The day after Labor Day (in the USA) signifies the unofficial start of fall. Summer went by WAY too fast! I thought we could do a summer wrap-up and discuss the highs of summer 2024. Who’s with me?
I’ll start things off!
In June, I participated in a fun book event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with a group of writers, including one of the fillies–Karen Witemeyer! We spent the day hanging out with readers at Baker Book House. What a fun event! The next day, we stopped at Captain Sundae’s in Holland for a delicious treat. That’s me and “cappy” below.
June was a super busy month for me on the writing front. Thankfully, I met my deadlines. Phew! I also had a book release–Training the K-9 Companion–so that was fun! Honestly, June was SO busy on the writing front, I did nothing else. Some months are like that…
In July, my husband and I celebrated our anniversary (a few weeks late) by heading to Asheville, NC, to tour the Biltmore. What a property! We spent two days walking around the grounds, learning about the Vanderbilts, and generally having a fantastic time.
After Biltmore, we drove to Myrtle Beach, SC. On the way we stopped at the famous Buc-ees gas station/supercenter. It was crowded. I could not believe how many people were in there! Were there a few times I almost walked out? Yes. I don’t handle crowded stores well. I did purchase a ginormous cinnamon roll, and the hubs opted for beef jerky. We were glad we experienced Buc-ees. But we’re not sure we could handle it again!
Onward…to the beach. The overcast weather didn’t deter us. There’s something very relaxing about hearing the ocean waves. We made simple meals in our condo and strolled to a nearby ice cream shop one night. I’m thankful for the downtime.
July, too, was a very busy writing month. But I met my deadlines, so phew!
August rolled around, and I thought, How is it August already? I managed to visit the BABY ELEPHANT (How cute is that??!!) at the Toledo Zoo. Little Kirk is adorable! See picture below:
August was a busy writing month for me (see a pattern here?), and I had to force myself to sit and write every day. I really wanted to be outside. Doing anything. Anything except writing–and I love to write. I fantasized about sitting on my deck, strolling through the park, buying stacks of books, sipping coffee for hours at a coffee shop. I like the simple things. But the books don’t write themselves, so I persisted.
Other than that, we spent quality time with our extended families, I read several books, watched the birds at the birdfeeders, put together a jigsaw puzzled, finished a Christmas craft, and spent as much time on my back deck as I could fit in. And I wrote…but you already knew that!
Okay, your turn! I’d love to hear YOUR summer wrap-up in the comments!
Here’s to a fabulous fall!
Jill Kemerer is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author of heartwarming, emotional, small-town romance novels often featuring cowboys. Her essentials include coffee, caramels, a stack of books and long walks outdoors in Ohio where she resides with her husband.
We always have 2 family reunions to go to (same side of family) one is. my great-grandfather and his brother’s descendants (107 years of doing it) and the other one is my mother’s and her sister’s family. We are adding a room to the back of the house which is not finished yet. The cement work needed to be redone and it is costing more than we thought, but we’ll get there. I had a granddaughter graduate from high school as well so we had her party.
Wow, 107 years?? That’s amazing! I’m glad you’re keeping the tradition going.
Additions to a house are exciting–but difficult and expensive. Hang in there! Congrats on your granddaughter!
I made a trip to Tennessee to see my aunt who is 93 years old. Then I made a trip to Illinois to see three of my children, four grandchildren, and two great-granddaughters. I spent time with my family in town. I did a lot of reading and going out with friends. I’m now in Tennessee visiting my sister and will be going to Dollywood this Saturday.
Aww, that’s so nice you made the effort to see your aunt. I’m sure she loved it! The Illinois trip sounds fantastic, too! I love spending time with family. Have a fun time at Dollywood!
Jill – So glad you were able to squeeze in some fabulous trips amid all that busy writing! I loved our retreat in Michigan. That was my first time to visit the state, and I’d love to go back and explore more. The only other time I got out this summer was the end of June when we took my son to Oklahoma City for Air Traffic Controller training then continued on to Branson, MO for a belated anniversary trip. We had a fabulous time! The highlight of the trip was watching Esther at the Sight and Sound theater. A-MAZ-ING!
I loved our retreat, too, Karen! I’m a big fan of Michigan–probably because I grew up there. 🙂 I’m so happy you were able to take your son to Oklahoma City AND have a belated anniversary trip. Awesome!!
Well, my summer was unusual. It started with my MIL dying while we’re en route to pickup our youngest from college. She’d been in hospice for 2.5 months. Planning a funeral from a hotel is strange.
Spent 6 weekends cleaning out her apartment in NJ. Extremely hot because the ac was broken, but we didn’t want the repairman coming in while we had her stuff in the apartment.
Another elderly family member entered hospice. They gave him 2 weeks to live more than a month ago. The doctors didn’t expect him to still be here.
Doing stuff for MIL’s estate and getting stuff for son’s college apartment took up the a lot of July and August.
Took kid back to school and visited family members on the way back in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia. While we were on campus at LSU, we visited the newly planted tree for husband’s cousin, who died much too young after a valiant fight with cancer. A beautiful oak.
Honestly, 2024 has not been a fun year for our family.
Oh, Denise, I’m so sorry about your mother-in-law. And the timing–so terrible. I can only imagine how difficult that must have been–and cleaning out the apartment with no AC. And now the other family member in hospice.
What a terrible year.
I am glad you’ve been able to see the beauty in things–like the oak tree, and that you could visit family.
I’m sorry it’s been so rough for you. I’m praying for you.
Thank you.
This summer has been pretty rough for our family m My sister, Sandra was moved to hospice a few weeks ago because her cancer was spreading rapidly even with chemo.
I’m so sorry, Barbara. I hate that your sister is losing her fight with cancer. I’m praying for you and your family.
I’ve spent the summer doing my re-certifications for my insurance “job”, making cards (birthday and Christmas) and reading!! Keeping up with some household “chores” and riding my exercise bike, too, and I’m loving that I’m dropping weight!! What I don’t like is yet another health scare, but I’m opting that it’s not going to be cancer, though I’d really like to just remove the nodule and forget it!
The re-certifications never stop! That’s really cool that you make cards. Love it! I’m so impressed with you riding your exercise bike and losing weight–woohoo!
I’ll pray the health scare isn’t cancer. Keep doing what you’re doing!
We started June with an Air Force reunion in Louisville, KY. We had a great time visiting with friends we hadn’t seen for 2 years. Unfortunately, by the middle of the week afterward, at least half of those who attended had come down with COVID, my husband and I included. That sort of wiped out a couple of weeks.
Following that, we had a rather quiet summer. We worked in our gardens, helped with a church yard sale, and brought way too much home. We did get some good deals and some of the big stuff will be going to our children and grandchildren. There are puzzles for group homes for teens and 15 chairs for an after school program. Well worth the money.
We did make a “quick trip” to Florida in August. We pretty much spent 6 days driving with short visits thrown in. We dropped our dog, a bed and bed stand off for our granddaughter at our daughter’s new house, stopped to visit my husband’s brother and wife in Orlando, drove south of Tampa to visit a dear friend who was moving into assisted living the next week. He will celebrate his 100th birthday this month and we may go back down. After a few hours with him, we headed north and got back to our daughter’s the next day. We spent one day helping them unpack in their new house, picked up our dog, and headed home the next day.
This month we are headed for Oklahoma City for another Air Force reunion with a different group my husband served with. We will be taking a bit more time for the trip and get out and move around more.
My daughter-in-law took me to Branson to see Esther and do some shopping. We had a great time.