Joplin Journal Volume 12-5, Issue 1

From the Editor's Desk:

Good morning! And a special hello to my cousins who are almost always the first to click on this email. :D It's a beautiful morning here! A light breeze stirs the leaves of the trees, the birds are singing, and the sun is shining. Sarah and I are getting ready to head out on a walk. We're going to walk to the park and back this morning. It should be a little over 2 miles, I just don't know how far. I guess we'll see.

Weather Report:

Rain. Rain. More rain. Seriously, we've gotten a lot of rain in the last few weeks. We've had cooler weather and rain. And some sunny days now and then. It's hard to find a time to mow when things are so wet. But we've actually had sunshine since Thursday! It's exciting! We had some sunshine on Wednesday, but not a full day of sun. There have been some severe storms and at least one tornado did some damage in Joplin, but it wasn't near us.

"Genius Burns":

Last month I got a whopping 4k written! Isn't that exciting? (I'm being sarcastic.) This month is off to a better start. I'm already over 5k for the month and am hoping I'll be able to make 20k. My stories are all being a bit slow and poky right now. Not sure if it's them or just me. I did manage to finish up a few short stories that were just for fun, and need to get a new "Kelsey" story printed for my editor. But "Monday's Mystery," "Katie Wood," and "Nan's Ice Cream Shop" are all just sitting there.

Project Prognosis:

How am I doing?

• Work on Blog Posts for 2024 – May's posts are done. Half of June's posts are done. And now I don't know what to post. Any ideas? Suggestions?
• Update Website – Updated for now!
• Tidy – I always seem to have something that should be put away.

Wedding:

Two Saturdays ago. Or was it three? I can't remember! I guess it was three, Sarah and I helped with a wedding of a friend. Sarah was the wedding coordinator and I was her assistant. We didn't have to do anything with the pictures as the bride's sister-in-law took care of that since Sarah and I were also doing the reception stuff. They just served cookies and milk (and nuts, kisses, and coffee). Pretty easy and laid back. It was a small wedding, but lovely.

Babysitting:

Last week all the kids except Krista came over Thursday morning, stayed all day, spent the night, and didn't get picked up until around 11 the next day. Jimmy, Megan, and Krista went to help work at a consignment sale and then shopped. They didn't get home until late which is why the kids spent the night. Since it was raining most of Thursday, or at least off and on, we did a lot of things inside. Like legos! We did walk a little. In the morning it was more legos and stories. It was fun to have them here as it's been a while.

Birthday:

Mom, Aunt Marty, and I all got another year older. A few of the younger kids were over that day as the older kids had school things going on. That evening Angela and I took a long walk together. That was fun. We saw some deer, and I reached my 50th mile for the Spring 100. (Side note: I've walked 33 miles in 19 days now.)

Spring 100:

Sarah and I have been walking. It's been fun as we've been logging over a mile almost every day for several weeks. Sometimes I get more in because I walk again with Angela. Right now Sarah is at 61 miles and I'm at 81 miles. Make that 64 and 84 miles. Last week when the kids were here, James, Joel, and I went on a 2 mile walk since they are also trying to do the Spring 100, but haven't gotten many miles in yet.

And yes, James is officially taller than Jimmy and Joel is about an inch shorter than James.

The Music Stand:

The Ladies Ensemble are singing tomorrow for Mother's Day. And then we're done. I'm guessing Sarah will be getting ready to start Bell practice with the kids before too long.

Visitors:

Well, Amber and her family spent an extra week here because they got sick, so that wasn't fun, but it did mean I got to see Amber a couple more times. We walked twice.

Next Saturday Uncle Steve and Grandpa are supposed to come down for a visit. They'll be stopping at J & Co's first to see them, so I may or may not write a Joplin Journal.

KDWC:

Over until July.

Sewing Room:

Sarah isn't quite as rushed right now, but she still has plenty of orders to keep her busy. Dresses, skirts, and more with cute fabrics and designs.

Speaking of sewing, I had a wall hanging quilt to finish for someone. I just sewed the binding on it, but it was something.

Read Another Page:

Nothing to report here.

Book Nook:

Since it's been a while since I sent out a Joplin Journal, my bookshelf today will be a bit long. Sorry. You can skip this if you want. Here we go. The Broken Gun (enjoyed this L'Amour book), Game Plan (fun sports story), Miss Abbott's Share (short story), A Vacation Endeavor (short but good), America's First Cowgirl Lucille Mulhall (interesting read), Freshman Quarterback, Backboard Fever, Fence Busters, Ten Seconds To Play! (last 4 books are all Chip Hilton series), Home Fires (not my book, but enjoyable), Grizzly (not bad), How Barbara Helped (short story), May We Make Them Proud (it was fine, not a favorite), Fourth Down Showdown, Tournament Crisis, Hardcourt Upset, (more Chip Hilton which I like). And yes, I'm working on reading the rest of the Chip Hilton series.

Farewell:

And that's that. Sarah and I got back from our walk. It was a 3 mile walk to, around, and back. Many people were out playing disc golf, and some were playing pickle ball. Have you ever played pickle ball? I haven't, but the courts are usually busy. Now I'm going to do something else. I think Sarah is in the kitchen, Dad sprayed for ants and now I'm not sure what he's doing, and I don't know where Mom is. I hope you all enjoy your day and have a great Mother's Day tomorrow!