Rudolf's Rhapsody - My First Novel

Now available through Amazon Kindle

My first novel is done and published!  I am including some new items here on my blog that were not included in the book.  I decided to keep my first product simple to ensure it's possible acceptance and financial success.  I may decide to include the new information, photos, and maps later in a paperback and hardback version of the original product.  There may even be an audio version along with being available in more languages.  My original intent was to include it all right up front.  But when I got hung up on attempts to download the photos and maps into the publishing program, I found that the efforts didn't meet what would be a worthwhile final product due to the details being too small in electronic viewing.  My skills needed to improve to better introduce the information visually.  There was also the risk of negative copyright issues since some of the inserts were taken from the internet where sufficient proof of ownership could not be found to get permission to use.  I didn't want it to be messy so I left them out and may consult professional legal aid, if needed, for peace of mind at a later date.  Right now, it is my best effort and I hope you find it an interesting and enjoyable read!

Of course, the following photos and maps will have more meaning after you read the book.  But I have included some brief narrative on each that may help you understand how it relates in the story.  Maybe you will read this blog post first and hopefully will be curious enough to buy the book afterward.  I know my blog has many followers overseas and this may also be a way they will find access to my book.

WATERSHEDS are "an area or ridge of land that separate waters flowing to different rivers, basins, or seas.  It is the area or region drained by a river, river system, or other body of water.  It can also mean an event or period marking a turning point in a course of action or state of affairs."

In my book, I parallel boundaries defined by nature and those made by man.  Historical timelines are a great way to see changes in mankind's growth and development...the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Nature in contrast, remains constant to itself.  Yes, mankind can really mess it up as well as be good stewards of the land.  But in the end, nature can renew itself and is the ultimate survivor!  Nature has no freewill and the ability to make choices and own them.  Nature and natural laws answer to the Highest Power whereas mankind can covet power to use freewill.  Mankind should be good stewards of the land in order to survive and make choices compatible with nature.  Those are good choices and will ensure our survival!

Overview of Major Watersheds in Europe 

Elbe River Watershed

Danube River Watershed

Europe Before and After World War I

Europe 1919

Czechoslovakia Area in 1928-1938

Czechoslovakia Linguistic Map 1930

Kingdom of Bohemia within the Holy Roman Empire in 1618

Historical City of Strakonice, Bohemia 

The Holy Mountain at Sveta Hora, Bohemia

Washington, D.C. Neighborhood around DuPont Circle

Historical DuPont Circle, Washington, D.C. from the U.S. Library of Congress

Washington Monument View from Under the Blooming Cherry Blossoms in Washington, D.C.

My book work file is done and ready to file away after this project that produced my first novel.  In it I have documented my thought process with definitions, outlines, and sources available.  Timelines from various sources were correlated and assimilated to bring history together that tells a story of my heritage.  Much genealogical research was done over the major part of my adulthood along with a passion for reading fiction and non-fiction books of that time period. I also have some first-hand narrative from family members.  But in the end, I made this a fictional novel instead of a non-fictional biography.  So many gaps were still missing from the complete story over these 50 years that in order to make the story flow I had to answer many questions that will never have documented answers.  If it didn't actually happen the way I presented, well, it could have.  No one in the story is still alive to validate and if evidence was presented to make it worthwhile,  I have the ability in this format to make changes.  I'd like to think that I was inspired and guided by those family members no longer with us.  This is our story.

I had fun researching and writing my first novel!  It didn't take very long actually.  I started on what would have been my father's 100th birthday in December 2016 and wrote a lot in the first 3 months before taking a break as the weather warmed up and I got outdoors with activities.  Then I started up again the three winter months of 2017-8, took another break, and started up again for three months in 2018-9 finishing for the most part in February.  It took me one day to publish following the Kindle Direct Publishing process through Amazon.

It was easy for me maybe because I had 30+ years as an appraiser which consisted of assimilating massive amounts of researched data into a narrative report correlating basic perspectives into one final value that I had to defend to powerful political people.  I know how to do my homework and keep a defensible work file readily available.  I got so I loved a good challenge and was always open to change when better evidence was presented.  I missed that since I retired in 2011!  I also tried to use my intuitive skills developed over many years of experience and knowledge in my field but started butting heads in the final few years as evidence relied mostly on documents.  In theory, this would be best.  But the lack of true documents was turning in the direction of watering down the data available to hit the values wanted by the mortgage lenders.  The battles were being fought between intuitive values based on years of experience and knowledge vs values based on who could produce the paperwork that supported statistically manipulated values.  I felt I was wasting my time and energy.  In the end, I likely would not survive.  Time to retire and own my own time to develop and use my intuition.  It is this intuition I relied heavily on when I needed to fill in the undocumented gaps in my story.  As in Nature, it's all about the flow.  Go with it!

I already have begun some of the thought process on where I will go from here.  I am considering a book that begins where this first one ends only I will be the main character and it could be my autobiography.  I can begin with over 65 years of chronological photo albums I had kept up; most in hard copy and about 10 years in digital.  That's a lot of data to assimilate into an interesting story of my life!  I may look to Forrest Gump for guidance!  I may just start out with simple children's books for fun and see what evolves.  I hope you, the reader, join me on this journey in my retirement continuing with this blog to wherever my intuition leads me!

Fairs, Festivals, and Fitness in the Ozarks

2019 was the 8th year of my retirement and my husband's first.  Plenty of time on our hands and we found plenty of ways to utilize it!  Remodeling our vintage 1978 house in earnest this past decade always included a balance of fun with community fairs and festivals that typically began in late summer through the month of October here in the Ozarks.  There were several months of chaos caused by completing all main level flooring, repairs, and painting while we lived in both the main and lower levels.  When all the work was done, it was time to play!  It is about living a balanced life.

Together throughout the year we always stayed as busy as we wanted to be doing volunteer work with the local gardening group and enjoyed garden-related workshops with some of the larger county groups which expanded our knowledge as well as our relationships with other like-minded people.  It also got us outdoors more and the exercise kept us fit.  The annual Harvest Festival in Wheatland highlighted our main service project which is planning and caring for the gardens at Settlers Village where the festival takes place.  There are several posts in this blog that have details about this annual festival and our gardens as it has been our project for many years.  As with most all the fairs, festivals, and fitness-related subjects mentioned in this post, more details can be found by using the Search tool located on the home page of my blog.  Many of the past events were currently more of the same and we always love to attend or participate when we can and likely will continue doing more of the same in the future. It keeps us bonded to our home area that we chose to move to in 1978 while reaffirming that moving here was the best decision we ever made!    

Keith and Beti volunteer their time at the Hickory County Master Gardener Booth both days of the annual Wheatland Harvest Festival.

Missouri State Fair in Sedalia is attended most years.  The Missouri Department of Conservation, Art, Floral, and live concerts are our usual favorites to see!

Humansville Fall Festival doesn't change much over the years and is one event that is very close to home and was even closer when we lived on 50 acres nearby.  The parade is the most interesting with any kind of vehicle paraded whether it moved on it's own or pushed through the route....always entertaining! 

Stockton Black Walnut Festival is always a pleasure to attend with many craft booths, live entertainment, parade, and great food choices!  This trip we took the free tour again of the famous Hammons Products Company to see the process and buy some wonderful black walnut products. 

Cole Camp is an old German settlement that really knows how to party with dancing in the streets with live music, amazing German foods, beer, & wine, several streets filled with antique shops, and interesting people to watch and visit.  The history documented everywhere is amazing!

7 Springs Winery is our closest outdoor winery now that Sugar Loaf has closed after being our favorite for several years.  The awesome landscaping and fall changing colors in the hills pairs well with our favorite Norton wine and some great foods.  There is also live entertainment on the weekends in the afternoon.

Truman Heritage Days in Warsaw is our all-time favorite fall festival!  There is so much to do that it takes two days to get through it all.  Up by the Truman Dam in the encampments, old-time skills and crafts, settlement history and re-enactments.  In the town of Warsaw and along the harbor are numerous craft tents.  Below the dam is convenient parking with wonderful shuttle busses that take you to both areas as much as you want for both days.  Exceptionally organized - rain or shine!

Beti is "taking in the vapors" at Hot Springs, Arkansas!  This 4-6 day yearly Spa Trip has been a big part of our October plans for most of the past 20 years.  We always stay at The Arlington Hotel as seen in the background above.  I am so happy to have my brother and his wife join us again this year!  Hopefully, my other brother and his wife will join us next year as both my brothers and my husband retired in the same year and have the time to join us.  Maybe other friends and relatives will make it too!

Hot Springs, Arkansas tradition has been a horse-drawn carriage ride around the city on a Saturday night.  The service is available on the weekends in front of The Arlington Hotel.

Keith and Beti pose at the usual scenic stop overlooking the Ozarks on Scenic Highway 7 south of Harrisonville, Arkansas.  Many photos have been taken at this location since the kids were young.  It's a great place to stop and climb the tall overlook tower and shop in the small shop.

Pomme de Terre Lake Shore Clean-up was one of my volunteer projects this year just a few miles from home.  This is my 6th year as a member of the Missouri Master Naturalists, Lake of the Ozarks Chapter.   The greatest number of my required volunteer hours involved this PDT Lake.  It was such a  mess this year due to higher than average waters.  I was unable to safely take water samples from my kayak for 6 of the 8 required sampling times through the 2019 season in my 6th year with Lakes of Missouri Volunteer Program (LMVP).  The group above consisted of volunteers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Missouri Stream Teams,  Master Naturalist, and local citizens.  I'm in the back row, blue jacket.  We left the lake shore area better than we found it!  

Silver Dollar City in Branson is one of the largest theme parks in the country.  We have been here countless times since we moved to Missouri in 1978 and our daughter had worked here as an EMT for several years as a young, single adult.  It is as amazing as it is big and it's been awesome to watch it grow over the years along with the City of Branson and the massive highway system that supports it south of Springfield.  Last spring I won 2 free day passes to SDC at one of the gardening workshops Keith and I attended!  Definitely NOT a cheap place to visit!

Ha Ha Tonka State Park Castle Ruins is our most frequent state park visited close to home.  We started coming here before it was a state park and way before the fences and boardwalks were built to service the large crowds that come here in recent years.  So many photos had been taken with family as we all crawled and climbed throughout the ruins and cliffs along the rough trails.  Now it is all protected from excessive deterioration that comes with crowds.  It is still a great place to hike and enjoy.  The park also includes the lower spring area which has a great kayak launch area and is part of a 13-mile water trail that I volunteered to produce with the Master Naturalist group.  A great place to picnic, fish, hike, and kayak and we enjoy it all as much as we can!

I am thankful to live in a great area that includes a diversity of community activities that all contribute to a healthy lifestyle!  Since I turn age 65 about a year ago, I took advantage of free membership at the Bolivar YMCA which supports the Silver Sneakers Program covered by my health insurance.  Although I have been a member and/or participated at the Southwest Baptist University (SBU) Wellness Center for the past 25 years, it was only intermittent from January through May each year and I had to pay for it.  This past year, I have benefitted from the YMCA the most as I have lost 17 pounds with continuous and regular attendance.  I am happy that Keith joins me sometimes as programs and activities encourage opportunities to be social which is a big part of a good healthy lifestyle!

Being healthy, happy, and fit all contribute to the positive energy needed to enjoy our only grandchild, Kayleen.  Staying involved in community and socializing helps keep us interesting with a zest for life that we want very much to pass along to her for as many years as God blesses us to have.  Many opportunities are close to home and right in front of your face!  It does help if you have something to offer and recognize the joy you receive in return.

Bobi Copes with Chaos

It was a challenge coping with all the chaos created from remodeling our living space as we did most all the work ourselves as we lived in it.  It was good that the most stressful of it was during the months that had warm weather and we could balance the man-made chaos with the calming order of nature outdoors.  We had only to look to Bobi, our American Bobtail cat, to see the world through his eyes and observe that we could reduce stress while being close to its source.  We have plenty of nature right in our yard which made it easy to step away and find a good balance.  It's all about perspective.  

Bobi sits on my lap every morning beginning at daybreak on the front patio.

After my morning beverage, I start out on my walk-about around the front and back yard; Bobi follows.

There were 3 broods of bluebirds this season we enjoyed watching from the front patio.  There were also a variety of birds at the feeders, butterflies, and all kinds of pollinators on the flowers.  Bobi was always aware of them but hardly ever caused a disturbance.  The squirrels were always entertaining!

There were magical imaginings at the faerie tree including a real mushroom for awhile.  

Real bandits on several occasions in the vegetable gardens kept us busy re-locating!

Know-it-all neighbor was seen watching us from the electrical line.  Who?

Even a reporter from Fox Network stopped by most every morning.

There were some days that moved rather slow but steady.

The energetic activity from hundreds (mabe thousands!) of hummingbirds at the feeders inspired us to stay busy.

By the time Fall came around, we were done remodeling and began decorating.  We were ready for a much deserved break from all the work.

The weather was changing with the cool mist that settled in at night rising in the early morning meeting the sun.  

Frost flowers replaced the plants of summer.

Now it is time to stay indoors more and enjoy the fruits of our labor in our newly remodeled kitchen now complete with new flooring.

The final garden harvest is done...

...as the sun sets in our newly remodeled dining room filled with the last of the garden's flowers, hebs, and vegetables.

The living room is back in order with a new accent of fresh cotton in a can.

Through it all Bobi coped well with the chaos and showed us how well it can be done!

Family Time During Remodeling Chaos

Tornado Art (2006-2019)

Nothing stays the same.  Sometimes changes are well planned and are close to what was expected.  Sometimes changes happen suddenly and we survive and adapt.  Mostly we move forward as changes are inevitable.  The remodeling we did this year was disruptive but we came out better than expected although for a short time it felt and looked like a tornado came through!  I have wrote about remodeling the lower level, kitchen, dining, hallway, and living rooms in recent blogs.  This is about surviving the time during the remodeling of three bedrooms which included all the flooring upstairs which were already detailed.  I have some awesome surviving skills which begins with the story of this Tornado Art that I had framed and kept basically to myself until now.  Here's the story:

May 2003 I bicycled 250 miles of the Katy Trail alone, fully packed, staying at B&B's along the way from Clinton to St. Louis with return by Amtrak and additional biking. It was during these 7 days/6 nights that a series of destructive tornadoes took out the City of Stockton and Pierce City not far from my home in Hermitage. The storms and countless tornadoes moved NE across the state. I stayed ahead of them moving in the same direction. Couldn't go home or stay where I was; just kept moving as planned alone on the trail 30-50 miles/day catching up on what was happening behind me each evening at a B&B from the news. I stopped counting trees fallen across the trail that I had to go over or around with a fully packed bike at 20 when I crossed the Missouri River past Booneville. I have no doubt that there were at least 20 more! Kept going and rained on only once for a couple hours; the storms were that close! After the adventure, I thought to get a tornado tattoo on my leg as a reminder of my experience and searched the internet for photos. I found this print and had a customized frame made instead of getting a tattoo. It was hung in my weekday townhouse in Jeff City while I worked as manager of the State Tax Commission. It was to remind me daily of my strength and endurance as I worked and lived among some powerful politics and people. I held my ground and moved in a positive direction that never compromised my ideals and purpose. It reminded me that Nature is stronger than anything man can create and can destroy it in a flash. When I had made all the changes I wanted to policies and procedures in my department and had all I wanted of Jeff City, I moved back to Hermitage full time and hung the tornado in my home office...just for me. Now I'm ready to let go of it and set it free again. It is a good time now that we are remodeling the room.  Hope it finds a good home where its beauty, strength, and quality is appreciated just like me.  I decided to donate it to a local not-for-profit art gallery in Bolivar where it was part of a silent auction the weekend I had a huge carport sale on Labor Day weekend.  Time to re-value our space and the most important part of it is and always will be FAMILY!  

On Memorial Weekend, we were just days away from the chaos which would include living in the space as we remodel them.  Before the floors and kitchen were complete remodeling was postponed to make comfortable room for my brother and son to visit from out of state.  It was the next few months until Labor Day Weekend that we enjoyed the love and strength we got from spending time with family that saw us through successfully.  It began with my Iowa brother's yearly visit which always included ice cream!

Beti & Eddie at Andy's in Osage Beach

The Annual Watercolor Exhibit at Springfield's Art Museum with Keith is a yearly favorite especially on opening night with food and drinks included as we meet the artists!

Bass Pro Hemingway's Restaurant in Springfield is a great family tradition for seafood dinner.   

Beti & Jake at The Outlet below the Pomme de Terre Dam Hermitage

Beti & Sarah in front of Joe's Crab Shack Branson

Beti on the Katy Trail

Granddaughter Kayleen with Bubbles in Branson

Gardening with My Granddaughter in Branson

My Branson Girls at The Landing Fountain

Itty Bitty City in Springfield is the Party Place for this Minnie Mouse 2nd Birthday 

Carport Sale on Labor Day Weekend is the Grand Finale...for NOW!

By this weekend, we were back to normal!  We were fully using our kitchen, dining room, living room, hallway, stairway to the lower level, and back in our newly remodeled, beautiful bedroom after basically living on the lower level with all this stuff!  There's more room in the new office and the extra bedroom is now my yoga room and will soon have a daybed for my granddaughter to stay overnight.  

We then took another break to enjoy activities around us and to travel to Hot Springs, Arkansas for our yearly trip.  Time to rest and relax and gain new strength for the next projects starting with a new deck and siding that has already begun at this writing.  Next year I plan to complete the interior remodeling of two bathrooms.  Now is the time to plan.