UPDATE: The winner is…Pansy Petal!
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What with all my drama-drama, pool maintenance kind of fell by the wayside this past week. It’s been a lot for my dd and the girls to keep going. We had storms this week, and unless you’re right on top of the pool, cleaning out the leaves, brushing it, shocking it, etc., it starts to green up fast.

With cooler weather arriving this next week, I think this summer’s pool days are over. I had hoped for at least one more week when I felt good enough to get in the water (which is TODAY), but now, I’ll have to give up that dream. LOL—yeah, I’ll mourn the pool. I’m that devoted to my daily swims.

The good news is I feel more like my usual self today. I’ll still take it easy, but maybe I’ll actually wear real clothes instead of laying around in a nightgown. Progress!

So, for me, letting nature take its course with my pool is the first solid sign of Fall. For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, what is it for you?

UPDATE: The winner is…Laura Bowles!
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Because of all the activity surrounding my health issues, it’s been challenging to find the fun here in the Devlin house. Swimming has been curtailed. I just hate getting into a suit that squeezes my middle, but I think I might take the plunge anyway today. I miss the water and sun on my skin, and I think it would be fun for the girls. I didn’t know they’d give up the pool if I wasn’t out there with them, but it seems it’s not as fun without me there. (It makes me feel good and sad at the same time—LOL).

Later, we’re planning on watching a movie together, likely late afternoon, so no one (me) gets too tired to enjoy it. We’ve selected the new Twisters movie.

All my hard deadlines for work on others’ books have been met. I don’t have to stress about anything other than maybe pre-posting some blogs for next week in case I feel like shit and don’t want to post daily, as is my habit.  My dd is an organizer. She’s going to pack my chemo bag for Monday. I could do it myself, but she likes to take care of me, so I’ll let her. Yes, I’m spoiled for attention.

So, today’s a lazy-ish day. Tomorrow, I’ll do a little work prep for the week, but another light duty day. Next week, I’ll be winging it, and see how everything goes. I hope you’re making the most of the last days of summer! It’s my favorite season, so I’ll be damned if I’m cheated of the things I love most—family time and the pool!

Happy Saturday, everyone!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, suggest some things my family and I can do together that are low-energy, low-stress fun!

UPDATE: The winner is…Courtney Kinder!
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I didn’t put much thought into today’s post. I opened my favorite stock photo site, saw that they had a category called “Pantone Color of the Year for 2024,” and skimmed through all these lovely photos of peach-colored things. I found a blossom I love and decided that was enough work. It’s pretty. You’ll like it. And who can complain about a pretty, neutral peach, huh? Sometimes, their colors of the year are a bit out there (I love it when they do that!). It’s fun seeing designers try to make up rooms using the year’s color when it’s something like neon green or eggplant.

Anyway, I’m having a quiet weekend. Next week’s the PET scan so we can determine where the cancer is. I’m hoping I don’t light up like a Christmas tree. That would suck. Even better would be if I disappoint them and I’m a boring little pop of this and that. *crossing my fingers*

In the meantime, I’m working a little, playing some Fishdom on my phone, and napping a lot. Other than abdominal discomfort, I’m feeling pretty good (popping Hydrocodone at night helps a lot!). I’m even getting my daily swims in.

So, back to the contest and the flower… For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle then tell me your favorite flower and color. Mine is a bright yellow sunflower. They’re so happy looking. Red is my favorite color in all its permutations (magenta to sunset orange).

UPDATE: The winner is…Linda Rhoden!
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If you hang out on TikTok or Instagram, you have to have seen the latest fashion/lifestyle trend: Trad Wifes. Don’t know what those are? They are influencers who have rich husbands so they can cosplay a country-farm lifestyle—but fashionably. If they are mucking out horse stalls, they’re wearing white linen dresses. If they have a Sunday dinner for the fam, it’s served outside with crystal wine glasses, and the family looks perfect. Believe me, I’m not knocking the aesthetic—it’s lovely, but I do have to wonder whether the husband is demanding fresh-from-scratch meals and a wife who can’t work because she has to maintain all the perfection. To me, it’s weird.

The 10-year-old loves the fashion and would love to mimic them, but then she watches their outdoor table settings and says, “Ew. First fly and I’m outta there.”

If they have chickens, ducks, and geese, who cleans up after them? They stink! We know! You’ll be wearing red-neck fashion—blue jean cutoffs, a wifebeater, and muck boots to clean out the coop.

Their yards and pastures are all so perfect, there is no way on God’s green earth, they are maintaining it all themselves.

Anyway, I am feeling a little grouchy. I have my appointment with the oncologist on Monday, and this morning, I woke up with the flu-like symptoms my daughter and the girls brought back with them from Virginia—fever, muscle aches, more nausea. I’m waiting for the vomiting. Oh, joy.

For the chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me whether you’ve been following these Trad Wifes, living this cottagecore aesthetic, and which ones you enjoy.

UPDATE: The winner is…Margaret!
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My daughter and the three girls are on vacation. So, my SIL and I are the ones taking care of the animals and existing in the silence. The girls add a level of chaos that charges the air, so right now, it’s restful but also…boring.

I spent yesterday ticking off things on my To Do list. It was a productive day, but then I finished my planned work and had to find something to occupy the rest of my day. The weather was too cool for a swim—just 80 degrees, so that was out. So I turned to this list of movie titles I’ve collected and rarely get a chance to watch to remove one. Well, yesterday, I watched a rom-com with Russell Crowe—yes, I said a rom-com. Because the idea of it was intriguing, I had it on my list, so I ticked off A Good Year. It was decent. I’d recommend it. It’s not glowingly the best thing ever, but it’s a nice escape. I might try The Holdovers if I get through today’s list. The fam wouldn’t be interested, so it’s a good time, while they’re gone, to check off my list.

So, yeah. Another slow day in front of me. Right now, the temperature outside is a cool 76, with a projected high of only 81, so while I’ll go out and clean the pool, I’m going to wait for the weather to improve before I gird my loins and jump in. I hate it when the weather cools. 🙁

Enough rambling. I know you’re bored. I’m boring myself. Being bored inspires boring posts. I’ll shut up now.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle then tell me what you’d watch while the cat’s away…

UPDATE: The winner is…Eileen McCall!
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Yes, I’m pitching another book—meaning, I have a new one coming out on Tuesday that I hope you’re going to love. I certainly do.

Cyrus and Milly were so much fun to write. You’ll think it’s crazy writer fantasy stuff when I say that characters reveal themselves to me rather than I create them. I wait for inspiration to tell my fingers what to type. Often, I see the story appear like a movie reel in my head, and I’m simply the person typing as fast as I can to capture what I see and hear. I pay attention to the clues, as they appear, about what makes my characters unique. I don’t like writing the same book with the same hero and heroine, just changing the names. And I may be starting a new Montana Bounty Hunters series, but I’m hoping the stories inside the stories are just as unique for every book as the two main characters.

Cyrus wrote himself. In the beginning, we meet him, and he’s not much of a team player. He’s irritated that MBH is moving into West Yellowstone and contemplating moving on to the greener pastures. Working with MBH doesn’t really change him. It’s meeting the one woman in the world who was meant to be his other half that convinces him to stick around. You’ll see. Milly is… You’ll see.

The adventures they both have together and apart keep the story moving along and add a lot of the humor and excitement. This story is stuffed with stupid criminals doing criminal things. That will be familiar to you if you’ve read other MBH stories. The takedowns are always fun.

I knew the day when I sat down to write the “meet-cute” scene, that Cyrus and Milly were going to meet. *duh* However, I didn’t know how they’d cross paths until this guy appeared. And yes, I had to find the words very quickly to describe this facial expression.

That’s all I’m going to say. The scene didn’t end the way I thought it would. Let’s just say, Milly made quite the impression on Cyrus. 🙂

That’s all I’ve got for today, folks. I hope I piqued your interest enough you’ll go pre-order Cyrus. Here’s the link to make it even easier: PRE-ORDER CYRUS HERE. See that? Super easy.

Puzzle-Contest

Solve the puzzle then tell me about any memorable wild animal encounters you’ve had for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card. If you can’t think of one, make one up! Your story does not have to be long or even any good. Just have fun.

UPDATE: The winner is…Debby!
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I’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name…

I don’t know why that song is playing through my mind today. Okay, so maybe because it’s so dang hot in this house. I’ve stopped looking at the thermostat. Only, this heat isn’t desert-like. It’s swamp-like. I should’ve hunted for a swampy picture for the puzzle.

Since I’m still whining today, you know that our AC hasn’t been fixed. The repairman tells us it will likely be Monday. He’s not my favorite person right now.

I’m tired of the slumber party every night in the 20-year-old’s room. The girls are lovely—my favorite people and wonderful chaos, really. But I’m ready to be a hermit and retire at night to my own bedroom. I was up at 3-ish this morning and tried to go back to sleep, but everyone, including the 20-year-old’s cat, was snoring. So, I snuck downstairs to my office, turned on every fan, and pointed it toward my desk, and here I shall remain until the heat fogs my mind, and I have to throw in the towel. Probably just after noon.

Whine-whine-whine. Whine some more. Okay, I’m done.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me something uplifting today. A quote. A funny story. Your choice!