Thanks so much to the wonderful group of Fountain Hills women for inviting me to join their book club discussion Wednesday night! What a fun and outgoing group for my first book club event. I appreciated the kind words and encouragement for future writing. It was fun listening to them talk about my characters as if they were real people. As a novice in the publishing industry, it felt a bit surreal. But it was a fun night — good food, great people and a big boost to my ego. So — thanks, ladies!

I just wrote an email to Intuit, makers of Turbo Tax products. It won’t matter, but I felt better anyway. The New York Times had an article this past Sunday on false advertising or bait and switch as we know it.

One major discount on-line store was sued for millions in 2014 and the government is going after the rest of the on-line sellers for the same. In the eyes of the government, a retail price cannot be considered a retail price if every retailer has the same discounted price on the item. Duh!

This morning I received an email from Intuit – 50% off if you purchase today. $17.49 for their base product. Since my radar is high for this type of scam, I read the entire small print disclaimers. And here it was: plus $34.99 processing fee when you submit your return. There is no processing fee if you pay full price for the product. I’ve used TurboTax for years.

So the total the consumer is paying is $52.48, not $17.49. Does that sound like 50% off to you? Other disclaimer, does not include Home and Business version (which of course, is what I use, so I wouldn’t qualify anyway.) So much for 50% OFF TODAY!

The NYT article says that anytime you see For You Only! Or For Today Only! .. RUN the other way. It is true. If you type into your search engine the specific name and model of a coffee maker you wish to purchase, Google will come up with a bar at the right side of the screen showing you all the discounted prices. Once in a while there will be one lower price, but quite often – all the same! You couldn’t pay Retail Price if you wanted to. Check it out!

I try not to post about politics because everyone has different opinions and views. That’s what makes America and democracy great! If we all thought alike we would be a very narrow and probably unproductive country. If we wanted to force people to think alike, we’d choose a dictator.

What is happening today in our country is significant because it is based on emotions and little factual information.

Because we have no term limits, politicians get elected and stay until they die. They meet behind closed doors and are owned by big business and lobbyists. People here are looking for a revolution of some kind, and Mr. Trump has been chosen as their leader because he has never held an elected office.

But emotions rarely reap good results. According to the New York Times, Trump filed bankruptcy on every property he ever owned. He was a megalomaniac who wanted to own every building in New York City and who didn’t consider that he couldn’t afford it. All of the hotels and casinos that went under meant the loss of jobs. He stood the other night in his multi-million dollar mansion in Florida where he had a team of decorators design an exact copy of the white house press room—identical chairs, flags, and all. His megalomania is rampant.

Forget that he has been linked to fraud, unpaid taxes, and the KKK (the most hated group in America). Forget all of his other flaws. He has no business bringing his megalomania into the White House. What happens when he decides to simply run over other countries because he wants the power and the press? What happens when he insults the chancellor of Germany, president of France, the prime minister of the U.K.? Is he going to treat Andrea Merkel as he does Hillary Clinton? Is he going to tell the President of France he sweats too much or has big ears?

If this election was a rational, logical, fact based election, all the power to the Republicans. If their candidate is chosen over a Democrat, fine. We’ve managed before in similar situations. It might not be what the Democrats and liberals would prefer, but our country would be “OK” in the long run.

But can America survive a Trump presidency? It frightens the majority of us. To every factual question he has been asked, Trump states he will surround himself with people who know. Which means he doesn’t know. Global warming? The Middle East situation? The U.K. possibly withdrawing from the EU? How to balance a budget without bankrupting the country? How to handle any military situation? It frightens the people who prefer to follow their heads over their emotions. And his followers are simply a herd mentality based solely on their gut reactions over what they believe is anti-establishment. It isn’t anti-establishment; it is stupidity, ignorance, racism and a super hero demagogue.

Pray for us, all of you in the rest of the world! Pray that people will begin to think and not react. Pray that intelligent, rational masses will not allow this to happen to America.

If you have read The House on 4th Street I am asking for suggestions and ideas for a sequel. Several people have encouraged me to begin, and I’ve written about 50 pages. My style of writing is to just sit down and let it flow. I don’t do plotting of any kind until I’ve finished the first draft. I simply let the characters take me where they want to go. For me, writing is just that. I haven’t a clue what will appear on the computer screen as I type.

However, this time, I decided to ask for some suggestions of where you would like these characters to go from here. Karen Johnston has now found her biological father. Do they reconcile? How long does that take? Does she discover additional family secrets? Is Karen finally going to consider having a child. Should we find that she’s pregnant right away? She and Gary have had several years of conflict. Does that continue? Does this new-found reconciliation become a permanent one? How about her friend Denise? Does Vickey stay in the story? Does Karen return to Oklahoma or Missouri? Does she stay in touch with Hazel at the historical society museum?

I’m open to any and all ideas for this upcoming story. I’ll give you a peek at the opening pages. The Colorado winter has dragged on, and Karen and Gary decide to go to Puerto Vallarta over spring break. Denise and her husband, Ralph, join them for the week in paradise. Karen is growing weary of the classroom and is considering going into administration though it will entail close to two years of part-time course work. and…. then…. ??

It seemed like such a wonderful idea. Kill the cable! This project started weeks ago with a lot of research on the internet and a few local phone calls. I ordered two HD Antennas as recommended to see which would work best (if at all) in my home in Phoenix. The first one worked great. I immediately had nearly 50 channels for free from my living room.

The antenna is a tiny flexible thing that you can put behind the TV or attach to the wall if needed with two tiny push pins. Amazing!

But in order to tape TV shows, I’d also need an HD DVR. I never thought I’d use a DVR when I reluctantly agreed to get one through the cable; I figured I’d drop it soon after. Low and behold, it’s so much better watching television without commercials. I found I was taping even if I was home to watch the program. So – the DVR was a must.

I already have Amazon Fire Stick and am on my son’s Netflix plan so I had a lot of streaming already available to me (for free with my annual Prime membership). But I had to have my football. This led to hours of further research on all of the streaming plans. I chose one that is fairly new but would get me literally every single station I would ever want to watch including my college football. $20.00/month. So ..good-bye cable.

I was thrilled. I returned both antennas to Amazon as I found a bundle through Best Buy for the antenna, DVR and a much needed gizmo called a wireless USB adapter. By yesterday, I had received everything I needed so I quickly unpacked the boxes, read the very few directions that came with the system and began to connect. The antenna worked fine on the TV just as it had before. But when I hooked up the DVR, no signal?? I called my son – always my first go-to person – attach the black cable behind the cable box to the DVR, attach the antenna to the DVR, do I need to plug in the USB from the antenna to the TV now? Neither of us knew. Why am I not receiving a signal? Neither of us knew. The directions are simple – one small page with three steps. Attach the antenna to the DVR, plug the DVR into an outlet, attach the DVR using an HDMI cable. I still have nothing but a blank screen staring back at me.

So last night I hooked up cable to watch the shows I had taped earlier in the week, and I tried again this morning. I was on a chat for ten minutes before the young lady said she couldn’t help; I’d have to call the manufacturer. I thought you were the manufacturer, I wrote back. I emailed Best Buy. Can someone give me further directions? So far, no reply.

So tonight I will hook up cable to tape my two Sunday night shows. I have a concert with my daughter. Perhaps tomorrow, my techie son will wander over to see what I’ve done wrong. 3 steps! That’s it. Done! Or not ….  Perhaps killing cable isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Re-posted from a few years back:

Yesterday a friend shared a story about her grandson turning five. She had found the perfect card and was ready to make mac and cheese and hot dogs for dinner. She asked if we remembered turning five and I laughed. Sixty years ago? Doubtful. But as she described his joy and excitement I began to smile. He woke up each morning for a week, counting down the days – 4 more days and I’ll be 5 – 3 more days – 2 more – 1!

He woke up yesterday yelling, “I’m five today; I’m five today.”

Grandma fixed breakfast in bed for the big boy of five and I’m certain there were balloons, gifts, parties and cake. We marveled at how life has changed. I began to wonder when that exuberance had stopped. Sixteen was huge as I could drive; 18 took us away from home and parental control; at 21 you can drink (legally). At 30 I felt older than dirt; married with a three-year-old – boring! 40 was a milestone approached with trepidation. 50 – OMG – I’m no longer middle age! 60 – just shoot me and if anyone dares mention a party I will kill you! No, it has been a very long time since I woke up excited on a birthday.

As the day wore on I thought more about that darling little boy and envisioned a big-eyed precious face gleaming with joy and jumping up and down on his bed, yelling at the top op his lungs – I’m 5! I’m 5 today!

Then I asked myself when was the last time I started any day with excitement, anticipation, and joy? When was the last time I jumped up and down on my bed? When was the last time I yelled, I’m 65; I’m 65!  Or how about – I woke up! I’m alive! I can move! I sometimes lie in bed and say a prayer of gratitude or ask God to get me through the day or to take a problem from me and do with it what he wants!

But exuberance? Laughter? Joi de Vivre?

Maybe it’s time to jump up and down on the mattress again. I’m still small and agile and if I don’t fall off and break a hip, it could be a lot of fun!

I sort of quit caring when the AZ Cardinals lost their last game. It took the sails out of the kites of the Phoenix fans. But hey, doesn’t everyone want to see Peyton end his career with a Super Bowl ring?

Everyone is planning a party – just to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the event, if nothing else. I’ll probably watch the commercials.

My time these past two weeks has been taken up with preparations for the Tucson Festival of Books in March and my trip to Oklahoma for my visit with Best of Books in Edmond. I’m spending more money than I will probably make, but hey, as I tell my kids, it’s exposure!?

Meanwhile, my second novel went on sale in December as a $2.99 e book and I’ve finally decided to promote it even though it’s under a pseudonym. So I won’t even bother with lying and saying a friend of mine has published! Why use a pen name if I’m going to tell, right? Am rethinking that decision, but I digress — Timing’s Everything by Catherine Peterson. A romance novel with Oxford, England as back-drop. There—I said it….

I currently have 50 pages written on my sequel to The House on 4^th Street. First drafts, so they don’t count for much yet, but it’s a start. Friends kept pushing me to write a sequel so I caved. No idea where this novel will “go”, no plot in mind, but currently Karen and Denise are in Puerto Vallarta with their husbands, Gary and Ralph. Thought I’d throw out a teaser.

Meanwhile, Valentine’s Day approaches. I did two Valentine wood crafts that turned out really cute. A plug for The Wood Connection…  I’ll spend Feb. 13 at high tea with a group of women friends and perhaps buy myself a chocolate heart and a rose. Being single sucks on Feb. 14^th.

I need to dredge up a blog I wrote a few years back about Valentine’s Day and post it I guess.

That’s it for now, readers. I promise a true post this weekend!

Many things improve with age – wine, cheese, linen, and leather boots –and friendship. This week friends from my past came into town. We’ve known each other for over 40 years though my move to Arizona impacted on the past 25. We’ve seen each other occasionally – a visit to their neck of the woods once in awhile; their AZ vacations a time or two. But overall, Christmas cards, photos and a few emails have been our connection for some time.

And yet, when they walked through my front door yesterday, the years simply melted away, and for two hours we talked nonstop as if we’d seen each other last week. Sure, there was the usual catching up on the lives of our children, health, and the weather. But there was also a deeper connection of our commonalities.

Travel to Europe and the U.K., ethical considerations and concerns about the country, the desire for a quieter, more peaceful life, and how it feels to be 70. From house decorating to crafts to gardening, we segued from topic to topic with the ease of old friends. Never a moment of awkwardness or tension. D and I helped each other through pregnancies, husbands who worked too many hours, babysitting, shopping, daily phone conversations, trips along snow packed highways to one destination or another, children’s birthday parties, company picnics and Christmas parties, bar-b-que on the deck overlooking our acreage, Easter egg hunts, Halloween costumes and trick-or-treating. The list is long.

There is something about friendships that form in your 20’s that keep you bonded for life. Perhaps because those are the years when we struggle to find ourselves, when we marry and have children and begin careers and simply get our starts in life. Those memories stay with us forever, and perhaps say the most about who we have become at fifty, sixty and seventy. We were young and a bit naïve and innocent. We were going to change the world. We supported and loved each other as we did it.

And whether we remain in the same city or move a thousand miles away, that connection is made of stone. When my husband and I decided to leave the state and all those close friendships, we broke the bond for a period of time. People get upset when you leave them. But time has healed all of that, and tomorrow over lunch, I’m certain it will feel like we’ve never been apart.

I’ve had the honor to be invited to one of my favorite indie book stores, Best of Books, in Edmond, OK. Their book club is reading The House on 4th Street for the March meeting and I am so excited to hear their responses and be a part of the discussion.  If you’re in Edmond on the evening of March 28, please give me a call or email me or face book me so we can arrange to meet for dinner prior to the book club meeting!