Welcome to Autumn

Welcome to Autumn!

Fall is actually my favorite time of year. I love the crisp, sunny days and the way the leaves turn color. Then there is Thanksgiving and Halloween--two wonderful holidays!

I'm not fond of the fact that it means winter is almost here, but I enjoy autumn for what it is--a time of change, endings and new beginnings. I know that for most folks the time of great change is on January 1st, but for me it's always been fall.

Maybe it's the throwback to when September meant going back to school, meeting new friends and starting a new school year. My school days are long behind me now, but I fall is always a hopeful time of year for me.

I'm upbeat and excited about the possibilities of life. Two weeks ago I started a plan to try and find some balance in my life--not an easy task. So far, I've managed to work some form of exercise into my life almost every day. That's a big step forward.

How do you feel about the onset of fall? Are you looking forward to it or is another season your favorite?

Reading tastes

I was actually going to write a serious blog on animals but when I sat down to start, the subject of reading tastes came to mind.

My daughters are 7 and 9. One discovered reading in 2nd grade and began inhaling books. And I do mean inhale. The other has discovered reading this summer and as she says, "Reading's pretty cool."

But I already see they are going to have very different tastes.

The oldest had read the Fudge books by Judy Blume so I thought nothing of getting her Blubber from the library. She wouldn't read it. Wouldn't crack open the cover. She said, "I mostly like fantasy and mysteries." Which is true. She's read all the Harry Potter series, all the Secrets of Droon to date, is three books away from finishing Animorphs, read all the Nancy Drew books in her school library, etc, etc. I could go on and on about the serieses she reads.

The youngest has discovered Mr. Putter and Tabby. She LOVES those books. She's also reading Amelia Bedelia, Froggy, and Dr. Seuss. Animals and humor seem to be her reading of choice. It will be interesting to see if that changes. But I have hopes maybe she'll enjoy The Black Stallion and Misty of Chincoteague.

As for me, I do have genres I prefer but I read outside of them, too. I read a lot of paranormal and erotic romance. But I read animal books out the whazoo when I was a kid, still do, and read a lot of mysteries. Stephen King, thrillers, and romance rounded out my teen years. I think I have a fairly ecletic mixed bag of what I like to read and always did.

I was just wondering if everyone preferred certain genres like my daughters or was more ecletic like me. Did your tastes change with age? What genres do you read in?

Mechele Armstrong aka Lany of Melany Logen
http://www.mechelearmstrong.com/
http://www.melanylogen.com/

TWENTY FAVORITE THINGS!

I'll admit this hasn't been a banner blog week for me because I couldn't think of anything new today to say. So I borrowed from another blog I did yesterday. :) That's okay. I had a heck of a time thinking of a topic yesterday, so when I did think of a topic, I decided it was a good day for a Wednesday twenty. Not a Thursday thirteen or a Friday ten. Okay, so there isn’t a Friday ten…that I know of. Do you know how difficult it was to come up with twenty favorite things? Not because I couldn’t think of twenty things, but because I couldn’t narrow it down to twenty without some serious hair pulling. So here’s the raggety list The first item is a no brainer I didn’t have a bit of trouble putting as my top pick.

1. Spending time with my husband.

2. Have several hours to write completely without interruption of any kind human or mechanical.

3. Reading a fantastic book without interruption for several hours.

4. Eating at my favorite Italian restaurant in Arizona.

5. Eating at my favorite Southwest cuisine restaurant in Arizona.

6. Eating popcorn.

7. Eating pizza.

8. Enjoying a glass of Columbia Crest Merlot and having that glass last for hours.

9. Watching a spectacular action flick on the big screen.

10. Visiting with my little nieces, nephews, and grandbabies.

11. Feeling younger than I did when I was twenty-five on my fourty-fifth birthday.

12. Hearing a string of favorite tunes from the seventies and eighties.

13. Thinking about my three years in England and all the lovely castles I visited throughout the UK.

14. Having a luxury weekend at a resort with my hubby.

15. Discovering a super new author to read that really absorbs me in his or her story so I don’t want to put down their book.

16. Hearing a favorite author has a new book for me to read.

17. Getting royalty checks from my publishers.

18. Realizing I actually get paid to write!

19. Having a peak experience of peace.

20. Last, but not least, being the luckiest woman in the world. In my humble opinion.

So name what some of your very favorite things in the world and share them with me!

Denise A. Agnew