Appalachian Blessings
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Appalachian Thursday – Burning the Trash
I suppose it's odd to feel sentimental about trash. Even so, I caught a whiff of burning paper the other day and was transported back to childhood days and the chore of burning the household trash. There wasn't a trash pick-up service for a farm way out in the...
Best Year Ever? Plan On It!
I gave up making new year's resolutions a long time ago. This year, though, I felt like I needed to not so much resolve to do better, but take steps to get a grip on all the STUFF going on in my life. Work, writing, church, family . . . there's just so much to do, to...
Appalachian Thursday – Snow Day!
We had a snow day yesterday–a couple of inches of the white stuff, hardly anyone venturing out, bacon for breakfast, and a good book to read (not to mention one to write!). Ahhhhh. When I was a kid, of course, snow days were a bit more exciting. And in West Virginia...
2017 Reading Round-Up
While I love being a writer, one of the downsides is that it definitely cuts into my reading time. I used to read several books a month, often reading several at once, and now if I finish one or two I feel like I'm doing well. And then there are contests. If you enter...
Appalachian Thursday – Raw Water
I thought it was a joke. I'd seen a few internet-type things referencing "raw water," but paid them little mind. Then, on the morning news, they did an entire segment on this new trend. Seriously? The idea is to drink spring water that hasn't been filtered or...
Helping to Rescue Smokey Bear
In The Sound of Rain my hero, Judd, is shown a 1950s poster of Smokey Bear. His boss--who is also my heroine's father--wants Judd to serve as a sort of liaison with the forest service in their efforts to preserve forests. Although I only mention the poster and Smokey...
Seven Ways to Embrace Appalachia in 2018
Appalachia is kind of cool these days. Of course, I've been thinking it's pretty fantastic for quite some time now. Guess I was ahead of the curve. Or maybe just incredibly blessed to grow up there! If you, too, want to be Appalachian-chic, I thought I'd suggest a few...
First Footing (and other firsts)
My grandmother used to pay attention to who first stepped over her threshold on the first day of the new year, claiming that person set the household's luck for the coming year. This is likely based on the Scotts tradition of first-footing. For the best luck, Scottish...
Meet Sarah
