Joplin Journal Volume 9-2, Issue 2

From the Editor's Desk:

Surprise! I'm sitting here at my desk this bright, sunny morning instead of getting things ready to go to church for the Widows' Luncheon. That's because we decided to postpone it once again. The side roads are still covered in snow, and we didn't want any of the ladies falling, or having trouble driving. And we weren't sure what the parking lot at church was like. This is the first time we've ever had to change the date twice. But when I talked to the widows 4 of them told me they had decided not to try and come today, so it looks like it was a good decision.

Weather Report:

Sunday morning when Sarah and I got up, there was only a light dusting of snow on the ground, but within fifteen minutes the snow had gotten heavier and it wasn't long before things were beginning to turn white. Church was cancelled and we stayed home. It snowed all day Sunday. And all day on Monday. The wind blew the snow into drifts instead of letting it just fall and stick, so I'm not sure how much we got then. On Tuesday it was sunny! But cold. My best friend and I bundled up and went for a walk in the snow. It was so pretty. That night it started snowing again, and by Wednesday we had another 4 inches of snow. But the sun came out part way through the day. And we had sunshine Thursday and Friday. Yesterday it got just above freezing, and today it's supposed to be in the 40ºs. It sure has been strange having snow on the ground for this long! We've very thankful for sunshine and warmer temperatures.

"Genius Burns":

And the ideas just keep coming. I've been writing a little over 1k every day this week and it has all been on "Phil Wood." This story is now over 1/3 of the way done! One day I had to take time from writing to figure out which thing had happened. I realized that I have 5 different options for a certain situation but I needed to know which one it was. So I wrote each option down on my dry erase board and then analyzed them all. [A] wasn't going to work. [B] didn't work. [E] wasn't even practical, so that left [C & D]. They both worked. They both created the situations that I needed, so . . . I'm not going to tell you what I chose. :) You'll just have to read the book.

Project Prognosis:

• Widows' Luncheon – Ready, but will have to wait until next Saturday
• Children's Church – I got ready last week, but we didn't have church, so I'm teaching tomorrow. I'm ready. Just have to review a little.
• Working on cleaning out my computer files – I discovered that I can listen to audio books while cleaning out files. It makes me work longer, and I'm more motivated to actually do it.
• Blog Posts – This is a never ending project. But I have all the posts for March done except for two little things on two posts, and two posts in April are done.

Babysitting:

We finally got to babysit the kids yesterday! We read stories, and played games and ate lunch. Dad took James to his piano lesson. I helped Krista with some advice for her writing project for school. She needed some help with writing a setting (I LOVE writing settings!) and she needed some help on where and how to design a cover for her story. (Another thing I love doing.) It was fun to have the kids over again. Grant wants to know how everything works.

Krista told us that the other day Grant wanted to go play in the snow, but it was too cold out, so Megan had filled a large bowl with snow and put it in the bathtub so Grant could play with it. When it was supper time, Grant came running to the kitchen and said, "Snow is WATER!" He had discovered it and was quite excited about it.

While they were over, Grant dressed up in the police outfit and came and handcuffed me with a serious face. I asked him what I had done and he said, "You didn't talk to me." So I talked to him and he let me go. :D Silly boy.

Read Another Page Publishing:

I really should get some story finished up and published so this section isn't so empty. But I'm writing "Phil Wood" and don't really want to stop.

Reading Challenge:

It's been fun to work on reading the books that have been stacked up on my kindle waiting to be read. Not all of the books have been worth reading and sometimes I don't finish it. But I've read 13 books from the challenge. If you need help tackling your To Be Read list, feel free to join the challenge.

Book Nook:

Speaking of reading, I finished reading Partners, and then reread my own Woodbreak books so I could make a list of all the characters mentioned, and refresh my brain on the other stories in the series. I also read Ginnie and the Cooking Contest. Yes, that was a reread from my childhood, but it was fun. If you know of any girls who like to cook, or maybe who just like to read, you should try this book. And then I read part of Voyage of the Sandpiper, but stopped because the historical problems were driving me crazy.

Farewell:

And so, this Joplin Journal comes to an end. Hopefully, I won't be able to write one next week. I don't want to postpone the Luncheon again! Oh, next week James is turning 13! Can you believe it? Where has the time gone? Anyway, have a lovely weekend! If you are experiencing cold and snow, just remember that it won't last forever.