Saturday, April 9, 2016

A dream come true!

Years ago, I heard a song on the radio that made me feel so happy I HAD to find out who the artist was. At first I thought it was Buffy St. Marie, but later learned that it was Melanie. I loved her music so much I set out to learn all I could about her. She put into words everything I believed in, in a way that I never could. I got out my guitar and made it my business to learn every note of every song and sang my heart out - for years.

Last night, not only did I have a fourth row seat to watch Melanie perform with her son, Beau Jarred, I got to meet her as she signed my CD. I was in awe. At sixty-nine years old, she continues to perform with all her heart. She could have sung off key for all I cared - she was Melanie, and she was only a few feet from me!

It  didn't sound like an audience of baby-boomers, no sir. My petite sister can whistle as loud as any man. Men sporting white pony-tails held up their battery-operated candles for "Candles in the Rain" and we all sang back-up. It was a blast! 

A night to remember.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

I'm on a Roll!

     Five hundred thirty words yesterday, seven hundred twenty words today, what's happening? Who am I? What have I done to my lazy self? Ha ha… I'm writing up a storm and I'm thrilled. It's true that the more we sit down to write, the more words come to us. Even if they aren't all good words, they're down, they can be changed and fixed. It's a good feeling.
     I tend to work on my stories while I'm walking and I've been walking these days, so, there ya go! Besides, I have to work off this cupcake I ate in North Carolina. Oh. My. God. It was soooo good!


Monday, March 28, 2016

Writing while I walk!

     So, I've been drooling over a 1/2 Marathon medal for a couple of years now, and I've decided that this is the year. Yep. I'm doing it. I've had physical therapy for some six weeks now, and my legs are feeling much younger than they really are. I'm taking it easy - a few miles at a time - and I've registered for a few races to get me motivated. There's an ALS walk in June, a Cancer walk also in June, a Walk for Alzheimer's in September and whatever else comes up in the meantime.

     So, while I was on a three mile walk the other day, I was going over a scene in the second book in my series and my protagonist's future came to me - just like that! I wrote the entire thing in my head and couldn't wait to get home and get it in my computer. I'm loving these walks!

Walk on!

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Getting down to business!

     The more I think about Rosie and the girls, the more anxious I am to finish their stories. I've been writing feverishly lately, trying to get it all down. I know in my heart that I'm not the only one who will love them! Who wouldn't love Rosie? She's everyone's mom, everyone's confidante. Kelli is a wise-ass, but she has heart and she'll never let you down. Missy and Emma are just trying to fit in and Sam is the glue. 
     We all have someone in our lives who fit the descriptions of these characters. The rest of the story is just waiting for me to write it!

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Leaving the nest.

  
     Today my daughter finally leaves the nest. When the prospect of her accepting a job almost nine hundred miles away presented itself, I wasn't worried - and then, she accepted it. And all of a sudden everything happened so quickly. The house sold in one day and moving day has arrived. If this was 1955, I'd be freaking out, but today, with Facebook, FaceTime and a two hour plane ride - I'm good.
     It's a great opportunity for Lisa and Scott and they're both so excited about this new chapter in their lives. 
     We moved into that house when Lisa was ten or eleven years old. She's always loved that house, so she and Scott bought it when they got married, but they've also always been drawn to the south, so it seems to be a natural progression for them.
     Of course there'll be a room for ME in their new home, complete with pajamas, make-up and whatever clothes we shop for, for my NC room. Ha ha… I can't wait to take my first trip down! My thoughtful son-in-law gave me a beautiful card with a heartfelt letter - and the means to take those plane rides to visit.
     I'm so proud of them for being so brave and going for their dream. I know they're going to love it!

Art on the road.

  I babysat Kenny's granddaughter, Anabella. I knew I couldn't miss as long as I brought my art supplies with me and I was right. She went to town with those Sharpies and  stamped her heart out, saying, under her breath, "I love Sharpies." It was too funny. What a riot. She used every pen, sharpie and brush; in every color and even mixed some colors. We cut and ruled and glued and had a tea party. A good time was had by all. I only wish I had thought to 
take a picture of the tea set. It was 
ceramic, but felt like china! Just beautiful. Looking forward to doing that again, soon.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

A peek into Rosie's life.

Meet Rosalie!


Rosalie Chandler is a woman of a certain age. When she boards a cruise ship with her husband, Stanley, for their long-awaited cruise through the Eastern Caribbean, she has no idea how much her life is about to change.

Feeling a little depressed over her fifty-something birthday, and, oh-by-the-way, that twenty or so extra pounds that seems to have crept up on her over the last few years, Rosalie is fairly certain that her life has begun to wind down. That is, until she meets six women only a few years older than her own daughters, who welcome her with open arms into their newly formed clique.

When the group decides to gather their wits and set out to solve the mystery of a missing crew member, they, and Rosalie (dubbed, "Rosie"), by her new circle of friends, realize that she has a knack for all things investigative which makes the group look to her not only for motherly advice, but for clues and insight into the disappearance as well.

Rosalie Chandler is funny, smart and heartbreakingly fragile in this story of a woman looking for her place in the world when she doesn't seem to fit anywhere, anymore.

So, I re-posted this from Feb., 2012 (Has it really been that long?", as a little background for the scene you're about to read.

After a few drinks, Rosie bares all to Kelli; and because Kelli has had a few drinks, she gives Rosie some advice on how to confront her husband.


 Rosie



Walking through the Casino is an assault on the senses, for sure. The cigarette smoke is suffocating. How do they do it? I wonder. I stand off to the side, by the huge window seat and look around. The place is jam-packed with people. Where do I begin? There’s even an ATM over in the far corner. Hmm…you can’t get on the internet, but you can get to your bank. Then I spot him. He’s at a slot machine instead of the blackjack table and lo and behold, there’s even an empty seat beside him. It’s hard to breathe but I take a deep breath and march over there to confront him.
Sliding onto the seat next to him, I clear my throat to get his attention and he doesn’t even turn my way. I insert my key card into the slot and the machine comes to life. Finally, he turns toward me and does a double take. His face blanches. “Hon! Are you okay? What are you doing here?”
“Stanley, we have to talk.” I say. I pull the lever and get fifteen free games.
“What? Is everything okay?”
“No, Stanley. Everything is not okay.” The next pull gets me ten more free games and I’m up sixty-seven dollars. I see his eyes going from mine to my machine and back.
“Okay, so stop. Tell me what’s going on, for crying-out-loud.” He crinkles up his eyes then. “Rosie, are you drunk?”
I turned to him and say, “Stanley, if you don’t start paying some attention to me I’m going to divorce you.” There. I’ve said it. “Your move.” I say, and give the lever another pull. I love these one-armed bandits. Then the lights begin to pulse and the alarms go off and all of a sudden we’re the main attraction as bells on my machine keep dinging and the “Total Amount Won” keeps going higher and higher. “Oh, my God!” I can’t believe my eyes. It’s actually a little scary the way people begin to gather around us to see how much I’ve won. For once, I’m speechless.
“Holy cow, Rosie. You’ve been here for five minutes and you manage to break the bank.” Stanley’s laughing and so, am I and for a minute, I’ve forgotten my purpose for being here. I turn to him, my laughter subsiding, my surprise and excitement replaced with the knowledge that my husband does not take me seriously.
I swallow the lump in my throat and for once, do not give in to the tears that threatened to diminish the importance of why I’m here. Stanley does not value me. I can see that now. All of a sudden, I see with such clarity, the insignificance of my existence. I get up from my seat and tell the crew-member to give the credit-slip to my husband and I walk away.
“Hon, wait. Where are you going?” My husband looks confused. I’m sure he doesn’t even remember the word “divorce” has passed my lips, because, as usual, he probably wasn’t listening.
I just keep walking.
Back in our stateroom I finally let go of years of pent-up frustration and anger. I cry and cry. I cry for every little thing that has ever gone wrong in my life. I cry for the baby I’d lost six months into our marriage, I cry for the time I couldn’t fit into my new jeans and I even cry for the time my Lana didn’t win the Little Miss Minnow Contest. I cry into the bed pillows until there are no tears left. The one thing I do not cry for is the fact that my marriage, as I’ve known it, is over – I’m crying for the fact that my life has meant nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Now I’m all stuffed up and can’t breathe, so I get up to splash my face with cold water and see myself in the mirror. Eyes swollen, blotchy skin, mascara smeared all over my face. Who cares? I think, and my pathetic looking face makes me start crying all over again. Now I’m just feeling sorry for myself, but I don’t care. It feels good to cry. I’m so tired of being strong. I’m tired of swallowing my feelings, my opinions that have never seemed to matter, but most of all, the very essence of myself.
And all of a sudden I feel an instant calm. And I know that things are about to change – I’m about to change. At fifty-three years old I still feel like twenty-five and my instinct to survive kicks in.
I know it will be a while before Stanley will be able to get down here, what with the paperwork and all, so I take a quick shower and go out to sit on our balcony. I lean my head back against the chaise and look up at the night sky. Our stateroom is situated away from most of the lights on the ship and the stars are so brilliant it takes my breath away. I see the little dipper for the first time since I was ten years old and other constellations I can’t name, but recognize the shapes of. No, my life isn’t over, I think. It’s just beginning.

Friday, January 22, 2016

Defunkifying the guest room!


     So, the guest room has been cleared of anything that doesn't obviously belong there, which is usually my folded laundry and I just figured out why. Part of the defunkifying process is figuring out why this happens in the first place.

     I do laundry in the evening, while we're watching TV, so I fold it during that time also. Well, I run mine into the guest room and drop it on the bed because I don't want to miss whatever it is we're watching by taking the time to put it away. So, there ya go. But THAT'S why we have a DVR!!!


     This looks so much better. So, what have I learned? Use the DVR!!

     Now, for the rest of the story…


UNDER THE BED!!!!
Sandals and sneakers!
Flip Flops!
Boxes of leftover cosmetics, a Yankee Candle and an oven tray!

An oven tray??????



Lisa, help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





STAY TUNED!






Sunday, January 17, 2016

Defunkifying my home!

     Defunkifying my home is ALWAYS in the back of my mind - ALWAYS! So, I'm following Tracy's lead, of (Tracystreasures), and I'm going to commit to it - pictures and all - the good, the bad and the ugly! Judgers are going to judge and haters are going to hate, but I only have two people who look at my blog; Lisa (my daughter), and Tracy - sometimes - and they aren't judgers OR haters. Time to go take some pictures!
So as not to put Tracy into shock, I decided to begin with my most perfect room - the second floor bathroom - MY bathroom. (It's in the room next to my studio). I love this room almost as much as I love my studio. So, nothing do be done here. NEXT!!


The Guest Room



















So, this room seems to be a catch-all for my folded laundry and odds and ends that do not yet have a home. This has to stop, because I end up closing the door and I like ALL the doors open!

Not only that - under the bed is Chock. Full. Of. Stuff! Mostly shoes I don't wear or muffin tins that I seldom use or boxes of left-over, but not empty, cosmetics. Oh, so much!

This room I'll tackle tomorrow (we're getting snow), and I'll post pictures tomorrow evening.

Here I go!

I HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE AND EVERYTHING TO GAIN!