Dear Sunday Letter friends,
September is here! The thing foremost on my mind for this September? Our daughter is getting married this month! When she first became engaged, the date seemed so far away. And now—bam!— here it is, and I still need to get my dress hemmed.
With September comes fall. There’s something about the changing seasons that adds balance to our world gone crazy. At least I tell myself that.
Here Comes Fall
Friday, I stepped into Hobby Lobby bracing myself for holiday overload and walked out excited and inspired about Halloween and Thanksgiving. I even bravely ventured into the Christmas Wonderland section and felt my grip on summer loosen.
To those of you enjoying a last lake hurrah for Labor Day, have a fabulous time. I’ve officially moved on to fall, watching football all day and night (yesterday) and starting to think about changing out my door wreath to something more autumn-y. I predict this year’s fall in northwest Arkansas will be brilliant will lots of color. Yes, I’ll be taking lots of tree pictures.
I have my favorite trees in our neighborhood, and this is one (taken some prior fall)…
Its leaves are still green today, but it’s happening, you better believe it. Imperceptibly, the leaves are just starting to turn. My goal is to help get you in the proper mindset.
Late Summer Roses
Meanwhile, before autumn settles in, our roses have survived yet another summertime battle with the Japanese Beetles. Recently revived they’ve come out to bloom again, as though to say, “Hold your horses. Not quite yet.”
My most successful defense turned out to be offense—hand-picking the pests off in the early morning before they were fully awake. Early bird gets the worm and all…
If you look closely, you can see leaf damage on older foliage from the beetles that feasted back in June, but the new growth is healthy. Lest the pesky things believe I’ve let my guard down, oh NO. I’m still watching and stand ready to remove them at a moment’s notice.
You’re Invited!
Y’all—I have a bit of exciting news. You may (or may not) recall in 2018 I wrote my first 10-minute play entitled Last Call at the Dairy Freeze. (It’s based on a short story I wrote by the same name and the setting is a Dairy Freeze in Hillsboro, Texas.)
I was recently notified that my play will be included in the 2019 Fall Performance Series by Five & Dime Drama Collective. Production dates include four performances (one matinee) Friday November 8th, Saturday Nov. 9th, Sunday, Nov. 10th at the Center Stage in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
Five & Dime Drama Collective’s website has all the information on casting calls, ticket information, and details on past performances. Check it out and follow the collective on Facebook too.
If you live nearby, maybe you will consider attending? The Fall Performance Series includes five 10-minute plays from playwrights all over the country. Yes, I just called myself a playwright. LOL. Of course I realize Eureka Springs, Arkansas will be too far for most to travel to see my 10-minute play, but I promise there is so much to do in this charming Ozark town. So who knows? Maybe you need a fall escape.
The Mummy Market
Friday night we were invited to a cocktail party at the Fayetteville Public Library, one of my favorite places in all the state. At the party, we were updated on the status of the impressive library expansion project slated for completion October 2020. Our library is going to be even more incredible that it already is, if that’s possible.
I can’t imagine a world without libraries. They have certainly impacted me. In fact, I’m gonna include a library acknowledgement in my next book which will be in your hands before the library expansion project is complete!
Do you have a first library memory?
When I was in elementary school (probably 2nd or 3rd grade), Mrs. Barton, my elementary school librarian, let us take turns going table by table to browse the aisles and choose a library book for the week. I chose Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire. I’d read that book a million times and picked it because it felt familiar in my hand, like having a friend with me for the rest of the day.
Mrs. Barton saw the book I selected, shook her head, and sent me back to re-choose. “You can challenge yourself a little more, I think,” she said.
Mortified (I was easily mortified), I whispered, “Okay,” returned it to the shelf, and without thinking or looking at the cover, chose The Mummy Market instead.
Based on the title I thought it was going to be about Egyptian mummies, but it was about three kids trying to find the perfect mother. Thinking back, I wonder if it was my first chapter book? One thing I know—It was BRILLIANT, and it has stuck with me all this time.
Sadly, The Mummy Market is now out of print. A rare treasure, it is priced as such. Does anyone else remember it? Does anyone own a copy?
Put Me in the Zoo, a classic, is still available. Thank goodness.
Things Momma Says
I’ve been thinking about buying more Walmart stock, but I’ll probably just coast on out with what I have.
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Thanks for reading today’s Sunday Letter. Happy Labor Day weekend! What’s everyone doing?
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
I am so excited about LAST CALL AT THE DAIRY FREEZE. I’m also excited about. FALL. Great letter.
Thanks!
I visited Eureka Springs in August with my son as he headed to his home in Colorado. I came back telling my husband, “you’ve got to get there with me”. And November wouldn’t be blastingly hot and humid like August. So hopefully, I can time it to coincide with your event? Congratulations on that!
I’m a library lover too, and my memory is walking by myself to the town library at elementary age. I felt grownup. The main room had tall ceiling, the huge card catalogs were right in the middle. Outside I’d sit on the smooth stone pillar like side walls and start looking through my books. It was a very old building. This summer I visited my hometown in Ohio, making sure to go past the library. Still there, but empty and not in use.
Yes! Early November would be a great time to return to Eureka Springs! How sad that your old library is no longer in use.
My first library memory…I grew up in a very crazy West Virginia family (My mother was 40 when I was born, my dad 60, they were not married & I was their 3rd child between them. They had 12 altogether & I was the baby).
Despite the loose morals, among other things, we all loved to read. My grandmother saved all the Beckley newspapers & when she visited she brought bags of them & for weeks my mom fussed about papers strewn around dad’s chair while he forbid her to touch them because he had them in a certain order.
My dad bought us a set of encyclopedias & read them, literally from cover to cover. He devoured anything he could find even though he only had an 8th grade education. He taught me how to read a book. I remember when he sat me down & took a book to show me how to read it. I already knew how to read but there was more to reading a book than just knowing how to read….He explained, the title page, the publisher, the year it was published. He said when I read a book not to skip anything….knowing those things would help me understand the perspective of the writer & their viewpoint. He reprimanded me if I skipped any footnotes…I needed to know where that information came from. I do still always read who the publisher is, the copy-write, the author, ect but I admit that I sometimes hear dad’s voice reprimanding me when I skip footnotes.
I remember when my dad retired…I was 7 yrs old. He would sit & read all day, constantly driving my mother crazy asking her to stop…’Listen to this!’ as he read something to her.
When I was a teenager I used to hide my books when my grandmother visited because we loved reading the same things. She would pick up my book & I had to wait for her to finish it before I could get it back! She figured me out though & would ask me what I was reading first thing when she came to stay…usually for a week at a time….a long time to wait to finish a book.
So needless to say I was born with the alphabet in my brain.
Back to the library. We lived in a very rural area & the bookmobile came to our house. Our house sat where 3 country roads meet (I grew up in an old one room schoolhouse). So they would park in our front yard & all the neighbors came to get new books. It was so exciting having them at MY house. I didn’t have to hurry. I could squeeze into a corner of the book mobile & browse to my heart’s content smelling all those wonderful library smells. I was pretty old before I ever actually entered a real library. The librarian would bring books she thought we would love. She got to know what everyone enjoyed & tried to stock to our tastes. We would tell her if we knew of a book we wanted to read & she’d try to get it for us. She came once a month & it was like a neighborhood block party every time she came. The moms sharing recipe books or sewing books. The kids all played & in the summer time someone would have those ice pops to pass around. The men talked about gardens or hunting or politics.
I do still love the library but no beautiful modern library has ever been loved as much by me as the old rattling book mobile that bumped over narrow mountain roads to my house.
Oh my gosh I love each and every memory you have shared here! Thank you. What a wonderful family you have to have grown up surrounded by the love of books.
Sunday has come and gone but I knew I had to go back to your letter as soon as things settled down here. It is well worth the wait. I am so ready for Fall and September is a great time for a wedding. I’ll be interested in hearing all about it one of these days and pictures of you in your blue suede shoes. Congratulations on your 10 minute play being chosen for the Five and Dime drama collection. I sure can’t top Jenny’s memories but I do remember the excitement of the bookmobile coming to the neighborhood. I’ve always loved going to the library no matter where I’ve lived or visited. As a child I loved the Beverly Cleary books about Henry Huggins, Ribsy and Ramona. Have a great week!
Just curious…do you ever wish you had become a Librarian? You would have been a dandy and it’s never too late! Look at John!
I’m ready for fall, football and autumn foliage colors. Meanwhile, you need to get that MOTB gown hemmed! Can’t wait to see wedding pictures!
Yes! I would love to be a librarian and have been thinking about volunteering at the Fayetteville library. AND I’ve been thinking on what path to take when I go back to school at 60. I need to be a cat with 9 lives…
Have you read “The Library Book” by Susan Orlean? Nonfiction but so well written.
Yes I loved it!