HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO:

All the mother's out there who are visiting here today . . . But also to . . .

All grandmothers, aunts and all the Mom's who share their maternal instincts with their furry babies.

Remember:  Anybody can be a mother......It takes somebody special to be a "Mom."

Wishing all of you a day filled with much love, laughter and sunshine.

(Fish update:  Photo above is Foster being "motherly" and saying au revoir to these guys.  I gave these fish to Oliver yesterday for his aquarium.  I just couldn't seem to bond with them.  And my new fish are on order and should be arriving Tuesday.  They're goldfish.  Not tropical fish like the Mollies and Tetra that I had here. Guess I'm just an old-fashioned goldfish-kind-of-female.)

Ah......my sweet girl.  One year ago today we had to let you go.  Seldom does a day go by that we don't think of you, Holly.  You were the best!  And you taught Duncan everything that mattered.  His companion is now Brie, but I have a feeling he still thinks of you and remembers all the fun you had running in the yard together. 

We love you, Holly girl, and your memory will always be with us.

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And a Happy Birthday to my Dad........he's also gone, but not forgotten.  He would have turned 89 today.  It still comforts me that Holly went to the Rainbow Bridge on my father's birthday.  I like to think they're hanging out together.....somewhere out there.

See you here next time............

Many of you in the blog world might know Mary Lee from her blog, Full Fathom Five.  I first "met" her about 2 years ago when I came across her blog and the current entry told of how she'd lost her beloved dog.  I felt the loss and compassion in her words and felt compelled to leave a comment and email her privately.  Since that time, we've become good friends and discovered we had much in common.  One of which was our desire to get our work published.  So I was thrilled to hear last year that this had been accomplished by Mary Lee.

And just a few weeks ago, her profound memoir was released.  I'd already pre-ordered it on Amazon and was anxious to read it.  And read it, I did......in one day!  I simply couldn't put it down.  So yes, it's a definite page-turner.

Mary Lee has flawlessly combined history, a romance, loss and redemption into a wonderful story.   Jim Coe was commander of a submarine lost at sea during WWII seven months before Mary Lee was born.  Her mother quickly remarried into a troubled relationship and Mary Lee's father was never mentioned.  It wasn't until her mother passed away in 1997 that Mary Lee began a search to "construct" a father she never knew.

Having grown up with a father that I was extremely close to, I felt a deep sadness for a woman who never had the chance to know her biological father.  And during my growing up years, I heard many stories about WWII and the fact that my father was part of the Normandy Invasion.  The older I got, the more I learned about the war in Europe.  But something that I never knew much about at all was the part that the submarines played in the Pacific during the war.

So it was with great excitement that I read about this in Mary Lee's story.  She was able to write in layman's terms about the patrols and day to day danger that was involved.  I was astounded by the volumes of research that she did in order to get her story correct.  She searched through old ships' logs, letters, naval communication, visited submarine museums, the Naval Academy and interviewed old friends and crew members that knew her dad and mom.  And all of her work culminates into her exquisite writing to share with her readers.

Mary Lee tells the emotional side of the story that affected not only her mother, but her sister and brother who were ages six and two when their father was lost at sea.  I was beyond impressed with the fact that she writes all of it without placing blame and without leaving the reader feeling sad.  I will admit though, there were parts of the story in reference to the brass where I got mighty angry.  But this author doesn't allow the anger to linger, because with her positive attitude and superb writing she allows the reader to do what she did.....move forward.

This book isn't just informational, it's uplifting and refreshing.  And when I read that final page, I knew I still hadn't finished it "in my head."  It was extremely thought provoking and in my opinion.....THAT is an excellent book.  One that leaves you still thinking about it days later.  And that's exactly what Full Fathom Five did to me.

Did she "find" her father, you might ask?  Well........I'll leave you to read the book for that answer.  However, not knowing Mary Lee as well as other friends that I've had for years, I will say this.......without a doubt, she IS her father's daughter.  And as I read the book and discovered little ways in which I connected the both of them......their love for dogs, their love for the sea, their diplomacy in social situations......it left me feeling joyful and gratified that this daughter's search had proved there is a very special bond between fathers and daughters.

My thanks goes to Mary Lee for enabling her readers to also come to know Jim Coe.....a very special man.  One that I know I would have liked.  And a man I'm sure she's very proud to call her father.

Do yourself a favor and pay a visit to Amazon so you can also get to know Jim Coe.

See you here next time..........

Not being in Paris today, as originally planned, was made somewhat less disappointing with the hours and hours that I spent last week rescheduling our trip for the fall.  And believe me, I did do hours of research.  But I loved every minute of it.  And now.......everything is arranged, booked and actually, it's only 5 months away.

We decided that since we spent so much time in Paris last year, in March and again in October, that we'd explore a new area.  We'd been to Normandy and southern Brittany years ago.  Another trip took us to the Jura area, on the Swiss border.  When I wrote for Bonjour Paris, I spent a few days in Provence with my friend, Karen Fawcette, the owner of Bonjour Paris.  And on another trip to France, Ray and I spent a week in the northeast region of the Languedoc.

So this time we've decided to visit the southwest area of the Languedoc, very close to Carcassonne, and also very close to the Spain border. 

We will fly to Paris Monday night, September 29, arriving at Charles de Gaulle on Tuesday morning.  We've booked the Ibis Hotel at the airport to stay for Tuesday night.  So I still get a taste (and I do mean that literally) of Paris, because we'll take the RER into Paris after settling in at the hotel.  We'll change our dollars into Euros (and oh yeah, I'm hoping they'll be a bit better by then) and I'll do some shopping.  There's certain things I can't leave Paris without.  And we'll have a late lunch in Paris.  Then back to the hotel to get over jet lag.

Wednesday morning, we'll be booked on the TGV (high speed train).....which we get right at the airport......and 4 hr. and 17 min. later, we'll be in Montpellier, where our rental car will be waiting.  We'll browse around that area and wing it that night for a place to stay.  Although I am an organizer, I also love to be flexible and go with the flow.  Besides, you just never know what you might come across.  So we'll look for a place to stay outside of Montpellier. 

On Thursday, we'll drive from there about an hour and 45 min. to Caunes Minervois, which is just 20 minutes north of Carcassonne.  We've rented a charming and picturesque house there for a week.  It also happens to be owned by an author and her author husband.  "La Gaillarde" is a lovingly restored house in the medieval heart of Caunes Minervois.  Walls are original stone with century old beams, complete with a fireplace in the second floor country kitchen for cooking and our own garden accessed from the living room. But the house has 21st century conveniences, like WIFI.  (Yes!  I can blog from there) The house is furnished with local antiques and looks delightful.  Here's our entrance.

And our kitchen...........

And our garden.........

I'm already enchanted with the medieval village of Caunes-Minervois......with twisting, narrow streets and sand-colored stone buildings, it's surrounded by the great 8th Century Abbey that lies at its heart.  Although the village is small, with only about 1000 inhabitants, it has two restaurants, two bistros, a pharmacy, two grocery stores, bakeries, a butcher and a gas station.  Wineries are everywhere and I discovered in my research that some of the local wines sell for under $10 per bottle.  This particular one that I researched looks very good........

So I definitely plan to visit this winery.

Spain is under a two hour drive from our village, so we'll plan a day trip over the border.

I'm very much looking forward to this trip and the way the days seem to whiz on by, I have a feeling that September 29 will be here before I know it!

See you here next time.................

  The other morning, I turned the light and no yellow Mollie.  I think she had been pooky and without getting gross here, I bet you can guess where she went.  Hmmm, is this what they mean by survival of the fittest?   So I'm down to three fish.....and I'm thinking when the tank is fully cycled (has to do with having the proper bacteria in there, etc.) I'm going to give these two Mollies and my Tetra to Oliver.  And me?  I'm going with good old Fancy Goldfish.  I just love the ones in my outside pond and they're doing SUPER!  Not namby pambies like these Tropical fish.

Update on Ray:  Well, he's certainly feeling much better.  Back to normal, actually.  However, we got a phone call on Thursday from the Hematology & Oncology Center in Gainesville.  Ray's iron levels are off the charts.  Normal range is 10-290 and his is 628.  Yeah, double.  So Miss Martha, the Nurse Practitioner in Chiefland, called Gainesville for Ray to be seen.  We're going this Friday at 1:00.  I guess they're thinking it could be Hemachromatosis......overload of iron.  Some of you might recall that my mother had that, unbeknowst to us, and ultimately it damaged her liver and caused her death. I'd done a blog entry about this last year.  After we discovered she had it and too late for her, I had to go and have DNA genetic testing.  Thank goodness "I" do not have it.  It's genetic and since I don't have it, it wasn't passed on to my children. 

 If caught in time, it involves going quite often at first to a phlebotomist to get rid of the blood.  Just like giving blood.  Once the levels are down, then you do this a few times a year.  We're not sure this is the cause for Ray's exceptionally high iron levels, but it could be.  And that's why we're meeting with the dr. in Gainesville for a history, more blood work, etc.  To be continued..............

Paris Update:  Yes, I'm supposed to be in France right now.  Actually, in Brittany and then we were going to Paris for a week on Tuesday.  But as you know, due to the episode with Ray's health, we had to cancel.  Am I feeling disappointed and sad?  Hmmm, a little.  But not a whole lot, because.........I was very busy this past week rescheduling our trip for the fall.  All the plans have been made, everything is booked and confirmed.

And we had a change of heart.  Rather than going to Normandy, Brittany and then on to Paris for a week.......we decided to do something different.  Oh yes.......it's still France, my one great love.

So join me here next time and I'll tell you all about it............

I discovered this author on My Space.  "One Dance in Paris" is actually her second novel.  And......Julia Holden is a pseudonym.  Now isn't that intriguing?  Hmm, so who really is Julia Holden?  I have no idea....except from what I've read about her, she's involved with Hollywood as an Executive and I read that she isn't using her real name for personal and professional reasons.  As I said......very intriguing.  And I won't lie, I love a mystery.  And okay, okay.......I'm also nosey.  But she's real, because Julia very nicely accepted my invitation on My Space to be my "friend."  Yeah, I know.....she might be my friend, but I really don't "know" her.  That's okay.......on My Space, that's allowed.  Especially for us authors.

All of this aside, lets get back to the book........in one word I thought it was spectacular!  I loved it.  I didn't want it to end.  I enjoyed every single page.

The main character, Linda Stone, barely remembered her mother.  She died when Linda was a baby.  But what she discovers about the woman who gave her life was way more than she bargained for.  Her mother was a famous.....and infamous.....international showgirl.  Her mother wore glittering high-heeled sandals.......and a dress that was barely there.  A dress that gave her the power to become the talk of the town, the queen of Paris, the star of the Folies Bergere.

As many of you know, I'm originally from the Boston area.  The character in the novel is from Somerville, Mass. which is where the story begins.  Many of you also know that I'm a confirmed Francophile and my favorite place in the world is Paris.  The character ends up in Paris.  So you're probably thinking, "well, sure, of course Terri would love this book."  While that added to the story for me, trust me, those aren't the main reasons I loved this book.

When the character takes off for Vegas to begin her journey of searching to learn about her mother, I was right there with her.  I felt like I was standing right behind Linda Stone's shoulder as she met Dixie, one of the first links to her mother.  When she flew to Paris, I was on that Continental flight with her (yes, the author chose Continental as the airline)  And when she arrived in the City of Light, I was just a few steps in back of her as she walked Rue Cadet, Rue Richer, Montmartre and everywhere else. Not because I've also strolled those streets, but because this author brought it all alive......whether you've been there or not.  When she met Claudine, the last link to her mother, I felt like I was meeting a real French woman by this name.  Because that's how vividly this author captures her characters.

Holden's writing is both witty and poignant.  But above all, it's real.  She's spot-on when it comes to character development.  And knowing Paris as well as I do, it was very gratifying to see how authentic her descriptions were of everything from street locations to the French culture.

The story itself was unique, refreshing, entertaining and satisfying.  All good things must come to an end.......just as this story did.  But it doesn't mean I have to like it.  I hated to close that final page.  And I have to say, I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a novel about Paris as much as I did this one.

But the good news is, I've already ordered Holden's debut novel, A Dangerous Dress.  And I'm anxiously looking forward to losing myself in her writing once again.

So if you're looking for an extremely enjoyable book, whether you're a Francophile or not, do yourself a favor and get this one!  I don't think you'll be sorry.

See you here next time..............

Yes, just since I posted here this morning, I have THREE new baby fish!  I checked the aquarium this morning and thought I was seeing things.

Emily, one of the Bronte sisters, had been acting a bit odd (odd for fish, I guess, but trust me I'm not a fish behaviorist) since I put her into her new home Friday evening.  At first she swimmed around happily like the others.  And then she staked out a corner in the upper left of the aquarium.  When I turned their light on Sat. morning, she looked pretty pooky to me.  I thought she was on her way to fishy heaven.

But I watched her all day (NO, not continuously) and although she never left that corner, she "seemed" okay.  By that, I mean she was breathing.  Well, I called my fish expert, Oliver and he said, "she could be pregnant."  Leave it to me to take home an unwed mom. 

Sure enough......this morning I found 3 itsy, bitsy, teeny, weeny little black and silver fish in there.  Up in HER corner, swimming just in that area.  Guess she staked out her claim as a homesteader.  This afternoon I fed them and she came a swimmin'.  I also noticed she keeps pushing the other fish away from "her" spot up there.  Okay, call me crazy......but "I" think she's protecting her babies.  She's swimming around the tank a little more now, but she keeps going back up to that corner where the babies are.  It's so sweet.  And yes, I'm hooked on these fish.  Didn't take me long to bond with them and get to figure out their personalities.

Two other household members have discovered the fish.  I caught Duncan and Foster quite mesmerized by them this morning.

OPPS!  Wait a sec!  As I was typing this, I see we now have FOUR babies in there!  Hmmmm.......anybody know how many a Mollie fish can have at one time??????   Cripe.......I hope I don't develop a problem with crowd control!

As I was typing this, my fish expert Oliver, dropped by and confirmed it.  Yup.......those are definitely black Mollie babies in there.  Oh......and we now have FIVE.  He said she could have a half dozen.  In a couple weeks, I was going to get 2 more fish to add, but looks like Emily took care of the addition factor for me.  The good thing is.....since it's a freshwater system, if it does get too crowded in there, a few can always be moved to the outside pond, which is about 200 gallons and plenty of room.

Well, Nurse Terri is getting back to her OB duty here, monitoring the births of fish.  See you here next time.........(and yes, I'm having a ball with this and really enjoying it!)

I got the blue gravel for the bottom, two live plants, some driftwood and a thingy for them to swim through.  So they seem to be doing pretty well, and I sit here and watch them for minutes on end.

There's something truly soothing about just sitting and watching fish swim by.  The cats haven't spied this new addition to my studio yet.  But it's an enclosed system, with a cover on top.......so they can look but can't touch.

Ray continues to do well and I'd say he's back to normal.  We're still waiting to get results of the most recent blood work.

So before long, I'll be busy planning our trip to France for the fall.  And I have no doubt, that before long fall will be here.

Not much going on with my writing.  I've finished 200 pages on Book #2 and had decided to take a rest.  Next week I'll go over the first fifty pages and do an outline.  My contract states I have to send them that by June 1.  So I'm ahead of schedule.

I've been doing loads of reading the past couple weeks.  I just finished a great book that I wished had gone on and on.  Yup, it was that great and that entertaining.  So join me here next time, and I'll tell you all about it.

Till then, hope all is well with all of you..........

Ray had his abdominal ultrasound Tues. morning we got the VERY good news that it was negative! Whew!  The dr. called me in from the waiting room to assure me.....there were no tumors or masses in the liver, kidneys, pancreas, etc.  And yes, we were both quite relieved. 

Ray is slowly beginning to feel better.  Still tired, but not as bad.  We saw the Nurse Practitioner yesterday and she's baffled.  She said his Sed rate last week was very elevated and that could indicate infection.  So yesterday she had the lab draw blood for more things, like iron levels, etc.  And we'll see what those liver enzymes look like now.  She'll call when she has the results and like she said, bottom line Ray is feeling better.  So it just might take time to get over whatever it is he had. 

I still feel it was a smart move to cancel our trip to France for next week.  He needs to be fully back to normal before going over there and I'll start working on booking for Sept. in the next week or so.

I want to thank all of you that have sent good wishes to Ray either via phone calls, emails, or comments here.  It was very much appreciated.

And now.....on to some happy things.  Last week my aqua plants arrived FedEx.  I'd ordered a water lily and another plant.  When I'd bought my water lily for my pond in New Port Richey it came in a pot, etc.  Well, this one didn't.  What arrived was simply that!  A plant!  I had no pot, no aquatic soil, etc.  But not to worry......my good friends Doreen and Oliver came to my rescue!  Oliver came over and brought me a mesh pot for the pond, along with a bag of the correct soil and he even did the planting for me.  (yes, they're very good friends and very reliable)  Here's what my plant now looks like in the pond.

You have no idea how much I'm enjoying this fish pond!  I love hearing the water as I sit in my studio typing or at night through the open bedroom window.  And I really enjoy wandering out to the yard to feed them or check on them.  I find it so relaxing.  And I'm also finding the larger fish have a definite personality.  Now when they hear my voice they come swimming toward that end of the pond.  Okay, okay.....so maybe they ARE only coming because they're looking for food, but I think we're "bonding."  I've now got the larger ones named.......the largest orange one is Hemingway, the smaller orange one is Kiki, one of the speckled ones is  F. Scott and the other is..........yes, you guessed it........Zelda.  And here they are......

Oliver is extremely knowledgeable with fish and I've bombarded him with a million questions lately.  He's so patient, explaining everything to me and he's really whet my appetite to get seriously involved in these fish as a hobby.  So much so.........I'm going to be getting an inside aquarium for my writers studio.

I'd thought about going with saltwater fish, but after Oliver explained everything, that's a bit too involved for my sometimes extremely busy schedule.  There's some really pretty freshwater fish (like I have in the outside pond) and that's what I'm going to get.  Mother's Day is next month, and I know Ray will be looking for a gift for me......so I told him, not to worry!  Let's get me a freshwater aquarium now.

So we're heading to Gainesville tomorrow to a fish shop there that Oliver recommended.  I called the owner today and he said he'll talk me through it, etc. and what kind of fish I could put in there right away.  He said he knows it's a one hour drive each way from Cedar Key and he'll explain which particular fish I could put in there right away, rather than get the aquarium set up first and then drive back in 24 hr. for the fish.

So I have the spot all set here next to my desk and I'm looking forward to greeting my new fish arrivals.  Hey, I'm a Pisces.....what can I say.  So join me here next time and you can meet them too...........

You'll recall that the last time I did a blog entry I'd mentioned that Ray was sick.  Well, he's really no better.  We saw the dr. we'd been seeing a week ago Thursday......he wasn't sure what it was, maybe a flu, and put Ray on Cipro.  They also did blood work.  I called them on Monday.  Yup, blood work was back and "it's okay" says the nurse.  Okay, define "okay" for me I told her.  Is it all within normal limits?  Well, no his white count is high, Bilirubin is a little high.  Oh and so is his BUN.  Hmmm.  Okay.  What are we going to do about it, I asked, because he's really no better.  The GI symptoms had diminished, but he was feeling exhausted.  No energy whatsoever and just "not feeling good."  The nurse said to me, "What would you like us to do?"  Well, gee......maybe a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia?  They don't do those at that dr. office and she told me to go to the ER.  For a chest x-ray?  I thought we were trying to keep this sort of thing OUT of the ER's and only dealing with emergencies there.  I didn't like her idea at all and hung up.

Moving the story along here, on Tuesday I took Ray to the Immediate Care Center in Gainesville because I was told he could get a chest x-ray done there.  AFTER I did all the paper for insurance, etc. we're called into a room and told, "He has a history of COPD.  We can't do a chest x-ray on him here.  It might be cardiac related."  I assured her he wasn't in any acute cardiac or respiratory distress.  But nope.....sorry.....go to the ER is what she instructed us.  Back in the car, drive down the street to No. Florida Regional Medical Center ER.  Well.......after sitting there for almost 2 hours among at least 20 other people.......we walked out.  So we spent 5 hours in Gainesville last Tues. and got absolutely nowhere.

At this point, I'm really lovin' the medical system even less than I normally do.  Came home and called Chiefland Medical Center.  The back story here is.......this is where we always went since we moved to Cedar Key 3 yr. ago.  I was very pleased with the care there and they EVEN do chest x-ray's there.  However, about a year ago the dr. we had finished his rotation there and moved on.  We were told we'd have to see the Nurse Practitioner until that Aug. when another dr. would be on board.  I didn't like that idea.  That's when we switched to UF Shands Clinic in Old Town. (where we were a week ago Thurs.)  Still with me here?

Took a chance and called Chiefland, they still had Ray's records in the computer and told us to come in the very next day, last Wednesday, at 1:00 and we could see Miss Martha, the Nurse Practitioner.  (For those of you not from the south, calling her Miss Martha is a southern thing.  Sweet and respectful)  We went.......and I have to say I was VERY impressed with Miss Martha.  Knowledgeable, intelligent and extremely professional.  At that point she wasn't sure what was going on, but Ray's lungs were clear.  We did a chest x-ray anyway and no pneumonia.  They did a lot of blood work and here's where things get tricky......

Miss Martha called on Friday afternoon......Ray's liver enzymes are very elevated.  First question of course, does he drink?  Those of you that know Ray know the answer to that.  He's lucky if he has one beer or one gin and tonic once a month.  That's it.  Never was a drinker.  So that shoots that out as the reason.  Without going even into more detail......Ray did have some clams to eat 2 weeks ago last night.  So my first thought when ALL of this started that Mon. evening (48 hr. after eating the clams) was possibly Hepatitis A.  Miss Martha is also thinking possibly the same thing.  Now, his Hep A test came back negative.  However, many times it doesn't show up in the blood until 15 to 50 days later! 

Sooo......we're going this Tues. to Gainesville for an abdominal ultrasound and we'll see her again on Wed. for more blood work.  Here we are 2 weeks later since he got sick and we'll still no closer to knowing what's wrong. 

Although Ray is feeling better as far as GI symptoms, he still has no energy at all and is extremely tired.  Based on this.........I've had to cancel our trip to Paris.  We were due to leave a week from this Wed. on April 29.  I just cannot see him bouncing back that fast to endure the flight over, the drive to Normandy and Brittany and then on to Paris for a week.  Yes, I'm very disappointed and so is he.  But we need to find out what's going on with his health.  And as I told him, based on what the tests show we'll just reschedule the entire trip for September.  We love going to France in the fall.  So yesterday morning I canceled my house/pet sitter, the hotels, the apartment in Paris.  And this is where we're at.

Yup, my dad was very right.  Life is great.......if you don't weaken.  See you here next time........