Well the birthday is past but the vacation is underway.  I'm looking forward to the next week.  I'll be taking a short research trip to the NC mountains for my new book, With Not a Spoken Word. We'll be visiting Biltmore House and I'm looking forward to seeing that for the first time.  

I'm also looking forward to being away from work and enjoying a different setting for a while.  I'm not enjoying the heat of summer. I worked out in my yard today until I ran across a small snake in my flower bed.  After that I decided he could have the bed and I'd come inside and cool off.  :) Nice of me don't you think?

Did you ever wonder exactly why it is you even mess with a computer?  I bought a new unit and I've been trying to get used to the bells and whistles.  I had typed 25 pages of my new manuscript and now I can't open the file.  I'm still trying but looks like I'mm have to recreate. 
I just got that last blog I wrote back in June published.  Had problems with my web server but it's there now.  I did get the manuscript in the mail in time for my deadline and I got my new contract.  That's the book I'm having problems with now.  Pray for me and this computer.  It's too new for me to toss it out the window.  :)

The first day of summer hasn't arrived yet and I'm ready for fall.  I'm not a huge fan of summer and it seems that this year has been even hotter.  I don't suppose it has -- maybe it's because I'm getting older and more conditioned to being inside.  I have all these major plans for redoing my back yard one day and then I wonder why since I find it too hot to spend much time outside in the summer.  Oh well, there's always pleasant evenings to enjoy.
I'm on deadline race.  I sat up late last night finishing a final draft that as all writers know is never final.  I can edit all the way to submission and still find something I wished I'd changed when the book comes out in print.  Pray for me as July 1st approaches.  It's my desire that this book be exactly what God wants it to be.
Happy Reading.

Did you know Barbie has a full name?  A history?  Her full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.  She's from Willows, Wisconsin and went to Willows High School.  Her boyfriend is Ken Carson.
Personally I think by now she should be Barbara Carson.  Who dates a man for more than fifty years?  And how many wedding dresses have been bought for all her Barbie clone sisters over the years?
I still have my Barbie.  She was well loved and played with during my youth.  One of my favorite childhood Christmas gifts was the wardrobe my mom sewed for my doll. She even crocheted little tops to go under the suits.  There was an evening gown with a crinoline and a fitted red strapless gown with a ruffled bottom. Only one dress survived and as an adult I look back with regret, wishing I'd valued the items as they deserved. 
Love went into that gift.  The same love that went into everything she did for her children. Her love for us was unending. My mom has been dead since 1991 and I miss her 
every day. 

Saturday I made the first of my annual treks to the nursery to buy plants for my pots.  I have a collection of plants I always buy but I'm often enticed by something new.  There will be more trips to add to the collection which I'll enjoy throughout the summer. 
This beauty is an iris I planted last year which bloomed for the first time.  Irises are one of my favorites.  I have one bed that will have hundreds of blooms if all goes well this year.  So far I've had about a dozen yellow irises so I'm thinking it's going to be a bountiful year. 
I also bought a yellow and a lavender columbine.  Those are the most fragile plants but I find their intricate design quite impressive. I'm always so impressed by the beauty of God's creations and thank Him for the joy he bri

Hard to believe we're basically four days away from a new month and less than a week away from the Easter holiday. This is a special time of year for me.  I love seeing new flowers coming up after the cold, bleak winter.  It's been a cold one here -- 52 days of below freezing temperatures which for us is strange.  We're near the coast.  Also the 10th coldest winter on record but forget all that -- spring is here and winter is nothing but a memory. 
Today we've been preparing for our Easter cantata -- Grace that Amazes.  When you consider what Jesus Christ did for us that truly is grace.  My favorite song in the program is A Picture of Grace which talks about the master's hand painting this picture of grace.  It's wonderful to think of the way God created me and has blessed me in so many ways I can't begin to thank Him for all of them.  If you think about me tomorrow night, pray God will bless my less than talented singing to His glory and if you don't have a church of your own, I hope you'll take the time to see one of the Easter programs in your community churches. It's an experience you surely won't forget. 

I got an IPod for Christmas and it's taken a while to figure out what to do with it.  I'm not a techie.  I have to figure out computers and such using trial and error. 
Anyway, I'm not doing tunes.  I'm listening to books that are downloaded from the library.  My sister and I both are addicted to this new activity.
I used to try and read at stoplights but could never do more than a couple of paragraphs.  Then I started listening to CDs.  No constant glancing up at the light to be sure I didn't hold up traffic.  My book played on and on.  Then when I got home, I sometimes had to bring it in to keep listening.  :)
The IPod is great because I don't have to change discs.  It does the work for me. 
Of course my sister has an IPhone and now I'm thinking I should have gotten an IPhone instead of an IPod. 
Technology -- don't you love it? 

Okay, I heard that.  Big deal... You and 48 other states... but it's such a rarity here.  This is first snow we have had in years and it is truly beautiful.  It came in the night and had stopped this morning.  The roadways, driveways and sidewalks weren't covered and didn't require shoveling and the three to four inches of the fluffy stuff turned my dreary yard into a winter fairy land.  I couldn't believe how light it was last night with the moon reflecting off the snow and what I love most is the way it covers the trees.  This is a neighbor's dogwood and it was fantastic.  Alas the sun came out earlier and only left the snow on the ground which I suppose is frozen enough that it kept it from melting.  But the temps are dropping tonight and I know we'll have to worry about black ice and all the bad stuff. 
So thank You God for your special gift.  And to all the rest of you out there, I pray you're warm and cozy.

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     Okay, I admit I'm over it already but I've stuck with my organization resolution and spent the month of January sorting, tossing and giving stuff away.  Of course there's plenty of stuff left but maybe I'll be able to find it as long as I keep my new bin list handy.  Right now I'm thinking my large ceramic rooster that sits in the middle of my dining table ran away with the rooster kitchen rug that goes on the floor in front of the sink.  Honestly, I can't find either of them.  What else could have happened?  Then again, maybe Santa borrowed them to change his North Pole abode.
     Next project is to attack the paper and get the shredder company over here to grind it all up.  They actually put everything in the truck and use a camera to show you it's being shredded.  Just need to make up in my mind that I won't need every sheet of paper I dispose off the minute it's gone.
     There's good news.  Heartsong Presents has offered me a contract for my NC Hideaways proposal.  Soon I'll be working on Richie and Katy's story tentatively titled Peace Be Still.
     Until next time, stay warm and happy reading. 

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all the readers who voted for Val's Prayer in the 17th Annual Heartsong Awards. I enjoyed writing about the Truelove family and how they dealt with their changing lives.  I'm happy to know others loved them as much as I did. 
Again, thanks and happy reading.