Together Again

Gary has been away all week helping his aunt at the farm in Illinois.  She is 92 and still living alone in that old farmhouse. She is pretty independent, but it helps to have him go there for a week and do repairs. His sister, niece and nephew came later in the week to help with the yard work.

Because he likes his privacy, he set himself up with his camping gear in the garage which seemed like a good idea except it got down to 26 degrees last night and with mice scampering around and the coyotes calling out in the meadows, he didn't get much sleep. So he came home tonight.

Rascal immediately began to complain about the terrible treatment he endured while he was stuck with me. Gary is his god, his reason for being. I am just the staff, and not a very efficient staff either.

Now Rascal is upstairs with Gary, on his lap, being petted.  He's had his special cat food, the good stuff, not the terrible stuff I forced on him. It's the same cat food but if Gary opens the can...well, that makes all the difference, doesn't it?

I'm glad he's home, too.  The trees finally let go of their leaves two days ago and now raking everything up at once makes sense. And I guess I missed him, too.

He's home.  We're a family again. 

Only One Thing

Years ago, I read an interview with Mike Nichols, the brilliant director.  He said that if you get one good idea, give up for the rest of the day because you won't get another.

I think Nichols is absolutely right.

Today I wrote a short story that I've been mulling over for months, a ghost story that had been missing some elements. It was to be based on real events in my life but I knew I had to abandon some truth and use imagination instead.

This morning, I discovered it had to be written in the first person.  The main character had to have a substance abuse problem.  I needed to do some research on flowers.

Once I had those elements, the story wrote itself in about an hour.  At noon I did a re-write and at four pm did the final editing.

I showed it to Donna and Pat down at Sissy's.  Donna said I was seriously warped. She meant that in a good way, I think.

Check it out for yourself at http://blackcoffeefiction.blogspot.com

Tomorrow, I'll work on another project. but once the story was done, I had tea with Susan Manzke, one of the four of us who will be signing books on November 14.  We caught up on each other's lives.  Susan had a small stroke a few weeks ago and says she hasn't totally recovered yet. We talked about times past and discussed our writing.  She's working on a children's book, I'm going to go back to my novel once the short story collection is out.

One thing after another.

***********
After last night's panic in the rain, I didn't sleep well worrying about Koala, the Siamese. This morning I went over to Elaine's and there he was, calmly eating his kibbles. He must have been inside all the time.

As Gary always says, cats are strange people.

Rain and Cats

Today we had the rainstorms we wished for all summer, complete with thunder and lightening.

I got caught downtown at Don's Supermarket and was killing time while I waited for the rain to lessen, so I bought a lottery ticket...won...bought  another....won...bought another...won...bought another and finally lost.  None of them were very big winners but I was ahead $10 before the rain slowed down.  I was halfway home when another deluge hit and I came home totally soaked.

I toweled myself off and crawled into bed, turned the electric blanket on until the chill was gone and took a nap.

When I woke up, I remembered I was supposed to check on Elaine's cats while she's away over the weekend. Remember Mittens and Koala, who were supposed to go to new homes in July?  They're still here. I threw on my raincoat and walked over to the back door thinking I would just check on their water and food.

I opened the door and a blur of wet gray and white fur flew in beside me.  It was Mittens who had been outside.  He went right to the food dish and started scarfing down kibbles.  I changed the water then began to wonder...where was Koala?

I called all over the house.  No Siamese.  Darn.  I had a flashlight in my jacket so out in the rain I went again.  I checked under the deck.  I looked at all the boxes in the garage.  I even checked out my garage since he's been know to go in there.  Meanwhile, it was raining and I got all wet again.

I decided to wait half an hour and go back to take another look, but by then the student renter was back.  I hope that she either found Koala inside or let him in if he came crying. I realized the kibble bowl was empty when Mittens came in.  Surely that meant that Koala was in the house all along?

I guess I'll find out tomorrow.  Just to be on the safe side, I'm leaving our garage door open and put a cat bed out there.  You never know.  

This morning I stopped at the library and found Colette there with the poster for our book signing on November 14.  There will be four of us, Colette, Susan, Wade and me.

We authors compliment each other rather well.  Colette is the artist and designer who does the posters that I take around town and the notes that we leave on counter tops for those interested. 

As a new author, she caught the attention of the editor of the local newspaper who is doing a full sized article about her writing and illustrating for children. 

Susan writes a weekly column for both the Seymour paper and the Wisconsin State Farmer.  Her column will be about the book signing the week before our event.  More good publicity. 

Wade is the computer wizard that put Black Coffee Fiction together and does the logistics of publishing. 

My skill is getting the word out.  So far I've put our notice on twelve community calendars in newspapers and websites.  Our signing will be read on five radio stations and listed as events on five television stations. 

I have yet to write the lengthier press release that goes to the newspapers.  

Today I walked around the north part of town putting up posters.  I'll finish up on the south side tomorrow.

Then I'll start all over with our next book signing in Appleton.   

-----------------

Today, my other blog,  Black Coffee Fiction, hit 7,000 readers.  Pretty good for just over a year.  Check us out. http://blackcoffeefiction.blogspot.com  In two days, I'll be posting my twenty-fifth story. 

The Upcoming Election

Gary and I voted yesterday, but I'm a political junkie so I still watch what is going on with the Presidential, Senate and House campaigns.  I keep track of what's going on in the battleground states.  I read the on line newspapers and watch the PBS News Hour.  The Huffington Post has an on line interactive electoral college map I find fascinating. I check that daily.

Wisconsin gradually has turned into a "blue" state, trending toward the President instead of Mitt Romney.  This means that more and more of the campaign funds from either side are being shoved into competitive states like Ohio, Florida and New Hampshire.  This is a relief to everyone.  I now get only two or three pieces of campaign literature a week.

I managed to get off the Democrats' call list years ago and the GOP finally followed suit.  I now get about one call every other day which is not bad, considering.  I removed myself from their e-mail lists, too.

Though there are few television ads left, I tend to watch public television where there are no campaign ads at all.  So tonight I am watching a nature program on wolverines (incredibly rare in Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, but they have been sighted), Secrets of the Dead about one brave Russian who refused to start a war during the Cuban missile crisis, and a Frontline documentary about climate change doubters.

Not a single negative political commercial of any kind.  That means I am better informed than most voters.

As usual, Gary and I will take a long drive on election day, leaving early.  We won't come home until late, sometimes even going to a motel somewhere to spend the night.  The next day, we'll find out who won and that will be that.

Early Voting

Early voting in the presidential election began today in Wisconsin.  City hall opened at 8:00 a.m. Gary were there at 8:15, but we weren't the first.  Another couple voted at 8:00 a.m.

The ballot used to be called an absentee ballot, meant for those who would not be around on election day, but since no one actually checked to see that the voter was out of town on election day, anyone could use one.  Now early voting is accepted.

It took all of five minutes since we vote a straight ticket. We folded our ballots and put them into the envelopes that won't be opened until election day when the clerk runs them through the electronic machine.

Then Gary left for Illinois where he will be working on his aunt's house for a week.  He suggested he could always vote in Illinois, too.  He was kidding, but considering the reputation Illinois has he probably could get away with it.  Election fraud has run rampant there.

We wanted to get our voting done so we can say to any campaign workers calling on the phone, "We've already voted," and ask to be removed from the call list. Tonight there is yet another debate between the two candidates but I'm not watching. There isn't much point.  Besides the topic is foreign relations and certainly President Obama has proved himself a master in that area.  

Instead, I'm listening to Antonin Dvorak's  "New World Symphony". Seems about right.  

Raking

Every Monday from now until November 12 the city crew will come to pick up the leaves the citizens of Seymour rake to curbside.  If it rains, they might skip a week.  

Gary says it is too early to rake the front lawn.  The leaves are falling here in Seymour but the two maples at the front of the house are hanging in there and will to the last. Still there are plenty of  leaves on the ground, and everyone else in the neighborhood was raking:  the mayor, who lives across the street;  Jody two doors down, and my next door neighbor Elaine who was accompanied by Mittens and Koala.  Rascal as usual growled and hissed at the other two cats, but at nineteen never does more than that. 

I did the circle walk past the elementary and middle schools and around the Assembly of God. When I passed the Pepin house, I saw Mike raking.  He's the head of the city crew.  I realized that if he was putting leaves out, they most certainly will be picked up tomorrow morning.  I passed the news on to neighbors as I passed.  Yes, they agreed, best get to raking. 

And so I found a rake in the garage and set to work.

Two middle aged women, young at heart, came down the street crunching leaves under their feet, loving the sound.  

"Just like kids," I told them. 

They laughed and kept on going.  

I thought about school tomorrow and all the children who would be wading through that golden path.  I decided Gary was right.  The leaves could wait at least until mid-morning.  

The rake went back in the garage.