This week I said good-bye to 1.4 pounds. It’s slow progress, but that’s okay, because I’m not on a diet–this is the way I will eat for the rest of my life. And I can definitely live with it–the Simply Filling plan continues to amaze me. 🙂 Jen, Wendy and I usually go out for lunch after the meeting; today we ate at Hogan’s, a sort of ’50s style place. I fully intended to have a BLT, sans mayo, but since changing her mind is a woman’s prerogative, I had a French Dip instead. I enjoyed it thoroughly and without one bit of guilt.
Here’s where this blankety-blank computer ate a paragraph of my deathless prose. 🙂 I was saying that I’m like a kid at Christmas every morning, checking to see if the daffodils have bloomed (they have). The tulips are about to bust out, too. I’m the same way about art projects–I will paint or glue something, leave it to dry overnight, and fairly break my neck getting downstairs the next day to see what happened. I am as excited by the failures as I am by the triumphs, which probably means I’m crazy. As I’ve said many times before, I learn something from every flop. (Some of you will remember the story about Thomas Edison’s comment on his 1o,oooth failure. He said, “Now I know 10,000 things that don’t work!”
That’s the spirit, Mr. Edison.
Turning to another subject, I’m answering some of the questions I get in the comment section. Someone asked if I could use larger print. I’m more than willing, but I can’t figure out how to do it. 🙂 I’ll ask some of the younger people tomorrow.
Someone else wanted to know about artist trading cards. Of course I’ve explained before, but a new person joins us, they often wonder what the heck I’m talking about. Well, here goes: those of us who make these little jewels call them ATCs for short. They’re always 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches, the same size as a baseball or football (or any other kind) of trading card. The themes vary widely, which makes it interesting. There are swaps online–I frequent artfortytwo.org–and people will choose a theme (some current examples: Downton Abbey, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, I Love Lucy) and host a swap. The participants sign up for the projects that interest them and make however many cards requested, usually 3, and mail them to the host, who then sends 3 cards back in return. (I always make 5, so I can keep 1 for my own collection and send another to the host as a thank-you.) I have binders and binders full of ATCs, my own and ones I’ve received in trades over the last four years. I kept expecting to get bored and stop the madness, but that never happened. I buy the blank cards by the ton from Dick Blick, and I have a humungous collection of clip art purchased on Etsy. I often make collages, but I’ve done a lot of original drawings, too.
So we’ve probably hit the Too Much Information point by now. 🙂
Another of my non-writing passions is gemstones–I have rocks everywhere. I bathe with them, sleep with them, and wear them around my neck in a medicine pouch. (We Laels never do anything halfway.) Then there are animals, of course, and books, both print and audio. Occasionally, I get on a cooking kick, too, although since I started Weight Watchers last October, I don’t make as much fancy stuff. Once in a while, I haul off and whip up Julia Child’s recipe for Boeuf Bourginon (probably misspelled), a delicious stew. It could be adapted to Simply Filling specifications, but it’s a winter dish, and I’m definitely thinking spring.
And that’s the news from Spokane, Washington, my hometown, where all the women are strong, all he men are good-looking, and all the children are above average. 🙂 (Those of you who listen to A Prairie Home Companion will recognize Garrison Keillor’s famous sign-off line.)
Be kind to yourselves and to each other.
About Linda
The daughter of a town marshal, Linda Lael Miller is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than 100 historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West.
Raised in Northport, Washington, Linda pursued her wanderlust, living in London and Arizona and traveling the world before returning to the state of her birth to settle down on a horse property outside Spokane.
