April Showers And Spring Flowers

 

Happy April. I hope your month is starting off well. I'm a little sad this week, I had to cut down my lilac bush last year, and I'm really missing it. This time of the year, I usually have a bunch of them in the house, filling it with their lovely fragrance. I have two new bushes, and I'm hoping they will bloom by next spring and that our weed bushes won't take them over. That's what happened to my other lilac bush. I don't know what the weed bush is called, and I guess I should look it up since it's popping up all over our property. It's very invasive and took over my lilac bush despite me cutting the weed bush down several times. But my ornamental cherry trees are blooming, and their white petals are falling all over the yard giving it a pretty mixture of green and white with the occasional yellow dandelion poking through. 

Anyone who has read my books knows that I use a lot of references to nature. I love being outside. I love trees and flowers. I like for my characters to have strong affinities for nature. 

This spring has brought some very unusual weather for some places in the U. S., but here in Kentucky, we're having a pretty typical spring weather pattern. Each week has a few days of rain and a few days of sunshine. Yesterday it was 85℉, which is hot for this time of the year, but today it's rainy and only going to get up to 53℉, which is more like the correct temperature for this time of the year. 

This year has been a mixed bag already for family life and friends. My youngest grandson was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at age nine. This is something usually discovered at birth nowadays, but if he hadn't continued to have problems with his lymph nodes, we might not know about it, but now that we do, we're working with his medication to keep him healthy. Thankfully it hasn't slowed him down. So he has been wearing himself out every day.

A dear friend of mine who had been a teacher and librarian for over 50 years was diagnosed with dementia last month. I've been helping her long-time friends take care of her until they finally got her into an assisted living facility. It's very sad to see someone who was sharp as a tack have delusions and forget where they are. 

On a high note, my oldest grandson talked me into getting Eagles tickets so he and I could go see them in Knoxville, Tennessee. I was a little put off by the price of tickets, but I was glad I coughed up the money for our nosebleed seats because it was an awesome show.

I've been on a bender about appreciating every day ever since my brain surgery which was a year ago March 29th. I've always taken for granted that I've been pretty healthy, but I haven't always appreciated my life with all its good and bad parts, but I am working very hard to get better about that. I hope you, dear reader, are appreciating every day for the gift it is. 

So, what's happening with my writing? Lots! I started a new story on the first of April as part of Camp NaNoWriMo, and it is flowing very well. I've already made arrangements with my editor for her to start working on it later this summer, with a planned release date in December because the book has a Christmas story in it. 

My editor has the first three chapters of College Hill, the continuing story of Jamie and PJ from my young adult romance, Suddenly. We have finished the third edition of editing which will be released with a new cover and the first three chapters of College Hill as bonus material just as soon as she finishes editing it. 

During the week of April 17 - 21, my book Learning to Love Again will be on sale as it is a part of I Heart SapphFic's reading challenge in the category of Divorce. It will be on sale that week for 99 cents, so I hope you'll drop by their page and vote for my book.