It Was A Quick Winter

I know a lot of people up north are still dealing with snow and cold and all that nonsense, but it’s been a quick winter for us here on the Central Florida coast. During the 28 days of February, the weatherman says it was 80° or warmer for 16 of those days. Yesterday was pushing 90° again, and though it’s supposed to be cooling down once again this week, predictions are for another rise in temperatures before long. I don’t want to be shoveling snow anywhere, but I would like it to stay tolerable for a while longer here before we get into the heat and humidity of summer.

I spent most of yesterday working on my newest book, Boom And Bust, the third entry in the Tinder Street series. The biggest problem I have with writing historical fiction is that ever since I was a little kid I have absolutely loved history, especially American history. When I start doing research for something, I often find myself getting sidetracked and easily lose an hour or two.

This happened to me yesterday when I was researching what kind of tractors were available on small farms in the mid-1920s. It isn’t an important part of the story but I like to get my facts straight, and I found several good references that told me what I needed to know. But from there, a link took me to articles on farming technology in that era, which in turn took me to the transition from farmers using horses and mules to mechanical equipment, and the impact it had on their lives out in the fields and at home at the end of the workday. If I’m ever a contestant on Jeopardy and the subject is Early 20^th Century Farming, I’ve got a good shot at winning the category.

While I was doing that, Miss Terry was balancing the checkbook and doing our end-of-month paperwork and working on some ideas for her next weaving projects, as well as making a delicious chicken pot pie from scratch for dinner. Tell me that doesn’t look good! And there was plenty left over for dinner tonight, too!

Today will be a busy day for us. We have to stop at Mullinax Ford in New Smyrna Beach to look at a truck, then go to see our favorite chiropractor, Dr. Melony Thomas, at Coastal Integrative Healthcare in Palm Coast for adjustments. Melony is not only the best chiropractor we have ever known, she’s also a dear friend, and we look forward to seeing her. It’s been quite a while. From there, it’s on up Interstate 95 to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville for a routine follow-up appointment Terry has scheduled. Like I said, a busy day.

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us.

Thought For The Day – A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.