Prickle Forrest Chronicles August 2020 Newsletter

PRICKLE FORREST CHRONICLES

August 2020 (Posted 08/28/2020

By Chrissy Hartmann

Summer is just about done here in these parts. And Mother Nature seems to agree…somewhat. Some days it’s hot and humid, like days of Old. Other days it’s cool and even rainy. Worst is when it’s rainy and humid. Ugh!

But baseball is taking place from all ages. Last minute vacations are abundant. And kids unbelievably are itching to get back to school. Not sure if it’s for the education, might be for some, but probably most want the socialization that everyone had to forgo because of the virus. But it looks as though it’s on the downslope. The economy is booming back. Unemployment is dropping. Workers want their jobs back. And everyone seems sick and tired of all this virus propaganda. People are surviving the virus and thwarting the efforts of the fear mongers’.

With much hope in the heart, one can only wish for peace, prosperity, and love for this grand old land. Hold your head up, social distance, and remember, “We are Americans. We can do it! God bless America.”

THE TOP FIVE

American grit. Yeah baby, that’s right. We got it!
Tax free back to school shopping. Cha-Ching! Cha-Ching!
The only way to go…High school vocational/career centers.
Cleveland Indians baseball. Go Tribe!

WIP IT… WIP IT GOOD…

Finished two more chapters on the latest novel. Total of eight written. Almost have two more done. Woohoo! Really, enjoy writing this one. Found out a great way to describe the setting of exotic places since unable to travel to them so far. The secret is… Research to see if there is a local garden club or community group that can help with the indigenous plant life. Works great and they love helping out. Of course, they will get mentioned in the book either in the acknowledgements or maybe an honorable mention in the chapter.

QUERYING…

Still waiting to hear back from Entangled Publishing. Only a few more weeks now until a response should come. Hopefully they’ll like the changes made and offer to publish it. That would make up for this lousy COVID-19 ridden year.

THE CRAFT

This month’s writing tip…

As mentioned above, if you are using real locations and you need help with history or even the settings such as plant life, building descriptions, etc. if you’re unable to travel to the location, ask local groups such as garden clubs, the historical society, or community groups to help out. Great reference source and their contribution makes your setting more believable. My thanks to The Garden Club of Bermuda!

THE HOLIDAYS:

No major holidays this month unless you consider tax-free weekend for back to school. Yes, that’s correct. Tax free, but only for certain items and the maximum the item can cost is $75 so sorry to those big names for sports shoes, you lose out.

Had a few fun #holidays. Check out Goosie and Gander’s section below for those. They loved celebrating them. Do need to find a few more decorations and props for some of the really weird ones like… #NationalWhiteWineDay or #NationalMustardDay. Celebrating #NationalChocolateChipCookieDay lasted more than the appropriated twenty-four hours, but when you start combining chockalott chips in with peanut butter cookies and macadamia nut cookies then one must accept the holiday should be extended. And anyway, seventy-two hours isn’t that much longer than twenty-four, right?

MY BOOKSHELF:

Diamond Doris; The Sensational True Story of the World’s Most Notorious International Jewel Thief by Doris Payne
Five Secrets of Story Structure; How to write a novel that stands out (Helping Writers Become Authors Book 6) by K.M. Weiland
Romancing the Beat Story Structures for Romance Novels (How to write kissing books 1)
Born to be Wild by Eloisa James

SEASONAL FAVORITES:

SEASON: Summer

SPORTS TEAM: The Cleveland Indians… Go Tribe!

COLOR: Dark Brown and white. Reminds me of a hot fudge sundae. Yummy!

CAUSE: The Seeing Eye

SONG: Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden

FOOD: Crisps Sweet Peas. Yummy!

HOT DRINK: Iced caramel cappuccino… “Da bomb!”

FLOWER: Daisies and roses…better yet…both!

DID YOU KNOW…

Dexcom G6 is a fabulous continuous glucose monitor. No more finger pricks. This is almost like having the pancreas working on its own again. Provides a lot of freedom. One quick look at the iPhone app to see the blood sugars and one is good to go. And if you want to dress your CGM up why not try an overlay patch from Expression Med? Lots of great designs. Puppy paws, flowers, flags, shamrocks, etc. Check them out with the link below and get $5 off your firsts order. Hopefully you’ll love them as much as I do.

PRICKLERS OF THE MONTH..

Big Ten cancellation of football.
Teacher’s unions with political agendas.
Fact checkers who lie.
Liars who write biographies or memoirs.
Social climbing self-centered family.
COVID-19 fear mongers.

THEY SAID…

Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves. — Abraham Lincoln

HOMETOWN UPDATE:

The renovations to the square for downtown Wooster are scheduled to be finished this week. Good for Black Bird Records, Operation Fandom, Tulipans Bakery and coffee shop, etc. Woohoo! Woohoo!
Wooster City Schools are now back as this is posted, but for only limited time in the classrooms; two days out of the week and three days at alternative sites or totally online. Student/parent choice.
Wooster’s pool has closed last weekend while the Farmers market continues to supply plenty of local produce. The stuff is fantastic!
Coccia House is back from vacation…reopened to half bakes around the 26th.
Wayne County Fair hosting only the Jr. Fair this year…not much else. No rides. No evening grand stand shows. No demolition derby. No Tractor pulls. No carnies. No consumer booths. Only a few food vendors allowed. The horse racers will still harness up though. Jr. Fair closed to the public. Only participant and one parent allowed.

INQUISITIVE MINDS…

The Muses want to know…

Do you prefer classroom education or online? And if online should schools continue to receive tax money for operating expenses even though the kids aren’t there?

GOOSING OFF…

Goosie & Gander

Our fowl friends have certainly been busy celebrating national day of the cowboy. Then Goosie found the perfect watermelon. They spent a few days spoiling their service dogs. Goosie visited with her favorite lion. And the two even managed to sneak down the yellow brick road to celebrate the Wizard of Oz 81st anniversary. Things didn’t get too sticky hanging out with Goosie’s favorite bee. Hey even spent a week on vacation and got some great photos of one ferocious great white shark. And at the moment, they’ve coaxed their kitten to hang out with them for the day.

#NationalDayOfTheCowboy #NationalWatermelonDay #WorldHoneyBeeDay #NationalMuttDay #NationalAssistiveDogDay #BlackCatAppreciationDay #NationalPhotographyDay #SharkWeek