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Friday, December 6, 2024

The New Matlock- Sherri Easley

Between my ADHD and my many craft and writing projects, I don’t have much time to watch television. Occasionally, when I am worn out or tired, which has been more since I broke my arm, I have indulged a bit more.  

One of my new favorite shows is the New Matlock- starring Kathy Bates. Ms Bates is an exceptional actress who portrays retired lawyer Madeline Kingston returns to practice seeking justice for the death of her daughter Ellie in the opioid epidemic.

Kingston gets a job, using the alias of needy widow Matty Matlock, at the law firm she believes hid evidence that could have saved her daughter's life. To gain the firm's trust, she must first apply her intellect to help her colleagues with other challenging cases. In true historical Matlock form, cases magically seem to solve themselves.

The elderly attorney is cheered on by her grandson she is now raising and her husband as she seeks a mother’s revenge.

The best part of the show is that Bates uses the fact in life that many women become invisible as they age. In addition, she is wicked smart and always one step ahead of all the cast. Most of all, she uses her grandmotherly southern charm to get her way.

The genius of the show is that many of us women of a certain age feel invisible. I know I often do but now we can follow the premise of the show to use Bate’s wily tactics to our advantage.

If you have time to watch TV over the holidays, check out Matlock. 


Monday, December 2, 2024

MY FAVORITE TIME

By Caroline Clemmons

 




We have entered my favorite time of year—the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. There seems to me more smiling people, more anticipation, more happiness. Oh, maybe that’s just me. <g>

The Christmas season brings wonderful memories for me. I love selecting gifts for family and friends. As I’ve grown older and our family decreased, we have a much smaller number of gifts to choose.

When I was younger, I made special ornaments to go on the package of children’s presents we mailed. Bows get smashed. I can only remember a few: a hand puppet—cowgirls for girls and cowboys for boys; a five-inch Christmas stocking ornament; and a felt stick horse with a candy cane as stick with the crook in the horse’s head.

In addition, I deliberated over the selection of wrapping paper so that all the gifts coordinated for each family. I don’t remember why this seemed important. Well, it did look lovely.

Times and I have changed. Now a gift bag is easy, with a few sheets of tissue stuffed in over the gift. We no longer mail any gifts, which makes me kind of sad. All the nieces and nephews are grown and the extended family adults no longer exchange gifts.

Another thing I miss is making up ten or twelve plates of cookies and candy and a small loaf of zucchini bread to deliver to friends and neighbors on December 23rd. Lately, I intend to prepare the goodies but never get them made.

That reminds me of a funny story. The middle of December, I made large batches at a time of various cookies and froze them in Tupperware containers. One year I took the containers of chocolate chip cookies from the freezer. When I opened them, one was empty. My Hero stood near me looking sheepish.

He said, “You know, you’d be surprised how fast those cookies thaw in the microwave.”

Happy Holidays!



Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Fall Vibes Only by Laura Hunsaker

 Today at work we changed out the Thanksgiving/Fall decorations for Winter/Holiday decorations, and I have to admit, it made me sad. Even my neighbors have put their decorations up earlier this year.

I don't think I'm ready for winter yet! In fact where I am, we've barely had our autumn, let alone winter weather. So I decided to keep up my fall decorations. At least for the next few days.

It made me wonder why I love fall so much when I'm really a summer girl at heart. I really think it's less that I love fall (although pumpkin spice everything is my jam), and more that I love the break in weather, and the last slow days before the crazy busyness of the holiday season starts. I'm enjoying the nice weather, I'm enjoying not having to be everything everywhere all at once. I'm enjoying the last of this year. I'm not quite ready for the end of the year yet. 

So for now, today, it's still fall for me, and my desk. At least until Fall becomes Fall-la-la-la time.

What is your view? Are you ready for the Winter holidays? Or are you dragging your feet and in denial like I am?


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Kate Landry is soon to be Kate Donovan, if only the groom would show up.


Maid of honor Cara Nguyen wants everything to go smoothly for her best friend's wedding, yet almost immediately, the wedding turns into a fiasco. Kate and Kyle deserve to have the wedding of their dreams, and Cara wants to make it happen. It’s hard to do when the flowers are delivered to the wrong location, the groom is missing, and the lovely sunny day has become a sweltering hot mess. She definitely doesn’t have time to get distracted by a sexy groomsman in a kilt.


Kyle Donovan is ready to marry the love of his life, but first he has to help some stranded guests…


Dash Helms is in the small town of Chester, California for his friend Kyle’s wedding, when he is immediately tasked to help. A caravan of wedding guests break down on their way, one of the groomsmen misses his flight, and the beautiful maid of honor is the only thing he can concentrate on. When Dash is asked to step in at the last minute as a replacement groomsman, of course he says yes. But the striking brunette he’s walking down the aisle wants nothing to do with him.


With everything seeming to go wrong, what can go right?


In this wedding short story written for Kate and Kyle from Dark Past, the cast of the Fatal Instincts series comes together to celebrate their friends. With everyone in the same place at once, and romance in the air, can this small town handle them?




Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Someone to Hold Your Coat by Liz Flaherty

John Steinbeck wrote a book called The Winter of Our Discontent. In all honesty, I don't think I read it. Steinbeck's writing voice depressed me. I put him and Hemingway and a few others all onto one library shelf of the mind I never approached--it's probably very dusty. Because, although I have always been an avid reader, I have always read purely for entertainment. I am a lightweight. 

But I'm digressing already. Didn't take me long, did it? I brought up the title of Steinbeck's book because that's where I am. Quite seriously, I thought I'd left this kind of angst behind in my teenage years, way, WAY back in the last century. 

I don't want to overdo politics here, other than to say they are the reason I'm where I am. I have never particularly feared being old or even dying--well, being dead; dying might not be fun--and yet now I'm resentful of the next four years of my life being taken up with feeling like I do now. 

Silenced. 

But last night, we had a writers' group meeting. The Black Dog Writers have been around for five years or so, maybe a little more. We meet on the third Tuesday of each month. We share things we've written, indulge in a little cathartic conversation--or a lot--and ... we care about each other. We encourage, we worry, we offer rides, we laugh a bunch. 

We hear each other's voices. Not just what we're saying, but the nuances that slip in between the beginnings and the ends of sentences. 

What several of us read last night had pain splintering between the lines. We had wet eyes sometimes, grieving with one, high-fiving others on stories well told, getting lost in poetry--read that stanza again!

What I read was strictly a free-writing stream of angry consciousness begun at 2:26 PM for a 5:00 meeting. It was inspired by a picture of a house Valerie shared. I read it to my husband and while he liked it okay, I think he worried about me offending people in the group.

My sister used to say that if the guys in her nine-student graduating class had decided they were going to rob a bank, she and the other girls would have held their coats. 

None of us robbed any banks last night, but our friends did indeed hold our coats. I am so grateful.

All of our meetings aren't exercises in catharsis. Sometimes our writing isn't what we wish it was. We don't all always have something to say. But sometimes, it's a couple of hours of gold. Especially when we need that gold. When we are worried ... or silenced ... or unable to find hope in our sad places. 


I hope it gets better for those of us in the same place of discontent. I hope we don't give up, that we don't remain silent, that we remember we have stories to tell and people to care about.

Have a great Thanksgiving. Wishing you happy.
















Saturday, November 16, 2024

Great Pumpkin Horde Smashed Into Pumpkin Pie by Joan Reeves

Photo by Vlada Karpovich
Pumpkin season kicked off in October with Halloween, but never fear. It's not over yet.

The great pumpkin horde rises then get smashed into Pumpkin Pie, Pumkin Bread, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Pumpkin—well, you get the picture.

As if all the pumpkin desserts weren't enough, there's Pumpkin Latte, Pumpkin Eggnog, and, I fear, so much more.

Love all those orange beverages and desserts? Unfortunately, I don't. I've never been a fan of the pie made from this giant orange gourd.

 To be honest, I don't know if it's the pumpkin or the overload of spices because I do like pumpkin bread when I make it in my kitchen.

WHO DISCOVERED THOSE BIG ORANGE GOURDS?

I was surprised to discover pumpkins were first cultivated in Central America around 5,500 B.C.. When Europeans arrived in the New World, pumpkins were one of the first foods they brought back to Europe.

In Europe they were first mentioned in 1536. Within a couple of decades they were grown regularly in England. The British called them pumpions which came from pompon which was what the French called them because of their round shape.

Photo by cottonbro studio
Is it the brownish color that deters me?

The English were already well-versed in pie making so it's no surprise that they started using pumpions for pie filling.

BACK TO AMERICA

When the Pilgrims came over on the Mayflower in 1620,  some of them probably were familiar with pumpkins just as the Wampanoag tribe who helped them survive that first year were. 

The next year, the 50 surviving colonists were joined by about 90 Wampanoag for a 3-day harvest celebration—what we claim as the very first Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin was probably served in some form because this useful vegetable can be used in many ways.

Add it to flour, thus decreasing the amount of flour needed, and make bread. Roast it and season with salt, pepper, and some kind of fat and serve it as a vegetable.

Cook it and season with something sweet and spices for—Pumpkin Pie!

By 1654, Edward Johnson, a Massachusetts ship captain, wrote that New England had prospered and  people could now make apple, pear, and quince tarts rather than their former Pumpkin Pies.

By 1705, Pumpkin Pie was firmly established as the pie to serve at Thanksgiving, an established New England holiday.

Photo by Diliara Garifullina
After the Civil War, the popularity of Pumpkin Pie spread beyond New England. In the South, I imagine they made Sweet Potato Pie before pumpkin was popular.

To me, Sweet Potato Pie tastes the same as Pumpkin Pie, perhaps because the same spices are used in each pie.

TO PUMPKIN OR NOT TO PUMPKIN?

I think the brownish color is what makes Pumpkin Pie look unappetizing to me. I might try a fancy crust with pastry cutout leaves like this photo shows. Pretty isn't it? 

Do you have a favorite pumpkin recipe? Leave a comment and tell us all about it.


BEST WISHES FROM ME TO YOU

I wish you the happiest Thanksgiving with family and friends and lots of delicious food. Make some wonderful memories!

JOAN IS HIDING AT ONE OF THESE LOCATIONS






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Friday, November 15, 2024

NEW AUDIO RELEASE!

By Caroline Clemmons

More wonderful things are happening for the Pinkerton Matchmaker Series books. This series is tremendously popular. Barr26 Publishing has acquired the rights and given them new covers and listed them at numerous retailers.

The books I wrote for this series are among my favorites. Each took considerable research, but I loved writing them. I hope you won’t think I’m vain when I confess I’m pleased with the resulting stories.

The latest thing is, they are being narrated for audio, mine by by narrator Chris Kemsworth. I’m so pleased with my three, although the third is still in production. The two of mine that are now available in audio are AN AGENT FOR MAGDALA and AN AGENT FOR LYDIA.

According to the publisher’s spokesperson, it takes from 10-14 business days for the audio version that was uploaded on November 5th to appear on various retailers. Currently, the audio version is available at Barnes and Noble. If you enjoy listening to a talented narrator read an exciting historical western romance, please give these two audio books a try. I believe you’ll enjoy listening to them as much as I did.

 


 

She craves adventure, but this may be too much…

His job means the world to him…

Capturing jewel thieves will test them…

 

Magdala leaps at the opportunity to become a Pinkerton agent. Learning the position requires a paper marriage shocks but doesn’t deter her. Maggie plans to get an annulment before her unusual family learns of the situation. She’s determined to prove she has the grit to be an excellent investigator. But, why does she have to be partnered with the one man who has been rude to her?

Douglas “Cloud” Ryan loves being a Pinkerton agent. Otherwise, he’d never go along with his boss’ crazy plan to marry him to a female agent. He’s certain women have no business dealing with criminals. After barely surviving the stagecoach trip from Denver to San Antonio Maggie needs to stay in the background and let him solve the case. He has reasons to distrust women, especially women like Maggie.

Can Maggie and Cloud catch the jewel thieves plaguing an historic San Antonio hotel without becoming victims? Will they take a chance on the love growing between them?

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/an-agent-for-magdala-caroline-clemmons/1132839154?ean=2940193348184


 



When Lydia Wood is left at the altar, she believes something beyond her groom’s control has happened. Two years with no word have hardened her heart. She has to get away from her parents’ constant urging her to choose an acceptable husband and wed. Becoming a Pinkerton agent suits her plans.

Pinkerton Agent Jake Hunter has recovered from injuries that put him in a coma and a long convalescence. He realizes Lydia would have been injured had she been with him. He vows to distance himself from the one person who means the world to him to protect her. 

When they are paired for an investigation of bank robbers they must follow the trail to a dangerous hang out of men on the run. Can the two successfully pull off their charade and capture the robbers or will this trip confirm Jake’s worst fears?

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/an-agent-for-lydia-caroline-clemmons/1144462164?ean=2940179333944 

Thanks for stopping by.

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Kindness Still Matters by Bea Tifton

Kindness. It’s so important. So vital to our very existence. Some tiny kindness is like a butterfly fluttering its wings and causing a chain of events that lead to a hurricane. But in a good way. We hear “Pass it on,” but do we? In the isolation of social media and working  at home, entire days might pass without seeing another human being. Or those people become names on a screen and the comments section is open hunting season.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

I remember a little boy in one of my classes when I taught fourth grade. He was not a hard worker. Not a mean bone in his body, but no gumption or sense of responsibility. I talked to his mother several times that year. She was a dear woman and tried her best to light a fire under her son. On Valentine’s Day, I saw him in the hall with a huge teddy bear. His mother had him give it to me when she saw me. He was very grumpy and upset. I thought he was just embarrassed. Then later when we were having the Valentine’s Day party he said, “I wanted everyone to see that I got the biggest present so they’d be impressed.” It wasn’t about being kind. It was just a status thing. Suddenly, I really didn’t like that bear.





Don’t do something kind just so everyone can see you. When we do something kind for someone, our body actually releases endorphins.

And we’ve made a person's or some furry being’s life a tiny bit better. People like to pay for the next person’s coffee or fast food order. That made my week once! But maybe go to a school and offer to pay off some child’s outstanding cafeteria bill. Or donate to an animal shelter. One of the big box stores (you know which one) has affordable little blankets on sale this time of year. The dog isn’t going to care if his comforting blanket has Christmas trees on it, I promise.

Open the door for someone. People don’t smile at each other in stores anymore. Make a concentrated effort to smile and say, “Good morning” to people.

You may think one person can’t make a difference. First of all, you know you are doing whatever you can to be a kind person. That’s important and it’s okay to feel good about that. And you never know. One day I saw a homeless lady. She apologized for being in my way (she wasn’t) and shuffled away. I took her hands and said, “Bless you. You are a child of God. You matter.” She began crying and sobbed, “No one has ever told me I matter.”

What if someone had told her years ago?

 



 



Photo Credits: Pexels.com
Debadutta "Close Up Photo of Monarch Butterfly on Top of Flower"
Gerardo Manzano "Woman Sitting on the Sidewalk Embracing a Big Teddy Bear"  
Dmitry Ovsyannikov "Touching the Nose of a Dog Lying in a Cage"
MART PRODUCTION "Homeless Elderly Woman Holding a Placard"
Jill Wellington "Silhouette Photo of Woman Against During Golden Hour"