Irish Pathos & A Party

Busy day, no time for 'Lita'. But, I did get a few crits done and a sub sent off to FlashXer. That felt good. I always feel lost when I don't spend a block of time writing and today was one of those days. I do love Christmas, but I do love my writing, too. I sound like a humbug, but I'll be glad when the holidays have run their course and I find myself with more time. Time to write. I did read a few short stories in '44 Short Stories' an anthology of Irish Short Fiction. Overall, they have a pathos in their plots that makes them sad reads, despite the wry wit of some of the characters that people the stories.

Had our TelecomPioneer meetings and Christmas Party today. Left home at 9 am and didn't get back home until after 3 pm. Then, it was an afternoon of packing and loading the car. I think I've got it all done so I can leave early tomorrow morning. Hope it isn't snowing in the Tehachapi Pass! Had dinner tonight with the Hollie's at Denny's and afterward we drove around for about an hour to see the Christmas lights.

Change! It can suck!

After I blogged yesterday, I went to my writer's meeting. As always, I enjoyed seeing everyone and getting my crits. I was surprised to see Sherry there. She's been away from the group for a very long time. The business part of the meeting was loooonnnngggg. A speaker has been arranged for Jan. 19th from 1 to 3 p.m. at MCC. The college offers a Writers Forum each month, so January's Forum will feature this speaker. The problem is, that our regular writer's meeting is scheduled for the same date, same time. There was much discussion as to how to handle the problem and I think it was finally decided that the writer's meeting to submit and critique would be shelved for the day so everyone could attend the speaker's program. This bothers me because I think it goes against the purpose statement in our bylaws. I believe it states that our meetings are for support, critique and motivation. I don't read educational forums/seminars/conferences or publication deadlines facilitation in the purpose statement intent. I suggested that a bylaws committee be formed and if that is the direction the group is going, then the purpose statement should be upgraded. Unfortunately, for me, that is not what I'm looking for. I will leave the group. I know how and where to get further education on writing techniques that I find I'm in need of. It seems to me that that within our writer's group the educational needs will be quite varied depending on how long a person has been seriously writing. Also, as for the exercises being focused toward publication deadlines, it seems to me that they are primarily memoir driven and I, of course, only write fiction. So, perhaps I have become a detriment to the group by pushing the current purpose statement and being unwilling to move in the direction of the group. I will always care about the folks, but I need to look at my needs and expectations and right now, they are in jeopardy or not being met at all. I have a quote in my Writers Group notebook. It is from the movie, Gigli. It seems so appropriate to my situation. Larry Gigli offers the following words of wisdom, "You see, after all is said and done, the only thing you can really be sure of, the only thing you can really count on in this world, is that you just never fucking know." I have found that to be true on so many levels and phases of my life and it seems appropriate to my current situation.

After the meeting about ten of us met at Denny's to get caught up on what's been going on with Sherry, discuss movies and just have some good conversation. Then it was off to a great party at the Hollies.

Today, I went to the swap meet and got the popcorn for Kim. It tastes sooooo goood. Then tonight I went across the river to the casino and won $650!!! Yahoo! Merry Christmas to me!

With that, I'll sign off for tonight. Busy day tomorrow with exercise, delivering gifts and a board meeting at the clubhouse.

Doing What I Like - ALL DAY!

Yesterday was a day of no commitments! A day to write/read/crit. Yahoo! Moved Lita along, although not too happy about what I wrote and I'll probably do a lot a critting on it before I add to it today. Then I managed 2 submissions and 12 crits to my on-line writing groups. Then I reread the 11 submissions from my local writer's group. And, I used a prompt from one of my on-line groups to meet my 250 word assignment to submit to my local group. That was a fun exercise meeting two prompts with one submission. What a fine bunch of writers I have the privilege to be associated with. There was everything from poetry to allegory. Reading their pieces keeps me alert and is such a learning experience. I'm starting to get crits on my on-line subs and it's everything from liking it, to making suggestions, to not 'getting' it. Funny how what appeals to one person, eludes another, but all takes on my subs give me pause and certainly help me to be a better writer. It's nice to hear an 'Excellent'. It gives me the courage to go on and believe that perhaps I can write, but the crits with the suggestions/questions are probably what ultimately leads to an 'Excellent' review.

Another growth, for me, is reading. I have to read one of Jean Auel books for my book club in January. I read her entire 'Clan of the Cave Bear' series a number of years ago. My favorite was 'Valley of the Horses', so I'll probably give that another read. I really enjoyed her first two books, but the last three seemed forced.

I'm reading 'Atlas Shrugged' by Ayn Rand, again. It's been a few years and lately, with all the political nonsense being thrown in our faces, I feel the need to read some common sense verbiage.

Good & Bad Writing Day

Good and bad writing day. Bad, because JOan isn't feeling well. So our Denny's crit meeting had to be cancelled. I always look forward to meeting with her and Lois - get good feedback and then we share some warm camaraderie. Good, because today was my crit meeting day with Dave. He feels more invested in 'Lita' now and had some good things to say and also some good suggestions for upgrades. We discussed his lengthy expo of a character that will have a short run in his novel. We both feel that if the background of the short-term character punctuates certain traits of a main character then the digression is warranted. Ah, great minds do think alike! Not necessarily right, according to editors/publishers/critters, but alike never the less. Also, got a very nice crit on my hunting story, 'A Communion in the Rain' with a good suggestion as to where to submit it. Heard from Jack in Tucson and he is writing again! I was so glad to hear it. He is getting help from a man in prison, so it sounds like a crime story. He does those so well.

As for the rest of the day, Nancy & Dave gave me a lovely gift basket of wine, chocolates and Christmas cups. It was beautifully wrapped. I was so surprised. Then because Nancy had to go to bunco, Dave and I went out to dinner to Angelina's. The eggplant Parmesan was outstanding and the conversation stimulating.

Got a call from grandson Alex tonight. It is so nice for those boys to remember me and to call. I'm truly blessed.

More Lita - Minor Characters

Moved 'Lita' along again today, so that's good. Got some feedback from Sandra about where to send 'Regardless'. I think I'll try it. Finished my crit of Dave's story 'Drift'. He's doing good scene setting and moving the story along with excellent, believable dialog. He is doing something that I tend to do. He is spending a lot of time doing a character expo on a character that interfaces with his main character. And, I mean of lot of time time and space. Now, the criticism I get for doing this is that I waste the reader's time investing them in a character that will die/be written out of the story and is really only a way to do some character expo of your main character(s).

Then the rest of the day was spent getting some packages mailed. Went to dinner at Bob's with a couple of friends, then off to Bingo. All in all, a good day, but more writing would have made it better.

Crossing Genres and White Christmas

Edited and wrote more on 'Lita' today. Felt so good. I critiqued a sub the other day on my Desk Drawer on-line group that crossed genres. It was a sci-fi, romance with a touch of poetry. I mentioned the problem I've had with 'Regardless', my story of two men (one gay/one straight) from different planets who fall in love in the 23rd century. Sci-fi publishers say they don't want romance and the romance publishers say they don't want sci-fi. Grrrr. The writer said he wondered about the genre crossing, but he writes for himself and will stick with it. I guess I feel the same way.

Then it was off to my Republican Women's meeting. Very motivational speaker from the State Federation shared her thoughts with the group. Then home to finish my Christmas cards. They are done! Even those that needed letters. Because I didn't send cards last year, this really feels good.

Delivered my 'After the War, Before the Peace' to my Canadian neighbor. He'll take it back home and share it with his friends. That might be beneficial to me.

Took the time to watch 'White Christmas' with Bing Crosby/Danny Kaye/Rosemary Clooney/Vera Miles. Delightful! I found myself singing along at the end. I wish Hollywood would bring back musicals!

On Schedule and Good Feedback

Very satisfying writing day. Got caught up with 'Lita', so she's back on schedule. Lita is still in trouble, but I've picked up the time I should have devoted to the novel over the past several days. Again, feels great to be in the heads of the Farrells again. Then, I did some crits for FlashXer. Some new folks that I haven't read before. Read some very creative things which was fun. Sent out my all dialog piece of 'She Never Allowed It.' Have already gotten some good feedback. One critter in particular gave some good feed back on using superfluous words. I do that a lot and need to watch it. Good catches on her part. I need to submit something and maybe will work on that yet this evening. Ran into a winter visitor today. She was with her son and introduced me as 'the writer'. Gosh that sounds good.

Went to the swap meet today to get that special popcorn for Kim, but the seller decided it was too windy. Will try again next week.

Got a call from Nick tonight. He won his all-star soccer game today! He made two goals and got an All-Star T-shirt.

A Festive Day

No writing today. Poor 'Lita' is at a standstill. Sent off a sub to DeskDrawer. It was a semi-true story of Dave's macular degeneration suffering mother and how her stepson put her into a home to protect her. Got some great reviews. Several used the words effective and succinct. Good words for a writer to hear. Then I submitted a story about hunting to Flashers-Dozen. Good reviews there, too.

Talked with Pat today and the Blog program is back on for Jan. 8th. I drive home from Calif. on the 2nd, have a meeting in Phoenix on the 5th, so it will be tight, but the benefits to learning about blogging have been good, so I'm looking forward to the meeting.

Fun day for my writing/reading groups. First, we had our annual book club Christmas meeting. A dozen folks attended to share stories and why they chose those stories. Many had ethnic roots, many were from childhood memories and others were from books that looked interesting on the shelf. Had one member share her Hanuka memories. There were lots of memories of poor childhood Christmas', some sad, some funny. Then we had performances from Duck, the laughing moose, the singing frog, the singing dog and, of course, the Avon momma bear telling her baby bear about the 'Night Before Christmas'. Oh, we set our author for the May meeting and the group chose Shirley Wolford! She'll be so excited when I tell her.

Then it was off to the Lake Havasu City Writer's Club annual Christmas party with food, funny gifts and lots of fun. Lois and Fred were hosts. They certainly have a lovely home. I ended up with three gifts - story telling toilet paper, a floral photo frame and a tree ornament in the shape of the leg from the movie 'A Christmas Story'. Lots of wanting to talk political, but it didn't seem the time/place, so I steered clear. I like the folks too much to have political differences cause dissension, especially at such a festive event.

Characters - Blogs - Submissions

Another slow writing day. Just had time to do more on 'Lita', so that is moving along. I hope the characters are going to engage the reader as much as they engage me. I'll look forward to Dave's opinion when we next meet for our one-on-one novel crits. Got an email from JOan, she's writing on her blog again and had lots of interesting things to say about submissions. She is so persistent with them and makes me want to get back into the swing of the sub/accept/reject mode of writing.

Got the car back! Seems to run good. Charles, the mechanic, was an interesting character. I should work him into a short story and maybe I will.

Had lunch with an old Telephone Pioneer friend, Nancy, who has moved to Tehachapi, CA. She was in town, so eight of us, mostly the Hug-A-Bear group met for lunch. It was fun and the food at the Sugarbrook Bakery was good, too

Rights-Xlibris-$400-Bingo

Another slow writing day. I did get more written on 'Lita', so that was good. Got an email today from Anne, a good friend, and a darn good writer. She had some questions about her rights to reuse a story if its been published. It can be a problem, but since her work was published in a college booklet, they probably only asked for 1st rights. That's one of the dangers of the new writer. There are so many ways we can sell ourselves short by giving up rights and we don't make enough money to run everything thru a lawyer. She also asked about self-publishing. I told her about Xlibris. They've been good to me. They've done what they said they were going to do in every aspect of my dealing with them. I've heard some horror stories about small publishing houses. With Xlibris being under the umbrella of Random House, I feel sort of good about them. Hope the info helped Anne with her questions. I hope she publishes. She has a wartime story that is quite moving and of course well written and I think it will be well received.

Took my car in for a check-up today, because of a rattle under the hood. $400 later, it turns out it was part of the A/C compressor. Had to leave it over night, so I'm car less. Feels strange. The Hollies provided taxi service for me to get home from the repair shop. It was so nice of them.

Then, late this afternoon, I got a call from a friend about going to bingo at the VFW hall tonight. Joined her and two other gals. Was fun, but didn't win anything.

Blogging - To be or not to be.

Slow writing day. Managed to add to 'Lita', but that was about it. Spent the day working on my blog. I was to be part of a class on blogging this coming Monday and have been doing research and upgrading my blog. Added some new features like a question of the week and story of the week. Should be fun to see if anyone comes to the site and reads anything. Then tonight, I found out the blogging class has been cancelled. Oh, well, it was still a good experience and I think I made my blog a lot more user friendly.

Then tonight, Patti and I went to the Republican Women's club. No politics tonight, just a seasonal program of bell ringers.

I watched 'And Justice for All' with Al Pacino last night and even tho I've seen it before, I still clapped at the ending. What a good movie.

Slow, Sweet Sunday

Added another couple of pages to 'Lita' which felt good. Received a crit for my 'Christmas Lights' story and I can't believe that I had the Cookie Monster, not Oscar the Grouch, living in a garbage can. Thanks to Sandra, that will be corrected. Always a good day when some of it is spent writing or critiquing, but it would be even better if I were submitting things.

Had lunch at Makai with some Pioneer friends then it was off to the casino to make a donation. Patti went with me. Had dinner with Patti at Denny's, then home to work on this blog to get reading for my blog presentation at MCC on 12/8.

A Very Good Day

Today was my writer's meeting day. Always a good day for me to meet with such a varied array of folks. Received feedback on my 'Christmas Lights' story. Good comments and good upgrades. Then it was off to Denny's for our 'after meeting' meeting. Good discussion about what we are looking for in the group and how we handle genres not to our taste. Then lots of talk of movies and books. I'm in awe of the educational and intellectual level of these women. All have advanced degrees and most have been teachers. I'm lucky to have fallen into such a motivational group of people. Then home and time to do some critiquing of my on-line writing groups. Good reads, all. Then I submitted my 'Christmas Lights' for their review. So, a day of mostly writing. Yahoo!!

I did get to the First Saturday Fireman's breakfast with the Hollies and Sandy which is always fun. Then, the Pioneer Conference call that lasted almost two loooonnnnnggggg hours. Did make it to a friends garage sale and bought a watch. Like I need another watch. But she's a friend and the price was right!

Oh, and it rained last night. Streets are a mess. Have I mentioned that I HATE rain! Must sign off now and go pray for sunshine tomorrow!

Up, down, up, up - A day in my writing life

An up and down writing day. First, I had the time to work on 'Lita'. Did some editing, then added a page or two to the story. Feels good to be with the Farrells again. Then, the mail came and I received a rejection on 'Deborah's Story' from that agent, Andree Abecassis, that I met at the SSA conference in Sept. No reason why, just that it 'didn't quite work for me', then she wished me luck in connecting with another agent/publisher. Oh well, at least it was out there. Like my quote from Isaac Asimov says 'You must keep sending work out: you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success - but only if you persist.' Good advice. I need to listen to it and do it. Then, it was off to Dave's place for our one-on-one review of 'Draft' and 'Lita'. It's interesting because his novel is not something I would normally read and he would never pick mine off a shelf. So, we're learning a lot, at least I hope I'm helping him. Then it was off to Hastings Books for our monthly reading. Sue was the moderator. A dozen of us showed up, so there was a good variety. Unfortunately, not all of it was original work. Jilma's read stimulated a lot of conversation about the lack of support of our local newspaper and what we need to do about it. Best suggestion was a sub-committee of the writer's group to prepare a package of a sample column and submissions to present to the editor so they have an idea of the quality that could be delivered on a weekly/monthly basis.

Had a great call from Hailey last night. When she went through a 'Dare' program a few weeks ago, she had to write and essay about the program and about drugs. They had a PTA meeting at her school last night and she found out that her essay was selected as the best in her grade. She had to read it aloud to the PTA audience of about 400 people. She said she was nervous, but she did it. When she called me she said, 'Grandma, looks like we have two writers in the family.' I'm so proud of her!!

I'm reading more of Elmore Leonard's dime westerns and enjoying the hell out of them! His ability to 'show' character is excellent. Now, that's writing! I'm so jealous!

Another free day tomorrow, except for dinner with the Hollies, so I'm hoping to get some writing done! I need another 'accepted' to counterbalance today's 'rejection.'

Onward to Christmas

Not much writing over the last few days, in fact none at all. Almost hurts. Tomorrow I'll get something written for sure. I did get my movie 'Valdez is Coming'. I ordered it after reading the book by Elmore Leonard. The movie was surprisingly good and followed the book pretty closely. The book was better, but the movie is a keeper. They could have used a better actor. Burt Lancaster was a stretch as a Mexican. Tomorrow, I take my author friend Shirley Wolford out to lunch. She is blind, but still writing. She's amazing.

Daughter Kim, her husband and grandkids Hailey and Nick were here in Havasu from last Tuesday night until noon Sunday. WHAT FUN!!! We had a great time. Running around Havasu, swimming at the wave pool, seeing the movie 'Enchanted', eating turkey, going to the floating barge for lunch, touring the Desert Bar with the kids climbing all the rocky outcroppings, garage saling, going through old trunks, a trip to Scotty's and going to the Sunday swap meet. We were busy! We didn't even get up to Laughlin to see the Greene gang, but they were busy too, I guess, 'cause they didn't get down to see us. Sister Donna, BIL Larry, niece Melissa and her boyfriend Bobby came for TG dinner. Everything turned out nice and we closed out the day with some friendly bingo games. Hailey and Nick took most of the prizes!

Now, it's on to Christmas. Is it just me or are the years racing by???

Back to Lita & People

Finally got back to 'Lita' and moved the story along. Felt good. Grace, a local writer, sent me an email today to question what 'left flushed' meant. She's submitting a manuscript and hadn't heard of that format. I sent her a sample of what it looks like. Grace is a good writer so she probably has a good chance of getting her work accepted.

Weather is perfect again. Ruby's son made it to town today, so she headed back to Tucson. We had a nice visit. Went to Bob's for breakfast with Ruby and her son. I was still in my sweats from exercise and wouldn't you know it, I ran into four folks I know. Grrrr.

Talked with Kim today and they will start for Havasu tomorrow afternoon. I can hardly wait. She said the kids are all excited to be coming her for TG dinner and to be going to the Grand Canyon on Sat. Cleaning folks came today, so all is ready, except for the food. I'll get that tomorrow.

Had our MVPOA board meeting tonight. Nothing new. Only have to do it four more times. Yes! Tomorrow is the Pioneer meeting. Only one more of them. Yes!

Rejection-Guest-Surprise - All in One Day

Had a slow day at the writer's meeting on Saturday. Guess folks are getting into the holiday swing of things where time is scarce. My submission of 'The Farmer's Architecture' got good reviews. Nothing special, but good overall. I submitted 'Brownie' to Something called Dob Blessings last Feb. Got a rejection today. Said she enjoyed the read, but it wasn't what she was looking for. Another rejection. :-( Haven't been able to work on 'Lita' for a couple of days due to out of town company. I submitted 'Christmas Lights' to the writer's group for the next meeting. It's already been accepted at Apollo-Lyre, still I wanted to see what the local folks thought of it.

Another couple of perfect weather days. Ruby arrived on Fri. morning. Her son was supposed to pick her up on Saturday, but due to car trouble, she's still here. Oh, well, we're having a great time, so there's no rush. We went to the movies on Fri., saw 'Dan in real life', went to the Havasu Landing Casino on Saturday night and today we went to the swap meet, then over to visit her friend Sharon.

I forgot all about the trim-a-tree at the clubhouse today. I'm so embarrassed! I stopped by and the tree was all decorated, so I wonder who all showed up and if a good time was had by all. With Ruby here, it just slipped my mind.

Tyson called from Hawaii tonight to thank me for his birthday present. He just turned 17! He sounds like such a great kid. I was so surprised and so pleased.

Another week begins. It will be a busy one, so I hope I can find the time to make some notes here. Goodnight for now.

A No Meeting Day!

Today was a no meeting/commitment day, so I got to stay home all day. As a result, I wrote another couple hundred words of 'Lita'. Feels good to be back writing a novel again. Got feed back on my story 'Going Places, Doing Things on Desk Drawer, all good and glowing. Almost no feedback on 'What Are Friends For' on Flashxer and 'The Big Deal' on Flashers-Dozen. Neither story was a big hit. Got an email from a man who attended one of our LHCWG meetings last spring. He was an excop who wrote 'Among the Tin Cans and Broken Glass. He had published through KLAADD Publishing Co. He wanted the writer's group to know they did not live up to their contract and he has received no royalties for book sales. He hopes no of our local writers submitted anything to them and I don't think they have, but I'll tell them at our meeting on Saturday.

Weather is perfect today. Ruby is due to arrive tomorrow for a couple of days visit. Should be fun. I miss her and Tony. Got to sign off now and get some last minute chores done. But, two days in a row! I may get into the swing of keeping a journal after all. Two day, and I'm an optimist!

I'm Baaaaaccccckkkkk

As Robert Burns once said, 'the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry'. So, my plan to be religious with my blog have gone awry. Life is taking control of me, instead of me holding the reins. Now, I've been asked to talk at a workshop about the ins/outs and dos/don'ts of a blog. So, I'd better get back into jotting down my thoughts/happenings.

Let's see, as for my writing. I just had another short story 'Christmas Lights' accepted by Apollo Lyre for their holiday edition. My short story 'The Clay Way' appeared in the hard copy anthology, Skive. I went to a conference in Tucson in Sept. and met an agent by the name of Andree Abecassis. She looked at a brief synopsis of each of my six novels/novelettes. At first she wanted to see more or 'Abby', but then decided she wanted to see three chapters of 'Deborah's Story'. I sent them to her at the end of Sept. and haven't heard a word from her as yet. Also, no word that James Wood of 'Shark' has read the copy of ATW,BTP that the Kelly's sent to him. I sent off a short story 'What Are Friends For' to the Writer's Digest short story contest. Would be nice to win, or at least place, in that widely viewed publication. I've started the story between ATW,BTP and 'Deborah's Story'. I'm calling it 'Lita' for now. Dave Bellomy and I doing a one on one crit of our books. He's reading/critting 'Lita' and I'm doing the same for his 'Drift'. His is hardcore crime and mine is romance which makes for a challenge for both of us. But, fun!

The next few weeks are going to be very busy. A friend, Ruby, is due to visit for a few days starting Friday, then Kim and family will be here next Tuesday for Thanksgiving. Signing off now. My plan is to be more regular. Well, that's the plan, at least.

Writer's Groups & Stuff

Not too much going on in my writing world this week. I got my story, bio and such off to The Chick Lit Review for my 'You Get What You Pay For' story that are going to run in their Sept/Oct issue.

Subbed 'Passin'' to the Flasher's Dozen writer's group. Only received one crit. That reader didn't get it. He also had some suggestions on when to start a new paragraph. I do it differently than he does, so I asked the members for their POV on the matter. So far, no answers.

I had sent half of my 'Young Coffee' to FlashXer last week and got some interesting feedback. Then Irv put out a prompt that called for a sequel, so I subbed the second have of 'Young Coffee'. Not too much feedback, but those that did read it, gave good comments and even said the big age difference worked. Yeah!

Today, Desk Drawer's prompt called for a story about someone who is not what they seem to be. I sent my 'The Deal' about a some bad cops. Got one feedback and for the most part, he liked it and said it was almost too believable. Nice comment, if you ask me.

Got some subs from Lucy and Anne that they wanted crits on. Lucy's was sweet and dealt with a funny issue between siblings. She liked my upgrades. Anne's was well written, as always. She wanted a crit, because she was submitting her piece to Woman's World. She reminded me that I should send one out. I edited 'Happy Faces' about a childless couple who want a baby in the worst way. They get some help from the husband's twin. Haven't heard back from Anne as yet.

I've been doing a lot of reading of subs on all my writer's groups. Feels good to be active with the groups again.

My granddaughter is writing a short story. She says she going to be a writer when she grows up. Who knows! I bought her a little clip board so she can stay organized as she jots down her story.

I talked to Dave again yesterday. He's ready to go back to Havasu, but Nancy wants to wait for cool weather. He's all jazzed to keep up with his writing. He says he misses our weekly meetings and I told him that I do, too. Also talked to Jerry. He and Betty are fine. I gave him the days I'll be back in Havasu. They don't leave until the first of Aug., so I'm sure we'll be able to get together. Got a letter and a newspaper clipping from Jack. His local paper ran one of his stories. Good for him!

When I arrived up here, Kim had bought Stephen King's book on writing for me. So far it's a drag. He seems like he thinks he's awfully clever. I've heard folks raving about it, so I hope it gets better. I got my copy of 'A Million Little Pieces' by James Frey back and can hardly wait to read it again.

My daughter's dog, Tiger, has been sick and not eating/drinking for days. They took him to the vet yesterday and had him put to sleep. The vet never could tell them what was wrong with the poor critter. He was only around 5 years old.

Another week in Calif. Another week of having fun with the grand kids. The weather
has cooled off and even the humidity is under control.

Can't think of anything else, so will sign off now until next time. Adieu!