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Thank you for the welcome. It was a lot of work but I have trouble with words now although I am getting better. I have been doing lots of word games and they are coming back. I belong to the Australian Christian writers group on fb. It's the only one right now.1
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Wyn - do you listen to audiobooks? There are so many now available free through YouTube. Of course, library applications are my go-to! I LOVE audiobooks so that I can listen while I do life, but if I had a medical issue, they would become even more important.0
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Wyn, they do still have "beta" readers for books. I do this for several authors. Most of the time an author that I get e-mails from will ask us if we are interested in pre-reading their story and giving her/him our opinion and then writing a review once the book comes out. I get gobs of e-mails from authors! I'll be doing a pre-read soon for one of the authors who has a book coming out in March.
Are you on Goodreads, there are a ton of groups for Christian readers as well. Can't wait to hear what you've been reading.
So disappointed. a Hedley Huntt regency romance had a cuss word in it. I was so enjoying it too. Normally she doesn't have them, so I'm hoping it's an anomaly and will continue reading, but will let her know how disappointed I was in seeing it when I write my review! If I find any more than I will have to quit reading the book - it's UNDER THE EARL'S PROTECTION - a clean and sweet... sigh!
I am continuing to work on my re-read of CROWN OF SHADOWS by K M Shea and my re-read of the Ravenwood Series by Morgan Busse.0 -
Was cleaning out 2 drawers this afternoon and came across a booklet from Prevention magazine called The Amazing Peanut Butter Diet. Hmmmm 2001.0
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Hmm - well, peanut butter is filling, and if you use the right type has low sodium and no sugar, but if you use common brands it is full of both. Kind of curious on how that would work since it has lots of calories.0
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Happy Monday, everyone.
Went to see Mom last night. She was responding when we first got there, but her eyes were fixed. She fell into a deep sleep and wasn't responsive at all. We left about 6:15 and got a call at 9:42 that Mom had passed, probably between 8 and 8:30. We are in funeral preparation mode now and getting all of her accounts closed out. We won't be having the funeral until next Monday, the soonest her grave site could be readied. We're doing okay. Rejoicing that she is home with the Lord and not suffering any longer, although she was kept very comfortable and pain free for her last days. The hospital we had her at has been incredible for all of her stays and the nurses very compassionate and kind. Thanks for all of your prayers for us, we appreciate them deeply.0 -
Prayers for you guys. I know there is a Mom sized hole in your lives, but it is such a comfort knowing she is in the arms of Jesus!0
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Thank you so much! I'm surprised by how much peace I feel. I heard something yesterday and thought it was her calling out to me like she did when we were caring for her - that's okay, I still hear things go bump and think Jake is knocking at the door! He's been gone for almost 9 months now! Going through lots of her stuff and picking out pictures for an album for the receiving keeps us very busy. We're heading to Hickory on Thursday to get things worked out with the funeral home and then stay until the funeral on Monday. Our Pastor's wife is going to go with us. She's been my right arm through all of this. Our pastor wishes he could go, he was very close to Mom, but he can't travel very far any more. He will do a memorial service when we get back. I am looking forward to that.
It is so warm today. I tried to get some walking in yesterday but the breeze made it just too cold for me to stay out long. It's 63 and still right now so when I am done here I'm going for a walk!
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Kim- continued prayers.
I am so frustrated today. I have a great Motorola phone that has a ton of memory, takes great pictures and I Iove the phone. I noticed yesterday that when I tried to call Mom that I got network busy and couldn't call her. I called from landline and didn't think anything about it until the same thing happened today. I tried several things and it didn't call out on WiFi calling or network. I tried calling the company on the landline, but was on hold over an hour and needed to call Mom. I took out the SIM card and put in my old iPhone that hardly holds a charge and it calls out fine. I tried to chat with them online about the problem and I was #236 in line. They have to be having an issue if I have to wait that long. I guess I will try again tomorrow. AARG!0 -
I hate when that happens. I'm having trouble getting into three different sites. CVS hasn't let me into my account on-line for at least three weeks, they just keep saying they are having issues. Today it was also with Fidelity and another of my sites! I think, hmmm, it must be my computer, nope, other sites let me in! OOOEEEOOOEEE!
Well, we had Mom's funeral yesterday. We were in Hickory since Thursday making arrangements, although she had everything planned ahead of time, she had done that in the 1990's and things have changed since then. On her list of things she paid for was a sign for the yard and a wreath on the door. People don't do that any more because of burglars looking for those things, and she doesn't live there any more, so there's no door to put it on! LOL! We found out too that she had death benefits from somewhere so he kept asking us if we wanted to add stuff because we had extra money! Wow, that never happens! It was a wonderful place though and the people very kind. I'm just so happy for her, she is whole and happy and has her full mind and strength, how awesome is that. I've cried a little bit, but when I think of where she is now, the tears stop and a smile comes on my face. That's what I need to remember right now, I can think of other stuff later!
We had beautiful weather, except for one day being chilly the other days were in the 70's! We are looking for storms here over the next week, but okay temps. I do need to get some walking in while it's good. Tomorrow I begin my healthy eating again. I need to get rid of some snacks that I got while on the trip! heeheehee! I plan on doing a 1000 to 1200 calorie diet, low carb/high protein. I think that will help take off some pounds.0 -
Glad that everything went well with the funeral and that you are back and recuperating.
I finally got through to my cell carrier and they said that.it was something to do with the 3g going away and it messed with some of the towers. I mentioned that the old.iPhone was connecting fine and she said that iPhones connect a bit different. Anyway, I put my SIM card back in my good phone yesterday and everything is fine! I really didn't want to have to mess with a new phone.
Today was the last of the surgeries involved in the tooth implant. I'm on soft foods for the next several days, and having to do food at strange times for meds. Will be over soon, though.0 -
I am so sorry about your Mom, Kim. The loss of a parent is so difficult, but if you're like me, the loss of a Mom is especially difficult. You were always so good with her. My prayers are with you.
I've had a lot going on and apologize for not being around much recently. Dwight had some medical problems and went through weeks of testing, but nothing serious showed up. That's good, and he feels somewhat better now, but still wish something could make him stronger. He's stable for now, so that's a blessing. And about the time we were finishing the test process, I started having problems seeing. I could see in the distance, although not as sharp as normal, but could hardly see to read. It took a while to get an eye appointment, while my close vision kept getting worse. Turns out that a film was closing around the lens implants from when I had my cataract surgery several years ago. I've had four laser surgeries and can now see beautifully. What a praise that is! I haven't been able to read or use the computer since early January and am so eager to read a book that I hardly know where to start. I'll catch up with everyone soon.0 -
How is everyone doing this morning? Today is Dwight's 79th birthday and I just got back from going out to get him an egg muffin breakfast. Such a simple thing, but something he loves. The weather is beautiful here, mostly in the 70s with daffodils, tulip trees, and forsythia blooming everywhere. I have noticed that in a few days, the temperature will drop to 8 degrees, though.
I don't think I'll ever take reading for granted again, now that I can see so well. I've never been able to enjoy audio books, but decided to try again when that was the only way a mystery I wanted to read was available. And I'm actually loving it! I may have to try more audio books, as I can work a computer jigsaw puzzle or color a picture while listening.0 -
Oh, Happy Birthday to Dwight! I'm so glad you are both doing better now! You are in my prayers!
Mom had that same problem, Carole. We had the laser surgery done on her eyes and it helped her a bit, but I think that her problem mostly came from the changes going on in her brain. I use the text to speech on my Kindle all the time so that I can do my puzzles too. I discovered a new one that I am really enjoying, Merge County and another one I think is Merge Kingdom. You merge pieces of things together to make bigger things and then your kingdom grows, and you find new things. Sounds strange, but it's fun. Pixel Tap has been a favorite for a long time now, it's kind of a paint by numbers but you do one square at a time rather than a whole swath of color in a section.
I was able to get a short walk in yesterday but the humidity made it hard for me to catch my breath so I didn't go a far as I had wanted to go. I am going to do my inside walk today, a bit chilly for an outside walk.0 -
Carole - keeping Dwight in prayer and wishing him a happy birthday!
I'm so glad that you got the vision issue resolved. That would be really scary.
As far as audiobooks, I am a HUGE fan! And I am loving all of the authors that are putting books on YouTube for free. When they get to 1000 subscribers and 4000 hours listened they will actually make more than audible...and free to listeners.
My two favorites so far are Say With Jay (Jessie Gussman books) and Feel Good Fiction (Liz Isaacson/Elana Johnson). A lot of authors are setting them up, but don't have a lot of books up at this point.0 -
Dwight appreciated your birthday wishes, Kim and Connie. His brother and 3 sisters have all called today, which he also enjoyed.
It was definitely scary, Connie. For the longest time, I just thought I wasn't getting my glasses clean enough. Then I discovered that I was only seeing out of one eye, and not very good at that. I'm so thankful for today's medical technology.
I've never tried the text-to-speech on Kindle and didn't know about books on YouTube either. So much to explore!0 -
I need to put YouTube on my Kindle so I can listen that way!
Brrr, where did all those 70+ degree days go? I hope this cold snap doesn't last very long. I was getting 3000 to 4000 steps when Mom was sick and while preparing for her funeral, but now that all of that is over I am back to getting around 1500-2000 - ugh. That's even with adding steps walking! I need to be more active around the house, or just get up every hour and take a couple of laps around the house! Ah, I like that idea! I like to work on my Bible memorization while I'm walking, trying to bring back those verses that I've lost!
Carole, I like text to speech because I can add my own emotions to the story. When I listen to someone else reading the story to me it feels slow and I don't always have the same emotions during a part of a story that the reader is portraying. I didn't much like the reader in the Dee Henderson book, too emotive for guys parts, just can't see Wade saying some of the things they said in that way, although he would say them, he wouldn't gush. Weird, I know, I'd rather listen to a computer voice than a human voice! LOL!
Have a great day y'all.0 -
Kim, you just might have a point about the text-to-speech thing. The reader goes slower than I could physically read, although that seems to work well for a cozy mystery. It's when she changes to the male voice that I'm not crazy about. Or maybe I'm just not used to it yet.
I think this cold spell is short lived, at least where I am. Today I almost needed air conditioning, tomorrow is a high of 28 with a "wintery mix," and then it's back in the 60s the next day. Hope it doesn't kill all the flowers.
Have any of you ever visited a homemade soap store? There's one close to me that I couldn't resist trying - Buff City Soap. I don't think I would buy their laundry soap, but I love their body cream. My feet stay rough and this might be the best thing I've tried. Picked up a body scrub today and will see how that works.0 -
Snow predicted to begin around 3 am, lasting for 5-6 hours. Possible 1-3". Hard to believe this can happen after all the mild spring weather we've been having! We'll have to see what tomorrow morning brings.0
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Carole - All audiobook formats that I have used (libby, hoopla, audible, youtube, cloud library, etc) have the capability to change the speed of the book. I use 1.75, because if I use the "normal" it drags. I know a lot of people that use 1.50, but even that is a little slow for me. On text-to-speech I use 2x.
I have listened to a couple of Liwen Y Ho's books on YouTube and they are done with a text-to-voice type application. It is really a good one, though. She was debating reading something herself or doing the simulator and to me this was the right decision.
If you decide to do the YouTube authors, make sure to subscribe to their channels. Those subscriptions are part of the way they get paid. Several have reached their goals, and several haven't. Some have reached out prior to putting books up, and trying to get their subscriptions going.
Here is what I have "saved" on my computer, but I haven't necessarily saved everything that I have subscribed. Some of these are considered "clean" and some are Christian fiction.
Lucy McConnell https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Y2EoGZl53kCx5JzPz1m_g
Christine Kersey https://www.youtube.com/c/ChristineKersey
Jennifer Youngblood https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChlluAZC5d-x_u38f-2WBSw
Bridget E Baker https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH_5_6mIAeg1wS_p_gWDk1Q
Jeanette Lewis https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC106ujoPYZk4GJKF8IU92WA
Kimberly Krey https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5BTOF2-z22nbvqFn2b76ew
Lindzee Armstrong https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC1q-ORuUlIe9FmV1KVLC5iA
Liz Isaacson https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy8JYpRHbRlQOk6YjClxN8g
Bonnie Paulson https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPZECfHaAQVE6oikAjrWB3Q
Cindy Ray Hale - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC43YpakLD3OMwOlOf9jbQdw
Hannah Jo Abbot - https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCtoy5DB1mTUTmYqsbnW4gjQ
Liwen Y Ho - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIIA6ogIdNS0QNETHGZdEKg/videos
Jay Dyess (Jesse Gussman’s books) - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOZcqcnr0DccGpidWab68_A
Also look up Bree Livingston. When I post the link to it, it does weird stuff.
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