So welcome back for Part Two of my Akron visit... here goes....

Wednesday...

After an early morning interview with the West Side Leader which  is scheduled to run in the August 30th issue, I had intended to spend the rest of the day writing, but my mother sensed that I was a little tense and made an appointment for me to get  a little manicure / pedicure action. Bless her heart!

And then that evening my sister,  my favorite brother-in-law, my nephew and my mother's neighbor came over  for steaks on the grill followed by a little friendly game of poker. And let me just say, this is a competitive group of card players. They take their nickel and dime bets very seriously and when all was said and done, my nephew had cleaned us all out.

Thursday....

The week was flying by and I was trashing almost as many words as I was writing, but such is the process. Oh how quickly we forget what it takes to start a new novel. Really, it is like finding the starting point on a roll of cellophane tape--I go round and round until something catches.  So Thursday I was determined to spend the bulk of the day writing, even if most of it ended up being deleted. That was the plan, but an invite to lunch with one of my mother's friends was too tempting to pass up!

Before I knew it, it was time to head to the Akron Public Library where I was speaking and reading from Every Crooked Pot.  Let me just say that this is a brand new library and it's a spectacular facility!  You can tell that the community is very involved in the local library and it's wonderful. If I still lived in Akron, I know I would be a frequent visitor. The people who came out for this event were true book lovers and we had a great discussion about writing, about authors, about books in general.  Thanks to all who came out and joined in the conversation!

Friday...

About twenty years ago,my two childhood friends, Harvey Nelson and Steve Marks decided to go into business together. The result is Main Street Gourmet.  You may not think you know the name, but chances are, you know their muffins, cookies and other products. This is a huge operation and I was lucky enough to drop by 170  Muffin Lane (yes, they have a lane named after them.)  We always knew SME (or Steve Mark Enterprise as we called him growing up) was going to do something big and that he has. Main Street Gourmet is a most impressive company and this kind of success could not happen for two nicer guys--congrats to you both!

From Muffin Lane my mother and I went to the charming town of Hudson and paid a visit to The Learned Owl Book Shop, a wonderful independent book store that I could have spent the entire day getting lost inside of, but my mother had to keep us on a schedule. So off we went to another nearby charming town called Peninsula where we had a lunch at one of the local spots and then, we dropped into the The Blue Heron Bookstore. Again, I was lost in a world of books and could have curled up in one of their over-stuffed chairs and read for hours, but thanks to my mother, The Every Crooked Pot Express had to keep moving.

I got home in time just to check emails and then it was off to my sister and favorite brother-in-law's for ribs and fresh corn and a chance to visit with my step-niece, Stacey who had just come in from New York.  I don't know that there is technically any such thing as a Step Aunt but my sister likes to say that I'm Stacey's STAMP even though we realized it makes no sense. It should be STANT which makes it even less sense--so just go with STAMP, we do!

After dinner, I headed way down memory lane and ended up back in the kitchen of my dear friend Stephanie's. There we were again, Stephanie, Lori,  Stephanie's Mother, Harriet (who will always be Mama Nelson to me!) and Stephanie's adorable daughter, Lizzie.  It was just like old times--sitting around the table (a new one and not the white one with the yellow swivel chairs we occupied through most of high school) with a beer (none for Lizzie) and shooting the breeze with Mama Nelson.  This was the kitchen that inspired several scenes in Every Crooked Pot.  And yes, Mama Nelson was the one with the terra cotta bust that provided us with hours of amusement.  Such a treat that was being back in that house!  Like no time had passed

But looking at the clock just now, it's already after 9:00 and I see that a lot of time has passed blogging, so I'm going to sign off for now and get down to the business of writing. 

Tune in tomorrow for Back To Ohio Part Three...