Election Tuesday

Today is a big day for our nation. The nation I am so proud to be a citizen in. The greatest nation in the world. Sometimes we do things wrong. Most of the times, we do things right. Like only allowing white people to vote. No more. We saw the error in those ways and have righted the wrong. I remember many news stories from the 1960s. So much wrong. And we have rectified most of those by now. I think we are closer than we ever have been in treating people equally, women specifically. I am fortunate for the time I was in the workforce. Before the “Me Too” movement, I earned my way up the corporate ladder in Computer Programming training available. Within two years, I knew my current employer was not paying me according to my abilities. They thought it was enough to go from $11,500 a year to $15,500 and think that was enough. No, it wasn’t a fair wage.

I left the company and went to another large company in town. I earned an immediate $7,000 more. Six months later, enjoyed a promotion, and earned another $2,500. Sometimes you have to create your own opportunities. A wise boss from upper management taught me that, and I’ve never forgotten that piece of advice.

We need to remember we can work harder and smarter to change our situations. Often more training is paid for by an employer. Even better. They pay for your education in order for you to leave them. Perfect. Become more responsible for your fate. It is not the fault of an elected official miles away from you. Be prepared to work hard to change your circumstances. There is no better feeling than completely changing your life by your will and intelligence, and hard work. You can do it. I did, and I’m proud of that fact. President Reagan drastically cut programs to help divorced moms attending college. They used to have free day care. It ended the year I enrolled at the Community College. I didn’t like it, but couldn’t change it. Sometimes you survive out of sheer determination. I’d like to think that was the case.

When we first approached our polling place, it had a line clear around the building. We didn’t know that many people even lived in Gretna!. We went to do some other errands, and there were only maybe three or four people in line outside. It took less than twenty minutes. Good timing.

Keto Breakfast Egg Cups

This was our breakfast this morning. It was pretty good stuff with blueberries, and a few almonds. It filled us up and was tasty. I’m enjoying making these easy recipes and knowing we’ll help each other being supportive and honest. Yes. it will work. We’ve lost a few pounds already.

When we left the parking lot after voting, we came home to sit outside with the dogs. It’s a beautiful day, and we want to enjoy it. Breezy, but nice. Unfortunately, our pretty trees all around have turned color again, to a dingy, dead brown. They are falling with every gust of wind. It’s the last part of the cycle. I’m glad to be near the time of hunkering down for the winter. It’s time.

I really miss Tim Russert. Remember him? In 2000, he held the white erase board and scribbled on it while explaining results for various states. He had a lot of integrity, and I did not know what his party was. It didn’t matter. He reported the news, not his opinion. I dearly miss that. Informed and Fair.

I’m praying for healing, especially among families who split because of varied opinions. You may be sorry you wasted years being mad at your Mom or Dad over an election. You need them. They need you. Bury the hatchet, but not in each other. Reach out. Phone calls are pretty cheap. Reconcile. You’ll be glad you did.

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a lovely rest of the day. I will be here again tomorrow, and hope you are too. Be Kind. Be Humble. Be Patriotic. Go Vote. And God Bless America!

Monday Morning, Beautiful Day

As I’m listening to Steven Van Sant and the (also a member of the E Street Band!) Disciples of Soul, I’m feeling pepped up. It could be the coffee, but I just feel energized and good. That’s a glorious thing on a Monday when the week and our souls are still fresh from the weekend. The Babe finished carpet cleaning with his new gadget. It looks great, and the dogs are glad we’re moving the furniture back where it rightfully belongs. They don’t like disruptions in their world.

This CD has it all. Party Mambo reminds me of our beautiful daughter-in-law, Monica. She is Puerto Rican and really has the beat going on. She taught Blake to salsa dance. I wish we had a dancing family, my people didn’t do that. Except for wedding receptions. We weren’t Polish, but all weddings had Polka music, and at a certain point in the night, they attempted the Flying Dutchman. Chaos ensued. The more alcohol consumed, the more chaos. It always looked liked people had such fun.

Photo by Elly Fairytale on Pexels.com

If you’ve been a reader for a year, you may remember I entered NaNoWriMo last year. At first I thought I would not enter this year, but I decided why not? I’m writing anyway. Some very prolific writers from the Nebraska Writers Guild are journaling about the pandemic, and about the political climate. I might do some of that, and I want to do something meaningful to me. Last year’s project finished at over 50K words, and I was glad. It requires editing, and I had a couple people read it. It was pretty raw in its writing. It needs polish and perhaps a different point of view. The proposal is good; the execution needs work.

While I ponder this, I think I need to take some notes, they just may spark some ideas. Any written, typed, and scribbled words “count.” You don’t want to vomit words all over the page. You want some purpose, some intent behind them. I’ll be looking for people to BETA read for me. I’m still pretty green on what that entails some folks saw my criteria last year and complained they “weren’t being paid to edit,” and I excused them from volunteering. Note to self: Clarify EVERY task needing people’s input for. Beta read, Edit, Copy Edit, etc.

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

If you’re an author, you probably love words. You love putting them together to create scenes in your head. If you have too many words, you may defeat your own purpose. I’ve done this. Put way too much detailed description where I think it’s necessary, only to find out it’s unnecessary. It’s something you learn. The work I’ve done with Sam has been so worth it. If you might work with a book coach, try it for a month or two. I’ve learned so much more than I thought possible. New things, Baby steps, you’ll get there nicely.

One year ago, I foolishly thought I could just publish what I had. I thought I was “done.” Nothing could have been further from the truth. I worked like a Pantster. A Pantster wings it. No outline, no character development on paper, no scene construction, no checking anything over. Just do it, like Nike says.

I am now planning what to say, write, and do next. This is working much better. I am focusing on exactly what belongs in every scene and on every page. Nothing else. It has reduced some stress I was feeling. Self-induced, really. Not that it won’t happen again. Humans are hard to break bad habits, you know. And writers are probably worse!

Have a beautiful day and thank you for reading. I appreciate it. We’ll see you tomorrow, right here again. Don’t forget to vote, deliver your ballot properly to a ballot collection box. I do not care who your candidate is, just vote. It will make a difference. Every vote counts. Be Safe. Be Courteous. Be Kind. Be Patriotic.

Photo by Element5 Digital on Pexels.com

Friday Finale

This is how my day started. Bon Jovi was on GMA this morning. I’m quite a fan of his, even since the 80s during the hair band era. He is an extremely handsome man, even in his 50s. I admire two things about him, aside from his musical talent. He operates a restaurant in his hometown, and the meals are free. It is quite an operation, and he continues to work there many days. The other thing, he is still married to his high school sweetheart, marking 40 years this year. How unusual. I can’t imagine the early days were easy for her. But, nonetheless, they’re still a couple who love each other and their family very much.

This song came from a photograph his wife took of him washing dishes in the kitchen of the restaurant. She asked him to come up with a caption for it. He said, “When you can’t do what you do, you do what you can.” And that, boys and girls, is how this song, “Do What You Can,” was born. Some people can just take ordinary words and make them magical. I hope to be able to do that, for you and for myself.

Do What You Can – And Do It Today!

How inspiring. And there are lessons in the lyrics. We need to be loving each other much more than we are. We need to be kind, we need to do what we can especially now, to make the world a better place during this crazy time we’ve all bought into. No, I’m not talking about wearing masks, I do believe there is a virus out there that can kill us. We lost two gentlemen from the VFW Post, both in their 90s last week who died of COVID. One just wanted to go fishing, and he became ill. I’m glad the poor guy was able to go fishing. But who’d thought he would become ill then. Seems unfair to them.

What I’m talking about is the ugliness I read every day on Facebook. I swear George Stephanopoulos had a gleam in his eye as he talked about “order of succession” should Trump, in his advancing age, die, and Mike Pence die, and then Nancy Pelosi, as Speaker of the House, would be President. Wow. Have we really come to that? I’m just so tired of it all.

Sure, I could shut it down, stay away. I don’t want to. I’ve made some wonderful acquaintences from groups I belong to, such as Quilting and Writing. I won’t give those up. So I scroll further and further between posts these days. Let’s. Just. Stop.

From the clinic visit yesterday, I’m experiencing much more swelling just below the ear, into the jaw. I have no toothache, but man, it’s hurting. The doc said do what you can do for the discomfort until you either start to run a fever or something else comes up. OK, I’m hoping it’s not a toothache, abscess or something ugly like that. It about had me declaring a day to live in PJ’s and lounge. But, once I heard that great new song by Bon Jovi and the incredible Jennifer Nettles, I couldn’t let a day slip away. Music motivates me. Helps me look on the bright side.

I was smart, finishing all the laundry yesterday, and I’d like to finish my scenes/outlines today. That may free up part of the weekend for me. And that would be a good thing. Sunday, there is a Show & Shine Car Show at the Post, we look forward to going up for that. It’ll be fun.

And then, this will propel me into the rest of my day. This rendition of the old “Who Says You Can’t Go Home?” by Bon Jovi saw performance at a Superbowl Half Time Show. It was the first time I heard Jennifer Nettles. I love her voice. She has such a strong, great voice. It’s quite a collaboration. If I could sing, I’d want a voice like that.

As I make way to writing some more scenes, I’d like to challenge you to think of how you could make a positive impact in the world. Learn how to do it in a small way. We don’t need to open free restaurants for the homeless or very low income folks, we can make a small donation to a food bank. We could collect things for charity. Pick out a charity like Moving Veterans Forward who gives everything to the Veterans they’re helping. And the recipients of the help have to work for it, too. It’s not a free ride.

A long time ago, a very smart person told me there’s nothing better for a teenage boy like being able to earn a few bucks and have his own money on his person as he walks down the street. Now, same would be true for females, too. And I saw that. If you’re financially stable, even if it’s just a first paycheck, you walk differently. You talk differently. You have some confidence in yourself. That’s what MVF helps these people achieve. And that’s definitely worth our time.

Comment below and let me know what you’re doing. Help each other. Call an elderly neighbor. Say hi to people you encounter. Let’s all start making this a more positive world. We need it. Thanks for reading, I hope to see you again tomorrow. Let’s do this!

And So It Begins . . .

This is officially a new year for us to spend however we may. We have an advantage this year, as there will be an extra day to give us 366 do-overs. What will you do with these 366 chances? The mind may be a little boggled with all this freedom to choose, with so many possibilities.

I belong to a group online called “I Create Daily.” I’ve been a member for about a year. It is a group of people who are creative in many different ways, some artists, some writers, some fiber artists, some photographers, who are united in finding more ways to push our creative selves to do all we can do. This takes a different mindset than just wandering through our lives, creating a little here, and a little there. We are reexamining how we spend our time, how we think, and how we can create better than we believe we can. LeAura Alderson and Devani Alderson are the leaders who ask the tough questions and encourage our answers. It helped me write the first draft of my novel last year. I wrote during a thirty day challenge, and learned new ways to encourage the words out of me.

Because of the group, I looked for any writing groups I could find. I found the Nebraska Writers Guild, and joined. There were two conferences I attended last year. The first one, I was surrounded by romance writers (I’m a fiction girl, or children’s books) and terminology I couldn’t decipher. It was a little tough to remain optimistic. I was also older than many people, and probably the same age as others. The second one, I was fortunate enough to meet a lot of women of all ages that clicked with me, and several I’ve kept in touch with. It is wonderful. We are learning about each other and encouraging each other to write, to tell our stories, and to keep telling them. I’m really looking forward to spending more time with these smart, dedicated women, all of us learning about ourselves and what we are capable of.

The Babe and I spent a little time at the VFW this afternoon. I volunteer to help him in the office, so I updated the spreadsheets they use for inventories and accounting, to prepare them for another month of keeping track of all the parts of the business side of the volunteer organization. It’s a good way to use some of my abilities to help the veterans out. I enjoy it a lot.

Yesterday, I mentioned it is my Dad’s birthday today. It dawned on me this afternoon, I made a mistake reporting his age. I have corrected it in the blog, and am here to announce I made the mistake, and fixed it, and am continuing on. It’s my first humility lesson, and I’m listening. Instead of 95, he would be 96 today. I loved his birthday. Since it was a big holiday, the family actually came to our home and celebrated New Year’s as well as his birthday. It was a fun day. At that time, all the bowl games were played New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Some folks grazed at the buffet, the men had adult beverages in front of the TV, and the women sat at the dining room table with their wine or cocktails and talked. I usually had to find the kids when they escaped the room. Most of them played either in my little brothers’ bedroom or in the rec room in the basement. It was a great way to start the year.

Dad died in 1988, three weeks before his 65th birthday. What a shame, he had just retired. We miss him, and I really wish he could have met the Babe. They would have gotten along famously. So plan your goals. Set them out in front of you, and think of how you will execute them. Join the FaceBook group I mentioned if you’d like. The people are becoming friends and quite a support system.

My goal for this year is to publish several children’s books, and my novel. I have 365 more days to work with, and I don’t want to waste any. We all only have so much life, so many days allotted to us. I’ll be sixty eight years old in May. That’s entering the age where you never know what may happen. The body is aging. Many of our friends have had strokes. I pray I don’t have one. Everything I enjoy requires use of my mind, my vision, my hands, and attention. I pray these all stay intact.

With our good VFW Friends.
back row: Judy, Nugent, Lora
front row: The BABE (Dan), me, Kris, Lenny

The Babe and me on New Year’s Eve

Thank you for reading today! I appreciate your time and your input. Any topics you’d like to see covered? Anything but politics, thank you. Come back tomorrow, I’ll be here. I hope you are, too.

Looking Ahead

Three of Symbols of What I Plan to Do More Of in 2020.

The great debate will begin soon about what your New Year’s Resolution will be. Losing weight, quit smoking, work out more, you know, the usual stuff people resolve or “give up” if you’re Catholic and do Lent or Advent.

Would it make more sense to decide to change yourself or your habits?? Maybe it would become more of a permanent thing. A lifestyle change. Nothing trendy or hit or miss. The three ornaments I shared at the top of this blog are symbols of how I would like to spend more time next year. First, is read more, and sell books next year. I have been in contact with my editor friend, and we will proceed together with edit/rewrites on my novel. It will be a learning experience, and I’m glad to have a friend for guidance. Her name is Sam and we met through the Nebraska Writer’s Guild Fall Conference. Nice woman, I will learn well from her. There are other books very close to being ready to publish, and with God’s grace, I will publish them next year also.

Second, I plan to make more time for quilting and sewing. One of the ways we waste time the most (and I am guilty as charged) is on our smart phones. Yes, I’ll play crosswords, word games, endless games of solitaire, and read Facebook until my eyes ache. And then not have time to work on a project I’d been planning to start for a month or two. In the past two years, I’ve joined a challenge through All People Quilt. It’s called a UFO Busting Challenge. In the quilting world, there is a term “UFO” to described all of our Unfinished Objects (a/k/a/ quilts). I have so many of them. So many. My group is culled because of working on a certain project each month until they’re finished. Some make it to be finished, others do not. But, they’re all closer that they were. I can share those too, once I make up the list for 2020.

Third, I plan to continue writing often, in addition to the daily blog. I can tell that some days the blog is good, some days not as good. General mood, level of enthusiasm, and topic all make for a good or fair blog. I deeply appreciate you all coming back day to day, and having the interest to continue doing so.

Right now, we are waiting for Gavin to come over to spend the night. Do you have fond memories of spending the night at your grandparents? I do. Sometimes it was with a cousin, other times it was alone. It was wonderful! Hoping he has good memories after he’s grown up. I’ll be here again tomorrow, I hope to see you then. Thank you!