Wednesday Editing, Too!

Here we go again. I was fearless yesterday. I deleted pictures, undid the backgrounds with patterns, and saw white backgrounds and my story words in black text. It looks naked again. It won’t be for long. I’ve read once you’re away from your writing project for awhile, it is much easier to edit the words, thus being more succinct.

We had a nice family dinner last night with Tracy, TJ, Gavin, Cindy and Brad. Cindy is the Babe’s sister, who is in town for training at her new job. She will work remotely in Sioux Falls. Isn’t technology grand? We bought local, Bar B Que from a small restaurant in Gretna, and gathered seven people in our kitchen, sharing a meal. Addison was not able to come over. The evening was full of talk, laughter, jokes, and love. We don’t often have this chance so it was really nice. It’s hard when the majority of your family lives out of state.

Brad is an accomplished photographer in addition to being a top notch web designer. He took a new headshot to replace my original one from a few years ago when my hair was very short. He unloaded his equipment into our living room; the lights, camera, and slight moves coached me into a nice photo. I’ll unveil it next month when I add new pages to my website, right here. You’ll know when it happens. He is a magician with his camera. What a talent!

The header today is close to my heart. Sometimes the most interesting memories enter my mind while looking out the window. Recollections of childhood spent outdoors, walking to school with my best friend Peggy, Mass every morning at our Church before school, and many other things. It’s all part of the tapestry of my story. And stories are what we all tell, in one form or another. Some are capable of putting their stories to music, some to the page. It’s something that is meant to be shared. I’m grateful to all of you who continue to read my musings, and am grateful we are now at 944 followers. Let’s get to 1000! It’ll be fun!

I’m going to plunge further into the world of editing when I close this device. It’ll start me towards the goal of finishing something I’ve always wanted to do; create a child’s book. What will you create today? What would you like to do with your time? Do it, while you can; before you can’t, as the song goes.

It is a beautiful sunny day at the home office in Gretna, Nebraska. There will be a small town festival this weekend signaling the end of summer. The high school band practiced for the first time this morning, I could hear the drumline. It’s a sure sign of back to school. The sights and sounds of summer are waning, even though it’s only July. Have a beautiful day. See you tomorrow!

Simple Saturday

Many things are swirling around in my head this morning. Lots has occurred in the last 24 hours. First thing I’m thinking of my cousin Mike and how grateful they must be to have pulled off two wedding receptions in August and early September now that COVID is peaking again in Nebraska. Rules for bars are again, mask to enter building and leave, and mask to walk around in building.No more standing room only events. Events must drop to below 50% capacity. I would not be surprised if the bars and schools be closed again before Thanksgiving to slow the spread again. Our hospitals are nearing a much higher capacity than they want. I just pray to God we can get the election done, in the books, and move on to whatever is next.

Photo by Annie D on Pexels.com

Second, I’m thinking about Estes Park. It is one of our favorite places to make a destination. We love the nature, beauty, scenery, and people. Always something interesting going on. Flood visited there a few years ago, and now a two month old wildfire is calling for evacuations. Prayers for those folks, their families, property, and the wildlife. It all suffers during events like this.

Third, we had a great Post and Auxiliary meeting last week. Ron Hernandez, the founder of Moving Veterans Forward in the Omaha/Papillion area spoke to us about the Victory Apartments, and the other opportunities that are available for the Post to help him get off the ground that will serve Veterans locally. I see a lot of opportunity here for us and I’m excited about it.

I have some things to update for our Post website, and need some lessons from our Web Host, Image Masters. Luckily, the host with the most is my brother in law, Brad Shuck, and he’s always willing to teach me more about how the website works and can work. Great guy. Great photographer, too. He’s in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Check out his work.

Today is the day to make good on my intentions to bring in any plant that will perish with a frost. We’re due anytime, and I have some succulents that will be great inside the house. I don’t want to lose them. That’s for a little later on, and I might let them sit after spraying them for bugs to see what comes out, if anything. Then the transplanting can happen.

Even if we’re quarantined again it won’t be so bad. I’m already looking at grocery delivery, that’s the one thing I’m no longer crazy about doing. It’s kind of a hassle, and hard for me to carry a lot in from the car, after picking it up to put it in the cart, unloading cart, reloading cart with bags, putting bags in the car, that’s a lot of lifting and moving the same stuff to get home. I need to consult with our daughter Tracy to see how we can get started. She’s on to all the shopping stuff. Bless her!

Gavin Has Been Such a Blessing For Our Pups. And Organic Bones.

I’m organizing all my social media marketing information today, too. Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are both used by the Post and by me as an Author. I’m starting up on both of them, so I figure planning them side by side should work. They are both meant to give exposure to the target audience. The Facebook is pretty well established for the Post, and my author page could use some boosting. I still have some online training to review and add to the plans, so that will be some good stuff to sit by the fire and do while the Babe watches football. This is what life is meant for. Being together and getting things accomplished. I’m grateful.

The second chapter seems to be pretty good so far. It’s about 1900 words, which is pretty fair. I don’t want to get hung up on word count, so I’m planning a little ahead. I don’t want to go much further than Chapter 3 before next Sunday night when I send Sam Tyler, my Book Coach, the updated versions for her feedback. I’ve mentioned before, if I’m way off track, I’d rather have just a chapter or two to rewrite than the whole book. Makes sense.

The Babe made some stellar Beef Vegetable Soup late yesterday. It’s reheating now in a great big soup pan. Tis the season for good stuff like that. It’ll be ready after a bit, and will be a welcome break from the morning. Of course, now that it’s afternoon, it’s time to get those plants inside. Life can be mundane, yet accomplishing those tasks gets things done, and you can move on to other tasks and relax. Ahhh. Saturdays. Even retired Saturdays are good.

Thank you for reading, it’s something else I’m eternally grateful for. We’ll meet you again tomorrow, with more tales of marketing myself, the Post, and being an author. Be Safe. Be Courteous. Be Patient. I’ll try to be, too.