My LIfe, My Grandkids and My Reading

A Bit Of Eclectic Rambling:
This week has been sort of busy. 

I ordered and picked up what food I think I'll need for the Coon Dog Trials this coming weekend....packed it in the freezer in the trailer...hooked it to the truck...then my (future) son-in-law and I were leaving town to set my trailer up at the fair grounds in Lima since all food vendors were to set up on Tuesday.  He was pulling the trailer and I was following.  Before we had gone a block, I noticed something strange with one of the trailer tires.  OMG!!  A huge bulge!  Okay, don't panic.  A quick trip to a tire place, impressed upon him the urgency, got 2 new tires and off again.  Two hours later...all set up for Friday.  After talking to some other vendors I may not have enough food...worrying a little.  But not panicking....

I visited with my youngest, 2 yr old, granddaughter and, because of all the events I'm scheduled to sell food in, it'll be about a month before I have another free weekend to spend with her.  I'm sure she'll grow even more by then.  Isn't she beautiful!!!

Then my other 2 granddaughters spent that last 2 nights with me.  Since their Mom had to work at 7am I was able to let them sleep in a little and then take them to school.  Little girls giggle so much and I love it!  And them!!!!

On the down side, I drained my pool...so sad.  This marks the end of summer for me.  No more lazy days of relaxing and floating  in the warm water....I will miss it.  Big tear running down my cheek....






I am itching to get back to my writing...really itching.  Scenarios are playing on fast forward in my mind.  I want to rewrite a little of my finished novel.  And Charlie is scratching and complaining because his story is still in the birthing process.  But my weeks are so busy with my new business until the middle of October that I just haven't had any time to put into working on either novel.  And I'm missing it too.  But come October, time will suddenly open up for me and you can bet I'll be right back where I was before my sudden impulse to change my life.  From October till April, I'll be free to write all day...every...single...day.  And I need it so much.

I have had a little time to read finally and these are the two I've finished recently....

Defending Jacob by William Landay: 
Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.

Every parental instinct Andy has rallies to protect his boy. Jacob insists that he is innocent, and Andy believes him. Andy must. He’s his father. But as damning facts and shocking revelations surface, as a marriage threatens to crumble and the trial intensifies, as the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his own—between loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past he’s tried to bury and a future he cannot conceive.

Award-winning author William Landay has written the consummate novel of an embattled family in crisis—a suspenseful, character-driven mystery that is also a spellbinding tale of guilt, betrayal, and the terrifying speed at which our lives can spin out of control.   

This is the premise of the story written on the Amazon books site.  But it doesn't touch the emotional impact this story had on me.  What will a parent do and how far will he go to protect and believe in his only child? 

I have had a few times over the course of raising my children where a parent will tell me something they think my child has done.  Of course I will stand by my child but I always made it clear that if my child did this, and I would find out, they would have to deal with me.  I was not the kind of parent that believed my children were infallible.  I knew they could make mistakes and wrong decisions.

But if someone would have ever accused one of my children of murder, I know I would have fought just as valiantly and believed just as strongly as Andy Barber did in this story. 

This is a must read for anyone and I promise you it will touch you in ways you never felt touched before.  And the ending...well, let me just say...not what I expected...not in my wildest dreams. 

Calico Joe by John Grisham:

Anyone who has ever heard of, or better yet, read any books by John Grisham, knows he's best known for his courtroom dramas.  An excellent writer who caught my eye with his first novel, A Time To Kill, which, by the way, is the best book of his that I've ever read.  And that was before the movie. 

But Calico Joe is so far removed from his normal writing that I almost didn't read it.  I am so glad I didn't listen to myself.  


This story takes place in 1973 when I was a die-hard Dodger fan.  Yep, I loved baseball.  But gradually when my favorite catcher was traded down to the minors because of knee problems and then my first baseman and my left fielder, well, my interest started to wane.  But when Tommy Lasorda retired, that pretty much ended my obsession with baseball. 

In Calico Joe, Grisham takes us back to that time with part truth-part fiction in the story of Joe Castle, a hero among baseball fans everywhere.  Let me add what Amazon has to say about this book: 

A surprising and moving novel of fathers and sons, forgiveness and redemption, set in the world of Major League Baseball…

In the summer of 1973 Joe Castle was the boy wonder of baseball, the greatest rookie anyone had ever seen. The kid from Calico Rock, Arkansas dazzled Cub fans as he hit home run after home run, politely tipping his hat to the crowd as he shattered all rookie records.

Calico Joe quickly became the idol of every baseball fan in America, including Paul Tracey, the young son of a hard-partying and hard-throwing Mets pitcher. On the day that Warren Tracey finally faced Calico Joe, Paul was in the stands, rooting for his idol but also for his Dad. Then Warren threw a fastball that would change their lives forever…

In John Grisham’s new novel the baseball is thrilling, but it’s what happens off the field that makes CALICO JOE a classic. 
I read this book in 2 days.  In fact, I didn't even have time to put it on my blog page in the "what I'm reading" section.  One reason was because its not a long book.  But reason 2 is because it held my attention till the very last page. 

Yes, there is a lot of reference to baseball and if you're not a fan, then this may turn you off.  But I encourage you to continue reading because, like the description above says, its what happens off the field that makes this a down right pleasure to read.   

Both of these books are highly recommended by none other than me, who most of you know usually only reads suspense and thrillers.
 
Quotes of the Day:
Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book. ~ Author Unknown  

A good book should leave you... slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading it. ~ William Styron

Outside a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside a dog, it's too dark to read. ~ Groucho Marx

Don't Beat Yourself Up

Sometimes Life Gets In The Way:
These past several days have been extremely busy for me.  I have several writing projects that went by the wayside.  Another agent search...edit my 5-page synopsis...a character sketch...2 webinars waiting to be watched and numerous blogs with good advice waiting to be read.  Add to that my own blog that's been sitting here waiting patiently for me to update.  But life gets in the way sometimes.  And you just have to roll with it.

But sometimes its an enjoyable intrusion.

I spent this past weekend sitting in a cattle barn at the fair grounds helping my 2 oldest daughters make money.  It was the yearly spring craft show for our area and, for the 1st time, my daughters had a booth.  And, I'm proud to say, they did very well. 

My oldest, Lisa, makes necklaces and dry skin scrubs for women and t-shirt bags and kool-aid lip gloss for little girls.  My second daughter, Michelle, does etchings in glass and makes beer mugs, candy dishes, vases, mirrors and wedding stemware.  We spent Friday night setting up and Saturday and Sunday selling.  Besides the "fair food" (I ate egg rolls and had lemon shakes...mmm), I love the atmosphere of these shows, and the time spent with my daughters (and future son-in-law) was priceless.

I left the craft show a little early Saturday afternoon, picked up 2 of my grandsons and we went to my son's home so the boys could fish and then we were treated to a cook-out.  The boys loved it, my dog, Maggie loved running the 2 acres and it was relaxing for me, besides the added thrill of visiting my youngest granddaughter.  My son showed off his chickens, new-born bunnies and the windmill he built himself to aerate his pond.  It was time well spent with my family.


I didn't once think about all the projects I had waiting at home.  Sometimes there are more important things to do than edit your synopsis, or work on that 1st chapter of your new novel, or write your new blog post.  Sometimes you need to set those things aside and just enjoy your family.  The writing will be there when you get back to it, there's no boss (except yourself) that's going to dock you for missing work, the webinar will still be waiting to watch and so will all those blogs that need to be read.

So don't beat yourself up because you feel you've gotten behind in what you wanted to accomplish.  Instead, relax, enjoy the moments you're in and breath deeply.  You can't get these times back again.  


Quotes of the Day: 
I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich.  ~ Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. ~ Jane Howard