This week’s winners are: Doris Richard Ellis and Debbie Petrouske. Each of you will receive an autographed copy of one of my books. The new round begins today; as usual, entering is as simple as posting a comment. Two winners, chosen at random, will be notified, announced on this blog–each will receive a signed book.
I am well, for all practical intents and purposes, but I do run out of energy fairly quickly–I’ve been told by other veterans of C-diff that full recovery can take a long time. So, I must pace myself, which is probably a good idea anyway, now that I’m no spring chicken. 🙂
I’ll be heading down to Portland, Oregon on Wednesday to attend the Historical Novel Society Conference, and I’m really looking forward to that. What a fabulous opportunity to learn, make new friends, and catch up with old ones. I’m back on Sunday, only to gear up for another trip to Gettysburg, this time for the big re-enactment. You can expect lots of pictures, stories and videos. Jen is going along, and we’ll be seeing our good friends, Sandy Pennesse, Janet Wahl and Cynthia Taylor.
I’ve finally given up on Paleo and gone back to Weight Watchers–the only program I can really live with. Not that I ever actually left–my meeting is full of wonderful, inspiring people, and our leader is terrific–but I didn’t count points. Now, I’ve recommitted; I’m tracking what I eat and, in order to get back in step, I’ve subscribed to the new WW Fresh program; each week, I receive 7 lunches and 7 suppers, pre-made by chefs. Breakfast and snacks are easy–all fruits and vegetables are “free” on WW–thank heaven. The food is delicious and filling, and I actually have some trouble getting in all the points I’m supposed to have in a given day. I won’t keep having the meals delivered indefinitely, but they’re perfect for a transition–and SO much better than the frozen stuff from the supermarket.
The last of the peonies are in glorious, spendthrift bloom, so beautiful that they take my breath away. This year, I didn’t cut any for bouquets, preferring to leave them as they are, nodding on their bushes, so heavy they droop.
This morning, thumbing through a copy of “Grit”, I saw a blurb about the solar eclipse (total) coming up on July 21. (I remember when “Grit” was a tabloid-style newspaper, sold door to door. Now it’s a slick magazine.) I’m excited about this rare celestial event, and I’ve ordered special goggles to protect my eyes, so that I can really see the phenomenon. I stayed up half the night to watch the last lunar eclipse, and it was well worth the sleep I lost in the process.
I’m keeping up my bullet journal and, as always, listening to/reading tons of books. 🙂 Recently, I’ve listened to Julia Glass, Lisa Unger, and Gail Godwin, all favorite authors of mine. There were others, some I couldn’t finish, though those shall go unnamed, since I never shoot down another writer’s work, as I’ve said before. I’m learning a lot from the Great Courses, too–as you probably know, or could guess, these are college lectures on a wide variety of subjects. I recently finished “Becoming a Great Essayist”, “How the Stock Market Works” and others, and now I’m into “Great Masters: Mozart”, which is fascinating and, naturally, sprinkled with dazzling notes of this incredible composer’s musical genius. Like most writers, I’m interested in just about everything.
That’s the blog for today. See you soon.
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.
