And now it’s September! Seriously? I was just getting settled into summer. I haven’t even come close to achieving my summer goals!
Okay, I did a lot of Amazon Ad training, trying to boost sales, and I am closer to getting my devotional to the editor and my mystery out to my ARC (Advance Readers Club) … oh, yes, I also got my cover design for my devotional. I wanted to release my devotional September 26, but I don’t think that will happen. Quality over speed is my mantra.
Here is a look at my summer
I was determined to get more active this summer, hoping it would help with the pain I’ve dealt with since my cancer surgery twelve years ago. So, Gracie and I headed for the pool first thing in the morning to swim laps…. This is how I felt going into my first 50-meter lap…
This is what I felt like halfway across…
What a cruel reminder that I’m no longer in my twenties. And that muscles atrophy when you don’t use them for a few years. Rude. I was being lapped by women nine-months pregnant! Seriously lapped! I was being lapped by seventy-year-old men who looked like they were nine-months pregnant! At least my awesome daughter made a good showing for the family. She has always been an awesome swimmer.
Family Time
In other news, I was extremely traumatized by the fact that this same daughter got her driver’s permit. Yes, my baby is driving.
Okay, I realize that she is now 15, but this is how I still see her behind the wheel. It’s a mom thing. I just need a little time to adjust… Give me ten or twenty years.
Then of course we have the bunnies! Unfortunately, we lost our favorite Champion buck, Cyrus, this year, which was heartbreaking, but he did leave us some very nice daughters. Gracie did an amazing job showing at the one show we were able to attend. Her Jersey Wooly doe, Pecan, took Best of Breed, as well as a number of other awards. And now, Pecan is the proud mother of a litter of six, bringing the grand total of new kits in the rabbitry to ten! Nothing is better for curing writer’s block than baby bunnies!
Garden Time
My garden met with mixed results this summer, though I had high hopes. My bush beans loved my raised bed, giving me plenty to can for winter, and they are quite delicious and stringless. I tried Early Contender, and that’s my new go-to variety. I also discovered the latest and greatest trend in gardening! I call it French Cuisine in a Raised Bed. The snails really went for my green beans, and, hey, if you can’t beat ‘em, eat ‘em! Just add fresh garlic and clarified butter and voila! Escargot avec Haricots verts! Now, I just have to figure out my marketing strategy. I mean, I personally don’t eat snails, but I know of at least one person who does…
The sweet potatoes seem very happy above ground, so I have high hopes for them, and we’re awash in cucumbers, but I don’t know what went wrong with my tomatoes. I started them from seed in February, nursing them along until they were big, beautiful plants. Twenty of them! Now, they’re even bigger plants. I’ve gotten three tomatoes from them, and none of those were worth eating. I’m embarrassed to say, we had to buy tomatoes for canning this year. At least someone knows how to grow the things.
Homemaking
Canning has been a huge undertaking this summer, as I let my pantry dwindle to practically nothing. Two hundred and seventy-five pounds of someone else’s tomatoes went in to canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, pasta sauce, pizza sauce, and catsup. Seventy-five pounds of pears were canned and made into pear butter (yum). Lots of strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry jam, and cherry pie filling. And of course all of those tasty green beans. My pantry is filling in nicely, and I do love a well-stocked pantry.
Fair Time
Even the fair has come and gone! But we did have a good showing. I finished my latest afghan just in the nick of time. A good thing, too, because it won Champion! Cherry Pie Filling won Grand Champion, as did Gracie’s Grape Juice, and my husband first place overall for jams. We did good!
Book News
Promise of the Day Devotional for Victorious Living
I have a bit of tweaking to do before it goes to the editor. I wasn’t going to send it to my ARC because it is a different type of format, but if you are a member and would like to pre-read it, drop me a line and I will get you a copy.
Dream Chaser
A couple of chapters remain to be edited before this mystery goes out to my ARC, but I have started book 2 in the series. I am not totally sold on the title of Book 1 or the series, so I will definitely be asking for your ideas and input on that.
Short Stories
I’m so excited that my story, “The Uninvited Guest: A Short Story,” made it to #9 in the 15 Minute Mystery category on Amazon, thanks to increased sales from my ads, so classes are paying off. Yea! I did not win any contests this summer, but I have already entered a couple more. And I’m so pleased that an editor from Live magazine has requested the rights to reprint a story of mine they published several years ago. That made my day.
For now, it’s back to the grindstone. If you have read Loved So Much It Hurts, or “The Uninvited Guest,” but have not yet reviewed it on Amazon, Goodreads, or your favorite book site, I would love it if you did. Honest feedback helps Amazon’s algorithm decide how much exposure to give books, so I really appreciate my readers taking the time to do that. Thank you, to all of you who have done that for me!
Until next time, happy reading!
Rebecca
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