Reading by Bonnie Le Hamilton

 

I have been doing lots of reading this month. And by that, I mean I haven’t done any writing except for my blog posts.

At this point, I’m in the middle of my 28^th book for this month.

It started out with me reading what Jana Deleon books I did have on my reader, and then I decided to look up more of her works. I am currently on her Miss Fortune series. I have now read ten of those, there are 24 or 25, so I still have more to get. And that’s only one of her series! I just want to get through all the Miss Fortune books before I read anything else of hers. I plan to read the Mudbug series after the Miss Fortune series.

By the way, if you are looking for funny cozy mysteries, look up the Miss Fortune series. They are more of a fish out of water combined with a comedy of errors than anything. And they are hilarious, which is saying something since I don’t get jokes too often.

After I read those ten books, I thought I’d read another mystery. I read one that is more suspense than mystery, the author of that one gives the POV of several characters including the bad people.

Then I decided to read something less intense and switched to my Marta Perry “The Three Sisters Inn” series. That’s three books of cozy, sweet, mystery.

After that, I decided I’d had enough of mysteries for a while and switched to Brenda Minton’s Cooper Creek series, what I had of them on my reader. I am still one book short on them. I read the first seven, but somewhere along in there, I realized some of the characters mentioned were in her series about cowboys, which I have six of in hard copy, so I dug them out and reread them, only to discover I was missing the final two of that series both of which are before Cooper Creek starts.

I got those two at an exceptionally low price on my reader. The first one of those two is the one I am on now.

However, in talking to Konnie about authors she knows and likes, we got on the subject of Rusty Ellis, another mystery writer I like, and well, he is family. He’s married to a distant cousin of ours.

But in talking to Konnie, I realized he had more books out than the one I already had, so I looked him up on Amazon, and now I have four of his books. So, I already have my February reading list.

I have tons of mystery books. I know I have mentioned Dick and Felix Francis before, but I also have some of the likes of Agatha Christy and Patterson, as well as all the mystery writers I've already mentioned. I even have the first twelve of the Boxcar Children mysteries.

And as far as sweet romance goes, well, clearly, I have several by Brenda Minton. More than I have already mentioned. Three more to be exact. Brenda Minton is one of the authors in the “After the Storm” series on the “Love Inspired” line. That series is good too. And I have two of Minton’s standalone books.

I also have several “Love Inspired” books by Linda Goodnight, some are in a series, and one is a standalone. My favorites of hers are the “Whisper Falls” series and “Special Delivery Baby.” I have four of the “Whisper Falls” series and five of the “Triple C Cowboys” series. I really should look up if there is more sometime. Can’t afford to buy more right now though.

Then again, I got my first Linda Goodnight for free on Kindle. Yeah, I’m hooked. Of course, I know that any “Love Inspired” book isn’t going to have scenes I don’t want to be reading.

This reminds me, I received three books as Christmas presents this last year, and I’ve never heard of any of the authors, so I have no idea what I’d be getting into with them.

Years ago, I first read Nora Roberts in a Reader’s Digest condensed book. On reading a full book of hers, I discovered I can only handle her in the condensed form, and that made me hesitant to read any full works of Dick Francis. I didn’t delve into his uncondensed works until a friend promised me his writing was clean.

Hence why I am reluctant to read unknown authors.

Not that I haven’t done that. Any book published by Deseret Book or part of the “Love Inspired”, “Sweet Romance” lines, or family, guarantees to be a safe read.

Anyway, happy writing everyone.

Of New Years and Old Things by Konnie Enos

Here it is, nearly the end of January and I’m thinking about all the things I have not done with this new year.

I have not read a single book, not even that pile of books I got for Christmas. (I got somewhere in the amount of nine or ten new books.) Or any of the new-to-me books I acquired in the few months preceding December. Though I admit I have tried to read a few of my books. I think I have three that I’ve started in the last few months and just never picked up again.

I have not done a single handcraft. I not only have tons of yarn, hooks, and needles in easy reach, but I also have some knitting looms and some cross stitches I can do. I have all sorts of plans for all of it, and I have picked them up at least once or twice, but I have not put any serious effort into it.

I have not consistently kept up with my chores. I’m not cleaning the kitchen regularly and I haven’t been helping Melinda with planning our weekly menu or writing our weekly shopping list. I’ve cooked dinner only once, leaving the bulk of it to Melinda. I’m also behind on keeping my checkbook up to date.

I have not been making my church meetings. Most of that is I cannot seem to stay awake long enough to get dressed and ready to go. Most of what I’ve spent my waking hours on is getting lost in the rabbit hole that is Facebook.

Most importantly, I have not been writing, or editing any of my work. Or in fact, anything to do with writing except contributing to this blog. Unless you count thinking about how things I could change in my current WIPs. I’ve done that but come up with no solid ideas.

Now I know a lack of desire, or interest in doing things you normally do would be seriously concerning. However, my lack of action has nothing to do with my lack of interest. It has everything to do with my lack of energy.

You see, I’ve also been falling asleep randomly throughout the day and taking two to four-hour naps. That’s on top of a full night's sleep.

What I have done this month (besides wasting time on Facebook) was go to multiple doctor’s appointments to be poked and prodded to find out why I’m feeling so lousy.

One of the first concerns was cancer. Fortunately, the test results have already ruled that out. My doctor also found I had a mild infection, which might account for my tiredness. So, I’m on antibiotics again. If that doesn’t work, I’ll probably be poked and prodded some more.

My doctor was also able to determine that I do need a simple surgery. Nothing major. In and out in the same day. I’ll be having that done in the next month or so.

Hopefully, I’ll get back to having enough energy to attend all my church meetings and keep up with my chores. The things I normally do.

If I can get that down again then I can work at adding working on my writing, reading new books, and doing some handcrafts. I mean there are plenty of hours in the day when you aren’t falling asleep randomly or wasting time in rabbit holes.

One thing I have done this month, which I’d like to continue, is watching some movies. Ones I remember seeing at some point and liked. I started with the original Star Trek movies, those with the original casts from TOS and TNG. The new ones are available too, so I may watch those too.

Next, I watched The Quiet Man and McClintock. No, I’m not what I would call a Duke fan. I just like some of his movies, especially those with Maureen O’Hara.

Then I wanted to watch some movies from when I was young. Netflix has a classics section. I looked there. The oldest one was from 1984 and most of the rest were from this century.

How can the classics be less than 40 years old? That’s right up there with songs released while I was in high school being played on the oldies station. Or high schools having retro dances with an 80s theme. In my day it was the 60s. Then again, they are probably doing 90s themes now.

Then in the process of trying to find some of those old movies I remember from my childhood, I discovered they were “old” before I was born.

I guess I just prefer the stuff from my parents’ childhoods.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.

Too Cold! by B. L. Hamilton

 

There is something weird going on with the weather around here. Today I saw something on Facebook about the temperature in Dallas Texas being 23 degrees and the temperature in Salt Lake City Utah being 30 degrees!

Of course, when I saw it, the first thing that hit me was that it was a whopping 30 degrees in Salt Lake City! I found myself wishing it was that warm here. Then I noted the other city in that meme and wondered what was going on. Is it really colder in Dallas than in Salt Lake?

Though before I could fully absorb that information, a friend of mine, who lives in New Orleans, posted it was 17 degrees at her place.

My response was, well at least it wasn’t -2!

That isn’t to say it was -2 at the time I commented. No, at that time it was 23 degrees out, just like in Dallas, but it had been, well it got to -3 Monday night.

How is this happening?

Dallas and New Orleans being colder than Salt Lake is bad enough, but to have to deal with negative temperatures here, well, I’m not the only one having problems.

I wasn’t the only one at Auto Zone yesterday because of battery issues. There were three other people there with the same issue. And as that was afternoon, I’m sure they had a lot more come in earlier.

Then a friend of mine came over to help me with the new battery I needed, and he told me he moved from Bear Lake to get away from below-zero weather.

I said at the time that I didn’t think he had moved far enough south for that and I even wished I lived in Vegas with Konnie right now.

He told me Bear Lake gets colder. 

Yeah, it probably does. Bear Lake, like Rexburg, is at a much higher altitude than down on the Snake River Plains where we live. And let’s face it because Pocatello is situated in such a small valley, most storms skip over us and hit Blackfoot, I.F., and Rexburg with way more than we get here.

I should know, I’ve lived in those places, and even Salt Lake. Pocatello does not get hit with winter weather as hard as places further north or at least in much bigger valleys than here.

Which isn’t to say we don’t get hit, because we get hit, there’s a good six inches outside from this past weekend’s storm. And from all reports, it was worse out of this valley. Chubbuck and Fort Hall got it worse. They always do and considering how close they are to Pocatello it still seems amazing.

For those of you who don’t know the town I live in, to get from Pocatello to Chubbuck, you just have to cross a street. And, while driving through Chubbuck on Yellowstone Ave, about the time you hit the suburbs, you cross into the Reservation, which doesn’t end until you hit Blackfoot.

Taking Yellowstone Ave, the other way, you get to farms before you hit Inkom, but there isn’t as much open land there as there used to be! And Inkom isn’t in this valley either.

And I promise Inkom tends to get hit worse than Pocatello. Again, this small valley.

I just wish this small valley could protect us from the cold. At 9:30 last night, it was -4 outside! Yikes! I’m glad I was inside.

By the way, that doesn't include the wind chill factor.

It’s dang cold out there!

But we’re supposed to start warming up tomorrow.

The forecast is for the high 30s for tomorrow. That is tolerable, that is what we are used to for this time of year; we are in the north. If this is the kind of weather down in New Orleans, I can see how they would be miserable.

Like how I was in a hot, muggy, Virginia summer. Give me arid heat any day.

Actually, arid weather period. Humidity kicks it up several notches either way I think. Though it never got this cold in Norfolk while I lived there.

I had quite a few laughs at the reaction of the locals to the snow. They actually closed the schools over a skiff of snow! I mean you could still see the grass between what little bits of snow there was, and it wasn’t laying on the asphalt or concrete.

It was even funnier when there was a run on groceries when a winter storm was predicted. They acted like they’d be snowed in for weeks.

Sometimes you just have to stop and consider where you are, and what you are used to compared to the people around you.

We all have different experiences, or perspectives.

Anyway, happy writing everyone!

Of Old Age and New Experiences by Konnie Enos

 

I have spent the last year with tech issues. One was my laptop. I liked my laptop, but Royce didn’t because it would randomly have glitches that he’d have to fix for me. The last one is when it stopped charging altogether. Laptops are useless without power. They also cost a few hundred dollars. Since we can’t afford to replace it, I’m stuck sharing with all the men in this household. Fortunately, they don’t use it very often.

Another issue was my tablet, which was old enough that any charge only lasted a few hours. Having to charge it two and three times a day got old. And my phone, even older, was only slightly better. Royce wanted me to replace them and recently insisted he was going to go pick me up a new tablet. Which he did go to do.

While at the store picking out a new tablet for me, he called me.

I kid you not, my phone glitched so bad it would not let me answer the phone! After several attempts including shutting my phone off and restarting it twice, I finally used Jerry’s phone to call him. When he answered the phone, thinking it was his dad, I was ranting and raving about my dumb phone glitching.

Without replying to me at all, and as calm as could be, he addressed the salesperson. “She’d like a new phone too.”

It stretched out the transaction a bit but now I have a new tablet and a new phone.

The tablet is a newer version of my old one, so the navigation and stuff are similar. Learning how to use it has been easy. On the plus side, it responds every time. My old one had developed a zone that only responded when it felt like it.

Now my phone is a completely different issue. It’s a different brand than I’ve ever had before. I am adjusting to it, but the first few days I had to ask Royce to yet again explain how to do something simple, like log onto my phone.

Thankfully, I’m not so old that I can’t retain new information and learn new things. I’m getting along just fine with my new technology now.

In other news, sometime in November I was conversing with my Voc Rehab counselor and mentioned that I no longer have a car and would have issues getting to job interviews or work because my mobility makes taking the regular bus system impossible. She suggested I apply for paratransit.

I consented but was unsure they’d allow me to use that system.

Yes, I have some mobility issues. But I can still walk. My issue with the bus system is getting to the bus stops and standing around waiting for them. I did put in the application, and they did ask me about what my mobility issues were. They also told me that after I submitted it, they’d do a review and require me to come in for a mobility assessment. The entire process was supposed to take at least a month if not two.

I mailed it just before Christmas. The instructions were to call back in seven days. Due to the holidays, I spaced it until after New Year’s. As soon as businesses were open again after the holidays, I called them back. It stunned me when I found out they approved me.

Okay. I have doctor’s appointments this month. Let’s see how things work if it works.

I went to try to set up an appointment. First obstacle. They will only set up transit three days in advance. So, I waited a few days. When I went to set things up it was easy, but I learned there was a charge for it. I have no cash and no budget for all the trips I’d need for my appointments.

While I was quickly calculating how much I’d need to cover all those trips, I started reading everything I could find on the site about paratransit. Especially how to pay for it. In that process, I stumbled upon the information that Medicaid covered paratransit rides for medical appointments.

I made a call. Talked to a guy. He confirmed I was in the system and eligible for rides to medical appointments. I set up the transportation I needed for my first appointment this month, which was yesterday.

So, for the first time in my life, I used the paratransit system. While I was sitting on the bus heading to my appointment, I realized I not only had mobility issues, but I’m a senior citizen, even if I don’t feel or look it.

Mostly, I’m just thankful I can make my appointments without stressing over finding a ride to them.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.

2023 Recap by Bonnie Le Hamilton

 

A new year has begun and here’s hoping it goes better than ’23 did.

Just for a recap, I ended up in the hospital twice with septic arthritis. Both times I was on intravenous antibiotics and no work for a couple of weeks each. Not good for my finances. And I did ask for help, except it wasn’t enough when my old landlord raised my rent and put the building up for sale.

Here I was trying to figure out how I was going to pay for the increased rent, and hoping the new owner didn’t raise it more when I started having major plumbing issues and I couldn’t get a hold of the landlord (he wasn’t answering his phone, and he didn’t have voice mail set up) so I contacted the prospective buyer.

They got a hold of my old landlord and told him to fix it, then called me to ask if he had done it. He hadn’t. The prospective buyer backed out of the sale just a few days before it was supposed to go through.

My old landlord blamed me for contacting the prospective buyer. However, I must point out that they didn’t step out until after my old landlord didn’t fix the plumbing. But as he considered it my fault, he threatened to evict me. Thankfully, a friend of mine told me he legally couldn’t evict me while my rent was current.

Now to just get the plumbing fixed.

My friends rallied around me and tried to help, they did the best they could, but I needed a professional. By this time, my old landlord refused to talk to me and hung up on any of my friends who tried to talk to him.

Then another prospective buyer came on the scene. As this guy lives in Utah, and his brother was right here in Pocatello, he asked his brother to do a sight visit. Which made for an interesting experience. At the time, the only occupied apartments were #1, #5, and #6, and all three of us ladies are members, so we were taken aback when the local mission president and his wife came to inspect the place.

Mind you, my apartment was not legally habitable. The mission president asked me if I had help and I told him I did. I promise things would have been worse without the help of my friends.

          He was so worried about me that he called the stake president to make sure my ministering brothers knew of my situation. The stake president called me to find out if I even knew who that was.

The answer is yes, and he was indeed on the list of friends I’d mentioned to the mission president who was trying to help me, I just never said he was my ministering brother.

          And the next day the realtor for my old landlord showed up with a plumber who started on the repairs. By the time the sale finally went through, my place was up and running again! And better yet we have a new landlord that actually responds on the same day to repairs. As in, within the hour. And, it turned out that since I hadn’t signed a new lease with the new lease amount, my rent reverted back to three or four years ago. NICE!

But all that solved the rent problem, but it didn’t really help me all that much, since I have put one or both of my knees out on several occasions. I couldn’t walk; getting to work was out of the question.

One of those days was the first Monday in December. I was actually getting ready for work when I turned wrong, and I couldn’t make it to work. Tuesday, I decided to go out a little early, so I had time to clear my windows. I was in the middle of trying to do that job when my slick, steep driveway conspired against me, and I landed hard.

I missed all that week and part of the next because I couldn’t sit up. I couldn’t sit, period. And I can’t drive or work lying on my side.

Yeah, I missed most of December between falling hard on my seat and the office being closed for more days than I care to count.

And last Wednesday I was going to go to work, right up until I woke up unable to walk. Thanks to my restless legs, I put my knee out in my sleep!

Then on Thursday, I woke up with a head cold.

So much for December, now the new year has begun and I still haven’t made it back to work since the Thursday before Christmas.

Anyway, happy writing everyone! And happy New Year!

Reflections by Konnie Enos

I’m sitting here reflecting on all that has transpired this year as it comes to a close. And my family has been pretty battered by it.

The oldest of Jerry’s brothers passed on and doctors told the youngest of his sisters that her days were numbered. She’s on borrowed time now. We also had three of our pets cross over the Rainbow Bridge. We still have dogs in the house, but they are all seniors. Two of them are 14, so the prospect of losing another one is ever-present.

Thankfully, we have had no major appliances go out this year. (I think we had enough of that in the previous couple of years.) We did, however, lose our car and have some computers die. We went from everyone in the house having their own laptop to four of the five of us sharing one. I was not at all happy when I was included in that number. Considering the age of my phone and tablet, and the fact neither one of them holds a charge for long, I have been planning to replace both all year. You know, just as soon as I could afford it. My laptop was the newest of the three and still worked great.

Royce would disagree with me because it had weird glitzes regularly, but it suddenly losing all ability to charge was unexpected. It might be a repairable issue, but I can’t afford that any more than I can be replacing the phone and tablet.

I suppose it is a plus that the guys in my family do have other tech and don’t get on this computer very often. There has yet to be any conflict when two or more of us needed the laptop at the same time. This, thankfully, means that I can still track our finances and write. Though, predictably, I’m yet again experiencing writer’s block. I’ve had no new ideas for stories nor felt like editing what I do have.

We have had some good things happen this year. The biggest one is that Tony not only found a job that pays well, but he seems to have found a vocation. I have long believed that not everyone needs a college degree because there are trades available with apprenticeships and on-the-job training. All with the plus of good pay. We’ve been telling our boys they should investigate trade schools.

Earlier this year Tony decided to join an electricians’ union. He is a general laborer now and has already applied for their apprenticeship. The last hurdle is an interview, but he’s made a good impression on a few of the journeymen he works with, and they’ve given him some good references. I don’t think it’s going to be a problem for him.

I will say that he is excited about the pay and benefits, but he also enjoys the work. It helps that the work isn’t monotonous. All the other jobs he had were doing the same things day in and day out. Another benefit is he can always go to the union hall and get another position for any reason.

Finally, my health has been lacking, especially in the last few months. I’ve been sick, or at least under the weather, about every couple of weeks for months now. Then this month it’s been the whole month.

Our family was hit with Covid which shut down most outside activity for a couple of weeks. We didn’t even attempt our weekly shopping trip. Then, par for the course, I got a secondary bacterial infection. And if that wasn’t enough, just as I was getting over both of those, I started experiencing yet another major health issue. As in getting an immediate appointment with my doctor.

I’m still in the “let’s run some tests” stage, but my doctor did say there were only two possible causes for my issue. Both would require surgery. In fact, the same surgery could solve both problems.

If that weren’t enough, Melinda is also facing a medical issue. She’s tried a couple of treatments already but at this point, it looks like she too will need surgery in the next few months.

I am sitting here hoping this next year is better for all of us.

I’m hoping Royce and Melinda find jobs or the means to complete their education. I’d like to find even a part-time job. Mostly because Jerry’s fixed income is not keeping up with inflation.

We’ve also discussed getting more pets. My big concern is that Xavier won’t like being the only dog in the house. Not that I expect Gunner or Ivan to die, but they are 14, and there is still the possibility of Melinda moving out.

Anyway, I hope 2024 is a better year for us.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.

Autism And Me by Bonnie Le Hamilton

 

This last week my niece, Claire, received the official diagnosis she is on the Spectrum. This has been quite a journey for our family.

I can’t remember how long ago it was, a couple of years at least, if not more, but Claire sent her mother (Konnie) an article about adult women who are on the spectrum. Claire sent it to Konnie because she felt the article described herself and she wanted her mother’s opinion. Konnie read the article and found more that described me than it did Claire.

This is not to say that it didn’t describe Claire, it’s just that I do more of the things it listed.

Within a couple of months of reading that article, I went to a psychiatrist who asked me a ton of questions, noted my answers, and sure enough I am on the Spectrum.

Claire had a harder time finding someone who would evaluate her.

Anyway, each time I read more about adult women who have gone undiagnosed and or unrecognized as being on the spectrum, I find something I did or still do.

I have previously mentioned how my mother made excuses for me not looking people in the eye, and my stepmother yelled at me for playing with my hair while I was studying, but I’ve done some other things that were obvious signs.

I recently came across this meme:

Me: I’m Autistic.

My parents: There were no signs.

Me as a child:

n  Eats food in order (in my case my least favorite food to my most favorite food)

n  Wouldn’t wear certain fabrics (or in my case hats)

n  Food aversions (absolutely!)

n  Lining up toys (I don’t recall doing this one)

n  Organizing things in order (I am a little OCD)

n  Extreme obsessions

n  Violent meltdowns (YIP!)

n  Huge imagination (Duh)

n  Couldn’t express feelings (true)

n  Kept getting in trouble for being rude (big time)

n  Scared of social situations

n  Particularly good at problem solving puzzles but not knowing simple things like the meaning of words (I didn’t have this problem, not with Dictionary for a big sister)

n  Repeating sounds or sayings I hear from other people or the TV.

n  Verbally stimming

n  Physically stimming

n  fidgeting

I didn’t do all of these, but I did quite a few. I also have to point out that both of my parents were dead long before Claire read that article, so they never had a chance to say there were no signs, but I think they might have.

Perhaps, I should ask my stepmother her opinion.

Then again, maybe not. I read one meme that stated that Autism is highly genetic. Then it went on to say there is a huge flaw in the diagnosis process where parents are expected to know if there is anything “different” about their child, but well, how are they to know when its likely their whole family is on the spectrum?

Of course, when I was growing up Autism effected only white boys, period, and the big one was that they were nonverbal. Not even the pros of that era would have considered me as being on the spectrum.

I am white, but very much female, and I was never nonverbal. Konnie and I did use “twin speak” when we were little, which is why we took speech therapy in our early years of grade school. And I have mentioned this before. I was never nonverbal; We were just slow to speak in a language the adults around us understood.

This is actually a common problem with twins, particularly identical twins.

But aside from all that, reading up on it, I have found some other things I did or still do that place me on the spectrum.

We can start with scratching and or picking at scabs. Yes, that’s on the list.

Another one is constantly rehearsing conversations or interactions.

May often, fidget, chew, tap, or do other repetitive behaviors.

May struggle with situations that are unfamiliar (absolutely true!)

May chew, rub, or tap certain materials obsessively.

I could go on; the list is pretty long.

What I find most interesting is that on the top of list of “bizarre neurodivergence things” is something called “nesting.” On the spectrum, “Nesting” is having a certain spot, and having certain things nearby to that spot at all times.

You can ask Konnie, I do that.
Nobody, and I mean nobody has any trouble figuring out where I sit in my living room, even if I’m not sitting at the moment.

By the way, I also tend to mimic people in order to blend in. I’ve caught myself doing it a time or two.

Anyway, happy writing everyone! And Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!