An Odd Reminder of a Biblical Story

Wow, can't believe it's been so long since my last post. We sold our home in South Florida, spent almost two months in hotels as we searched, and then waited, for our new home in Central Florida. I'm now somewhat settled and getting back into writing.

I went outside and our Snake Lily (more info about this plant to follow) had collapsed. This scripture passage came to mind:

Jonah 4:6-11 King James Version (KJV)

6 And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.







7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.

8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
9 And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.
10 Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:
11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?


So, what happened to my Snake Lily? One day it was standing and the next, it was on the ground.

Snake Lily, Voodoo Lily, Devil's tongue, dragon plant, elephant yam, konnyku, leopard arum, snake palm, umbrella arum. (Amorphophallus konjac, A. rivieri, A rivieri var. konjac, A. mairei, and Hydrosme rivieri) The Snake Lily is a member of the philodendron family (Araceae) (I love philodendrons and hope one day to have a porch/house full.

Each starchy tuber produces one leaf stalk that divides into three sections in an umbrella-like formation. The tuber can be as large as a foot in diameter and up to 50 pounds. As the leaf grows, the tuber shrinks, then spends the remainder of the growing season becoming larger than before the new growth. The petiole (stalk) is olive green mottled with a pinkish-gray color.

Plants eventually grow four to six feet tall with a four foot span. This plant goes dormant in late summer/early fall. (Thus the Jonah gourd effect)

Once the tuber reaches about grapefruit or larger size, it may produce a flower (of sorts-inflorescence). It's shiny brown-purple to maroon in color and can grow up to three feet. When blooming, it attracts carrion flies (it's natural pollinator) by giving off an odor similar to a dead animal.

I have several growing in various areas in my gardens. All of which were not planted by the previous owner nor myself. I love the different and am extremely happy this plant chose to pop up in my gardens. I did dig up one to add to the turtle pond decor. We'll see how it does this winter in a pot. I think it adds a nice look to the pond and hope it does well.  
                                                

It's still adjusting to the transplanting or getting ready to go dormant. Follow this blog, or FB (for both this plant and for the turtle pond build) and you can keep up with how well it adjusts to being in a pot rather than in the garden. 

Other places you can find me on the web: My FaceBook pages Dennise Sleeper, author, Ten Little Gator Eggs, Botanical Aquaponics, Second Chances: Blue Rose, The Eclectic Collection, and my YouTube Channel. Friend/follow and subscribe if you want to keep up with the eclectiveness of my life.

Reading:

With the Heart of a King: Elizabeth I of England, Philip II of Spain, and The Fight for a Nation's Soul and Crown, byBenton Rain Patterson

Recently finished:

 

In a Texas Minute by Stella Bagwell



"Do one thing everyday that scares you." Anonymous

How Can I Find More Time to Write?

 This was written Thursday evening for Friday posting, but the chest pain didn't ease. An update will follow. In the meantime, let me know how you find your writing time.

A great question? An indicator? An assumption? Does time = production?

Gabriela Pereira, Jacquelyn Mitchard, authors of diyMFA, remind us we all have the same 24 hours in a day and production is based on choice not based on time.

For me, writing is extremely difficult and rather than stare at a blank page, I find something else 'more important' to fill my planned writing time. Yes, I'd rather clean house, scrub the floor on my hands and knees, fold laundry, and do the dishes than write.

I wanted to better my writing experience, so I joined the diyMFABook Club. And prompt #9 started me on a great path. The "diyMFA" goal sheet is a great addition to my writing. No avoiding blank pages. 😀 It has helped me see each small goal reached. And each small goal gets me closer to my Top Priority Goal: Pubishing "Blue Rose." Have you seen my latest FaceBook post toward my publishing goal? If not, check it out.

Ready to make the choice with me?

Let's write.

Sometimes life gets in the way as I reminded you in Prompt #9 Part 4. Today is what I call a 'bad chest day.' Today my chest is killing me and making it difficult for me to work. A couple of days ago I decided to put this pain aside and write, no matter what. (The pain has been with me since November 2016 and it hasn't been long enough since the surgery to know if the removal of the cyst solves the pain) So today I decided to honor my reality as discused in Prompt #2.


Did I tell you I'm thrilled to no end that I decided to join the diyMFABook Club? You can too. It's never too late. This can be done at any time in your writing career but should be done ASAP to keep you from making many of the common mistakes. Want to join 500+ authors on Facebook as we 'Word Nerds Unite' and participate in this challenge? It's never too late. Even after the fact. Click here.  While you're here, check out the live, and not so live, broadcasts.

On your way, please stop by and friend my FaceBook pages Ten Little Gator Eggs, Botanical Aquaponics and Second Chances: Blue Rose


Reading:

Truth Spell, The TruthSeer Archives Book 2 by Mike Shelton

diyMFA by Gabriela Pereira, Jacquelyn Mitchard
Time and Again by Jack Finney

Recently finished:

TruthStone, The TruthSeer Archives Book 1 by Mike Shelton

Strike by D.J. MacHale (this series holds a special place in my heart. The character Tori Sleeper is my daughter.)

 Storm by D.J. MacHale (this series holds a special place in my heart. The character Tori Sleeper is my daughter.)

Sylo by D.J. MacHale (this series holds a special place in my heart. The character Tori Sleeper is my daughter.)
Dark Witch by Nora Roberts

diyMFA Book Club, Prompt #9: Try a New Technique, Part 4

This was the second week and I thought I failed. Read on and you'll see that I was wrong. Not so much as stuff got in the way, but life got in the way. See my blog post, Prompt # 2 diyMFABook Club. I knew it was coming and had adjusted the goal sheet to accommodate my expected surgery. I thought I'd made adjustments that considered problems, etc. This is where I failed.

My plan for last week was Monday's update. (That was accomplished) But that was the end of that. My INR (blood clotting indicator) came back high (5.9)  in my pre-op bloodwork. A lot happened at once. My biggest worry? My surgery, the surgery I've been needing, wanting, waiting for, since November 2016 was on the chopping block. I had to go in Tuesday for repeat testing. (they couldn't find the order and I was there for what seemed like forever, as they tried to find it or get another.)

After my bloodwork, I had a gastroenterology appointment. The next step in regaining my heath and understanding the changes that are going on in my body. (I was a healthy person until October 2016. Haven't been since)  The doctor requested two tests, an MRI of my abdomen with and without contrast triple phase and a PIPIDA Nuclear Scan with Gallbladder Ejection Fraction (also known as a HIDA Scan). A week later, I'm still waiting for these to be scheduled. (update: both are scheduled next week)

I came home, distraught the pain in my chest was possibly not getting fixed that week and what was I going to do. I'd been suffering from it for so long and losing the chance to eliminate the pain was more than I could handle. I curled up with a book, TruthStone by Mike Shelton and waited. for the results.

Tuesday evening, they called and said the results were safe enough to do the surgery, so it was done. Still, don't know the second results. But that's of no concern. I was looking forward to my needed surgery. The surgery on the other hand...

Pre-op went great. Somewhere between the prep room and the surgical room I was out. I woke from the surgery in great pain. Pain the pain pills didn't help with once their concoction wore off. I couldn't move without extreme pain and as time continued it became difficult to breathe, talk, and eat. I stopped eating and talked as little as possible. Breathing was shallow and worried me because I had pneumonia twice in the past. (Been coughing since removal of the tube, but lungs are clear. [I know this because yesterday I went to the ER, on recommendation of the nurse, based on symptoms])

They tried to get me out of bed, but it was so painful I had to immediately return to the bed. I even tried to use the bathroom during the night. (I was hoping I would be better since it had been more than 12 hours since the surgery) No go. The pain was too much. (I hate using the bedpan)

Thursday morning they talked about sending me home. I told them I refused to go home until they could stop the pain.  When the doctor came by, he said the pain could be from the drainage tube and that would be removed later in the day.

Thursday afternoon, they removed the tube and it was like night and day. I could breathe, move around, and use the bathroom. I was happy to go home. I was tender, but pain meds worked. (Big smile to no pain)

The cyst was not what the doctor expected and he warned me the removal may not end my chest pain as expected. It's too soon to determine. But, pain meds in the past didn't help and right now, they're helping. I have an appointment next week and expect to find out its cancer status. (always have to worry about this as cancer and heart disease are my genectic nemesis)

I did not fail #9 as I first thought. I was able to Write with Focus, Read with Purpose, and Build my Community. I may not have hit specific goals but I did hit each category. I missed the Top Priority goal: Publish Blue Rose. I didn't touch the manuscript last week. My goal this week is to resume Prompt #9 and get back on track. To fight for my reality and push all interference away. Setting goals now, despite the? Pain. Discomfort. Confusion. Desire for normalacy. (normalacy of a 20 year old? 30 year old? 50 year old? my age? Working on that)

This week I will work toward continuing Prompt #9 so I can move onto Prompt # 10 and so on. I'm eager to continue with the diyMFA bookclub, Word Nerds Unite. You can too. It's never too late. This can be done at any time in your writing career but should be done ASAP to keep you from making many of the common mistakes. Want to join 500+ authors on Facebook as we 'Word Nerds Unite' and participate in this challenge? It's never too late. Even after the fact. Click here.  While you're here, check out the live, and not so live, broadcasts.


On your way, please stop by and friend my FaceBook pages Ten Little Gator Eggs, Botanical Aquaponics and Second Chances: Blue Rose


Reading:

Truth Spell, The TruthSeer Archives Book 2 by Mike Shelton

diyMFA by Gabriela Pereira, Jacquelyn Mitchard
Time and Again by Jack Finney

Recently finished:

TruthStone, The TruthSeer Archives Book 1 by Mike Shelton

Strike by D.J. MacHale (this series holds a special place in my heart. The character Tori Sleeper is my daughter.)

 Storm by D.J. MacHale (this series holds a special place in my heart. The character Tori Sleeper is my daughter.)

Sylo by D.J. MacHale (this series holds a special place in my heart. The character Tori Sleeper is my daughter.)
Dark Witch by Nora Roberts

Just Having Fun

The next prompt for the diyMFA Book Club requires me to do, at least, one of the exercises in the "diyMFA" book by Gabriela Pereira and Jacquelyn Mitchard. So today's post is just some fun. (I'm not procrastinating. I'll have more time later in the week to accomplish prompt 9)

Today, Sunday is a bit of a sad day. I started the second week of my return home after living in North Carolina for the past, almost, four years. No, this isn't the sad part. The sad part is taking my husband to Miami International so he could fly to Atlanta and take a five-day class for work and then return to an empty home. The house is big and lonely. Three dogs, two cats, Betta fish, and a pico saltwater tank don't make up for my husband, or children.

Our oldest is married. Doesn't live far, but doesn't live with us either. Our second oldest is married and lives across the country. Our third oldest just moved out of the house this month. And our fourth and fifth oldest, (guess that makes them the youngest) are still in North Carolina living with Grandma.

I returned home, crying, changed into my Sunday best, and attended church. It was uplifting and felt great to be among friends. Alas, I had to return home. I started a fire in the pit and text our oldest letting her know I'd be cooking dinner and she and her husband were more than welcome to join.

I chopped up what was left of a butternut squash and three baking potatoes and cooked them in my favorite pan, with olive oil, over the hot coals of the fire.

When our daughter called to let me know they were on the way, I put the smoked brats on.

When they left, our son said he was on his way to visit. So I made homemade brownies. In my favorite pan. And we ate them with vanilla bean ice cream. All in all, not a horrible day. Just a sad one.

Now I'm sitting outside next to the pit and enjoying the smokey smell and the glow of the final log. I'm tempted to put another log on the fire, put out the dog, and bring in the cat, but it's getting late and I have a full day tomorrow.

Actually, a full week. I need to:

• continue my scripture study (The Old Testament and The Book of Mormon)
• format three chapters of my work-in-progress (they were edited Thursday)
• clean the house
• start on the yardwork
• plant my garden
• take my medical tests (MRI, Mammogram, Cardiac Pet)
• and take care of our pet needs

What are you doing this week?

Don't forget to add going to and friending  Ten Little Gator Eggs, Botanical Aquaponics and Second Chances: Blue Rose

Presently reading:

diyMFA by Gabriela Pereira, Jacquelyn Mitchard
Time and Again by Jack Finney

Storm by D.J. MacHale (this series holds a special place in my heart. The character Tori Sleeper is my daughter.)

Recently finished:

Sylo by D.J. MacHale (this series holds a special place in my heart. The character Tori Sleeper is my daughter.)

Dark Witch by Nora Roberts
It Cannoli Be Murder by Karoline Barrett
Conquering Hope by Kionne L. McGhee
The Host by Stephanie Meyer