Holiday World

 The picture on the left is of my daughter, Suzanne, and her boyfriend, Adam. We met up with Adam's family at Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana on hot and humid Saturday.  I don't know what the temperature ended up being, but geez it was uncomfortable.  Everybody and their mother decided that this particular theme park was the place to be on this particular weekend.  I have never experienced the Splashing Safari that crowded before. We normally have a real good time at Holiday World. I enjoy people watching, it's fun and it helps with writing stories.  I also like the thrill of a roller coaster and cooling off in the water on a hot day.  It's tough to do any of those things, however, when a person can hardly move because too many of their fellow human beings are wandering aimlessly around them, crowding and dripping sweat.  It's a good thing that visiting with Suzanne and clan was a pleasure because we had a long wait to get on a ride, get a drink at the oasis, go to the bathroom, and pay for a locker.  I was there six hours and went on two rides! But, I'm glad I went.  I got to visit with both my daughters (my daughter Janine came along too) and meet the people in Suzanne's life that are important to her.                                                                           

The crowd thinned out a bit and I took advantage of the space to take a picture. It looks like a typical day at the park, doesn't it?   

Colonial Garden Center

My daughter Janine (center) with two co-workers at Colonial Garden Center.  Working at Colonial (both last summer and this spring) has been a wonderful experience for her.  The people there are very friendly and she gets to be around all this beauty. Our youngest child loves plants and flowers;  hopes to one day have a career in Landscape Architecture.  Janine is known in our family for having an artistic eye.  We all ask her opinion when it comes to color and style whether that be cars, clothing, or gardening (we can't always afford her recommendations but I always like them). I suspect she inherited "the eye" from my mother and a few of my siblings. 

This is inside the main greenhouse at Colonial.  Working around these flowers makes Janine excited about landscaping.  She has to bargain with her dad about what she can and cannot plant because he likes to work outside as well.  If it were up to me, I'd say "go for it girl".  Working outside in Minnesota is okay, but here in Indiana it's just too hot in my opinion.

Not only can you get wonderful flowers, trees, and bushes at Colonial Garden Center, but you can buy rock, landscaping services, and other related items.  People that have lived in the Evansville area remember when Colonial was located on Green River Road.  They moved a few years ago to Newburgh just off the Lloyd Expressway on  Epworth.  Unfortunately for them not so long after they moved, it was decided that construction work needed to happen on the road right in front of their business.  Not good for a business just having moved to a new location especially when there is a road closed sign on the path people take to shop there. This would be tough for any business to tolerate for a few weeks.  Can you guess how long Colonial has had to put up with that construction?  Three years!  I don't know a lot about working on roads, but it seems to me it's not a lot of area to work on and I have to wonder what has made this project so complicated it's been going on for three years.

Recently Colonial had to lay off some workers to save money.  My daughter was one of them.  They hope to have her back in the fall when business picks up again.

Writing

Today I made progress on writing Murder on Sprinkle Lake.  I have to say it was a lot of fun, too, because I had three critiques in front of me to look at.  I like trying to figure out the best way to write something -- it's fun to see what others think too.  I tell ya, my critique buddies are incredible.  I hope they get something from me too. I always feel like I receive so much more than I give.

Someone asked about advice for beginning writers.  I haven't been published, but I do have an opinion on the matter.  Here it is:  1) The first and second time through don't worry at all about punctuation or grammar-- just let the story spill out and see what happens.  2) Have a bunch of  different types of people critique your work . 3) look at all the feedback when fixing. 4)go to conferences and book festivals to learn from other published authors and professionals in the field. 5) read a lot in the genre you're writing in and 6) never, ever give up!

The MidSouth conference in Nashville is approaching.  I can't wait to attend! Im all registered and everything. The Regional Advisor had much patience with me -- I really messed up filling out my application. We got things straightened out and in the course of talking I learned she wrote a book (not published yet) that is set in Newburgh-- the very town I live in.  Cool. Look forward to buying her book in the future.

Our Memosa Tree

Aren't these blooms lovely?  This beautiful Memosa tree is in our back yard overlooking the pond. Memosa's attract hummingbirds and grow real well in this part of the country (southern Indiana).  They have the most unique soft looking yet spikey blooms I've ever seen.  I suspect there are people wandering out in California with hair modeled after this flower.

We stand under this tree all summer long to feed the fish, turtles, and ducks that swim by--mostly fish.  Last summer our neighbors bought some white ducks with big fluffy tail feathers.  They were pretty cute and hung out on the pond close to our house.  We'd feed them. My daughter encouraged them to come near to the house so she could sit on the step by our back door when she threw bread crumbs.   They'd come on land and in close until something spooked them; it was the funniest thing ever to see them run back to the water.   Talk about waddling!

 It's amazing how fast these trees grow!  We just planted them as small saplings a few years ago and 'poof' now they're regualr trees.  Sort of like kids I guess...

Sadly the two white ducks do not hang out on our pond anymore.  Their quack is louder than the other ducks and more nasal sounding.  I hear that quack every now and then on a different pond so they're still around.

David Beem and family

I finally figured out how to post this picture!  David, Cary, and son Max Beem met us at Borders a few weeks ago.  Nice, nice people...  Very talented cellists--both of them.  In fact, David was the principal cellist in the Evansville Philharmonic for a number of years.  You can read more about his background if you click on his picture under followers on this blog.

I came to know them because our daughter, Suzanne, has an interest in the cello and was fortunate to have David as an instructor.  The Beems have since moved to northern Indiana where Max was born and David bravely stepped into the wonderful world of writing.  He has written an adult Novel called The Abyss of Chaos and I can honestly tell you it's good because I read it myself.  I feel very fortunate to have David as a critique partner.  He critiqued half my Murder on Sprinkle Lake for me and his remarks were very helpful.  Sometimes I think people feel critiquing means criticizing.  David's not about telling me everything I do wrong. He was great about explaining what he found interesting or funny too.     After all, how can we repeat what we do right if we never hear what it is?  There is always something right...  His experience as a muscian and teacher gave him exposure to critiquing.  He feels, and I agree, that if critiquing is done poorly it can be hurtful and not very helpful.  I look up to him and am very confident he will succeed at anything he decides to tackle!

David is not the only one that critiques my work.  Of course I have my husband and other family members (when they have time) read stuff, but also the people in the SCBWI Evansville Critique Group led by Christie Atherton.  Talented writers (and one illustrator) in that group!  I love to use my imagination and express emotion through writing and am grateful to all of them for their help.  I find writing difficult, but that's part of the fun.  Nevertheless, we writers have to have thick skin.  Most people get plenty of rejections, spend a lot of time alone, and don't make very much money.  Gotta love the process to keep at it!