I admit that I still remember the days before we had the Internet. There were childhood moments when I sat beneath the apple tree on a swing and savored the fresh blossoms floating down around me like angel kisses.


Heaven came and took the apple tree. That incident was one of my ‘first loss experiences.’  But those apple blossoms are still a part of me because I can close my eyes and be swinging in bliss. (Springtime always brings this memory to the forefront of my life. ;)


By the time the apple blossoms disappeared, I began a new journey. An amazing time it was, too. For you see, I spent many days curled up in my favorite chair reading the latest in a long stream of books to be explored.


Sometimes, I wonder if those days are long lost in the slipstream of time. We all know we can’t get them back unless we close our eyes and dream. 


In many ways that’s okay, because events and memories have happened during the in-between space of Then and Now. 


For awhile, I spent time living on a street named Orchardway. That’s what happens when an apple orchard is bulldozed to make room for progress and new housing.


Looking back, I realize that Orchardway was also a portal to the future. Remember dial-up internet? That horrible buzzing, and then the computer monitor springing to life with a window to the world? 


Oh yeah!


I remember we were the odd people—we had a computer. Neighbors shook their heads and scowled because they didn’t know how to react to such peculiar behavior. (psst… I bet each house in that neighborhood has every gadget they can buy now. lol)


The Internet grew by leaps and bounds. Frequent changes kept the learning curve alive. During the early days of connection issues and constant ‘net construction’ the education could be a head banging experience. <-- I laugh about this now. But in the long run it has been a joyous trip.


If you really think about your Internet time, when we click through a link, we are visiting places around the world with amazing efficiency. (No, this doesn’t eliminate real life travels.)


A brief example: I’m on the gulf coast, Florida. From this vantage point, I can click [here] and visit a favorite romance author, read her latest news and browse her pages. Catherine Bybee is a pretty cool person, and guess what? She’s in California. 


After visiting California, I can click [here] and visit my friend Tanya in the Lake District, England. Yup… across the pond. Tanya shares amazing photos that she has taken during her hiking sprees through the Lake District. (please forgive my mispelling!)


*waves*


Yes, I’m still here in Florida being kissed by pleasant gulf breezes. And that means that you are here in Florida, too. Welcome to the Sunshine State. ;)




Does that make you a voyager, journeyman or time traveler? If that’s what you would like, I say go for it.


So what does being delightfully bound to the ‘net have to do with today’s post? Well, another cool aspect of the Internet is that I can be on someone else’s blog at the same time I’m on mine. (Two places at once! Lol Now that’s magic.)


Laurie’s Thoughts & Reviews has a special feature post today for Claire: the Lost Fae. Give Laurie a visit and learn a few secrets about the writing process that I shared with her readers. 




Thank you for passing through my world. ;)

This post is slightly different and contains no plot bunnies. That’s because although I have been wrapped up in writing, there are always real life events going on around us.

I’m not talking world events. No. I’m talking about those crazy things that happen in our personal lives. Sometimes they make us laugh later or the outcome can be completely different.

On Feb 29th (see it’s leap year?) I finally got the news that my car died. I’ve tried to be calm and rational about this. She was very old, but an attachment has grown over the years.

She came into my life in March 2003. That was just weeks before I moved to Florida. In fact, many family members teased me that she was my Florida car.

I didn’t mind. ;) In one sense it could be said that she brought me to this paradise. That first road trip took 30 hours because we had two rental moving trucks and everyone wanted to stay close together during that beautiful journey.

My golden retriever Cody sat in the back seat as though a queen in her carriage. Cody loved our new car just as much as I did. I’m sure we both believed we traveled on the wings of angels.

After we settled into our new home, I went to the tax collector to get my first Florida license plate. That’s when I discovered something very unique about my car. The woman taking care of my purchase arched a brow at the computer monitor, and then asked me if I knew that my car originally came from Florida.

Absolutely not. I didn’t know that the car I bought on an icy cold day in Canton, Ohio came from Florida.

No wonder each mile I drove south felt like we were coming home.

I guess I wanted to post this little story online today as a tribute to the wonderful times she gave me. We traveled the beautiful roads between Florida and Ohio eight times!

I always called her Amethyst Pearl (because that’s the color name from the factory) and even today despite being sick under the hood she still looks pretty.

She has also been my guide as I drove along the gulf boulevard and discovered amazing parks and brand new friends. How many times have we been to the beach? I’ve lost count.

Then the kind mechanic hesitated before speaking. Bless him. He was trying to soften the blow. Actually he has been in our lives for about six years now so he knows Amethyst Pearl inside and out. I guess that’s why he wanted to be gentle.

So now I’m an author without a car for awhile. It feels funky because I always had wheels to get me where ever I needed to be ever since I bought my first car many years ago.

Eventually, there will be a new one, but I wonder if it’ll be the same. Here’s hoping that new adventures are just around the street corner. I am open to what happens next because in my gratitude for everything she brought my way, I understand it’s time to move on.

R.I.P. Amethyst Pearl, you’ll always be a part of my history. Thank you for that. (note: that pic is borrowed from google)