We have been so busy the last few weeks, it actually feels good to have a day to vote and work around the house. I've been postponing some jobs because I haven't had enough time to do them.  Tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful. Not unusual for this time of year. This afternoon, I looked outside to see the leaves falling like rain on the driveway and porch.  So tomorrow will be raking and blowing leaves so the town can pick them up.

RJ started scrubbing the deck to prepare it for stain. It was quite a long process to scrub off any mildew and dirt. I, on the other hand, was catching up with cleaning in the "little house." 

 We met with the owners of a local golf course to put together golf packages for our guests. It will be one more service we will be able to provide for our guests.

Oh my last article was published in Good Life Magazine this past week or so ago.  I'm very proud of the article and pleased to be a contributor is the magazine. My next one is a holiday story. The column is called "Life at the Inn."  This gives me another venue to publish my work.  I wonder if someday I'll actually be able to get my book published.

Speaking of books, my professional book that I am editing, Getting It in Writing, is really coming along quite nicely.  I just received another contribution. I'll probably be able to close with about 18 chapters. Now that is cool.

We arrived yesterday in Florida for our son Jason and his bride Jennifer's wedding.  Yesterday, we spent a wonderful evening sharing time and good food with family and friends.  It's times like this that I miss living so far away from all the boys. Michael and Jessie flew in from LA and Nicholas is coming in this afternoon. The blending of families can be a joyous time, especially when two people are so well matched.

Today will be a fun-filled day with manicures, rehearsal, and a rehearsal dinner outside under the beautiful Florida skies.  I am afraid this time together will be over way too fast and I will have to leave my children to go back to my world of innkeeping in New York.  The kids had obviously taken great pains to plan the wedding of their dreams with lots of themselves intertwined in the festivities. J and J had make their own wedding cake (no surprise since that is what they do - bake cakes!)  The handmade truffles (their own creations) look divine and almost sinful! *she can't wait to indulge in one of those delectable treats* 

Before I know it, tomorrow will be here and we will be at the Baughman Center witnessing the marriage of two wonderful people. I pray their lives together will be loving, fruitful, and blessed. 

I love you  both... mom

      I was so frustrated. Yesterday I wrote this piece for my blog and before I had a chance to hit post it disappeared into… cyberspace. So what happens when I spend all this time writing my thoughts and then it goes NO WHERE! Aghhh! By the time all my words went away, I had no choice but to close my laptop and go to sleep.

     So now I’m back to writing in a word document and then transferring my thoughts through the old cut and paste method into my blog.  I wish there was a way for my blog master to work on preventing this from happening. I’m sure I’m not the only one. In fact, I tried to post on someone’s blog and after a lengthy thought-provoking response, I was unable to post because I couldn’t read the hidden code so my response went away. No recovering that one. Another “aghhh” out there.

     I’ve decided that we live in a world of “sound bites.” No one listens to a complete anything.  All we hear are bits and pieces of a whole and based on that we make life changing decisions.  Wouldn’t it make more sense if we were able to take the time to listen to a complete anything and then be able to make our own decisions based on what we hear not on what someone tells us we should believe?  Our media news comes in “sound bites.” Our newspaper articles are written with highlights, never the complete story.  I worry that we are not taking the time to really understand what is happening in our world.

      I think that’s why I enjoy my work as much as a do. I have a chance to really listen and work to understand.  Besides we should tend our own gardens first to create the best of all possible worlds.

     I stare at the blank page and have no idea where my words will take me.  I discover that I have a lot to say but no time to translate that to paper.  I wonder when would be a good time to write. I need a space. Someplace where I can go to explore my thoughts and record my words. I've tried the office desk. It is too cluttered with "work." My bedroom has no writing space.  The Dining Room has a large table. I can see the mill pond through the sliding glass door, but the space is rather open and not conducive to writing. The Living Room is not set up for work. The stove is a focal point with the entertainment center dominating one wall.  That leaves the burgundy leather couch and loveseat to fill the center space. Once again no place to write.  The kitchen table faces the front of the house and the woods... that space doesn't work either. So my dilemma continues. 
     A writer's studio... or at least a writer's space.  I think tomorrow I'll set up on the dining room table and see what I can accomplish... if anything.  I need to write... to remember. There is so much I am afraid I will forget if I don't write it down.

     Stories.  Have you read The Mermaid's Chair? It's well worth the read. It's a story about traveling inside. I think that's what writing does for me. It lets me travel within.   I think I need to travel more.  

     Cooper lay at my feet, licking his furry paws.

     “Cooper, stop licking!” I scold.

     Slurp! Slurp! Slurp!

     “Cooper, I said stop it!”

     Slurp! Slurp! Slurp!

     “What are you doing?” I say as I look down at my feet and Cooper.

     Slurp! Slurp! Slurp!

     Cooper is now licking the floor. His long pink tongue laps at the hardwood floor.

     “Cooper, what are you licking?” I push his head away to see what has his interest.  There under his paws and under his nose are scales. Fish scales. Scales from the little tetra that Sam the Killer Cat had impaled with his claws and devoured for a snack the day before. “Awe, Cooper,” I whine. 

     I get up and go to the kitchen sink to obtain a wet sponge. I wipe up the scales that are dried and spread over a small area of the hardwood floor. I look to the left to see another patch of fish scales. There can be no mistaken. Sam had enjoyed the tetra and left remnants – scales – a little reminder of what was left of the fish.

     I wipe up the other small patch of scales. “All gone, Cooper.” Yes, the little tetra is just that – all gone.