She's Back!!!

 She's back. Actually, not she, it's me. I'm back. After an absence of a decade or so, I'm resurrecting this blog. The truth is that I've missed writing it, and I've missed the interactions with so many fellow bloggers and other people. 

On Fridays, we'll have Funny Fridays, featuring funny signs and funny headlines. 

Currently, I'm working on four mysteries and one nonfiction. If someone ever said writing a book is easy, that someone was wrong, wrong, wrong. It's a whole lot of work! So, occasionally on here, I'll update my progress. 

Another goal is to share information about other authors and would-be authors, along with descriptions of books I'm reading and enjoying. 

Oh, there'll be other stuff, too. Maybe recipes. Maybe stories about my grandsons. Maybe current events without being partisan.

I'd love to have you follow and share your comments!

We're Back - With Bells On!

The self-imposed approximately two-month sabbatical is almost over. Yippee! Ring those bells!  I've missed blogging - the writing and the reading. 

We've spent the last two months concentrating on other ventures: building inventory in our two new businesses, Kudzu Keepsakes (www.facebook.com/kudzukeepsakes) and Spitting Images Gallery (www.facebook.com/spittingimagesgallery.) Loads of fun!

At Kudzu Keepsakes, we specialize in antiques, uniques and vintage items of all sorts.  Roseville Pottery to Spode's Billingsley Rose china, buck saws to wagon wheels, vintage clothing to license plates/tags, Quimper pottery to cut-to-clear cased crystal. 

 

Just a Few Things . . .

            A short while back, I received a large manila envelope in the mail, and what a surprise I found inside.

            There was a certificate saying I had been given an honorary membership in the Lutheran Men in Mission in South Carolina.  It was accompanied by a lapel pin. 

            The notation on the certificate said this was given for my service on Synod Council (SC Synod of ELCA) and for my newspaper column! (I usually post a copy of the weekly column on this blog, including this post, and on Facebook.) 

             Imagine that!  This was a complete shock because I’ve only known of three people who read my column.  Maybe there’s a fourth one out there somewhere.

            Anyway, thanks so much to the Lutheran Men in Mission and thanks to the four or so people who read – or at least skim – the column each week.

            Now, on to other matters, specifically this question: If you could create a holiday or observance, what would it be?  The reason I ask is that next week – on the 26^th – we have “Make Up Your Own Holiday Day.”  So, what would yours be?

            Quite frankly, it’s hard to think of something that doesn’t have its own day of celebration already. 

            Seriously.  Just in the second half of March, there are days set aside for these:

Pencil Day,

Mule Day,

Niagara Falls Runs Dry Day,

Barnum & Bailey Day,

 National “She’s Funny That Way” Day,

National Mom & Pop Business Owner’s Day,

Pecan Day,

Grass Is Always Browner On The Other Side Of The Fence Day,

Near Miss Day,

National Day of Unplugging,

National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day,

International Goof-off Day,

Corn Dog Day,

National Common Courtesy Day

 and even Viagra Day. 

And this is just a partial list.

            Like I said, it’s hard to find something not already given its special day.

            Maybe the four readers of my column can celebrate “Hold Your Breath and Read This Column Day.”   Celebration or not, thanks to you four, wherever you are! 

            So, what would YOUR day be?

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Sex, Sewers, Lawyers & More!

More of these coming soon!

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Celebratin' - Novels, Horns, Peanut Butter & Banana Pudding

Have you celebrated yet? 

            November is National Novel Writing Month.  I’m guessing you probably didn’t hunker down and write a novel this month.  At least not yet.  I didn’t either.

            It’s also National Life Writing Month.  Now I’m not certain exactly what that means; after all, we can’t script our lives.  And we can’t rewrite our lives, although many of us might like to rewrite certain chapters in our lives.

 Perhaps this is supposed to be a time to write your autobiography.  Did you do that?  No, I didn’t either. 

But I did finally realize one of my dreams: I got a book published, so I’m officially an “author.”  Yippee!

Yes, it’s a small book.  It’s not scholarly (no surprise there, huh?)

May I share? 

See, I subscribe – at least today – to the old proverb: “He who tooteth not his own horn, his horn not get tooteth.”  So, yes, I’m sharing, i.e. tooting my own horn. 

But I’m also tooting the horns of 18 others.

The book is Don’t Pick Up The Ham With Your Fingers: A Little Book to Do Momma’s Naggin’ For Her.  (I’m better at naggin’ than at tootin’.  Did I just actually write that????)

The book of humorous and occasionally serious naggin’s is illustrated throughout by work from 18 talented folks, ranging from a sixth-grader to retiree.  I am overwhelmed by their talent.

These folks, all South Carolinians, are from Prosperity, Aynor, Chapin, Surfside Beach, Summerville, Greenville, Charleston, Mt. Pleasant, Conway, Myrtle Beach, Columbia, West Columbia and Lexington.  Maybe there's a future Grandma Moses, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol or even Michaelangelo in there!

We’re doing our first book-signing this week.  It’s a new adventure for most of us and we’re having fun.  And, yes, of course, we hope YOU find a copy somewhere.

By the way, November is also National Peanut Butter Lovers Month and Banana Pudding Lovers Month. 

I celebrate those all year long!

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Yippee!!

Yippee!  It's published.  The first copies of my book arrived today!

Okay, so this is shameless self-promotion of a sort, but look at it this way: the sooner we sell out, the sooner I'll quit posting about this project.  Hint, hint.

What I really want to promote, though, is the art in the book.  We utilized the talents of 18 artists, ranging from sixth grade through retirement years.  The work by these folks is what really makes the book. 


"Don't Pick Up The Ham With Your Fingers" is a little gift or novelty book; the subtitle is "A Little Book to Do Momma's Naggin' For Her."

This illustration is featured on the cover.  It's by Austin Lane, a student at Socastee High School near Myrtle Beach. 






It's a book filled with the humor and wit of a parent's nagging.  So, why do the illustrations and caricatures feature a pig, a monkey, a ladybug and flip flops?  Find out when you get your copy.

Below are the links to see more about the little book and about the illustrators, including Emily Lyles, whose art is on exhibit at one of the Smithsonian galleries 11/1/11 - 1/22/12.

On Facebook

The Book's Blog

Getting a Book on the Shelf

There’s more to writing a book than writing a book.


That sounds crazy, of course, but if you’ve ever tried it, you know exactly what I mean.

You see, the actual writing is almost nothing compared to what has to happen after the writing is done.

Of course, if your only goal is to write the book, that’s fine. But if you want someone else to read it, that’s when the real work begins.

For years I’ve wanted to write a book and I’ve known all along what kind I would write and what would be in it. So, I finally decided to take the plunge, so to speak.

And now I have three books written, almost four. No, you haven’t seen them on bookshelves because, right now, they’re pretty much still files on my computer.

After the writing, proofing, editing and such, there’s layout, cover design and so much more.

The writer has to decide whether to totally self-publish (the writer pays all costs, gets books printed, then stores them throughout the house/attic/garage/basement until figuring out a way to sell one or two of those things); boutique or print-on-demand publish (the writer still pays a chunk of money but gets only one copy; any others that might be sold are ordered through the printer/publisher and printed only as ordered); or find a publishing company that will pay the author royalties, advance or something.

There are negatives for all three options. With the latter, the author has even more options: find a company willing to accept the unsolicited manuscript, read it and maybe offer a contract, and then wait 12 months to three years to see the final product, or find an agent who’ll sign on the author and then do the work in finding a publisher.

Oh, yes, there’s even more. Once a book is in print, it has to find its way onto bookshelves, into gift shops and more. That’s called book distribution.

My first book will be “in print” in a few weeks. Whether it ever gets to a shelf other than in our own home remains to be seen.

Writing, Drawing and Facebook

I think Facebook is great.


Yes, it has its critics. Yes, it can be time-consuming. Yes, it can be annoying.

Yes, things can go wrong, but, hey, so can life. We can’t go through life avoiding everything that might go wrong. Otherwise, who would ever drive a car? 




Anyway, back to Facebook. Some folks say it is impersonal. I find it just the opposite. I’ve found long-lost friends. We stay in touch in ways we very likely would not do by phone and in ways we’ve never done by letter.

I’ve saved the many wonderful and even funny messages posted on Facebook when Rod, my brother, died just over a year ago. They are a treasure to read from time to time.

That's just one example of how I've found Facebook to be personal rather than impersonal.

The reason Facebook is on my mind right now is that I’m finally writing a book. Actually, I’m working on three books at once, with two others in the wings.

For years I’ve wanted to write a book and even had one planned out in my mind but just never got around to doing it. Once I decided to actually do it, the one that had been thought-out got put on the back burner as I worked, i.e. had fun, on three others.

I love to write; I cannot draw. I can’t even produce a stick figure. Or a ball. Or a star.

So, since the first book needed lots of artwork, I posted a note on Facebook that I was looking for illustrators. Wow! I was totally amazed at the responses.

And now, this little gift/novelty book is nearing publication with illustrations by 16 talented South Carolinians. They are from all across the state and range from young students to retirees.

I’ve met only three of the 16 face-to-face but, thanks to Facebook, I feel like I know ‘em all!




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Taking a Break from the Phone????

I don’t like to talk on the phone. Never have. As a matter of fact, I detest being on the phone.

Why? I have absolutely no idea.



That’s the reason it shocked me when Mom and I ended a phone call a few days ago and I realized we had talked for about an hour and a half.



An hour and a half? That’s about 88 or 89 minutes longer than most of my phone conversations.

This was a special situation, though.

I’m getting three little books ready for publication, and Mom is serving as “editorial consultant,” i.e. typical mom.

On this particular day, we were going page by page over the phone, talking about corrections, changes, suggestions and so forth. It was a somewhat complicated procedure because I had made some minor changes, just enough that our versions weren’t exactly alike.

After about an hour, Mom asked, “Why don’t we take a break, go get something to eat, then come back to this?”

And that’s when she realized this wouldn’t work; we weren’t in the same place. We weren't even in the same town!

She said she had been thinking of several places where we could go grab a quick bite to eat before returning to our work at hand.

That’s something rather difficult to do when you’re over 100 miles apart, don’t you think?


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Oh, Mrs. Littlejohn, Where Art Thou?

I just heard one of the news guys on TV talking about a weekend event. He reported that a photographer took “nude photographs of men and women.”

So, my question is this: Were the photographs nude or were the men and women nude?

In our high school, we had some excellent English teachers. (Actually, we had top-notch teachers in several areas.) One of the exceptional English teachers was Mrs. Iva Littlejohn, a legend at Lexington High School. She was also strict and she had high expectations for her students. 

I believe Mrs. Littlejohn would agree that the newscaster should have indicated there were photographs of nude men and women, not nude photographs.

Another example of questionable usage has to do with some of those classified ads in newspapers. They can get down-right disturbing.

There’s one that runs over and over and over. And it’s no wonder. They’re looking for “part-time people.”

Now, I know some folks who might not be playing with a full deck and who might seem somewhat out of it from time to time, but they’re still full-time people. Once a person, always a person.


Those folks doin’ the hirin’ might better find a way to use full-time people in those jobs ‘cause I imagine they are having a hard time finding part-time people.

If, of course, they’re looking for full-time people to fill part-time jobs, that’s a whole different story.



Oh, Mrs. Littlejohn, the world still needs you!

Lumps and Plums and Even Some Rubies

My fascination with words continues, and I’m especially intrigued with anagrams, i.e. the rearrangement of letters in one word or phrase into another word or phrase. Sometimes those rearrangements are funny, sometimes strange and sometimes just downright intriguing.


I’m sharing a few today, most of which are nonsensical:


She asked, “Do you know the CAUSES of the lumps in the SAUCES?” With a SLUMP, I answered, “Those aren’t LUMPS; those are PLUMS.”

It IRKS me when I take a RISK.

He LIED, “I couldn’t get food; the DELI was IDLE.”

I watched the TIDE with my hands TIED. This made it difficult to EDIT my work but easy to DIET.

The man said he gets a BRUISE easily when he BURIES RUBIES. (Yes, I know; why would anyone bury rubies?)

I learned when I was GROWN that I had been all WRONG – about many things!

I’ve finally decided to THROW out anything of little WORTH.

He was so EVIL and VILE he decided to LIVE under a VEIL of secrecy.

Peek through a SLAT; you’ll see that the LAST thing I add is SALT.

The ELBOW and the BOWEL are BELOW one’s shoulders.

The drinks FLOWED, so I WOLFED them down.


That’s all for this time. Aren’t you glad?


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You Know How I Am About Words!

Just returned from the grocery store.  Shared on Facebook this photo I took at the store but thought I'd also share it here on the blog. 

Just FYI:  I did NOT buy any of the advertised special!

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Gr-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-rr!!!! This Irritates Me!

In today's local paper, there was a book review.  Actually, there were several, but only one that bothered me.The review was of a book named "The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time" and written by Jeff Deck and Benjamin D. Herson. 

Apparently, these two guys dislike typos - and other mistakes - as much as I do.  So, what irritated me?  It was the headline in the newspaper: "Author tries to correct nation's misstakes."  Uh, that should be "mistakes" instead of "misstakes."  How ironic that there was something wrong in the headline about this particular book.

 

How To Avoid Dying

I’ve often said that how things are worded can make a big difference.

Just a few days ago, I read something that I think wasn’t what the writer intended. It was in Parade Magazine, the Sunday supplement in many papers across the country.

Dr. Ranit Mishori wrote an article titled “How Spirituality Keeps You Well”; it was about a study called "Annals of Epidemiology."

Here’s the sentence that really grabbed my attention: More specifically, weekly churchgoers have a lower risk of death than those who never set foot inside a place of worship.


How’s that again? People who go to church weekly have a lower risk of dying than do other folks? I don’t think so!

If that were the case, churches would be full every week. They would be absolutely packed, maybe even on weekdays. Push aside the medicines and miracle anti-aging cures; just go to church to lower chances of dying!

I’m certainly not downplaying the seriousness of the study or of Dr. Mishori’s article. There are some important findings following the research into the link between health and spirituality. Mishori points out the reasons for improved physical, emotional and mental health, based on the research. Nor am I engaging in a theological discussion because this article didn’t have to do with eternal life.

Nor am I going to write anymore; I don’t have time. I’ve got to get in a few church services today!
 
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(This is a repost but appropriate for a Sunday posting.)

PH: Spotted? Or Splotched?

This week's Photo Hunt topic is "spotted."  So, I immediately thought of this picture of part of our family as we celebrated Chick-fil-A's Cow Appreciation Day.

Maybe those are splotches rather than spots, huh?

Here is the Chick-fil-A Cow "helping" in the construction of a new restaurant.

Maybe this blog itself qualifies as spotted.  After all, it's called EX Marks the Spot!

Here I go, sorta cheating again.  I've just spotted copies of the recently-published SEE MOM RUN, to which I'm a contributing writer.  Have you gotten your copy yet?

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Here's the SPOT for other Photo Hunt participants.

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How Close is Too Close for E-mail???

New neighbors are moving in next door.

When I met the husband half of the couple two days ago, he mentioned that his wife was looking for employment. I suggested a particular link on the web that might be beneficial and said I would e-mail the link to them, which I did.

I just received a reply from the wife half of the couple. She thanked me, then said she felt silly e-mailing someone who was just next door.

This reminded me of something.


My ex-husband and I met on the internet but not on one of the dating sites or anything similar. Somehow, we just ran across each other accidentally when we were involved with or researching the same topic somehow – history, politics, government; I don’t remember exactly what.

Shortly, we were e-mailing each other back and forth about things going on in South Carolina, where we both lived. This went on and on – about state politics, shipwrecks (his ventures), word oddities and more – for hours and hours, then days and days, then weeks and weeks. We figured we logged over 500 hours chatting with each other on-line before we ever had a first date.

After we got married, we sometimes e-mailed each other from within the SAME house! Isn’t that crazy? It’s much sillier than neighbors e-mailing each other.

Of course, this may be one of the reasons we are now exes; we communicated much better online than in person, I guess.

(In case you’ve read much on this blog, yes, he’s the same one who is now married to my cousin, so he is now my cousin-by-marriage!)

A Bone to Pick

I have a bone to pick.  Or maybe it's just something that drives me crazy or gets on my nerves. 

Today is the perfect day to share my irritation. 

You see, it's National Punctuation Day.  The observance even has its own web site. 

So, my pet peeve is this: the misuse of the apostrophe in its/it's.  Why is this so difficult for so many people?  The ONLY time to use an apostrophe between the "t" and the "s" in that word is when it means "it is." 

See the second sentence above?  An apostrophe was used there because that could read "Or maybe it is just something ...."

Better yet, look at the third paragraph, i.e. the fourth and fifth sentences.  The fourth one could read "You see, it is National Punctuation Day."   The next sentence, however, could NOT be read as "The observance even has it is own web site."  Therefore, I didn't use the apostrophe.

Is that so hard?  Did someone change the rules along the way?

Rules have changed for some punctuation marks, depending on the venue.  In school, I was taught to put a comma before the word "and" in a series.  In college, though, as a journalism major, I was told to never place a comma before the word "and" in a series.  I tend to follow the latter rule. 

Similarly, in "Creative Writing" courses, I was taught to be creative with beginning sentences, to be descriptive, etc.  In journalism school, I was taught to grab attention in the first sentence and to answer certain basic questions immediately.  In law school, I was taught to be boring with my writing. 

Go figure!

Odds 'n Ends

Thanks to Harriet for the new banner and design of this blog!  She's been so very accommodating and easy to work with.  Be sure to visit her at I Am Harriet.

This blog and Facebook:  A snippet of each post is carried on Facebook with a link back to the blog for anyone who wants to read the entire post.  Those who make comments on Facebook are typically part of the FB "friends" group.  On the blog, anyone may make a comment.  Up until now, I've allowed anonymous comments.  Because a few comments have gotten out of hand, I am no longer allowing anonymous comments. (In this instance, "anonymous" means without identifying the writer or the writer's e-mail address for contact.) I don't mind criticism and negative comments but I will not allow off-color comments nor rude remarks about my children, all of whom are grown. Sorry to anyone this may inconvenience.

 

So far in September, we've had 54 people playing DO YOU KNOW trivia through this site.  Thanks to each and every one of you.  Here are the stats as of this morning.

First 20 Daily Winners in September

Silky

Skullfullamush

Mvaughan

Buddy

Mvaughan

Scmom

Scmom

Silky

Fireatwill

Sally

Papabear

Par2323

Scmom

Jinxed

Silky

HLMeeks

Silky

Sherry

Betty

Silky

Rankings So Far for September – Cumulative Points

Silky

Mvaughan

Papabear

Sally

Scmom

Wavemama

Jinxedu

Sherry

Par2323

Skullfullamush

Gardener

Rougebird

Singz4fun2

Betty

Fireatwill

Cheesecat

3M

Nitebird

Planetjimbo

Buddy

Grandmacat

Kitopila

Mgburtonjr

Rosie7

HLMeeks

Jude

LOL

Meme

Valentine

Xray2u

Top Scorers in Average Points Per Game

Silky

Skullfullamush

Scmom
Mvaughan

wavemama

jinxedu

Sherry

Papabear

Sally
Singz4fun2

Some of these players are people I know; some are totally unknown to me.  All are appreciated!