The recent news that our church is losing our head pastor and may lose our associate pastor to new jobs/opportunities has many people sad and confused. They are, after all, great pastors and leaders, and have been wonderful to and for our congregation. It's scary to lose them and to wonder what the future holds. No doubt, we as a congregation are in for a long process of finding the right person/people to serve as our leadership into the future.

I too am sad to see them go, but on the other hand I'm relieved that they are leaving on good terms. I honestly can't begrudge a person taking advantage of oppotunity. Any person would be a fool not to - after all, it's just stupid to stay in a rut because it's comfortable if the Lord is opening an opportunity for growth and advancement to you. While I will miss them and the stable support they have provided our congregation, I have to say that I'm happy to see them advancing in their careers and their lives, and I believe it's wise for them to seize these opportunities.

There's another side to this, though, that I don't think people are considering, and that's what I call the "graceful parting" scenario. Honestly, if people are questioning where they are in life and want to pursue a new or different course, I believe it's best for them to seek and take advantage of those opportunities and to leave gracefully and on good terms. These pastors are doing that. There is no controversy. There are no allegations of wrongdoing or shady morals. They aren't being run off. They are simply progressing along the path of life and that path has come to a fork in the road where they have chosen a divergent path. There's no wrong in that and if they want to go a different way, I admire them for acting on what's in their heart and going with the best of intentions for all.

I can speak to this from experience. Two years ago when legislation was in the State House to move the programs I work with (and, as a result, me) to a new department, things got, for lack of a better word, awkward. The department I was out was transferring the programs/me due to an internal transition they were going through in an effort to streamline and to operate in a more efficient and cost effective way. They were under strain and as a result put pressure on the powers that be to make things move - NOW, by the way, because they had to get these changes through before the end of the fiscal year in June. The problem was that, although they started the process well ahead of time for me, things don't move through the legislature in a great hurry. And so we waited, and panic set in around April when they realized that their deadlines weren't other peoples' deadlines, who had cares, concerns, and timelines of their own to worry about. Impatience took over and it got ugly and strained. At one point it got so nasty that I offered to work from home, which made them madder because they thought I was being a smart alec (but I was sincere, as the office space was becoming a problem at that point). I wanted nothing more than to part from the place on cordial terms - after all, I had been there 11 years, and it had been a rollar coaster but I didn't want to walk away with a chip on my shoulder - but they just wouldn't allow it. They couldn't control their impatience and frustration, my work ethic lagged to a point where it was so bad that I'm ashamed to say how little real work I did for the last 3 months in that office, and I finally walked out for the last time on July 1, 2010 with my computer and the attitude that I wasn't going away mad; I was just going away. While I  left on good terms with some people and a couple of friends, some of them try so hard to avoid me when they see me in public that I hope they don't sprain anything doing it. That would be a shame.

Too bad, really and a little embarassing to admit, but I took great lessons from this season in my life. One is that it's always best to part on good terms if it's possible, and I'm glad the pastors are doing that. I want them to move on through life with good memories and relationships at Mt. Tabor and I hope the experiences they've had with our congregation have been strong, positive ones that have prepared and built them up for what comes next. I don't want them wondering if they took anything from this experience but building up some job skills for the next step and nothing that fed them emotionally or spiritually, as I wonder about the last place where I worked. I hope we were more than a stepping stone and that we have enriched their soul and their lives in a significant way. But most of all, I don't want them walking away saying "Whew! Thank God THAT'S over!" I want them happy - with what they've had here, what they've accomplished, and what's ahead. 

So to Pastor Paul and Pastor Ryan, I say Godspeed. I'm honored that you were a member of our congregation and our families for these years and I'm happy that the Lord has opened new challenges and opportunities to you. I wish you success, happiness, prosperity and joy on the journey. Perhaps our paths will cross again. Life is funny that way. You never know.

Oh by the way, I learned something else about myself two years ago. I have a good work ethic, but if you piss me off I can not only get nasty back, but I can get darn lazy too. It's amazing how you can find better things to do with your time when you just don't care anymore.

That's all for today. Take care and have a good week.

Bye!

Hi everybody; I'm sorry I disappeared for a while. I was doing final edits on Anywhere But Here early last week and travelling on business to Coral Gables, FL late last week - needless to say, I fell a wee bit behind on some things!

Actually, this was my first experience on travelling for work. Until last Wednesday I had never flown or worked outside my home office. The flying seems to be the #1 question I'm asked and yes, I liked it fine. It was ok. Besides the fact that the landings seemed kind of rough and there was some turbulence, it was ok. I wouldn't hesitate to fly again, if need be. And it would have to be "if need be" due to the high cost of airplane tickets!

As for the rest of the experience, I'd rate it as a solid neutral. I rate it as such because frankly, I found an equal amount of pros and cons to the situation. For example:

Pro - I got to meet a lot of people that work in my field and it was good to share experiences, insights and knowledge.

Con - I was still working, the same as I do at home. The difference is that here I can go home after work. There, I went back to a hotel room, and every night I was checking e-mail for the office online to make sure I didn't get railroaded by an emergency or swamped with simple questions that I could answer "on the fly."

Pro - I didn't have to cook, as meals were either covered or will be reimbursed.

Con - The food in Miami is awful. Sorry folks, and I mean no offence, but they even managed to mess up mashed potatos with funky spices. Everything is either 5 alarm spicy (which is suicide with my acid reflux) or so bland you might as well chew on cardboard. I know now why the girls in south Florida are so skinny - the food isn't edible!

Pro - The weather was great! It was in the 80's and felt like April/May around here. That definitely agreed with me, especially when I found out that it rained here all day Friday while it was sunny and warm there (although I didn't get to enjoy it until 4:30 p.m. when my meetings broke for the day).

Con - The traffic was awful. Add to that the fact that President Obama was at the University of Miami Thursday (which happened to be my first day of meetings), which pretty much put things in gridlock during the late afternoon.

Pro - Lots of things within walking distance.

Con - Because you don't park for free in Coral Gables or Miami. I see why downtown is so opulant! It's $2 just to part for a few minutes, and an average of $10-$20 if you need to park for any length of time. They do not waste time, money or public resources on parking lots. It's meters everywhere. McDonalds and the hotel we stayed at were the only places that had free parking.
 
Pro - Flying really is the fastest way to get anywhere. Our trip home Saturday, including layovers, was roughly 4 hours. That's a fraction of the time it would have taken to drive.

Con - Miami International Airport must be about 20 miles long, and I walked every bit of it. I (unwisely) wore boots with a slight heel on the way in Wednesday, and had huge blisters. I wised up Saturday and wore socks and well padded shoes for the return trip Saturday.

Given all of this, I rate travelling on business as a "church camp experience." What does this mean? Well, when I went to church camp as a kid, I came home and told my parents "I had fun, but it's the kind of fun I only want to have once." I never asked to go back and never did. It was a perfect "once in a lifetime experience."

And that being said, it brings up a point that may be awkward for some - overall, travelling on business is the same as church camp. I'm glad I had the experience, but really don't care to see it again. And if this is going to be a requirement of my job from now on, well, I'm not aiming to become a high-power, globe trotting career woman. It might be time to pursue a mid-life career change. But that's a whole other issue to be discussed at another time.

So that's my impression and analysis on travelling on business. It's opened my eyes - some in good ways, some in bad ways, and some in ways yet to be determined, as I'm still processing a lot.

Take care all. More later.

Bye!

I wonder where inspiration comes from. It's a funny thing. For example, I haven't written a single new thing since November, yet I've done a lot with promotion of my work and a great deal of blogging. It's odd. It seems I'll go through these odd spells then all of a sudden I'll get hammered with more ideas than I can possibly keep up with.

Here's another puzzle: I've been agonizing over what to do with our front yard for a year. When you build on your own lot they don't do a thing for your yard - I mean nothing. Rick and I even had to plant grass, which we did, but we did little else because we were getting the inside of the house settled. Well, we finished that about a year and turned out attention outside, but came up blank. Then all of a sudden the entire vision of how to fix the front yard up came to me in Sunday School this morning. Just like that. I actually did a rough diagram of it while we were waiting to take communion on the back of my bulletin in church.

A lot of people have ideas of where it comes from. The most common that I hear is Holy intervention - the Spirit speaks and our mind moves. Some say it's how our experiences affect us. Some say it's where we are in life, or what we're going through - the situations we face and how they shape us. Others say it's more organic and inspiration comes through exercising regularly or eating right. Some say working your mind by doing puzzles. There are so many theories.

I believe they all have merit, but I think it's a more mysterious combination of it all. I sure do wish I could pinpoint what causes those flashes of inspiration that artist live for, though. I suspect I'd be a rich woman if I could find, bottle and sell that secret.

Unfortunately I don't have the answer, so I just have to work through it like everybody else. And hope that today's flash of inspiration for fixing up the yard will be the first of a wave that will inspire me in other areas of life. All I know is that my mind did start moving today, and I hope it's on a train that keeps on rolling.

Take care and I hope you have a great start to the week.

Bye!

There was an incident today that I feel needs to be addressed once and for all. It's time to clear the air. So here we go.

I had a House committee meeting today on regulations for one of my programs. As some of you know, my job moved from one department to another on July 1, 2010. Moving two registration programs is a massive effort - so massive that we've spent the past year and a half trying to get things settled. We have our last bit of work in the legislature in  hopes of wrapping up this transition for once and for all and getting settled in a nice, peaceful routine.

I was sent to this meeting in order to observe and note what items the committee discussed so we could prepare for anything that needs to be addressed as it continues through the legislative process. Unfortunately, the plan I was sent to execute was disrupted when a former associate of our program (who is also a former colleague that worked closely with this program before my time here) showed up. Even though he is  no longer on payroll or associated with the program or my department in any way, he felt it necessary to use his clout to intervene when the committee was discussing my program's item. The intervention resulted in the natural progression of the conversation to derail into areas that caused the committee members so much confusion that they referred it back to the subcommittee in hopes of getting the questions cleared up. Translation: we took a step back today, which means a delay, which means that my department and the representatives for my program are not happy.

I'm not either, and this mess forces me to attend to an unexpected situation. There are, obviously, some issues with my former colleagues and associates that need to be addressed. And so I have decided to use this blog entry to address them in an open letter to clear the air and set the record straight, for once and for all.

Dear Former Colleagues and Associates:

I understand that transition is tough. Lord knows, I've been through my share. I went to hell and back between my job move and my in-laws moving to town at the same time in the spring/summer of 2010. By the grace of God and the support of some great, stable people in my life (meaning my husband and immediate family), I was able to not only survive two concurrent life changes, but to thrive as well. I openly admit that my old life is dead. There's nothing of it left behind. I actually came to it recently in what I call a "Frodo Baggins Revelation." Just as Frodo realized that his adventure changed him too much to return to his old life, I also realize that I'm not the person I was. You see me out and about and you recognize my physical appearance, but if you talked for me even for a few minutes, you'd realize this isn't the Sherri you knew 18 months ago. Great change has that effect on a person. In fact, I'd say that if it didn't then there's probably something wrong because it should. While the fundamental basics of who you are remain stable, a major life transition (or two) SHOULD shift your paradiam so much that it changes how you see the world and apply those fundamentals to your life. I've moved on and learned so much more than I ever thought possible in a relatively short period of time. It's shocking, but I also see that it was necessary. I needed to change. I needed to grow up more. I needed to lose my fear and to live more boldly than I was in the past so I can fulfill my life purpose now and into the future.

What surprises me is to find that obviously, you are having some problems letting go. To intervene in the affairs of a program that you gave up 18 months ago, knowingly and willingly, is stark evidence that seems to say you still haven't severed your own ties to the past. Honestly, it was the last thing I expected. You played it so cool during and after my move that frankly, I thought you were relieved to be rid of the programs and to move on without them and me. Yet today I (and the full House committee) saw evidence that you are still following our progress and seem to feel some sense of obligation to "look after" us. I can assure you that this isn't necessary. Really it isn't appropriate and I won't lie - there are some folks on my end of this that are furious about what they deem as an unwelcome intervention. Their ways aren't your ways, and the fact that they didn't send an entorage to this meeting didn't speak of negligence - it was strategy for future planning. And you blew up that strategy because you inserted yourself into business that really isn't even yours to look in on because you believe in "making things happen" instead of letting them progress.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not here to cast blame. I understand that it can be hard to let go when something has been your responsibility for a long time. These programs are as old as I am, so it's natural to feel some attachment to something that was under your wing for over 35 years. I also understand that I was very young when you hired me to handle these programs. I was a 23 year old recent college graduate and newleywed in 1999 when you hired me - but that was 13 years ago. I grew up, folks. I don't know if you realized it, but in the years I spent there I did grow, I did learn, and I did outgrow many things. I won't deny that I still have much to learn, and I can be my own kind of fool from time to time. But please, grant me the grace to be the igit I am, not the igit you assume I am because you know the 23 year old me but not the 36 year old me. And believe it or not, there's a great difference between those two people. The girl I was is gone. I'm a new creation now. You may or may not like it. I don't know, and it doesn't matter because I'm gone so it's pointless to ponder.

Likewise, the programs have grown. As I said, the department where we are has a very different way of doing things, but different isn't bad or wrong. In fact, it's been very good for them and they've come a long way in a little time themselves. They're evolving by leaps and bounds but once again, by God's grace we're making it. We're working with great people that work in a very efficient team and have dedicated themselves to learning these programs inside and out. We have daily support. And frankly, it's refreshing for me and for the Board members to be in a place where everybody knows what we do and understand the issues we face, day in and day out. I have met so many good people. I moved to a smaller agency and learned that the world was so much bigger than I ever realized. It's a paradox I know, but an interesting one that I find delight in.

You said when the legislation was drafted to move me that it wasn't personal, it was just business. That's ok. Now please, maintain your professional demeanor. Today was awkward. Let's not do that again. If you wonder how I'm doing or how the programs are doing, please do it right. You know where to find us. Swallow your pride and call or e-mail. Please, let go of the past and entrust us and yourselves to the present. Believe, as we do, that everything happens for a reason. This move went through because the Lord willed it to go through. For whatever reason, He deemed this the time and place for our program to pass from one place to another and change isn't bad. It just provides the tools for moving forward. We do appreciate all that you did for us in the past, but we aren't your responsibility anymore. It's been 18 months and it's time for all of us to move on.

So please, let go. It's not personal OR business anymore. It's just reality. And I know from cold, hard experience that's something that always catches up with you. So make life easy - accept it sooner before it kicks your butt later.

I wish you well in your future endeavors. If we meet again I sincerely hope it will be under better, more friendly circumstances. What I said when I moved still stands: I wish you no ill will as our paths diverged - just respect for what was and the grace to allow us to grow in our respective directions.

Sincerely,

Sherri

Two years ago, I opened my Open Salon blog with an entry on why most New Year's Resolutions fail. In retrospect, I believe I took the wrong angle on the subject. I should have taken a more positive and helpful approach by addressing what makes them work, instead of how they fail. In this final entry in the "Surviving the Holidays With Your Sanity Intact" series, I'd like to discuss this issue. Don't worry - it won't be a lengthy dissertation. In fact, in two years of retrospect and reflection on that entry, I see that there's really one secret to making those resolutions stick.

In order for a New Year's Resolution to work, it has to be something that you believe in. Simple as that.

Ok, maybe it's not so simple. We live in a world full of voices that tell us what we should do, what we ought to be. You should diet and exercise, they say. You should get organized, they say. You should break a bad habit, they say. Good advice, except for one thing: Who are "they?" And what do "they" know about what's truly in your heart?

Perhaps this is harsh. Maybe "they" are concerned friends or family members. Maybe "they" are colleagues or neighbors or acquaintances. Maybe "they" mean nothing but the very best and "they" really and truly believe that these suggestions are for your own good. The problem is that "they" don't live your life every minute of every day. You do, and if you aren't happy with it then you'll only be able to force yourself to do something to make others happy for so long before you crack.

Don't get me wrong. It is helpful to be held accountable, but the fact of the matter is that people aren't going to be there every minute of every day to hold you up. Nobody is going to follow you around to make sure you get on the treadmill, or avoid the vending machine, or tidy up  before you leave today. There's no substitute for self discipline and you're only going to have it if your resolution is something that is meaningful to you on a deep, personal level.

That's not to say that the common resolutions are wrong - just that you need to make sure you have a reason that is meaningful to you. Start the diet and/or exercise program to get in better health. Clean up to feed a personal need to get more organized and efficient in your life. Take that class in something that your passionate about. Write that novel because it's a story that you feel passionate about sharing with the world. Volunteer with that committee or group because it's a cause you believe in. You alone are the only one that knows what speaks to you, and I urge you to search within to find out what you truly long for in your life when making those New Year's Resolutions.

Thanks for joining me for another blog series! I hope this has been inspirational and helpful. 2012 promises to be another exciting year with my next novel, Anywhere But Here, scheduled for publication in 2012. I plan to take you through the journey to publication when it goes into pre-production in the coming weeks. I will also continue to work on publicity for my novels and will tackle another type of writing that I have long needed to improve in: Short stories. Stay tuned!

Happy New Year everybody!

Hi everybody; I hope you're off to a great start to the week. Remember my last entry, when I said that the truth was showing itself? Well, it happened again. Somebody that turned on me got turned on by the very person they were defending. All I can say is to pick your tirades carefully. You look like more of an igit than they do when they show themselves. It's not judging in this case. It's truth showing itself, as it always does.

I tell you, reaping and sowing is so true that it seems people would have a reverential fear of it. Granddaddy certainly respected this as a life truth, and I see why. Heck, my own experiences have taught me that lesson, and other people remind me of it all the time. If I ever forget to check myself, I only need to live for a day to be reminded.

Anyway, moving on ...

I finally started my next writing project: Improving my skills at writing short stories. It's something I've long neglected. I've known for a long time that I need to study up on writing stronger short stories, but I've always pushed it to the background to work on novels. Well, I'm ready now. I found a couple of ebooks on writing better short stories, and I did a couple of drafts of 600+ word stories that I posted to my portfolio at Writing.com for feedback. I hope this works as well as it did with the novels. I made progress with them fast - in a matter of months! We'll see. 

Hopefully, my meeting schedule is letting up. In fact, Wednesday is the last meeting on my schedule until February. That doesn't mean that some won't pop up. In fact, I'm certain they will. But the degree of formality should be much less. Nothing to up the ante on the dress code at least (I hope!). 

I can't believe it's almost Halloween! I know a lot of people said it was a long, hot summer, but it seemed to leave without warning. I was out watering my roses and thinking, I can't believe these will probably be my last blooms of the season. So I cut 3 of them and put them in a bud vase in the kitchen. One last taste of temperate weather. I'm sure the first freeze is probably a matter of weeks away. 

You know what I believe my problem really is? It's not the season, it's displacement. Usually, Fall is a natural season of winding down, but I don't feel like winding down. I'm marketing a book, have another one on the way, and am focusing on improving in another area of writing. I usually slow down this time of year, but I just don't want to this year. Then again, the reason I did that in the past was because we went into license renewals at work around this time of year - but since they changed us to biennial license renewals, well, there are no renewals because everything is valid through 2013. Wow, that's odd! This will be my first year without license renewals since I started this job over 12 years ago. No wonder I feel like something is missing - it is! It's amazing that this one change in my job is causing so many adjustment issues. I don't need to wind down at home in preparation to gear up at work. Everything is different, but you know what? I'm not really bothered or upset by it. I see it as opportunity

Yes, life has a rhythem to it and mine's been thrown, but I'm sure I'll find a way to establish a new rhythem. I've never done much writing in the fall before last year when I participated in NaNo, so this will  be carving out a new experience for me. I think I want to keep this up and see where it can go. It's refreshing, and kind of exciting!

Well, there are snippits of a little bit of everything going on in my life. I hope you're doing well. Somebody will be back later to update - and since I'm doing short stories, who knows what it will be? A character? A new draft? More in my Sidekicks to Superhereos series? Who knows? You'll have to stay tuned. 

That's all tonight. Take care.

Bye!

 

Hi everybody, this is Jana Lanning from Sherri's upcoming novel Anywhere But Here. I got a text message from Rachel (from Blurry) saying that Sherri is letting her characters contribute to her blog every now and then. Well, since all the kids from Woodland are tied up with a football game tonight, I figured it would be nice and quiet and I could stop by tonight.

I've never had a blog myself before, so I hope I do this right. In fact, I usually don't get online much at all. I'm so busy with school and work - I'm a senior at the Coastal University in Palmetto Beach, SC and work part time at Dixion Financial, an accounting firm in town - that I don't have much free time. I spend most of it with my boyfriend, Darren, or my best friend, Amanda.

So today is my birthday! Mom and Dad came from Westwind Mountain to visit me today. They're staying the night in the beach house - they still can't believe I won't sleep in the master bedroom, but even after 4 years of living in the house while I'm in college, it still doesn't really feel like "my house." They would stay the whole weekend, but their church is contributing to a big community event tomorrow night, so they have to head back in the morning. (Whew! I don't miss that stuff! Being a Pastor's daughter meant I got plenty of that while I lived at home). It might work out for the best. Darren has to work until closing tonight, so he said we'd go out to celebrate my birthday tomorrow night. In fact, he has reservations at that resturant by the ocean that I love so much. He rarely gets a Saturday off, so I'm pretty excited.

Darren did give me my gift this morning before class - an opal necklass. It's very pretty. He said he knows it pales next to the three quarter carat diamond that Andrew gave Amanda for her birthday last month. I have to admit that it would be nice to have a diamond - after all, we have been together over three years. But we agreed not to rush things. We both are hoping to get in the MBA program at the University of South Carolina next fall, so there's probably a few more years of school ahead of us. Andrew and Amanda made it clear they're done with school once they get their degrees in May, so they're ready to move on. We aren't. But still, it would be nice. We could be engaged as long as we want. It's not like engagements expire or anything.

Oh, there I go again, rambling. I know I should be happy with what I have. It's like Darren says - we just want different things from life than Andrew and Amanda. There's nothing wrong with that.

Anyway, Mom and Dad got me an E-reader for my birthday. That will be nice. They also took me out shopping and out to lunch. We've had a pretty good day together. I hate that Darren didn't get to see them, but I understand how that is. It's hard when you work and go to school - time is pretty limited. 

So that's what's happening in Palmetto Beach, SC today. So far, it's been a pretty good 22nd birthday. I hope the continued celebrations over the weekend are good as well!

Take care all. See you around.

What's in store for Jana and Darren? Watch for updates in this blog leading up to the release of Anywhere But Here in April 2012 through Whiskey Creek Press!

Hi folks; I hope you're having a good week. It's been really busy the past couple of weeks, and not just with writing. It seems everything in life has exploded recently in every area. It's like that sometimes, and I should have figured. The summer was relatively sedate - as sedate as it gets in my life, anyway - so I guess it was bound to happen.

*Sigh* It seems that the older I get, the more complicated life gets. Everything keeps growing. Don't get me wrong - of course, we all want to see the fruits of our labor and to see things grow in our life. I'm very glad to add "independent author" to my life, and I've worked 10 years for this, and hope it keeps moving forward. That's the whole purpose, after all. Life in the 21st century seems to be a complicated web of activity. Everything's always in motion.

Or perhaps that's just the nature of life. Maybe it's always been that way.

The ironic thing is; I don't want to give up anything..(Well, if my writing did well enough to not make a full time job necessary, I'd gladly let that pass out of my life :) But seriously, my point is that I wish everything would take it's proper turn. It seems everything happens all at once. Does my work schedule HAVE to fill up with  meetings right when I'm trying to get publicity stuff done for my writing? Do things have to take off with church committees when friends are coming in from out of town to visit? Do people addicted to drama have to start acting up (or rather, acting like themselves) when all of this is going on at once?  Does Chloe's neck spasms have to start back up when there are things at home that need immediate attention?

And yet again, I say it's probably the nature of life. I hear others complain of this problem. The fact is that the world keeps turning, and it doesnt' stop because it would be convenient to hit a "pause" button for a while. Each and every one of us must find a way to cope and to keep on  moving. Because  life does, whether we feel like it or not. 

So I suppose the point of this blog is to say that my life is rolling along, just like everybody elses'. Life on Planet Earth is progressing as it always does. We're all still here and alive, and by the grace of God, we'll make it. 

That's all today. Happy Friday to you. Hang in there and I hope you have a great weekend. 

Bye! 

Hi everybody; I hope you're having a good weekend. I apologize for not blogging sooner, but I had an unexpected surprise: My right wrist and hand started hurting terribly Thursday. Heavy computer use between work and the recently released book were no doubt to blame, and I'm sure the fact that I wrote 3 flash fiction pieces didn't help. I limited my computer use to what was necessary Thursday and Friday, and took yesterday off (thank goodness for my iPod touch, so I could check Facebook and Twitter without too much pain and suffering). It's better today, but still aching a bit - so this will probably be a short entry.

I know a lot of my entries and social media posts of late have revolved around my writing, so I thought I'd give you an update on what's going on in the rest of this corner of the world. Unfortunately, that would be not much. My work is in a (very) rare steady phase. I have a lot of meetings, it seems, but it's routine stuff and not major board meetings. I know exactly why this is: The legislature isn't in session, and with several items pending review in 2012 I'm sure we'll be off and running again when they reconvene in January. So I intended to enjoy this.

I've been lucky in that the church stuff has been pretty level. The evangelism committee is meeting tonight for the first time since May - summer is a slow time for them, and the chairwoman has been working out of state a lot lately, so she's petitioning to keep it simple. Rick has a church council meeting tonight. He was hoping it would be simple, but one of the Pastor's told him this morning that it will probably be a doozy. The July meeting was cancelled because of Bible School, so they have 2 months of work and updates to catch up on. So we both have to go back to church for meetings tonight. 

The birds are doing well. Healthy and happy. They all got a bath yesterday and none of them were happy about it. We learned to bathe them before we go out for the day on Saturday so we don't have to get the evil glares until they dry off. It works out pretty good, and by the time we get home they forget how mad they are and are happy to see us again.

It's rained a lot the past few days, which is good because I just fertilized the roses, probably for the last time this season. I hope the rain will result in good late summer and fall blooms. They've done well this summer, which is good. I was worried about how the extreme heat would affect them, but they've done alright and kept right on blooming.

Yes, I'm still loving the new laptop!

That's really all - things have been kind of slow, and I'm grateful for that. Everybody needs that from time to time. I hope all is well in your world. Enjoy what's left of your weekend.

Bye!