I have not written anything worth publishing or considering for publication since the new book came out in September. Even what I was working on did not measure up or connect with my writer’s eye. Journaling and letter writing aside, not much has been working for me in the writing world.

It seems I have broken through that barrier. My next book Rivers Edge a Cassidy McAllister Mystery is underway. As with all writing this one had to have a beginning. It started with a room description and a cold case. It will take some work to tie the two together. It has many possibilities for twists and turns before it is done. It is also the first time I have considered writing in first person. We’ll see if that works for me.

It has been an up and down week. Three people very dear to me are fighting cancer. That is always stressful. Three people I knew died this week. I learned tonight that a fourth one has died. I am seriously looking for some good news here.

It has come to the attention of the basketball league that Megan plays for that the young lady who threw her across the floor three weeks ago is 15 years old. Excuse me, why is a 15 year old playing on a league with 10-12 year olds? Better yet, why is she still in sixth grade? Something seriously wrong with that education system. Providing the 15 yr. old successfully completes the next four years she will be ineligible for team sports by the end of her sophomore year of high school.

Jason played this week-end. Unlike last week he was fully able to play. He loves playing basketball. I know he will get better each year. He was disappointed at not making the travel team. Mind you he is only third grade.

Had a wonderful, yet frightful dinner meeting last Thursday. We have got to find a way to change the tax structure in Michigan. Michigan employees, and school employees cannot give enough to balance the budget. Please tell me where fat John Engler is so I can send him a letter thanking him for stealing $400,000,000 from the school employees retirement fund before he left office. That is part of the problem right there. That tiny bit of change was to cover retiree insurance. The current governor is now saying that she wants to take dental and vision insurance from school employees. Like that will save the budget. In case she hasn’t figured it out, if she takes benefits from school employees who in the community I live in are the largest income base with the most spendable income, that income will dry up. If you think unemployment is bad now, wait until we stop spending to save to cover our retirement insurance. NO we are not asking to have Cadillac insurance, but enough to cover us would be nice. When my mom retired there was no cost for insurance. Each year since then it has gone up. Can hardly wait for that. Okay I will get off my soapbox. The wonderful part was dinner at the H in Midland and getting together with other professionals.

Saturday saw me in East Lansing for the IPD(Instructional Professional Development) Committee meeting. The recap of last year was dismal. Our conference was canceled on November 1. At that time there were 9 registrants for the conference (which in the past has run from 400-700 attendees). Of those who had registered, three of them were from the board. We are looking at creating at least 10 hours of on-line conferencing through Michigan Virtual University. These will give us SBceu’s and will count as the part of the five hours that the state is now requiring we do on-line. We are waiting to see how much the conference will be cut before we plan for this year. Once we know we will have a plan. March 1 will be the day we know if there will be a conference.

There was the fiasco with my propane. I called on Friday around noon to see about a propane delivery. I had checked the tank before leaving for work so I’d know how much was in it. I knew if I didn’t get delivery on Friday I’d be out by mid-day on Sat. So, when I stopped after work to pay the bill they informed me they’d turned off the tank. There is NO way it ran out of gas in that short a time. So, I get home with permission to turn the tank back on, and my house is 50 degrees inside. It was almost that warm outside.  While the house heated, my pilot was out on the water heater. After being up all night with leg cramps, I have to admit the cold shower did not help. Dad came up today and lit the pilot. So, all is back in order with my house.  He also took meassurements for my spare room and hallway. We will be laying wood flooring after he returns from Arizona.

That leaves me with a list of things to do. One last coat of paint on the small wall. (two doors in the wall means there is less to paint.) Clean out the closet in the spare bedroom, the linen closet floor, and the closet under the stairs. I need to relocate the cabinet at one end of the hall and figure out where to put the cabinet in the spare room. I also need to buy some brass polish and polish up the brass bed before it goes back into the house. Let’s see if I can find any more to do. Oh, yes, move the PC to my desk and figure out how to make it wireless. I think I have all the components for that now. I also have a CD shelf that needs dusting and painting. Guess I know what I am doing in March. Anyone else want to add to my list, take a number.

Still time to curl up with a good book.

Wow! It was great to learn that the blog problems belonged to Word Press and not me. I hated not being able to put my thoughts onto my blog. I hadn’t realized how much I was using it and how much response I was getting until it wasn’t there to use.

We have been getting light snow all day. There was about two inches when I got home. I doubt there will be much more than that. (Although one could hope). Not been many snow days this year. Don’t look to see any more at the rate things are going.

I’m plotting my spring break getaway. I’m looking once again at spending some time in Mt. Airy, NC. I’ve sent a message to the library there in the hopes that I can connect with someone in the writing group that meets there. I’ve also e-mailed a friend who lives in NC to see what kind of trouble we can get into this time.  I’ve had a chat with a retired friend who has spent this winter down there. She is encouraging me to look for a place now. I also hope to spend a day or two in Cherokee. I am working on a question my 8th graders came up with in social studies. I told them I’d try to have an answer when I came back. They will hold me to it. So, there is much to look forward to.

I’ve hit on a writing idea and am going to try and develop it to see where it goes. I’m working on a police detective and hope it will go some place. Possibly to a series. I need her to be memorable character, one that my fans will love. They are quick to let me know if I miss the mark with my characters.  So, far I’ve managed to stay away from too much criticism in that area.

Had my birthday dessert at Big Boy tonight. My wonderful waitress managed to get my my dessert without all the singing and general attention. Have a huge note saying Happy Birthday to you from Big Boy. For those of you who know me well, you know that my birthday is not until the end of the month. I am spending that week-end out of town, so took my dessert early.

Went into major panic tonight. Thought I’d lost a ring. Not just any ring, the one that had belonged to my mother’s mother. It cannot be replaced. While it is gold and has a high value as gold, it has immeasurable value as a keepsake. The good news is that the ring is not lost. Some fool forgot to put it on this morning. Since I wear it daily, that was odd. Once again my guardian angel was sitting on my shoulder.

So, that was Tuesday, not as terriffic as I had hoped. Maybe next week.

Looking for a good book to curl up with.