Turkey Time...and More Important...Family!

     My feet hurt. I've been up and running around away too much today and I'm still trying to get over this bout with the flu or whatever it is I've got.
    First a week or so of just being sick, then I thought I was all over it and had that great weekend. Okay, Saturday night and Sunday I could deal with...I just got a little too tired, right? Wrong. I've still got this THING! Only yesterday it turned into a really sick stomach too. I spent most of yesterday in bed because I was afraid to move and today has been up and down and trying to get things done anyway because TOMORROW IS THANKSGIVING! And when you are Super Grandma you always have a bunch of family who are coming.       
     Well, yeah, they would stay home if I said to do so but what fun would that be? So instead two of the three and part of their families will be here and one brother and one other granddaughter who showed up out of the blue (she is sick too). Actually, husband isn't feeling too good either.
     All this sounds like fun, doesn't it?
     At least the kids are kicking in and one is bringing roasted turkey breast and broccoli casserole and mac and cheese (for the youngsters) and one is bringing the peeled and cut up potatoes ready to cook. So it makes it much easier for me. I spent the evening putting together deviled eggs and jello and mixing the filling for the pumpkin pies (I like to cook them early on the morning we are going to eat.) So all I really need to do in the morning is to bake the pies and mix up my hot rolls and cinnamon rolls and put them on to raise.
     Oh, yeah, I guess I'd better do something with some salad and vegetables too, right? But will anyone really eat them except me? And after all, I am one sick cookie, aren't I? Maybe I'll just concentrate on turkey and cinnamon rolls.
     Wow. Even with a stomach rolling around all over the place my mouth waters. When it comes to holiday time I turn into one big pig.
     But the best thing is having family here together. It is hard to gather all of us at the same time anymore and Thanksgiving doesn't even really take care of it. (Christmas is another matter. NO ONE misses Christmas.) But I'll get to have the 13 year old granddaughter for a couple of extra days and that will be nice. She doesn't get to come and stay too often now because of the school stuff. The teenage boys don't really care to be here that much and we see them all of the time but I miss Allison coming like she did when she was small and staying. And the fact that sometimes one of the older ones finds he or she can't bear to stay put while the rest of the family wines and dines and visits (even though sickness is raging on campus and in particular in a certain bedroom) is just an added surprise and pleasure. Hot herb tea and grandma and grandpa go a long way toward making you feel better when you are no longer eight hours away.
      So even if my poor tummy rebels from too much turkey it won't matter. I have special people here and that's the most important thing of all.
     I give thanks every day for what I have...and who I have.
     And lets hope this stomach settles down by tomorrow! Gobble, gobble, gobble!

We Did It!

     Wow! We pulled it off. The Missouri Folklore Society 2010 Conference is over and done and was a roaring success.
     I have to apologize to my readers for taking so long to get back to you and I will do my level best to keep up with this blog now.
      After being in charge of the Missouri Writers Guild Annual Conference in 2000 I swore I'd never do another such thing again. However, here was the situation: I've belonged to MFS for many many years and I felt as if I'd never done anything much in return for the benefits I'd received. The group had never met in the southwest corner of the state and it sounded like a great place for a variety of reasons. Since those in charge must necessarily live close by it was only logical that I could do a lot of the arrangements so I volunteered to act as a co-chair.
     As anyone knows who has been in charge of such as this, it becomes all-consuming. Over the month of October it felt as if things took on a life all their own and I had no time for family, writing, breathing or much of anything but MFS.
     But things went off without a hitch and all that is left to do is to sand off the edges and file the paperwork.
     Perhaps I can do a little writing . . . in between getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas . . . and another upcoming activity that I'll address later in another post.
     One thing right now: the new book is out! From Trash to Treasure: The Evolution of An Ozarks Junkyard is available now from Amazon.com or High Hill Press.com. Or of course, you can get in touch with me. It is going well but it would sell even better if I could find some time to get out and push it!
     Now, I need to stop writing and catch up on my reading. I've missed my friend's blogs! It has been ages and I'm far far behind. I'd probably better head for Becky Povich first of all. She has all sorts of good advice and she is always giving something away. (Go to and see what she has to say.) I have to ask questions of her all the time. I think of her as sort of a computer guru because she seems to know all sorts of things I don't understand at all. I'm going to have to ask her how to leave a comment now on her site. I think they've changed things and you're supposed to send them to facebook or something. Urk. I'm so computer ill-literate. It's dreadful.
     Anyway, I'm going to go and read for awhile. Tomorrow I'll try and post again. And maybe I'll find time to write on the article I'm supposed to have done before now (Lou, if you're reading this, I've not forgotten! I'll do it! I'll do it! Just give me a little more time. Pullleeeezzzze???)