Author: JodiLea

I don't pretend to be who/what I'm not. I will be honest here unless I publish under the category "This could be news," which is 99% fiction and a wee bit sarcastic. ;-) I want readers who come here to have as much fun as I do. Not all subjects can be fun, but most can be funny if I do my job right ;-) My inner child is reflected in my logo and will change at a moment's notice.

Is It Finished Yet?

~ JodiLea ~ 1 Comment

My current novel is in a computer file on my laptop – I have notebooks and files stuffed with notes and research. Oh yes, and the draft resides on a couple of DVD’s and flash drives as well.  It waits impatiently to be finished. In January of this year, I set a goal to have it finished by Dec. 31st 2018. I will need an extension on that goal, but I want to at least get back into it this fall. The National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), is in November and will be a good time to get myself back to writing every day. And my volunteer work will slow down a bunch when October is over.

I can’t wait!        

And apparently, neither can my family…

I do not blame them at all for wondering if they will ever read the rest of the story. It has been a few years since I emailed them a chapter. In fact, more than a few cousins told me they were “hanging in limbo”, waiting for the end.

I apologized (to many people) and assured them they will get a copy as soon as I finish the (probably the 7th one by now), draft. I admit that their interest flatters me greatly – which made the guilt even worse than it already was. I know what they are going through. I am still mad at Stephen King for not finishing his story, “The Plant”. Just when it was getting really spooky and exciting.

I don’t want to abandon my story like he did. I really love my characters and the story. I do not want to disappoint my “fans” either. I prefer the term “fans”, and not, “all those relatives breathing down my neck*”.

It just sounds nicer.

 

 

* BTW, they don’t really make me feel like that, but I do enjoy pulling their legs from time to time.

♥  TTFN  ♥

 

 

Vintage Treasures

~ JodiLea

Everybody has at least one.  I have been blessed with a ghastly amount of them – more on that later…

I can’t remember exactly what year I got the coat, but I believe it was the summer before I began college. You don’t really need to bundle up much when you live in central California, but I was going to attend South Missouri State University that fall.

How I love that poofy coat! It blocks out windy cold and wet weather – it’s only flaw was not having an attached hood.

My daughter HATES this coat. Not only the coat, but she’s too embarrassed to be seen with me, wearing the coat.
“Mom!” she tries to explain, “That coat is so out of style and so ridiculous looking!” Then she further disses the coat by telling me, “It’s looks like it came from the 70s!”
“It IS from the 70s.” I say, a bit proud of that fact.
“OMG!” my 14-year-old granddaughter exclaims, “The nineteen seventies?!”

So a few weeks after the last dissing of the coat, I tried it on and found I had gained enough weight that it didn’t fit right anymore.  OK, you win, girls. No more vintage coat.

It is still at the thrift shop and I’m tempted to buy it. I could put it up for bid on eBay and earn some cash. SOME people appreciate vintage fashion.

Then again, I could just buy it back and wear it to my daughter’s this coming winter…

♥  TTFN  ♥

 

California is Burning

~ JodiLea ~ 1 Comment

Man, our state is on fire! I thought I would share the latest report on the fire closest to us…

[BTW-I am reporting from my little office at home, sheltering in place, by order of my doctor. The Pine Tree is our local online newspaper]

The Donnell Fire

LOCATION: Stanislaus National Forest
DATE STARTED: August 1, 2018
ACRES: 27,769
PERCENT CONTAINED: 20%
STRUCTURES THREATENED: 220
STRUCTURES DESTROYED: 54
INJURIES/ACCIDENTS: 0
MINOR STRUCTURES DESTROYED: 81
TOTAL PERSONNEL: 739

Donnell Fire Update
Posted by: thepinetree on 08/14/2018 12:07 PM
Bear Valley, CA…We normally don’t publish the heat maps of the fires because they can be inaccurate and show heated air aloft etc. We thought this recent one of the Donnell Fire was illustrative though. It shows they are making good progress taking the heat out of the fire for much of the perimeter. On the south side of Spicer Reservoir you can see where the bulk of the fire’s energy is today. Luckily there is plenty of water in the area for helicopter drops and Spicer should offer a barrier to growth to the north. Let’s just hope firefighters can keep it from spotting or making turns around the lake.
Aug 14th Heat Map

As you can see from the graphic above, Hubby and I are not in the path of this fire (we are way south). The danger to us is the smoke – day in and day out, 24/7. Until sometime in September when they estimate they will have 100% containment.

We have had to run our A/C so much that I shudder to see the next bill. I am so happy we decided to have it installed when they built the house!  We did not expect smoke, or the 100+ degree heat in the summers, so we are grateful that we did that, despite the poo-pooing we got from people – people who now wish they had A/C, no doubt!

We have firefighting personnel from surrounding states, and some from other countries, like Canada and, I heard this from someone in town, Australia!

With 3 fires in the Yosemite National Forest, and numerous others popping up, we see fire trucks all the time in town. It does not matter what day or time you grocery shop – you will see many Firemen in there.

I have to confess…

I consider this fact the only perk among all this tragic destruction. Does that make me an optimist? I don’t know. Maybe it’s the uniforms, along with that old saying, which seems to be true:

“No such thing as an ugly Fireman”

♥ TTFN! ♥