Happy Birthday, Shirley!
I played hooky from the office yesterday afternoon. My cousin, Shirley, was in town, and we celebrated her 70th birthday with a movie (The Proposal with Sandra Bullock), along with plenty of buttered popcorn, followed by ice cream cake. We both paid for our bad behavior later, but it was so worth the movie and all the giggles. Unfortunately, I don’t have a sister, so I count on my cousins for those special family relationships. Thankfully, I’ve been blessed with several. Happy 70th Birthday, Shirl, we’ll have to celebrate again next year.
Wine-Tasting Weekend
Wayne and I are off today for a weekend wine-tasting tour with friends. (This is our reward for the six-week book tour.) For those of you who might not be aware, Washington is the second largest wine-producing state behind California. We have some exceptional red and white wine varieties.
First we’re driving to Yakima, where I was born and raised. If all those wineries had been there when I was growing up I might not have been so eager to leave home! We’ll also be visiting Walla Walla wineries. I know we’re going to have a wonderful time. And on Monday morning I’ll return to my desk, inspired and energized, ready to dig into Hannah’s List, my 2010 hardcover.
A Knitting Prayer
A reader, Lola, from Tiffin, OH, recently mailed me this anonymous Knitting Prayer. It was so good I wanted to share it with all of you.
Life is like knitting:
God gives me the wool and the needles and tells me
“A stitch is a day on the needle of time”.
After 12 rows of knitting, I have 365 stitches,
And in 10 years, 3650 stitches.
Some are purl, others are knit.
Some stitches are lost, but I can pick them up.
I already have more than 25,000 stitches and over 800 rows of knitting,
Only God knows how long the scarf of life will be.
The wool given to us by God to knit our life is of various colors:
Pink as our joys, black as our sorrows,
Grey as our doubts, green as our hopes, or
Red as our love.
Father, give me the strength to finish my knitting
So you can be proud of exhibiting my work for eternity.
Happy Birthday, Dale!
Today is our youngest son’s birthday. Thirty-four years ago Wayne drove me to the hospital after my water broke and labor began. Although it was late afternoon, Wayne was hoping we could wait until after midnight so we wouldn’t be charged for a full day's hospital stay. Because money was tight in those days, I tried my best to wait. Needless to say, Dale foiled our cost-cutting plans. Truth be known, we were fortunate to make it to the hospital in time. With Dale we completed our family—two girls and two boys. Happy Birthday, Dale!
How an Author Relaxes
I spent three days home last week recovering from a simple medical procedure. I wasn’t so much in pain as I was uncomfortable and physically drained. So what did I do?
Curl up and read a book? I tried but fell asleep after a couple of pages. Knit? Well, some, but the rows just seemed so long and boring. Did I watch movies? It was too much effort to figure out how to work the DVD player. (I need a grandkid to figure it out even now.)
Instead, I lounged around the house in my PJs and watched the Food Channel. I got so hungry that I spent the next two days cooking comfort food, which Wayne loved. Word quickly spread , and soon all the kids and grandkids were by to visit and take home leftovers. Now that I think about it, it actually wasn’t such a bad way to spend those few days!
The smell of chlorine in the morning.
Oh my, how I love the smell of chlorine in the morning! I’m back into my regular routine of swimming in the morning and heading for the office around 7:15 a.m., where my latte is waiting for me. While I always enjoy meeting my readers and visiting other parts of the country, I have to confess I’m loving every minute of settling back into my life as I remember it. Naturally, that includes spending time with the grandkids, and playing fetch with Bogie. In the evenings, Wayne and I often sit in the yard with a cup of coffee or an occasional glass of wine and chat about our day. Yes, my friends, it feels mighty good to be home again!
Home Again
The last city of my spring tour was Knoxville, TN. It was a delight to participate in the Book Junkie Book Club event and meet with the knitters at The Knitting Nest in Maryville. Thank you, one and all, for coming to signings on this year’s tour. I have phenomenal readers!
Wayne and I flew home Tuesday morning and landed with a thud into reality. Within two hours of walking in the front door I had the washing machine going, shopped for groceries, put gas in the car, and had phone calls out to the grandkids. Bogie was so happy to see us he couldn’t stop jumping. There really is no place like home!
Louisiana
Thank you once again to all the wonderful readers who have taken the time to greet me in Louisiana. I loved meeting you, and love the state. New Orleans was fabulous and is the place to be for Cajun food, and I do enjoy Cajun food! Even though there was thunder and lightening and I was deluged with rain, I still had the chance to do a little antique shopping and wandered the French Quarter and Chartres Street. I’m taking home wonderful memories.
The only thing I didn’t find in New Orleans was a yarn shop (due to timing and store hours) but Knits by Nana in Baton Rouge made up for it. They threw a party because I was there, and what a fun welcome that was!
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