Joplin Journal Volume 10-6, Issue 1

From the Editor's Desk:

Good morning (or afternoon or evening depending on when you read this)! It's an almost chilly morning. It's in the low 60s right now. The birds are chirping and singing, the sun is shining and the sky is blue. I hear we are supposed to get clouds and rain later today, so we'll enjoy the sun while we can. I don't have a lot of plans for today. I need to do some weeding this morning and cutting out some volunteer trees that we really don't want. And I need to practice the violin and write, but not much else. Hopefully I can read some. Or work on blog posts.

Weather Report:

Last week was rainy at the beginning and then humid and warm. This week started out humid, and then we got more rain. But Thursday and Friday were lovely! We had the windows open all day, and even shut them most of the way at night because it was chilly.

"Genius Burns":

Starting over on Don Wood was definitely the right thing to do. This story is just moving. My main character is interested in it, and while I haven't rewritten all 31k or whatever it was I had written in the first 2 versions, I'm making great progress! This week alone I've already written 8,633 words! Mom has edited the first 8k words, and has the next 8k ready for her red pencil. And I almost have another 4k to add to that. If you don't want to add that all up, that is almost 20k words that I have written. And the suspicions for "who done it" are growing. :)

Project Prognosis:

Let's see how my projects are coming this week.

• Work on Blog Posts – I'm slowly trying to work on them.
• Publish my Writing Camp Journal – I'm still trying to get KDP to approve the last ones. They tell me they aren't low content, but they won't let me publish them as not low content. Go figure.
• Design a cover for Lessons from Liberty – I did!!! What do you think?

• Work on my Name List – I took a little break from that for a week, but now I'm back at it. I should add Dan to that overused name list. :)

Spring 100:

I only have 8 more miles (actually it will probably only be 7 by the time you read this) left to walk to before I reach 100! It's been so much fun, and I have certainly gotten out and walked on days when I would have said it was "too cold" or "too wet" or something. And yes, I plan to keep walking. Sarah and I, and Angela, are hoping to keep walking a mile before breakfast most mornings for as long as we can. And who knows, maybe we'll decide to do our own little Fall 100 challenge.

Visitors:

Yes, Amber and Stephen and their family made it down! I went on several walks with them but I don't have any pictures to prove it. :) The last walk ended up being about 3.5 miles and I piggy-backed the 4-year-old some. It was fun even if I ended up with a pretty bad sunburn on the back of my neck. This week Amber & family and Angela are down in TX visiting some other family, but they should be back next week.

Babysitting:

We had the kids over last week. And things got crazy! Krista suddenly decided that she wanted to play restaurant, and that got all the others interested. They dressed up, created menus for 3 different restaurants, and had a wonderful time! There was "Frenchy's Fine Food and Dining", "McMorrises Cafe", and "The Chuck Wagon - carry out". Sorry, I don't have any pictures for you, but it was quite the set up. After lunch I took all the kids out to walk with Angela, Amber & family. We ended up walking in the rain some, but then the sun came out.

New Addition:

There is a new addition to the Jimmy & Co. family. A puppy named Rocko. He's a mix of black lab and some other things. The kids love him of course. I've only seen a picture, but I'm looking forward to meeting him in person.

Last Weekend:

Last Friday evening Sarah and I helped with a rehearsal dinner for a wedding of some friends from church. Then on Saturday we were in charge of the food for the reception. We had some good help and it was a lot of fun! The bride had made dozens and dozens, okay, hundreds of cookies! As well as a few poke cakes. And there was a coffee bar. Oh, and the groom's father decided there should be ice cream, so we had that to serve too. But everything was so relaxed and there was no stress at all. I like helping with that kind of wedding. :)

The Music Stand:

The kids at church are playing their bell song tomorrow.

After church tomorrow the instrumental ensemble starts practicing. I'm not sure how many people or instruments are going to be playing, but it should be fun!

KDWC:

We're starting to gear up for the next writing camp.

Sewing Room:

It's still busy. Lots of things being sewn and shipped out.

Read Another Page:

No new chapters to proof of Hymns in the Hills audio.

My proof copy of Lessons from Liberty should be arriving today! I can't wait!

Teacher's Lounge:

I just have some redone papers to grade after they get turned in on Sunday.

Book Nook:

Once again my shelf of books I've read is rather large. I've just made time to read and have been so enjoying it. Here's a look at my shelf. The Forest Fire Mystery (fun old kid's book), Safe in His Arms (takes place in Australia which made it interesting), The Browns at Mt. Hermon (love this book!), Murder and Macchiatos (it wasn't bad, but some things didn't make sense), What They Couldn't (another favorite), Love, Paris (good), Redeeming the Swindler (not historically accurate and quite bland), The Browning Boys (so good even if it was written for younger readers), Kate's Informant (I WISH I liked this as well as the rest of the series).

Farewell:

Well, my shoes are on and I have weeds to pull and trees to cut out. And who knows what else I'll end up doing. There's a nice breeze which should keep it from getting too warm. I hope you enjoy your weekend!