Monday, March 6, 2017

Ups and Downs

What a stressful and exciting few days at the Gourley Homestead. New granddaughter has joined the world. She's perfect and beautiful, but she took long, difficult route to get here. A long labor that ended with a C-section made things rough for the new mother as well as a few additional complications. All is well though an extra day or so in the hospital is required. As a parent, there's something really special about seeing your own child become a parent.

It is as grandmothers that our mothers come into the fullness of their grace. When a man’s mother holds his child in her gladdenarms he is aware of the roundness of life’s cycle; of the mystic harmony of life’s ways. – Christopher Morley
I found time to enjoy a local writers' meeting. We had a great speaker. Geri Krotow is a very successful novelist and a retired naval intelligence officer. Geri spoke about a variety of things, but mostly about finding your own path as a writer. Even as successful as she is now, she shared all the failures and missteps she made to get where she is today. Geri is one of those writers who is always willing to give back and help other writers.

Did you see this article in Publishers Weekly about Barnes and Noble? As much as I love the small independent bookstores and shop at the only one near me, I still really enjoy visiting a big bookstore. I think I cried when Borders closed. And now B&N is barely hanging on. My most successful book signings have been at Barnes and Noble. I've never left that store without buying something.


One of my favorite shows returned last night, Once Upon a Time. I'm thinking it might be the last year for this show, but I really won't mind because the characters have grown. I'd rather it end now instead of dragging on and becoming boring. Lots of shows that go beyond 5 or 6 seasons lose what made them good in the first place.

I'm being optimistic here, but I might finish my WIP this week. Next week at the latest. It's only the first, terribly rough draft, but I love typing the end.

The time changes next weekend, Spring Ahead. I always hated that when I was teaching. I really don't like getting up early though I've had to for most of my life. Now that I can sleep in a bit, I can enjoy the time change that gives us light later into the evening.

Will you miss B&N if they close? Can you think of a TV show that stretched on too long? Do you like Daylight Savings Time?





25 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I hate Spring Forward. That lost hour of sleep kills me the whole week.
Congratulations on the new grandchild!
I'm never shopped much at Barnes and Noble because they've always been the most expensive. Other stores (not just Amazon) always had better deals on books.

Pat Hatt said...

Sucks about B&N indeed. Congrats on the new family addition. Ugg hate daylight savings time, so pointless now. Just split the difference, stick it ahead 30 mins and never do it again. Plenty of shows that stretched on waaaay too long. Like most any procedural, NCIS, CSI, etc.

betty said...

Congrats to all on the birth of your granddaughter! Such a joy to celebrate a new life! Thankfully we don't do daylight savings time here in Arizona. I just have to remember what time it is where my sister and brother live after the time changes when I want to dall them. Enjoy every minute you get to spend with your granddaughter!

Betty

messymimi said...

How i wish we could split the difference (because time is an arbitrary construct we've made, at least, clock time is) and set all of our clocks a half hour ahead and leave them there year 'round.

Congratulations on the new granddaughter!

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

Congratulations on the new granddaughter!

Every time we move the actual clocks, my body clock is unhappy. I'm all thrown off for way too long.

Too many shows go on too long. As much as I might miss them, I'd rather they go out on a high note.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the new granddaughter! Wishing Mommy a fast recovery.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I cried when Borders fell because they took Waldenbooks with them. 2/3 of all my signings were with that chain and I loved the store. They never should've merged with Borders.

Congrats on the new granddaughter.

M.J. Fifield said...

Congratulations on your new granddaughter. Glad to hear all is well.

I will miss B&N if it closes. I've never done a signing there or anything, but I love browsing and buying there.

I was happy to see OUAT back last night. I may or may not have a little bit of a crush on Colin O'Donoghue...

cleemckenzie said...

So glad that after some heart-stopping events, your granddaughter arrived and is a healthy baby girl.

The Happy Whisk said...

Of course I'll miss Barnes if they shut down. Ours is busy but ... our Borders was busy too. They held on for as long as they could.

Congrats on the new baby.

A Beer for the Shower said...

Congrats on your granddaughter! Yay! That must be so exciting.

All of the bookstores are hurting, and we hate to see it. We had all of our books stocked at the local Colorado chain bookstore (Tattered Cover), but they recently closed down one store and downsized all of the others, and they only stock about half the books they used to. It sucks. It's not looking good for them, either. :-/

J E Oneil said...

Congratulations, grandma! I hope everyone continues to do well and the new family is happy. Be sure to give lots of kisses.

Sarah Foster said...

Congrats on the birth of your granddaughter! Good luck on finishing that WIP.

Maria Zannini said...

Congrats on the new grand baby. I'm sorry the mom had such a rough go, but I'm sure she's getting extra TLC now.

Jemi Fraser said...

Congrats on the new granddaughter!! So glad all is well now :) Enjoy all those precious moments!
I love those big bookstores as well - we don't have any near us, but when we travel I love to browse & buy :)

mshatch said...

We also welcomed a new family member over the weekend. Congratulations on yours :)

Jo said...

Congratulations on your new granddaughter. Glad you have nearly finished the first draft of your WIP. Well done. Only been in B & N a couple of times, never bought anything there. It will be a pity if they close although I must admit I am a devoted Amazon customer. These days, I just find changing the clocks a damned nuisance.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Susan - congratulations to your daughter on the new littlie in your lives - wonderful and I'm so happy she's settling in despite the early challenges ...

I don't mind change - we have long evenings then! ... We have Waterstones in town ... B&N was in London, but I think it's gone ... times change - as we all know - cheers and enjoy your writing and the new addition ... congratulations all round - Hilary

Patricia Stoltey said...

I would definitely miss B&N -- I love browsing in a big bookstore.

LD Masterson said...

Congratulations on your new granddaughter. Sorry her mom had a rough time.

I have mixed feeling about B&N. Our local one is as much a game/toy store now as a book store and that irritates me. But I still love browsing through the books, reading a snippet here and there. It's not the same doing that on Amazon.

Arlee Bird said...

Congratulations on your granddaughter. That Morley quote makes so much sense especially to us grandparents.

If B & N closes it won't affect me since it's many miles to the one nearest me and I never go to them. A few years ago a Borders that was in walking distance of my house closed down and I do miss that as I went over there fairly frequently. Now there's a Pet Smart store.

The current show that's been on too long for my taste is The Flash. At first it was my favorite and then they started getting into too many wild story lines. I guess after a while a show starts running out of fresh ideas.

No thanks to DST, but I guess I don't have a choice. I wish they'd just leave time alone.

Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out

Stephen Tremp said...

Susan, Congrats! on the new addition to the family! My daughters loved Once Upon A Time series. I've seen a lot since it was on the living room TV so much. Rumpelstiltskin was my favorite character.

Jenny Baranick said...

Congratulations on the new baby! I'm sorry to hear her journey was a little complicated. I think Weeds got a little ridiculous.

Julie Flanders said...

Congratulations on your new grandchild. Sorry it was a difficult delivery but I hope your daughter and the baby are both doing great now.
That's a shame about Barnes & Noble. I hate seeing any book stores close. Good luck finishing the WIP draft!

Tamara Narayan said...

I hate the Spring time change as well. My 5:15 wake-up call will feel like 4:15. Yuck.

Congrats on the new grandbaby. That's wonderful news.

I would miss Barnes and Noble, but I guess I'm part of the problem. Books from Amazon are usually less expensive. My kids love shopping in their toy section though.