“Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me”…! Well, I prefer the Beatles’ birthday song! If the Stones had only done one… LOL
Yes, that’s me a 64, sitting at my desk, getting a few wrinkles, letting the silver in the blond just happen, and yes, that’s the devil looking over my shoulder. What you can’t see is God on the left and Jesus to the right! Of course, the watercolor painting of the little girls is my sister and me!
My dd is trying to make the day special. I’ve already gotten a bag of goodies from her, and she’s talking about a trip to the flea market (the only shopping I love—oh, the “treasures” we will find!). I hope you all have a wonderful day!
Hum the subject line to the music of “Singing in the Rain”… That’s what I’m doing in my head.
That picture isn’t me, my girls, or my pool, but that’s what I was doing today. I took a break from an editing project and hit the pool. The temperature was in the mid-90s until some clouds rolled by and dumped a bunch of rain. Since there was only thunder in the distance, we all ran out to the pool. Lord, it felt so good.
That’s all I’ve got. I finished up the edits a little while ago, and I’m going to close down my computer and do NOTHING for the rest of the evening. I’ve earned some laziness. I don’t even have the energy to break out the paints.
I hope y’all had a wonderful weekend—that you’re recharged and ready for another week. I start on my next book tomorrow! Whee!
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there! And if you have a dad sitting beside you, please pass along the greeting!
I’m thinking about my own dad today. The art above reminded me of this picture I took with my dad in 2018. It was for my birthday, and he felt silly holding that photo booth sign, but he still did it. I had no way of knowing he wouldn’t be with us for another birthday or Father’s Day. I miss him terribly. He was quiet, so quiet, but always busy fixing things or building things. He’s my guidepost when I think about how a man should be.
I wish a Happy Father’s Day to my SIL, Dexter, and my son, Connor. They’re the inheritors of my dad’s legacy. They’re both living up to the high standard he set. 🙂
It’s Saturday after a long week of rushing to THE END of a book and finishing up edits for other authors. I took the last three days to clean my desk and office, re-jigger my calendar (so I’m ready for the next rush to THE END!), and make a really big To Do list.
I mentioned the string of bad luck we’ve had here at the Devlin house, right? Two long power outages, losing internet for an entire day, the AC crashing for days—well, add to that the dishwasher going on strike, too. Apparently, I’m the only one who knows how to wash dishes by hand. 🙄 I think I need to sage the entire house…
Anyways, today I plan to get two swims in, while cleaning our slightly greenish pool, work on a couple of sets of edits, and make some notes about what I want to have happen in the next MBH book—what funny takedowns my bounty hunters can do—wait, a second! Maybe you can help me with that…
Saturday Puzzle-Contest
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, give me an idea for a fun or exciting takedown of a criminal that my bounty hunters can do! Doesn’t have to be a good idea, doesn’t have to take much thought. This is for fun, folks!
In the meantime, you do know I have a book coming out next Tuesday, right? Victoria’s Six is set in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Get a feel for the setting of the book by solving this puzzle! And if you haven’t already pre-ordered your copy, follow this link: Victoria’s Six
It’s sooooo hot here; a fresh heat wave is coming today. And wouldn’t you know it? The AC doesn’t work. My SIL’s very handy, and he’ll look at it after his shift with the local PD ends. However, I already have a service request submitted through our home appliance insurance to get someone out here. We’ll probably be roasting for days.
So, I’m thinking cool thoughts and keeping in the basement because the temperature down here never gets dire. I’m really thinking about an escape, wishing I could head to some beach. My sister and I have been playing with the idea of taking another trip to Hawaii next year. I’ll have to dream about sand squishing between my toes and swimming with the sea turtles until then.
In the meantime, we need a contest, right? Something fun!
Because I love reading about what’s going on in your lives, let me know. Tell me what you’re cooking. Tell me what you’re reading or watching on TV. Tell me about any trips you have planned. You choose the topic. Comment for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!
In the meantime, I’ll be here, working on edits that are almost overdue, and putting the final touches on the story I have to get to my sister… Have a fabulous Sunday!
We had a 7-hour power outage yesterday due to heavy thunderstorms. It started in the morning and lasted well into the afternoon. We pulled the generator out of the shed to power the refrigerator and make cups of coffee (priorities!). Working by candlelight in my basement office was impossible. It’s a daylight basement. From the front of the house, you think it’s a one-story home. From the back, you see two stories. Well, my office is tucked into the way back of the basement and has no windows. I call it my “mole hole” and that lack of windows is perfect for a writer with W.A.D.D. (writer’s ADD).
However, my basement craft room has windows, so that’s where I settled. The light that reached my worktable was dim, but I had to do something. I’ll be cutting out the watercolor flowers for collaging so the ugly marks around them don’t matter (I didn’t like looking at all the white space!). The ink drawing was kind of fun. I used the dropper on my ink bottle to draw it. I’m going to practice with it more. So, not a wasted day. I learned something.
Puzzle Contest
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me what you want to read right now!(My picture clues you into the genre of book I wish I had right now!)
I’m used to accomplishing something every day. However, today, I accomplished nothing.
I’m a writer. An editor. Those are the things I do to earn a living. I work seven days a week. Because I’m self-employed, I determine my hours. I try to keep to a plan. Sometimes, like today, nothing goes according to plan.
First, I spent my morning babysitting dogs (the five little ones—they’re very yappy) to keep them quiet while my daughter ran errands and my SIL slept (he’s currently working the night shift at the local PD). When she returned home, it was only to gather the two older kids to take them into town to a blood drive. Funny story. Neither had ever given blood. The 17-year-old fainted when the tech pricked her finger for a blood test—and that was it for her. She passed right out. Wish I’d been there to see it. The same girl thinks she wants to get her first tattoo when she turns 18. Ha!
Then I headed downstairs late afternoon to try to get some little thing accomplished, but the 17-year-old had promised her mom she’d make spaghetti for dinner. She called me to ask me how to make it. Of course, I headed up to the kitchen and took over making the meatballs, browning them, making the sauce, while she boiled the noodles.
After dinner, I came downstairs, but the 8-year-old is trying to figure out things she can do to earn money this summer, so she said she’d show me how good she’d be at doing “spa work” (she’s inventive, I’ll give her that) so I let her soak my feet and scrub my callused heels. Then she gave my hands a massage, my face a facial, including a mask and a heated “eye treatment.” She even brushed my teeth! So, if you can imagine, after she’d worked on me for about an hour, my room was a mess. She did a marvelous job, so professional, but then it was time for her to shower and go to bed, so I cleaned up all the sundry products she left in my space.
So, here I am. Doing at least one little thing—getting my daily blog posted. What a day. Oh, and the 8-year-old is hired. 🙂
