July 16, 2011

It hit 107 yesterday.  Tied for a record.  It's so hot that even my native-Texan, heat-loving husband hates it.

That said, since I'm pretty much stuck inside except for going to the gym, I've been working.  A little.  I found an old story that I'd started awhile back.  It's around 50 pages.  I like it a lot and I'm going back through it and revising.  If it works out, I'm going to make it into three chapters and do a synopsis and send it along to my dear agent to see what she thinks.  If not, at least I'll have been writing and getting reaquainted with those skills after so long a time off.  (Nearly 3 months!!!)

Anyway, even though I posted an entire photo album up on my Facebook page, I promised to post a few more Biloxi pics, so here they are.

Us at the Half Shell Oyster Bar

Fried Green Tomatoes and Crab Cakes at The Half Shell Oyster Bar (can you tell I loved this place?

Outside the Hard Rock Hotel.  Love their sign!

And inside next to a suit that Freddy Mercury of Queen wore to one of his shows.  Queen was one of the bands I loved as a teenager.

That's it for pics today.  I've got some writing to do while hiding from this awful heat.  Talk to you on the other side of this weekend!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Sorry for my absence, but I've been out of town.  In Biloxi, MS to be specific.  It was lovely there - 95 or 96 compared to 105 here.  And even with the higher humidity, the sea breeze made it feel much cooler than this hellhole that is DFW in the summer.  Did you know that so far we are 2nd in the records of having the most consecutive days where the temp was over 100?  The first was the summer of 1980, the year my daughter was born and it was MISERABLE.  They even made t-shirts that said "I survived the summer of 1980"  From Wikipedia - In Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, high temperatures exceeded 100 °F (38 °C) a total of 69 times, including a record 42 consecutive days from June 23 to August 3. Dallas/Fort Worth reached an all-time high when the temperature hit 113 °F (45 °C) for three consecutive days on June 26-28. In all, the Dallas/Fort Worth area saw 29 days in which the previous record high temperature was either broken or tied. Seymour, Texas, would hit 119 °F (48 °C), a record for Texas at the time and still the second-highest temperature ever recorded in the state. Ironically, Seymour also holds the record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in Texas (-12).

So it was nice to escape to the gulf coast.  We had some lovely raw oysters that were so good we went back a second day.

I've got a ton more pictures to post, but here are some random ones.

Our hotel

And here's me on the awesome boardwalk from our hotel to the beach.

Oh, and the beach itself

And finally, the shrimp boats all docked behind the Hard Rock Hotel.

 I'll post more tomorrow - I'm still recovering from the trip (hotels - especially ones with casinos and cigarette smoke - tend to make me a touch ill).  But I had a great time and I'm glad to be home, if I could just get rid of the awful heat!  Give me ocean heat and humidity over this furnace any time!





July 8, 2011

 Scenes of summer.  A Mockingbird made a nest in one of my baby trees down at the lake.

My Boxer Dog Mac, going all shark-mouth on his lake toy.

 Oh, and I promised to show you my new office.  I haven't organized it yet or cleaned it, so I'll have to post more pictures after I do that.  But for now...

Once I get it better organized, I'll repost.

July 7, 2011

This morning, as I'm looking at another 100 plus degree day looming, I saw a lovely winter scene on my good friend Anna's blog (annaadams.net) She's like me about the summer heat, maybe worse. I can take it to a point - and that point is sitting in the shade under my covered patio with the two ceiling fans on high and misters on and being able to jump into the pool when I can't take it any more. And yes, when it's this hot, the pool water temp is around 90, which is sort of like bathwater. But it's still cooler than the outside, so I love it. Though I confess, these days are often so damn hot that I can't even venture outside to swim. It's air conditioning all the way, baby!

And I do plan to write more today. It may not be on a contracted book, or even a book that anyone will ever read, but I'm going to do it just for me.

Wednesday, July6, 2011

Lazy? Or....?

Taking a step back from myself to ponder. I haven't written anything more than a couple of synopsis's since I turned in a book on May 1st. It's now been two months of not writing. I haven't done this since... ever, I think. Since first getting published in 1997, I've written a minimum of two books a year while working a full-time day job. Some years more than two books. People that know me personally have heard me say many times that I wanted time off. That I was burned out. That I wanted to take a break and just read and do other things.

So I have. Even though I've been incredibly busy since May 1st, what with closing the office and all, and have some major travel lined up for this month and next, I've enjoyed the break. Sort of. I must confess, I've felt the occasional twinge to write and have actually kept my Alphasmart by the recliner so I could type whatever when the mood hit me. And I did.

But now I'm feeling serious withdrawal. And guilt. Such as - why didn't I take advantage of this time without a contract to do a serious proposal for my agent to shop with another publisher? I want to make a go of this writing full time gig, don't I? Then why have I been so lazy? Or was this - gasp - something I needed? Time off. Time to refill the creative well.

Maybe I'm just trying to excuse my uncharacteristic laziness, but I honestly think I needed this break. But it's time to call an end to it. Time to put my butt in the chair, my fingers on the keyboard, and get back into writing. I've brought the Alphasmart here into my new office - which I LOVE by the way - I'll post a picture soon - and plan to upload all the files and see what kind of stuff I've randomly written. See if anything germinates from a seed into a story. And in the meantime, avoid the blistering heat outside.

Wish me luck!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Saturday night, my daughter and I did Painting with a Twist again in Grapevine, TX. That's me in the front row, second from the right. My daughter is directly behind me, slightly left. Painting with a Twist, for those of you who don't know, is a unique concept. Attendees view the proposed pictures online and select the class that's painting the one you like. You register online and when you arrive on your scheduled day, a station is set up with the canvas, paint and brushes all ready for each attendee. The instructor takes you step by step through the process to create the painting. Each person can add their own individual flair, as you can see. The kicker is - every time the teacher rings a bell, you have to take a drink of whatever alcoholic beverage you brought with you. Most people bring a bottle of wine (and a designated driver). Last Saturday night, people brought wine and beer and coolers and I think I even spotted someone making screwdrivers with OJ and vodka! It's fun and relaxing and a nice way to spend a few hours. I thoroughly enjoyed myself (and was glad my daughter drove!)

Today we visited my mom for several hours. I brought her a computer leftover from our business (and a flatscreen monitor). We hooked it up for her and in return, she fed us spaghetti and salad for lunch. Very fun and relaxing.

Now I'm home and I've talked my husband into postponing the garage sale. Quite simply, there is way too much stuff and not enough time to get it ready for this Friday. Especially since I have a hair appt on Thursday, plus the dogs have to go to the groomers, plus he has a dentist appt on Thursday - it goes on and on. We go to Biloxi this weekend also and it would be a mad rush to wrap up the garage sale and get ready to go. The only downside is that we have to live with all the junk for a few more weeks. But we will survive. And who knows, maybe the heat wave will break by then! One can only hope, right?

July 4, 2011

Happy 4th of July! Despite the heat, this has been a great long weekend. We've swam, played frisbee, watched movies, grilled, made homemade banana ice cream, cut up watermelon, drank beer, wine, and margaritas and bloody marys (not all at the same time). Today, on this holiday celebrating our Independence Day, we pledge to do more of the same. A break, if you will, from sorting through seemingly endless boxes of junk we brought home from the now defunct office. That will resume again tomorrow as we get ready to have the ginormous garage sale next weekend.

Stay safe, celebrate, and have fun!