Relapse?

I thought I'd turned a corner with this cold.  On Sunday, I started feeling normal, even though I still had a bit of congestion.  Then the cold went into my chest, though remaining in my head, so now I've got the double whammy.  This Tuesday, I feel worse than I have since last week.

I miss my mother at odd times.  The weird thing is knowing that I can't pick up the phone and call her.  For the last 20 years or more, we talked at least once a week, for an hour.  

Trying to start a new book, which is normally a fun and happy time for me.  I'm trying to get there - I had one synopsis approved, but I'm having trouble getting into that story, so I emailed my editor to ask her if she minded if I worked on a different story.  Her response "Write whatever you want!"  I love my editor.  She rocks.

My new foster puppy Peyton is the most adorable Boxer puppy I've ever seen.  He gets along great with my personal Boxers and is learning to like his crate and learning how to have rules - today I caught him with one of my shoes!  He adores me and must be wherever I am.  I am so torn with him - I really want to adopt him and make him my forever dog, but then I won't be able to foster again.  And I still have my foster Katniss, who has kidney disease and may be with me awhile.  Such a difficult choice, though if the right family comes along who can give him a better home, I imagine I'll know.  Still, a dog like Peyton doesn't come along all that often.  Such a dilemma!  Part of me has this feeling Peyton is already home.

Things are falling into place for our short Vegas trip.  I'm excited and ready.

And now I have two books started.  I must choose one and write.  I love my job.  

Here's a photo collage of Peyton.  Isn't he adorable?

Clouds and Musings

I love learning new things.  Last night on the news weather, I learned these kinds of clouds are known as Mare's Tails.

I took this picture in my backyard.

I'm still sick with the cold that will never end - it's moved into my chest and I'm hacking and wheezing and sneezing.  My nose is chapped and raw, and I just want to curl up and sleep.  So not pleasant.  Meanwhile, Lonnie is feeling pretty good.  His cold skipped the head cold part and went to his chest, but he seems to have shook it pretty much.  He brought it home and this is just not fair.  Ah well.

I've turned in line edits and AA's on my February book, signed the new contract, entered the Rita's, written an author tip for The Knight Agency newsletter, and am working on my next Harlequin Romantic Suspense. Writing isn't easy when you feel like crud, and I'll probably abandon the attempt today.  We'll see.

The New Normal

Monday rolled around, just like it always does.  I'm ready to resume my normal life and get back to work. Yes, I have a cold, but it will pass.

It's raining still, which is perfect.  I have a nice pork roast in the crock pot for supper.   My new foster has a dog cold and it's spreading among my personal dogs and my other foster dog, so it looks like my entire household is sick.  :(

I did restart my story.  I'd originally written the first few pages in the hero's point of view and it wasn't working.  So I restarted in the heroine's.  And I like it.  So I'll make myself continue.  The book is due January 2nd, and I've got a trip to Vegas, plus Thanksgiving and Christmas in there.  It won't be the same without my mother, but I'll have her memories in my heart.

I've got a love story to write.  And a cold to kick to the curb.  I'm going to do both and enjoy the rainy day.

Rainy Day Sunday

It's a grey and rainy Sunday - my favorite kind.  My husband has a monster cold and I can tell it's making it's way toward me.  I've been taking extra Vitamin C and stuff, hoping to ward it off.

The memorial service for my mother went beautifully.  The setting was gorgeous - pond side at the cemetery where she has her niche.  The urn was made of onyx - green and gold and tan - so lovely.  I spoke and while I choked up a couple of times, I thought it went well.  There was a preacher there and he spoke too.  And in the middle of the service, a huge black crane flew in and landed at the top of a tree on the other side of the lake, spreading its wings and stretching its elegant, long neck.

I felt at peace after.

Today I'm trying to fight off my husband's cold - he's sick and I have a feeling I'm next.  I did laundry, played with my foster dogs and my personal dogs, and tinkered with my book.  Tomorrow, I get back to work.  Life must resume normalcy, and I have a job to do.

Oh, and I booked the airline tickets to Vegas.  And a show  Lonnie and I are going to try and take the trip this year that we were supposed to take last year when he got hospitalized and we had to cancel.  Fingers crossed for good health this year!

Difficult Writing

My mom's memorial service is Friday.  Two years ago to the day from when she called to tell me she'd been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer.  (I hate capitalizing it - it feels like doing so gives it even more power.)

I was asked to write the Eulogy.  It was one of the most difficult things I've ever written, and I come up with words for a living.  I wrote one terrible draft, then poked around online, and read examples.  Then I ditched my first effort and wrote a second, much better one.  The only problem is that I will have to read it out loud at the service and I can't get through it without crying.

So I'm going to practice reading it again and again and again, until I can.  Because I owe my mother this.

Mums and Roses 2013

Twice a year, Legacy Boxer Rescue has fundraisers.  The fall event is called Mums and Roses.  It was held this past Saturday, October 5th.

I got up at 4:45 am.  When Lonnie and I got there at 7am to help unload the semi-trucks and get it set up, the sun had not yet risen and it was 78 degrees.  Rain and a cold front were in the forecast, so I brought a lightweight fleece jacket.

We unloaded pallets of mums - all sizes - and roses - all varieties.  We had pumpkins too - all sizes, ranging from $3 to $25.

By the time we were officially open for business at 9am, the cold front and northern wind had arrived and the temperature dropped to 57 degrees.  It was COLD standing out there.  I had to call Lonnie (he'd gone home at 10) and ask him to bring me a warmer jacket.

Patches was there - he's a dog we rescued from a criminal abuse case, and a bit of a minor celebrity.  His hair has started growing back, but they needed to keep him warm.

I almost cried when I saw him.  If you only knew how far he's come - he nearly didn't make it.

The puppies we call The Parvo Princesses were there also.  These are two baby girls who got Parvo and were dumped in a shelter to die.  We did an on-line fundraiser and our fans (Legacy's fans) came through. We raised enough money and pulled them and treated them.  David Rogers and his wife Jeanette took very good care of them.  One of them went to her new forever family after this event.

We also sold shirts and hats and all kinds of Boxer related stuff.  It was cold, but so cool meeting people I've only "met" online!  We had a huge potluck lunch - I made potato salad - though I had to miss that as my family wanted to go out to lunch.

The best part?  We managed to raise a little over $21,000 to help Boxers in need!

Beauty

Yesterday, a beautiful bouquet of flowers arrived from my publisher Harlequin.  They were sent in sympathy for the loss of my mom.

I appreciate them more than I can say.  They're beautiful and my mom would have loved them.