Gratitude
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Sunday Snippet: The Pink Primroses, Daisies, and a Real Snippet Edition
When Husband and I got home from a week at the lake yesterday, we both sucked in a breath of awe–our primroses and daisies are blooming! The front gardens look glorious and lush with flowers and ferns and hostas–we are a festival of color and greenery! Take a look! I am not, as I have told you on more than one occasion, a gardener. I don’t like yardwork, I find weeding tedious and annoying, and watering and trimming a wicked necessity. But wow, doing the work is so worth the effort! My gardens are nothing compared to my lovely neighbors who work in theirs every day and their work…
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Sunday Snippet: The I Miss My Mom Edition
I was just in the kitchen putting baked beans together and it occurred to me how much of my Mom’s way of doing things I’ve brought to my own adulthood. Like, for instance, baked beans. Mother was always horrified at the idea of dumping a can of baked beans into a pot and warming it up right from the can. Instead, she drained the beans, put them in a casserole dish, added barbecue sauce, mustard, a chopped onion, and brown sugar. Then she placed two strips of bacon across the top in an X and put them in the oven. She baked them until they were dry enough that when…
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Sunday Snippet: The Who Is My Best Self Edition
This morning during my daily meditation, the guide asked us to consider that question: “Who am I when I’m at my best?” Who am I when I’m at my best? Wow, what a question. I think we, okay I, don’t stop my life to consider who I am, who I want to be, who I should be. I just push through…working, writing, doing laundry, making meals, being horrified by the state of our government, yet loving my family and friends and just trying to get through each day. Always behind everything I do or think or say is the knowledge that my heart isn’t working as well as other hearts…
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Sunday Snippet: The All Things Spring Edition
Okay, so maybe not ALL things, but I’ve got little to say today, I’m going to share some beauties from my yard (and my neighbor’s yard) with you. It’s been a long week. We spent most of it up at the lake getting ready for the contractor to come and tear out our old deck and start building the new one. That involved a lot of raking of old wet leaves and picking up sticks and brooming off the old deck of maple twirly things. I know we’ll be doing the twirly thing again next time we go up, but it was a noble effort on our part. I weeded,…
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Sunday Snippet: The Forgetting to Remember Edition
Or is it Remembering to forget… Anyway, yesterday, we drove up to the lake and opened up our cottage for the season. We don’t always open this early, but we’re having our deck replaced and are meeting the contractor on Sunday, so we decided, what the heck, we’ll just get opened up. The boat won’t go in until after the deck gets finished, which put us at late May for boating, but that’s fine. We still enjoy being here for the fellowship, the walks down to the docks to check out the bay, and the peace of our little slice of heaven. I had to make lists this past week…
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Sunday Snippet: The Velveteen Rabbit & Memories Edition
Right off, happy Easter and happy Passover to all who celebrate. Yesterday, when Mary and I went for our daily walk, we headed north toward the pool and clubhouse of our neighborhood. We have a great pool and really nice clubhouse–it’s where we do yoga every Wednesday evening and where we spend summer afternoons after I’m done writing and working. It’s truly one of the best blessings of living in “The Nest.” Anyway, to add to our step count, we walked, as we always do, around the parking lot to the tennis/basketball courts and then back out to the street. On the way, we stopped for a moment at the…
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Sunday Snippet: The And We’re Off… Edition
Liz and I are headed out this morning for our twice yearly writing retreat. She’s allergy sniffly, I’m at the end of a wicked sinus infection that still shows up as a headache now and again. We should be delightful company for one another. Fortunately, we’re both pretty hardy souls and we’ll make it just fine. Retreats are our time for writing, processing out loud, sharing story, and giving opinions. I can count on Liz to tell me if something is going to work or if I’ve gotten completely off-track. I do the same for her. It’s our sister-writer time and we’re pretty protective of it. This spring we’re going…
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Sunday Snippet: The March Lists Edition
When I’ve got nothing, which is the situation as I sit here in front of my computer this morning, pal Liz always recommends doing a list or two. I figure why not? I was thinking maybe favorites books lists would be fun. What do you think? I’ll start. Five Favorite Childhood Books (Too easy, but also fun to think about): The Bobbsey Twins books by Laura Lee Hope–I often pretended I was Nan, the oldest girl twin. The Nancy Drew books by Carolyn Keene–I loved her sporty little convertible and dreamed about a boyfriend like Ned (FYI, he’s fiction). The Jennifer Wish by Eunice Young Smith–amazing stories about a family who…
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Sunday Snippet: The Another THE END & a Cover Reveal Edition
What a wonderful feeling to be able to type “The End” at the finish line of a long arduous writing experience. I have another novel done—really, truly done! And my critique partners are on-board, one even said, “I love this story!” That is high praise indeed from a person whose writing I’ve admired for years. Help Wanted, Cowboy is out to betas right now, and I’ve been going through it in preparation for sending it to my editor next week. Since I got to THE END, how about I do a cover reveal for this book? The amazing Lee Hyat has given me another wonderful cover for Help Wanted Cowboy,…
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Author Spotlight: Welcome Western Romance Author Sarah Lamb!
Laura Delgado, you are Sarah’s giveaway winner! She’ll be in touch! One of the very best parts of becoming a filly on the Petticoats & Pistols blog has been making friends with new romance authors. Every one of them has been so kind and welcoming, so it’s a treat to be the one who welcomes one of them to the Author Spotlight! Sarah Lamb writes captivating characters and clean romance that’s anything BUT boring! From heartbreaking moments to heartwarming tales, get swept away in either historical or small town romance that pulls you in until the last page. Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia where she’s married to…