UPDATE: The winner is…Tara Leavitt!
*~*~*

Today the 18-year-old graduates from high school! I won’t be attending the ceremony—climbing bleachers is not my thing. But I will pop for a celebratory dinner for the family and a couple of his friends tonight! He enters the same university I attended many moons ago in the fall! We’re all so excited. One down! Three to go! LOL

Puzzle Contest

Solve the puzzle to check out the 2022 graduate!
Comment for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card! Let me know if you have high school graduates in your family or will soon. Also, share any words of advice I can pass along to him!

Open Contests

1. Lexxie Couper: Who’s a Good Boy? from RESCUED! (Contest) — Win 2 FREE downloads, plus a SIGNED book!
2. Saturday’s Puzzle Contest — Thinking Cold Thoughts… — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Deb Robinson: Let’s talk firsts… (FREE in KU Read) —  Everyone! Get a FREE KU read!
4. My obsession with toys… (Contest) —  Win an Amazon gift card!
5. To Bee or Not to Bee — World Bee Day (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Margaret!
*~*~*

Last Wednesday afternoon, my dd and I were watching the dogs play in the backyard, while we sat on the covered patio. We heard the nearby air-conditioning unit start up, make a horrible chuffing noise, and then stop. Then it repeated that over and over. As we stared, we saw smoke begin to rise from the unit. Quickly, we called my SIL, who was preparing for his nightly shift with the PD. He came down, opened the panel to peer inside, and we all saw flames coming from around a group of wires. He simply blew out the flames, cut off the power to the AC, and I dialed American Home Shield to let them know we’d need to have our AC fixed.

Well, apparently, every local AC repairman is booked up. Who’d have thought that, when AC season finally arrived, EVERYONE would need their services? We still don’t have a technician assigned, and in the meantime, we’re trying to cope with a very hot house. On Thursday, we actually had the highest temperature on record in 104 years. So, you know we’re pretty miserable.

My office and art rooms are in the basement, so I can keep cool-ish hanging out there, but the upstairs is awful. My granddaughter has the garage-converted-into-a-bedroom space—with its own AC—so guess where all the animals and all the folks who reside upstairs hang out?

Tempers are fraying. No one wants to cook. We’re taking cool showers. Lots of take-out is happening. We’re to the point where we’re freezing Tupperware containers of ice to put in front of fans to cool the air the really old-fashioned way. When it cools into the 70s at night, we’re opening windows. And you know, I live in Arkansas, so we’re being eaten alive by mosquitoes. So, if I sound grumpy for the next wee while, you know why! In the meantime, I have to write and edit, and you know that’s not going well, because, again, I’m grumpy and it’s showing!

Puzzle Contest

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then share something in the comments about how you beat the heat!

UPDATE: The winner is…Shirley Long!
*~*~*

I start every day the same way. I get up and head straight to the coffee machine to start my first cup while I do other things. Once my teeth are brushed, I head outside to my small outside porch, cup in hand. I check the weather, look at the forest behind the house to see what’s changed, what animals I can see. It’s very peaceful. The ritual centers me. When my dd joins me, it’s even better because we chat about what’s happening that day. Dolly Parton wasn’t wrong when she called coffee a “cup of ambition.” I wouldn’t dare chart my day without it.

Puzzle Contest

So, you know what you’re gonna find in this puzzle, given my morning’s theme. Still, a mental challenge is good for the old gray matter. So, solve the puzzle, then answer my question for a chance to win a download of your choice from my backlist of books!

What is your favorite beverage?
And don’t say just coffee, or tea. Say how you like it.

For me, I love coffee. My absolute favorite version is Turkish coffee. It’s ground as fine as a powder then boiled in water on the stove. When you pour it into the cup, it’s a little thicker than everyday drip coffee, and there’s a sludge of fine grounds that settles to the bottom of the cup. But oh my! With just a little sugar, it gives you that espresso pop without the bitterness. I don’t even mind encountering the sludge. Now, your turn!

Open Contests

1. Gabbi Grey/Gabbi Black: My Heart is Breaking (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Saturday’s Puzzle Contest! — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. April into May (Contest — and more contests!) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Story Cubes: Tell me a story… (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. 10 Things That Make Me Smile (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
6. Gabbi Grey: Stanley’s Christmas Redemption (Contest) — Win a gift card!
7. Cameron Allie: Somewhere to Belong (Giveaway & Contest–3 Winners!) — There’s a giveaway to everyone! Plus, a contest with 3 winners who get a FREE book!

UPDATE: The winner is…Rebecca Merz!
*~*~*

I’m heading into town to my favorite destination! We go early to avoid crowds. Once we’re past the desk, we head to the stalls, where there’s no one around and we can pull off our masks. (They have open doors and run fans all over the place!) Then it’s pure nirvana!

So, you probably guessed where we’re going. For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me about your weekend plans!

UPDATE: The winner is…Jennifer Beyer!
*~*~*

I hope you have a lazy Saturday, filled with lovely sunshine, phone calls from loved ones, and good food! While you’re being lazy, have fun with the puzzle, and be sure to enter all the open contests!

Puzzle Contest

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle and then answer this:

Giant jellyfish or…? No, really. Would you be tempted to raise your hand and say, “Take me!”?

Open Contests

1. Monday, Monday… (Open Contests!) — Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Flashback: Knight in Transition (Contest — 2 Winners!) — Win a FREE book! 2 Winners!
3. Cara North: Where is Spring? (Contest) — Win a SWAG PACK!

UPDATE: The winner is…Delaine!
*~*~*

Today’s forecast was for thundershowers. The weather guy wasn’t wrong. We already had a two-hour power outage this morning due to lightning/rain/hail. No hail in our yard, so we lucked out. I’m still waiting for April to warm up. Most years, I take my first dip in the pool in mid to late April, but we haven’t had enough warm, clear weather for us to even clean the pool properly!

We’ll get there. In the meantime, I’ve been tackling indoor projects, along with editing projects and trying to get some words written on my own story. It’s been tough. I don’t have a lot of git-up-n-go lately. Today, I’ll try to fool my body into believing better days are here by showering (always important) and then getting into a pair of shorts. Maybe I’ll do some light makeup, too. Then I’ll smile at myself in the mirror and repeat some inane aspirational saying, or… Maybe I’ll get out the sage and burn it while I imagine all the dark, lazifying (it’s a word—I just made it up) thoughts fleeing to the corners. Yeah. I like that last idea.

In the meantime, here’s something fun for you to do!

Solve the puzzle then let me know how your April is going for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

Okay, so no one’s sick, but the 13-year-old is going in for another surgery tomorrow. We made a hotel reservation for her and mom in the big city so they won’t have to drive through hail and tornadoes in the early hours tomorrow. So, that’s one thing less to worry about. I’ll be taking care of (ordering around!) the other kids while she’s gone, so my afternoon and evening will be blown. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

And since I’m scurrying through today’s To Do list because it just got longer, here’s a puzzle! Have fun with it! Yes, it’s topical! Tornadic, even. And if you saw the red truck in the tornado on social media, you will understand why this grabbed my attention—and why we popped for a room for my dd! And be sure to enter the contests that are still open! The list is below!

Open Contests

1. Tell me a story… (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Flashback: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology (Contest–3 Winners!) — Win a FREE book! 3  winners!
3. Fill in the blank! (Puzzle-Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Diana Cosby: Exciting UPDATE about Diana Cosby’s – Romance Reader’s Help Build A Habitat For Humanity House!!! (Contest) — Win a SIGNED book!
5. A little bit of this, a little bit of that… (Contest) — Win a FREE book!