I swear it’s low carb, organic and gluten free…
This post brought to you by Linda Hill’s #OneLinerWednesday prompt
Please visit her page for more great post links and join the fun!
Seeking magnificence in this life of Illusion
I swear it’s low carb, organic and gluten free…
This post brought to you by Linda Hill’s #OneLinerWednesday prompt
Please visit her page for more great post links and join the fun!
Yay! I’m so glad to be participating in Dan Antion’s #Thursday Doors prompt. It is the rainy season here. In the mountains. The average temperature is 72 degrees. Depending on sun and humidity that can be chilly or warmer. The water in rivers, pools, creeks, etc is very cold almost always. So, during this season it isn’t ideal to swim in an outdoor unheated pool. Projects have to be planned around rain showers that can last for hours or all night.
Yesterday was a rare perfect day. We had sunshine all day and a nice warmed pool house. It was a perfect chance to scrub the terrace wall and a perfect afternoon to have a swim. I did both! Soon we will have dry days again which brings a different balancing act. To water or not to water. But swimming days will be many. Yay! The pool house was just repainted and cleaned also. My shoulder is not happy with me today from the scrubbing but the water and sunshine balanced it out.
Here are some of my doors, for there are a lot around here. 🙂
One of the best things about living in paradise is the abundance of nature’s children who live and play just outside the front door. I’ve been watching these Bronzed Cowbirds for a few weeks. While I appreciate the beauty and mystical associations of the family of blackbirds, I haven’t been overly enthralled by them until now.
Every day they show up after the rains to peck the ground for seeds and bugs. Every day he does his mating dance. She doesn’t seem impressed, however. Poor fellow. I’ve been fortunate to finally get a video of their interaction and a series of photos. The lighting wasn’t perfect at 10 am on an overcast morning. Still, I think he looks magnificent. Maybe she could give him a nod..
I edited these using my Google Photos editor which I accidentally discovered is pretty awesome with the newest updates, nearly as good as the Pixelmator Editor I normally use.While I will never get over losing Picasa, this was a nice and convenient substitute.
Hi Dan,
It’s so exciting to be a part of your book tour and promote this really wonderful series. You and I have been blogging friends for about eight years now and it’s been fun to see your blog become a place for so many writers to come together and share. We all enjoy your informative, and often humorous, historical pieces and photos. Of course my favorite regular posts are the If We Were Having a Beer segments, and not just because I get to virtually work at the bar.😉
As host of the weekly Thursday Doors prompt you’ve been creative and welcoming to anyone with a camera and an interest in door hunting!
Congratulations on your retirement and creating this book series that is obviously very personal for you. It has been my great pleasure to be one of the first to read the books. Please give us some of the backstory for Knuckleheads The Dreamer’s Alliance.
Cheryl, I am honored to have been invited to your blog to talk about Knuckleheads, my debut novel from the “Dreamer’s Alliance Series.”
The readers should know that Cheryl has an advantage over most of you, she has read the entire series, and she poses the following subject for me to address:
“My interest has always been how your personal family history has influenced your writing, your sense of humor and general approach to life and how these things are reflected in your story.”
Cheryl, you were the first person to read the draft that became Knuckleheads. Looking back on the quality of the book at that point, I am amazed you suffered through to the end. Early in that experience, you asked me, “Are you Zach or Billy?” I explained that I am neither, but that Zach and Billy share some childhood experiences of mine. The book is set in the 1960s, and it would be practically impossible to not draw on my experience in placing two boys in that era.
On the other hand, the character John Amstead is modeled after my father, and those attributes you mention are largely the result of his influence. My dad didn’t own a bowling alley, but he managed one. He also had a deep concern for kids like Billy. He gave them jobs, and he provided rides back and forth when necessary. He gave them incentives to become responsible young men.As with Billy’s grandparents, my father was often approached .
Hard work, religion, a practical approach to life, and humor, were the things my parents considered important. Truth be told, my father added the humor. These factors have guided me through most of my life, and they influenced the story I wanted to share and the way I wanted to tell it. My father was a storyteller.
People don’t live like this anymore – maybe some do, but it’s not what’s portrayed in TV shows and movies. Children today are portrayed as being stronger and smarter than their hapless parents. Too many parents, today, hover over their children, as if they can shield them from all of life’s pain. I loved the comment you shared in your review. You said,
“It’s refreshing to read a tale with real parents, real ‘mean’ teachers, condescending professionals, and immature bullies, instead of the bigger than life monsters portrayed in so many other books.”
That’s the picture I hoped to paint for the reader.
Although Zach’s story is not my autobiography, I identify with his character more than Billy’s. Zach is naïve, optimistic, and an introvert who is fascinated with technology. I share some all of those traits.
Billy, like David, the character at the bar with us on Saturdays, is an amalgam, a composite character with attributes drawn from many marginalized children with whom I had friendships while growing up. When I started writing what is now the second book in the series, Billy was going to be a minor character. In the original outline, Billy appears and disappears in the course of a few chapters. Zach helps him avoid the evil forces that Zach couldn’t escape. Billy shares a sense of foreboding with Zach, and Zach’s life goes on.
Billy, the character, wanted more.
More than anything, “Knuckleheads” was the opportunity for me to tell Billy’s story. Billy has been dealt a bad hand, but support from his best friend and the adults in his life rescue him from all the wrong possible choices. This is the backstory to a larger series, but it’s an important story on its own.
Hey, sorry guys. I know I’ve been MIA. I do try to keep up with your recent posts. Being ‘retired in paradise’ isn’t always how you imagine it. Maybe if one has unlimited resources and uses servants and services 24-7, you’d live that movie style lying-on-the-beach with an umbrella drink kind of life.
The reality is that life is life no matter where you live it. There have been serious health issues for my husband which now require regular trips back to the states, which is costly and emotionally draining for us. We do love the chance to see family at those times and so far he is doing well.
There are different daily challenges here, including biting coffee flies and other intrusive bugs which we deal with. Public systems work differently, and as much as so many others complain, we have found them much simpler once you get the right combination figured out. I recently got a driver’s license, which, we were told would be nearly impossible without a facilitator because not many people speak English in the public offices. After an acquaintance related their process, we formulated our plan, pulled out the translator app, and I got to work. All businesses here use WhatsApp and it is much easier to schedule appointments, order food and get information using it. I even scheduled my husband’s surgery last year using it-directly with the Urologist!
Day to day life before we bought our little car was challenging. We had to take taxis to town every few days for groceries and supplies or for a meal out. We normally tried to combine those trips. That in itself can be tricky if we needed things from several places and we made sure to get groceries last because cold things get warm pretty quick. Even though the average temperature here in the mountains is around 72 degrees, it does get warmer and is quite humid during the rainy season. Unlike many here, we chose not to take our chances waiting for a cheap taxi or bus to happen by. We use a couple of very reliable taxi drivers and although it is a couple dollars more, it’s worth it to us to be picked up and dropped off at home. These nice young men often help get heavy things to the house and our favorite driver even moved us recently. The best part of having our own car now is not having to plan even small trips and being able to go to the bigger city for warehouse shopping and those things that are not as readily available here. Oh! And being able to get ice cream for the house. You can’t buy a $6 carton of ice cream and expect it not to melt while waiting for the taxi!