Hi, it’s
Christina –
My computer or
my modem have been having issues these past few days, so I haven’t been online.
I haven’t done anything to remedy the situation, I haven’t really had the time,
but it seems to have fixed itself. I have been writing my blog, even though I
wasn’t able to post it, so today you are going to get a monster blog. At least
this time I kept it chronological so you won’t have to read from the bottom up.
Today’s post is mostly going to be pictures, so Facebook folks, you are
probably better off just going right to my blog page. Oh, and I only gave you
one writing challenge instead of three.
FRIDAY:
Hi, it’s
Christina –
Good Morning! I
love my husband, really I do, but that does not mean I do not want to choke him
from time to time. This is one of those times. He is such a pain in my behind
sometimes.
He got hurt at
work yesterday, more than likely a torn calf muscle. Do you think he called his
boss last night to tell him what happened? NO. Do you think he would let me
take him to the hospital last night to get it checked out? NO. Do you think he
would stay home from work today to rest? NO. Wouldn’t you want to strangle him
too? |
| Not his leg, but close |
ARGH! This
whole getting old thing stinks. He didn’t slip. He didn’t fall. He didn’t twist
or turn wrong. He was simply climbing up a ladder, like he does almost every
day, and he must have let his heel drop instead of staying up on the balls of
his feet. That’s all it took. Now he can barely walk. His leg is all swollen
and bruised. Yet, he won’t go and have it checked out. MEN!
Whatever, he’s
a grown man. If he chooses to be a dunce, what can I really do? I know he wasn’t
thrilled about having to help me all day tomorrow at the Collingswood Book
Festival, but I think his method of getting out of the commitment was a bit
extreme, don’t you?
On a more
positive note, I am going to have a special treat today. At one, I am meeting a
friend of mine who I haven’t seen in eight years. We lost touch when she moved
away, but then, quite by accident, she ran into Paulie at QuikChek. She gave
him her number, and I call her as soon as he gave it to me.
Linda and I
worked together at a real estate office a hundred years ago, and her youngest,
Kristi, and my oldest, PJ are the same age. She was also Dani’s babysitter when
Dani was an infant, Lysa’s too. Needless to say, we go back a long way. It’s
going to be nice to see her again.
Hopefully, my
stomach will calm down enough for me to actually enjoy my lunch. I think
between the stress of my hubby getting hurt, the stress over attending this
huge festival, and the added stress of now having to do it without Paulie’s
help, set my stomach off. I’m hoping that’s all it is and not a bug. That would
be the last thing I need.
So the weather
forecast for tomorrow looks bleak. It is supposed to rain all day. That means
the Collingswood Book Festival will be indoors at the Collingswood High School
and not out on the street. They say the one other time they had to have it
indoors, there was still a good turnout. I guess we’ll see.
Okay, I still
have some stuff to do before my lunch date, so I should boogie. I hope you have
a wonderful day, and happy writing!
SATURDAY:
Hi, it’s
Christina –
Good Morning! The internet connection is acting up, so you never got yesterday’s post. You
may not get today’s either because I only have a few minutes to write this
morning, so I won’t have time to play around with it.
It’s 4:00 am,
and even though I should be getting my butt in the shower, I desperately needed
a few minutes with my coffee. Even if it wasn’t such a ridiculous hour, I
probably still would have issues waking up this morning. It’s pouring. Do you
have trouble waking up on rainy days? I sure do.
So yesterday
didn’t go exactly as I had hoped. I got to the café, where I was meeting Linda
for lunch, right at one. Since I had no clue what kind of car she drove, I went
inside to see if she was there. I was a little nervous because I had not seen
her in so long, I was afraid we wouldn’t recognize each other. So as I’m
scanning the tables, I spot another friend of mine sitting with her daughter.
She sees me as well, and waves me over.
I’m thinking,
this is great. I haven’t seen Dottie in way too long, and it will be nice to
catch up with her until Linda, or Dottie’s and Christine’s food arrive. (I wasn’t
going to sit there while they ate.) So we’re there happily chatting away, and I’m
eyeing every person who walks into the place. At quarter after, I send Linda a
text – “Are you coming???”, then continue my conversation with Dottie and
Christine.
Their food
arrives, so I get up to leave, but they insisted I stay. Since the alternative
is standing outside, looking like a total looser, I overrode my manners and
stayed. At one thirty, I tried calling Linda. I got “the mailbox is full”
message.
I waited
another fifteen minutes. Dottie and Christine were done with their lunch, and I
had things to do, so I left. She never called me for the rest of the day, so I
have no idea what happened.
Okay, coffee’s
done and I need to get a move on. I’m SO not looking forward to the 68 mile
drive, in the rain, in the dark, to an area I don’t know. Wish me luck!
I hope you have a fantastic day, and happy writing!
SUNDAY:
Hi, it’s
Christina -
Good Morning! The
pictures and the captions are of all the wonderful people I met yesterday.
 |
| This is Larry Deibert, I couldn't have asked for a better neighbor. He ended up skootching down a little so we could fit Keith between us. |
Well I hope
your Saturday went better than mine. Driving down to Collingswood, in the pouring
rain, in the dark, was a NIGHTMARE. I couldn’t see the lines on the road, in
the construction area, on Route 95. I don’t think anyone else could either. It
was scary.
 |
| My new friends Louis Romano and his lovely wife MaryLynn. |
So Dani and I
get there by 7:05, and in a light rain we unload all our junk at the front
entrance to the High School, then run down the street to WaWa to pick up
breakfast and lunch. We get back fifteen minutes later, and park in the rear of
the High School. We were lucky we found a spot.
 |
| These lovely ladies (in front) are twins. Alicia and Tameka McKenzie, sweet girls I hope to see again. |
Now it’s pouring
again, so even though it’s one more thing to carry, I grab the golf umbrella.
It won’t open. Somehow it got bent and now it won’t open all the way.
Wonderful. Just what I needed. I love looking like a drowned rat while meeting
the public.
 |
| My friends K. Edwin Fritz and his beautiful wife Corrina. |
Dani and I
make a mad dash for the door, and you guessed it, I landed ankle deep in a
puddle. Hey, at least I didn’t end up neck deep, right? We put our coffees,
lunch, Dani’s backpack and my purse down in a corner, behind a door, and then
go to the front of the school to retrieve the rest of our junk – two chairs, a
table, “rollie” our cooler on wheels, a plastic bin of books, and a bin of table
decorations. Oh did I mention, you can’t get between the gym and the front of
the school without going outside. Thankfully one of the guys working the event
volunteered to help us, or we really would have been in trouble.
 |
| My friend Mary Ellen Springsteen was at the end of our row. |
We wound our
way back to the gymnasium and started to set up. That’s when I realized my
banner is still in the trunk of my car. Back out into the rain. At this point
my usually sunny disposition is as absent as the sun itself. I’m wet, I’m cold,
and because my feet are completely soaked, I’m miserable. I HATE having wet
feet. Why I didn’t bring extra shoes, I don’t know. It would have made too much
sense.
 |
| My friend Karen Scheuer was a few tables down from me. |
We finally get
everything set up, I walk around to the front of the table, and I don’t like
the way it looks. Dani was about to kill me when I said we had to do it all
again. I finally get it where I like it, and since we still had an hour before
they opened the doors, I decided to go to the bathroom to use their hand dryer
to try and dry my shoes. Boy didn’t I look like a dork, standing barefoot in
the bathroom, holding my shoes under the dryer. I couldn’t get they totally
dry, but they were better.
 |
| Award winning children's author Donna McDine was sitting across from me. We really hit it off. |
Next came six
excruciating hours. My buddy Keith was at the table next to me. He had gone to
Collingswood last year when the weather was good and the festival was held
outside like it was supposed to be. He said the crowd was less than a third of
what they had last year. We were in the room where the “featured authors” were
set up. They were one row over from us, and even they weren’t drawing a crowd.
It was pathetic.
 |
| Also had time to chat with Barbara Ann Gareis. We might be together again at Canterbury Tales. |
At two I was
about to poke my eyes out from boredom, so I decided to go to the front of my
table and hand out bookmarks. I figured if they weren’t in a shopping mood
then, perhaps at some later date they would actually look at my bookmark, and
possible look into my books further. I wasn’t pushing my books, simply smiling
and offering them a bookmark. Can you believe some people were nasty about it?
Honest, a simple “no thank you” would have sufficed. Sheesh!
 |
Jennifer Scardino was nice
enough to give me a raven's
feather to us for my next book
cover if I can't get a picture.
|
Okay, I have
rambled on long enough considering you have three days’ worth of posts.
Besides, I have to go start getting ready to leave. I’ll be at Canterbury Tales
Forever in Peddler’s Village again today. I had no intention of doing another
signing today; I knew I would be wrecked after Collingswood, but Wayne put me
up on his schedule by mistake. He has been so good to me over the past year, I
just couldn’t leave him hanging. So, off to Pennsylvania I go.
I hope you
have an exceptional day, and happy writing!
Your Next
Challenge:
Use the following: Pick a genre out of your norm (ie: if you write
horror, do romance; or if you write Sci-Fi, do non-fiction). Your subject: a
boat on the water
You have ten
minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and
punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else
has written. Go.
