February 15, 1966 Jocie Brooke here reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky. Do you like candy hearts? I do. They always say something even if it’s mostly silly stuff. Be Mine or Yes or Love U or Let’s Go. But you have to read them before you can eat them. I like Valentine’s Day too. I have ever since I started school …
Clean Desks, Newsletters and Valentines
Cleanliness is next to godliness. I’ve heard that all my life, and the Shakers certainly believed it. That had various sizes and shapes of brooms to get back in every corner and crevase where dirt might hide. As one of my characters said in my last Shaker book, The Innocent, those people warred against dirt. They had a place for everything and expected …
Odd Dog Oscar
I’m going to be a guest on a blog, Quid Pro Quills this Wednesday for their regular feature Animals and Authors. Oscar is the star in that post. So since I’ve been meaning to do a post about my dog, Oscar, here on One Writer’s Journal forever, I decided now was a good time. This post will be different from …
Curious Castor Oil
I know. You’re probably shaking your head and ready to hit the off button on this post, but sometimes I discover the most interesting things when I get curious about something. A few weeks ago I spotted this old bottle of castor oil in my medicine cabinet. It has to be from years and years ago and I have no …
The Game of Life
The game of life is a lot like football. You have to tackle your problems, block your fears, and score your points when you get the opportunity. ~Lewis Grizzard Do you like sports? Did you watch the Super Bowl? On my Facebook page tonight, I asked if my friends there would be watching the Super Bowl or reading or both. …
Dreams of a Clean Office
We dream of having a clean house – but who dreams of actually doing the cleaning? We don’t have to dream about doing the work, because doing the work is always within our grasp; the dream, in this sense, is to attain the goal without the work. ~Marcus Buckingham That’s something I could dream. The house clean. All the mess …
Snow Means No School
February 2, 1966 Jocie Brooke here reporting from very snowy Hollyhill, Kentucky. Do you like snow? I do. So much that I decided to write a poem about it. A Haiku. Do you know what that is? I sort of do. We’ve been talking about them in English at school. It’s a short three line poem. Not sure exactly how …
The Winners are No Mystery
There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island. ~Walt Disney You all know that I love books. I love reading them and I love writing them. Well, most of the time I love writing them. Sometimes when the doldrums hit in the middle of my writing, then I can get a little discouraged …
One Last Mystery Photo
Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have abused me, I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!” So the donkey said to Balaam, …
Another Washday Mystery Photo
“Enjoy the little things in life for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” Robert Brault Do you like little mysteries? I know some of you do since you’ve been coming back to guess on my new mystery photos. Linda says it’s fun to guess and good brain exercise. We all need that kind …