nyone else having trouble with how fast summer is rushing by? I can’t believe that it’s already almost August!  Where I live this means scorching hot days for the next six weeks. So far this summer we’ve been blessed to have below normal heat. On the fourth of July it never hit 90 and we had lovely breezes. Spending all day outside was pleasant and so not the norm for Texas in July LOL.
 
For months, maybe longer, I’ve been wanting to get a comfortable recliner for our sunny upstairs multi-purpose room. The idea being to turn it into a writing corner. I bought some foot rest storage cubes at a garage sale to keep my stuff in so the room doesn’t look too sloppy, and I repurposed a magazine rack from my room so keep papers neat and slip my laptop into when I’m not working. The idea is to only write from that chair so my mind knows when I sit down it’s supposed to be in creative mode!
 
Well, Saturday on my way home from my mom’s I decided to stop at an estate sale in my neighborhood. About fifteen or so years ago (could be longer, who knows lol) I needed a sleeper sofa for that multi purpose room. I found a super bargain on Craigslist. Apparently in the new millennium no one wanted a tuxedo style slate blue leather sleeper sofa. I on the other hand found no reason not to decorate my room around a blue sofa so for a whopping twenty dollars (yep you read that right) I bought a new sofa. Back to Saturday. What do I see in the living room? A wingback recliner (my favorite because it’s not bulky and takes up less room) in the exact same shade of leather as the sofa. So for fifty dollars I now have a perfect recliner to write from! I am so proud of my little find!
 
Now we come back to the business end of writing. Every so many years publishers change up the covers on books to refresh them or follow trends. Since my Hart Land series is set on a lake, a currently popular trend, they are getting new covers. I am blessed to have input and the ability to tell the designers that I hate something. Well nine covers are tough. We’re stuck on Hyacinth where I’m not loving either so I thought maybe you could help.
 
Which cover do you prefer – Table or Dog?

Can’t wait to here from you!
 
Maybe next week if you want I can show you the new chair LOL.
 

One of the things I have been blessed with in my life is good friends. I have friends that have I known since elementary school.  I think it says a lot for a friendship when people you have known since childhood fly half way across the country to attend your daughter’s wedding.  For that event four years ago I had representation from elementary school, high school, and college.
 
This weekend I had an annual gathering of friends (except for last year of course)  who we all met thanks to an old TV show. Yeah, what started out as chatting online transformed into what is over 18 years of friendship. We’ve been to weddings and birthdays and beach trips and stopovers.
 
The thing that I love about longtime (cause we’re not really that old LOL) friends is that even if we haven’t spoken in months or years, the moment we start chatting it’s as if we spoke last night. But the thing I love most about gathering of friends is the laughter.

​At dinner the other night we were all laughing so much and having so much fun the wait staff kept smiling. Now granted they were probably thinking those crazy old people, but I bet a few were thinking- I want to be them when I grow up. 
 
So- my goal is to hang on to the wonderful friends I have and make new ones anywhere I can because I always one to be the one sitting in the middle of crazy friends no matter how old we are! 

​I’m not really sure if I’m a dog or cat person. I’ve had both. When my son was a baby we lived in a small house in the middle of a big field—the only one in the middle of a city! Along with the field came little mice. A friend’s cat had just had kittens and we talked them into letting us have two. I always believed kittens need each other for company so I never had any trouble with crying etc. Though my son enjoyed napping in my arms and the two kittens thought that was a great idea and I would often spend my afternoons with a baby and two kittens sleeping on me! Lol.
 
We only had one of the cats for about ten years. Samson thought he was a dog. He would come when you called and follow you around like a lost puppy. Super friendly. We had Peaches into her very old age. She had more of a catlike personality but was still a very friendly kitty.
 
Next we moved on to the dog stage. Growing up I had a German Shepherd. Contessa was a dang smart girl. Loved her to death.  So, when someone broke into our home and stole my laptop we decided it was time for a new German Shepherd. I’m a firm believer in adopting dogs and I am firmly in favor of avoiding housebreaking. That means adopting a shelter dog is a win win for me LOL!  Rabb was huge and smart as a whip and we lost him too soon from a heart ailment. I just couldn’t’ deal with not having a German Shepherd around, and even though my son had gifted us his energetic sweet dog, it wasn’t a German Shepherd.  Within weeks we were off to the German Shepherd rescue and found the one boy who got along with Boston. They’ve been together ten years now.
 
I still love the wise old boy that our Gunny is. Always surveying, supervising, and protecting. Only now, we have a new grandpuppy. At two he’s not so much a puppy anymore but a Golden Retriever he has plenty of puppy personality still. My son drops him off at our house during the week since my son often works 10 to 12 hour days.  First thing the retriever does is look for his friends. The next thing, all three head outdoors and romp around in the yard. For a few minutes the German Shepherd is a young man again.
 
My daughter is most definitely a cat person. She and her family have four. Yep. Four. They’re all different. Mr. Sophia is a Ragdoll Persian who is fluffy and friendlier than a dog. Frank, short for Frank Sinatra, is a true feral rescue. He loves to be loved on but only if you can catch him first! Phoebe is a black cat rescue that caught my daughter’s eye while she was shopping at the pet store and is almost as friendly as Mr. Sophia. The newest member of the family is Leo. A gray tabby barn cat – literally- that made friends with my daughter while she visited in-laws in Oklahoma. Smart cat, he now has a great home.
 
Sometimes I think when I no longer have my Gunny that I should foster rescue Shepherds, but then I think if I did, I’d never give them away! I just may have to find myself a gray tabby like Samson and Leo and talk hubby into cleaning the cat box!
 
Do you have pets? 

Well, so much going on around here. We had to return the pool filter I found because it was too small for our pool. This we learned thanks to the guy who came to give us an estimate to clean the pool. We also learned they had plenty of correct filters and valves and the next morning we had them installed. Then we discovered we needed a new pump too – blast that winter freeze!
 
​On the bright side, the pool has never been so clean and easy to keep that way! And the best part, my grandson and nephews had a fantastic time jumping around in the pool. All the stress and running around was so worth it for yesterday!  We are extremely blessed to have a deep pool with a diving board that is in great shape. For most of today’s kids that’s a treat as insurance companies (at least in Texas) will not allow pool builders to install diving boards any more.  Oma (my grandma name) loves it that she’s got something special for the grandkids to enjoy as more come along and grow up!

​My other bargain payoff is clearance pool toys! Yep – last year I was in a box store and noticed pool floats and things on clearance for ONE DOLLAR – I bought two of the big raft/float thing my hubby is sitting in. Two smaller sit in a chair/float thing in green, and a colorful tube for the boys to play with – they actually used it to jump into the hole from the diving board lol. And they year before that I bought this fish foam sit things that work great as a kickboard so – all in all a great water day!  ​

Since we don’t own a grill and hubby isn’t really a grilling fan – loves the food just not the job lol – we ordered pizza for dinner! Four different kinds for 12 people – it was delicious!  After that I played my first ever game of cornhole. Yep – never played before – and I really enjoyed it and was surprised it didn’t take too long to learn not to overshoot the board (or whatever it’s called lol).  I think we’re going to have a lot of fun with this game as the kids grow and visit!
 
The grand finale for the night was of course the fireworks. There’s a country club down the road from us and they do a nice twenty minute or so fireworks display every year. It’s incredibly convenient to be able to spread chairs out in the yard and just sit and watch. My cousin-in-law put a speaker on her phone and we enjoyed an appropriate play list of music with the display. We even got to hear Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA twice in the rotation. I just love that song but it always makes me cry thinking of all the young kids who give up their lives so I can listen to music under the colorful skies of the fourth of July.
 
I freely admit I envy families who live close together and can gather any old day of the year for sibling and cousins of all ages to enjoy each other’s company, but for now I am very blessed to have had this lovely holiday weekend together!  Even the dogs enjoyed the day and night!
 
How was your weekend? 

Not long ago my weekly dining out buddy and I discovered a steak house not far from our neck of the woods that serves delicious –and I mean deeelicous –steak.  They also have a crabcake on toast appetizer that is pretty much to die for as far as we are concerned.  Another perk is they make really tasty chocolate martinis as long as we remember to make them really light on the booze!  Both of us are drinking featherweights –hence the fun flavored drinks. 
 
Anyhow I digress.  The real draw though is the place has high ceilings, big crowds, a massive United States Flag that I have since learned is from a WWII ship –which would explain the bullet holes. Our first visit, we were walled away in a high back booth and yet the place still hummed from the surrounding conversations.  We were enjoying the food, chatting away, and suddenly I noticed an almost eerie silencing of the hubbub around us. Even the sounds of cutlery from the open kitchen had stopped. Then it hit me. The saxophonist who plays light background music was playing our national anthem. ​You never saw two old ladies scoot out of the big semi circle booth so fast in your life! It was very pleasant and uplifting surprise.
 
This has been a long week for many reasons.  My pool has been empty most of the season while we fixed some left over cracks from last year (this sucker is old and always needing something) and finally the rain stopped long enough that we could clean it out. That’s a process we’ve nailed down through the years. Hubby and I have gotten really efficient with bleach and a scrub brush LOL! When our kids were little it was a family event and I'm delighted to report one that my kids remember fondly. Anyhow the pool is full and not leaking and I tried to start the filter, and hubby tried, and on Saturday the pool guy came and said – well, the reason you can’t get your pump to work is because your filter is all cracked.  Yeah well, thank you winter freeze. I had hoped not being turned on and running for months that it would have been empty enough not to crack – nope.
 
So now I’m in the mix with a million other people who are scrambling to find parts for their pool. I found enough on Saturday to at least replace the filter but the valves are nowhere, so it means I’m going to have to pay twice for the install – oh well. Just means I need to write faster!   
 
Earlier in the week we had to fire Mom’s caregiver while Mom is visiting my daughter, so I’ve spent a frantic week trying to find a replacement by the time she comes home this weekend before I added the filter hunt to the mix. Still no luck so it’s been frustrating.
 
And if that wasn’t enough, I got an unexpected guest when a cousin’s new husband needed a place to stay during a business deal. He’ll be here for a while which isn’t a big deal except when I have all the bedrooms booked with company two weekends this July.
 
Anyhow, this brings me back to the stressful week and our Saturday night dinner.  After spending all day Saturday unexpectedly on the phone searching for filter parts or driving around town picking up what I could find as well as other planned errands, the end of the week was dang exhausting. My dinner buddy had had a long hard week too so we both agreed it was Texas steakhouse time.
 
We got there early so we wouldn’t miss the anthem, and for the first time were seated in the upstairs section. Well this gave us a birds eye view of the folks below. Sure enough when the anthem played, those of us familiar with the routine were up and standing quickly. Those new to the restaurant, like we once were, caught on and within a few minutes the entire restaurant (except one table) were on their feet. Young and old. Most with their hands on their hearts. The table next to me made me smile when the young woman (college age maybe) stood up and immediately took off her hat. The respect in someone so young truly made my day.  All in all, the good meal with friends in a respectful family owned restaurant set me up for the rest of the week and this upcoming weekend with family.
 
Will keep you posted on the pool saga and Mom.
 
Happy fourth of July –
 
Do you have any plans for our country’s birthday this weekend?
 

I love spending time with my grandson. I’ve always been fond of babies and fortunately for me, even though this one is approaching two and no longer a baby, he’s still adorable to watch!
 
The other fun thing is he really enjoyed playing with my mother. Mom would have loved to have had twelve kids, but she had to settle for one little old me !  As a result she laughs and laughs at everything her great grandson does.  Even when he makes a game of standing behind her on the sofa and pushing her forward. Bless mom’s patience level!
 
We went looking at houses once again. This time with hopes of finding something so mom can stay with my daughter until her memory really disintegrates. It’s hard because Texas is dealing with a real estate boom and a lot – and boy do I mean a lot – of seller are trying to take advantage and are asking insane prices. By insane I mean as much as two hundred thousand dollars more than they paid for the house six months ago! And that’s without changing a thing!  So I’m vigilant for the honest deals that are a bit higher but not six figures higher! And that is making the shopping harder.
 
For now, Mom is staying in the guest room at my daughters and we’ll see how they all get along for more than a weekend. It will be interesting to see how all the interaction affects Mom. Will keep y’all posted!
 
On the bright side, I did a lot of eating this weekend. We ordered pizza one night, and they cooked spaghetti and meatballs another and then we had Mexican take out last night. None of them were diet friendly meals and yet I only gained a few ounces. I was delighted! For me it really seems like skipping breakfast and not eating till lunch time is doing wonders for not gaining weight! Today I am keeping my calorie intake low to try and lose those few ounces. My mission is to maintain the fifteen pound weight loss I accomplished over the last two months.  Then after a while I’ll give losing another ten or fifteen pounds a shot.
 
If all goes well, by next week’s blog I will have stabilized my weight, have great news to report on Mom, and have started writing again. I’m a bit behind and need to get caught up on that!
 
Take care and enjoy!  Here’s a picture of my grandson and me. He was enthralled with a movie on the TV.  Just love snuggling with that little guy!
 
Do all your family live close by or do you guys have to drive to see everyone too!
 

This week has been income tax week for me. Yes it takes me that long to find and gather every receipt under the sun that I so inefficiently stuffed in a plastic bag all year long waiting for tax week. Anyhow, I digress from the point.  During my annual ritual I went hunting through our old desk that we rarely use in the age of laptops and recliners (LOL) for some envelopes and found an old photograph. The photo was of my grandmother and grandfather on my mom’s side, her brother and his wife, and two of her first cousins and their wives – there’s an extra wife in there and we have no idea which cousin she was married to who wasn’t in attendance, lol.  The photograph was taken at the famous Copacabana Club in New York City and thankfully dated 1947.  I also have to thank my grandmother for having the good sense to make everyone autograph the photograph sleeve (which is how we know there's an extra wife by her last name). While I recognized my grandparents and her siblings, the first cousins were not as easy!
 
The nice thing about all this is that I still keep in touch (made easier thanks to Facebook) with a third cousin whose grandparents were also in the photo. She recognized the other first cousin to our grandparents but couldn’t tell which wife was which. Truthfully don’t you think the two women on the left side of the table look somewhat similar?
 
I wonder what will happen to all of these photos (My mom has albums full!) as the generations continue to pass. I am thinking of putting together one large scrapbook-like album with all these miscellaneous photos, labeling them as best we can, and handing it down to whoever is interested in being the historian and keeper of the originals. (I have some early photos of that same grandfather’s sisters. In couple of the photos they were so young, and it was so long ago, that none of the surviving generation knows which sister was which - so labeling would be seriously helpful if we can figure out who everyone is!)
 
My grandmother is front on the right side of the table (she had great legs! Fanny Brice’s second husband Billy Rose stopped short in a club one night and told her so- lol) My grandfather is in the middle on the left side between the two women we don’t know LOL.  The gentleman front and left was my grandmother’s brother, and the gentleman beside my grandmother was the grandfather of my third cousin I still keep in touch with.


​Just for fun, here's a photo of that third cousin and me. We were about 8 and 9 the year my mom and I visited her family one summer!  That bathing suit was definitely not my color! LOL. And wouldn't I kill to be skinny again! but again I digress!   


Curious, does anyone have a historian of sorts in their family? Are you like me and go all tingly over old family discoveries? Let me know in the comments - love chatting with fans. 
 
As an aside – I did get to go to the Copa myself when it reopened in the 70s on prom night! Spent weeks singing the Barry Manilow song:  “At the copa, Copacabana, the hottest spot north of Havana!”  Though I’m actually pretty pleased that I made it to both the Copa and Havana in my lifetime, but that’s a post for another day!

And remember it's appreciated if you let me know in the comments that you've popped by and if you're enjoying the blogs! 
 
Enjoy your week! 

I can not believe we are almost half way finished with 2021.  To make matters worse, I’m already looking ahead to the fourth of July when my grandson comes to visit. I have one major chore on the table. Now that we have finally found and fixed the leak, and it has stopped raining, we need to finish cleaning out the pool and get it up and running before the long weekend. My husband is part fish and looking forward to playing with the baby in the pool. Well, at almost two he’s not really a baby anymore!
 
Last year we got him into the pool a time or two but he wasn’t quite old enough to decide what he thought about all that water and PawPaw gliding around with him.  This year he has so much more personality and seems really fond of stomping in puddles and playing with his new water table that I strongly suspect he’s going to love the big pool. We can hardly wait.
 
It’s the next thing this summer I’m looking forward to. After that, I have a handful of friends for over twenty years (boy does that sound old)  from around the country will come together at my house for a long weekend. We’ve been doing this for eighteen years and the first decade or so the reunion was at my house, then the last decade or so it has been at a friend’s house. This year it’s coming back to my house!  Needless to say, we’re going to start a deep clean NOW! Lol.
 
I just know I’m going to blink my eyes and we’ll be planning the Labor Day weekend for my grandson and husband’s birthday. Maybe for next year we’ll have a resurfaced pool! It had been on the schedule for this year but we had to give that up when my mom’s living conditions shifted. The repaired cracks aren’t pretty, but it holds water and that’s all that matters!! 
 
You’re probably thinking what about Father’s Day? For that we’re driving down to visit my daughter for the weekend. We’ll be bringing my mom too and she’ll be staying for a long visit for a couple of weeks. It will be good for her to spend a lot of time with the baby while she still remembers everyone.
​Here’s a photo of my hubby a few years ago on Father’s Day. The grandbaby wasn’t even a twinkle in anyone’s eyes yet. It’s been fun having two dads in the family now!
 
Let’s visit – tell me what do you like about summertime?

On Memorial Day
 
I have a hard time saying ‘happy’ Memorial Day when I think of all the young men and women who gave their lives in honor of this country.  I do however feel that a gathering of family is a tremendous honor to those same young men and women. The ability to come together, enjoy a good meal, laugh and smile and play with the small children, listen to the stories of the aging family members, and every thing in between is exactly what so many people in this world do not have the freedom to do.
 
Today, I’m at my daughter’s house in South Texas.  We’ve actually been out house hunting- again lol.  After two years, my son in law accepted a new position that will keep them here a few more years. In the meantime, as many of you already know, my mom is slipping away with dementia. One of the joys of old age is watching the newest generation bloom. Enjoying the fascination and curiosity that only a two year old can have for a pine cone on the ground or a button on a blouse.  Since my mother was determined to live long enough to meet her great grandchildren, as a family we are considering moving Mom south to spend more day to day time watching my grandson bloom.
 
This idea of course requires a bigger house with more senior friendly aspects. We saw a lovely house that knocked everyone’s socks off – but not enough green space for the kids. Then there was a great backyard for the kids and adults, but on too busy a street. There were quite a few in between, but the housing market has gone nuts and I can honestly say some homeowners are too in love with their own homes! LOL.  Folks – I’m here to tell you not every house is all that!
 
So – what do you think of the whole idea? Multigenerational homes? Good thing? Bad thing? Did your grandparent ever live with you? Your parent? Got any advice? Thoughts?  Part of our dilemma is my Mom lived alone her whole life and loves her house that she couldn’t afford until she was almost sixty years old. Until then she always lived in an apartment. There’s a little concern if we pull her away, no matter to whose house, she’ll slip away a little faster. On the other hand, will always having people around be better? So many hard choices. The new house is the least of it.
 
On the bright side – I have a new helper when I type.   ​

My grandson loves climbing into my lap (well sort of) and watching me type. If I stop typing to read what I wrote, he takes my fingers and pushes them back on the keyboard.  It is a plus of being close to the kids. And it’s a freedom I have to come and go for which I am very thankful – to every person reading this who has lost a family member to service to our country – Thank you doesn't seem enough, but it is meant with all sincerity and appreciation.
 
Chris K 

LOL. Life moves too darn fast! This has been a crazy world wind week. As many of you know, there’s a giveaway at Goodreads for my new release coming out Wednesday, Honeymoon for Four.  Marketing is not my gift so there was lots of back and forth on graphics and what not.
 
My daughter and grandson were visiting so that’s always entertaining. I just LOVE watching toddlers discover the world. Then mom had her first face to face appointment with her memory doctor. We got the news we already knew, mom had digressed to the next stage of dementia/Alzheimer’s. Considering how darn healthy she is, and strong, it adds to the frustration. On top of all that, had a new toilet installed that I hate – who knew you could hate a toilet? So this morning I had it replaced. I like my normal, old-fashioned toilet thank you very much! And now I’m late because I’m juggling the installers for mom’s windows and a luncheon appointment I forgot I had!
 
One of the downsides of being thin and being older is that at 75 degrees, rooms feel cold. My mom’s windows are old as dirt so it was time to get rid of the drafts.  That’s being done today – and of course, micro-manager me wants to be there. Those poor men don’t know what they’re in for!  Just wait until I tell them they can’t seal a single window until I inspect the insulation! LOL -
 
We’re also working on travel plans for mom. With the updated diagnosis on Mom, we’re pushing to try and get her to California to see her brother while she’s still pretty aware of who is who. See why I want the world to slow down? . I’m thinking what I want is a world with no phones, no television, and a month on a warm sandy beach – who’s with me!
 
I’m thinking Bora Bora would be nice. Never been and it’s on my bucket list!
 
If you could change one thing in today’s world – what would you change? 

See you on the flip side! 

​CK