tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32358802026-10-21T08:23:37.513-05:00Reflections on humanity, random news & my life as a writerCarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061381516154992999noreply@blogger.comBlogger991125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-81151709889813372732023-10-11T12:54:00.001-05:002023-10-11T12:54:51.764-05:00

 Sometimes your life had a turning point. In retrospect as you age, you realize where it all went wrong. In my life, when I had the chance to escape, I didn't because I thought family was important.  But that is not true: Your life is yours alone. You will never get that chance again and I suggest you take it.

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-66527458379685213872023-02-21T13:51:00.000-06:002023-02-21T13:51:28.309-06:00

Progress! "They Walk These Hills" finished! It is about 10,000 words, involving a vanlifer who wanders into a haunted campground. Had this idea a long time watching Youtubers. But now what? Do I publish via my Amazon platform, or submit to publishers of weird fiction? No decision yet.In personal news: went to my GP for regular wellness yearly checkup. No word on blood work yet, but hoping it all

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-31229194476650247792023-02-15T12:18:00.000-06:002023-02-15T12:18:11.907-06:00

 I think there is a thin line between patience and procrastination...and unfortunately, it's difficult for me sometimes to discern that.I mean, occasionally I get too ambitious...thinking I MUST get something accomplished, when in fact, it is not urgent. For example, I have a garage that is partly stacked up with leftover material from home improvement projects. I can't do any of the cleanup

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-24848657823374089662023-01-08T13:15:00.000-06:002023-01-08T13:15:50.603-06:00

Not exactly the very first day of the year, but better late than never, I suppose.Yes, I really need to practice patience. Especially in light of the fact that two orthopedic doctors have told me my bones are fragile, that I can get a fracture easy (though I've had several falls and no breaks); that I must not do certain things, such as heavy lifting, yard work, etc. At 71, not sure what I

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-19134746641082103602022-07-21T11:36:00.001-05:002022-07-21T11:39:28.980-05:00

Why? The million dollar question. I'm still alive, and a lot has been happening. What isn't happening? Not much writing, and I sure do miss it. Almost like relearning how to write/type!I was in a blue funk for much of last year, starting with having Covid the previous February. It was a mild case, and I thought my stuffy sinuses was allergy. Then sinus infection. However, after a couple weeks, I

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-68757099517624406232021-01-21T13:42:00.005-06:002021-01-25T13:58:24.832-06:00

Many, many moons ago, in the early 1970s, I was recently married and hoping for a bright future. My husband had just received a trade school diesel mechanic certification, and I was employed in a clerical office position, but we were seeking better opportunities. We were open to adventure, travel and...well, like a lot of young people, looking for opportunities.One day I read an ad in a

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-54125764120297493812021-01-01T11:49:00.001-06:002021-01-01T11:52:44.616-06:00

 What can I say about 2020? Like most people I'll just say, "Don't let the door hit you in the @ss on the way out! BYE!Let's see...my life. I'm sitting here as the place seems to be falling down around me, maintenance I've put off due to the pandemic. This morning a rattan shade on my back porch was wind-whipped till it fell apart. NOT climbing a ladder to take it down, managed to just tie

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-14496383723724508382020-11-15T14:45:00.001-06:002020-11-15T14:45:28.316-06:00

Sometimes I sit here in the afternoons, and a slant of the sunlight, an old song streaming...it's as if the past is the present. I've lived in this house forty years, and not a lot has changed -- some updates, etc. but still basically the same. The yard and surroundings haven't changed much either, so it's easy to slip back in time and imagine it is just another day in the 80s or 90s when I was

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-42515968920308691892020-09-08T14:32:00.000-05:002020-09-08T14:32:09.284-05:00

Perhaps that's an optimistic title, but it is finally becoming a bit cooler here in the South. Not yet comfortable, but a general trend in that direction. Now if only the grass would stop growing. Alas, not yet!Life has been dubbed, "the new normal" now...with a statewide mask mandate in our region, which has helped lower the numbers of Covid. Kudos to our state governor, a lady that had the best

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-40723769316841252592020-04-29T14:21:00.001-05:002020-04-30T07:31:02.537-05:00

I've lived through a lot in my 68 years, but this year's outbreak of COVID-19 is truly unique in my lifetime. I vaguely recall being administered the polio vaccine on a sugar cube in grammar school; the lines were long, with kids jostling and joking, hardly anything remarkable. And I knew no one personally who had polio, but then again, I was just a kid back in the 50s. I also recall the Swine

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-29057325591982039982020-02-04T14:26:00.001-06:002020-02-04T14:26:20.495-06:00

It's been awhile since I did any writing, and though I wrote all but the final chapter of a novella last year, I finally completed/edited it today. It is in the horror genre, but a sub-category: apocalyptic fiction.  Titled, "Into the Nowhere," the story centers on a female protagonist who survives the initial disaster, and then meets others who band together for a trek to find her parents

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-80077436751966717282019-12-29T13:02:00.000-06:002019-12-29T13:02:27.482-06:00

It seems I never have good years -- but then again, what else is new? I have always thought my life was cursed with bad timing and bad luck. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or being in the right place at the wrong time. This past two decades proved that true, in spades! I won't detail all the ups and (mostly) downs, but rereading this blog would bear out that truth. This past year I

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-76850708423221220762019-11-08T10:36:00.001-06:002019-12-01T10:31:38.876-06:00

And so it begins as it has for almost fourteen years: the season of slow descent into remembrance and grief due to loss of my late husband. Yesterday as I sat watching the leaves fall, I wrote this poem: BREATH It's so still You could hear The breath of a whisper. Not a leaf stirring Before the storm; No sound, no wind: Fall, a hush of Silence before the cries. You left in winter But that

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-72190349525526364302019-07-12T11:03:00.000-05:002019-07-12T11:03:47.460-05:00

Looks like I only record dreams at the blog of late! Rereading the previous disturbing dream about late husband, I realized that it was approximately a month after that when I noticed my dog, Rambo, showing signs of illness. With treatment for liver disease, he lived until a month ago, but still, it was devastating to lose him. I got him at the animal shelter three months after losing husband,

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-17415232594167573982018-10-25T15:54:00.000-05:002018-10-25T15:59:26.598-05:00

Last night I had a very peculiar experience. Not even sure it was a dream. More like a hallucination, or vision or...something. I had been reading an ebook/novel and grew sleepy. Put my Kindle aside, and started to drift off to sleep...but first, I felt a gradual vibrating/electrified sensation throughout my entire body. I wanted to move, shake off the feeling...but was paralyzed. Then it was as

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-53578913993359780062018-08-08T11:40:00.001-05:002018-08-08T11:42:20.974-05:00

This won't be much of a post -- more a reminder about medicare and my supplemental insurance. After three days in the hospital, and a slew of heart tests, I paid exactly 0 copay! I mean, I knew it was supposed to be that way, but have so often been disappointed by copay's, etc. that I was shocked to find this actually works correctly. I will say the full charge was jaw-dropping, but the hospital

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-60650353166408783732018-06-22T11:39:00.003-05:002018-06-22T11:45:42.551-05:00

Just as a note to myself, and dates...I was in the hospital for three days a week ago. June 12-14. It all started when I suddenly developed a horrible, stabbing pain in my chest and between my shoulderblades. I first thought it was a stomach problem, maybe my acid reflux acting up. However, I had never felt that kind of continuous stabbing pain; the only thing I can compare it to would be having

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-36829515367137364542018-06-04T16:33:00.002-05:002018-06-04T16:33:37.544-05:00

Still struggling, even though I just published a collection of short stories based on urban legends I heard as a child. All set in the era before 1960. Or at least, these weird stories seemed to have come from urban lore, being told by either parents or grandparents. "Strange Southern Stories," the title. What project is next? I am torn between ongoing deep research for a long, detailed novel

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-90009906346676524722018-02-17T14:37:00.001-06:002018-02-17T14:37:51.640-06:00

I've spent the past afternoon and early morning setting up my QuickPad; it's just basically a portable word processor that saves text, and then can be transferred to the computer. Runs off batteries, and has a long battery life. No internet distractions.I have had this for years, and decided to get it working again because I have been tempted to buy a similar processor new to the market: Freewite

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-50644791277100351062018-01-01T12:02:00.002-06:002018-01-01T12:02:57.457-06:00

Let's see, 2017 was a so-so year. Nothing major happened, no illness, though my bunion continues to cause problems. I published four novels, the last one based on a kidnapping in a nearby county. Lots of fictional changes, of course, but still...one of my longer novels and the genre I like best: crime/mystery. Alas, I have more readers for my supernatural suspense, particularly ghost stories. So

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-37093080178244589512017-11-28T11:53:00.000-06:002017-11-28T11:58:27.715-06:00

What's new? I finished my latest novel and it's now at Amazon. Here's a link: Lonesome Moon Road I am planning a promo Dec. 26-29, and will reduce the current price, $2.99, to .99 during that period. Thought readers who get new Kindles for Christmas might be looking for novels at that time. I'm now researching for another ghost story, but not sure if that is the only theme. I have

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-9443513776355481142017-10-17T11:54:00.001-05:002017-10-25T10:05:37.600-05:00

So, resuming where I left off in the last post: I had an appointment with my orthopedic doctor. No x-rays, no MRI; he just told me I needed a soft cushion. Could buy a nice gel cushion on Amazon. Seriously?  Thank goodness I have Medicare with a good private insurance medigap policy (176.00 a month), so the visit didn't cost me anything. He did look at my toes, and agreed with the

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-970190698623735982017-10-08T11:09:00.000-05:002017-10-08T11:09:00.186-05:00

I have almost abandoned this blog. However, I don't want to take it down. And should try to post more often. Currently I am rewriting/editing a long novel, "Lonesome Moon Road." It is complex and complicated, and taking quite a chunk of time to get ready to publish. It is crime/thriller/suspense genre, though not sure it fits tidily in that category. Often my work is a mash-up of genre, and

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-61557714682192055062016-12-01T16:35:00.001-06:002016-12-01T16:41:09.046-06:00

So nearly a year since an entry -- and no excuse. I'd like to say I've been totally devoted to publishing fiction, but I've been a slacker in the past few months. After the big boom of hitting best seller lists with three of my novels, I realized a few economic consequences (taxes, etc) and decided not to publish again till January, 2017. Hence, I have been writing new fiction, editing, instead

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235880.post-21517632603858441342016-01-01T11:01:00.001-06:002016-01-01T11:01:16.555-06:00

How did it get to be 2016? Amazing! Time is flying, as they say. I don't keep up with this blog as often as I'd like, but did want to sum up the past year and my goals for 2016. First, I lost my dear doxie, Oscar, last February; I still miss him, although I still have two dogs. Rambo is getting old, nearly 11 now, but still active and spry. Muffin is about 3, so hopefully she'll be with me a

C.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15062892838452799501noreply@blogger.com1