Blogging · nonfiction · postaday · writing

If We Were Having Coffee

JackieP

Hello, People!

I do hope this first day of August is a great one for you. It’s hard for me to think it’s August already! Seems like the year just started.

 

If We Were Having Coffee

 

If we were having coffee, I would invite you inside where there is air conditioning as we are having a very warm day today. Maybe you would like ice coffee instead? Me, I’ll still have mine hot, as I don’t like it iced.

We’ll sit in the coolness and I would tell you how excited I am about several things lately. First, I would tell you how overwhelmed I have been with the offers to guest post on my blog. The response I got from fellow bloggers have been phenomenal. I still have several bloggers who have promised posts that will be forthcoming and have a few more already scheduled for next week. This makes me very happy.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I am done with my edits for the first story in the DeeDee Watson, PI series, The Canine Caper! It’s all ready to be formatted and put on Amazon! Also, I have a brand new book cover for the story. Would you like to see it? Yes? All right….here it is…

 

 

cover play 5 canine caper

 

 

I’m so happy with this new book cover. The last one was good, but this one I think suits the story much better. I just wasn’t satisfied with the last one and how Dee was portrayed on it. I love this one! A friend and I worked for days on this. I found the images and she did the Photoshop work. We are working on the second book cover for ‘A Case of Deceit’ now while I do the edits for the story.

For the Canine story, I am hoping to have it up on Amazon by the end of the month, with the second following a few weeks later. Wish me luck!

If we were having coffee, I would also tell you that I have started a new blog. Yes, I’m certifiably crazy. It’s going to be tied in with the DeeDee Watson, PI books. I’ve been working on it as I have time the last few weeks. It will be…um…different. In a good way I hope! How will it be different? Well, the characters of the books will be writing for the blog, not me. I mean, of course, I will be writing, as the characters are fictional. But…Dee, Fedora and yes even Tee will be there. They will be in charge of what I write, they dictate, I write and post. Confusing? How about you hop on over there after you read this post and give it a look. It’s still a work in progress, but if you want to follow it, it won’t hurt my feelings. 🙂

I’ll try to post on that blog a few times a week. Oh, I guess you’ll need the link, right? Here it is…. JLPhillipsauthor.com       (JLPhillips.com was already taken, so I just added author on the end)

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that the last month has been crazy. Some good, some not so good. First, the weather…whats with the weather? In my little corner of Alberta, Canada we have had some really hot days, some pleasant days and we even had days in the middle of the month that I had to put the heat on! That’s just crazy. But it was cold and rainy and windy and this tin can we call a home was cold and damp. So yeah, I put the heat on. Today? It’s in the low 90’s (low 30’s c). I’m just thankful I have air conditioning.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you about the husband. As most of you know, he has been disabled the last few years with debilitating back pain. He has arthritis of the spine and multiple spurs on the spine. Some days he can hardly get up out of bed. We finally got him in to see a new doctor last week, as his old doctor was doing nothing for him except prescribing stronger and stronger pain medications. This new doctor said it was ‘unusual’ for patients to take this big a dose of pain meds for a ‘degenerative disease’.

In other words, the old doctor would just keep giving stronger pain medication for something that is NOT going to get better, instead of trying to deal with the pain in other ways. Which is why I wanted the husband to go to a different doctor. I knew something was not right when the old doctor would just brush us off when we spoke to him about alternative methods of dealing with the pain. If the doses kept going higher on his pain meds, he would turn into a zombie. The quality of life would be nil. This wasn’t acceptable to me. Or to the husband.

The biggest breakthrough with the new doctor was this…he diagnosed the husband with depression! Finally! I’ve been trying to tell the old doctor for several years that the husband was depressed, he wouldn’t listen to me. This doctor saw it before I even said anything! It’s just not normal for anyone to start to cry for no apparent reason. Which the husband did several times during the doctor visit.

I kept my mouth shut for most of the of doctor visit, (yes I went in the room with the husband.) so I was almost shocked when the doctor said he wanted to ask the husband a few questions dealing with depression. He asked questions, the husband answered and the doctor said from the answers he would say the husband is definitely depressed. He prescribed Zoloft and we set up an appointment with a mental health expert. The doctor explained to the husband that he wants to wean him off the strong pain meds and that with being depressed the husband was feeling a higher degree of pain due to the depression. So it’s a great start! We’ll see what happens next with the therapist.

So I have been having a busy few weeks.

If we were having coffee, I would just relax and after telling you my news I would listen to yours and enjoy your company.

Thanks for joining me and see you soon!

 

 

 

*#WeekendCoffeeShare is the brainchild of Part Time Monster, if you want to read other coffee posts or join in please do!*

32 thoughts on “If We Were Having Coffee”

  1. I am so glad you got in to see the new doctor and that it won’t necessarily be the status quo for your husband, and then in part you, of course.

    Working on a guest post now…promise! 😀

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    1. It actually made me feel relieved when the dr said the husband was depressed. I thought maybe it was just me seeing things, but nope, I was right. It helps to get help. Hmmm working on the guest post are you? 😉 Good! I am off to read your new post now I see that is up.

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  2. I’m very sorry that I wasn’t able to help you proofread your story. As you know, I haven’t been quite well lately. 😦
    But I am so happy for you! Published, yay! 🙂

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    1. No problem Mer, I know you were not well. Next time though…when you are better…I’m gonna make you help me. 🙂 Almost published….yay! LOL

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  4. Well, Jackie. I laced today’s coffee in honor of the good news. More steps to publishing and the hubby is on the way to better. A new set of eyes is always a good idea. I am thrilled for you both. Too many doctors are just plain lazy and keep upping the doses rather than deal with what’s really going on. Yay!!!! I love the new cover.

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      1. Yes, it does fit the story better and lets the reader imagine what Dee looks like. We each have our own vision. I am just so happy for you right now. :)))) Hugs.

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  5. Good news, Jackie! I’m really happy about the visit to see the new doctor, and hope improvement will follow soon. I peeked into the new blog. It looks really nice – and I like DeeDee’s voice…as in the books!

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    1. tiny! I sent you an email earlier and it came back to me! I thought maybe you were having puter problems again. That’s never happened when I sent you an email before. 😦
      Are you with the family now? or at home? I can try to send the email again. Maybe it was user’s fault. ha! Hugs!

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      1. I’m at home, postponed my trip by two weeks, hoping for a bit more normal weather 🙂 My email is working…have received many today. Pls try again!

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  7. Good luck with the book release!
    I do guess that sometimes changing a doctor changes a life. I have often heard that the second opinion rule is very important.

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  8. Lots of good news today!! Good luck with the release and the cover looks great!!!! Have a great week!

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  9. I’m glad you found a doc that would listen to you. I hope your husband gets relief from the Zoloft and is better able to deal with the other issues. *hugs* to you both

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  10. Although I can’t totally recall the previous suggested cover, but I remember I didn’t like it. Cheers to this one and good luck with this one. Strength to you and hubby on your journey with his health.

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  11. Sounds like things are on the up! Good luck with the book. So glad the doctor made that diagnosis, for your benefit as much as your husband’s, living with someone who has depression is really hard, and so much harder when it goes undiagnosed. I always think it must be really hard to deal with, and get over, physical symptoms if you aren’t mentally strong, so hopefully things will start to improve for him physically as well as mentally soon.

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  12. Good morning! Just found your blog through Holly’s guest post. Great idea! Very exciting about the book…good luck! And good news with the new doctor, too. What a relief to fond someone who will listen and take an interest in the patient. I dealt with depression when I started menopause and it’s debilitating. Happy your Mr. Has a diagnosis…now you can move forward toward health. 😊 lovely to have ” met” you!

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  13. I love the new cover, so much better. You were smart to keep playing with it until you were happy. I love your new website, what a great idea to promote your book this way.

    Are you still having a heat wave? If so you can send some my way. It’s been downright cold here. Myself and most of the neighbors have resorted to putting winter bedding on rather than completely closing the windows to sleep. Crazy for August. At least it warms a bit during the day but not our normal temps at all.

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    1. We’ve been having ups and downs with our weather. Today it is cold and rainy. Yesterday I had the air on. Crazy! A couple of weeks ago I had to turn the heat on for a bit as it was so cold it made the husband hurt worse.
      I love the new book cover. It fits the story so well. 🙂

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