THANKSGIVING ~*~ GETTING READY FOR WINTER

Thanksgiving is the time for us to individually be thankful for many things in our lives. It's my favorite holiday of the year. It’s a special day when we don’t have to go into a meltdown mode chasing down the perfect gifts for everyone on our Christmas list. The real gift is simply being able to gather family and friends together to eat, talk, share stories, and enjoy all those tempting dishes—like to-die-for corn bread stuffing, pecan and pumpkin pies with mounds of whipped cream, and the ever-famous turkey baked to a golden brown in the oven or a deep fryer.

In the northern states, Thanksgiving also is a reminder that Old Man Winter is on his way with flying fat snowflakes and sparkling white snowbanks. For many, the national holiday also heralds the start of the holiday season as stores and shops blare carols, hymns, and contemporary songs of Christmas from their speakers. And Christmas music is something I can get behind, even if I dislike shopping for presents. 

As a reminder, my “Musical Christmas Series,” consisting of three novellas, is available. Each female in the three-book series plays a musical instrument and has a story to tell. My first one, JUNE ~ The Pianist, is followed by ADELENE ~ The Violinist, and finally , LUCY ~ The Clarinetist. All are available on Amazon. 

 LINK:   June ~The Pianist 

          Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy the holidays!   

"Reasons for Thanksgiving"

To have food enough and a place to dwell,
To have work to do and to do it well,

To find the comfort when things go wrong
In a bit of prayer or a snatch of song,

To know good books and share their worth,
To plant bright flowers in rich brown earth,

To have true friends--this is living
And reason enough for Thanksgiving.

~Edith Shaw Butler

OCTOBER GAVE A PARTY

 October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came…
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band. 
                                                ~George Cooper, "October's Party"  

Autumn has walked across our Pennsylvania mountains and spilled out all the seasonal smells like a rich perfume. This is time when red-cheeked apples and sweet wood smoke give off a familiar fragrance that is a harbinger of things to come. We can smell the earth—the dried cornstalks, the pungent aroma of woods and pine, and the musky scent of pumpkins and gourds. Along the fences, grapes on withering vines fill the air with an earthy bouquet. 

But there’s a certain sadness to autumn. It’s a warning that the year is ending, that we’re growing older. We’re maturing. It is a time to contemplate the reason for our being and for our purpose. It’s a time to be thankful for our lives, to re-evaluate our errors, to realign our goals, and to strive towards that which makes us happy . . . and our world a sweeter place.

****     

Above are the poem and excerpts from my very first online blog, for October 2011, fourteen years ago. Since graduating decades ago from Point Park College with a degree in journalism and communications, I’ve realized my entire life has been dedicated to pounding the typewriter or computer keys to string words into sentences and sentences into paragraphs. 

I’ve written for television, radio, education, industry and business. I’ve composed copy for commercials and public service announcements for radio, television, and news outlets. I’ve written grants, curricula, and news articles. I’ve taxed by brain while collecting facts for nonfiction, and stretched my imagination for fiction. I’ve written with tight deadlines of only a few hours; and I’ve procrastinated for days, knowing I had a loose lengthy deadline. 

All writers know the feeling of rejection—as well as the joys of being published. Awards are also wonderful to receive, but there is no better feeling for writers than the minute they finish a tough piece of writing, and they know they’ve given one hundred percent of their time, energy, and talent. The elation, which may only be a smile or nod or sigh to the outsider, can’t compare to the joy and relief they feel as the thoughts in their heads do a happy dance. 

Someone once asked me what I thought were the main ingredients needed to become a writer. There are many, but personally for me, the main abilities are curiosity, an imagination, persistence, and a love for reading. 

As October brings us falling leaves, falling temperatures, and maybe even falling snow, I leave you with this quote from Somerset Maugham:

It’s a funny thing about life; 

if you refuse to accept anything but the best, 

you very often get it. 

 

 

 

FINDING LOVE IN PINE VALLEY  

 

Released this month:  

eBook/Digital - $2.99

Print - 6.99 

 

FINDING LOVE IN PINE VALLEY - is finally finished!

 Finding Love in Pine Valley is finally finished.

I’ve been trying to get this second chance mystery and romance finished and released for almost two years now. There are over twenty-five reasons why a person procrastinates. I can truly believe five of mine are:  Task aversion, distractions, feeling overwhelmed, indecisiveness, and decision fatigue.

However, there is one reason, which is wrapped up like a ball of tangled string, that affects me as a writer the most. It’s the fear of having existing mistakes in the manuscript—whether they are spelling, grammar, or development errors. Luckily, I have a good friend who is a wonderful editor. Yet, my insecurities still exist.  FINDING LOVE IN PINE VALLEY will be released on September 14^th, and there is a pre-order for those who would like to purchase it early. 

It is: https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Love-Pine-Valley-romance-ebook/dp/B0FNS296JP

 Cost for ebook/digital is $2.99 and print is $6.99. Enjoy!  

The back cover blurb is below. I hope you enjoy it.

                       FINDING LOVE IN PINE VALLEY   

 Lena Starron knew that leaving her two-timing ex-husband and her job in New York as a writer would be a challenge. Starting over always is. But she never thought she’d return to her old hometown in Pennsylvania where two new jobs awaited her, only to discover she had no place to live. 

Wyatt Taylor of Taylor Tree Farm hired Lena to organize and open a new café while she also worked writing publicity for Pine Valley’s 200th Anniversary Celebration. Even though it has been five years since his painful break-up with his fiancé, Wyatt hasn’t been able to get his life or his home in order. When he learns Lena needs a place to live and work, he offers office space and room in his house.

To help raise money for town’s Recreational Park and its much-needed new playground equipment, Lena agrees to organize a two-day, fall Jamboree at the tree farm. When her expensive, antique jewelry box is stolen, she must determine whether it’s for true monetary value—or does someone want to see her fail and leave town. 

Together, as Wyatt and Lena untangle the mysterious web surrounding the robbery, will sparks fly? And will they be brave enough to find their second chance at love?

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

The Dog Days of Summer in Pennsylvania are those hot, humid days at the end of July and on into August when the temperatures reach the high eighties into the nineties. Growing up on our farm in Pennsylvania, the Dog Days meant hurrying to get the last fields of first cutting hay, dried, baled and into the barn.

Haying season in the Northeast typically begins in early June and continues through the summer and early fall, with multiple cuttings possible depending on the weather. Despite the blazing sun, the tiredness of the work, and the prickly hayseeds and stalks adding to the discomfort, summer and haying season always brought warm memories to store and hold dear.

Before we bought a baler, my father first used an old horse-drawn hayloader attached to the back of his 1932 flat bed truck that was once a milk truck. The driver of this set-up slowly maneuvered the truck up the rows of hay, making sure the tires straddled the raked windrows. The hayloader with its many tines grabbed the hay and moved it upward where my father, using a pitchfork, spread it evenly on the load.  It was then unloaded, lifted off the truck by a pulley and large fork on a track inside the barn.                                                     

From first grade onward, I was the driver. My brother had been born in January, so my mother was busy tending to him. I loved the outdoors, smell of fresh dried hay—and I loved machinery and its rumbling sounds, despite the smell of gas and oil.

Because the driver can’t see the load once the window opening behind him is covered with hay, I learned to listen to my father’s shrill whistle which meant to immediately stop. I would have to half-standup, jump one foot on brake and the other on the clutch. Usually, his whistle was for various reasons like he needed more time to spread the hay about, or a black racer snake came up onto the load and had to be pitched off, or the loader wasn’t operating correctly.

There were many, many things I learned living on a farm. Too many to tell here. But the first one is that farming is dangerous. You learn to follow directions early in life and do as you’re told. Breaking a rule can result in injury or death.

Many people ask whether it was tiresome and hard. Yes, at times. Especially during the Dog Days. After all, who’s fond of working in 90+ degree heat with hayseeds sliding down your back and sweat running into your eyes?

But it was also fun. And at the end of the day, there was always the satisfaction of a chore well done. . . even if you were just a kid. 

IT'S CHRISTMAS IN JULY!  

HERE IS A LINK TO "JUNE - THE PIANIST"  

JUST $0.99

A SALUTE TO JULY!

“I drifted into a summer nap under the hot shade of July, 

serenaded by a cicada lullaby,

to drowsy-warm dreams of distant thunder.”  

—Terri Guillemets* 

I think I might be the only person who sadly hates to see the end of June. For me, it means we’ve moved one-third closer to the end of summer as we enter the Dog Days of Summer and July.

I’ve always thought of summer as June, July, and August. Oddly, I have never considered September as a month belonging to the season, yet a portion of it is. I think it’s a throwback from youth when we started school the end of August. Summer was a time when we were free from long bus rides, lugging books from school to home and back, doing homework, and abiding by a strict daily routine. Summer was truly a time to smell the roses in bloom and eat handfuls of sun-warmed berries growing wild along the roads or in farm pastures.

July is the month of movement. We have the Fourth of July to celebrate, complete with outdoor get-togethers, music, and sparkling fireworks. In the U.S., the month is packed with fairs, festivals, carnivals, and arts and crafts shows. There are celebrations for almost every day of the month, including special days for hotdogs, raspberries, and cheesecake. July 23^rd is National Day of the Cowboy while July  27th is Take Your Houseplants for a Walk Day.         

While July’s average temperatures make it the hottest month of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, it is also the coldest month on average in the Southern Hemisphere. In the northern states like Pennsylvania, July is a time for vacationing and trips to our nation’s beaches, rivers, and parks to engage in activities like swimming, boating, water skiing, hiking, geo-caching, and more.

July is a unique month with its ruby gemstone, symbolizing love, passion and courage. The larkspur and water lily are the state flowers. The full moon in July this year occur on the 10^th and is called the “Buck Moon” because the antlers of male deer (bucks) are in full-growth mode at this time. July is often considered the middle of summer where there is nothing like its sunny days to remind you of how wonderful life can be.                                       

*(NOTE: Terri Guillemets is the pen name
of Terri A. Woodhull,a quotation anthologist
born in 1973 in Phoenix, Arizona.)

 

       LINK to my AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE  

JUNE - Is Busting Out All Over!

"It was June, and the world smelled of roses.

 The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside."

– Maud Hart Lovelace 

American Children’s Book Author (1822-1980)

There is something special in the air and over the lands in Pennsylvania when June waltzes in with her bouquet of vibrant flowers and lush grasses that cover the lawns and fields. The entire world seems to come alive. Trees and bushes wearing their timid light green foliage change into their summer clothes of a deep green. Despite the constant rains of May, the sun peeks out. Overhead the sky is colored a soft cozy blue with fluffy white clouds floating around.

Our backyard has become a haven for our feathered friends who have arrived early. We have chickadees in a birdhouse under our patio, finch nests in our hanging ferns, bluebirds in a box on one of our fences, robins under our deck, and sparrows in a second birdhouse nearby. And let’s not forget the doves. They have taken a spot in a tree in the neighbor’s yard and are cooing back and forth to each other as early as five o’clock every morning. The chirps, cheeps, whistles, and warbles of our feathered fellows merge to make up a summer chorus filled with melodies. 

I have to admit, the smell of drying clover and other field grasses is one of summer’s most pleasant scents, along with June roses in full bloom. And who can ignore the light fragrances of lavender or sun-kissed red raspberries when they drift out into the breeze?

 

Growing up in the country, this was the time of the year when we farm kids all uttered a deep sigh as soon as we heard the sound of the tractor and its mower heading out to the nearest hay field. The odors of gasoline, motor oil, and baler twine became a common smell. Soon, we knew we’d be tossing hay bales onto wagons and into hay lofts.

June is my favorite month. It’s clean, new, and the start of summer and warmer weather. It’s vibrant vegetation. Sizzling sunshine. And, by the way, it’s my birthday! 

 

                                                 LINK to my AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE 

SPECIAL SALE ~*~ UP ON THE ROOF AND OTHER STORIES ~*~ Now Only 99 Cents - May 25 - 31, 2025

                            

                                    LINK:   UP ON THE ROOF AND OTHER STORIES 

BLURB:

   “Up on the Roof and Other Short Stories” is a unique collection of nineteen humorous and serious short stories that explores the lives and relationships of the young and old.

           

      A grizzled, old farmer, Pop, climbs up on his farmhouse roof to meditate, check his chimney and antenna, and ends up talking to God on his portable phone in “Up on the Roof”.

           

      In “Bald Revelations,” Maureen is convinced her husband of twenty years is planning to leave her when he purchases ten new pairs of black socks and starts singing Beach Boy songs. 

       Greta Nielsen of Inuit heritage is searching for an amulet to remind herself of home, but her money-conscious boyfriend keeps thwarting her efforts in “The Amulet”.

        Storyteller Judy Ann Davis weaves her award-winning tales to make her readers laugh, maybe cry, but always able to relate to the unique characters and the dilemmas they encounter.