've had to mow a couple of times and did some trimming last week.  I still have some leaves to mulch once I get them away from the fence but we have had unusually high winds and has been pointless to try to get them.  We just never have winds like we've had this spring and it has really played havoc with the yard work plus I've also got to get someone to come fix the roof on the front porch as it was torn loose during one of our extremely high wind days.

And of course, spring time brings out new life everywhere, including all the new born kittens we seemed to have received.  I'm still trying to round up the one old tabby I have and her new borns that she just brought out of hiding as I really would like to get rid of her and some friends said they need a barn cat and would take them all.  Living in the country, cats go missing so they are always looking for more.  Then I discovered my little white furry female had her kittens in the old chicken coop.  She climbs through the opening from the roof that was torn off and so I'll have to keep a watch so can make it easier for her to get out.

I was having my morning coffee and looking out the window and noticed my other outdoor cats and how social they are with each other.  Not only them, but most of the neighborhood cats as well.  They greet each other and rub and I imagine purring as well.  They lay snuggled together in the sunshine with an occasional nudge or movement.  When one of the neighboring cats come along, they are taken in as well with the usual greeting and accepted as belonging too.  Of course being a cat lover, I do enjoy watching them just as I did years ago and how those cats inspired me to write Cassie's Clearing.  They are independent and yet they can be very loving and caring and very social.

And I think the birds and the cats must have come to some agreement as I really haven't noticed the cats going after the birds and the birds don't seem to mind coming to the feeder with the cats just a few feet away dozing in the sunshine.  Now the squirrels are a different thing.  The cats don't like them and they don't like the cats.  I've watched as my cats will chase them right back up the tree.  They don't seem to want to catch them as much as they just don't like them.

My daughter and I went out to celebrate on April 13 as my first contract with Publish America had expired so hope they will take the hint and cancel the second or either I'll have to wait until May 2011.  Seven years with a bad publisher is just a bit much.  I'm thinking of editing the story again since they didn't and didn't make all the corrections I asked for and re-publishing it myself.  It was a great seller the first time around but I quit pushing it just as I have the second one I have with them. 

I still write but have lost some of my enthusiasm as there are so many out there who are publishing or self publishing and the market is being ruined by the overflow.  With the added internet, e-book and digital offerings, it makes it even more difficult to get a book out there to be noticed.  Writers like me who do not have a specialty field, such as Romance, Sci-Fi or Mystery, have a hard time finding that niche to fit in and get noticed.  I write general fiction, with a little romance, mystery, fantasy and general story telling so I have to rely on my synopsis to get attention and then word of mouth helps too.

My husband always hoped I would make it big but I never really thought that much about it.  I write because I enjoy it and I love it when someone reads my work and loves it.  I've had my moments and feel I've accomplished something with my writing even if I never made the best seller list, I have sold a lot of books over the years and many were repeat customers and even some from other countries which really made me feel good to be noticed in Europe or Australia.  So I feel I have done well and am satisfied.  I'll keep writing and I may even publish something again one day.  I know I will my short story collection, even if I only do it for my family.  Although I've already had requests for it so I guess I should get busy and finish getting it all put together and get it done.

The past couple of years have been hard for me on a personal level.  With the return of my husband's cancer and his untimely passing in January 2010, I had so much to contend with that my writing went silent for several months.  But then I began to write again between the good times and the bad times.  Then this year started off with more tragedy and conflict but I kept my writing up as it kept me going through this last difficult time.  It was my release.

I'm still trying to adjust to my Sundays now.  For over ten years every Sunday afternoon I would call my mother and we would have a long visit by phone.  It was our day and my family all knew it and often wondered how we found so much to talk about.  But she lived alone and was lonely and since we were so far away, we would talk about current affairs, or what the family was doing and sometimes we would just take a trip down memory lane.  We laughed and we cried and we were very close so now my Sundays feel as if there is something missing.  I find something to do to keep myself busy and all the while wonder if my mother can see me or knows what I'm doing.

I'm going to have another adjustment later this fall when my daughter moves back to Tulsa.  It has been nice having her so close but I know she wants to find a better job and be closer to her friends again.  She lived there for so many years, even though years ago this was home for her too as she graduated from the local high school so she has friends here as well.  She is more of the big city type and I'm more the country girl.  We have a lot of fun together and get along well, but it is time for her to fly the nest again.

I do have my friends here so I won't be all alone.  And I'm hoping that I might meet someone who can be a companion.  Not really looking but would be nice to have a friend that we could go to dinner once in a while or just talk. 

This has just been some of my thoughts and musings.  Every now and then I like to write down my thoughts and feelings and occasionally they lead to a story line so I never know.  Guess it all goes with the day dreams and imagination that make up my life and gives me that storytelling feeling.

Pappa's Folly

Before my husband learned that his cancer had come back and got so sick, he decided he wanted a new toy.  He bought a 1976 MG Midget, with the idea he would fix it up and use it for special occasions such as parades or shows.  He and his friend did a lot of engine work and still had a problem keeping it running smoothly.

It wasn't to long until he realized it was the battery but by then he had received the word about his cancer and even though he pulled the battery out of the car to replace it, he never did.  He pushed it back into the garage and covered it up in October 2009.

He had set the battery out and last year I kept saying I needed to go get another one but then something would come up and I didn't do it.  But this year, I did.  I got the battery and had my neighbor across the street come over to put it in. 

We had a few cool days so I waited but this past weekend was nice and warm, a little windy on Sunday but still a nice day.  We pushed the car out on Saturday and hooked up the battery but no way could we get it to start.  We tried a direct jump with my car and still it wouldn't turn over.  So we left the charger on it for several hours to recharge the battery and I covered it up Saturday night.

Sunday morning, I removed the cover, but it still wouldn't start.  My neighbor came over and began messing with it, trying different things.  Since it had set for so long, we thought maybe the gas was bad too.  My daughter had some STP so we added that as well as some new fresh gas and after more priming, it started to turn over.  We would try it every little bit and when it did, everyone who had gathered to see what was going on jumped up and down and clapped. 

The little engine began to level out and purr just like a kitten and everyone was amazed at how it sounded.  Now the trick come, would it stay running smoothly if driven.  My daughter volunteered and drove it around the yard, no problems so she parked it near the front fence where it could be seen and we put a For Sale sign  on it.

We didn't have any lookers but did have several neighbors stop by to ask about it as they knew my husband had bought it and didn't realize I still had it.  It is such a little car so hopefully it will draw the attention of someone like my husband who has to have a "folly".

Late in the afternoon, my daughter and I decided we needed to really drive it so took a little ride around the neighborhood.  I'd found the new sticker for the tag and the insurance card so we were set.  I had never driven it and it has been 30+ years since I'd driven a standard and I was a little nervous but actually I guess it is like riding a bike, as I didn't have a problem and didn't stutter once with it.  I started driving and after a few blocks we came to a stop sign so I stopped so she could drive it.  There was no one around and we started getting out.  Well, when a car only sits 4" off the ground and not much room when you get the door opened fully, I was having a hard time.  Finally got the legs out and then tried to hoist myself up.  In the meantime, two young men in a pickup had come up behind us and were watching us.  As I finally got out, they came around us laughing and I'm sure we did create quite a comical scene.  But we got switched and she drove it another few blocks and back home parking it in the garage since possibly we could have had some thunderstorms.

So Pappa's Folly provided us with some memories as we thought about him as gave us a few minutes of pleasure as we drove it.  But now it is time that it finds a new owner who will give it the TLC it needs and become their folly.