Discover A New World of Romance

The best hour of today was...

Was coming home after work and enjoying a great dinner and a glass of wine.

What makes you cynical?

bitterly or sneeringly distrustful, contemptuous, or pessimistic.

I certainly grow tired of hearing people trash talk - it's a great message to show our children. The way to get people to like (vote) for you is to make others dislike/distrust the other person... Sounds a lot like bullying to me.

Something that made you worry...

Today is Friday, June 13 and tonight there will be a full moon. I am not the least bit worried about this because I have never experienced any bad luck on a Friday the 13th or on a full moon. The full moon on a Friday the 13th is a rare occurance and it is not expected to occur again until I am 90. Now the thought of turning 90 does scare me a bit.

Is There Something in Your Way...Can You Move It?

Fear is always in my way...sometimes if I'm lucky I can rush past my fears, but fear always catches up to me. I will try and be brave and not be afraid to be the best writer I can possible be... i will not be afraid to travel.

Favorite thing to do on a Friday night...

Perfect Friday night has the following ingredients: margaritas, chips, and salsa.

Coffee

Coffee is a great way to start the day... one or two cups every morning. There was a time when I also enjoyed an afternoon cup of coffee, sometimes from a vending machine while take an afternoon break with a co-worker. Sometimes the cup of coffee was at my Mom's house, I'd drop off the daily newspaper after I got off work and she'd always have a pot of fresh brewed strong coffee and a desert. Sometimes a large slice of pie or cake - other times it was a cookie or a bismark or long john.

What makes a good friend...

A good friend is a time traveler...it could be days, months or years since you've last talked to them - and the moment you say, Hello. It's like distance and time never happened. You are both in the same moment and it feels like you last talk only minutes ago.

What make you miserable?

When it comes to misery, I am my own worse enemy. I want to write, but I busy myself with distractions. I want to be healthy and I put junk food in my shopping cart. I want to exercise and I pull the covers up over my head. I want to work part-time and accept full-time positions.

Now, of course if I turn it around, I could also be my own best friend.

Mother's Day 2014

Today my daughter posted the above... and it only seemed like yesterday when

they were babies...

_______________ is Perfect.

What, Whom, or Where is Perfect?

According to the Dictionary - having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be:

make (something) completely free from faults or defects, or as close to such a condition as possible:

Life is Perfect although I have to say some days I do find it a little difficult to be as good as it is possible to be...

When was the last time you spoke to your parents?

This is the question for July 10th from the 365 Questions book and the answer is a little difficult because both my parents have been dead for quite some time. But I do remember a couple of my last conversations with my mom. I was working full-time, had two preteen children at home and would stop by her house every night on my way home from work to check in with her and to have a cup of coffee - the coffee was a great way to spend sometime with my mom to unwind after work and also as a way to ramp up for an evening filled with driving my children to and from activities.

My mom had a number of aliments, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, lung cancer, and emphysema. She was on oxygen and was finding it harder and harder to breathe and get around. She was unable to back her car out of the garage and unless someone turned her car around she could not drive. Which in my opinion was a good thing, so I conveniently forgot to turn her car around when she asked. She was also blind in one eye and the way she passed the vision test when I took her in to get her driver's licensed renewed was by lying. When the clerk asked what eye the light was shinning in my mom said her left eye, because she didn't see a light and figure it had to be flashing on her blind side.

The year was 2011 and the month was October. She hated the TV and all the news coverage and said she just couldn't live through another war. Wheel of Fortune had been replaced with continual coverage of the towers coming down. I tried to get her interested in old re-runs of I Love Lucy or Dick VanDyke Show, but she'd have none of that, she didn't find the slap stick humor funny, she was tired and depressed.

The one thing she still wanted to do was shop. She loved shopping. She didn't care clothes, groceries, or the hardware store. Sometimes she was so tried the most she could do was ride along and wait in the car while I ran in and did errands. One evening when I stopped she was insistent on getting a new coat, she had a doctor's appointment the following week and was bound and determined to get a new jacket. She had lost a lot of weight and wanted something new. She was persistent about needing a jacket and to appease her I told her I couldn't take her shopping the following day.

She had always had a very sharp mind but the last couple of weeks she had been forgetful so I grabbed the pad of paper sitting next to her chair and ashtray and wrote down. Shopping for jacket on Thursday at 5 o'clock.

She studied the paper and set it back down on the table, we finished our coffee and she seemed content. She reminded me to turn around her car and I told her I would and reminded her I'd be by tomorrow and we'd go shopping. Of course I rinsed out my cup and hustled out the door before she could remember she didn't give me her car keys so I wouldn't be able to turn her car around.

At 4 o'clock in the morning my sleep was interrupted by the jarring ring of the phone. Heart pounding I raced up a flight the basement stairs to the land line phone in the kitchen. I heard my mother's voice. "Are you coming?"

"Why?" I asked gasped for breath while trying to keep my voice down, I didn't want to alarm my children sleeping in the room next door.

"To take me shopping," she said.

"It's four o'clock in the morning. I'm not taking you shopping until after I get off of work," I explained.

"I have the note right here," she said. "Listen." She read the note back word for word and said, "Does this note say anything about am or pm?"

"No," I said

"Who's the crazy one here?" she said and disconnected.

Today was delightful because...

Well, I still haven't found a job, but I did get up and walk for 30 minutes today. I also worked on a short story, these are all good things. It's raining outside and I'm nice and dry inside. I love the sun and warmth but I also delight in rainy days - the overcast skies, dripping clouds, and rhythmic splat of fat drops against the concrete, relax and calm me.

May 16, 2012

"What was your favorite day this week?" Considering it is only Wednesday... I would say Tuesday. We rode our bikes from La Crosse to Sparta - round trip 54 miles... Aha moment...need to buy bike shorts.

May 15, 2012

"What Do You Consider To Be Your Biggest Achievement?" Well, today it would be getting out of bed to write...but overall I would say it's letting go of fear. It is easier for me to do what I did yesterday, which is why I worked at one company for 27 years, and owned the same house for 25 years. It is much easier to repeat a previous day then to blaze a new trail.

It has been a year since I've sold a house, quit a job, and headed back to school. So now I no longer fear change, I fear thing staying the same.

May 14th

"What Make A Good Enemy" A friend, if good is to mean a strong adversary. Who knows your weakness better than a friend or an 'ex.'. 'Good' enemy might also mean the person who puts up road blocks and generally makes life difficult which in turn only strengthens your desire to succeed.
A Good Enemy is an antagonist with a pencil bar mustache.

May 13th

I once again opened The Book and today's question, "Who Loves You Today?" Today is also Mother's Day so the answer is obvious... My Children

Romancing The Book ...

Had this to say about Looking for Henrietta...

His twenty-fifth high school reunion is in less than thirty days and Henry still has no date. Not willing to be the object of his classmates’ sympathy after his divorce, he turns to an online dating service for help. But things aren't looking good.

Rita has been there for Henry for a long time, hoping their relationship might change, but he only sees her as his friend the bartender. Now Henry has this crazy notion that the answer to his dilemma is a dating service. After watching several unsuccessful attempts—in her bar, no less—Rita decides it's time to take Henry's love life into her own hands.

Maybe all Henry needs is a little push in the right direction to fall in love...

Review: Ms. Columbus gives brief insight into the world of computer dating. A light hearted search for your soul mate along with the many things that actually could and do happen when setting up dates, only to find the one you want has been there right in front of you all along.

This is a really nice short story that has you laughing at Henry sense of humor as he tries to find a date for his class reunion, so that he isn’t toted as poor Henry. Although there isn’t much romance the story is still entertaining as we follow Henry as he goes on his blind dates.

We find out that Henry’s a sweetheart, down to earth and someone you could find yourself befriending. He has a cat left over from his divorce and co-workers who like to mess with his head. Henry goes to the local bar on his way home from work and tells Rita, the bartender everything. Rita we find is secretly in love with Henry and feels that he should now that. She watches as he sets up these dates and at times she almost seems childish in her actions as she storms off.

I enjoyed how Ms. Columbus made you actually care what happens with the bumbling antics of loveable Henry. It is nice that he ends up with his own happy-ever-after.

Looking for Henrietta

Series: An ’85 Class Reunion Book
Release Date: June 22, 2011
File Size: 100 KB
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Source: ebook provided by the publisher