It doesn’t matter what your preference is for your free time (hiking, sitting by a river, soaking in a tub, reading, writing). Just remember to protect others by following social distancing and wearing a mask.
It isn’t just for your health, but for those who are around you.
I plan to spend the day writing and reading. Those are my preferences. I am scheduled for a bit of surgery on Tuesday, so I want to make sure all my ducks are in a row before I lose function in my wrist (that’s where the surgery will be).
I’ll be in a cast, so using the laptop will be difficult. I plan to try, though. I don’t think I can go weeks without writing. It makes me happy.
I wrote about my favorite non-profit on Wednesday:Tiger Striped Misfits. I attached a link to the name that should open in a new window. I hope you will support them, as they support those “who gave it all.”
Recently, I posted about an upcoming book in the Guinness the Therapy Dog series. Now that I’m in final edits for that one, I have decided to write a fourth book in my popular Fairies of Carlow series!
A reader (and Ig friend) asked questions about Lady Zepherine, the mentor Gilded Fairy from The Fairies of Carlow: The Gilding.
That got me thinking, and the good lady demanded that her story be told. I am discovering her history and will tell the story of her younger years.
How did she become a Gilded Fairy? Who is she related to (since all Gildeds are royal)? What is her relationship to Fern the Gilded? Why is she Fern the Gilded’s mentor? Did she ask for that role, or was she assigned?
All those questions (and more!) will be answered in the new book. The title is pending!
Much of the focus of the Guinness the Therapy Dog series is on–Guinness the Therapy Dog. As it should be. But did you know that he has a companion/older sister?
She is Lucy the Wonder Dog. She is very shy and is happy to leave the spotlight to Guinness.
Lucy lives with us, too. She was, I think, significantly abused when she was a puppy and bears the emotional scars to this day. Lucy has lived with us for seven years, but cannot move past her suspicion of everyone and everything. She is on anti-anxiety medication (CBD tincture), which does a tolerable job but doesn’t completely eliminate her fears.
She is also a genetic mess. She suffers from permanent dislocations of both back kneecaps, her front legs are shorter than her back legs, and one of her front legs is shorter than the other causing a limp. She also has an impressive underbite. Even bulldogs are, like, “DUDE!”
But Lucy is a sweet girl and asks for attention-but, only from me. She doesn’t like men, hats, or loud noises.
Guinness loves her and they rely on each other for support. When I take Guinness for a walk (not her, she can’t go on walks longer than 50 yards because of pain), she waits by the door and talks to him when he returns. It’s a sweet relationship.
I have mentioned this Instagram account before, but I think it bears repeating. You should follow @august_musings. She is an inspirational poet and posts some amazing work.
I posted about her at the beginning of this month and dared you not to smile when you read her poetry. I still dare ya!
Also, @april.reads.and.proofreads is an exceptional proofreader. She has a manuscript of my evil twin’s and we are looking forward to her comments and critique.
And, both of these accounts came to me by way of @author_george_I_fleming, who writes thrillers set in Florida. Check out his books! I’m currently reading Bad Habits: A Tampa Bay Tropics Thriller available now on Amazon.com and through Barnes & Noble.
Of course, I need to mention my favorite military account @tigerstripedmisfits. This non-profit donates all its profits to military foundations (like the Green Beret Foundation). All monies are made with the sales off its website: tigerstripedmisfits.com.
I hope you take some time today to honor those who have fallen. It’s the day to thank the soldiers, airmen, Marines, seamen, and those of the Coast Guard who have died in service to their country.
Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War. On May 1, 1865 freed slaves gathered to observe the POWs from one Union camp who had died and were buried in a mass grave. They consecrated the ground, sang hymns, and put down flowers.
In 1868, the holiday was organized by a veteran of the Union Army, General John A. Logan. He selected May 30th as a national day of commemoration for those killed in the Civil War. Named Decoration Day, it was the day to lay flowers on veterans’ graves.
The reason for the date is a mystery, but it is thought that May 30th was selected because flowers across the country would be in bloom.
It’s possible that General Logan took the idea from Southern women’s groups. They were already laying flowers on the graves of Confederate soldiers.
Decoration Day officially became Memorial Day in 1971, and expanded to include all wars, not just the Civil War. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act moved the holiday to the last Monday in May. Veterans groups were against the move, thinking it would make the holiday a celebration of the beginning of summer rather than a time to honor the dead. They have lobbied to have the holiday returned to May 30th to change the focus of the holiday back to its original purpose.
The red poppy is a symbol to remember the sacrifices made by the nation’s military. It began in 1915, when poppies grew in battlefields across northern France and current-day Belgium. Wearing a red poppy on Memorial Day began with a World War I poem. A Canadian Lieutenant wrote the poem ‘In Flanders Field’ after seeing clusters of the red flowers. He was a brigade surgeon in an Allied artillery unit and wrote of the soldiers who had been killed in battle.
A teacher in Georgia read the poem later in 1915 and wrote an accompanying poem, ‘We Shall Keep the Faith.’ Because of her efforts, the poppy is the symbol of rememberance.
To honor our nation’s dead, Americans are encouraged to fly their flags at half-staff until noon, and pause at 3 p.m. local time for the National Moment of Rememberance.
Information for this post was found at History.com.
I don’t like them. I do pet the rainbow boa constrictor at the zoo, but it takes a lot of self-talk to get up the nerve.
I think it’s because they don’t have legs. I have a thing for legs. I like ’em on my animals. I also don’t like slimy things. Yes, I know that doesn’t apply to snakes, but there are legged things that are slimy that I don’t appreciate–slimy looking lizards, for example. We had a large hatching here at the house of slimy looking lizards and they kinda freak me out.
I do like frogs. They’re slimy, but also cute. Slimy lizards are not cute.
Anyway, the other day I saw just the tail of something go between the food bins of Guinness the Therapy Dog and Lucy the Wonder Dog (their bins are outside). It was a banded, pointed tail and I didn’t know if it was a snake or a lizard. Nope, not going out there. I got my courageous husband to look, but the pointy tailed thing had already gone its secretive way. We are pretty sure it was a lizard, not a Gila Monster (not the right tail shape) or a snake (we would have seen a snake that was that big and long).
Our lizards are big, like the Collared Lizards and the Common Brown Lizards. And boy, can they run fast when the dogs chase them!
Any close encounters of animals in your world? Sonja
I tend to read lots of books at the same time–in many different formats. I listen to audiobooks in the car and read paperbacks and ebooks at night.
I have about five ebooks going right now, because sometimes I can read the ‘heavy’ history books for only a short time and then I need to move to something a little less dense.
Right now, I’m reading: West of the Revolution by Claudio Saun; The Man Who Could Be King by John Ripan Miller; Filthy Rich by James Patterson (thank you for the recommendation @novelist_george_I_ Fleming); Cooper’s Charm by Lori Foster; The Priest of Santa Maria by Alexandra Kleanthous; and, on audiobook, The Night the Lights Went Out by Karen White.
I completely subscribe to this idea. I think you need to push yourself to a level where failure is a huge possibility to really succeed.
Edison succeeded after a lot of failure.
So can you. So can I.
When I was on a ski team, my coach told me that if I didn’t fall sometimes, I was being too careful. I’ve had some spectacular falls! I’ve also found amazing success after those falls.
