Contentment

You know how you can walk around in circles finding other things to do when there's a project at hand you're a bit reluctant to get moving on?  Made me think of the old days when it was time to sit down with my checkbook and book of stamps as I made up the list of bills that were due, trying to figure out if I'd have enough left over to go to bingo.

Or having a closet or set of dresser drawers that really needed sorting out but you'd find other things to occupy you first.  I did that today.  I tidied up the hall closet shelves (did give myself more room), sorted out this and that in the utility room that needed to be transferred to the garage, scrubbed the dish strainer board, cleaned out a box of papers that needs to be shredded -- even moved some rocks I had sitting on the front porch.  I'm really good at avoiding issues at hand.

Finally sat down at the laptop and decided the time had come. I'd spent most of yesterday going through photos, recropping them, resizing them, making them black and white, etc. etc. Put them in a folder ready to be drawn from as needed.  I knew inserting pictures was going to be a hassle for my book but it was necessary so I resigned myself to the task.

Much to my delight, I was making a mountain out of a molehill.  Having resized and fixed the resolution on the photos first is giving me an easier time at placing them within  the text of the book. I'm even learning new things -- like how to give a picture a label underneath.  I've got my Pandora music on and things are rolling along smoothly.  As the book gets filled up with pictures and pop art, it's starting to feel more like a book I can ask money for.  You always go through a little insecurity at some point along the road.

If I've done the resolution changes correctly on the photos I'm using, I think they'll all reproduce nice and clear.  I hope.  You'd think I'd be a little more confident since this isn't my first book but it's been a few years and my memory often needs a jumpstart.

I'm liking the looks of it, at any rate. Enough so that I'm going to buy an ISBN#  this time so I can sell it on Amazon.  Still in a dilemma on how many to have printed but I can always get more produced if the book sells. I'm ordering 150 and have 50 sold already so we'll see.

And I tell you....music HELPS BIG TIME.  Pandora is playing just the right mix for me today. Bruno Mars is on now. Have also had Ray Charles, Iris Dement, Fleetwood Mac, Emmylou Harris, Elvis, and Johnny Cash.  We're on a roll....

Made up some mini loaves of bread last night as I had been given some little pans for Christmas.  They turned out pretty nice too.  Cranberry bread.

Had to laugh at this photo my cousin Cindy shared with me.  She didn't know her husband, Jeff, took it until later.  Their twin grandchildren had just left and she was exhausted.  ha ha  Know the feeling as I used to be that way with Catie and then with Hunter and Maddie.  It passes, though. I don't get to see any of my grandkids much anymore as they're all busy with their lives.

Jake is three and I know he's keeping Mary and Andy running all the time. Today she shared a photo of him on Facebook showing the clothes he insisted he wanted to pick out himself.

Watched a couple of good shows on Netflix last night. Doctor Foster (a series) and a movie called "I don't feel at home in this world anymore." Both entertaining!

We had some snow fall for a few minutes this morning so I guess spring is going to take her sweet time this year.

Man!  I always remember this week as it was this week in March that my marriage broke up. I had to get out the calculator to figure how many years it's been. What a shocker!  35 years!  Life does go by faster the older you get.  I was 38 then and all four of my kids are older than that now.  Sigh.....