H is for Hugs

Some people like and need hugs, others avoid them. I'm somewhere in the middle. Mostly I avoid them but there are times when a hug is just the thing. Other times I would prefer some good solid assistance, like with the dishes, or picking up your garbage you leave everywhere, or bringing me food.

I have a son who used to say to me when I was crabby, "Aw, someone needs a hug." No, I don't need a hug, I need this kitchen floor mopped now get out of my way.

It's not that I am anti-hug. That would be like being anti-teddy bear or anti-cute adorable baby. But there are times when a hug just gets in the way of what really needs to happen. You know what I mean?

G is for Gowen Fam

We are the Gowens. We are 12 strong, without counting son and daughter-in-laws and grandchildren. There are my husband and me, eight sons and two daughters. If we were in politics and had money, we'd be the Kennedys. If we were musical and ambitious, we'd be the Osmonds.

My semi-autobiographical novel, Uncut Diamonds, is about the beginning of our family-- it begins with Marcie and Shawn McGill and their four young children. By the time the novel ends, they have six. In House of Diamonds, due out this year, the McGills have seven. My count could be wrong, I cut down the number of children the McGills have because I didn't want the books to just be Marcie always pregnant. But yeah, my husband and me have created a dynasty. The Gowens are known far and wide. I can't believe Oprah hasn't called yet. I can't even count how many people have said to me, "I wish I were a Gowen." Excuse my bragging but it is a G day and so I'm entitled.

This is one of my favorite photos of a few of the Gowen boys. No daughters are pictured, and two boys are missing, as one was in Air Force basic training and another in South Africa on a mission. So it's me and 6 of my boys. I love this picture, it gives an informal glimpse into who we are. It shows that the Gowens are a force to be reckoned with. Don't mess with me cuz I got a bunch of six foot sons. And one's a Marine.

ummm FRUIT, yum!

This post is inspired by an F is for Fruit post here. I wrote a long comment about fruit and decided to make it a post, it was so long! Yes I know, I need to be more brief when blogging.

I always loved fruit as a kid, what kid doesn't? My mom would portion it out like it was priceless jewels. Six grapes-- there you go, enjoy. Four blueberries-- that's all there is, make it last. I never got enough fruit! I always craved it, which might be why I ended up with such a sweet fix for candy of all kinds. Candy, the easy to get but bad for you fruit substitute.

Then I married my husband who was raised on a fruit orchard in the Santa Clara Valley. The week before we got married, I roamed through the orchards while he was at work gorging myself on fresh prunes (fyi they are called prunes not plums, he is very clear on that subject), fresh cherries and apricots and peaches right from the tree. I was in heaven. Fruit heaven. It's all I ate. Then we got married and went back to college and were on a strict budget. Back to the fruitless life of the poverty-stricken.

I remember an episode of Mad About You, where Helen Hunt has $10 squirreled away. Her husband asks what's that for, he needs the money for something important. She says, "No, it's for an emergency." He says, "But this is an emergency, why can't we use it?" And she says "It's for a fruit emergency." LOL, I could totally identify with that!!

E is for Extraction

Last week I had a tooth pulled-- the front one on the bottom. Right there where everyone can see. When I first went in, the dentist told me the bone was decayed and I needed an extraction, a bone graft and an implant but first an extraction.

He said, "After the extraction and bone graft, it will take about 5 months to heal before we can put in the implant."

Long thoughtful pause from me. "So I'll have no tooth right there in front?"

He hurried to say, "No one leaves this office without a tooth. You will have a temporary replacement fitted to your mouth."

So all went well, and I have a lovely false tooth attached to a retainer that I put in and out of my mouth. But the best part of this whole process was the Valium. He prescribed two pills the night before, and two the morning of the procedure. My normal anxiety (about everything not just dental work) completely evaporated. I can see why women of the Fifties and Sixties went nuts over Valium.  Good thing it's no longer readily prescribed by family doctors or I would be hooked for sure.

D is for Done

Being done is an interesting thing. Sometimes I know I'm done, and it's up to me. Like when I worked at Costco. I could have stayed there as long as I wanted, I'd been there 5 years, but one day I knew it was time to move on. Sometimes it isn't up to the individual. When my father-in-law died, my mother-in-law was devastated. A 58- year-old widow, she was done with life. She couldn't understand what more she had to do, and she wanted out. It took 15 more years before God determined she was done, even though she had determined it well before hand.

Recently my husband's business of 20 years was done. It was determined by the economy. He had been a mortgage broker and the mortgage industry changed so drastically three years ago that his business was essentially done. It dried up. So that was a decision based on economic factors as well as his own judgment of where things stood. He knew he was done.

There are a few things I will never be done with by choice: my marriage, my kids, my life. It was the same with my mother. She didn't have the happiest marriage in the world, but she stayed with my dad through all the hard times, and in later years they worked out their problems and were very happy. She fought for life after having two strokes, wanting to eat, to talk, to go back to her apartment. She never gave up until the very end, and even then she didn't give up-- she just went when her time came. A nurse came in and brushed her hair. Mom opened her eyes, and was gone. As my husband says, "Her hair was combed, she was now ready." She was never done as a mom or a grandmother. She cared for everyone until the end. She had money set aside for everyone so each grandchild would get a little something from her.

Sometimes it takes courage to say, "Yes, I am now done." Sometimes it takes courage to keep fighting and not give up. I could write so much about being done. There is just so much to say about it. But, I am now done with this post.

C is for Celery Tree and for Concept

Celerytree.com is a coming website for authors that I founded along with my daughter, L.A. DeVaul, and a few other super awesome and talented people. Liesel (L.A.) and I currently maintain a blog, Celery Tree, to provide information about the website prior to launch. She is participating in the A to Z Challenge as well. So that makes all three of my blogs taking part in this Challenge in April! Thank you Liesel for taking care of it on the Celery Tree blog!

I posted about Celerytree.com on my other blog as well for the C word. So if you are intrigued you can go here and read more about it! I can tell you one thing-- having a concept and actually getting all the parts and pieces together in a way that works effectively are two entirely different processes. I'm an idea person and getting concepts comes easy to me. Then there's the work involved in making that concept a reality. In  creating a website, that means you need a designer, a developer, a programmer, a business head, a marketing team-- a lot of different people with talents that can be utilized to make the concept work.


And it takes time to do it right. Liesel and I, two impatient ideas people, are very eager for the site to launch. I can't wait for the day to come when I can officially announce the launch date. Hopefully very soon. We have some fabulous authors on board, we currently are not taking more, but once it is live, we hope that new memberships soar!

Fantasy author, N.R. Williams is also blogging about Celery Tree for her C word.  

B is for Boxes

Yes, I am certifiably insane. I signed my second blog up for the A to Z Challenge. Gah!@!! Oh well it will take my mind off the stress of moving, and so my B word is BOXES.

When you are moving, boxes is all you can think about. I need boxes. Where can I get boxes? Hey, can I have that box? Does it have flaps? It's the perfect size, I must have it! Give me ten.

Then once you're in, the love affair with boxes is over. You can't get rid of them fast enough. I'm now in the please I need more boxes phase. Really, do you have boxes? Because I need them. Bad.

One Crazy Blogfest

As most of you know, I have another blog persona, KarenG at Coming Down the Mountain. As KarenG, I was asked to be a host for the A to Z Challenge in April. I didn't sign up with this blog because well, that's just insane! It's insane anyway, because over 1000 bloggers have now signed up for this. I believe they're leaving it open until April 4 then cutting off the sign up links.

So if you don't see me posting much here in April, that is why! I'm out there visiting hundreds of new  blogs and following as KarenG. Are you involved with the A to Z Challenge? I remember last year I didn't do it, but it was fun to see what so many came up with for their letter a day posts. And then I was glad when April ended and blogs got back to "normal" posting schedules. I'm sure I'll feel the same way this year! Whew, what a ride!

hey, I just got a crazy idea! What if I sign up as this blog, too? How crazy would that be? K bye.