Family, Fireworks, Freedom

Did you watch fireworks last night on the Fourth of July? Did you get to hear the oohs and aahs of family and friends while the sky was lighting up with color and noise? Or maybe you had a little one who was terrified by the sky exploding and hid his or her face against you? 

I missed out on the fireworks last night. My son and his family came by to pick up their dog I'd been keeping for them since they traveled down this way to keep cool after the storm in the east took out their electricity. Then they took a little vacation and Sammy, their dog got to spend a few days here in the country. So last night we had grandkid fireworks here. Well, no fireworks, but family fun.

First Prize in The Gifted Celebration

It's been a busy week with the release of my 
new Shaker book, The Gifted and the deadline to meet for my work in progress. Got the deadline met and now time to celebrate The Gifted. Since it's way too dry down here on the farm to set off fireworks, I'm celebrating by giving some things away. The Shakers talked often about gifts and one of their most familiar songs is "Tis the Gift to be Simple." So what better prize to celebrate Jessamine's story than a Shaker music box playing that song. Just fill out the form on my website contest page or send me an e-mail to enter. Two other prizes too.

I'm also celebrating on the Fresh Fiction page by giving away a journal and a neat pen so that the winner can record her (or maybe his) thoughts and daily happenings the way Sister Sophrena did in The Gifted. I've always loved writing in journals.

I sent out a newsletter about The Gifted and my contest, and I've heard from some of you in return. If you'd like to get my newsletter and don't, just let me know. We can fix that. I love hearing from all of you. 

How did you celebrate the Fourth? Next question, how do you wish you'd celebrated the Fourth? I enjoyed seeing the grandkids. But I think a fantastic way to celebrate the Fourth might be to sit out on a beach somewhere and listen to the waves come in while some industrious city leaders shoot fireworks up over the ocean. I'll just make it even better by renting one of those big beachhouses and inviting the whole family to be sitting there on the beach with me. Think I could take my dog, Oscar too? Since I'm only dreaming, I think I can.  

Try to stay cool and thanks for reading.

Taking Time to Enjoy

July - the heart of summer! In Kentucky the weather is hot and sometimes stormy. The crops are laid by. That means they've grown too big to plow. The gardens are coming on and some of the neighbors are bragging about their first ripe tomato. They used to brag over the back fences. Now they post pictures and brag on Facebook.

July - when the wild blackberries hang heavy on the vines for those hardy enough to trek out to the fields and brave the briars for the sweet reward of homemade blackberry pie or jam. That's what we did this p.m. My son and his family came out to pick berries. The five-year-old was eager to get out of the truck and started. Somehow none of the berries ever ended up in her bucket. If she was going to challenge the thorns on the briars, she was going to get the reward of the berries right away. I didn't take my camera or I would be showing you little Miss Eager Berry in the blackberry patch.  

Instead I'm showing you the milkweed. I waded through grass and weeds to find this a few weeks ago because generally they are butterfly magnets. I was disappointed when only one butterfly was tasting the nectar. Sometimes we get our expectations too high. And sometimes we forget to look at all.

I passed up watching the city's fireworks on the 4th. With one bunch of the grandkids. I could have heard their squeals of delight, but I thought I had to go home and work. You know, I should have stayed and smelled the roses. Or in this case, watched the roses bloom in the sky. And go boom.

The book will get written. The words will come. It will happen. But it will also happen that the roses will bloom, the blackberries will ripen, and the grandkids will need hugs. Or maybe it's the grandma who needs the hugs.

Hope July is going well for you and that you are taking plenty of time to smell the roses.

Dub is Missing

Not a happy Sunday. My big old chocolate lab is missing from the farm. A little neighbor dog came courting and although Dub is supposed to be neutered, he still gets interested in the females when they come calling and he must have gone off with her. I had planned to put him up before that happened, but I was too slow about putting him in the basement. And now he's been gone four days. We've ridden around the road, called all the neighbors, whistled and yelled his name to no avail. Two other dogs in the neighborhood disappeared along with Dub and the female dog. All are still missing. I haven't been able to call the Animal Control because of the holiday weekend. But unless they got picked up I'm afraid my sweet old Dub may have come to a bad end. Poor old dog. I miss him stretched out on the back porch. He has a way of stretching out and sleeping that have had two or three people see him sleeping and call to tell me he's dead. But he just knew how to relax big time.

He was a faithful walking companion even the last few months when he hasn't felt well. He'd get way behind when we were walking and I'd have to figure out a way to casually wait for him so he wouldn't be embarrassed about getting so far behind. Dogs can get embarrassed, you know. One time a neighbor gave his little dog a buzz haircut and the dog wouldn't come out from under the car. I've had bad hair days like that. How about you? Of course I didn't hide under the car, just felt like it. Anyway I'm missing Dub today. Still hoping he'll find his way home, but worried that he can't. I don't know anywhere else to look. Thank goodness my other dog, Oscar didn't go off with them, but he's been lonely.

Enough blues about my dog. I know some of you out there will understand, but others of you might think it's silly to get the blues over a dog. Guess you haven't had a dog look at you with those big eyes as if you're the most important thing in his life. Dogs don't care if you're having a bad hair day. Dogs don't care what you look like. When you belong to them, you're the most beautiful person in the world in their eyes.

That's the way our families are, too. And maybe even our church families. We might see the faults and even point them out (That's where dogs are better than us. They just ignore those faults and love us without reservation.) But our families are the most beautiful people in the world to us and the ones we most want to see. Still, we sometimes take our families for granted and treat strangers we don't even know with more kindness than we do those people we love best.

Hope you had fun with your family this weekend. The neighbor put on a great fireworks show last night right over top our yard. All around us in the distance I could hear the boom of more fireworks shooting off. Oohs and aahhs all around. Celebrating freedom.

Hope you have a good week. And thanks to all who befriended me on Facebook and Goodreads. And for those of you who follow this blog. You're the best.