Today we are wrapping up the Lakeway Hispanic Heritage Walk. If you missed last week’s part 1, you can go HERE to catch up. We are being catered by Cafe No Se in Austin. Yes, they have catered to us before, but we enjoyed their food. Our entertainment is War.
As you all know, Sally is the most supportive person on the planet for Indy Authors. She is an author herself so she knows how getting the word out is important. I am very grateful to her for choosing Detour on the Eternal road to feature. A visit to her site will give you an idea of all the services she offers to Indy authors. While there give her books a look see. You won’t be disappointed.
Today I’m with Book Club Mom and her feature “Who’s That Indie Author.” Barbara has an informative blog and a very entertaining YouTube page. She is very supportive of Indie Authors, and her blog is a great place to visit. Go ahead and check out my interview over there. Here’s the link https://wp.me/p32mlf-5EX
Here is a little about Book Club Mom.
As a mom raising four children, I often found myself with little pockets of time, on the sidelines between games, waiting in the van, waiting in the kitchen (standing up!) or waiting for the kids to get ready for school or sports. I filled that time by reading.
In 2016, after 20 years at home raising children, I traded my van for an economy sedan and started a new career path, first as a library assistant at a public library and three years later, as a reference librarian. At the library, I’m surrounded by books, but libraries are hopping places and we’re too busy to read while we work! I’m inspired by all the books I see and learn about at work, however, and I’m never low on books to read.
This post, written by Marie Ann Bailey and me, was published on January 13, 2014. Since the holiday period was quite long this year, and today is the first day back for many of you, I hope it is useful
Top Ten Things Not to Do as You Return to Work after a Long Holiday Hiatus
10. When returning to work after a long holiday hiatus, do not expect your coworkers who did not take any time off to appreciate hearing how wonderful your vacation was. If you do, at best, they will smile absently as you regale them with stories of all the reading you got done. At worst, they will regale you with tales of all the work that’s piled up on your desk, waiting for you, and the fact that you would be fired if it were not for them.
9. When returning to work after a long holiday hiatus, do not try to incur sympathy by complaining that you had to spend most of it with your in-laws. If you do, at best, your coworkers will simply try to one-up your story of how your mother-in-law found fault with how you decorated your Christmas tree as usual. At worst, your complaints will be passed to your spouse at the next opportunity.
8. When returning to work after a long holiday hiatus, do not pretend to have been gone so long that you forgot your boss’s name. If you do, at best, your boss will play along and pretend to have forgotten your name and salary grade. At worst, your boss, who was called into work on Christmas Eve for an emergency in your area, will want to forget who you are and have security escort you from the building as a joke.
7. When returning to work after a long holiday hiatus, do not expect to find your office or cubicle in the same condition as you last saw it. If you do, at best, it might be cleaner since the cleaning crew actually had a chance to clean it while you were gone, since most surfaces were uncovered. At worst, you will find things missing (like your favorite Lord of the Rings post-it notes) because your coworkers took advantage of your absence and treated your office like a come-help-yourself supply depot.
6. When returning to work after a long holiday hiatus, don’t expect to be able to spend most of your first day back getting “reacquainted” with your job. If you do, at best, your boss will grudgingly give you permission to spend the day reviewing rather than doing, but in the end, it will cost you. At worst, your boss will offer you the opportunity to get “acquainted” with the new unemployment policies if you don’t step up.
5. When returning to work after a long holiday hiatus, do not try to make it sound like your break was more fun than it was. If you do, at best, you’ll only be competing with your cubicle-mate who, like you, basically stayed home and read all day. At worst, you’ll find yourself making up stories about scuba diving off the Florida Keys just because your coworker hung out at a nude beach in Pensacola.
4. When returning to work after a long holiday hiatus, be sure to leave your house at least a half-hour earlier than usual. If you do, at best, you’ll get to work earlier and have some “quiet time” before the reality of being back hits you. At worst, you’ll need that extra half-hour because you’ve forgotten the best route and you get lost along the way. (You did drop crumbs, didn’t you?)
3. When returning to work after a long holiday hiatus, do not bring with you all the cookies and cakes left over from your holiday parties. If you do, at best, your coworkers will just give you the evil eye since they have resolved to stop eating sweets after the holidays. At worst, the three-week-old sweets that you left out for everyone else will mysteriously wind up on your office chair, in the shape of a horse’s head.
2. When returning to work after a long holiday hiatus, do not be surprised if the work you thought your coworker would do on your behalf didn’t get done. At best, you’ll find a neat stack of reports that need to be reviewed by close of business the day you return and the coworker who had offered to review the reports out on sick leave. At worst, you’ll find piles of documents strewn across your desk with no clue when they are due or who left them for you, and your boss standing outside impatiently tapping a foot waiting for your report.
1. When returning to work after a long holiday hiatus, do not expect everyone, including you, to be in a cheery, ready-to-get-to-work mood. At best, you all will just be experiencing temporary post-holiday depression that will lift after a few days. At worst, the reality that there are no more holidays until May will hit you like a sledgehammer, and you’ll have a four-month-long headache to show for it.
Today I randomly opened Circumstances of Childhood to page 77. With Eyes closed, I pointed to the page. My finger was closest to the word “bag.” That is the prompt today.
This list was first published in November 2014. Since bosses still travel and go on vacation, it may come in handy.
Top Ten Things Not to Do When Your Boss Is Traveling or on Vacation
10 If the boss is out of the office, do not think your workload has been reduced for the length of time the boss is gone. If you do, at best, you will get away with the slowdown. At worst, you will be asked by the boss for the status of your projects first thing in the morning of the boss’s return.
9 If the boss is out of the office, do not think you will make brownie points with your boss’s boss. If you do, at best, your boss’s boss will assume you are an opportunist. At worst, the boss’s boss just might give you a ton of extra projects to complete before your boss gets back.
8 If the boss is out of the office, do not think it is your job to be the new boss. If you do, at best, your co-workers will ignore you. At worst, your co-workers will actually come to you for decisions on projects that the boss has refused to consider. Your reward will be fully realized when the boss gets back.
7 If the boss is out of the office, do not think the dress code is suspended. If you do, at best, you’ll be ratted out to the boss by the weenie in the cube next to you. At worst, the boss will come back early and call you into a meeting with the big boss, Lederhosen and all.
6 If the boss is out of the office, do not think you are due for three-hour lunches. If you do, at best, you will upset your co-workers. At worst, your boss asked HR to keep an eye on the department and note the hours of all, and you have several hours to make up.
5 If your boss is out of the office, do not think you can organize an in-office football game with the boss’s office on one end and the VP’s office on the other as the goal posts. If you do, at best, the team that loses will rat you out to the boss. At worst, although it was supposed to be two-handed touch, Bruno from sales decided to repeat his performance as an All-American tackle. As a result of the hospitalizations, HR and security have been looking for you for days.
4 If your boss is out of the office, do not think you can requisition all the supplies your boss has denied. If you do, at best, the supplies will be delivered to your boss’s office for dispersion. At worst, your boss will return to find the budget for supplies has been severely compromised and, instead of asking what happened, will contact the internal department of investigation to request a fraud investigation.
3 If your boss is out of the office, do not think you have carte blanche on business entertainment. If you do, at best, you will be asked to reimburse the company for unauthorized expenses. At worst, your co-workers all join you for the meal and think you can submit it as a team expense, only to find out you will still need to reimburse the company for an unauthorized expense. You also find that none of your co-workers know who you are or remember any meal.
2 If your boss is out of the office, do not think of bending the alcohol rules for the monthly birthday celebration. If you do, at best, the same weenie will rat you out to the boss. At worst, you will have sponsored the best birthday party the team has ever experienced. Still, unfortunately, the party was finally broken up by a city SWAT team after HR and security gave up trying to restore order. Subsequently, every attendee claimed to have been drugged without their knowledge, and your fingerprints are all over the punch bowl.
1 If your boss is out of the office, do not think you can take all the days off. If you do, at best, you will not be discovered missing until someone needs a stapler, which you have the only one in the office. At worst, you will not be missed until your boss returns early to address a problem with one of your accounts, because the client called the president of the company because they could not reach you. Good luck in the new job hunt.
The brain screams for relief that only caffeine can provide. There is not a crumb of satisfaction left as the red caffeine warning light and klaxon horn indicate a dangerously low inventory level. A shaking finger moves to touch the two coffee button and the mind slowly returns to easiness knowing the toughest job of the day is complete. The machine does its job and delivers the double dose in lifesaving time. As the first sip hits the brain, the Westminster chime cacophony of the doorbell triggers the baying of Igor’s hounds. A quick toss of a knuckle bone into the soundproof room and a slam of the door bring peace back to the valley. With ears still ringing, a check of the security monitor shows a figure resembling Foghorn Leghorn. Of course, a signature is needed, so the security shutdown procedure must begin.
The SWAT team needs to be put on standby. A quick text to the leader confirms that status. Also, the flight of A-10 Warthogs must be diverted. Another call to the commander puts that worry to rest. The SEAL team needs to be called off, and a call to the leader makes that possible. A call to the tow truck driver stops the deployment of an M1A1 Abrams Tank. The control panel simplifies the security system’s shutdown process. The boiling oil vats are put on standby, the turret mortars disengaged, the Trebuchet on safety, the concertina wire rolled, the Claymore mines reset, the tower Gatling guns on safety, the moat net dropped, the alligators fed, and the IEDs and shoulder-held rockets put away. The Proton torpedoes switched off. The gamma ray beams covered. The high-powered maser guns switched to standby, and the nanorobots were chained in the basement. The Klingon are called back, and the Targ is caged. Robbie’s Bot is sent to the basement. The locks on the door are thrown. And the door opened.
“There is an envelope for you. I say, sir, one envelope that needs a signature.” Nodding understanding, Foghorn hands me the clipboard and the envelope. After signing, I hand it back along with a $10.00 bill. “I say thank you. I say thank you very much.” I don’t want to hear more foghorn. I close the door. The envelope is from Linda Hill, and inside is a message. It reads.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “crumb.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!
This week’s good news story is from Upworthy magazine. I ran a story about French Beavers on October 17th, 2025. Here is the link to that story if you missed it. This post is an update on what’s going on in America. Thanks to Noelle Granger for sending me this article.
Beavers were brought to the desert to save a dying river. Six years later, here are the results.
Their engineering feats are pretty dam incredible.
It’s not easy being a river in the desert under the best of circumstances. The ecosystem exists in a very delicate balance, allowing water sources to thrive in the harsh conditions. These water sources in otherwise extremely dry areas are vital to the survival of unique wildlife, agriculture, and even tourism, as they provide fresh drinking water for nearby residents.
But man-made problems like climate change, overfarming, and pollution have made the job even tougher in some areas. Rivers in Utah and Colorado, part of the Colorado River Basin, have been barely surviving the extremely harsh drought season. When riverbeds get too dry, fish and other aquatic creatures die off, and wildfire risk increases dramatically.
About six years ago, one team of researchers had a fascinating idea to restore the health of some of Utah’s most vulnerable rivers: Bring in the beavers.
Beaver on riverbank. Canva Photos
In 2019, master’s student Emma Doden and a team of researchers from Utah State University began a “translocation” project to bring displaced beavers to areas like Utah’s Price River, in hopes of reviving the river.
Why beavers? Well, it just makes dam sense! (Sorry.)
In all seriousness, beaver dams restrict the flow of water in some areas of a river, creating ponds and wetlands. In drought-stricken areas, fish and other wildlife can take refuge in the ponds while the rest of the river runs dry, thus riding out the danger until it rains again.
When beavers are present in a watershed, the benefits are unbelievable: Better water quality, healthier fish populations, better nutrient availability, and fewer or less severe wildfires.
It’s why beavers have earned the title of “keystone species,” or any animal that has a disproportionate impact on the ecosystem around them.
Pbs Nature Swimming GIF by Nature on PBS Giphy
Doden and her team took beavers who were captured or removed from their original homes due to being a “nuisance,” interfering with infrastructure, or being endangered, and—after a short period of quarantine—brought them to the Price River.
Despite the research team’s best efforts, not all the translocated beavers have survived or stayed put over the years. Some have trouble adapting to their new home and die off or are killed by predators, while others leave of their own accord.
But since 2019, enough have stayed and built dams that the team is starting to see the results of the effort. In fact, beaver projects just like this one have been going on all over the state in recent years.
The water levels in the river are now the healthiest they’ve been in years. The fish are thriving, and Utah residents are overjoyed with the experiment’s results.
According to an early 2025 column in The Salt Lake Tribune (i.e. six years after the beaver translocation began) the revitalization of the Price River has “helped save [our] Utah town.”
“A tributary of the Colorado River, the Price River runs through downtown Helper,” wrote column authors Lenise Peterman and Jordan Nielson. “On a warm day, you’re likely to find the river filled with tourists and locals kayaking, tubing, and fishing along its shore. A decade ago, it was hard to imagine this scene—and the thriving recreation economy that comes with it—was possible.”
Of course, it wasn’t JUST the beavers. Other federal water cleanup investments helped remove debris, break down old and malfunctioning dams, and place tighter regulations on agricultural grazing in the area, which depleted vital plant life.
But the experts know that the beavers, and their incredible engineering work, are the real MVPs.
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price RiverPublic Domain
In other drying, struggling rivers in the area, researchers are bringing in beavers and even creating manmade beaver dams. They’re hoping that the critters will take over the job as the rivers get healthier.
Utah’s San Rafael River, which is in bleak condition, is a prime candidate. In one area of the river, a natural flood inspired a host of beavers to return to the area, and “riparian habitat along that stretch had increased by 230%, and it had the most diverse flow patterns of anywhere on the river,” according to KUER.
It’s hard to believe that beavers nearly went extinct during the heyday of the fur-trapping industry and continued to struggle as they were considered nuisances and pests. Now, they’re getting the respect they deserve as engineering marvels, and their populations have rebounded due to better PR and conservation programs.
It’s about dam time!
The good news in this story is that humans are finally letting nature work her miracles. Today’s JohnKu talks about nature. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Today I’m with Teri Polen at her Bad Moon Rising feature. This is the tenth year for this feature and the following graphic contains a list of participating authors. Participants answer questions about themselves creating interesting and fun posts.
Teri Polen reads and watches horror, sci-fi, and fantasy. The Walking Dead, Harry Potter, and anything Marvel-related are likely to cause fangirl delirium. She lives in Bowling Green, KY, with her husband, sons, and black cat. Her debut novel, Sarah, was named a horror finalist in the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.
Today, I randomly opened The Last Drive to page 181. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page. The word nearest to my finger is ‘registration,’ which becomes our prompt.
The brain screams for relief that only caffeine can provide. There is not a crumb of satisfaction left as the red caffeine warning light and klaxon horn indicate a dangerously low inventory level. A shaking finger moves to touch the two coffee button and the mind slowly returns to easiness knowing the toughest job of the day is complete. The machine does its job and delivers the double dose in lifesaving time. As the first sip hits the brain, the Westminster chime cacophony of the doorbell triggers the baying of Igor’s hounds. A quick toss of a knuckle bone into the soundproof room and a slam of the door bring peace back to the valley. With ears still ringing, a check of the security monitor shows a figure resembling Foghorn Leghorn. Of course, a signature is needed, so the security shutdown procedure must begin.
