L to R – Virginia Smith, me, Annie Jones, Laura Resnick The Clear Creek Writers’ Workshop was lots of fun last Saturday. The writers’ group held it in a historic home in Shelbyville that added to the atmosphere of books and talk. The best part of the day, of course, was meeting new writing friends. Here I am in the line-up …
My Dog, Honeysuckle Jody
It’s not a great picture, but here I am with my cockerspaniel, Jody. He was a registered dog and to fancy up his name a little I called him Honeysuckle Jody. The picture is old and I’ve definitely got a windblown look, but Jody’s curly ears are lying down nicely. This was taken twenty-five or so years ago. I was needing some – or at least I …
SC Book Festival and Georgia Book Clubs
L to R: Paula Benson, Margaret Maron, me, Tatjani Soli Some weekends are just more fun than other weekends. Last weekend was one of those fun kind for me. First I was in Columbia at the SC Book Festival which is one of the most writer friendly festivals I’ve had the pleasure of being invited to attend. This is my second …
A Dog Story Book
Here’s the cover I promised to post Sunday about the book of dog stories, The Dog Next Door. I know. It’s Monday and not Sunday. But I was at my daughter’s house last night and didn’t have time to get on the computer. And I was too busy enjoying all the writers and books at the S.C. Book Festival this …
My Walking Dogs
“The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.” (Samuel Butler) Those of you who have been reading my on-line journal know I’ve been a dog lover even longer than I’ve been a writer. And that’s a …
Mom’s Day and News to Go
My mother and father on their wedding day in 1939. The photo is old, but this was a day of beginnings for my mother. A couple of years later she became a mom when my older sister was born. I came along the last of three daughters. She was the very best mother I could have had. A lot of …
Heritage Iris and Other Flowers
These iris are in my front yard. The old timey name for them when I was growing up was “flags.” There couldn’t be a much better plant for sharing. Dig up a few rhizomes and give them to a friend and soon they’ll have a patch like these. I got the start of these from my sister who got them from …
Poets and Writers
“Poetry is the language in which man explores his own amazement.” …Christopher Fry I’m not a poet, but the poem here is one of the very first things I had published many years ago. If I remember correctly, I was paid all of three dollars for these words, but seeing it on the pages of Home Life when I was …
The Gift of Enthusiasm
“Enthusiasm is contagious – and so is the lack of it.” (Unknown author) Here I am with Carlton Hughes, the teacher who brought his digital photography class to Shaker Village last Friday to practice their skills. Carlton is a college professor who does this one class for the high school in Harlan County. He also started a book club for …
Easter Fun with the Kids and Mom
The grandkids were posing with my mom here, but Mom and the little one were more interested in the eggs she’d found out in the yard. Mom really loves watching the littlest ones. The bigger ones have too much energy sometimes for her. We had a busy Easter weekend with my daughter and her husband home to visit and one …










