correspondence with TouchWood Editions

It's hard to wait for word from a publisher. On one hand, I kept telling myself that no news was good news. Still, I waited to learn about the manuscript that was "in the hands of a reader". The editor had told me this, and said that I could contact her if I had questions. Well, I didn't have any special questions other than, "Will you publish my book?" Rather than be a nuisance, I waited from sending the ms in April until after the summer was over, mid-September. But I got no answer, so I tried again a couple of weeks later. Still no answer. With businesses closing and the economy in an uproar, I was no longer sure that no news was good news. So, a few days ago, I tried again, this time also asking if the editor was indeed getting my email messages. Turns out she was. She responded within minutes, apologizing for being so slow, and saying that my ms was "in the hands of a reader." I responded right away, expressing relief at having had an answer, and saying that I could wait. Yes, I can wait. But it still isn't easy!

visiting Franciscans

Today, we celebrated St. Francis Day at St. James Church. A little early, but that's okay. Like many churches, we had a blessing of the animals. Our cat had the third blessing of her life. She loves going to church! She also joins my husband and me when we say our morning and evening prayers. A real religious cat. The church was bouncing with dogs of all shapes and sizes. Cats were in cages, for the most part. (Some daring children carried their kittens in their arms.) And for the first time, hopefully not the last, our church invited the Vancouver Police Department to bring their horses and dogs for a blessing. They actually showed up! We had four horses and one representative of the dog squad lined up on the street outside the church, and the priests went down and blessed each of them. The congregation watched from the church steps. After the blessing, the children of the church were invited to go down and pet the horses and police dog.
That wasn't the end of St. Francis celebrations. Our fellowship group had two visitors from England, who wanted to renew their vows while they were in Vancouver. So, we had a special Mass in the Lady Chapel for them. After that we had our fellowship meeting in the Bishops' Room, and some tea and cookies to keep us going. My son accompanied us to the Animal Blessing so he could take the cat home for us. We couldn't expect the poor little puss to stay in her cage for the whole afternoon!

pretty note

I keep forgetting to mention a nice little corner of my almost-non-existent garden. My partner at the UBC Farm last year gave me some plants in April. One was a little clump "michaelmas daisies". I've been watching it, because I didn't know what to expect. One nice surprise was that it burst into bloom ON St. Michael's Day, September 29th. I know they're called Michaelmas daisies, but I was surprised that they actually chose that day to bloom. Pretty little blue daisies. I'll look forward to seeing them every year on that day.

busy as usual

So what has happened in the past two weeks plus since my last blog entry? Well, Sandman in Penticton sent me a certificate for one night free there. Anyone want it? I don't. We plan to go to Penticton in a couple of weeks, and have already booked our reservation at Super 8. They have a very nice swimming pool and free breakfast. And beds in every room!!!
September always brings me back to my volunteer jobs. I've got my Sunday School teaching schedule and have had one session already. (Usually only once a month, so my next time will be October 11th, I think. Is that a Sunday?) And I'm back at UBC farm. We had our orientation day with a potluck lunch. My favourite meal is always potluck! Next Wednesday will be our first day with the children. My third volunteer job is with the kindergarten. It usually doesn't start until the new year. And something new: I've got a couple of tutoring jobs. One takes me to North Vancouver three times a week, and the other will start soon at King Edward Campus, I suppose.
This means that sleeping late in the morning will likely happen only on the Wednesdays I don't go to the farm. Maybe the occasional Saturday that escapes being filled up. Thursday mornings, my hubby & I lead Morning Prayer at St. James.
So there you are--just in case you were wondering why I hadn't been blogging lately. I'm busy preparing ESL & Sunday School lessons, and trying to get some writing done in between times. And, I have to read the last Harry Potter book!

follow-up

I sent an email to the editor at TouchWood Editions asking about the status of my manuscript, Angels in the Flames. I had intended to send this on Sept. 15th (an arbitrary date) but couldn't wait. It's scary to ask about the status of a manuscript. What if the editor takes that as a cue to simply reject it??? Very scary. Think nice positive thoughts!

birthdays

On Saturday night we went to the Keg Restaurant at New Westminster Quay to celebrate Pam's 60th birthday (niece). We usually see these people only at weddings (seldom) or funerals (more often). It was nice to have a birthday for a change. Chatted with lots of relatives we wouldn't know if we saw them in a mall!

franciscan bbq

Yesterday afternoon we drove all the way to Langley for the summer barbecue at Marilynn's house. It's become an annual tradition. That means we've done it once or twice before. Unfortunately several people were missing. It was a bit rainy, but we just had the bbq indoors. Marilynn's hubby did the cooking out on the patio. The rain seemed to hold off while he was there, and just started sprinkling when he got to the end. Always great to see these people and swap stories: this time it was mostly about summer holidays. There were 5 kids, ages roughly 7 to 11, I think, and they were fantastic. All of them bright and polite and thoroughly delightful. (The round trip to/from Langley, as about 120 km.)