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A to Z Challenge: “M”ystery authors
There are many types of mystery novels – amateur or professional sleuth, police procedural, thriller, suspense or romantic suspense, historical, private eye, noir, crime, caper, etc. I grew up reading Mary Stewart and Victoria Holt mysteries (a mix of romantic/historical suspense) and would check them out of the library as soon as they arrived, in hardback! I like a wide variety of authors and genres, but I’m highlighting some of my favorite cozy/amateur sleuth mystery writers in today’s blog. Cozies were made popular by Agatha Christie, usually contain a bloodless crime and a victim that won’t be missed. And, they are usually as much character as plot driven, especially if…
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A to Z Challenge: “I”nterspecies coexistence or how cats and dogs get along!
My husband and I have several cats (they were mine and he adopted them). We’d been married 10 years when I attended a Plants and Pets in the Park fundraiser for the Parke-Vermillion County Humane Society, to pick up a few spring plants. I found a few along with an 8-pound puppy that I couldn’t live without. A few weeks later, we adopted “Hershey” who they predicted would be about 45 pounds when full-grown. He is now 70+ pounds of pure love (it could be all the Cheez-Its and Twizzlers that my husband shares with him). A year after we adopted Hershey, my friend Sandy and I rescued a two-pound…
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A to Z Challenge: “G”ood, good Father
Continuing a bit with yesterday’s post of “encouragement”, I had to share one of my favorite songs. I can be in the car, streaming WBGL at work or home and this song begins to play at the appropriate time. It warms my heart and soul. Chris Tomlin sings the version that I know but the song has a neat history behind it with its original writers. The song was written by Pat Barrett and Tony Brown. Tony grew up without a dad so the only person he’s ever called father is God. I had a very loving, warm, hard-working father who had an awesome sense of humor. He loved photography…
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A to Z Challenge: “F”orsythia
O forsythia, forsythia, wherefore art thou Forsythia? (I don’t know why but this plant’s name just seems to lend itself to Shakespeare!) Why are all the springtime blooms bright and cheery? I’d like to believe it’s to remind us that winter is on its way out, and that summer is coming! I talked about the daffodil in all its glory! Another bright yellow flowering shrub to quickly shake off the winter chill is the forsythia plant. Its slightly bell-shaped blooms can range from buttery yellow to warm gold. Did you know it’s part of the olive family? I had no idea. They were named after English horticulturist William Forsyth (1737-1804).…
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St. Francis
I’ve always loved animals. When I was young, we had turtles, a Welsh Corgi and my parents raised and showed English Springer Spaniels. Today, my husband and I have one dog, Hershey (although he prefers to think of himself as a person), and four cats (three are rescues). I shared this love of animals with a good friend of mine, Becky, who passed away last year from lymphoma. She was with me when I spied Hershey as a puppy and was supportive of Joe and me adopting him. Did you know that St. Francis of Assisi, who lived from 1182-1126, felt he could communicate with animals and that he was…
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“L”ife in the country
I appreciate where I live, in Terre Haute, Ind. Recently I saw an episode of TNT’s Cold Justice where the prosecutor and detective reopened an old murder case and proceeded to solve the mystery, from our town. During the episode, they referred to us as a small town. Hmmm, I’d never considered Terre Haute a small town, even though I used to live in Denver, Colo., and knew it was quite different. The more I pondered this fact, the more I began thinking about those things that happen “in the country” that you don’t experience in a bigger city. These are just a few of my thoughts: 1. Roadside food.…
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“Z”zzzzz’s
We live in Terre Haute, Ind., with a population estimate (as of 2011) of 60,961 (okay, I have to ask – where did they get the “1” from?) It’s a fairly small town compared to my birthplace of Denver, Colo. (estimate of 619,968). It’s amazing to me the number of sounds that we had to get used to, after moving here. Especially at night. When you’re trying to sleep. Photo thanks to en.gtwallpaper.com First, there are a lot of trains going through Terre Haute. I can’t emphasize “a lot” enough! There are trains coming and going. There are trains stopped, slowly moving forward or slowly moving backward. After awhile, the…
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“Y”ou said it!
Thanks to yorkshire_rose via Fanpop.com for photo. In my recent research on the Internet, I found the most wonderful resource. It’s called idioms.yourdictionary.com. It’s a website where you can find the origin or meaning of those catch phrases that we bandy about like sailors. Here are a few examples: Piece of cake – I use this phrase to mean that something is easy to do or take care of. According to my newfound genius website, this “expression originated in the Royal Air Force in the late 1930s for an easy mission, and the precise reference is as mysterious as that of the simile easy as pie.” I think it means…
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“S”trawberries
My mom, grandma, dad, brother – everyone in my family liked strawberries. Everyone of course except me. Strawberry shortcake was a family favorite and I would scrunch up my face, disappointed that we weren’t having something with chocolate in it, or cookies, or ice cream. I would gag if someone made me eat strawberries. And, as far as calories were concerned, I thought strawberries were a complete waste of space, both inside my tummy and on the plate or in the bowl. Strawberries were almost as bad as peaches. Peaches were the worst because they could be slimy, stringy and squishy – three attributes that weren’t not appetizing to me…
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“N”o, no, a thousand times no!
Are you familiar with this saying? I thought it was from a Shakespeare play but I discovered that it’s a song title from a short, animated 1935 comedy/melodrama starring Betty Boop. Betty is the heroine and of course there is a moustache-twirling villain and a dashing hero. Ms. Boop sings the song to the villain after he tries tempting her with a large diamond ring, beautiful fur, etc. Why did I choose this saying for my Blogging from A to Z “N” challenge? Because lately I’ve had a hard time saying “no.” I’m a people-pleaser so saying “no” does not come naturally. It’s not unnatural for me to be busy…
