* IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES. IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES *

My title kind of says it all, doesn't it? It's spring time, or autumn, 

depending on what part of our beautiful world you live on. 

That's the "Best" part.

~~~~~

Then, we have the COVID-19 virus....

Obviously the "Worst" part. 

~~~~~

I sincerely hope all of you are well and staying 

away from people as much as possible. 

~~~~~

I hope this isn't the New Normal because

I can't imagine living the rest of my life 

as a germaphobe!

(And I love to give and receive hugs!)

~~~~~

I have some photos to share of outdoorsy things

and will post them when as soon as I get them ready!

* ONE NEW BLOG POST PER MONTH? *

Hello friends,

I've decided I'll try to post at least one new blog post per month!
That seems to be what I've been doing lately.
My excuses are many, but nothing unusual.

Looking forward to spring and warmth and greenery and the colors of flowers!

Nothing to report on my writing. Still working on a few things.

I leave you with some photos to hopefully make you smile.

* I'M BACK AND HAVE SO MUCH TO SHARE *

Well, I finally got my blog straightened out. The right column that was seen correctly by my readers, had totally disappeared (to me) from the right side of my blog, and was on the left side, at the bottom, after all the posts. Weird, huh? After searching online for some answers, I deleted a couple of links that were inside posts, and changed the images from Medium to Small on Melissa's guest post. Don't know which one did the trick, but something happened and, voila, it's fixed! Thank goodness. Things like that drive me....well....Bonkers!

~~~

 

My speaking event at the Cahokia Library on Monday, the 21st was a great success. The Friends of the Library invited me to talk about my writing. I also spoke about my ties to Cahokia and how I love it and still drive around and reminisce. There was a Q&A session, and book sales, and signings. All in all a wonderful evening! A few friends drove quite a distance to attend, one in particular. Thank you all very much! I hope to do many more of these types of presentations in libraries near and far!

 

~~~

 

Spring has really sprung here in the St. Louis area, and I am VERY thankful for that! Today was a perfectly glorious day. High temp around 70 - 75, and very low humidity. Aww... if only we could have about six months of that! This morning I took a couple of pictures from my office/bedroom window of the beautiful tree in bloom in the yard across from us. This one is the best, and of course Vern is enjoying the scenery, too! (You can click on the photo to see it much bigger.)

 

 

 

I have all kinds of notes here and there about things I wanted to remember to blog about....Well, they have once again gotten buried in the mountains of papers on top of my desk/kitchen table. (No, I still haven't begun painting my fabulous desk yet. That's another project on my To Do List!)

 

 ~~~

 

 

One other thing I wanted to share is about Call Outs for Submissions and/or Contests. I've come across a ton of them lately, due to various newsletters I've subscribed to. Here are just a few:

 

1) Publishing Syndicate -- Not Your Mother's Book ...On Working for a Living. They need your true stories NOW. Go to their website to learn more, right now!!

 

2) Have you ever checked out Writing-world.com? This site has a plethora of writerly information that covers just about anything you want to know. Copyrights, contests, how-to, grammar, etc. etc.....and it includes most genres.

 

3) Also Winning Writers shares contests and other resources for writers.

 

~~~

 

 

That's it for today. Wishing everyone a fabulous rest of the weekend!!

 

 

"On Saturday afternoons when all the things are done in the house and there's no real work to be done, I play Bach and Chopin and turn it up real loudly and get a good bottle of chardonnay and sit out on my deck and look out at the garden." -- Maya Angelou

* Hot Fun in the....Springtime *

Remember that fabulous song from 1969, Hot Fun in the Summertime, by Sly & The Family Stone? I've been singing it for days....in my mind.....and out loud! (My apologies to anyone who heard me.)

I am LOVING this weather and not taking it for granted. Who knows what kind of summer, fall, and winter awaits us. Friday I drove all around town with the top down on my PT Cruiser! FUN! (I have a silver one like the photos below....and it's paid for!) Yay!

(both images courtesy Google)



Tomorrow a record high temp of 90° is predicted. I have to keep reminding myself that it is just the beginning of April!

I don't know if it's this glorious weather, or the Vitamin D I've been absorbing, but I'm very happy. I'm looking forward to waking up tomorrow and finding out what the day holds for me. It will definitely include as much outdoor time as possible, for me....and Vern!

Vern on our deck, keeping me company!

A funny thing happened on the way to 300 Followers....It changed again! (See yesterday's post.)
When I logged on to type this blog post, my number was down to 299! I thought....Sheesh, I seem to be going the wrong way, which I intended to mention here. THEN, while still doing this post, I hopped to another site or two, and when I came back...BAM....I'm back to 300! Thanks to Joanne at A Certain Book. 

So, welcome to my newest follower, Joanne! I hope you'll stop by often and always enjoy what you read and see! Thank you!

Wherever you are, and whatever kind of weather you're having, remember to Enjoy Yourself. Make yourself and others happy by your attitude. Smile! It almost always brings one back to you.



"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown,
for going out, I found, was really going in." - John Muir

* This is Only a Test *

Which of the following statements are true?

• Today is The Ronald's birthday.
• The Ronald has spent the last two days in bed with a terrible cold.
• When my beloved dog Vern and I were on our walk yesterday afternoon, a dog came out of nowhere and attacked Vern.
• Today's high temperature was something like 65° Fahrenheit. Tomorrow's high is expected to be 46° and a low of 27°, with possible snow flurries. That's St. Louis weather for ya!
•  I'll be taking a Week-Long-Blog-a-Vacation, beginning Monday February 27th, and my e-mail correspondence will be minimal, too. See you again around March 5th.
• (Answers: They're all true. When I return, I'll explain about the dog attack. Thankfully, neither Vern or I or the other dog were hurt. But it sure scared the you-know-what out of me.)

Welcome to my newest followers, Peaches Ledwidge and Protector of Vintage. I hope you'll stop by often and always enjoy what you read and see. Thank you!

“Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.”
― Mark Twain