Joplin Journal Volume 11-12, Issue 2

From the Editor's Desk:

Happy almost New Year! I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that Christmas has come and gone and that 2024 is going to start the day after tomorrow! Yikes! Maybe January will be a slower month. Maybe. It used to be and I loved it! In some ways I'm ready to get back into a routine and accomplish things like writing. I just have to realize that it's almost January.

Weather Report:

After most of the month being rather mild, we've gotten some cold. Some of you won't think it's cold, but when you've had weeks in the 50s and 60s, having them be in the 30s or 40s is a big change. We had a little bit of snowfall, but nothing stuck at all. And it didn't last long. And after days and days of clouds and even rain, we finally have sunshine! It's still cold, but the sun is lovely.

"Genius Burns":

I wrote an exciting 81 words on Thursday evening! Aren't you impressed? (Note the sarcastic voice.) The only reason I wrote that much was because I was rereading one of my stories that I want to publish and needed to add a little something to part of it. Now, if I could just find a picture of a doberman shepherd to use for the cover! Do any of you know of anyone who has a doberman shepherd dog that I could get a picture from? I've looked and looked for one. It's hard to publish Heroes without Capes when one of the heroes is a doberman shepherd and I can't find a picture of one. If you know of any, please let me know!

I'm ready to get back into writing regularly again. My only problem is that I don't know which story I should work on first!

Project Prognosis:

How am I doing?

• Work on Blog Posts for 2024 – January's posts are almost all done. Unless I decide to write a new post. Then I'll just move a finished one to February and call it good.
• Update Website – I actually did! I needed all my audios on my Audio page and so ended up updating more than just that page.
• Tidy – I actually have our room tidied, cleaned up, and things put away and it's not even January yet!
• Clean Out My Kindle – I did! It is SO nice to have deleted around 20 sample books and at least that many books I wasn't interested in reading.

Hoops:

On Christmas break.

Babysitting:

We haven't done any of that. The kids haven't even been over since we got the village built and set up.

The Music Stand:

All special music for church is over for now.

Orchestra will start practicing two other songs soon.

Stage Lights:

The Christmas play went well. Except for the mics not working right because the guys who did the video came and changed the sound board. That wasn't fun. But you can watch it HERE. It should start at the play. You will have to turn your volume up to hear it though.

Christmas Day:

We had a quiet Christmas Day with just us four. We didn't get around to opening gifts until mid morning. Then we pretty much just relaxed and read or sewed or whatever. Christmas night we ate our usual Christmas dinner of chicken enchilada dip, chili cheese dip, pigs in a blanket, chips, and veggies and dip while we watched a Christmas movie.

Christmas with J & Co.:

We haven't had Christmas with J & Co. yet. You see, Megan's dad went to spend Christmas in Heaven on the 18th, so we didn't do Christmas with them the weekend before Christmas. Then some of them were sick on Christmas day and they hadn't even done their Christmas as a family. We could have done it today, but it would have been for a shorter time since Jimmy & Megan are still trying to recover. The kids seem fine. So the plan is to do it on Monday. Hopefully no one else will get sick.

KDWC:

Over until March

Sewing Room:

The week before Christmas Sarah might have spent more time in the kitchen baking cookies than in the sewing room. Since she couldn't get anything mailed out in time for Christmas after the 18th, she hasn't been as rushed with sewing.

Read Another Page:

Nothing to report here.

Book Nook:

It's been a different year for reading Christmas books. Usually I read a whole lot of them, and sometimes I start reading them before Thanksgiving. This year I did more rereading of Christmas books because so many of the ones I started, I didn't end up liking, or they really weren't Christmasy. And the three or four I was going to get from the library were always checked out. So . . . my Christmas books were few and mostly short. Christmas with Tucker (lovely reread), Muskoka Christmas (mixed feelings), The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (not my kind of story), Dial I for Identity (interesting), Sleigh Bells for Windy Foot (loved this reread!), An Hour with Miss Streator (good short story), Joy (collection of short stories, one of them is mine), Who Lived in a Shoe (fun retelling). And that's it.

Farewell:

And that brings the last Joplin Journal of 2023 to an end. I can't believe I've been writing them for 11 years! That just doesn't seem possible! Anyway, happy New Year to you!