"B-Rats and Squeals..."

So what have I been doing on this beautiful day? Well, vacuuming for one thing. And laundry, for another. I'm washing the sheets and pillowcases in actual soap these days -- Ivory bar soap, grated on a cheese grater and agitated in very hot water until it melts. Clothes -- especially sheets -- washed in Ivory soap and hung outside on the line to dry -- absolute HEAVEN. Well worth the extra effort. I used Ivory to kill the aphids on my rose bushes, too. So far, so good with that. Ivory is a very versatile product.

I had lunch at the small cafe my dad used to take me to when I was a little girl -- I think I've said how much I love this place, the food, the people, the memories. I can look out the window and see where the old movie theater used to be, i.e., the place where Roy Rogers lived--or so I thought when I was four. I encountered a former semi-coworker on my way out (I was "health department," she was "social services"). I hardly ever eat there without seeing someone from my past. She'd just come from the library -- early voting in the May primary -- which was exactly where I was heading after lunch.

At the library, I encountered yet another former coworker. She was manning the polls. It had been a very long time since I'd see her, and we naturally hugged the stuffing out of each other. Another voter claimed to be feeling very left out -- he didn't get near the greeting I did. I was surprised by the voter turn out -- quite a few for early voting, especially in a primary election.

Then, I got a present from the dh -- cowboy postage stamps -- which included the one and only aforementioned Mr. Rogers, all young and handsome, just the way he was when I adored him.

Then, I got another present. This one, from JC Penney. Of course, it's one I gave myself, but still. An UPS package with my name on it is exciting no matter who sent it.

Then, I thought I'd bask on the patio for a time -- just because life is short and I wanted to. Which brings us to the rabbits and squirrels -- or "B-rats and Squeals" as one of the children in the family used to call them. There is a squirrel on a limb in the upper right, one eating down on the ground in the lower left, one in the crepe myrtle in the middle. And my "lolling" rabbit is there -- lolling -- between the maple tree and the birdbath. It was all very...Walt Disney.

Oh, and there was a bluebird on the swing. A perfect way to underline a very good day.

Till next time...

This and That

Or maybe it's your basic "how are you, fine I hope" post. As a reader of other people's mail (See: a past blog about that), I can tell you that most all personal correspondence -- at least the kind I read, the kind which has been recovered from flea markets and antique junkyards -- are of that ilk. Not particularly interesting, just touching base, as it were.

Even so, I'm going to carry on and jot down some random thoughts. About television programs, for instance.

The Powers That Be have cancelled AS THE WORLD TURNS.

Yes, I watch the soaps. Or I watch this soap and have from the time it debuted -- I was a mere child at the time. I never liked any of the others. Quite frankly, I couldn't understand the mindset of the West Coast ones, i.e., THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS -- or I couldn't until I saw the O.J. Simpson trail. Then, I acquired a little insight into to what constitutes the LA lifestyle, enough to conclude that, as I first suspected, these programs are not for me.

They've also cancelled another favorite: UGLY BETTY. I like UGLY BETTY because it's about family and integrity and honor and responsibility and love and loyalty and acceptance. It may not look like it is at first glance, but it is. Every episode made me feel better than I did when I sat down to watch it -- and that's a wonderful thing, especially in today's entertainment world.

Moving right along, I've found some products I really like:

Alba Papaya Mango Body Cream (an excellent moisturizer and it smells wonderful!).

Alba Pineapple Enzyme Facial Cleanser if used with Alba Aloe and Green Tea Oil-Free Moisturizer (the cleanser also smells wonderful, but it's a bit drying without the moisturizer. The moisturizer is light and soothing).

Similasan Allergy Eye Relief. The pollen count here this spring has been extremely high -- it blows around in what looks like a yellow fog -- and Similasan has helped so much. It's homeopathic, 100 percent natural according to the box, and it's made in Switzerland.

Zaxby's Road House Salad: Yum.

I've also run across a product I don't like:

Broderbund's PrintMaster Platinum 2.0. It is absolutely the worst computer program I've ever tried to use, and I mean WORST. The user manual is useless and the "technical support" non-existent. Their solution was to tell me where to get a user manual -- which I already had and couldn't decipher. I'm not helpless when it comes to working the computer machine, but this program was beyond my intuitive skills. It's terrible, I tell you, terrible.

Still moving along, I continue to listen to and enjoy the dramas on BBC Radio 4. Those 15 minute segments are the highlight of my day.

And finally, I've been thinking about actress Dixie Carter, who died this past weekend. I liked her a lot as "Julia Sugarbaker," but I think I would have liked her as herself as well. Just recently I saw an interview she had done where she talked about her life and her career. She shared a saying about relationships and marriage, one I'd never heard before and one I'm going to share with you. The gist of it was this:

"It takes a very good man to be better than no man at all."

Oh, if my young clients could have learned that. How much better off would they and their children have been?

Till next time...

She's Back!

My "lolling" rabbit. We had a really cold winter, but she has apparently endured just fine. Here she is...lolling. (There can't be TWO loll-ers, can there?) In any event, seeing this particular rabbit making herself comfortable under the maple tree makes me happy.

MORE 1940s Movie Stars?

Okay, you talked me into it. I thought I'd show you the World War II ones:

This one of Alan Ladd, which is autographed specifically to my late sister-in-law:

And this generically autographed one of Clark Gable:

I'm also including this one of John Wayne, not because he served in the military during World War II, but because my late father and the rest of the family veterans considered him to be the consummate draft-dodger. I suppose that his not having enlisted wouldn't have seemed so serious had not so many other movie stars elected to serve. In any event, I still remember how much it upset my dad to see John Wayne (and Ronald Reagan) wrapped in the flag and pressuring young men to reenlist during the Vietnam War. He was of the opinion that men who had never seen combat had no right to take that stance. "War is not a movie," he'd say, and he, unlike those two, would know.

Till next time...

1940s Movie Stars - William "Bill" Carter

Yes, I've been perusing my late sister-in-laws collection of movie star photos again. All of the ones below are of an actor named William (or Bill) Carter -- whom I have never heard of. Actually, at first glance, I thought they were photos of Rock Hudson.

What do you notice about these pictures? Anything? Anything at all? (I'll wait....)

Here's what I noticed. The autographs. All three of them are in a different handwriting. I wonder if my sister-in-law noticed that? She must have been a fan, given the fact that there are three photos of him, and I think that she, like the rest of the young girls who wrote fan letters to their favorite stars, would have wanted to believe that he actually signed them. Alas, they don't call Hollywood a "dream factory" for nothing.

Here is the link to more movie star posts.

Till next time...

In Memoriam

Dorothy Payne "Dot" Yount, R.N.

1929-2010

Dot taught me just about everything I know about public health nursing. Not the textbook "body politic" things. The "real world" things -- like how to corner a client you know is hiding from you, i.e., the best time to make the home visit and the best bait to use to get them to the door. Because of my somewhat irrepressible and mischievous nature, she used to tell me I just wasn't "Sunbeam" material. At best I was -- and pretty much stayed -- a "Sunbeam Trainee." I'm not exactly sure what a Sunbeam is, but I did try to behave. Really. Well, I did. The main problem was that she was just as mischievous as I was.

She made me laugh. A lot. And she made me smarter than I would have been if our paths had never crossed. I am so lucky that she was a part of my life.

Thanks, Dottie.

A Violet!

How do you like it? For me personally, there is nothing more uplifting than the first hint-of-spring flowers -- which is why I always prefer a mixed spring bouquet to roses. My granddaughter earnestly believes that my most favorite flower of all is the dandelion -- which in many respects is true. The plant is edible and full of Vitamins A and C. The seeds are very entertaining. So are the blossoms -- you can make wine out of the blossoms. And, I have yet to encounter a child in the family who, given the opportunity, didn't pick one and present it to me as if it were a jewel-encrusted message from the king. (That last thing is my main reason for loving dandelions.) Over the years, I've had tiny vases and ceramic thimbles full of dandelions in various stages of turning to dust (one can't throw them away without causing alarm) on the kitchen window sill, right where I can see them when I do the dishes. In my experience, the dandelion can be a vivid reminder of the giver and the sunny day when it was picked.

I have two jonquils blooming, too -- "buttercups," we call them here. These jonquils aren't given to blooming, so "two" is a bumper crop. Not much from the forsythia as yet, but I remain hopeful. We could still get another snow event, of course -- I may have mentioned that one year it snowed when the azaleas were blooming -- but things are definitely looking up.

Here is one of the two jonquils. Nice, huh?

Here's hoping there are signs of spring where you are...

In Memoriam

JOANNE BOGER HOLSHOUSER, R.N.

1934-2010

Last week, Joanne lost her long battle with ovarian cancer. She and I graduated from the same school of nursing, and we worked together for a number of years at the local health department. I admired her so much -- her skill as a nurse and her determination always to do the right thing, no matter the risk to herself. She was so strong, yet gentle, kind, funny, dedicated to her family and friends. In this life, she truly walked the walk, and the world is a better place because she was in it.

It was an honor to have known her.

Updating...

As you can see, it's still February, regardless of what the calendar says. Snowed all day. (sigh)

So what have I been doing despite the weather? Re-typing my single title novel, PROMISE ME A RAINBOW, for one thing. I have the reverted rights and I want to get it into a good eBook venue. The original file was seriously obsolete -- my current computer system wouldn't recognize it, hence the re-typing. That seemingly simple project has been tedious because the aforementioned computer system suddenly developed multiple "old age" woes and required a subsequent clean install of a new OS. Twice. Which means you have to put everything back. Twice. Which then led to a semi-obsolete word processing program (read: "crash"), which led to having to scrape together enough over-budget pennies to get a new MS Word -- and eventually (finally) to re-typing some more. I have less than a hundred pages left to type, assuming my electronic and technical entities behave.

THEN, I want to start on my "Cinda Richards" categories and get them re-typed and into eBook format.

I've also been going to numerous grandchild events -- basketball games, cheerleading -- and doing general taxi servicing. I've actually had to buy myself a day planner just to keep up with it all.

And I learned to text message. This was not easy. My cell phone is a no-frills step above a Dixie cup and a string. Or just the Dixie cup. (Cells don't have "strings.") There's no fancy keyboard and the numeric buttons are very, very tiny. I'm getting the hang of it, though. The grandsons are very impressed.

In my spare time, I've been listening to digital audio books, i.e., Pat Conroy's THE LORDS OF DISCIPLINE. I was interested in this particular book because of the cadet's diary -- which is very pale by comparison. My take? Wonderful imagery and characterization. Compelling plot. Realistically crude language indicative (unfortunately) of young males in a group. On the downside, I thought the tying up of "loose ends" in the final pages was a little too "pat" (pardon the pun) in that, while well-explained and logical, it seemed Charles Dickens-y minus the HEA. Maybe this was because I was surprised. The foreshadowing was excellent, and I knew which of the protagonist's peers were members of The Ten early on, but I hadn't expected or needed this particular duplicity -- maybe because I was done with the pregnant girl and didn't care what had happened to her. In any event, I liked the book well enough to have bought a paperback copy (new, not used, Mr. Conroy). I want the older grandson to read it -- as soon as I decide if he's old enough.

That's it for this time...

Oh, February

Somebody tell me spring is coming. P L E A S E.

Look at this picture. Could it be any more February? No sunshine. No leaves. No flowers. Just cold, cold rain. Or fog. Or snow. (I've been living in my Land's End red suede bad weather shoes for weeks. Ordinarily I don't mind rainy gloom -- it's actually good "writing weather," but alas, I have apparently reached my saturation point.

So. What's good about February? There must be something.

Well, let's see. It's Number One Granddaughter's Birthday Month. (She just turned seven.) You know how special that is.

It's also Writer Friend Linda's birthday month. And Nursing School Friend, D.B.'s. And High School Friend Harriet's. I love them. They've all been an important part of my life -- February Gifts, as it were.

It was my maternal grandmother's birthday month, as well. She was Christmas personified when I was a little girl (she started the prep work right after Thanksgiving), and I adored her.

And there's the February Worldwide Excuse To Eat Chocolate (aka Valentine's Day).

Oh, and The Bride Fair (and its Super Librarian Love, American Style Digital Bundle) became available at amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony Ebooks, Fictionwise, Books On Board, Mobibooks, eHarlequin, etc., for downloading to assorted ebook readers and in some places, directly to your PC. (amazon says the software for downloading to a Mac will be available "soon.") I'm really happy about The Bride Fair. All writers have "favorites" among their published works, and this book is one of mine. If you haven't read it, I want you to. Really bad. If you have read it, I want you to read it again. (It's how I am. One of my main raison d'etres for writing at all is the desire to be read.)

Okay, what else?

I got a refund check from Walmart Pharmacy last week because they over charged me for my prescriptions. My fault, they more or less said, for not keeping them apprised. I offer everybody but the Walmart Greeter my assorted medical insurance cards. I, without fail, offer them to the pharmacy people EVERY SINGLE TIME. If there's a way to keep them more "apprised," I don't know what that would be short of wearing one of those "Eat at Joe's" kinds of body signs when I go to get a prescription filled. Still, money is money-- every penny counts -- and I did get some back. That was definitely a good February thing.

And what am I learning from this post? Well, I guess it's that February isn't really crappy. It only looks crappy.

Till next time...