New Mexico Here I Come!

On Friday, September 26, I will be heading out to New Mexico after work. I will spend the night with my brother and his family and on Saturday hold two book signings. The first one will be at The Art of Beauty Salon and Spa located at 6200 NE BLVD Ste B in Albuquerque from 1-3 p.m. and the next will be at Hastings Booksellers at 12501 Candelaria Rd NE from 4-6 p.m.
On Sunday I will be speaking at the First Assembly of God Church in Estancia, NM and enjoying a ladies luncheon following the services.

I cannot tell you how excited I am about these events. It is great to visit with people and see their "take" on "Nan's Journey". Hopefully some of the issues represented withing the pages have rung true to real life. I am very interested in what the readers have to say.

If you are in the area, please stop by and visit. I would like to meet you.

One note of interest.... the second book in the series already has 82 people signed up for copies as soon as I get them. (about 3 months before the release date) If you have not emailed me or left a comment requesting one or more, please do it. I don't want you to have to wait to see..."What happened to the other baby?"

Smile smile

Famlies

Last week a cousin of Terry's came over for a visit. Although they have never met they share a greatgrandfather. (Terry's mom's dad - Albert Hoch) Grandfather Hoch died after a car accident in New Mexico when Terry's mom, Viola, was four years old.

We invited Viola and Anna Mae, Terry's sister, over to meet Arthur Hoch, the cousin. I find it sad that families drift apart because of life's circumstances. Grandfather Hoch died about 88 or so years ago. After Grandmother Hoch met and Married her second husband, Grandfather Peters, the family lost touch. Viola and Anna Mae, Terry and his brother Daniel all enjoyed filling in the blanks and getting acquainted.

It makes me think...It takes a lot of effort to stay connected with family. My sons do not know some of their cousins. We have a generation shift thing going on. My cousins are twenty years older than me...so and my brothers and sisters too so... my nieces and nephews are my age so... they are not the typical cousins for my boys. They had already moved to the corners of the world when my kids came along. My sons do know some of their cousin's kids...and time goes on and people move and lose touch. Many times the only times we see extended family is at funerals or the rare family reunion.

I try to keep in contact with nieces and nephews with MySpace and Facebook. It takes time but it is worth it. Of course I love to see them face to face and I try to do that when I can. Christmas cards are still important for me to send. I want family to know that they are important to me. I do not want to lose touch!

Book Signings,Day Off, Dentist Visit, & Hardwood Floor Patching!

This past week has been a doosey for me! First of all...I went to the dentist on Tues and had a long overdue scaling and cleaning (2 hrs in the chair & 6 shots) after that 2 extractions! Upper left back teeth. (1 hr and 2 shots) Can you say..."Whole mouth numb...drooling because I can't tell if my mouth is shut or not."?
anyway... bottles of pain pills and antibiotics later...
Saturday...
2 book signings...one in Amarillo from 2-4 p.m. and one in Canyon from 6-8 p.m....

I have to say this about book signings... People who talk with you are very nice. I truly enjoy the interaction...It is the other folks that make you second guess yourself...
It reminds me of having a bake sale...people who do not want to feel guilty about buying your product try to occupy themselves fumbling with purses etc... or making a quick turn avoiding eye contact. That leaves me there...avoiding eye contact sort of... but checking to see if there is a glimmer of interest. At the very least...it is an interesting dynamic.

Today I am back home with my hubby. My jaw still hurts but it is nice to kick back and drink coffee (ever so carefully) and watch him in the dining room...trying to get everything together business wise. This is his day off and a lot of the things he doesn't have time to do during the two weeks he is not home during business hours have to be caught up with. After those things are nailed down...he will begin literally nailing down the new hardwood we purchased to patch our dining room floor. A few weeks ago he tore out the old stuff across a third of the dining room because through the years there was water damage and shrinkage and cracking. We are both excited to get the process going. The epic continues!!!

I Bought a Monster!

Well...I tried, but I had to get the Mega Steamer Thingy on TV! It is called the Monster 1200 Sanitizing Steam Cleaner Superclean SC20.

I unpacked it. Searched and searched for the instruction manual. I finally found it and it is pretty straightforward on set up. I thought stuff would come up or off a little faster, but I realized that on the commercial they did use a rag to wipe as the dirt was loosened. The steam cleans wonderfully, but be prepared to move VERRRY SLOOOWLLY for hard water deposits! The cleaning solution has very little fragrance if any. I like that.

It did great on my kitchen floor. I have a white stripe of linoleum around the edge of my black linoleum tile. It has texture and is impossible to clean. The back door has only the white stuff back there. Let me tell you... The steamer got it all!!!! That part was as fast as it shows on TV. It did it as fast as damp mopping!!! Yea!!!

I used it on my cream colored area rug that was stained badly. It came pretty clean. I did have to spot clean the worst part. I am pleased with the result. Terry will be working on the grill this evening probably. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Sometimes I think I buy this stuff to make my house look instantly like I have a daily housekeeper. I used to work very hard to make it look that way, but since I started writing on my books consistently, I have to prioritize. The house is clean, but not exactly white glove clean.
If you have looked at this thing and been tempted to buy it, I think it works. BUT...REMEMBER YOU ARE ON THE OTHER END OF THE STEAMER...YOU WILL BE WORKING TOO.

I'll get back to you on this in a few....


Terry's Opinion of the "Moster Steamer"
Terry's Opinion of the "Moster Steamer" Terry tried the steamer on the grill...IT WORKED!!!

Reputation

Thursday at John's funeral there was a time of sharing memories with the 100+ people who were gathered there. I was impressed with everything I heard about him. It was clear that everyone was referring to the same person.

I think it speaks well of John that he was the same person with the same characteristics to everyone who knew him. People he went through school with or who served with him on the police force or in the maintenance department of the city, every niece and nephew (no matter which side of the family) said the same things about him. He was the same teasing, funny, and caring man to everyone.

As I sat there I wondered about the perception people have of me. Am I the same to everyone? Of course, you are closer to some people than others because people have differing degrees of openness, but for those who allow you to know them...I want to be the same person. Does that make sense? In a way I felt sort of possessive of him. He was MY brother-in-law! He joked with me! Upon listening to the eight or so people speak of him in the service, I rejoiced that he did allow everyone the opportunity to know him.

Anna Mae will have challenges living without her dear husband. Please keep her in your prayers. She will make it through with the help of our Lord and her friends and family. One thing is certain, she has no doubt about her husband's reputation. He was a great man.

Oh Death, Where is Your Sting?

Sunday, August 31st at 5:10 p.m. a dear friend and family member died. John was my brother-in-law. We enjoyed many times of laughter at family gatherings. He was the guy my sons looked for every time we had a family event. Uncle John teased and joked and was never at a loss for a good story to tell. He was the kind of guy that would find where your "goat" was tied and then "get your goat"! If John wasn't at a holiday dinner we all felt the void.

January of 2007 John had a near fatal heart attack. He told about his experience to everyone who came close to him. He was shy in front of people he didn't know, but after his heart attack he had boldness to tell even a church full of people about his experience. It still scared him but he had to declare the mercy of God. The last time we spoke he told me part of it again.

He said that his heart stopped beating. He found himself at a door and walked through it. On the other side of the door was a terrible desolate feeling. "Desolate" was the word and he could barely speak it. Tears sprang to his eyes as he told me. He felt panicked and alone. A force was drawing him deeper into this place and he knew there was more horrors beyond. He screamed, "Help me Jesus!" A hand grabbed him from behind and pulled him through the door. He was back in his hospital room. He began praying in his bed saying, "Lord, I don't deserve another chance."

He saw many things during his hospital stays. He saw an angel in the corner of the room and other things that comforted him. He felt bad because he waited so long to come to God. He probably told more people about Jesus in the last year and a half than many people do in a lifetime. He never forgot the mercy of God.

One of the things he stressed when he spoke publicly and privately was the "levels of prayer". He came to realize that every prayer prayed was not of the same intensity. The first level is surface. That would include prayers by rote. The second is prayers that are a little more personal, and the third level is fervent and urgent. John stressed that we need to be more serious and urgent when we pray. Those prayers are of utmost importance.

The last few months John was in a lot of pain. Now he is not. He is in the Presence of the One he found those months ago. The One who literally rescued him from the pit. He was a wonderful man and an example of all who have made the decision to follow Jesus. I want to fearlessly proclaim the gospel of Jesus like John did. He was an inspiration to me and we will all miss him.