Joplin Journal Volume 10-9, Issue 2

From the Editor's Desk:

Good morning. I'm sitting here at my desk with the windows wide open and classical music playing on the radio. It's a lovely early fall morning. It's supposed to be 90º or so today, so I'm sure the windows won't stay open, but it's nice for now. Sarah and I didn't walk this morning because we slept in and are just busy. But the breeze is really nice, and I can't decide if I want to call Angela and see if she wants to walk or not. Maybe I'll finish this and then see.

Weather Report:

Fall weather has been showing itself! Several days this week we've had the windows open all day. Nights have been in the 60s and a few were in the 50s. Fall is coming!

"Genius Burns":

Not this week. I only wrote a little over 200 words so far this week. But then I have a hard time writing when I'm working on finishing up some things. And Monday and Tuesday were busy with "Lawrence and Lenexa" so I only wrote a little on my Christmas Collection story for this year. But I hope to get back to all my other stories soon.

Project Prognosis:

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

• Work on Blog Posts – September's posts are finished. I have 1 post for October finished, 2 almost done (just need to add links or something small when I can), and 1 post that is just started and needs finished.
• Lawrence & Lenexa – Cover designed. New title given. Interior formatted. Just waiting for a synopsis.
• Work on my Name List – I read the Graham Quartet books and added all those names. I also printed my Name List for my Christmas books. I wonder how many of the same names I have in them.
• Clean out My Arificial Flowers – I have a large box full of artificial flowers that I've used for decorating, or are left over from making wreaths or such. I got it all cleaned out and organized again.
• Update Website – I really needed to update my website! I hadn't even added either of this year's published books to it! But I got everything updated except my Audio page which I'm still trying to decide how to do. Any suggestions?

The Volleyball Net:

Games are moving right along. Krista, at least, is loving it. I think the boys are all enjoying playing too. I am planning on going to a game this afternoon to see James and Joel play. Last night Krista played with her co-ed team, but I stayed at the house with Grant and Kinsley. Krista's team won both games.

Babysitting:

Yesterday we had all the kids except Krista here for the day. We did a little bike riding, but most of the day was spent with Legos! Drew (with a little help from some brothers) created a whole missionary scene with a missionary family and their farm and the natives. There was a zip-line across the swamp, where a family of alligators lived, to another home. There were pirates who lived in the mountains over there. But a British ship was hunting the pirates and was coming. It was all really neat!

When Kins was taking a nap, we built a new train set that I had gotten, and then the boys go inspired to build all the sets they could and put them all around the living room for a town. :D It was pretty fun. They had trains, a bus stop, gas station, grocery story, farm, train museum, camping, skiing in the mountains, and an ocean vessel in the water.

And like I mentioned before, Grant and Kins stayed here during the volleyball games and didn't get picked up until about 9:30.

Birthday:

Krista turned 16 yesterday! It doesn't seem that it's been that long since she was born! She will have a "friends volleyball party" in the gym at church tomorrow afternoon. Then she wants to have her grandparents over for a special birthday dinner another time. She's growing up.

The Music Stand:

We played for church on Sunday. You can listen to us play prelude HERE.

Now we have music for orchestra. We plan to play for Thanksgiving and then again for Christmas.

The Ladies Ensemble starts next month, and Sarah and I are both planning on singing.

KDWC:

Closed until October.

Sewing Room:

Still busy. I'm not sure what she's working on now.

Read Another Page:

Lawrence & Lenexa got a new title! And a cover! A friend of mine heard I was having trouble designing a cover, and asked if she could try. I said sure and told her a little about the story. She spend much of Monday working on it and not only did she design a fun cover, but she came up with a new title for it!

Don't you like the cover? It's different than all my other books, but I think it really fits. Once I have a synopsis, I'll publish the book.

Teacher's Lounge:

Closed until further notice.

Book Nook:

I've actually read some books that aren't mine (well, two in today's list are mine, but only two). And they aren't all short stories. Mountain Feud (fun read), Left to Die (I reread this sweet story), The Graham Quartet and the Mysterious Strangers (my own story), The Graham Quartet and the Mystery of the Day Maid (yep, this is mine too), Ready-Made Family (I love this story!), Runaway Alice (this story is lovely). Not sure what I'll read next.

Farewell:

Well, the breeze is still nice, and I should do something. I think I'll work on the editing and formatting this year's Christmas Play. I want to make sure all the lines sound like the person who will be playing that part. That's always fun. :)

I have no idea what everyone else is doing right now. I hope you have a lovely weekend!