9/29/2017: Celebrate the Small Things

It's Friday and time to post my Celebrate the Small Things on this blog.

If you'd like to join in the fun or check out some other participating blogs, click the image to the right or the link at the bottom of the page.

It's been an interesting week, my first taking care of Cooper 24/7. Well, except for Monday when he went to doggy day care and I was FREE for a day. LOL!

So, here are my celebrations for this past week...

We have a new friend in the pasture. The previous ones, Brownie & Blackie, went on to feed someone. Now we have a much smaller Blackie, or BB for Baby Blackie. Cooper is not a fan!

Cooper has gone into a MASSIVE chewing phase while his adult teeth are coming through. After two months of play with his favorite vinegar bottle, it was finally thrown in the trash. But not until after I got this hysterical picture of him laying on his back, playing with it - inside his crate!

Yes, he has out-grown it. When Stu gets home, he's converting a used crib into a wooden crate. Should be interesting. LOL!

For those who don't subscribe to my newsletter (and you really should), the first book in my Klondike (PA) Mystery series, Not a Whisper is currently FREE! If you've already read it, then tell your friends! If you haven't read it yet, you should. Why? Because I finally finished the third book, Almost a Touch, and it's available on PRE-ORDER.

But the biggest news is the addition of a second puppy to the house. On Monday I picked up a 12-week old puppy, Murphy. He's a Collie/Goldendoodle pup and will hopefully stay a little smaller than Cooper. They are doing wonderfully, no accidents in the house except the very first morning. Of course, it helps that the weather is nice enough to leave the back door to the deck open. LOL!

They are sleeping in the same crate - no more puppy cries all night like the first night. If I thought it was cramped for Cooper, you should see the two of them. LOL! So today an XL crate and pad will be delivered and set up. Phew!

Murphy has his first vet visit today...hoping all checks out. He is a snuggler, something that Cooper isn't. I'm loving that! Oh, you can see a TON of photos in their SmugMug Album. Here's a sample...

Yes, there are two dogs in that last photo.

Hoping you had something to celebrate this week!

Ciao for now!

9/22/2017: Celebrate the Small Things

It's Friday and time to post my Celebrate the Small Things on this blog.

If you'd like to join in the fun or check out some other participating blogs, click the image to the right or the link at the bottom of the page.

My small things for this past week, some not so small, but all great!

Late this week (but dating it yesterday). Been BUSY!!!

Stu spent the week getting ready to head out on the motorcycle for three weeks. He has several firefighter events to attend and since he hadn't done a long motorcycle ride, I encouraged him to go enjoy! We might have both gone but I have an author event the same day as one of his events. Oops! Besides getting his gear ready, he also did a lot of little things around the house so I didn't have to deal with them - just the dog (that's enough). Cooper helped him prepare on the morning he left!

I've had a lot of busy time, too. First was getting my long awaited wedding ring tattoo. While I absolutely LOVE our gold Celtic wedding rings, mine has gotten too small. Due to the pattern, it can't be enlarged (it was stretched once already. Last summer, we camped with motorcycle friends from Canada and they both had ring tattoos, each different to represent their spouse. I had considered getting one more tattoo, a double heart on the inside of my write, but never got around to it. So, that is my wedding ring tattoo! It's still healing but I love it.

But had that's not all, I just put Almost a Touch, the long awaited third book in my Klondike mystery series. Yippee!! I still have some edits to do in the next couple of days, but on October first, it will be LIVE! Hoping for a lot of pre-orders....[hint, hint]

GREAT week, hope yours was the same.

Ciao for now!

9/15/2017: Celebrate the Small Things

It's Friday and time to post my Celebrate the Small Things on this blog.

If you'd like to join in the fun or check out some other participating blogs, click the image to the right or the link at the bottom of the page.

My small things for this past week, some not so small, but all great!

Missed last week and still busy, so this will be short and sweet!

Cooper has had an adventurous week. First up - he discovered he could slip under one of the gates and turned up at our front door, asking in. Stu fixed that as soon as we found where he was getting out. Then on Wednesday, he was neutered and forced to wear the inner tube of shame. (LOL)



Stu has been busy with chores, like the above mentioned fence issue, plus installing new locks on all our west facing windows. The original ones were sun-rotted plastic and now they are metal and will outlast us! We also finally got rid of the HORRIBLE fake wood blinds in the office and put in bamboo Roman shades. I love them. They look so much better than the drooping mini-blinds and will keep out as much light as those did since they never closed up the way they should have.



We've also been working on cleaning up the RV inside, getting it ready for a dog crate (which will become my end table). We reinstalled the dining room chairs, removed the file cabinet and rolling computer cart and sorted through a ton of office supply stuff that is now inside. I have two overhead cabinets and a small tote that will store what we think we will need for office supplies. The lamp that was on the dining table, which was wedged into the corner and became Stu's desk, will go on top of the dog crate as well as our laser printer. Lots of organization going on! We also snagged two nice used chairs for $20 each, they go with our current dining room mish-mash and are quite comfortable.



Me? I finally got Almost a Touch out to my four beta readers. I hope to have everyone's feedback this weekend so I can edit. Then back out to 4-6 proofreaders and hopefully, on to publication at Amazon by the end of the month. Phew!

Other than that, I've been prepping for the book signing/author event on October 7th. I have 24 copies of Not a Whisper, 18 copies of Barely a Spark, signs, postcards, business cards, pens, guest book pages for newsletter sign-up and prizes! Five tote bags (like the one I'm using to carry stuff), one coffee mug, a Dead Fred pen holder, Crime Scene sandwich bags and Crime Scene bandaids. All in good fun! Hope to see some old friends and make some new ones!



Ciao for now!

9/1/2017: Celebrate the Small Things

It's Friday and time to post my Celebrate the Small Things on this blog.

If you'd like to join in the fun or check out some other participating blogs, click the image to the right or the link at the bottom of the page.

My small things for this past week, some not so small, but all great!

Running a little late...been a busy week, so this will be short and sweet!

Cooper seems to have recovered from his ear infection, is loving the cooler weather. He has spent hours outside, just sleeping on the deck, even when raining. We have a small section under cover and that's been his place today. Had to almost force him to come in for the night.

He also has discovered he can jump up onto the sofa. I managed to snap a photo today, usually he's off it too quickly (knowing he isn't supposed to get up there unless invited).



Oh, he also had his first grooming - you might be able to tell in this photo...he's not so scruffy looking. He came home so clean and fluffy!

We hate our refrigerator - mostly because we both dislike side-by-sides but also because it's noisy. But it's too new to replace. Tonight, I thought we would be selling it, for sure. Stu was getting eggs out for dinner (fried bacon and egg sandwiches) and dropped one on the floor. It landed on the throw rug. No problem. Well, until he pulled out the second egg and knocked his hand into the side of the fridge, breaking it.  I had to laugh as he tossed the remains into the sink, and he finally laughed. Off to get the third egg, third time's the charm, right? Nope! Dropped it onto the floor beside the throw rug. By this time we were both laughing as he kept repeating how much he hated the fridge.

I spent the morning baking, 48 banana nut muffins! Some are going to the neighbor as a thank you for helping Stu when he was putting up our fence. We will still have at least 3 dozen (we had 6-8 left over from the last batch). Think I might take some over to the other neighbor. LOL!









I'm sure other stuff went on this week but for the life of me, I can't remember what. Old age and senility, that's what it is!


Ciao for now!

8/25/17: Celebrate the Small Things

It's Friday and time to post my Celebrate the Small Things on this blog.

If you'd like to join in the fun or check out some other participating blogs, click the image to the right or the link at the bottom of the page.

My small things for this past week, some not so small, but all great!

First was the eclipse...we attended a private event at a local country club. The event was sponsored by our favorite microbrewery, Calf Killer Brewing. We had lunch, two glasses of a made-for-the-event stout beer, and each got a commemorative pint glass to take home. A good time was had by all. The beer was THE BEST, the food (offered by Good Ol' Sloppy Top) was delicious.









Here was Stu at the moment of totality...


This was the best my little iPhone SE could do...


And there there was none...


Second was getting our Adirondack chairs and turkey-tail table waterproofed and out on our deck. We bought them last summer when we were traveling NY state. We sat in a set at the Boatyard Beer Garden and fell in love. Curved back means no backache, curved seat - well, you get the picture. If Stu can sit in a wooden chair for 2-3 hours without complaining and it doesn't hurt my back - I'm all for it. You can read more here.

Tthird was Cooper's second vet check-up. Another worming and his final shots for this year. He's grown from 19.6# to 26.5# in three weeks! No wonder he's getting heavy. LOL! Downside, he still has his ear infection, especially in the right ear. He had been cocking his head over the weekend, yet responding more to sounds, so we were suspicious. He's on a heavier antibiotic and goes back in ten days. Keeping our fingers crossed. Oh, this is what you look like after you've been poked, prodded, had ears clipped, etc. Yeah, he was pooped!

He keeps getting cuter and fluffier though...we are both really enjoying him and his personality.

Final thing to celebrete was a good launch for my book, Paradise Dead. While I didn't sell near as many copies as I did the first book in the series, the event went well and I did sell some copies of my other books. The market is truly getting saturated with indie authors and books. It gets tougher and tougher. So....I do appreciate the shares and especially the reviews of my books!

Ciao for now!

8/18/2017: Celebrate the Small Things

It's Friday and time to post my Celebrate the Small Things on this blog.

If you'd like to join in the fun or check out some other participating blogs, click the image to the right or the link at the bottom of the page.

My small things for this past week, some not so small, but all great!

First was the release of my second Lei Crime Kindle World novella, Paradise Dead. We had a great launch party on Facebook and I made some new friends and hopefully new readers.

Second was my first post in the Write...Edit...Publish (WEP) blog hop challenge. I wrote about my 25th high school reunion. You can read that post here.

Third was Cooper's second vet visit. It was generally very good with his weight being up from just under 20# to 26.5#. Yup, he's getting big! His ear infection isn't completely gone so he's on antibiotics now for that. He is doing good with his puppy training, too. He was pooped afterwards...this was his ride home. LOL!

Fourth was finding this perfect on-the-door rack for my pantry. I found it at Target. It came with over-the-door hangers but Stu mounted it directly to the door (as often happens, the over-the-door hangers stopped the door from closing). Now I can find things more easily and it opened up more cabinet space for other things. Doing the happy dance!

Fifth and final was having a wonderful weekend with friends. Hubby made hoecakes (sort of a cornbread pancake) and they were a huge success, accompanying my chili. For dessert, we enjoyed some blueberry banana bread, freshly made that morning. We sent them home with the recipe for both the hoecakes and the blueberry banana bread.

We love having our butterfly bush beside our deck - here are a few photos I snapped this past week.

We also had a small praying mantis visit us. Unfortunately, my phone focused on the wind chimes and not the insect. LOL!

Ciao for now!