She’s Good for Loving
When my grandson was younger I'd give him money to help sponsor a dog so that someone wishing to adopt would have a lower adoption fee. It was a great way to help him to understand that all dogs have value and that while his parents were not going to let him get a dog, he got a baby brother instead, he could take an active role in helping dogs. This is a story from I Chose You, Imperfectly Perfect Dogs and Their Humans. Before buying a puppy to surprise your family, please make sure it's the right time and that everyone is ready for the hard work involved with a new family member coming in to the home during a very busy season. “If when you look at me, you only see a white face and cloudy eyes, a burden or a hassle...you’ve missed out on the best [...]
All I Want for Christmas
Yesterday I did my next to the last book signing for the year. I have to admit it, I'm pretty tired of lugging bugs and setting things up and then holding my breath. Will someone come? Will they by books? Will they like my book? We authors can be needy people. Every book signing has gone well and I've been able to donate over $1,000 in three months to two different rescues. I've donated books to be used as auction items for fundraisers. It's not a huge start, but it's happening. When I adopted my dog is was truly with the most selfish of motives. Will this dog give me a reason to live? It really had nothing to do with rescuing a dog who had been transported here from a high-kill shelter. Oh, how things have changed. Coconut did give me the will to live, to somehow find a [...]
A Special Christmas Card
I cooked my full Thanksgiving dinner when I was ten-years-old. My parents got divorced when I was nine, and while my father was still in the picture. my mom worked the three till eleven shift so that meant someone had to cook. With three older siblings I'm not sure how I got roped into cooking and grocery shopping, but somehow I did and that first year it meant Thanksgiving dinner. I have cooked more turkey dinners than I can count because I usually buy a couple of extra turkeys when they are on sale and toss them into the freezer for two more dinners during the year. I even made a huge Thanksgiving meal when I live in Africa, complete with a wild turkey we caught, killed and dressed. My tradition was that after my siblings cleaned the kitchen, I'd sit down while we watched The Sound of Music or [...]
A Light for My Heart
Another story! It's a great one and you're gonna love it. A couple of summers ago I met a woman through an an online Oshkosh Facebook site. We connected over dogs, food, and feeling different [...]
Reviews are Gifts to the Author
Writing and self-publishing a book means that I am now officially a small business. A very small business. I get to make every decision about content, about my cover and back cover and how I [...]
The Kindness of a Stranger
We moved in March of 2017 from Hawaii to Oshkosh, WI. Hindsight tells me that the timing wasn't the best as it was still dark and depressing and as different as possible from home. All [...]