Cold

The temperatures continue to drop.

Today, I dressed in my finest purple jumper over a lavender turtleneck to meet Susan at Sissy's Treats and Treasures to sign books.  It was frigid in the store and I immediately regretted wearing nylons and strappy little black shoes.  My feet were cold.  Susan took her winter coat off and immediately put it back on. We shivered through two hours.  It wasn't the fault of the owners at Sissy's.  Their furnace simply could not keep up with the cold outside.

A handful people including friends Darlene and Colette came in but it wasn't a busy session. Susan sold two books, I sold five.  For the time being we are abandoning book signing, at least until the weather warms up.

I came home to a cold house. I added a space heater here in the office.  I drew all the blinds and drapes in every room in the house to maintain heat as best I can.  Tonight, I'll wear long underwear to bed.

But I have some hope, so I planted herb seeds in trays.  It won't always be cold.  Basil, cilantro, oregano and parsley eventually will have a place in my summer herb garden.

Gary called from Illinois to tell me there is a hanging planter on sale at Menards that would be perfect for tomato plants.  I am not sure about that because hanging plants need daily watering and I will be gone for much of July.

Still, it is lovely to think about the garden when it is so, so cold.

Thirty three days until spring.

***
Yesterday's Secrets. Tomorrow's Promises  and Black Coffee Fiction are both available at Amazon.com

What I'm Reading Now

I'm always reading some book and often more than one.  

This afternoon I stopped at the library to chat with Colette, an author, artist and librarian.  She told me the latest Thursday Next book had just arrived and she thought it was on the new books cart. It was indeed, The Woman Who Died a Lot, by Jasper Fforde.  Thursday Next is an enforcement officer for Bookworld,   a fantasy world that keeps track of books to make sure they conform to the author's intent.  Fforde's books appeal to literary snobs like me.  In order to follow them, the reader must have a good knowledge of literature.  You cannot read the books without it. This is my guilty pleasure reading for the week. 

I am still working on the books of Junot Diaz.  I've finished his two collections of short stories and now am moving on to The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.  I am reading Diaz's books to improve my own writing.  

Finally, I am still working my way through Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals, the basis for Stephen Spielberg's move Lincoln.  Each chapter reveals another facet of Lincoln's character. Recently, someone I know who had seen the movie wondered about Lincoln's lying. Another said he would never vote for a Presidential candidate who lied. I figured he better not vote then.  

Lincoln avoided stating that he would abolish slavery because he could not afford to lose states like Kentucky (which was part slave, part free) to the Confederacy. So he prevaricated ( a much nicer verb than "lie").  

Last night, Charlie Rose's guest was writer Tony Kushner who is up for the Oscar for his screenplay for Lincoln. Kushner, who is gay, said that at the beginning of President Obama's first term he was upset that gay marriage was seldom mentioned.  However, as he worked on bringing Lincoln to the silver screen, he realized that Obama had similar problems. Both came to the Presidency to lead a nation torn apart, one with a war, the other with a recession.  Lincoln had to deal with the problem of slavery, Obama had to deal with the gay, lesbian and transgender citizens. Kushner came to realize that in both cases, the Presidents had to deal with the political situation of the day.  Since we do not have dictators in this country, laws cannot be changed with a wave of our leader's hand.  

It will take me another month to finish Kearn's brilliant book because there is so much to be weighed. 

At the same time, I am adding e-books to the new Nook that son Chris gave me this week.  The old Nook no longer was holding its charge, so I am starting over there.  It will take some time before the books I ordered through the library come through, so in the next few days, I'll add some classics from the Gutenberg blog.   

***

Today I finished and posted yet another story for Black Coffee Fiction http://blackcoffeefiction.blogspot.com

This time it is a Valentine's Day story, based on two different events that actually happened to me on Mother's Day.  

Tomorrow is a book signing at Sissy's in Seymour.  From 2:00 to 4:00 pm, Susan Manzke and I will be signing our romance novels. 

Half Past February

To some it is Valentine's Day, but to me it is half past February, only fourteen more days until March.

After yesterday's sun, we here in Seymour got a snowstorm. I stayed inside for the morning but when the snow stopped, I went out to shovel. I cleared sidewalk, driveway and porch and even went after the ice underneath. It was good exercise that tired me out so I took a nap.  When I woke up it was snowing again.

I did the best I could with the day.  I hit some web sites to publicize my books. I set up the new Nook Chris and Tisha gave me.  I made a batch of soup.  I finished putting away gear from the Mississippi tour.

Then I checked the pots on the window sill in the living room. There it was, in all it's glory.

I bought daffodil and tulip bulbs at the very end of the season for 99 cents a bag.  I put them in the refrigerator in a brown paper bag.  On New Year's Day I planted three bulbs in a pot I rescued from the garden.  Every three days I planted another pot until I ran out of bulbs.  Today the first daffodil bloomed.  Beside it is another bud I expect to open by tomorrow. I estimate the last of the bulbs will flower around April 1st.

Now when I look at that window I won't see the snow in the front yard.  I'll see spring.  It's only 35 days away.

****
Yesterday's Secrets, Tomorrow's Promise available on Amazon.com and Saturday at a book signing at Sissy's Treats and Treasures in Seymour at 2:00 pm

One Fine Day

Just when I was in the throes of Seasonal Affective Disorder, a lovely day came along.  The sun was shining, the temperature was above the freezing mark.  The ice on the sidewalk melted.  I could get out and walk.  Exercise makes all the difference to those of us suffering from SAD.

I was able to walk downtown to talk to the proprietors at Sissy's.  I got groceries at Don's Quality Market.  I went to the other end of town to put up a couple of posters for the book signing on Saturday.  I talked to people.  I basked in the sunshine and skipped over the puddles left by the melting ice.

Even with wandering around outside, I had the energy to work on projects here in the house. I cleaned my office, worked on my next short story, and did the laundry.  When SAD goes, it leaves me with boundless energy until the next bout.  I even started tomato plants, using seed from 2011 and 2012.  It is too early, of course, but I can always transplant the seedlings into planters I can move in and out of the garage. Gardening is another strategy to keep me going until spring.

Tomorrow it will be back to the winter world.  We will be hit with another winter storm tonight with three to five inches on the ground.  That will be followed by days of cold, so cold I probably won't be out walking again for a while.

I hope the sunshine left in my soul will keep me going for a day or two.

Seasonal Affective Disorder again

Seasonal Affective Disorder is with me again.  On a sunny day like this one I can manage but on a gray day, I can barely tolerate myself.  I turn on every light in the office including Christmas lights and a light board on one wall. I take the full doses of St. John's wort and Vitamin D-3.  

The two weeks I was in the South my mood improved with the extra daylight and warmth.  I walked on the beach and felt fine, but now I am back in the cold and snow of the Wisconsin winter.  

When SAD sets in, I cannot write, I cannot organize tours, I cannot think.  On these days, I try to get some housework done, make some soup, or answer some e-mails. I take long naps.

I convince myself I am sick. This year I've convinced myself that I am on my way to a stroke.  Surely the carotid artery is blocked. The signs are all there. I will collapse and no one will find my body because I have no friends at all.  Or I will survive and live in poverty with my mind and body paralyzed. It all seems so obvious to me, no matter how Gary tried to talk me out of it.  There is no logic to SAD.

We are in the middle of February and I know that at the beginning of March it will all be over. I'll forget all about the impending stroke, my friends will be my friends again, and I will be my cheerful self for ten months.

Hattiesburg, Mississippi

This morning a tornado hit Hattiesburg, Mississippi.  I was in Hattiesburg eight days ago. Not only that, I was wandering in the area that was hit.

I drove down Highway 198, Hardy Street.  I immediately began to wonder about the fabulous Hattiesburg library, Oaklawn cemetery, the place where I bought the po-boy, the school yard where I ate it.  Were they still there?  I put out the query and soon had an answer.  That area was safe.  The tornado hit a few blocks away.

Not so the University of Southern Mississippi which sustained major damage. My motel was adjacent to the University.  I haven't found out if the motel made it through.

No one was hurt and thanks to timing, the tornado missed me, too.

***

Writing a weekly short story blog and turning it into a paperback book was easier than trying to figure out the royalties, sales and costs.  It took Wade and I several days to figure out what I owed him after selling books on the tour, ordering a new set of books, and then subtracting the royalties he owes me.  

It would be so much simpler if our readers would go to Amazon.com and order Black Coffee Fiction directly.

Ice Storms and Baby Showers

Today, with the threat of ice storms hanging over northeast Wisconsin, I managed the drive into Appleton for a baby shower . Getting to the party and back was a matter of getting there and getting home before the rain turned to ice.

By the time I reached the home of the next generation of Sutherlands, it was raining full tilt. There, I waited in my car, while Chris, Tisha and Evan came from a first communion for Tisha's goddaughter.  They arrived home ten minutes after I did.  Tisha loaded presents into the back of their SUV while I joined Evan in the back seat.  Because of the weather, Chris would drive us to the gathering.

While I was down South, Tisha had been shopping.  She had The Velveteen Rabbit, a stuffed bunny, more books, diapers, sheets, plus a case of baby wipes from a Kimberly Clark product auction.  She and Chris work at KC.  

It was an interesting baby shower because it was for Tim, the father to be.  He is gay and the baby "carrier" is a surrogate mother. One friend donated the egg and another friend is carrying the baby, to be born in a mere three weeks.  Once Baby Girl Meier is born, Tim will be a single parents, but a parent with the best support system anyone could have, with family and friends pitching in.

We were half an hour late because of the communion, so when Tisha and I came in everyone was seated at tables eating, and there was no place for us to sit. A new table was set up, but there we were, just the two of us.  So much for my fear of making polite conversation, though I was taken to meet Tim's aunt who likes the snarky comments I make on Facebook. I have a fan base.

Eventually a couple joined us on the table and we chatted about Fox Valley Technical College, where I first met Tim, as a student in his short story class.

There was only one game and that was baby shower bingo. We filled the squares with our guesses about what the baby gifts would be then checked our correct choices off as Tim opened the presents.  I filled out the card and forgot about it until Tisha noticed I had won a prize. "Bingo!" I called and then noticed Tisha had won a prize, too.  I gave mine to the other couple in the table who had arrived too late to participate. It was hand sanitizer and I already had enough of that around the house. Gary is a sanitizing nut.

Last fall, Tisha and I took Tim around Seymour's citywide rummage sale. He was talking about how much he would have to buy for this baby.  "How many showers have you been to over the years?"  He said he had been buying gifts for wedding and baby showers for years without much in return.  "Then they owe you big time," I said.

He made a big haul today.

After Chris picked us up and took us to their house, I didn't tarry.  The rain was still pelting us and the temperature was 33 degrees, just above freezing.  I managed to get home in time.