#Weekend Coffee Share-March 24th

Good morning, Everyone. Nice to share a quiet cup of coffee before I get going on the day.

The weather took center stage again this week. Another nor’easter hit home on Long Island just in time for the spring equinox. This was the fourth in three weeks. Early dismissal from school got everyone home before the roads became treacherous. It was a crazy storm. Fifteen to twenty inches fell in my area but twenty miles east, the snow was less than six inches. Matt pushed the snowblower while I dug out the apron of the driveway. A delayed opening saved my school community another make-up day in June. The only advantage to all of this dreary snow is that I have been able to write.

Between work and snow shoveling, What’s In A Name was put up on my blog. It was inspired by the conversations around the table at a baby shower. Women are compelled to re-hash birthing and pregnancy stories. I honed in on a naming incident.

I am also prepping for the Blogging A-Z Challenge. I want to be ready with the first five to six installments before the April 1st start. My theme is Food Stories Remembered. Finding graphics may take a lot more time than writing. Luckily, I am on spring break during that first week, so if all goes according to the utopian plan, I can pound out another eight to ten.

I have stalled on my middle-grade novel, still untitled. I need to get some research done before I can flesh out my characters. My biggest obstacle is finding out what the New York City school curriculums and resources were for immigrant children back in the lower east side of NYC in 1910. I do have a lead with a historian at the NYPublic Library. A train-trip may be on the horizon.

I spent too much time trying to “refresh” my website. The problem is that I am too comfortable with the template I already use. After trying to make anything else fit my needs I went back to the same template and changed the colors. I think I may have to work on another website so I could divide the author stuff from the stories. But managing two sites just may put me over the edge.

I went to lunch with my good friend, a fellow metastatic breast cancer sister who is the throes of battle. Her latest treatment thinned her pretty blonde hair into patches. After lunch, we went to the hairdresser who fashioned a pretty spiky do. My friend is such a beauty inside and out, that any style would look wonderful.  Being able to keep hair on the head rather than do-rags and caps is a win against this beast.

I have a book signing at the Kew and Willow Book Shop in Queens tonight. It is an hour away. I hope there is parking, least my fans take all of the good spots (LOL).

My cat is demanding attention. He prefers his shoulder rubbed by my right hand making it difficult to type and stay focused.  Before I sign off, I want to send a big a big shout-out to Eclectic Allie, the drive behind Weekend Coffee Share. These weekly catch-ups prove to be a wonderful way to keep the writing flowing. Thank you, Allie.

Have a good day, Everyone. Make it GREAT!

 

Antoinette Truglio Martin is the author of Hug Everyone You Know: A Year of Community, Courage, and Cancer. The memoir is a wimpy patient’s journey through her first year of breast cancer treatment.

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