108 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 2-23-19”

  4. What is that, you ask? If you mean tomorrow, it’s the next day, or the future. It’s the favorite time of procrastinators, who say, “I’ll do it tomorrow.” And then it never gets done, because on the next day, when reminded, they say, “It’s not tomorrow yet.”

    If you mean the picture, it’s a dog of some sort. I think that’s a Labradooodle.

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  7. Pretty dog. We just read our chapter in “The Horse and His Boy”. It’s snowing. Miguels class got canceled for tomorrow. Hope everyone has a productive weekend.

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  8. What am I doing up so late? I was asleep and remembered I needed to put on my eye patch.

    As for tomorrow, I thought it was a word made famous in the movies. Annie sings about it, and Scarlet wants to send her troubles packing into tomorrow.

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  13. Morning! Snow flurries? Nah…let’s give ‘em 10 inches, that’ll make everyone happy!! It is still and dark in this forest so I haven’t seen the full effect of what is out on the property but the deck has what appears to be 10 or so inches. I’m thinking it is going to be quite beautiful at first light….
    I do believe that is Keva up there looking oh so stunning!! 🐶

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  17. Possible QOD? Was there anything you had hoped to have handed down to you that someone else got instead? One thing I had always assumed I would eventually get was the settee that I slept on near the fireplace in the parlor at my Grandmother’s home. I never made mention of it, but I just assumed. When my parents were clearing out things, my cousin asked for that, and my mother gave it without a thought. I was highly disappointed, but don’t think I said anything to my mom because she did not know what I felt about the piece. It was bought by my mother for my grandmother. It would have been nice to keep it in the family. It was not that I did not want my cousin to have it. I am sure she fixed it up nicely. I guess I am mostly saying as we get older, it would probably be good to ask if there is anything specific that people want to have passed down so it can be marked for them.

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  20. To me, the expression says, “What am I doing here?
    Janice, I never wanted anything handed dow3n, but Elvera wanted mother’s Bible. Mother gave it to her before she died.
    Now, somebody else will get it.
    I have a Bible with very small print. I once said to Chuck, “I used to preach out of this Bible, now I can’t even read it.” Chuck made a note of that. He may keep it after I’m gone.

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  22. There wasn’t anything I wanted from the grandparents. I probably wouldn’t have gotten it anyway, as my aunt and cousin cleaned out the apartment without consulting anyone. They were the only ones who lived close enough, so they did it. My sister thinks that the aunt took money from Grandpa that was supposed to be spread out among the cousins, but no one knew for sure.

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  23. That is my Keva. He is an afghan hound/poodle cross. He’s a very aloof dog around other dogs and most other people, but he loves to be near me & Tim.

    One thing I didn’t get was an old iron bedstead (1930’s era) that was my uncle’s. We came to help clear out his stuff after he died and grandpa had already hauled it to the dump! But he was gracious enough to go and look and see if it was still there and accessible. Sadly it was not.

    Another item was my mom’s gold ring with a heart cutout and a small diamond at the top point of the cutout. My sister and I could not decide who should get it as we both wanted it, so we made a pact to exchange it every Christmas and whoever had it when they died it would stay in that family to go to their girl. After a number of years, I decided I didn’t really need it and just let my sister keep it.

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  24. Janice, I don’t think I saw your mention of Word Weavers, but thank you. There isn’t one particularly near to me, but at the moment I’m not wanting to be in a critique group anyway. (I have plenty of material ready to seek publication, much of it already critiqued by several people / a group.) Right now I have plenty of editing work, but I need to have my name out there better for today’s writing climate, to get more consistent editing work. I have two or three really good leads, but I also need to redo my website and start a blog–and wisdom to understand the best use of money and the best providers in getting them going.

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  25. On Michelle’s question about eye drops: If the eye drops contain a steroid – a synthetic/artificial compound imitating the body’s own corticosteroids – to reduce inflammation, among the possible side effects listed will always be anxiety and depression. I take an inhaled steroid for my asthma and the same possible side effects are listed. This is because one of the many effects of the body’s own corticosteroids during times of stress is to stimulate the brain into responding to the stress – synthetic steroids circulating in the body can imitate that effect, causing the brain to think it is under stress. What people need to understand is that the risk of developing anxiety or depression due to medical steroid use depends on the dose and route of the steroid.

    The likelihood of developing anxiety and depression from eye drops that are taken temporarily is fairly small, as the side effects of anxiety and depression generally develop after prolonged use of systemic (affecting the whole body) steroids. The likelihood of developing anxiety and depression from the inhaled corticosteroids that I take is also small, even though I take them everyday, because very little of the medicine is getting absorbed into my bloodstream, so the artificial steroid is not affecting my body systemically. However, when I have taken prednisone pills in the past for severe asthmatic attacks, the pills are absorbed through the digestive system into the bloodstream, causing systemic effects, including feelings of anxiety, even though the course of prednisone is usually a short one, because prednisone is such a powerful systemic corticosteroid. Remember, corticosteroids are already produced by the human body. It is just that sometimes, the inflammation is greater than the body can handle, so medical steroids are applied, ideally locally to just the area that needs reduction in inflammation; but if the inflammation is systemic, as with rheumatoid arthritis among other inflammatory conditions, the corticosteroid treatment will need to be systemic. The side effects will vary according to dose and route of the steroid, but there is always a chance of anxiety and depression with steroids.

    Janice’s eye drops contain a steroid, according to the link, as prednisolone is an artificial steroid.

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  26. Inheritance: my sister and I both wanted a pin Mom had, that we hadn’t seen since we were little children, carved out of ivory and depicting a row of elephants. We weren’t sure how to decide who would get it (I inherited Mom’s diamond and my sister her opal, and both of us said the only other thing we wanted was that pin), but we couldn’t find it anyway, when we looked through her jewelry. Mom had said years before that she didn’t know where it was, but we hoped she had found it or that we would find it ourselves. We weren’t sure if Mom brought it back from Africa; all we knew of it was that when we were tiny, Mom would sometimes take us into her bedroom and show us pieces from her jewelry box, and that one was the one we liked.

    But Mom kept a book (actually two volumes) of funny things we kids said when we were little. Periodically she would get out “the funny book” and read a few tidbits. When I was a teenager and young adult, she talked about me editing it for her and us publishing it, or seeing if it was worth publishing. I asked if I could look through it, and initially she said yes, but she looked through it and decided I couldn’t. (She was very private.) Unfortunately she didn’t write in her will that it would be mine, and another brother found it and claimed it (I wasn’t present at the time). I told the executor that Mom and I had that unofficial understanding, but he said the brother was quite demanding that he wanted it. And word is he was going to photocopy it for everyone, but “forgot” and left it in the print shop and someone took it. We suspect he didn’t want his own funny sayings read by anyone. (The same brother took the only tape of Dad’s funeral–which was Mom’s and which she wanted–to copy it, immediately after the funeral, and lost it with about the same story.) I haven’t seen the funny book since I was about 10 and never did touch it, let alone look through it myself. It was always something Mom leafed through and read portions she selected.

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  27. I wanted the domino set that my grandparents had. I used to drop by their house and play dominoes with them. He cheated and she still beat him. I didn’t get it. My cousin who bought it for them on a mission trip to Mexico got it.
    I was supposed to get a nativity set and a piece of jewelry from Mama Ruth. I didn’t get either. One sister got or sold everything she could get her hands on and even called in an estate sale company to deal with things. Each sibling would have to pay the estate for anything they wanted. I opted out. The jewelry was long gone/forgotten and even though I REALLY wanted the nativity set, I have the one she bought for me one Christmas and that will have to do.
    At this point in my life, I know that I have inherited everything I will ever inherit.

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  28. I received my grandmother’s organ that her grandmother gave to her when Grammy was a teenager. My grandmother always said it would go to me “because Michelle’s the only member of the family that plays the piano.”

    It sits in my living room. My husband refurbished the whole thing 18 years ago and it gives me delight to watch/listen to my Adorables pumping the organ and playing just as I did a really long time ago.

    My uncle wanted it. I felt badly about that, but my grandmother wanted me to have it.

    I guess the moral of this is to make sure your family knows who gets what. My daughter wants the organ. Fine by me.

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  29. Janice’s QoD: I have already mentioned the legacy of music books I was promised by my former piano teacher, which her children substituted by giving me her collection of classical records. She had been generous in lending us that sheet music, and we had used it for many purposes, including much of the music I played for Youngest’s wedding, so to have it would have been wonderful.

    Most of my mother’s family never got the things they would have liked after her parents’ died. The house they lived in went directly to the brother who was co-owner with them, and so did its contents. There was a time when Youngest and I were sharing one violin between the two of us, and my great grandfather’s violin was at my grandparents’, who were both still alive at the time. But my uncle, who shared the house, with them refused to give it up, even though my grandmother (it was her father’s) was willing to let us have it. My great grandfather was completely untrained, but his natural musical ability was phenomenal and there wasn’t an instrument that he couldn’t learn to play by ear. My uncle had inherited the same musical ability, although he did not use it for any purpose – he stopped playing as his own children, who did have training, began to reach a professional level with their music, due to a wholly self-imposed sense of inferiority. Even in those days, my uncle was displaying the symptoms of anxiety and depression through hoarding, which have become much worse since my grandparents’ death. The violin is moldering, along with many family photos, letters, and memorabilia in a house filled with junk, with no heat, but a woodstove, and no running water (it had all those things at one point, but when they broke, they were never fixed or replaced). The whole family, who jointly loves the stories of where we came from, has been denied access to many of the records of our past as a result (my uncle will occasionally share something if his mindset is healthier). The few records we do have are treasured all the more.

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  30. Years ago I let a SIL take an article on my husband’s grandfather. She wanted to copy it. I have never seen it again, although I have mentioned it. She has moved several times. Not sure that we will ever see it again.

    Just the question about handing things down makes me upset. After my dad died was a horrible experience about what was done with my folk’s estate. Bear in mind, my mom is still living. Too much was done when she was still in grief. I do have a lot of stuff and made sure my children got things made by my parents or meaningful to them. That alone was a battle. I am still sickened by things that were sold for a pittance after being made by my parents. I am grateful for what I was able to save.

    There was one book I did want. My mom had told me I could have it when she died. She must have forgotten because she later told me she was giving it to my oldest brother. I was okay with that. It was hers to give and he seemed to want it. The book was published in 1929 and was one of three that told the history of the city my brother lives in and the whole county. It told how each town was named and lots of historical tidbits. It was fascinating and priceless to me. In addition, my mom had stored many articles of family activities that had been printed in newspapers.

    I arrived one day during all this to find my siblings removing books from bookshelves. I was told that there was a pile for the important books, but the rest was being put in boxes for a sale. Imagine my surprise when I was called about six month later when my mom was wondering where that book had ended up. I had looked at the book when we stayed with my mom for a few weeks after my dad died, so I knew it had been there. Long and short the book was missing. My sister had no problem with that since she thought she would just find a copy on line. Uh, no. The book was quite valuable, so the estate sale lady must have made some good money. The articles were all just lost. It still makes me sad. I know my mom was not happy, but at that point nothing could be done.

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  32. Thanks, Roscuro, I had hoped some would either watch it or somebody would post it. I forgot how Peter L told me to cut and paste on this chrome. Anyway, we still have veterans dying from suicide at the rate of twenty per day. That is one every little over an hour. Incredibly sad.

    Back in the earlier wars, they say people did not die from that, they just came home and returned to life. I believe that was in part because a lot more survive now, some fairly traumatic injuries that would have killed them in the field back then.

    I have also known three WWll vets enough to have spoken a bit with them. One, though he is very busy about the Lord’s business, says he still has nightmares on a daily basis. He laughs at some of his stories, because that is how he deals with it. Two others, both dead now, but with the Lord, refused to talk about it at all. Though they were clearly in pain over it. They would cry at any mention of the wars. And always stood proud at Veterans Day but always spoke with tears in their voices. They were appalled that the other guy would laugh.

    I suspect their struggles are just as real and there were probably quite a few suicides, but they appeared as something else. War is a terrible business.

    I have two that have been in those areas. I do not have any knowledge of what they saw or did. I am certain it has effected them.

    We have a neighbor, the one who was our caretaker but got sent over with the Guard. He spent three tours there and it has hit him hard.

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  33. Mumsee, my great grandfather, the one who was wounded and made a POW in WWI (he was also the natural musician), had a period in his life where he seemed to flashback to his experiences – that was the time when he started beating my great uncle, the one who recently passed away. I remember my maternal grandmother saying that for a time when she was growing up, another veteran of WWI who suffered to the point of mental disability from shell shock stayed with them. Shell shock seems to be an early recognition of PTSD and many soldiers were described as being shell shocked. I have come across the term quite a bit when reading about the post WWI era – the Christian thinker and mystery novelist Dorothy L. Sayers, wrote books with her most famous character, Lord Peter Whimsey, in the 1920s and 30s, and she has him suffering the permanent effects of combat experience in WWI, so the permanent trauma of war was recognized.

    In WWII, it was often called combat fatigue. My maternal grandfather never saw active combat in WWII, but he helped in the second part of the liberation of Holland and afterward in the convoys going toward Eastern Europe, drove an officer responsible for rounding up stragglers who were looting. His letters to his sister about what he saw are apparently quite cynical in tone (his letters to his wife were quite different). He was on anti-anxiety medication for most of the rest of his life, and towards the end of his life, he developed vivid nightmares, and my grandmother was woken up a few times by him choking her in his dream. So, PTSD is nothing new. It just was not generally acknowledged before.

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  34. I think I probably have mentioned that I had asked my grandmother if I could have the family Bible, and she said yes. I let it later be kept by my mother at the home where my brother ended up living. He has insisted it is his. I do not want to fight over it. I have not seen it for years. I guess he may think if he kept it out on display that I might try to take it or something. It’s pretty sad to me that he feels that way. He also would not part with the State Patrol hat I had bought for my dad when I worked there (they sold mugs, hats, a yearbook, and other items for the 50th year celebration). I had wanted the hat/cap for Wesley. Brother would not part with it. I refuse to fight over such things and know in my heart that God will make it right in time so although I do not dwell on such things, I do remember. It is a lesson to not cling to possessions.

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  36. I just finished the latest Ian Rutledge detective story last night, by Charles Todd. It’s a series of tales about a shell-shocked WWI British captain who returns to his job at Scotland Yard in the years after the war. The stories do a fine job of the moodiness and challenges of defeating debilitating PTSD while trying to be normal again.

    The books are overly long and could use Cheryl as an edit to cut out the unnecessary descriptions, but otherwise very good. I generally read them in one night, as I did last night.

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  38. Roscuro, I knew it could not be new, just wondered how it was handled. And yes, combat fatigue and shell shocked come to mind. I don’t think many of us understand the devastation of war, on the soldiers and on the civilians who live through it.

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  40. Qod….I have my greatgrandfather’s console desk. I was visiting my parents one weekend and as I was leaving Dad came up to me and told me to go into their bedroom and get his Grandfather’s desk. A family member had come into the home “asking” for things. Dad knew I was the closest to his Grandfather and he wanted me to get it out of there before someone else did!
    It is sad to see poor character manifest in loved ones once someone passes away. I have witnessed it and it grieved me. Dad’s garage was pretty much cleaned out after his death by a sibling with no mention to the other two of us. This sadly has caused a rift between two….I am the peacemaker living far away and stay out of it….

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  41. Thanks, Roscuro and Janice–

    I passed your remarks on to my friend. She echoed my thoughts. If you’re susceptible to depression and anxiety, this is important. If you’re in the majority who don’t have problems, no worries.

    Both my friend and her daughter were concerned about her mental health after she took the drops. She’s feeling much better now that she’s lowered the dosage, under physician guidance, to one drop rather than four.

    I’m sure I told you I spent three days with a dear friend in VA last summer who is an addictive specialist for the state. An MD, she lectured me the entire time about addiction medicine and explained that across cultures and races, the stat is the same: 11% have an addiction proclivity (I can’t think of the right word today. Not enough sleep).

    That’s why one person can smoke marijuana and not have any addiction issues, while another takes one toke and their life is consumed by drugs.

    Because we have alcoholism on both sides of my family, I’ve always been very careful about drinking–and warned my children.

    I can stay away from alcohol–too many calories–but my friend pointed out addiction will often shift from one to another.

    I’ve abstained from chocolate during Lent for 30+ years to prove I can control it, but I cannot have Tetris or Angry Birds on my computer–I’ll let them consume hours of my life. It’s not the same as opioids or alcohol, but I recognize a tendency to overindulge. Since it’s controllable, so far, I don’t think I have the addiction gene–but it feels close enough that I’ve asked my family to watch out for me in these areas.

    Some of you may disagree with me on this–and you may be right about me– but addiction is real and we do no one any good by pretending otherwise. Yes, Jesus can heal–but sometimes we need medical help in addition to the help of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

    My VA friend, who doesn’t have addiction issues, regularly visits 12 Step programs because they’re spiritually helpful to her, a long-believing Christian.

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  44. Keva! What a glorious coat, it looks so soft.

    I remember my mom lamenting over some of the things of her father’s that were let go after he unexpectedly died. My mom and her sister were back in Iowa at the time helping to fight the local City Council that was trying to take his home via eminent domain for a hospital parking lot. When he died, they gave up the fight — but many had been rooting for them, including the reporter at the local paper who had done numerous stories on my elderly grandfather’s fight to save his home.

    They had many things shipped back to California and I have a few of those pieces from the 1800s now which I treasure (the old family kitchen table, a bedroom cabinet — there were 2 and the other one went to my aunt — a rocking chair). But because of the distance, not everything could be shipped or saved.

    Sadly, the things that went to my aunt wound up getting sold. After my aunt died, the items, then in storage, went to my cousin; all good. But when she died at a fairly young age, her wayward son who was into drugs managed to get to the storage unit before anyone else and he sold all of it. 😦 I was so sad to hear that. His sisters/my second cousins would have loved to have many of the things, among them family’s old weathervane that was on top of my grandfather’s house where my grandparents were married and where my mom grew up in Iowa.

    (The house was torn down for the hospital parking lot, sadly, after my grandfather’s death and the end of the fight with the small town City Hall. It really broke my mom’s heart and eminent domain became a hated concept in our household after that. I was a kid at the time — around 11? — but I’d gone back for a while, too, after my grandfather’s death, staying with my mom at my other grandmother’s house while they fought the good fight until the tearful end. To this day I have a visceral reaction to hearing that a government body is trying to take someone’s home or property.)

    Another item that was saved from the other side of the family was a little table my dad had made in high school wood shop. It was at my paternal grandmother’s house, also in Iowa, all those years. After she died, my mom’s good friend in Iowa kept it in her basement for years until they could find a way to get it out to California, my mom always thought I should have it someday. Another relative was able to drive it back here at some point and it sits next to my front door now.

    Cheryl, how exciting about re-launching your website and doing more writing. Praying you find just the right person to do the website for a reasonable price. There are more people with that skill to offer nowadays. Michelle maybe has some thoughts or contacts, I believe she just had her website remodeled?

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  45. Michelle, as I have related in my posts about my grandparents and uncle just now, anxiety and depression are extremely prevalent in my family background. The wars brought it to the forefront in my grandfather and great grandfather, but most of my mother’s family struggles with both diagnosed and undiagnosed anxiety and depression. So, I am susceptible to anxiety and depression. When I was on prednisone after my severe attack in West Africa, the NP put me on amitriptyline just so I could sleep at night, because my anxiety had gotten unmanageable and neither I nor those giving me care were getting much sleep. The amitriptyline calmed me somewhat, but I still hardly slept. But for me it is literally a choice between life and death. The only thing that keeps my asthma somewhat under control is steroids. I would have anxiety anyway, as nothing is more anxiety creating than difficulty breathing.

    The way I have found of overcoming my symptoms is to realize that my anxiety or other mood problems are due to a physical cause. That is something that my mother helped me learn, when she used to pin point that our teen mood swings were connected to our periods (at the time, we found it very annoying that she did so). She ingrained in me the mental habit of stepping out of my emotions, as it were, and objectively analyzing why I was feeling the way I was feeling. Enough stress and fatigue can overrule my objectivity, as happened in West Africa, but for the most part, I am capable of realizing my anxiety is unreasonable. So, generally I have two main lines of thought simultaneously when I am anxious, one that is in complete panic, and the other that is registering that the anxiety is just because I am sick, tired, on prednisone (when I’m taking it), etc. so I need to keep going and ignore my fears. If I am well enough, I can overrule the anxiety and keep going. I am very unwell when I can no longer overrule it.

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  46. It’s back to the ‘den’ today for me. I got through a pile of old (and recent) paperwork, discarded the vast majority of it and have the rest now separated into file folders. It also allowed me to get most of what I’ll need for my tax appointment gathered up together. I’ll have to make that appointment soon now that March is right around the corner.

    Next job will be clearing off the roll top desk — then I’ll be almost “there.” I’ll have a home work space that’s usable.

    (Speaking of old things, when the newspaper here closed down in 1998 we were allowed to take whatever the company didn’t want; I have the very old framed AP certificate for the paper that I think I’ll hang in there — I also wound up with the little wooden roll-desk that held the paper’s ‘grandfather’ dictionary and a vintage metal rolling typewriter cart that holds my computer printer, so a few kind of cool things in there. The desk isn’t an antique — I’d love to replace it with something smaller and older someday — but it’s certainly very functional — or it will be once it’s cleared off 🙂 )

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  47. Related to anxiety issues, I have a friend who will have to have a small, stage-1 cancer removed from one of her breasts next month and she’s been having to go through numerous tests in advance, of course.

    One of them was an MRI. She knew from earlier medical procedures that her tolerance for those machines was next to zero but she tried anyway. Within minutes she had to be taken out as she became extremely short of breath and actually began to panic.

    How common is that reaction in MRIs? I’ve only had one and can somewhat understand it, I didn’t like it much either and was surprised by my own reaction as I never thought of myself as claustrophobic. My friend’s reaction was so strong that when the doctor called her later and told her they absolutely needed her to do an MRI, they’d sedate her, she flatly refused.

    She said she was upset for several hours after the one aborted attempt, her heart was pounding and she felt she almost was suffering from PTSD.

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  48. Michelle, I firmly share your view that addiction is real. The primary reason I do not drink alcohol because I know I have the same mental tendencies that my father has, and he, before his conversion, was displaying every symptom of alcoholism (one of my mother’s sisters overheard an aunt on my father’s side whisper at my parents’ wedding, “The poor girl, doesn’t she know how much he drinks!”). Addictions frequently begin as self medication for painful mental or physical illness, but alcohol and opioids both become physiological addictions, which the body physically craves. My fellow student I went to Nunavut with had worked in an opioid addictions clinic (like me, she was a practical nurse before going back to school), and she described just how awful the withdrawal symptoms from opioids could be; while one of my preceptors when I was training to be a practical nurse, had worked with alcoholics and told me that alcohol was the most dangerous drug to withdraw from, as withdrawal could be fatal.

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  49. Cheryl, are you only wanting to edit Christian books?

    I knew you said you wanted to get your name out so that was why I suggested joining a writer’s group. You should be an asset to the group giving more benefit to others than you would receive during the monthly meeting. You would become known as a well-respected writer and editor among people who were previously. clueless. It may be that the ones in the group are not your primary target group, but they may have connections. I have to drive almost an hour to get to my group, but I find it well worth the effort and minor cost of membership. Of course, Word Weavers is not the only group around. It’s just the one I am familiar with. Another thing you could do is to offer to present a program on editing at your county libraries to generate interest. People generally want to see a sample of a person’s work before they are willing to invest in them.

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  51. <"Winnie the Poo" was the first book I read to Chuck. He would sit in my lap and laugh and laugh. I think he had a Poo Bear to hold while going to sleep.
    I think he still has that bear somewhere.

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  52. Cheryl, we use SquareSpace for our camp website. It’s much easier for me to update it than wordpress was, but I really don’t know much about wordpress – just found it extremely difficult to make even minor changes.

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  53. Keva went through a stage where it was almost impossible to walk him, but we worked and worked and finally he was good. The rest of his training was really easy.

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  54. Janice, I have edited mostly books by Christians, but some others. The biggest job on my schedule right now is by an unbeliever.

    I took part in a critique group in Nashville for a year or two, and rather enjoyed it. But the one who had been instrumental in bringing the group together didn’t abide by the rules we set up, which frustrated me a bit, and when I finished the two books I had written for kids, I decided to drop out of the group, with the idea someday of joining a group for those writing material for adults. (We had agreed to send each other one chapter every other week, up to ten pages. My book had chapters of seven or eight pages [and I sent only one chapter per week], and hers had chapters of three or four pages. Eventually she was sending us about 18 pages per week. I talked to her about it privately and said we had agreed to ten or fewer pages, and that I didn’t feel like I could bring two chapters when we had agreed to ten pages. She told me well, I could stop at ten pages of her material if I wanted to. I was afraid that would make me seem petty, so I just did all 18 pages. But in my mind it wasn’t fair to suggest one rule and then break it yourself without any discussion among the group.) That group was also not a group for Christians, so there were some places they weren’t all that helpful to me. Word Weavers is not within 100 miles of me, but I know that there would be writing groups locally when I decide to pursue that route. I may not ever do so, though, honestly–I’d need to find a group of experienced writers. The one I was in in Nashville had only two published authors in it, me and a lady who had published a picture book. That was still useful to me, since children’s books weren’t my specialty. But if I were to join a group now, it would have to have published writers in it.

    I have done some speaking, including at a library in such a setting. Where I am living now, I would have tons of speaking opportunities if I wanted them, and someday I will pursue that. For this year, though, getting the website and blog up and running, choosing an agent or two, etc. is really more than enough. Right now I have two children’s book series (one fiction and one nonfiction, two books each completed) and one book for women (half written) and tons of articles and ideas for more. So I have all the “content” I need–I just need to get it out there. I also have been editing for about 26 years, including editing a New York Times #1 best-seller and four books that have won the top awards in the industry, and one other book that has sold 250,000 . . . so I’m not at the place of still “proving” myself. I’m simply at the place where my website is dated and I need to tweak my marketing to get my presence re-established.

    And I do have some leads for website development, too. One direction I was intending to go received a caution, so I’m looking at it further, and out of my element. But I have two nephews with experience along that line, so I am not without options. I just need to figure out the wisest option.

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  55. My husband came across this verse a day or two ago and found it fascinating. What are our three branches of government? Who rules over us?

    This is Isaiah 33:22 (ESV): “For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver; the Lord is our king; he will save us.”

    Liked by 4 people

  60. I’ve reached the point where the room now looks worse than it did — but that’s always the case as you start turning the corner. 🙂 Everything comes out of desk drawers, file cabinets and then you’re stuck with trying to figure out what to do about it all.

    I came a cross the 2004(?) copy of our paper when it was first purchased by Media News Group and the head of the corporation came to speak to us. We were still in our own (which we actually did own) building and the atrium was filled to capacity with employees, it’s surprising how many people we had just not that long ago. A few hundred, I believe, though that’s also counting advertising, production, etc.

    I came across my old phone book so was able to send off the phone #s and addresses I last had for my cousin’s two nieces. I’ll have to send it snail mail as he doesn’t “do” email (though he has a computer and seems adept at looking things up). He’s 78 and when we talked on the phone last weekend (he’s in Missouri) he’d said he would really like to try to find these nieces. The last i was in touch with them would have been the late 1990s, maybe early 2000s, but I told him I’d try to hunt down my old 3-ring phone book (remember those?) and send on any info I found. Neither of us could even remember their last names.

    Their phone #s no doubt are no good and the most recent address probably isn’t either (in northern Cal), but the last names at least should give him a start. I told him I’d be glad to help as well if he doesn’t find them quickly.

    Off to stick the info in the mail at the Post Office. I’ll also call him and give him a heads up maybe, but figured it’s best for him to have the info typed out.

    Still can’t figure out why he doesn’t use email if he is OK using a computer to search out information. ?

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  61. Thanks for explaining all that, Cheryl. Word Weavers is quite different than you described. Each person is limited to only 1,500 words. What you described would never be tolerated. We do have published authors in our group, but not best selling authors. Everyone is very supportive, and it is a great place to make good Christian friends similar to this group here. One gentleman writes devotions so that is how the meeting begins. I am just relating a few of the differences from what you described. The group is large enough so it can be broken down between fiction and nonfiction. People have great connections within Christian publishing. But I understand about the need to update the website. I never went live with the website I built last year because Art was not ready. I learned so much about WordPress that was useful through Christina Hill’s Website Creation Workshop. Someone in my Word Weavers group used an online course to teach herself all about WordPress and she offered to help others with it so it is not just writing, but marketing and website ideas that are freely shared.

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  63. My daughter-in-law is my webmistress and she redid my website. It’s a WordPress website and is now live at http://www.michelleule.com.I have her information, obviously, if you simply have questions and I’m sure she’d be happy to chat with a friend of mine.

    My site is perhaps more complicated than most because it has so many things going on–835 blog posts, photos, all sorts of pages–it’s taken us a long time to get it redone.

    You can get a WordPress site for free, but it will come with ads. For a tax-deductible expense (since it’s your business), you can “self-host” your site and not have ads. Most professionals do not have ads.

    I can certainly recommend places to get additional information about websites, Novel Marketing is an encyclopedia of great information. I listen to their podcast every week:

    https://www.novelmarketing.com/

    The other site for great blogging information is problogger.com.

    The best way for freelance editors to get their “names” out there is through social media/satisfied customers.

    I’m happy to help.

    Liked by 3 people

  66. Thanks, Michelle. I was actually planning to go with WordPress, but hoping to get someone else to get me up and running. And my husband and I talked to a tech guy at church, and he said WordPress morphs so quickly, with so many bugs regularly introduced into it, that you really have to know what you’re doing and keep on top of it, or “next thing you know, you’re selling Viagra.” So I thought OK, back to the drawing board then, because I don’t have enough tech savvy to keep on top of that.

    Right now I have (at least) three options. I’d like my husband to do it, because he’s far more tech savvy than I am, and if he learned it, it would be really ideal. And he has said that he would, but I don’t know when that would be. I can continue (at least for now) with my current web-hosting, but a more upgraded format . . . which makes me nervous because it was so much work to do it the first time, and some links broke right away and others broke over time, and I just don’t have the tech savvy to fix them–and my husband said that they are charging more than other companies that have more up-to-date sites. So I don’t really have a lot of confidence in the company. Another option is to contact my nephew, who created his mother’s site (my sister with the soap company), because he could almost certainly do one for me. But what I really want is someone who can get one up and running, that I can at least somewhat manage myself. I want to be able to post my own material and not send it to someone else to post for me. Again, in my mind the real ideal would be my husband getting it going–but because he has never done that before, he’s a little intimidated by it, and he has several things on his plate likely to be ahead of it in line. I also know that to hire a professional is several thousand dollars–and I simply don’t have that. Another option is to customize my LinkedIn a bit more and at least have something in the meantime . . . but for now I am just waiting for one of these options, or some mix of them, or something else, to actually come together. I also have some online stuff flagged as helps when it is time to move forward.

    I’m definitely at the point of getting word-of-mouth business. Except for my website, I have never advertised, and multiple individuals a year seek me out, and several of those have used me for several books each. (I’m working on something like the fifth book for one client just this week.) But see, I have long seen my “main” business as being editing for publishers, and editing individuals as being almost a favor to them. But as the publishers’ business has dropped off, I need to be more deliberate about seeking new business in a variety of forums. I have lots of possibilities open to me right now–but I need to figure out which are the best uses of resources. I have followed some trails that looked promising (e.g., elance) but that weren’t anything close to being worth my while–in fact, I did pay for one ad several years ago, and it didn’t even bring a query, let alone any work. I also have to do things in the right order (e.g., getting my website updated before I pursue a couple of options). But I also need to keep my name in front of publishers, and this afternoon I just sent my resume to a new, and good, prospect in that line. I’m not “worried” about it not working out, I just need to move forward with wisdom and not haphazardly.

    Janice, that sounds great. They just don’t have any at all in Indiana, nor within more than 100 miles from me in any other state, so it isn’t an option for me. But because of the nature of the area where I live, I’m sure there are other similar things when I do want to look into something like that. (We have artist groups and birding groups and ToastMasters and all nature of other things, so I have no doubt we have writing groups–though getting one that is Christian might be trickier.)

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  72. Time to get some sleep this Sunday evening in Ukarumpa. Do you all know that you can find Ukarumpa on google maps. Used to be that it was there but covered by clouds. Now they have a new image and you can see all of Ukarumpa. Even my house and the school, if you know where to look! 🙂

    Liked by 4 people

  73. So!
    What am I doing here on a Sunday morning?
    It is raining and I can’t take Elvera out to the car to go to church. We no longer have the attached garage and she would get soaked trying to go from the porch to the car.
    You’ll understand when you get old.

    It may clear up later, according to the weather on my phone. But you have to decide an hour ahead of time to get ready.

    Liked by 2 people

  75. That dog is Duke and he is the sweetest natured dog in the world. We ‘inherited’ him from our son’s friend when friend’s life fell apart. Duke came to us extremely well trained (we’ve lapsed a little in keeping that discipline) and he is a cuddle bug and just so loving. But he sheds, and he wipes his messy face on the furniture – sigh. He is very funny too. He still loves to play with anything and everything. For a while, when we were gone for the day, he would empty my basket of mitts and hats and carry them all and put them on the couch where I normally sit. Right now he really wants his breakfast.

    Liked by 4 people

  78. Mumsee is always somebody, no matter how she is disguised.
    The rain let up and we went to SS. Elvera is the only person her teacher had. Teacher says they had a nice time together.
    We didn’t stay for church because there is too much commotion in the late service. So many people. It still isn’t nice out there; so we came home and had soup for lunch.

    Liked by 5 people

  79. The sun is shining here today.

    The dogs and cat are fed, now I just need to get dressed, write out a check and get to church.

    Home office area is taking longer than I expected. The center drawer in the desk is really sticking, hard to pull open and shut. I’ll do some more work in there this afternoon, but it still probably won’t be “done.” It would help if I could take some things in boxes to the garage, but the garage door is stuck so that can’t happen.

    I’ll need some good thermal curtains in there for the new, long slider window — that part of the house (west) really heats up something awful in the summer afternoons so if I want to keep it a workable space year round I’ll need to block out some of that heat.

    Liked by 2 people

  82. We had freezing rain last night, turning to plain rain today, and there is a high wind warning for this evening and tonight.

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  83. DJ – Yesterday you mentioned something about Eminent Domain. There was a case here in Connecticut that went to the Supreme Court – Kelo vs. City of New London. Sadly, the city won. The land was not going to be used for a road or anything like that, it was “needed” by a developer for some project. After all the heartache it caused the family, the developer did not end up doing anything with the land.

    Hubby used to say that no one ever completely owns their home, even if it is paid off, because we can still lose our homes if we get behind on property taxes. Or a town or city can decide to pull Eminent Domain on us.

    Liked by 3 people

  84. Have I told y’all about my lovely couch and loveseat? They are about 18 and a half years old now, and are in horrible shape. Not only are the cushions ripped and splitting apart in several places, but the couch is now awfully uncomfortable, too.

    So, we have decided that it is finally time to buy a new couch and loveseat. Nightingale loves the couch she bought from Ikea, so I am going to get the same kind, but in a different color. Hers is white, but I like the dark grey better, even if it is $50 more. The couch and loveseat together will be $1050, but that is quite reasonable.

    Here is a link to the couch. . .

    https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S89129226/#/S89164917

    Liked by 1 person

  85. Kizzie, it is a lovely couch and love seat. I almost hit that buy now button! We have a pair that do not match. I really don’t like the newer couch but preferred the older set which we kept the love seat from. I felt like I had to get a new couch and had no time to really shop. I got one st Sam’s Club which is a dark brown leather. The love seat is a khaki beige leather. We keep the couch covered up most of the time so Miss Bosley won’t damage it so it does not matter for us that they do not match.

    I am making a big batch of soup. It is smelling delicious. I have been trying to make it each week but missed making it this past week.

    Art has an early doctor appointment tomorrow, and I have one Tues. with the eye doc. Karen called this a.m. not knowing what to do about her deteriorating health situation so I said I thought she needed to go to ER in an ambulance. They go ahead and put am ulance patients in a room so they are not stuck out in the giant waiting room exposed to as many germs. I will call later to see if she went.

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  86. That new puppy up there does appear a tad bit intimidating….my sister,nephew and niece all have boxers and they are luv bugs. They approve of their more intimidating posturing…keeps the riff raff away 😊
    Sunshiny and warmer here today…snow is melting in and the roads are mostly dry.
    Kizzie that is Ikea’s most popular seller and I know a few friends and designers who have made that purchase. The slip covers are durable and convenient…..good choice!
    Dj have you used a paraffin block to rub on the sides of you desk drawer? That is what always worked for us at the antique shoppe.
    Third week in a row we have had a guest speaker at church….this fella was hard to take…confess I kept looking at my watch…his time limit counter went down to zero and he kept talking another 15 minutes…. 😞

    Liked by 3 people

  87. Thanks Nancyjill, just ordered some from Amazon. Nothing seems stuck in the drawer, it just doesn’t glide easily, you really have to pull and push to open and close it.

    Liked by 1 person

  89. Boxers are sweet (but, yes, also droolers 🙂 )

    It was a good morning at church, sermon was from Judges, but for some reason I was feeling really sleepy. I was going to stay for SS but left as I think I really need a nap.

    It’s bright, sunny and a bit warmer today, in the low 60s.

    Liked by 1 person

  90. I hope the couch holds up well for you. Sometimes it is advantageous to spend more on furniture, because a well made set and fabric can last much longer and save money in the long term. Of course, I tend to not like shopping and replacing things. I like that you can easily recover it, if needed and it looks comfortable.

    What will you do with the old set? Do you have someone who can move it out?

    Liked by 2 people

  91. I wanted to go outside and take some sunny day photos but the wind is so strong and continuous I think a trip out for that purpose would be in vain.

    I finished Michelle’s book and encourage others to read it and post a review if you haven’t. I hope to do a review soon. It is difficult to do here at home since all has to be done on my phone or small tablet since we do not have wireless at home.

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  94. Peter, that test is rigged! It doesn’t matter how you answer the questions, which have no good options anyway (though some of the options were hilarious), only the last question counts.

    Liked by 2 people

  95. Our pastor had a great sermon this a.m. which I watched on Facebook Live. He’d just been out to Austin,TX to do a funeral at the church he pastured for around thirteen years awhile back. He was very transparent about how difficult it is for pastors to transition so quickly between emotional situations. He said he is not one to usually cry, but he lost it at the airport last night. He said going back to the church and seeing young people he had baptised now in leadership roles, and having many people tell him what a difference he’d made in their lives was overwhelming. He then moved into his sermon topic from Acts about what people do with their legacy and the advantages they are born into (like Paul had the advantage of being a Roman citizen). For any who might be interested in seeing it, the service can be viewed on Facebook at Bridgepoint Church at Toco Hills.

    Liked by 1 person

  98. Kathaleena – Either Nightingale will rent a truck for us to go to Ikea to buy, and bring home, the couches, or I will pay for Ikea’s delivery service, which includes taking away the old furniture. If we decide to rent a truck to do it ourselves, we will take the couches up to the dump. We have to compare costs for each option.

    Liked by 1 person

  99. Nightingale is making French Toast, sausage, and bacon for dinner. She is also serving faux Mimosas and faux lattes. (We usually eat earlier than this, but it sounds worth waiting for.)

    Liked by 1 person

  102. I had a very deep nap, nearly 2 hours. I knew I was sleepy. I could have slept some more, but it was going on 4 p.m. and that would have messed up the sleep cycle too much for tonight.

    Strange dreams about my car breaking down, trying to find the vote tally link during an election night shift, filling up water jugs for something …

    Liked by 1 person

  104. Although right after dinner I had a big disappointment. Of the five times I have to watch The Boy this coming week, I thought I only had to do so for two 2nd shifts, but Nightingale suddenly realized that tomorrow is a 2nd shift, not a 1st shift as was written on the calendar. 😦

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  105. I walked the dogs but I still feel really sluggish. I don’t think I’m coming down with anything, but I really feel listless.

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