Quote from my manuscript that made me laugh

"That’s when the door of the school opened. We turned automatically to see who it was. Sure enough, it was wicked Mrs. Smith heading to the parking lot. She wore a bright red coat with a hat to match. Her usual stride was reduced to baby steps because snow, ice, and high heels apparently don’t mix well. However, being the fierce dragon lady she was, I was sure she could look my way, shoot fire from her mouth and burn the very hair off my head."


This is a quote from my manuscript Murder on Sprinkle Lake Mrs. Smith is a very mean teacher. She'd just chewed out my main character. After, he joined his friend outside the school and was in the middle of telling him all about it when the door of the school opened...

Biggles

I love cats, always have. The sweet kitty in the photograph is our housecat, Biggles (he's on My Space if you're curious). My husband is more of a cat hater and dog lover. He has a theory that all felines no matter their size, are waiting for their chance to eat their owners. When they sniff you, he jokes they are checking whether or not you're still alive. Not so long ago I had a chance to test his theory. I was standing at the end of the hallway facing Mr. Biggs who was casually standing in my daughter's bedroom doorway staring at me. We stared at each other for a few seconds, then he did something that surprised me. He licked his mouth like he was thinking yum. Without thinking I licked my lips right back at him to see what he would do. He reacted big time!  Apparently he thought I might be interested in eating him (and I'm bigger)! No kidding he spazzed out! His hair stood on end and he did his, panicky sideways run that he always does when he's scared to death. That made me wonder... what was he thinking when he licked his chops? Maybe Bruce is right. Maybe we do look like a meal...

Flowers

I'm not a Farmville farmer, but I'm occasionally reminded about flowers in the dead of winter because of those who do the Farmville thing. And then I think about one particular garden.

My great aunt had the most beautiful garden. There were hundreds of different colors, sizes,and varieties of flowers planted right in her back yard on a space the size of a tennis court (or so it seemed when I was seven). I used to walk the paths of her garden while my mother visited inside the house probably drinking coffee and eating small cookies. I had the better deal. Many of the plants were taller than me and there were a lot of butterflies and bumblebees.

A kid can pick up a few things about life while wandering around a beautiful garden. I shared some of things I noticed when I went on those pretty jungle walk aboutsto my children when they were young and feeling competitive with one another. No sense keeping all this garden wisdom to myself. It is my opinion that they, as siblings, should support one another and genuinely want to see each other succeed. Three flowers (I have three children) can be equally beautiful yet completely different from one another. In fact, the differences actually make their individual beauty stand out when side by side. One is not better than another. It would be silly for one flower to want to be like the other flower when each one has its own color and style.

Exercise

Whew! It's nearly February and I feel like I'm only just beginning to recover from all the fun I had over the holidays. It must be my age or "yikes" maybe it's because I haven't been to the gym in ages to work out... That could be it! "Ding!" If I want to feel peppy, I just may have to change my habits to include, I hate to even say the word, but here goes exercise.

In the past, swimming was my favorite way to get in shape. Now, if I can bring myself to put on a swimsuit and then convince the devil in me that the water is not really that cold, I'll be good to go.

I admire people who like to run, don't understand them, but I admire them. How they deal with gasping for air and sharp shooting pain is beyond me. I smile when I think about it, but I took a jogging class in College because I wanted to lose weight. We had to jog four miles to pass the class. I passed, but it nearly killed me and believe me my pace was nothing to brag about. The fear of failure was the only thing that kept me moving on the pavement.

All that said, would you believe I studied Shorei Karate at the University of Wisconsin Parkside for five years? I practiced and exercised my butt off when I was involved with that program. When you're sparring with another person, you don't think about anything but the moment. And, if you want to do well,cross training helps. So, it worked for me. That program was well worth the pain involved. And that is because there is more to Karate than exercise...

2010

The beginning of January is like an empty sheet of paper. It holds tremendous promise and hope (like the song says). We all have a chance to start fresh; to really strive for those goals we have floating around in our brains. What? You don't think you have goals? Oh yeah you do, they're there even if you don't write them down. And, because it is the beginning of January, I say we may as well put those goals down on paper and figure out a plan to achieve them or 'poof' they will be like colorful dreams that disappear in no time at all.

My plan is to think about five things I will strive to accomplish in the year 2010, write them down and put the list in our New Years Resolution folder. I've been doing this with my family since the mid-nineties. It's always a surprise if I achieve everything on this list. That does not discourage me, however, because I'm a firm believer in the word strive. I always have been. For example, when my children were in elementary school, I never told them they had to have A's on their report cards. What I said was, "You need to do your best." No one can ask anything more of a person. Life is about the process not the end.

Oh Holy Night...

I belong to Saint Paul's Episcopal church. This is a scene from our service on Christmas Eve. Music, candles, and prayer made our Christmas worship experience meaningful.

Altrusa International of Evansville Celebrates Forty Years!

Altrusa recently celebrated their fortieth anniversary. This picture was in the Evansville Courier on Sunday. Dr. Maria Hoover (honored guest), Birdie Harrison, Mary Winstead, Barbara Barrett and I are posing for the picture at beginning of the party.
Many people ask me, "What is Altrusa?" So I thought I'd quote the Principles of Altrusa written in 1917 by Mamie L Bass, the first President of this organization.

Altrusa is a builder of women.
Altrusa is an expression of the search for the best in character, in business and in citizenship.
Election to Altrusa is an evidence of confidence which imposes upon the recipient the obligation to strive to be true to the highest standards of life in her personal and business relations.
Altrusa,in the very derivation of its name, is committed to the philosophy of unselfishness, of the joy of giving rather than getting, and to the search for that happiness which is based upon spiritual worthines.
Altrusa is practical idealism. Its service consists not in saying great things, but in daily earnest practice of its principles.
Altrusa commends to its members an active interest in public affairs, realizing that the State is but the individual writ large.
Altrusa develops true leadership, concerned with accomplishment and not with recognition.
Membership carries with it no obligation to transact business with other members. It makes no promise of returns in any commercial species. Its rewards are in proportion to the loyalty, the unselfishness and the character of the member herself.
Altrusa expresses goodwill for all mankind. It emphasizes the good and lets the evil sink into the oblivion it merits.
Altrusa is democratic; it knows no class, no favorites, but is founded upon merit alone.
Altrusa believes that the way to progress lies not in emphasizing the faults of men and their failures to give proper recognition, at times, to women in business, but rather in arousing women to their responsibilities and their possibilities, so that their accomplishments will blaze the trail for greater things.
Altrusa believes it is not enough to be good; Altrusans must be good for something. Each member must be doing the piece of work that is hers in a way that puts her in the front ranks of accomplishment."

To find out more, you can go to www.altrusa.com or seek us out on Facebook and even on our blog http://altrusa6.blogspot.com . Altrusa does many wonderful things for others, and I can tell you the club here in Evansville is full of some of the warmest, most compassionate people you'll ever find.