A 7K Sunday

Don’t let the title of today’s blog fool you. I didn’t run a 7K marathon or do any other kind of running yesterday. Trust me, if you ever see me running, you had better run, too, because there’s something really big and mean behind me!

But I did have kind of a marathon writing day, getting in 7,000 words in my new Big Lake mystery book by the end of the day. 7,000 words is not a record for me, or anywhere near it, but it is a good solid day’s work. I always feel good when I have a productive day like that. Hopefully today will be another one.

Terry made delicious shrimp chimichangas for dinner, which are among my favorite of all the things she cooks. Someone actually did ask me a while back what my favorite is of all of her many dishes is, but there’s no way to pick just one. Her made from scratch homemade pizza is amazing, no restaurant can serve chicken Alfredo that comes anywhere close to matching hers, I was never a fan of grits until she introduced me to her shrimp and grits, the things she can do with a pork tenderloin would leave any television chef green with envy, her pan-seared tuna is to die for, and nobody can make fried chicken like Terry does. And that’s just one week of amazing eating!

After dinner we watched the new episode of Call the Midwife on PBS, which is one of our favorite shows, and then an episode of the series Maid on Netflix. It’s about a young single mother who leaves an abusive relationship and tries to rebuild her life and provide a good home for her child on her own. It’s a bit dark at times, but that’s the reality of life. At one time, I helped found and was on the board of directors of a women’s shelter in one of the towns where I published a newspaper. It was both the most frustrating and heartbreaking, and at the same time rewarding endeavors I was ever a part of. I can tell you from that experience that the folks who created Maid got it right, from the hoops women have to jump through to get any kind of assistance, the games that are played in court over custody issues, to the second thoughts and self-doubt they all experience. As I said, the show is dark at times, and it’s definitely not for everyone. But it’s still very much worth watching.

Congratulations Jeannine Sheridan, winner of our drawing for an audiobook of The Ghost of Halloween Past, Book 5 in my pal Bobbi Holmes’ excellent Haunting Danielle mystery series about a bed and breakfast on the Oregon coast that is haunted by the ghost of a former owner.  We had 25 entries this time around. Stay tuned, a new contest starts soon.  Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed.

Thought For The Day – Sometimes we have to accept the fact that things will never go back to the way they used to be, but life goes on.