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June 29
Reminder
My book signing is tomorrow from 1:00-4:00 at Breadeaux Pisa on the square in Corydon, IA. Refreshments will be served. I hope you brave the heat and come out!
June 26
Article
The Times-Republican has a great
article about me and my
book. It’s posted on my website. Be sure to check it out!
June 22
Upcoming Appearance Alert
Saturday, July 7, is Local Day at Wellspring
Christian Resources in Urbandale, IA. Many local authors, artists, and musicians
will be there. I will be signing books from 3:00-4:00 p.m., but I’ll be around
most of the afternoon. This is a great opportunity to show your support not only
for Wellspring, but for local artists and ministries. Be sure to stop by; it’s
going to be a great day! For more info, you can check out their
Facebook page.
June 21
Bookstore Alert
Garth’s Widow and
The Friends of Dixie Magruder are both
available at Harbor House Christian Store in Chariton, IA. Check out their
website at
www.harborhousechristianstore.com.
June 15
Puppy Update
Baby Bear had her checkup today. She weighs 42 pounds.
Yeah, she’s gonna be a big girl.
June 14
Upcoming Appearance Alert
I will be at the Iowa City Book Fair at the
independent author’s venue on Saturday, July 14. I’ll be reading from and
signing copies of The Friends of Dixie
Magruder. Time and exact location TBA. Further information can be found at
www.iowacitybookfestival.org.
June 4
Upcoming Appearance
I have two upcoming appearances to announce.
First, I’ll be speaking at the Corydon Rotary club on
Tuesday, June 12, from 12:00-1:00 p.m. at Breadeaux Pisa on the square in
Corydon, IA. Information is available at their
website.
Second, my first book signing is scheduled for Saturday,
June 30, from 1:00-4:00 p.m. at Breadeaux Pisa in Corydon, IA.
If you’re in the area either of those days, I hope to see
you there!
June 2
Bark in the Park
Today we took Babe to Bark in the Park, a fundraiser
for the local Humane Society. I almost didn’t; she’s still very young (I
think she was the youngest puppy there), and I wasn’t sure how she would
act. But I decided to go and see how it went, and leave if she wasn’t
behaving herself. As it happened, there were around forty dogs present, and
they all behaved themselves beautifully. There were no incidents that I
witnessed or heard about. All of the dogs were friendly with each other.
The event started with a walk. We didn’t take Babe on
that. Being a typical toddler, she’ll walk for a while, then drop and expect
to be carried. She’s getting too big to be carried very far. So she made
friends with the other dogs who stayed behind, and sat in the shade when the
sun got too warm for her. To top it all off, she won second place for
prettiest dog!
It was a fun day for a good cause. If they do it again
next year, we’ll definitely go. And we may even let Babe go on the walk.
May 31
On a Totally Non Book- or Puppy-Related Topic
It’s been over nine months, and we still haven’t
sold my parents’ house. I know the economy is hurting the housing market, but we
would like to be able to close the estate and move on. I would appreciate your
prayers about this.
May 18
The Friends of Dixie Magruder
Is Now Available for Purchase!
Please see the Madyfi Press
website for
details!
May 15
Puppy Update
We took Baby Bear in for her checkup. She weighs 26 pounds.
May 10
Book Update
I realized with all that’s been going on, I haven’t
talked much about my new book. As I said a while back, it’s called
The Friends of Dixie Magruder.
It’s the story of a young music teacher who returns to her Iowa home town
after a 10-year absence. She finds her childhood best friend involved with a
man whom she considers to be unsuitable, and decides to do something about
it. That decision is the catalyst for everything that happens in the story.
It’s a funny story. It’s about family and belonging. It
goes into issues of what it means to be a Christian, and how being a
Christian informs (or, at least, should inform) our decisions. It’s about
what happens when we let God lead, and what can happen when we don’t.
When I get a chance I’ll put up some
excerpts from the story. I anticipate the book being available soon. I’ll
let you know as soon as I do.
May 3
The Peaceable Kingdom
We’ve had our puppy for two weeks now, and we finally
named her. Her mother’s name is Baby and her father’s name is Bear (which is
exactly what he looks like), so we named her Baby Bear, or Babe for short.
She’s a very happy pup. She only cried a little the
first night here. She bonded with us and the place very quickly. She’s
already starting to show the Pyrenees protective instinct. Sometimes she
squeezes out of the dog run, but she sits by the gate and guards it. She’s
so cute!
Apr 30
Well Done Tini!
Christina spoke at the Rotary Academic Honors Banquet
tonight. She did a brilliant job! We’re very proud of her!
Apr 19
Our New Puppy
Ever since we came back to Iowa, we’ve talked about
getting a dog. Up until a few months ago, Les wasn’t sure he was ready. Once
he decided that he was, we decided that we wanted another Great Pyrenees.
We’ve been watching for months with no success. This morning I got a phone
call from a friend who’s been watching for us and saw an ad in a local paper
that we don’t get. I called the number he gave me, and left a message that
we were interested. A few phone calls later, we were on our way to the home
of the people with the puppies. They aren’t breeders, just a family with a
Great Pyrenees female that they decided to breed once before they had her
spayed. They had eight puppies. They were all adorable. It took us forever,
but we finally had to start narrowing down the field. We took the pup that
we thought had the prettiest face. She had more markings on her face than
the others, which we originally didn’t think we wanted, but they were very
symmetrical and beautiful. She also happens to be the biggest puppy. She’s
not quite seven weeks old and already weighs 15 pounds. Her mother is 100
pounds and her father 150, so she’ll likely be a big girl.
She did well on the ride home. She kept making some
sound that I think was supposed to be crying, but it kinda sounded like she
was laughing. The family took pains to try to tame all the pups, and it
shows. Our puppy seems very relaxed being handled. Like all babies, she can
go from full throttle to sound asleep in seconds.
No she’s relaxing in the box we prepared for her on the
fly. We were completely unprepared for this. We’ll have to go to the store
tomorrow and get puppy food, toys, and other necessities. And we have to
come up with a name. But that can wait. For now, we’re just enjoying how
indescribably adorable she is.
Apr 15
II Need My Calculator to Figure This One Out
I saw a great sale at Wal-Mart today. Toothpaste was 1
6.4 oz. tube for $1.50, or 3 for $5. Seriously. I’m not kidding. Stock up
now!
Apr 11
Joy vs. Happiness
In our Kid’s Club lesson today, I talked about the
difference between joy and happiness. Happiness comes from our
circumstances; joy comes from the Lord. Happiness can be fleeting; joy is
constant. We can’t be happy and unhappy at the same time, but we can
experience joy in the midst of difficult times.
It’s a concept I’ve taught before, but it really got me
thinking this time: what exactly is joy supposed to feel like? I understand
the euphoria that we identify as happiness, but what about joy? I sort of
tend to think of joy as being similar, but I don’t think that can be the
case, at least not in the biblical sense of joy.
So what is joy? Is it more like contentment? That
feeling of peace that comes from knowing that God is in control, even when
the world seems out of control? That’s the conclusion I’m reaching.
Happiness is kinda loud; joy is quiet.
Mar 29
Hard to Believe It’s Been Six Months Already
Les had his six-month checkup with the neurologist
today. The doctor started with the standard “there is no cure” disclaimer.
We assured him that we’ve understood that since the beginning. Then he ran
the usual battery of tests. He was very impressed with Les’ progress. Of
course, he hadn’t seen him in a year, since the last checkup was at Mayo,
and even tiny improvements add up over that much time. He thought his muscle
strength was pretty good, and he wants him to keep exercising. So Les seems
to be moving in the right direction. Something to be thankful for.
Mar 23
They Didn’t Serve Guinness at This Concert
TTonight we got to see Carolyn in a classical concert.
She performed J.S. Bach’s Erbarme Dich from St. Matthew’s Passion with
mezzo-soprano Evgeniya Krachmarova-Sotirov She also performed a solo number.
She was amazing as usual. It’s always wonderful to have an opportunity to
hear her play, and we’ve been blessed to be able to do that a lot this trip.
Mar 18
North Country Goes Green
I wasn’t kidding about the weather. I can’t believe how
much warmer it is. Last year I nearly froze, so I brought a couple of
heavier sweaters. I don’t need them. I wish I’d brought more t-shirts! But
the good news is that we’re able to do more things outside, take walks and
stuff.
WWhat I really want to talk about, though, is the North
Country Goes Green festival. We had so much fun last year that we decided to
come again. Since the kids are going to be moving to Alabama in a few weeks,
this might be Carolyn’s last performance with the Terry Mostyn Band. They
were as awesome as I remembered. When Terry introduced Carolyn and talked
about how hard it was going to be to not look over and see her standing next
to him, I got choked up. I can imagine how the rest of them felt. Carolyn
has a few fans in the crowd, and I’m sure they and the band will miss her as
much as she’ll miss them.
Like last year, we got New York style pizza for dinner
on Saturday night. It’s become a tradition that we’ll probably never do again.
Mar 5
Return to Watertown
That sounds like a sequel. Actually, we’re visiting
Carolyn & Shaun again. The weather is a bit better than it was when we were
here at pretty much the same time last year. Then, it snowed 14 inches in
Syracuse the day before we arrived. When we flew into the airport, they had
it completely clear. I was impressed.
No snow this year, which is fine with me.
Unfortunately, we won’t be able to completely replicate the Greatest Food
Day Ever. Tin Pan Galley is closed for the season. I have no idea why they
were open in March last year but not this year. That was a little
disappointing, but I’m sure we’ll find a way to make due.
Feb 20
I Can’t Believe I’m Writing New Scenes and Making Changes Three Days
Before This Goes to Print
Seriously. I could do rewrites forever. It’s so hard to
make myself stop.
Feb 18
Now We’re Getting to the Hard Part
I actually find writing a novel easy compared to the
stuff that comes after: cover art, short blurbs summarizing the story in one
or two or three sentences, all that stuff. That’s what I’m working on now. I
solicit a lot of advice from my family, but ultimately it falls on me. I
don’t enjoy it.
Feb 6
Grocery Shopping
I went to Aldi today to buy groceries. As I was bagging
my purchases, I couldn’t help but remember back when I used to take the
girls with me and they would help me bag them.
We used to have a lot of fun. I took great pleasure in
embarrassing them by grabbing packages of paper towels or toilet paper and
shouting, “Go long!”, then throwing them to them. Or I’d walk ahead of the
cart and pick up things and toss them over my shoulders to them. They always
acted like they were embarrassed, but I wondered if they really were. They
seemed to enjoy it as much as I did.
I go through grocery stores much more quickly now than
I used to, but it isn’t as much fun.
Feb 5
I’m 2 for 2!
I just won the family Champion Football Prognosticator
Trophy! Seriously, that’s not one I ever expected to win. I find baseball so
much easier to understand than I do football. But I did really well in the
early rounds, and I was one of the few to pick the Giants to win the Super
Bowl.
That was a great game! I was on my feet and holding my
breath the last 59 seconds. It was Manningtastic! And now I have
both trophies! I’d better enjoy it
while it lasts.
Jan 28
Some Family Traditions Take a Lot of Work
One of our favorite family traditions – one I know I’ve
mentioned many times – is the Christmas gag gift. We were finally able to do
it today. In the past we’ve always been together, except for the year that
Shaun was in Iraq, and then we were only dealing with two locations. This
year we were spread between four locations, so coming up with a time when we
could do it turned out to be quite a challenge. We used Google+, and it
worked really well for us. Several of the gifts were Power Point
presentations that were emailed to everyone so we could look at them
together. That takes a lot more work, but it may be the way we have to do
things going forward.
This is a family tradition that we aren’t willing to
give up. We just have to fine tune the details as we go along.
Jan 23
Not Quite Such an Empty Nest
I haven’t mentioned this before, but a few months ago
Andy got a job with a law firm in our town, which is 70+ miles from Des
Moines, which is where he and Christina live. Rather than make the commute
every day, he stays at our house on Monday and Thursday nights.
We’re enjoying having him here. It’s great getting a
chance to know him, and it’s nice to have somebody around to sort of look
after again. He’s not very high maintenance. He’s gotten us into watching
Antiques Roadshow.
Anyway, it’s not the greatest situation that he and
Tini have to be apart a couple of nights a week, but we’re glad that we can
at least be here for him. And we like having him around.
Jan 9
Roll Tide!!!
Alabama won the BCS Championship! This has been a good few months for my teams.
Jan 3
Iowa Caucus