Well, This Went Off the Rails

By Margie Senechal

I just remembered that it's my Friday to blog. I thought about it earlier in the week, but I like to write it, apparently, on the fly. I got into Blogger, and I saw that Jana and Janie both have theirs queued up for next week. What a wondrous thing to be that on the ball. And Kristi's post on Tuesday was all about planning. Maybe I'm in the wrong group. 

So, guess what? It's a hodgepodge type of day. 

It's been a rainy and windy start to the year for us in the Pacific NW. Perfect reading weather and to that end I've read six books so far this year and nearing the end of my seventh, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Most of the books I read were unputdownable, like I was reading during Jeopardy. 

My favorite time to read is when Mike and Kristen are watching sports and I'm in the same room. I love their voices in the background while I turn the pages. I went to an open-concept grade school, and I swear I could read through a hurricane. Which fortunately, I won't have to test because again, PNW. 

In a couple weeks, I'm going to visit a little town that
I hope will be comparable to the town I've created for Suitcases. I need a town that's in-between Seattle and Olympia but would have a great little market. I plan to take plenty of pictures and notes. I'll get back to you on that trip on a later blog post.

I've been working on the finishing touches that tie my novel up in a pretty little bow to send out to some Beta readers. To that end, I'm taking a week off over President's Day weekend. That is definitely one of the perks of my new job. After 20 years in retail, I now get legal holidays off. Plus, I work four tens, so I only have to use three PTO days to get eight days off in row. That's a pretty sweet deal. I think I'm on track to make my own March 1 deadline.

Legos have become my creative jumpstart. When I saw this birdhouse, I had to have it because birdhouses always remind me of my dad. His backyard became a bit of bird sanctuary in his later years. 

Instead of a back lawn, we had a chicken coop in our backyard for years. He adopted a baby crow and raised it when I was twelve or thirteen. 

Our backyard was the size of a good size pool with a huge old black walnut tree in the middle. That tree came to be filled with birdhouses and feeders, not to mention the hummingbird feeders that hung from the patio cover. We always knew if we need a gift for Dad, a birdhouse would do the trick.

These days I find myself fascinated by the birds on my back patio. I have a little birdhouse with a gnome guarding the door that has been the home at least twice to little chickadees. Recently, I've noticed a beautiful Blue Jay frequenting the same tree. The day I saw a goldfinch, I was sure it was going to be a good day. I think it was. 

Do you ever have something happens that makes you have a great day just because it happened? If I wake up from a Dad dream, I know it's going to be a good day because even if things go bad, I can remember waking up from the dream. Hearing the long version of Chicago's "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" on the radio and having a rare bird sighting also sets me up for a good day.

Okay, I think I've veered off a bit and I'm getting hungry. Time for lunch. Have a great day and if you wouldn't mind, tell me what starts your day off with rainbows and unicorns.