Of Tornadoes, Yard Work, Athlete's Foot, and other maladies

Hi, everyone. How's your weekend so far? 
I usually post something on the weekend. And normally I do my Sunday post on my other blog, but I think I'll do it here. 'Kay?

Well, I've a laundry list here, so maybe I should do the most devastating one first.

Fairdale, Illinois is possibly 15-20 miles from us. I remember that day vividly. We were expecting storms, but to be honest, it didn't feel that humid, like something so powerful would develop, but it did. And we had more than one tornado in Illinois. However, this one that hit the small community of Fairdale was an EF-4 with winds as high as 200 mph. The town took a direct hit. People in a nearby restaurant--one we have passed many a times on Route 64, was hit, and 12 people were trapped in a cellar where they went right before it hit them.

photo by Anghard Urch

This is an actual photo of the tornado. Really, if something like this was heading my way, I would not--I repeat I WOULD NOT STOP TO TAKE A PHOTO!

2 people did lose their lives in this. I recall when we had our weather radio on, and the description of the tornado (rotation), and where it was headed, the mechanical voice said things that made my blood chill. "total destruction" was something I'd never heard said about any tornado that came near us. It came true.

Well, here is what is left of that small town that is barely five or six blocks--or was at one time.

courtesy of DeKalb Co. Sheriff's Dept.

If you want to follow this thread from a news station, feel free. Some of the accuracy with the stories varies as it always changes as they get their stories straight.

The people are now trying to get themselves back to some normalcy. Of course the Governor has declared the aria a disaster, and they'll eventually get relief. What they need now is cash. A lot of donations of everything from water, to canned goods to clothing came in from generous people, but they've got enough of that. 

In the past week we've had wonderful temperatures--had 70's all week. I got out and worked my a$$ off, as though I could work off my winter fat in a few short hours. Not happening. As a result I got the worse case of Athlete's foot. Not sure that this is what it is, because it's not like anything I've ever had. There was a blister between my small and next toe (which I drained), and this rash on top of my foot that seemed feverish, and it's been marching slowly across my foot. The itch has been minimized by the use of a spray that has the same ingredient as Tenactin. I'm not 100% sure that I didn't get some sort of bite, or something else. I mean I wore shoes, how the heck would I'd been bitten? 
An interesting side-note, one woman I spoke to said her feet sweat too, and she uses deodorant on them. I thought that was a good idea, but would want to get a separate deodorant on my feet. Hmmm.

And after having purchased a new mattress, it's kinder to my back, but I know I just can't do the things I used to do and it's frustrating! Getting old is overrated! I'm turning 61 this year. Boo on birthdays, unless it involves a vat of chocolate I can bathe in.

In my writing, I've been working on my mystery. I didn't rush into it, as this is different from anything I've ever tried. It's good to try something different. Give myself a challenge. Maybe find a different brand of people who want to read mysteries instead of urban fantasy.

And, for the first time ever 50 ebooks sold in 2 weeks! It may not have put any one of my titles in the top 100 seller's list, but I don't care. Now, if only I can get more sales, and shave off the debt of what is owed to my publisher who made this possible. Then, maybe I'll see a royalty payment.

Here is the two top sellers Ascension and Trill over at Novel Rank. This is how you find out how many books you've sold, in case you've never heard of this.

That's all my news for now. Forgive me if I haven't been around. I've been having a creep hounding me on facebook. I need to do something about him. Soon. Any suggestions?