Happy Day

After a good, substantial rain the other day, everything has perked up once again. The grasses are greener, the trees don't look as droopy, and the fawns, after enjoying the freshly rained on grass they munched on, are frolicking in the field, as kids will do when they're happy.

I am happy today as well. Good news in the email, a nice phone call from an editor, and more good news in another email. My cup runneth over. Thank you, Lord!

Next week I will have a "quickie" published on Common Ties. A "quickie" had to be a story told in 200 words. And when I read their guidelines to it, I thought, 'well, one never knows until one tries.' So I tried, but didn't have much hope for it. I'm usually a more wordy writer; I mean how much of a story can one tell in just 200 words?

Yesterday, I received an email from Common Ties that my quickie was accepted, and today, the wonderful Elizabeth, editor of Common Ties called me. It was a pleasure to talk to her! She told me my story will be posted on the site Monday or Tuesday, and said the pleasure was all hers! And she will put a link to my little blog at the bottom of the story. And I will put the link to my story on Common Ties, right here, on my little blog. A fair exchange, don't you think? :-) (If you understood what I was trying to say.)

But the day is ending with even more good news. Just two or so weeks ago I was notified of being a finalist in the new, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Celebrating People Who Help Other People, book. Today I'm no longer just a finalist, my story made it into the book! So I will be going to sleep with a thankful heart tonight. A happy day, all around.

Moping Around

It was a beautiful day today. Summer-like temperatures returned, but the sun was pleasant, and not uncomfortably hot. A good day to be out and about, enjoying the warmth laced with a cool breeze playing its leaf harp through the trees.

But I've had "the mopes" today. The mopes, a dictionary tells me, is having low spirits; having the blues. I don't know why. It just descended on me like a dense fog, and it hung over me with it's depressing dampness.

To be moping around, I read, is to be gloomy and dejected. Ah, yes, that definition fit me well, today.

A dog never mopes around. He lives in the "now" and enjoys the moment. If during a walk, he happens to come upon a little creek in the woods, he plops in and cools off, then shakes himself and is off and running, following all the exciting scents the woods abound with.

A cat never mopes around either. If he comes upon a fallen log in the woods, well, he uses it as a scratching post! What could be more perfect than that, for a cat?


And does a squirrel mope? Nope. He is too busy looking for something to munch on, and relishing his find.

And trying to get these pictures to look right, in here, helped me forget the mopes. Now I'm just frustrated! Oh, well, tomorrow is a new day.

Oh, What A Beautiful Day!

Finally, August is history and September is here! And it was a beautiful first day of September. Sunny, mid-80s, with a breeze that tickled my wind chimes all day, and gave me a chance to be outside, listening, feeling, enjoying. Of course, I should have been writing, instead of be-bopping around, but it has been so long since I could be outdoors for longer than ten minutes, that I decided to enjoy it. The two dogs, who also dislike the hot weather, were happy, too, chasing sticks, walking in the woods, with their noses to the ground, smelling for wild things that may have been around.

Actually, I did work on Grist for the Mill, early this morning, so I made some progress. The heroine, Liz, has discovered something astounding,
so she is excited! But she will have to stay where she is for now, this is Labor Day weekend, there won't be too much time to work on the story.
But a good time at the cabin on the river is in the works for me. Happy Labor Day!

A Good Day

It was a good day today. Eating out, chatting with friends, browsing around in the stores, was fun. Ran into Garnet, who is walking now with the aid of a crutch, after a nasty fall last week. She is fortunate that she didn't break anything, or that hitting her head on some stone steps didn't do any great damage. At 87, she is a tough old bird, God bless her.

It was a beautiful day today. Sunny and warm, but not extremely hot, as it has been for a month now. Still dry though, but one of these days, the rains will arrive to refresh the parched earth around here.

The deer show up earlier and earlier. This morning they were out there at dawn, looking towards the house; looking for me! didn't let them down!

In the morning, it's back to working on Grist for the Mill. I write fiction so rarely, but when I do, I lose myself in the story. When I finish Grist for the Mill, I will go back to The Purple Castle, which is now sitting in my documents, half done. I'm looking forward to going back to a story about a strange dream, and how it eventually comes true. But enough of that for now. Grist for the Mill is waiting, the heroin, Liz, wants to solve the mystery of the manuscript she found!

Time to put my mind into a sleep mode, so I can go back to Liz refreshed, in the morning.

It was a very good day today!