Bucket Gardens in May

"It's May, it's May, the lusty month of May
That lovely month when everyone goes blissfully astray
It's here, it's here, that shocking time of year,
When tons of wicked little thoughts merrily appear."
                Lusty Month of May - from Camelot

Despite the snow, despite the rain, May is the time when those with a bit of farming gene in their blood start thinking about spring gardens as they sit in their recliners in the evening and pour over stacks of seed catalogs. They are anxious and ready, and they know there is magic in the month of May. Soon it will be planting time and the excitement of growing vegetables and flowers is as exhilarating today as it was for their ancestors centuries and centuries ago. Seeds are united with soil, sun, air and water to create the miracle of life.

This year, I’ve convinced my husband into making me a bucket garden stand from two-by-four lumber. It consists of two-levels of raised shelves where five-gallon, plastic buckets—filled with soil, seeds, or plants—stand above ground to make gardening simple and easy. I’ve added a picture here, but it’s not my stand.

I’m pondering what plants I want to grow, but I know for sure that two buckets will be filled with tomato plants, one will be a basil plant, and another will be seeded with yellow squash. Since mine is an eight bucket stand, I have time to come up with some other choices, including one bucket that may be filled with flowers. I can’t wait to smell the soil, stand in the sunshine, and get some dirt under my fingernails. As soon as our creation is finished, I'll be sure to post a picture.

Now, all we have to do is chase this rainy, cold weather away, and let the lusty magical month of May arrive with all its blossoms, bird songs, and beauty.  

Coming June 24th - HUCKLEBERRY HAPPINESS 

                        Other books can be found on my Amazon Author Page

What We Know About Worrying

                 Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow—Swedish Proverb

Are you a person who worries? With the current problems we are now facing with the COVID-19, I’m certain there is a lot of worry going on over the entire world. However, worry does absolutely nothing for our physical, emotional, or spiritual health. It makes us anxiety-ridden and often prone to blow a small situation or thought into a giant one, casting a big dark shadow upon our lives.

Generally, if we dissect our worries, we’ll find that they are either something that happened in the past or something we think that might happen in the future. So, while we’re focusing on what is bothering us, we forget to live in the present.

There are many things we can do to dispel worry and anxiety. Psychologists believe that the first thing you must do is face your fear and then refrain from unrealistic thoughts. How? Focus on mindfulness, which is being in tune with things that are happening right now. Divert your attention by doing something different like going for a walk, cleaning a closet, listening to music, solving a crossword puzzle, or working on a creative project. Lastly, devise a plan or practice problem-solving. Focus on the things you can control in a less than perfect situation.

What is my favorite way of dispelling worry? I find a quiet place, usually outdoors on our patio swing, and clear my mind. It’s my form of meditating. I also talk to myself and repeat my very favorite saying: “Never let anyone steal your joy.” At times, I have had to revise the phrase to include: “Never let anyone (or anything) steal your joy.” Whatever best works for you, do it. Yes, these are unfortunate times, but we must not give up hope and allow ourselves to hide in the shadows of despair.  

Emily Dickinson said, “Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough.”

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Although I don’t have a release date yet for HUCKLEBERRY HAPPINESS,” the edits are finished. Here are the cover and blurb:
 
In 1885, Emelia Stone and her sister must learn to operate their deceased parents’ bakery in a small town in Pennsylvania. A large mortgage looms on their family home. When her sister leaves town, Emelia is forced to handle the bakery and burden alone.

The Pennsylvania Railroad is searching for the perfect dessert for its passengers. Joe Sawicki, owner of Sawicki Brothers Ice Company, is certain Emelia can win the contest and the hundred- dollar bonus if she creates a special ice cream to accompany her popular huckleberry pies. He has loved her since they played hooky in grade school to explore the company’s ice cave.
 
Can Emelia find courage to stand up to the town’s bully to win the competition? And will Joe have the mettle to express his undying love and win first place in Emelia’s heart?

Huckleberries and Ice Caves

I have just finished writing a short novella for a summer release where ice cream must be used somewhere in the story line. Although Huckleberry Happiness will stand alone, it will be part of the One Scoop or Two collection published by the Wild Rose Press. 

Huckleberry Happiness was fun to write because I wandered back to 1885 when refrigeration consisted of ice boxes, sometimes called ice closets. I also used huckleberries as the flavor, because in Pennsylvania, these little dark berries were picked and used in recipes like cultivated blueberries. The heroine, Emelia Stone, makes huckleberry pie for her bakery, but also plans to make a special ice cream dessert for a contest the Pennsylvania Railroad is having. 

An ice cave

I’ve always been interested in ice caves since one exists in Coudersport, Sweden Township, Pennsylvania. Originally, ice caves were used to store meat and for ice harvesting. So naturally, Joe Sawicki, my hero, has to own an ice company with his brother. He stores some of his ice in an ice cave and regularly delivers ice to Emelia Stone’s bakery to keep her perishable goods fresh.

How do ice caves work? Heavy cold air from outside cascades into the cave and warmer air inside the cave rise up and escapes, lowering the temperatures. The ice that forms inside makes it harder to warm the space and acts as a buffer that stabilizes the temperatures to freezing.

Although Huckleberry Happiness is still

in the production stage, here is the blurb:

In 1885, Emelia Stone and her sister must learn to operate their deceased parents’ bakery in the small town of Pennsylvania. A large mortgage looms on their family home. When her sister leaves town, Emelia is forced to handle the bakery and burden alone.

The Pennsylvania Railroad is searching for the perfect dessert for its passengers. Joe Sawicki, owner of Sawicki Brothers Ice Company, is certain Emelia can win the contest and the hundred- dollar bonus if she creates a special ice cream to accompany her popular huckleberry pies. He has loved her since they played hooky in grade school to explore the company’s ice cave.

Can Emelia find the courage to stand up to the town’s bully to win the competition? And will Joe have the mettle to express his undying love and win first place in Emelia’s heart? 


Link for Willie My, Love

Creative Writing as an Art and Craft

Creative writing is both an art and craft. It’s a set of intellectual skills that we, as writers, must possess. We are always searching out new ideas for stories. How do we do that? Through exploring our memories, using imagination, following and researching our curiosities, and observing our world.

Creative writing is also an art of self-expression and requires that writers share their thoughts and feelings. We must write imaginatively with similes, metaphors, sensory imagery, and more. And, we must also possess a perspective about ourselves, others, and the world around us.

Lastly, all writers must have a command of the language. They must be able to learn the rules, use grammar properly, and be aware of the guidelines and techniques of the genres they have chosen to create.

This has been a busy five months for me personally. I’ve been juggling three different works at one time. I was part of the Australia Burns, three-volume anthology series, where Wild Rose Press authors submitted stories with all the proceeds targeted for the Australia Red Cross to help victims affected by the wild fires. This was a wonderful project. I’m included in the second volume with a very short story titled, The Season of Withered Corn. For readers who like a variety of short stories, check out the various volumes.

Currently, I’m working on edits, cover art ideas, a tagline, and the blurb (short description) for the digital version only of Huckleberry Happiness, to be published by the Wild Rose Press this summer. It’s a short novella with ice cream woven into the story line and reflecting the overall theme, “One Scoop or Two.” It will be released, along with other authors’ works, for summer reading. All stories will be published as single digital novellas or short stories, not as an anthology. Please stay tuned.

And of course, I want to finish the last Christmas novella which will end my Musical Christmas trilogy series. It’s titled, Lucy ~ The Clarinetist.

Link for WILLIE, MY LOVE

Why do Writers Write?

Every time, when I meet people and they know I’m a writer, they always ask me how long it takes to write a novel. Most are surprised when I tell them it takes me a year to write a work of about 70,000 to 80,000 words. I am not a fast writer. Others write much more quickly than I do.

But there are many facets to writing that deplete your time, including rewriting the draft, editing, and allowing the manuscript to sit for a length of time so the writer can take a second look with a refreshed, erased mind, and a different outlook.

Writers don’t just write. We have to advertise, blog for ourselves, maintain websites, appear on other blogs, read, belong to chat rooms, have a presence on social media, and follow the latest industry trends. I also belong to a book club. These all infringe on writing time.

When I start a story, I hate to play with more than one draft, so I try to get the story line and plot fairly correct the first time. I write each chapter as a separate unit/document before bringing them all together in a complete manuscript and into one final document. This makes it easier to delete a chapter or rearrange all of them.

My biggest failing in writing is that I used to keep a sketchy log or bible of my characters, noting specifics about them, but I quit. Now, I often have to go back to the original manuscripts or print book and search for things like eye color, hair color, and other physical descriptions. I try to be sure I’m not overusing some characteristics or repeating names.

This month, I am showcasing Four White Roses for just $0.99 while I work on special advertising for it. This is the time to tell your friends with eBooks and Kindles to grab it. It’s still my favorite of all the contemporary books and novellas.

By the way, the best thing you can do to help a writer is to leave a review if you’ve read his/her book. And it doesn’t have to be a long one—just a sentence or two.

I’ll leave you with this question? Why do writer’s write?

They write--because they can’t not write. If they are away from their craft for too long, they get antsy and need to fill the hollow creative space in their brain with ideas and words.

FOUR WHITE ROSES - Just $0.99 during February

COFFEE ANYONE?

Coffee anyone?

I enjoy coffee. I drink coffee when I write. In fact, my morning is not complete without a cup, and my night ends with a decaffeinated cup. Although I don’t enjoy many flavored coffees, I do like to add a splash of a flavored liquid creamer to give my coffee a slightly different taste. Right now, our grocery store has come out with a new flavor, Marshmallow, with colorful bunnies on the container. I’m assuming it’s been released in preparation for Easter.

I personally salute goat herder Kaldi who, centuries ago in Ethiopia, discovered the wonderful coffee berries when his goats ate them, became energetic, and wouldn’t sleep at night. He shared his findings with the local monastery, and in turn, the local abbot helped spread the word east to the Arabian Peninsula.

By the 15^th century, coffee was being grown in Arabia, and by the 16^th century it was known in Persia, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey where it was enjoyed in homes, but also public coffee houses.

In the mid-1600s, it was brought to New Amsterdam, later called New York, and replaced tea in the New World when the colonists revolted against the heavy tax on tea imposed by King George III.

Most interesting to me is a quote from Thomas Jefferson: “Coffee…the favorite drink of the civilized world.” After learning Jefferson wrote that quote—and knowing he wrote The Declaration of Independence, I wonder how many cups of coffee was consumed by him as he created such an important document that changed our lives forever?

By the 17^th century, European travelers brought the beans to Europe, and coffee became a breakfast drink, replacing beer and wine. It was said the people who drank coffee, instead of alcohol, began the day energized and the quality of their work improved. <Who knew??? Just kidding! :) >

 

Missionaries, travelers, traders, and colonists continued to carry coffee seeds to new lands, and coffee trees were planted worldwide. By the end of the 18^th century, coffee had become one of the world’s most profitable export crops. After crude oil, it is the most sought commodity in the world.

What is your favorite drink in the morning or when working or when relaxing?

WILLIE, MY LOVE

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