Sunday Letter: 07.24.22

Dear Sunday Letter readers,

Hello again. Well, I made it through a week of pre-surgery quarantine, and now I have one more week to go. There’s just something about needing to stay home that makes me antsy. Know what I mean?

It was a good week to be inside though—thank the good Lord for air-conditioning! Man alive, it is HOT. The whole area has become a dry sauna, and areas in the neighborhood that aren’t getting watered are cracking wide open. BUT, relief is coming in our ten-day forecast with rain and normal temperatures predicted. We just have to hang on a little longer and pray the break is real🤞.

Elvis

On my last day before quarantine, I saw the new Elvis movie. Wow! What a treat. It was extremely well done; Austin Butler became Elvis Presley, in my opinion.

Have you seen it?

As someone who grew up in the shadow of Memphis and all things Elvis, the show absorbed me right into it. I could have walked right back in and watched it again.

I came away thinking:

1. What a time the 1950s must have been for teenagers in Memphis. To stroll along Beale Street and happen upon B. B. King singing at Club Handy, to see Elvis tooling around in his convertible. I mean, really, I was born 55 miles on the wrong side of the Mississippi River and 10 years too late. But oh so close!
2. I had no idea Elvis wore eye makeup.
3. Even though he no doubt continues to inspire, Elvis’s early death surely deprived us of incredible music we will never know.
4. I guess he really is dead.😭

I know, I know he died. I clearly remember the day. The news of his death occupied the local news, the Memphis news, world news. Everyone was stunned even though no one was surprised based on his recent appearance. Regardless, I suppose I’ve always held out a tiny kernel of hope that he was living in the Bahamas somewhere. (And maybe I always will.)

People cling to all kinds of ridiculous conspiracies, especially lately, so please don’t knock my Elvis dream.

Anyway, go see the movie. You’ll be reminded of what a music and cultural icon he was and continues to be.

Whatever is Growing, I Applaud You

My outlook has shifted in recent days. Early mornings spent watering have me looking at plants in a different way. As I try to keep a modicum of green in the backyard, I find myself wondering about certain weeds that are flourishing in the heat.

Who am I to crush the dreams of anything growing in these current conditions?

Take this spurge for example.

Isn’t it interesting how a plant like this, one that is flourishing in the heat (and rather pretty if you think about it), is considered a weed?

I suppose the heat was getting to me. I began to wonder about letting it grow, throwing water on it too.

Maybe, I should grow spurge as a ground cover?

Oh, nay, nay!

After a bit of contemplation, I spent several hours early Saturday morning pulling spurge and other healthy weeds by the bucketfuls. But I felt a little bad about it. As the song/saying goes, it’s not easy being green. The truth is these invasive weeds, left to grow, will multiply like bunnies, choking out native plants I want to grow.

Simple Ways to Help an Author

People are always asking how they can help promote my book.

Is there anything I can do?
Let me know if I can help?
What do you need from me? 

Well, since you asked…

From now until book launch, I’ll begin sharing ways you can, in fact, help. These will be super simple ideas that are easy to do without taking up more than a minute or two of your time.

Do what you can; skip what doesn’t work for you. It’s all good.

Even if you do one thing, that’s something!

Today’s ask:

 

If you are a regular Goodreads user, you know exactly what I’m talking about. (Many of you have already added Bernice to your ‘Want to Read’ shelf. Thank for that!!)

If you don’t use Goodreads very often but you would like to do this, simply log into Goodreads, (www.goodreads.com), go to my Author page by clicking HERE, scroll down to my list of books, and click Want to Read beside Bernice Runs Away.

Heck, add Gracie and Gene to your Want to Read shelf too if you haven’t already.

Why does this help me?

Each time someone adds a book to their Want to Read shelf, that book takes a trip through the Goodreads feed. The more readers who see it, the more likely others will find it.

A Great Summer for Figs

I predict it’s going to be a great summer for figs. 

Our neighbor grows and propagates fig trees, and this summer, his plants are loaded with fruit beginning to mature.

Technically a fig isn’t a fruit. It’s a syconium, a tiny group of inverted flowers growing inside a pod. The flowers inside the pod have to be pollinated internally by fig wasps.

I’m not making this up; I’ve talked about this before. You can read more HERE.

Things Momma Says:

I miss having Elvis around.

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That’s it for today’s Sunday Letter. Have a great week, OR as my former boss always said, have whatever kind of week you want to have. Ha.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.