UPDATE: The winner is…Beth Caudill!
*~*~*

Were you alive on July 20th, 1969? I was eleven years old and still vividly remember watching Neil Armstrong take the first step a human ever took onto the Moon’s surface. We had gathered in someone’s living room (I don’t think it was ours) with some neighbors. The children were all lined up, sitting cross-legged in front of an old black-and-white TV, you know, the kind that was on legs, waiting for the broadcast.

I remember when it started. Everyone was silent. I think some of the adults were crying, it was such a proud moment. For this kid it was surreal. I was already a certified space nerd. I adored Star Trek and Lost in Space. I daydreamed about space exploration. (I often dreamed I was Judy Robinson, and that the robot was my best friend.) When I went to the library, I checked out books on the planets and stars. To see Buzz and Neil jumping around the moon, unimpeded by gravity, left me with a lasting feeling of awe and possibility.

Here’s a picture of our intrepid crew: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin.

A side note. When I worked at a large insurance company, Buzz Aldrin came for a booksigning of his co-authored novel, The Return. Naturally, I bought a copy and had him sign it. I was like a fan at a rock concert. I met the second man who stepped on the moon. 🙂

So, my question to you, for a chance to win a free download of one of my books, is…

Are you ready for us to go back? Are you eager to see if we can make the flight to Mars?

UPDATE: The winner is…Stephanie!
*~*~*

Yes! It’s a holiday! Another of those weird ones I like to highlight because don’t we need more reasons to celebrate? It celebrates the mayhem and chaos in our everyday lives. Something we usually hate, but today, we can revel in it!

Looking around my life, I can find plenty of chaos. I could take a daily picture of my desk, but the pictures I’m sharing today are much more fun. Our family decided to take the dive into raising our own chickens for their eggs—and what an adventure that has been!

Of course, my daughter went shopping for cute little chicks and came home with ducks and guinea fowl, too! Since then, we’ve added geese.

The guinea fowl have proven to be our “chaos agents.” Here’s the “best” picture I have of the raucous pair. They were much younger. They don’t stand ever stand still (my dd says it’s like they have ADHD).

This is what they sound like! They are very loud.

We didn’t know it at the time, but they are excellent little guards for the chickens. They are very vocal and scare off hawks and snakes and anything else that might try to enter the chickens’ yard.

Here’s a recent picture.

And because we’re on the topic of our birds, here are some more adorable pics.

Can’t forget our geese and ducks.

Here’s our first egg!

Contest

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon GC, share about some chaos agent or chaotic event in your life.

It’s Sunday, which is my planning day. Before I begin rejiggering my calendar, I like to pull a single tarot card from my favorite deck while asking what I should expect from this coming week. Last week’s Temperence card was exactly right. I held steady, worked hard, and I finished the darn book. This week, I have the Ace of Pentacles.

First, I examine the card and let my intuition tell me its meaning. Here’s Poseidon, ruler of the seas. Remember, he and his two brothers divided the realms. Zeus took the heavens, Hades the underworld, and Poseidon the seas. What else is important about the picture? See the grapes? They always seem to represent food and wine—a bit of celebration. Which fits for me, since I’ll have a book coming out on Tuesday! Plus, he’s holding a big golden pentacle. I’ll take that to mean I’ll get a nice payday. Not huge because, hey, it’s a single pentacle, but the card is telling me that my work will be rewarded. I should enjoy the fruits of my labor!

Let me check the book (because when I get into the numbered cards, I’m not up on all their meanings!). Ha! It tells me that there’s the “possibility of material achievement”—woot. So, I used many more words to describe what it meant, but I was right.

Nice to know, but what does that auger for this week? I can’t just eat grapes and drink wine. Guess I’ll head to my calendar and figure out how much work I have to complete to get to where I need to be by month’s end.

Do you ever reflect on your upcoming week? What helps you keep everything “on track?” Do you keep lists? A calendar? Do you look for guidance from something “otherworldly” (pray, tarot, meditate)?

UPDATE: The winner is…Stephanie!
*~*~*

For all of those in the USA, Happy 4th!

Our family will be playing it low key. #1 — It’s hot as hell, so we’re not driving anywhere to sit and be consumed by mosquitoes while we roast. #2 — We probably won’t do more than sparklers and little poppers because our many animals would freak out, plus the 9-year-old doesn’t like the sound of explosions. #3 — We have a pool, so hopefully, we’ll decide a nighttime swim would be more enjoyable. We are planning finger foods and sandwiches. No grilling. Again — it’s too damn hot. But I hope the rest of you have fun! I’d love to hear what your plans are! I can draw vicarious joy from your celebrations!

So, share what you’ll be doing this 4th for a chance to win a $5 Amazon GC!

UPDATE: The winner is…Beckie!
*~*~*

Today, already, is hot as hell here in Arkansas (it’s 85 degrees Fahrenheit at 9 AM). The temperature will be over a hundred. We tend to stay indoors when it gets like this, then wander out to the pool when the sun dips below the horizon. The pool is so warm it offers little relief, except for the lovely feeling you get when you’re soaking wet and enter the AC-cooled house. My daughter doesn’t deal well with the heat. She loves winter—sweaters, leggings, and boots. Summer makes her ill. Just sitting outside this morning, talking to me over a cup of coffee, made her nauseous. AND IT’S ONLY THE FIRST DAY OF JULY. I’m down for it. Of course, most of my day is spent in my cool-ish window-less basement office. When I rouse to step outside, I enjoy the bright light and looking at the flowers blooming. My dd would love to mow the lawn, but she pretty much has to do that at dusk or dawn. Like a vampire. LOL. I think today, we’re going to take a break from the heat and head to the indoor flea market. Whee!

So, thinking about summer and lovely things I wish I could do, I searched for a photo of my dream vacation spot. It’s today’s puzzle challenge. Enjoy!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, let me know if this would be anywhere on your bucket list. If not, what would be?

UPDATE: The winner is…Mary Preston!
*~*~*

June

1. I revised and re-published a story that was originally part of an Entangled anthology, Along Came a Spider on June 27th!
2. I began writing the next Montana Bounty Hunters: We Are Dead Horse, MT — Jackson!
3. I settled on the theme for the next Boys Behaving Badly Anthology — Secret Identities!
4. I completed 3 editing projects for other authors in June.

Health-related:

1. I’ve been swimming almost every day. Sometimes, twice a day.
2. Through medicines and some diet tweaking, I’ve managed to get my blood pressure down. Not enough, and not without an occasional spike, but it’s so much better.

Happiness-related: 

1. I have been working on and making great progress organizing my art room, getting ready for the next push for art shows and reopening my Etsy store.
2. I finished #the100dayproject online art challenge! Here are some of my last pieces I completed in the beginning of June…

July

1. To complete writing and publish Jackson, the next in my Montana Bounty Hunters: Dead Horse, MT series which releases on July 11th!
2. To complete 4 editing projects in July!

For health related, I plan:

1. To swim at least once a day!
2. To resume counting those points for my Weight Watchers diet and hopefully shed at least 5 pounds, remembering, as always: Slow is good!
3. To continue to reduce salt, processed food, and incorporate foods good for blood pressure (spinach, broccoli, bananas, red wine).
4. To begin walking and counting my steps.
5. To do more housework because my art room isn’t finished! Cleaning is exercise, too.

For happiness-related, I plan: 

1. To spend quality time with the family—movie nights, swim-time, making fun meals together!
2. To participate in and complete a free art workshop, the Fodder Challenge 2023!

Contest

Comment on anything you’ve read in this post. Tell me what you’re doing to make yourself happier and healthier. Tell me what you plan to read in July…
Like I said, comment on anything for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

What else can I celebrate? I’m 65! When I was a teen, I didn’t expect to live past 21—I was a bit of a wild child. So, I always thought any day over 21 was just “gravy.” And while some bemoan the milestones, I’ve never worried. I hit 30 and thought, “awesome!” 50—the same. 60—I had a lovely birthday party with both my parents still there to celebrate. Now, at 65, I’d love to have them here, but life’s a journey, and I’m not going to bemoan the fact I’m 65 and still fabulous!

I decided to take a picture to prove it. I sent my selfie to my dd and said, “What do you think?” She immediately sent the 14-year-old to snap a picture with her iPhone. So, I’m assuming she wasn’t impressed. This is what she sent back to me.

Huh. She thought I needed a filter—and wondered why I didn’t bother with makeup other than a swipe of lipstick. I guess she was right. My sunburned nose and forehead made both look shiny and really big. Still, I don’t look like a wrinkled old woman just yet. Well, there are some wrinkles. Here’s the original, what do you think?

I still have less forehead wrinkles than someone I won’t name because she’s pissed looking at me every day. My eyebrows and eyelashes aren’t blond anymore. Or gray. They’re translucent—which is why you can’t see them! Still, I don’t feel a day over 40. Actually, I don’t feel old. Period. Although, sometimes, when my hands hurt after a day at the keyboard… I just call that a workout. They’re supposed to be sore.

They threw me a party last night. It was nice to have the fam around, plus a couple of their friends. We ate finger foods and pie. No candles, because we didn’t want to burn the house down. Today, I’m back at the keyboard because that’s what I do. Who I am.

So, tell me: Have any of your milestones been downers for you?