We just ended Daylight Savings Time—again. I was really tired of the dark mornings, but this evening, I’ll be tired of the early dark evening. Sigh. I am a sun worshiper. You can tell by my sun damaged skin. And if I had my way we would have more sun than dark. Twelve hours of daylight followed by twelve hours of dark is not enough light. But the universe doesn’t ask me.
As a retiree, I no longer have to hit the floor running at 5:45. I can sleep until the sun comes up, which has been later in the last month. I was awake before seven this morning with the sun in my eyes. I smiled. Come supper time, I might not be smiling when it is dark before I get food on the table. When I was young, I remember going to the office in the dark and coming home in the dark many times. I don’t think my old body could manage that now, but I did it for years.
My sister lives in Arizona and they don’t participate in Daylight Savings Time. So, six months out of the year, I have to remember when I call her we are two hours ahead of her in Oklahoma. The rest of the year, we are only one hour ahead of her. So confusing!
But fall has fell and winter is on the horizon. We will have a freeze soon. We’ll just have to be happy with curling up with a good book or movie under a blanket with our hot cocoa by the fire. Actually, that doesn’t sound so bad. What am I griping about? Maybe the dark sky can be relaxing after all. And I got an extra hour of sleep last night.
What are you reading this week?
I took a little fall vacation last week and my husband and I and our cousins traveled to Corpus Christi. I am drawn to water like a magnet. When I was a kid my favorite TV show was Flipper. I dreamed of having a dolphin friend instead of a dog and living on the beach. I didn’t. But I have been able to visit the beach a few times in my life. I could live there. If for some unknown reason I missed my ride back home, I know I could survive on the beach.
We drove into Corpus Christi along the beach until the road ended at the Naval Air Station and saw the sea wall and downtown murals around La Retama Park. I know they have First Friday Art Walks there, but we didn’t make it on the correct weekend. I wrote about the art festival in Secrets of Sandhill Island and wanted to see it. I was on a mission to research for another book. 
Literature was my very favorite class in school. I loved reading. I was often told I was “out picking daisies” when I wasn’t listening in class. My mother said I was “telling stories” when she suspected what I said wasn’t exactly the truth. I come by this writing thing naturally.
It’s October and time for ghosties and ghoulies and three-legged beasties and things that go bump in the night. I don’t know if I’ll do the Trick or Treat thing, but I did get out the few decorations I still have and decorated for fall. It is the end of a season and the beginning of a new one. It’s October. I don’t know if I’ll do the Trick or Treat thing, but I did get out the few decorations I still have. It is the end of a season and the beginning of a new one.
This weekend was the 50th reunion of my high school class. I have no idea how that happened. 50 years ago, I was a bright-eyed teenager with the world at my feet. My husband and I met in high school and married young, had our children young, and then settled in staying in our hometown. We’ve only moved three times. It would take a crowbar to get him out of this town. We have traveled a lot, just always coming home to Enid, Oklahoma.
I recently released a new book, Flatiron Death Grip, through Airship 27 Productions. It is in the pulp fiction genre and the publisher always pairs the writer with an artist to bring the story to life. The color cover is painted by Ted Hammond and the inside black and white illustrations were done by a relative newcomer, Gabriella Saenz (Gabs). Rob Fortier, one of the owners of the publishing company, teaches a class on comic book writing and met 16-year-old Gabs in his class. He immediately saw a world of talent in her and asked her to do the inside illustrations for my book. Now that the book has been released for sale, I wanted to introduce her to you. So, I asked her a few questions. Here are her answers. And when I asked for a headshot so you would know what she looks like, she sent me a self-portrait of the artist. 
Beautiful!
I’m having a book release party on September 24, 2021 from 5-7 at Enid Axe Throwing 
The tag line for this year’s blogs is “Expect the Unexpected.” And I have. I came up with a “brilliant” idea several years ago taking characters from short stories I’d written and putting them together into a novel. They were all fantasy characters, and my plan was to take them and merge them into one story. These characters would make a band of superheroes with one main goal in mind. Maybe not so “brilliant.” What could they possibly have in common?
When I was a young mother of a two-year-old I saw that a yoga class was being taught at a local church. I needed the socialization and time away from home—not to mention the exercise. So, I joined and loved the class. I began to practice it at home. A life-long swimmer, as time went on I became a certified swimming instructor and taught swimming and water exercise at the local YMCA. I continued to practice yoga and they asked me to teach that class too. I wasn’t certified to teach it I merely parroted what I had learned but the classes filled up.
Peggy Chambers "Views from the Hammock" site 