Pick A Cane

While on vacation visiting our friends in Milwaukee last week I
managed to either really sprain or break the second toe on my right
foot. It is now purple and sore after five days of keeping it
elevated, taking aspirin, and switching from ice on the first day to
heat thereafter. My friend here noticed the malady and brought in to
work not only one but four canes to assist me to hobble along. The
walking sticks are all somehow connected to her elder relations from
days gone by and could be considered collectors' items. All I know is
whatever event arises, this friend has a solution for it - be it a
fish bowl for a Betta pet or water colors to paint a castle. That
advantage has come in handy many times and again reminds me of how
blessed we are to have such great friends both here and in Milwaukee.
My one regret is that this toe incident happened while on vacation
rather than during the work week. Either way it is a pain. I don't
really need the cane to walk but I'm sure I can come up with an
alternate way to use it.

A Tiny Fish Tale Israel

Back in November, one of my children's books - The Four Promises- was published through StoryChimes as an application in the Apple store, and then later as an Android App. Then in March of this year, my second book called A Tiny Fish Tale, was published the same way through StoryChimes. One is able to track the progress and daily ranks of the books on the App Annie website. I don't check the website that often, but yesterday I was nosing around to see if anything showed up. To my delight A Tiny Fish Tale was ranked in the Israel Apple Store. Sometimes it coincides with when iPads are launched in various countries. Regardless, it is nice to know that two little books I wrote are available in the App Store, and that someone has enough interest to see what they are all about. I'm not sure if it matters that this whole thing happened because we moved to DC from Milwaukee. But the stories were inspired by events that happened while living in DC. I've got a few more stories in the queue, and hope they have the same outcome.

DC Blogs

Thanks to someone who submitted my blog entry to DC Blogs while I was
away! I've submitted my blog LIT's Living On Capitol Hill-Hell to DC
Blogs be added to their website. Keep your fingers crossed. This is
the second time someone noticed an item of interest. The last blog was
about mini coopers. I think the latest one about returning to the
Midwest may have knocked James Drury off the highest hit entry. Thanks
to all the readers out there. Being mentioned generates a lot of
traffic.

A View From a Milwaukee Patio

The garage is bigger than our apartment here

From Milwaukee to DC

After spending a long weekend in Milwaukee to visit friends and attend
a wedding, we are waiting at Mitchell international Airport to return
home to DC. We moved from Milwaukee to DC a few years ago. I'm sure
whenever someone goes back to a place they lived for awhile- in this
case 30 years- it brings back a lot of memories. For the most part
they are generally positive. I personally do not miss the winter, but
do miss the two car garage and the conveniences of living in the
suburbs. But there is something about living in the Capitol City even
if the car gets parked on the street. Both are completely different
places and for as long as we can we will try to remind ourselves of
those differences. Nothing takes the place of good friends and family.
The best part is that we have them in both places. Now I just need to
figure out how I can quit work and retire so I can enjoy our friends
and family on a more frequent basis.

The little free library photos

The Little Free Library

Photos on next blog entry!

All around our old neighborhood in South Milwaukee are quaint little miniature houses filled with both adult and children's books that sit in front of homes. The little replicas come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The reason they exist is that someone in Minnesota created the idea as a tribute to his mother, who may have been a librarian or teacher but for sure had a love for books and reading. The background story is on the website called The Little Free Library. You can buy a kit and set one up for yourself. The idea is to borrow and add to the  collections as you pass by. It's an innovative way to access printed material- especially if internet or other automated methods are not readily accessible- or dispose of a collection that is no longer needed. It is very charming and I can see how well it might work in this neighborhood. Wonder how well it would do in a DC neighborhood?  Someone should give it a try before ebooks take over completely.