Last night as temperatures dipped into the 30s and 40s, I did a frantic race around the deck and patio to gather the houseplants that have been enjoying the sun all summer and bring them in the house. October is a relatively quiet month before the holidays officially begin with, Halloween. Yes, any parent knows that THIS, not Thanksgiving, is the true start to the holidays.

I am wearing socks today, which is a true signal that cold weather is upon us as I fight wearing them until the last possible second. I also raced around the deck and patio last night gathering up all the houseplants that had spent the summer outside sunning themselves. I took that "possible frost" report seriously.
 

It is well-known that I am direction-challenged. Spin me in a circle and I will walk the wrong way. Guaranteed. So last weekend when I was in Madison, Wisconsin for Bouchercon I discovered a new way to track my way --- follow the cows. Downtown Madison was having a CowParade, sponsored by the Wisconsin Milk Council. I love these kinds of art festivals as I love clever things. Here the cows were given titles like Mothermoose (shaped like a caboose), Cow Lloyd Wright and Frank Loin Wright (Wright-inspired) and Georgia O'Cowffe (O'Keefe-inspired). On the walk from the conference hotel to my hotel there were at least 12 cows. I knew to make a left at "Half-and-Half Cow," which is pictured here. For more on Bouchercon, you can read my blog here. We also have the winners of the Anthony Awards and the Shamus Awards. Oh, for those of you with a hankering for clever-looking cow designs, there is a commemorative book, COWPARADE WISCONSIN: The Cows Come Home To America's Dairyland, here.

The recent anniversary of The Book Report Network has me thinking about how much I personally have changed over these past ten years. Little secret: When we first started the company I HATED making cold calls. In fact, I hated making most phone calls. I would delay calling anyone I did not know. But as time went on I realized that I was the only person who could make the calls to get some things done to make the company work, and I needed to get over my fear of the phone to do this. So I did. The way I see it, passion overcame fear.