This morning found my muse smiling on me. I believe she may have been expressing appreciation for the pecan chunkster cookies that I made the other day. If I was someone's muse, I'd sneak into their kitchen and claim some tasty goodness for myself. I almost doubled the number of words that I needed to be on track for today. Of course, this does not make me less anxious about reaching my goal of 50,000 words in the November. Those will just cover one of the many days I won't get a chance to write.

All of this writing didn't give me much time for reflection. That could be a good thing for those who don't approve of my ranting. It could be a bad thing for people to expect me to resolve their personal conflicts. Luckily, I don't think many of those people exist outside my head. Keep reading. Seriously, click on the fiction blog link below and check out my Halloween treat. Feel free to comment, so I know what you thought.

I should be in another window fighting more words onto the virtual page. I am currently about 5000 words short of my required word count for today. I managed to eek out 2000 words, but my muse went to sleep a couple of hours ago and I really want to join her (in separate beds). Instead, I thought I'd give a shout out to my faithful readers.

For the curious, I must state that my house smells of French toast and cookies right now. Company will be here by this time next week, and that gives me an excuse to fill my house with food. Of course, I am certain I am going overboard, so my freezer might become a cookie storehouse for a while. I really should start my own cookie baking business. For a reasonable price, you too could be eating dozens of my yummy cookies this week. Think about it.

I shall now go back to rubbing my head and seeking inspiration...

I'm still fighting my battle with words. I need to catch up, so here are some quotes for you.

"Benevolent is a lovely word that we don’t hear very often. Its roots are Latin, and it means "to wish someone well." To be benevolent is to be kind, well meaning, and charitable." ~Mary N. Cook

"When we sin, Satan tells us we are lost. In contrast, our Redeemer offers redemption to all—no matter what we have done wrong—even to you and to me." ~C. Scott Grow

It has been seven days since my last submission. I am currently 13,000 words behind on my goal. Sadly, I knew this would happen with the arrival of turkey day falling in the middle of my month of words, but I had hoped I would get some words in the bank before people descended on my house. I underestimated my ability to obsess over food and cleanliness.

Of course, the massive amount of food still waiting in my fridge has led me to drag my darling around the neighborhood. Any meandering that I do leads to random thoughts about both the imaginable and the unimaginable. In the early days of this journal, such thoughts brought giggles to the faces of the worried and even made them want to cook library materials in butter, but that is another story...

TOP TEN WAYS TO ALIENATE YOUR NEIGHBORS

1. When you move into the neighborhood, direct your family to their house...make sure the most stubborn member of the family thinks you have a maid and butler who think they own the house.
2. Drop your dog's droppings in their trash can...on a humid summer day right after their trash truck empties the can.
3. Eat all of your meals in your car while watching their house.
4. Block their driveway at all times so they have to get your permission to leave the house.
5. Three words: blinking Christmas lights. (Concentrate these outside their bedroom window and make sure they are on all night.)
6. Ask if you can borrow their tools...after the fact.
7. Share your leaves and yard waste with them.
8. When you get their mail due to human error, make them pay to get it back.
9. Decorate your yard with the scariest lawn gnomes you can find.
10. Practice your pole dance around their flag pole...during their child's outdoor birthday party.

As a child, I had more than my fair share of contact with bullies. You remember these people. They beat you up for your lunch money. They mocked you for being different. They basically made someone's life miserable. Why did they do it?

Most of my bullies had problems at home. One's parents were divorced, another's parents were getting divorced, others struggled with feelings they couldn't understand. I am sure many of them still have emotional or physical scars from the sharp, pointy cards they were dealt. In retrospect, I can forgive the children who bullied me. I even tell them so when they give me the chance to do so.

Adult bullies are not as easy to forgive. Once you reach a certain age, you should be able to recognize the difference between a spouse, friend, ailing parent, or lifelong enemy who makes you cry and someone who has done nothing to you. Sadly, this is not the case, so I find myself still struggling with bullies today. Even more sad, other people think I am obligated to put up with this for extended periods of time...not going to happen. All the nice has been rubbed off and I am about to tell people the truth. Bullies hate that.