Look!

Look! Look! Not there. Over there, on the right-hand side of this blog. Finally, someone is following my blog!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you to @wordrunner! She is one of my favorite authors. (Yes, you will find a theme in my blog posts.) It is the fantastic Beth Hoffman. She is the author of the wonderful book Saving CeeCee Honeycutt. If you have not read it you should be ashamed of yourself. It is fantastic. I wish I could find a word that really could "show" you how much I loved that book. There are many reasons: she is an excellent writer, that book practically took a picture of my childhood, it will make you cry and it will make you laugh hysterically. I have purchased several copies of this book and made...uh, gave them as gifts to friends and relatives to read. They will, too, because they know I will ask them. I will badger them. Then I will test them. You know how, just say something like..."did you like the part where such and such happened?"  They will reply, "Yes, I loved that part." This is where I will shout, "That is not even in this book! You didn't read it! Snap to it!" ("So let it be written, so let it be done." You know, Yul Brenner, the Pharaoh in the movie "The Ten Commandments.") Well, anyway, thank you Beth for joining me. I don't feel so alone now.

Well I Never...

Well, I never... would have believed that I retired from school teaching after my first lifetime and STILL have not written the first word of the book I have been planning to write since I was 11 years old. How's that for a run on sentence!!!!! My goal is to become an "eccentric character" in my golden years. My family has been so kind as to not tell me what they already think. I will quote from one of my favorite author's book, In The Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming, "Oh, don't mind me , Reverend. I never felt I could speak my mind when I was teaching, so now that I'm retired, I'm making up for lost time."
(spoken by Miss Bristol) Of course, in my neck of the Alabama woods, we usually just call folks...peculiar. One whole side of my family is just a 'mite peculiar. Including me.
Back to my beginning. I'm sure you are wondering what that would be. I want to be an author when I grow up. I am a writer, because I write. I know I will be a published writer, if the good Lord gives me enough warning, because I plan to write my own obituary. But, I would like to write articles, poems, mysteries, suspense, thrillers - all of it - and be around to hear what is said about it; good, bad, or ugly. Like I said, I AM A WRITER, because I wrote this blog post and hopefully you read it!

Books read in July

Books I read in July:

53) On Folly Beach - Karen White - B

54) The Silent Girl - Tess Gerritsen - B

55) Escape - Barbara Delinsky - B

56) Then Came You - Jennifer Weiner - A

57) A Cold Day for Murder - Dana Stabenow - A

58) The Bird Sisters - Rebecca Rasmussen - C

59) Summer Secrets - Barbara Freethy (new author for me) A

60) Don't Say A Word - Barbara Freethy - A

What I Didn't Do This Week

What I Didn't Do This Week:

• I didn't buy school supplies.
• I didn't go to the school and worry that my room won't be ready.
• I didn't buy any new shoes or clothes.
• I didn't plan what to say and or do on Meet Your Teacher Night.
• I didn't look over my list of students and wonder what they will need the most from me.
• I didn't lay awake at night with plans, procedures, and room arrangements  refusing to let my brain shut down.
• I didn't get to catch up on what my coworkers have been up to.
• I didn't meet any brand new teachers who make me remember what it was like to start my career.

I didn't do a lot of things. I will miss much of what I just mentioned. I won't miss some of what I mentioned. I don't feel "retired."
I am looking forward to what I will be doing. Changes in life are what keeps it interesting.

To all of you starting a new school year; I hope it will be your best year ever!

Russ/Clare/Miller's Kill Obsession

Okay all you readers - how many of you reread favorite books? I used to would have told you never. That was until I started reading Julia Spencer- Fleming's Mystery Series involving Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne. They are an obsession. I have never understood the obsession/stalking thing until I discovered these books. I follow the author's Twitter Tweets, Facebook page, Reader Space and author website plus FanFic sites; daily, multiple times daily. I can't help it. At night I write new scenes while trying to go to sleep. Really, I need a twelve-step program. Or, just the next book in the series. Whichever happens quicker!

New beginnings part two

Those that know me; know how much I love pets. I lost a special little friend on May 11th of this year and she is missed. I can't even think of the word that would tell you how much. So, in the spirit of new beginnings I decided, with much objection from loved ones, to adopt a little brother/sister pair of puppies. They are Pom-a-Poo's, designer dogs, or if you are from my generation - mixed breed, Heinz 57's, there daddy was a fence jumper, whatever. But, they've stolen my heart as well as many other things and ripped many pieces of paper to shreds. We have mastered the puppy pads - most of the time- and they go to bed when I'm ready and sleep until I wake up. My family loves them, as I knew they would and we are having fun watching them play. I'm going to try to put a picture in here. Hopefully, it works.

 Meet the newest members of the Pace household: Mickey and Molly!

New Beginnings

I've always loved new beginnings. My chosen career path that paid the bills has been teaching elementary school for 30 plus years. In that career I was able to have new beginnings all the time; new school year, after Christmas Break, summertime.
I've recently retired and plan to read more than usual and to maybe, just maybe, write that story or piece that is worth publishing. I've been writing in my "head" since I was a little girl. I've kept diaries and journals and then let them go. I figure now is the time to "fish or cut bait" as they say. So, I may subject you to some really interesting posts or some boring ones. I hope to make some friends along the way and to learn from some of you who have been traveling this particular road for a while. My hubby has been rereading the Zane Grey westerns he read much earlier in life and watching the western channel. All. The. Time. I've sort of enjoyed it in a way; boy were we sappy back then. I have discovered that those cowboys "I had a crush on" all those years ago - well they still do it for me! Bwahahaha....
So saddle up with me and I'm going to hit a new trail! Happy trails!