For starters, I would like to wish everyone a Happy Summer Solstice! I hope you have plans to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and summer weather. This really is a beautiful day. The only little catch in all of my current happiness is that we here in Houston have just named our first tropical storm for the season. His name is Alberto. Also, there are other weather-related spots moving up on both the Gulf Coast and over by Florida. We may have more tropical storms next week. Usually we don’t see this much activity until August or September, but that was before the days of global warming. Fortunately with this first storm, it struck southwest of us, but was big enough to give a good soaking. I hope our luck holds out for the duration of Hurricane Season. I really don’t think I’m in the mood for a hurricane this year and I hope Mother Nature agrees with my request.
In between tropical storms, there are days like today. Sunny and warm. It may be too hot to exercise outside, but you can still have a nice time walking to your favorite pool or gym. Keep in mind that no matter how hot the weather is this year, it will only get hotter next year. There’s a pleasant thought that should keep you up at night. Still feeling cheerful? In the meantime, enjoy all of the beautiful flowers that cover our landscape this time of year. If you get up early enough, you might be able to walk a little bit before the heat of the day and risking heat stroke. Or maybe a friend can drive around with you to admire the colorful nature blossoms through the window of an air conditioned car. The flowers with their beauty are literally all around us.
Now, here is the most important factor about Summer Solstice and it does not involve flowers or Stonehenge or anything like that. Rather it is now time that we can start an official count down to Halloween. The days now begin to get shorter and shorter. At some point, hopefully before the spookiest day, temperatures will cool down. I don’t mind allowing approximately three months for hot weather; however, in September I start getting very antsy for my collection of witches, skeletons, grim reapers, bats, and other mysterious creatures that scream out “Boo!” In truth I have already started planning my Halloween decorations that will go outside my house. As you can see in this picture, some of my skeleton friends are helping me. I don’t have to worry about decorating the inside of my home, because that remains decorated and haunted all year long.
Bwahaha!
Until next time.….…..
“cool kids”. Most of the classes took place in the Boulder Book Store which means I returned home with more books than I started out with. And since this was before the pandemic, I could run around the bookstore with wild abandon looking at as many examples of the printed word as possible. It was a great trip. Since that summer, I have continued to attend Max Regan’s Exciting Summer Writing Intensives. Zoom is not as exciting as streaking around a bookstore in person, but it works. This summer I will be joining again via computer technology. The good part is that there are other writers here in the Houston area and we plan on meeting together for zoom classes and writing sessions. Don’t worry, if we need a bookstore fix, there is always Brazos Bookstore just a mile or two down the road.
Another writer who has been busy is Barbara Carle. She has published books of poetry in the past, but this month she, along with Inklings Publishing, has launched “Evening At Tony’s”. I couldn’t wait to get my own copy. If you’ve ever had dinner in a crowded restaurant and wondered what stories lay behind all of the other diners sitting at their own tables, then you will enjoy this book. As is said, I laughed, I cried, I couldn’t put it down. You can get your own copy at either Inklings Publishing or Amazon. I am always so impressed at the amount of writing Barbara gets done every year. I think her next book is scheduled for this coming fall. I’ll be sure to tell you about that launch when it happens.
As far as Mother Nature is concerned, in addition to some strong storms that have moved through the area and across the country, I have made several observations in my day-to-day life. For starters, I went for a walk at the Houston Arboretum the other morning. Not only were flowers blooming and birds singing while I was there. I also saw lots and lots of caterpillars! Apparently these little critters come in different colors. This picture shows a fuzzy black caterpillar. Supposedly they shed their skin about six times and get lighter in color each time. These cuties are harmless to humans, but they love to eat leaves of plants. They only live for about six months and then they go through their magical (or scientific) process to become butterflies. I am guessing there are going to be lots of butterflies at the Arboretum later this summer, because there were so many caterpillars that it was challenging not to step on them.
Closer to home I have noticed a lot of magnolias blooming. Where I live now there are many of these trees, which makes for lovely walks around the neighborhood. This picture really doesn’t do these beautiful flowers justice. I hope you get to see some up close and personal for yourself.
April 8th! Come one, come all! Call the neighbors and wake the kids! April 8th is the date for the Solar Eclipse here in Texas. Oh sure, you can also see it in Mexico, Missouri or Nova Scotia. However, Texas is where I will be along with a couple million of my closest friends to see the most exciting Solar eclipse for many years. In order to prepare for this miraculous event, a friend and I are taking a class at Rice University as part of their Glasscock School of Continuing Studies. I have listened to many speakers who know much more about this kind of stuff than I ever will. Yet, they are masterful at making it very interesting for rookies like myself. They also show the class a lot of cool pictures and we even went on a field trip to the planetarium at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. What Fun!!!!
Where you are in relation to the path of the eclipse will determine how much you see of this miraculous event. Just on the west side of Austin, one will see what is called “Totality”. That means that one will see the sun completely covered by the moon as in these pictures. Here in Houston we will see a measly 94% coverage which still promises to be one heck of a solar phenomenon. Viewing times in Houston will run from 12:20 p.m. until 3:01 p.m. with max coverage at 1:40 p.m. Compare that to Bandera County, Texas which will have totality coverage of the sun at 1:31 p.m. to 1:35 p.m.
It is important to note that no one can look directly at a Solar Eclipse without damaging their eyesight permanently. To keep us safe, places like the Museum of Natural Science and the store Land, Sea and Sky, Houston Camera Exchange and other places are selling what is known as Solar Viewing Cards and Glasses. This is a most important point!!!!! You do not want to damage your eyes while looking at this most magnificent and historical of events.
Finally, while I have been learning all about eclipses, the class lecturers have also talked about the sun. I have been learning all about something called Space Weather. This involves the sun’s magnetic field and how it interacts with the solar plasma. You can also look at pictures like this to see sun spots and solar flares. Apparently there is a lot going on up there that we mere earth mortals rarely think about.
I am taking the literary license to change the topic of the blog that I had originally written for today. As you can tell by my most recent skeleton picture, my first topic involved the Rodeo. That’s always big news here in Houston this time of year. I guess I can call this picture “Rodeo Barbie”. You might notice that I have placed a clip on her shoulder which is securing her to the chair. Either she was getting up at night and partying with the other skeletons, ghosts and otherworldly beings or the wind blew her out of her chair and cowgirl hat three times. I hope the truth is that she was partying and having fun.
How many distractions do mere mortals need to deal with at any given time? We just finished the Winter Holiday season; yet, how much of the fun and frivolities have already been forgotten? When do we really slow down and pay attention to the world in front of us? I’m trying my best. I am always a better writer when my mind can focus on only one or two things at a time. Like, the plot and the characters. It’s always easier to write my stories when I have a plot and some characters. Funny how that works.
This year we have both Mardi Gras and Valentines Day mixed up together. I, myself, do not celebrate Mardi Gras, but many people do. Galveston devotes two weekends to parades and parties. I have never been to any of them. Valentines Day I enjoy, because my skeletons enjoy getting dressed up in a lot of red. Don’t they look cute? My neighbors are really coming around to enjoying my skeleton displays. They may still think me odd, but the skeletons are harmless. At least they are during the day.
Was this one of my most exciting New Year’s ever? Not by a long shot. It was pleasant and it was nice. 2023 tried its best to kick my ass, but I am still here. I am standing upright with a good mind (mostly?) and still exercising.
So, what am I hoping for in the near future? For starters I have a new desk. It is smaller and sleeker than the last one. I am still getting organized, but it is working dandy well for this blog. My good friend Jim put the desk together and it didn’t even take that long. This picture shows the construction site where all parts were assembled. The best news is that none of this seems to have confused my cat, Hannah. Of course she has hidden under the couch a few times, but never for very long.
So here is the finished product: the new desk. I like it and the computer works on it very well. The printer even fits on the desk which is a luxury I did not have before.
For those of you who are aware of my proclivity for all things spooky, I know you did not expect the winter holidays to come and go without a greeting from the skeletons. This is their favorite Holiday outfit, especially because it confuses those who are expecting to see some jolly old elf clad in red. It’s a beautiful day here in Houston and these two are enjoying the fresh air and sunshine while laughing about the reactions they receive from those mere mortals that walk past.
My niece, Becca, sent me this wonderful pillow that pretty much sums up my life. I believe she got it in Salem, Ma. Is it possible that spookiness runs in my family? Can you find it in my 
I’m relaxing this week and for good reason. Another successful presentation of Haunted Holidays Readings at Brazos Bookstore has come and gone. If you missed it you have two options. You can go to 
As you can see the skeletons who participated this year are quite tired and taking a bit of a rest. You might notice that this year Barbie was able to join in the fun. This was in addition to all of the other spooky guests. Once again this year, my good friend, Jim, served as the Chief roadie and skeleton wrangler. He made sure all skeletons made it to the event on time and then landed back home safely. I think we only lost one sock in the process. Also, Sabina Gartler (Sister WiVLA Member) helped with additional decorations. Finally, thanks to all of the wonderful members of WiVLA and the Houston Writers Guild for joining in with their creative talents. It takes a village to pull off a well organized Haunting. Much gratitude to everyone.
Of course, there will not be a lot of time for rest. There are other holidays to consider, but for me and my skeletons, the stress level goes way down. This fine fellow volunteered to be our official Turkey Day mascot. My official Thanksgiving plans include going to Govinda’s for a vegetarian Holiday dinner with all the trimmings. Yes, I actually like Tofu Turkey!!! I will bring enough home to share with my skeleton crew. It’s the least I can do.
So it came as a shock to me the other day when I found myself driving along I‑10 on my way to Highway 6. For those of you not familiar with Houston geography, it felt like I was driving from the Grand Canyon all the way to California. Well, it felt that long to me and then I had to drive back home. I went to a place called Crown Trophy. The Authorpalooza conference is happening this weekend. Friday night is the Journey Into Art Anthology launch and I had the First, Second and Third place medals for the winners of the writing contest. This was a very nice company to work with and I highly recommend them for all of your medal and statue needs. But must they locate themselves so far away from where I live? Not very neighborly of them. But at least I have fulfilled my obligation for this weekend.
As soon as I got home, I sat down with some of my skeleton friends. Now that the temperatures are actually cooling down, they prefer to sit outside and study their books. I think they also go for walks at night or so they tell me. Luckily they are in a spot where they are protected from the rain.
Now of course the two friends who are not necessarily protected by the rain are Mr. Gargoyle and his friend, Skelly. One day I asked them why they chose their current spot and Mr. Gargoyle said that it was the spot where he could best protect my home. Since he feels like this is his primary function, I decided he could stay there. He assured me a little rain wouldn’t hurt him. Also his friend, Skelly, knows how to hold on real tight in case the wind starts blowing. I feel very safe knowing that these critters are in charge of the safety of my home. Of course, when I leave and go somewhere else (like Highway 6), I am pretty much on my own. That’s why I stay close to home.