I​This has been a family filled week for me.  As you know from last week’s blog, my  aunt and two of my cousins came for a visit to North Texas for the first time- well, my aunt was hear eight years ago for the first time, this is the first time for my two cousins. I have to say, even though we haven’t spent much time together since we were kids, it was a blast hanging out again. And let me tell you, can those ladies shop! LOL. 

Of course we did the standard tourist things (sorry no photos ) of the cattle drive statues and where Kennedy was killed and the real cattle drive at the Fort Worth Stockyards and the weekly rodeo. It’s always fun for the tourists.  
 
The downside is words on the page didn’t happen with all the driving around and dinners etc.  But I do promise to get working on Sweet Trust ASAP!
 
The other fun happening this week is that my friend’s house was finished up and went on the market – I think it turned out very well! I'm especially proud of how we managed to turn the small master bath into a bath with two sinks not one tiny space and keep the linen closet as well!  I'm really pleased with how the landscaping turned out in front too - simple but effective! 

Turned out great don't you think?  As for today - I'm about to head out the door to pick everyone up and go to the airport. The week went by super fast, but then again that old saying time flies when you're having fun comes to mind. 

I'm going to keep today short and sweet as I've got a lot of driving to do. I hope everyone enjoys the coming week and we'll visit next Monday! 
​

​And the week moves on!  My poor grandson caught a bug and was heaving for two days. Today he seems to be a bit better, no fever, no more vomiting, and he’s eating lots of crackers.  As for my granddaughter, she came to spend the afternoon with us yesterday and she learned to play go fish. I have no idea if I could play cards at four but I don’t think so!  The kid is going to be smarter than her Oma pretty soon!

Book wise -  Sweet Courage is off to the editor and the first chapter of Sweet Trust is written and will be releasing in November – it says December at Amazon but I’m hoping it will be November. I told y’all I’d get Sweet Courage done in time for the scheduled August release.

Then Saturday I got a lovely surprise. My dad’s sister was supposed to come to visit my cousin (her youngest daughter) who lives near me.  Last time my aunt cancelled at the last minute so this time I told my cousin to let me know when her mom was on the flight. I got word, she was on the plane- yay! But both my cousin and I got the surprise of our lives when both her sisters got off the plane as well. I haven’t seen either of them in person in decades so having lunch and chatting like we were all kids spending the summer with our grandmother again was lots of fun.

I just love when life blesses us with small—or big—surprises.
 
My friend’s house is nearing the end. The curb appeal is finished and now the last interior touch ups are happening. Lots of painting but we’re making progress!  isn't this hall bath transformation great! (remember to click on the image to see the whole picture) 

 And I just love how the master bath cabinet turned out  - of course - it needs to be painted still - that's getting done over the next few days - and I just know the new owners will love having the laundry in a closet IN the house instead of in the garage! but tell me if this exterior photo isn't leaps and bounds above before!  The green front door wasn't quite the shade I was going for - but it beats the ugly white! 

This last photo comparison is my favorite - look how much brighter the room is having added that window in the dining area - isn't it terrific! 

Well, that's it for this weeks report - will see you again next week - same Bat Time lol Same Bat Channel !! 

​What is it they always say – the days are long but the years are short.  I understand that but the weeks seem to be just as short as here we are on another Monday!

Are you up for a little more of Kentucky?


Churchill Downs  was the biggest reason for going to Louisville, but there was so much more to see.  I had no idea this was the home of Mohammed Ali. We were able to see both his childhood home and where he’s buried – an absolutely gorgeous cemetery. While we were there we stumbled across the grave for Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame. 

 ​We enjoyed interesting architecture. So many charming neighborhoods - ​and my friend got a fabulous shot of the Louisville slugger factory/museum.  You'll need to click on the photo of the baseball bat in order to see why she got such a fabulous photo of it - the top is the key! 

No surprise - I'm a little behind on sending Sweet Courage off to the editor, but no worries, it will release on time - by hook or by crook - as my mother would say!  I'm actually a little excited about this one because after so many books set in two series throughout West Texas, I was almost dreading figuring out something new and exciting to happen - well, to my surprise, I actually thought of something I'd never done before so hopefully I will be able to do the climax of the story justice - fingers crossed and a few prayers wouldn't hurt! 

If anyone is curious about the construction project - that sucker is coming together as well. 
The kitchen appliances are in - yay! still some painting to do there and a few tweaks, I don't know if you remember the old master shower (middle photo), but the new one is pretty impressive!  A little different huh? :) 

Well, that's it for the Kentucky flashbacks and sneak peek on the construction work. I'll be back with more next week! 

​The Booksigning itself was quite busy! I was not expecting so many people and was extremely grateful for my friend who came to help.  Thankfully, she has retail experience so had little trouble handling the crowds and keeping everyone in line happy until their turn!
 
It’s especially fun to meet readers I’ve interacted with through the years on social media. Some I feel as though I’ve know them forever I think meeting Mrs. Claus was the biggest surprise though! LOL. 

Did you spot the new items on my table photo from last week's post that are in stock and will be available for sale now at my direct shop?

​And then we moved on - ready for photos of Louisville?  We need to start with our hotel – we stayed at a historic hotel downtown. I LOVE historic hotels. This one did not disappoint!  Not only was the hotel a fun place to stay, they are known for the invention of the famous “Hot Brown” meal.  The thing when described sounds awful, but, taste it and my oh my oh my! 

My favorite thing was going to Churchill Downs home of the Kentucky Derby! I loved learning about Secretariat – his normal heart was much larger than the average horse! Do you know that the ONLY gate number that no one has ever won a derby race from is #17? Yep – owners and jockies wince when they draw #17.  I may have to bet on that gate horse till I die – odds are it’s bound to winner eventually LOL. And of course, you can’t be at the Derby and not at least try on a hat—and let me tell you, I came with in inches of buying that big pink sucker! LOL – fortunately, good sense kicked in, I mean, where the heck would I wear it?? 

I think that's enough Kentucky overload for now! 
I'm still working on Sweet Courage - am desperately behind, but chugging away.  Say a prayer that things go faster now that i've gotten a handful of other things taken care of! 

​Catch you next week! 

Today was a very busy day for me - but my daughter changed the baby's sleep schedule so instead of housesitting while she napped this morning, I was entertaining her till nap time so I couldn't get the blog written early - so very sorry! 

I should probably start with my friends house remodel - here are some work in progress photos of the kitchen - you remember how it started? There's still more painting to be done - but even so - pretty different huh?  Still need appliances installed - second coat of cabinet paint - cabinet handles - and then when it's all done the paper protecting the floor and counters can be tossed out. 

then we have more photos from Kentucky  - the book bash - was overwhelming. SO many readers, and so much work, at one point, I actually forgot my name lol! One reader brought me a lovely gift, and another is Mrs. Santa Claus! Another reader and I have been online friends for years - FINALLY we got to meet in person! Then there were lines of folks and I wasn't as ready as I could have been.  One reader I'd never met before had to set up venmo for me on my phone lol ! And another had to help me make sure my ebook cards worked. I'd have been in quite the pickle without those two ladies! Oh and I can't forget the nice reader who volunteered to drive this starving author and her assistant/friend to dinner when the hotel restaurant closed at 7pm! So many great people. 

After all the hard work, there was an after party. Lots of dancing and laughing and motivation to go on a diet!  Though I did put all my poundage aside and danced like it was high school again! lol :) First photo is my author friend Elle James, some of you might remember her from when we took an author cruise a few years back. 

The grandbaby is on a new sleep schedule. When I was raising kids, I put them down for a nap at a particular time of day and let them sleep till they woke up, then put them down in the afternoon. My daughter has this strict schedule and at four months the baby is now doing two hours of sleep with two hours of awake time, only she doesn't seem to agree with the program so today was a bit of a challenge for us. We'll see how it goes! 

as for writing - hasn't been easy to stay on schedule, but I knew that with the new baby which is why books are now three months apart instead of every month. I did get some words in yesterday and am sticking to the schedule no matter what! 

​okay, that's it for today - better late than never! 

Let’s pick up on Kentucky.  I had a photo taken with a thoroughbred stud named Life is Good.  In North  Texas there’s a thoroughbred track. Out of curiosity, I looked up what horses run and discovered that so far this season one of Life is Good’s ‘children’ has won a bunch of races – that was so exciting. Now I have to figure out how to find and read the horses in the upcoming races and their sires. I would really love to see one of Life is Good’s sons race.
 
In the afternoon of our first day in Lexington we went to a little town, I think it was called Midway or something like that lol. Anyhow, we had a tasty little lunch. The most fabulous cream of asparagus soup ever. Sadly I didn’t take a photo, but everything we ate was clearly farm to table and what a difference!   My friend did take a photo of me in front of the cute book store – after all, authors HAVE to go book stores.

​Then we have day two in Kentucky.  I didn’t get near as many photos as I should have. We went to Waveland property. It’s always fun for me to visit historical locations. In this case I learned the origin of two things. The first, the lovely lady showed us the loom and the weasel (which looks like the steering wheel of an old ship lol) and something else. She explained that they loaded the yarn onto the weasel and when it was full it would make a pop sound. Then they would give that to the person who had the large loom. Who knew that’s where the lyrics- Pop goes the weasel came from!  They also showed us a bed in one of the back buildings.  Like many of the beds we saw from the 1800s, it was a rope frame with a stuffed mattress on top. The tour guide showed us how after the ropes stretched, there’s a massive wooden key that is used to tighten the ropes so everyone can… sleep tight. LOL – I just loved learning those expressions.
 
Apparently, I thought very highly of lunch because I have lots of FOOD photos from day two in Lexington LOL.  I will say all of it was crazy delicious! Just don't ask me what any of it was LOL - though the first one - the baked brie was amazing! 

​We also went by Keeneland race track. It was really nice how it’s all open so you can walk around the original betting booths, and the seats, and the edge of the track. I really do like horses and racing. Should probably have been born in Kentucky LOL.  

And of course, you can’t go to Kentucky without visiting at least ONE distillery. So we picked a pretty one. Castle and Key.  And it was really lovely how they refurbished an abandoned distillery. I bought a bottle for my son in law who likes bourbon. ​

If you want to see how busy the preorder party was after all this sightseeing, you need to pop over to my youtube channel and get a look at a few of the 600 people attending! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL6Ud4GSBNs&list=PL6l_TXWcJ1-hRnRtceLWNV5nnwJg2T_1w&index=3

And I think that's enough for one day! I promise I'll get back to the business of books soon! 

​Well Kentucky so far has been beautiful and the book signing was crazy!  I’m not used to people standing on line to see me and at one point I was so tired from signing and talking that a woman handed me the conference booklet to sign my photo (everyone was doing this) that I just stared at the page and the lady softly leaned forward and whispered, ‘your name is Chris Keniston’ lol.  I said thank you and signed. I seriously blanked out on what was I supposed to do because I had been multi tasking for hours!
 
We’ll start with Lexington – our first morning was WinStar horse farm. What a gorgeous place and I learned so much more about thoroughbred horses.  They take darn good care of those babies. I’d never seen horses with mesh blankets or face covers to protect from flies. All the horses I have ever been near are just flicking their ears and swishing their tails to get rid of the bugs.  Then again, I’ve never been by horses as valuable as these thoroughbreds! 

Since I'm the one doing all the photo taking most of the pics are just scenic or of my friend. It's really nice to have been here in the foal season!  And one horse Constitution - a stud - that horse had so much personality it was hilarious - reminded me a bit of Mr. Ed and of course when I turned on the video he stopped performing! LOL 

And what would a horse farm be without the foals!  The younger ones stick close to mama but spook easily.  A crunch sound on the grass and they back up - but SO cute - and you can see the mask on this mama's face! 

I learned SO much so of course - this will be incorporated into the new books - not just the Honeysuckle books but the next wave of Farradays will have to have some thoroughbred learning on Connor's ranch!  It will be great - 

​Sorry to keep this short - but trip isn't over - we'll be running out the door again - catch you next week! 

One of the downsides of writing when you're tired - you forget to save and have to start all over. Yep - that's what I'm doing now! 

I am currently packing and sorting for my trip to Lexington. I'm signing books at the Knockout Book Bash.  Now I remember why I don't do these very often - it's a lot of work!  I've got books piled everywhere, old signage and new signs to make, and then there's clothes - that part would be so much better if I hadn't gained twelve pounds this year LOL. 

Anyhow, while I'm prepping for the book signing, I'm also hosting the annual girls' weekend. Yep. In the middle of everything else I'm sorting mail, dusting tables and frames (can anyone tell me where the heck all this dust comes from? LOL), and of course, bathing the dog was a must! ​

As you can see from the bed - there's a lot of books to pack and that's not all of them. Some are already in the suitcase. If I'd had a brain in my head I would have boxed it all up and shipped it - but no one said I had a brain LOL.  

Of course the next photo is our snack table - what is a girls' weekend without lots of carbs? LOL. Of course I gained two pounds this weekend, but I enjoyed every minute of it! the third photo was Sunday morning before everyone arrived. I kept meaning to take another photo with the whole gang, but never got a round tuit. lol. And yes, dominoes is addictive! 

What I didn't have time to do this week is personally check up on my friends remodel project. Thankfully, the contractor is really good at working without a lot of supervision and he sent some photos. The upper cabinets are up. The lowers have to wait until the floor is down. The floor has to wait until the walls are painted and the plumbers are done fixing the sewer lines.  I can hardly wait- already it's SO different from before!  Another thing done was the floor was leveled. No more sunken living so folks can fall and break their ankle or neck! 

ADid I mention during all this, I also had to squeeze in a baby shower for a friend's daughter and a birthday dinner for my middle grandchild? Yep - busy week/ weekend! 

I have however been a good girl and written EVERY day! Which means we're on track for an August release of Sweet Courage! I'm hoping y'all are going to love this as much as the other K9 books. 

And that's about it for me for this week - next week I'll be reporting from Louisville Kentucky!  See you then! 

Why are there never enough days in the week to finish your to-do list? LOL

I have been trying to get organized for my book signing next weekend -- or is it this weekend? LOL - anyhow - I've got books to back, and signs and so much - sigh - and of course I had a houseful of friends here this weekend for our annual get together! All of which means while I'm stacking books and other things for Kentucky, I'm also trying to sort through mail, clear off tables, put away toys, dust (why is dust never ending?), all the basics for a warm welcome. 

As you can see - the pile of books on the spare bed. And that's not all of it - there was already some books in one of the suitcases!  Next photo is some of the snacks for ten women!  Of course, this means that yours truly gained two pounds this weekend - but who can resist all those goodies!  Then there's a photo of the domino game - it was early sunday so not everyone was here from the hotel, but can't let a minute go by without playing! LOL. 

Did I mention during hosting this weekend I also had to escape briefly to attend my friend's daughter's baby shower? Yep - I did.  And then there was celebrating my older granddaughter's birthday because I'll be gone on the actual day. Yeah - like I don't have enough on my plate LOL. 

Did I mention that I'm also working on Sweet Courage? Yes, that's on track and I hope you're going to love it as much as the other K9 books! 

What I simply could not make the time to go see in person is the project house for my friend. Thankfully the workers can chug along without me!  But I did get a few photos out of them.  Some of the upper cabinets are up on the wall. The lower ones can not be installed until the floors are installed and they can't do that until the plumbers are finished, sooo. here is the photos of the cabinets, as well as a photo of the floor leveled. Yay! No more sunken living room for someone to fall into ! 

What a difference from the way this kitchen started out! So much more cabinet and storage space. I can hardly wait to see it all done. 

Next week, I'll be reporting from Louisville Kentucky! 

Have a great week! 

As y'all know, I'm getting ready to head out to Kentucky in less than two weeks!  I have never been to Kentucky and I'm quite excited - I'm also pretty stoked to have learned how to do preorders for the book signing!  I ordered them ahead and will bring them with me - it's kind of fun getting ready.  The only challenge is I'm also hosting a group of longtime friends coming to my neck of the woods for our annual summer get together.  Another friend of mine and I go back and forth hosting and this year it's at my house - just a few days before I leave for Kentucky.  Can you spell STRESS? lol.  Yep, trying organize, pack and clean. I did however on a small burst of energy (something I'm lacking considerably since gaining those 12 pounds while my daughter and grands were staying with me) I finally hung up the three tile pictures I brought back from Rio De Janeiro.  They look pretty nice in my kitchen - though I think one of these years I may get around to changing the frames. ​

The first framed tiles are Copacabana beach - you can tell because the mosaic sidewalks are wave shaped. The second is Ipanema Beach (remember the song? Tall and tan and young and lovely the girl from Ipanema goes walking...) - you can tell because the mosaic sidewalk is more chain linkish in shape. And lastly, the Christ the Redeemer tiles. 

Back to helping my friend remodel her house, there's been quite a bit of progress this week.  They cut out the window and I am SO thrilled with how much light comes in.  As you can see from the first photograph - this is the view of the back wall from the front door.  There was a pony wall we took down and there's a sunken living room that will be leveled - after all the thing is a fall hazard for young and old! Because we closed up some of the glass door panels to allow for more cabinetry, we decided to cut out a window in the dining room. It's a little messy and it was a cloudy day - but here's the new view! ​

Even though I wasn't standing all the way back by the door when I snapped the photo - you can see the fan light is turned off in the second photo and yet, there's more light in the room than the first photo with the fan light on!  It's just a huge difference. And that wall between the full length window and the door is where a peninsula will be for homework or other projects. I can hardly wait till it's finished. 

As for book news - well, I finally was able to move forward on Sweet Courage - the book releases in August and I have been STUCK for weeks.  When you've written as many books as I have, keeping the stories fresh can get tough. I mean, how many ways can folks 'meet' lol. I think we -yep had to go to my friend Kathy Ivan and her sister for brainstorming help- came up with something that works. I'm kind of excited about it. Fingers crossed I can carry it through! 

Now, I can use some advice from anyone with a green thumb.  I was given an orchid plant when I returned from Brazil.  It was lovely and I was quite proud of myself for keeping it in bloom for almost four months!  The flowers have died and the leaves fell off. So I cut back the two brown stems and cut the green stem off above a nodule (that's what the internet said to do lol).  Now I'm going to water it every week as I have always done, but since I have always had a brown thumb that can kill the heartiest of plants, if someone out there is good with orchids - tips please! 

And now - another week of juggling grandkids, work, home, and now... guests! 

​See y'all next week!