Ketch-Up Day

 

How are you?  What have you been doing?

We took the train to Philadelphia and celebrated Thanksgiving with our lovely daughter and son-in-law. The train was over an hr late getting in which put us on it for over twelve hrs and a good portion of that was spent with no working toilet in our car. Next year I think we are either going to try the sleeper or fly. 

Views from the train:

 

 

Thanksgiving.

Dinner as always was wonderful. We had a cheese board and crackers, and Christmas movies to see us through the day till dinner.

 

The squirrels and birds ate well too.

We went to Longwood Gardens Friday. (Pictures to follow.) Then headed home Saturday.

A few days later  we woke up to this:

Nori came to us Thursday.  We already have a problem. I caught her drinking my coffee. 

Frank is as big as she is.

Callie is still unnerved and is not impressed that her spot on my lap has been usurped  by the interloper.

That's it for now. Hoping to get one more post out before the Holidays. How are you doing?

Be well.

Ketch-Up Day

 I'm taking a Holiday Hiatus for a week or so.If you celebrate Thanksgiving, wishing you a wonderful one with plenty of tofurky:) And to those that don't celebrate, have a grand week.

 

Weekend Wishes

 

Writerly Wednesday AND Did You Know

 What's your synonym, example or definition for:

 Example: The sun warmed her face and the zephyr ruffled her hair. 

 

AND

 

Did you know, that not only is a tiger's fur striped, its skin is as well?

 

Tigers not only have stripes on their fur but also on their skin - NSSB

Ketch-up Day

 

Not much going on here except.....

We are going to be getting a new addition to the family after Thanksgiving.

Meet Dori.

She was dumped out in the country and found her way to our friend's house.

No bigger than she is, I think Frank could take her:)

After Penny, I wasn't in a big hurry to get another dog, but she ticks all the boxes. Mainly, she gets along with cats, doesn't bark, is housebroken and laid back. The HH is naming her Nori after one of the characters in Rings of Power. She looks like a Nori, doesn't she?

Excuse the mess. My only excuse is that the plant is on top of the bookcase where I can't reach it.  I just held my camera over my head and took the shot.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it:)

What's going on in your corner of the world?

Weekend Wishes

 

AND

Writerly Wednesday AND Did You Know

 

What is your synonym, sentence or meaning for:

 Meaning, sentence, example: Widdershins is the opposite of clockwise.  

AND

 

Did you know, the term Big Wig comes from the 18th century when those with the most political pull wore the biggest wigs.

 

More information at: Learn The History Behind These 66 Commonly Used Old Sayings | Bored Panda

Ketch-Up Day

 

Not much newsworthy here. Writing wise, I'm in the middle of my second draft of Reuben Hayes.

The inhabitants of the Eternal Garden are closing up their blooms and their leaves are dropping, preparatory to taking a long winter's nap .

 

Remember when I got this? Spring I think. I was so excited.

Well, I only got a couple of handfuls of dirt out of it, so I've went back to my tried and true method. A wash tub.

AND

Louie

AND

This little beauty is from California.

Thanks, Denise.

What's going on in your corner of the world?

Weekend Wishes

 

AND

AND

IWSG Day AND Did You Know

 

The first Wednesday of every month is officially IWSG day. IWSG was formed by Ninja Captain Alex Cavanaugh. Members post about their doubts and fears, discuss struggles and triumphs, and offer words of encouragement to others who are struggling.

 

Twitter handle: @TheIWSG  

Hashtag: #IWSG 

 

The awesome co-hosts for the  November 6 posting of the IWSG are Diedre Knight, Lisa Buie Collard , Kim Lajevardi, and JQ Rose!

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional

 

November 6 question - What creative activity do you engage in when you're not writing?

My other creative outlet is gardening. Adding plants and moving them around. And playing with my paver path, adding half-moon extensions, etc. AND I like to snap pictures😊 What’s yours?

October/November Reviews in no particular order.

* Disclaimer. If I run into an occasional typo, I ignore them and don't factor them into my review.

 

 

WHO MOURNS ELECTRA by C. W. Hawes

Murder again abounds in the 21^st book of the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles.

This page-turning story is built around Pastor Ember Cole and her soon-to-be husband Harry Thurgood owner of the Really Good Wood-Fired Coffee Shop.

Crime is still rampant in the small Texas town of Magnolia Bluff, and Ember and Harry find themselves smack dab in the middle of it when several of the towns’ citizenry are brutally murdered and the police have their collective eyes on Ember and Harry for the murders. The two will now have to do some serious sleuthing to clear their names.

I thoroughly enjoyed following these two amateur detectives through the homes and streets of Magnolia Bluff as they track down the killer. What made it such a fun read was the masterful job of world-building and character creation the author generated, all the while drawing you into a whodunit filled with murder and mayhem. Great job, author C. W. Hawes.

Available at Amazon

 

 

JOHN TYLER America's 10th President (ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRESIDENTS SECOND SERIES) by Betsy Ochester

This was well-written and touched on the salient points of John Tyler's life. Best of all, it held my interest😉

Available at Amazon

 

BORN FOR REVENGE by Staci Troilo

Mean girls are getting kidnapped.

Mean girls have been kidnapped and ended up in the cold case files. When one of them turns up alive Detective Holden Walsh and Cabe Paxton rush to discover who the kidnapper is, who else he’s kidnapped, and if they too are still alive.

 

Ms. Troilo checked all the boxes on this one. The characters are compelling. The world is well-developed, allowing the reader to step into the story, walk the city streets and sit beside the characters for a meal. Best of all, in my humble opinion, the action doesn’t let up. The author puts her foot down on the pedal at the beginning of the story and doesn’t let up till the end. It held my interest all the way through.

 

Highly recommended for thriller readers or those who love a good tale.  

Available at Amazon

 

 

MIRACLES AND GHOSTS by D. J. Finn

A Treasure Trove of Christmas Stories with a Twist.

So many treasurers in this wonderful compilation of ghostly Christmas stories. It opens with a novelette about a young woman who as a child lost the people who mattered most. Then is able to recapture the joy of Christmas years later. Family and forgiveness figure large in WORDS HURT. In THE CHRISTMAS WALK a lonely young woman meets a mysterious little boy when out walking Christmas Eve. Another of my favorites was MIRACLE IN ER where miracles and Santa show up at the ER. And last and possibly the most intriguing, RED TRUCK about a woman who keeps having flashbacks of being hit by a red truck. Reminiscent of Groundhog Day though much more eerie.

All in all, a wonderful collection of reads for the season, written by an author who specializes in bringing the phantasmal to life. An easy five stars.

Available at Amazon

 

JUST ONE GOODBYE: Poems from the heart by Balroop Singh

Ms. Singh is a talented poet whom I’ve been reading for several years. JUST ONE GOODBYE is the best thing she’s written. I found reading it a humbling experience. It’s both raw and heartbreaking. I can’t begin to imagine her pain. I can only mourn, as she shares the loss of her husband—her soulmate—in this book of prose. Every poem in the book is filled with imagery, emotion and awareness. If you enjoy her poetry, prose in general, or have lost someone dear, I recommend this read. In fact, I can’t recommend it highly enough.

 Available at Amazon

 

AND

Did you know that William Shakespeare invented at least one hundred and thirty five phrases used in the English language including: 'All of a sudden.'

 

For more information:  135 Phrases Coined By William Shakespeare - Phrase Finder

 

 

Ketch-Up Day

 To all U.S. Citizens that are eighteen and older: If you haven't already, I urge you to

Your Weekend Read: MIRACLES AND GHOSTS

 A warm welcome and shout out to great friend and author, D.L. Finn.

 

 Thank you for kicking off release day and the beginning of the blog tour, Sandra! You’re beyond appreciated! 

Don’t miss the note at the end of this blog post.

 

Miracles and Ghosts: A Christmas Collection was going to be a single Christmas short story. I had a title and a time frame, but A Perfect Ghostly Christmas grew into a novelette and other stories kept coming. In the novelette, Julie inherited her grandparent’s house and property after being put into foster care at eight years old. An accident on Christmas day took them away from her, after already losing her parents. Julie, now a teacher, has returned to sell the house.

The story’s setting is in the Sierra Nevada foothills where I live. I dipped into our area’s lush history from the Gold Rush.

When we bought our house in Nevada City over 30-plus years ago, we found out we didn’t own the mineral rights to our property—only the top few feet. That was fine. There were absolutely no plans for mining on our part. However, our area is abundant with scattered mine shafts, and the Magical Trail has a large sunken hole. I like to think, it’s an old mine shaft, but it could be anything.

But what if Julie owned those mineral rights? What if there was gold at the end of the rainbow, she saw upon arriving at her old childhood home? I weaved that idea into the story. How could Julie be aware of this? That’s where a ghost comes in, but where there’s money, greed isn’t too far behind either. The heart of the story, though, is family and getting a second chance at Christmas.

 

Blurb:

Miracle and Ghosts: A Christmas Collection’s eight tales bring light in the darkest of circumstances. In the novelette, A Perfect Ghostly Christmas, Julie has survived the foster care system and finally comes home. She now owns her grandparents’ house and has received an offer that appears too good to be true. On top of that, the family she felt had abandoned her during her difficult times has reentered her life. But it’s the otherworldly experiences that lead her to something her grandparents left behind. This discovery changes everything and opens a door to danger. The seven short stories explore fractured families, a widower’s loneliness, a mall shooting, financial struggles, strained relationships, woodland kittens, and a woman haunted by a red truck. Whether it’s a ghost, an angel, or Santa, some unseen force is there to provide help when needed. A reminder in the busy holiday season or anytime we are never alone, and miracles are possible.

 

Excerpt:

A Perfect Ghostly Christmas Novelette

December 1986

Julie Sandals pulled in to the gravel driveway of the old ranch house where she used to live with her grandparents. It stood defiantly against the harsh winter elements of the Sierra Nevada foothills. Years had dulled the cheerful yellow paint. Someone had boarded up a broken window like slapping on a Band-Aid, and rusty moss had taken up residence on the roof. The landscape was slowly reclaiming what once was a loving family home.

She sighed, threw the old Chevy Nova into park, turned the key, and heard it shudder off.

“What am I supposed to do, Grams? I wish you could send me a sign or perhaps a—”

Julie leaned forward and wiped the dirty windshield with her lime-green fleece sleeve. A pristine rainbow had appeared, ending in the once-thriving apple orchard behind the house. “Wow! A perfect rainbow! I remember you loved them, Grams, and said seeing them meant something good was coming. Are you trying to tell me there’s a pot of gold waiting for me at the end?”

A hollow laugh escaped Julie’s lips, betraying her true feelings. Grams was dead and wasn’t sending her rainbows or anything else. Still, odd things always happened around her, like items vanishing and reappearing where she had just searched. It meant nothing and hadn’t changed her situation since the day her world shifted.

The memory of her last Christmas at this house kept Julie going through the dark years of foster care and the loneliness of college. Now she was a responsible, logical adult with a shiny new teaching degree and an old house she inherited last month on her twenty-fifth birthday. Only this building, the land, and $152 after the lawyers’ fees remained from those who had loved her. Her heart wanted to hang on to it, but how could she?

She longed to return to her innocent eight-year-old self, still believing that Santa existed and everything would be all right. But nothing was all right, and she had no power to alter it.

“If only that hadn’t happened. If only . . . ”

 AMAZON LINK

https://www.amazon.com/Miracles-Ghosts-Collection-D-L-Finn-ebook/dp/B0DDWFNR1D/

 Fun Finn Facts

1.      I live in an area that was a part of the Gold Rush and includes Malakoff Diggins and Empire Mine. I enjoy hiking in both areas and taking in all the history.

2.      I’m determined to find a gold nugget someday in the Yuba River. But, in the meantime, I enjoy collecting all the other pretty rocks.

 

About the Author

D. L. Finn is an independent California local who encourages everyone to embrace their inner child. She was born and raised in the foggy Bay Area, but in 1990 she relocated with her husband, kids, dogs, and cats to Nevada City, in the Sierra foothills. She immersed herself in reading all types of books but especially loved romance, horror, and fantasy. She always treasured creating her own reality on paper. Finally, surrounded by towering pines, oaks, and cedars, her creativity was nurtured until it bloomed. Her creations include children’s books, adult fiction, and poetry. She continues on her adventure with an open invitation to all readers to join her.

Note: There’s a chance to win one of two $10 Amazon gift cards just by leaving a comment! I will randomly pick two winners from the comments during this blog tour. Good luck and thank you for stopping by.