KAREY SHANE

The First Book Came

The first proof of Secret Speakers arrived via UPS just as I was backing out of the driveway on Friday. After two long, long weeks of struggling naively to get it to print, this was one moment worth waiting for. I immediately drove over to my twin sister, Gwennie's to celebrate. She was waiting in her driveway, camera in hand, for the moment. The mailman took this picture of us.

She had me pose with mailman Ted . . .

And on her porch . . .

Stay tuned for video of our little jig, and my arrival. Little did I know she was videotaping my it. When I pulled up and saw her holding the camera, I thought she was getting ready to take a picture. it turns out she was taping the whole thing. But for now, I'm going to bed early. I'm beyond tired. I slept 12 hours last night and could have slept all day. But I went to church, then with my sister's family for a drive up Provo Canyon to see the autumn leaves. Beautiful.

Falling in Love with Food

Peaches and Italian Plums from our trees! Sigh. We ate a whole vegetable bin's worth in less than two weeks.

Fibromyalgia sufferers, take note: I'm falling in love with food again. I attribute it to my miracle day: On August 17 at 1:30 I came out of the first of what has continued to be many physical therapy sessions. I went in with low back pain, but it turns out I had a train-track's length of vertebrae from my neck down to the middle of my back that were some degree of "stuck"--many of them 100%

From the moment I walked out of that bone-crunching visit, I have had NO fibromyalgia pain or fatigue. I'm running errands, hiking, walking with the dog, cooking, doing laundry. Incredible. If I'd known this was all it took, I would have gone a long, long time ago. I did tell my husband how much I'd been wanting to go, but it came down to our budget and paying the bills. Finally, I just went, and you know what? Now he realizes we can't afford not to do it. He hasn't seen me like this in years. And look, here's proof that I'm actually cooking again. Those are swiss chard greens from the garden. I'm even gardening with gusto!

Wyatt and his American Bulldog Smile

After working Wyatt on the flirt pole, this is what he looks like while he's catching his breath: (Where does he put his tongue during the rest of the day when it's inside his mouth? Wow!)

Exercising American Bulldogs

 

Our American Bulldog, Wyatt, has an incredibly strong prey drive, which comes from his ancient breeding. He can sleep all day in the house and keep my feet warm, but give him something to chase, and he'll go after it until he drops. It's that wonderful American Bulldog "on and off switch." Because I was ill for much of the summer, I was delighted to discover a great way to exercise him without having to leave the yard. If you know American Bulldogs, you might be wondering where he gets his looks: He's an Old Southern White. (The American Bulldog has three breeding lines: Scott, Johnson, and Old Southern White).

Here's what you do:

Author Claire Cook and Mid-life Joy

I came across an inspiring interview with Claire Cook on The Today Show about her mid-life success as an author. I wanted to share it here. (Thanks Jody, for posting about it on anovelspot).