I had a wonderful time talking about Washout Express at a Rotary club meeting last week. Such fun people! They were abuzz with plans for their fundraiser, the ever popular Cruise Party.  I'd never been to a Rotary gathering before. I absolutely love this from their Guiding Principles:

The Four-Way Test

The Four-Way Test is a nonpartisan and nonsectarian ethical guide for Rotarians to use for their personal and professional relationships. The test has been translated into more than 100 languages, and Rotarians recite it at club meetings:
Of the things we think, say or do

1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

and they added a 5th one at this meeting:

     5. Is it fun?

LOVE IT! That relates to my Love Colored Glasses platform so well, and mirrored the talk that I gave. 

I smiled as I drove back to work. Had to take a few minutes to sit and listen to the rain gracing my car.  Rain is an event where we live. We thank God for it.

So...what are you looking at differently today?

Bittersweet Giveaway

My agent, Terry Burns of Hartline Literary Agency, represented Dianne Price, author of  the Thistle Series. Ashberry Lane released the first of the series, Broken Wings, just a week shy of her passing on to Glory.

Ashberry offered Dianne the contract knowing she had terminal cancer, and did everything in their power to get that first book out.

We all knew they were pretty much dropping everything to get this done for her. I had the privilege of visiting with her on Facebook a few weeks before she died. I was inspired and amazed at her humor and faith. She joked with me about it being bath day and feeling so wobbly she might drag the nurse down with her.

She told me that bed baths are called "cat licks" in Scotland, and we shared about Oregon where she lived. I'd lived there too as a child. I knew this was a kindred spirit. One of her greatest joys, flying, is one of my greatest fears and I'd hoped to share that with her. But God called her home. I know we'll be friends in Heaven.

 You can read more about Dianne and her books, and excepts as well,  at this Ashberry Lane link. I'll be giving away an e-version of her Broken Wings on Monday, September 16. Just leave a comment between now and then, and I'll have a drawing. Blessings, prayers and hugs to Dianne's family.

Beloved Author Gone - Her Books Live On

Celebrating Fall, 2013

I celebrate Fall in a big way, I love it. I don't exactly live where there are leaves that change colors. Actually not a great area for leaves, or trees for that matter, but I still love Fall! So Snoopy kicking a big pile of leaves is my PC wallpaper, and I've downloaded a falling leaf screensaver. I made cinnamon toast (shared with my grandson who looks like Opie Taylor) and drank coffee from one of my many Fall themed coffee mugs given me by my best friend.

So celebrate with me. Post a few of your favorite Fall things. Photos, poems, recipes, memories. Join the party. Well, gotta go flip my Thomas Kincaid calender to Sept. 1.


Ah, this month the painting is called "Courage". This is a 2004 painting. This is what he said about it.

"In Courage I use a vocabulary of personal artistic symbols to convey this message: God rewards our perseverance with His gift of courage. A storm-tossed sailboat has come within sight of a lighthouse; the beacon of divine love will guide it to shore." Thomas Kinkade