Last week, water began to miraculously appear on the grout around one specific tile in the spare room in the basement. After much eyebrow raising and head scratching, it was discovered that part of our sink is missing a washer and has been leaking.

But to discover this, because Rice thought it might be the dish washer, we had to have a repairman come in, so I took Avadore and William to the park so Avadore wouldn't try to help.

So we went to the cool park. The one I love, too. It fills me and stirs my imagination. Nearby is a replica of the fort that used to exist nearby as well as lots of trees and a zoo and hills and lovely, lovely views. It's utterly magical. The park also has swings and a merry-go-round and a slide and such things to play on. I can't wait to go in the fall when the light makes everything golden and fantastical.

But in the meantime, it's bloody hot. It was cloudy and breezy and rained for a while, and even then it was ninety degrees.

Last week I wrote and submitted a horror short story on idolatry. Most of the time, as in 99% of the time, no matter what nice, complimentary things editors have to say, no matter how close my stories may come, usually they don't want to buy them. And I can't complain; I'm certain I'm not good enough for most of the publications yet, but still it thrills me and excites me to send off a submission. It feels like I'm accomplishing something. It feels like I'm overcoming fears and insecurites; ten years ago, I wouldn't have had the guts to assume an editor wanted to read anything I'd written.

Lots of writing to do this week, among other things. I have some flash fiction and a short story on my plate. I've been thinking about the story for months now. I wish I wasn't such a slow writer that way. Not always, of course -- sometimes stories come with a burst of inspiration and they're done in a day. Other times I have to let it ferment and age in the back of my head for qutie a while, sometimes years. I'm probably lucky this story hasn't taken so long to be ready to write.

And there's lots of other things I could say, but instead I'm going to say go read a good book; there's lots of them that need the love.