Gardening Weather Is Here!

Belinda’s Dream Is The Only Thing Blooming in My Yard Right Now
(Photo taken last spring)

Wooohooooo…the best thing about living in Florida is being able to garden all winter. The worst thing is NOT being able to garden all summer! (At least I can’t, that’s for sure.) I have a ton of clean-up still to do, due to having neglected my yard for over 6 months. What a mess! Everything that isn’t dead is leggy, scrawny, and in dire need of TLC. Part of my plan for 2014 includes gardening a certain number of hours every week, until it all looks good again. I miss my retreat!

What’s happening in your part of the country? Still buried under snow? Weather warming any? Or is the worst still ahead? We often get hard freezes in January & February that last a day or possibly two, but as long as I plant winter hardy annuals like pansies, violas, and petunias, they’ll make it through. I won’t set out anything too tropical until later in the spring.

Those of you who live in the still-frozen areas…are you planning your gardens yet? Making up lists of seeds or new plants? Diagramming your beds? Or do you wait for the weather to warm and wing it?

A Bit Late, But Still Sincerely Felt!

 

From Our House To Yours.
Hope your Christmas was Merry, and that your New Year will be happy and prosperous! 

Okay, How Cute Is This?

Sorry. It rained all day today, so no garden pics. But the Granny in me just has to share this picture my daughter sent me of my little grandson, Kaelen. I can’t wait to get up there Saturday and hold this little ba-boo! He’s just so sweet! 

 

Now, tell me honestly…is this  the most disgustingly self-indulgent post you’ve seen anywhere, all day? I’ll admit it. But I just couldn’t help myself!

😀

Wake-Robin Ridge Has Gone Live on Amazon!

I know. Another post about my book, but I swear, this will be the last for awhile. I just wanted to make sure that I got the word out to all my followers that my book IS now available for download on amazon.com. 

I’m beyond excited! I knew at age five I wanted to be a writer, but got sidetracked somewhere along the way for a little while. Okay, for 64 years. But I am here to tell you, it’s never too late to follow your dream. I decided last October I was going to write a book, start to finish, and publish it on amazon. And this time, I didn’t let anything get in my way. I wrote. And wrote. And wrote. Thank God I had a good editor. She cut. And cut. And cut. And now, a tighter, cleaner version of Wake-Robin Ridge is ready to go.

The book was a labor of love set in my favorite part of the country, the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, and I enjoyed every single moment spent telling this tale. If you like romantic suspense with a slightly spooky twist, it might be just your thing. I hope you’ll give it a try. If you enjoy it, please feel free to leave a review on amazon. (If you don’t enjoy it…don’t tell anyone, ever! Ha!)

Seriously, I do hope some of you will be touched by the story. It’s definitely not the high-action Urban Fantasy I like to read these days, but it is exactly what I wanted to write–a tale of love and redemption that just might offer a surprise or two.

Wake-Robin Ridge

Wooohooooo!

Just got my cover art last night, and I’m thrilled! Seeing it made me realize my lifelong dream is about to come true. I will be publishing the book on Kindle (probably this weekend) and will have a print version on amazon very shortly after, as well. I’m beyond excited. My cover designer (Nicki Forde at Nicki Forde Graphic Design) is the best, bar none, and I’m so thrilled that she was able to take my thoughts and make them reality. 

This blog will NOT become all about my book, believe me. Gardening and other miscellaneous general topics will still remain the focus. But I just had to share this news, and show off the cover of Wake-Robin Ridge. For those who don’t know, a wake-robin is a trillium that blooms in spring in the eastern part of the country. It’s blood red, instead of the white of most varieties of trillium, and one of my favorite mountain wildflowers. And yes, that is a wake-robin in the lower right corner of the book cover.

I will post updates from time to time, about the publication of Wake-Robin Ridge, and any special sales promotions, but as I say, the focus of this blog won’t change.  In fact, now that I’m wrapping up the publication, maybe my time will be a little easier to manage. I’ve missed my blogs a lot!

Strawberries by Tamara Madison

 

Strawberries

Fragole, fresas, klubniki, fraises—
is there a term that names them better
than strawberry? I think of sunshine
and straw hats, picnics, boating parties,
a barber shop quartet, homemade
ice cream, grainy and sweet, everything

warm, wholesome, innocent, old fashioned.
Near my house there’s a strawberry field
that begins its work in spring, the stray seeds
emerging unbidden in neighboring gardens,
on walkways, from cracks in the sidewalk,
the clean white petals yielding pale-green

hearts that swell, redden, and fill
with so much happiness to give in their sweet-tart
flesh, the fertile seeds that linger in your teeth
and remind you of a gentle time only moments
ago when you tasted the essence of summer
on your grateful tongue.

NOTE: Have you ever read anything that TASTED so good? I love this yummy, summery poem. To read more by Tamara Madison and other poets and authors, check out Summer: An Eclectic Anthology of Poetry & Prose, published by Silver Birch Press.

(Originally posted on Bookin’ It)

Like A Bad Penny, Here I Am Again!

( Reposted From Bookin’ It )

Back home from San Diego, after much sturm und drang, having gotten caught in airline hell on last Tuesday, when American Airlines stopped flying for the better part of the day. Caught in long lines, flight cancelled and rescheduled…THREE times…finally arriving at 2:30am! I was 24 hours in transit and exhausted, but by golly, I MADE IT! And got to spend 4 days of blissful Granny Time with Kaelen. Then I came down with some sort of dread disease that meant I had to wear a mask and not touch him any more! Eeeeep. And more flight trouble on the way home because…GET THIS…two passengers in FIRST CLASS decided to have a FOOD FIGHT, and apparently made such a mess that my flight out of Dallas was delayed for almost an hour while the crew cleaned up the cabin! Can you imagine? First Class JERKS is what they were. So I got home that night at 2:30am, sick and miserable. But you know what? I’d go through it all again to spend those four days with my lovely new grandson. What a sweet baby he is!

I have been quarantined at home by my doctor here, who says I’m teetering on the edge of pneumonia, but she is determined to head it off. So I’m to take my meds and REST. No housework. (Awwww…say it isn’t so!) Just “read, relax, rest, and recuperate.” I think I can do that. And I’m not banned from blogging, so hopefully, I’ll soon be back in the swing of that. I have two books to review here and tons of garden pictures to share on Who’s Your Granny, so I’m good to go. And just so you can see the reason I ever got caught up in all that airline mess in the first place, here’s a little piccie for ya.

Now tell the truth. If this were YOUR brand new grandson, you wouldn’t regret the Flight From Hell, either, would you?

Be back soon with my next review!

*going off now, tapping my ruby slippers together, and repeating over and over, “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home.”*

Hello, World!

(Reblogged from Bookin’ It)

My name is Kaelen. (My Granny would never have seen that coming!) Kaelen is Celtic for Mighty Warrior, and after the way I spent the last forty-eight hours, I think my mommy and daddy called it right. It was a long battle, but I made it! And I think my mommy is a warrior, too! She and I struggled for a long, long time, but she got me here just fine. I met my daddy right away, and he looks like a warrior, himself, so I guess it’s a family thing! I weigh 8 pounds and 11 ounces, and I’m 21 inches long. I’m told that means I’m not only mighty but BIG, too. I can’t wait to get to know all about the world, but for now, I’m just going to take a wee nap. Even Mighty Warriors need their rest, you know. ‘Nite.

Is This A Great Birthday Present, Or What?

COMING SOON!

As if a March 16th trip to a Book Festival in Ft. Myers, with my best friend, and featuring many cool authors available for autographs and Q & A sessions, isn’t a cool enough way to spend the day before my birthday, I just found out the most exciting news!  Silver Birch Press announced the release of Green: An Eclectic Anthology of Poetry & Prose on Friday, March 15!  This book promises to be every bit as enjoyable as the Silver anthology was, and once again, I am absolutely thrilled to have had another poem included.  Wow!

Just when you think Life should be slowing down and getting a bit…oh, I don’t know…DULL, maybe?…it pops up and gobsmacks you with wonderful surprises like this! The Green Anthology includes poetry, short stories, novel excerpts, essays, interviews, and memoirs from over 60 authors in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Europe & Africa.  There will be work from long established writers (like my just about favorite poet of all time, Amy Lowell) as well as from newer writers (like…well…ME!) 😀

If, way back in high school, when I was doing reports on Amy Lowell’s most famous works ( Patterns or Purple Grackles), I had ever even though that something I wrote would one day be rubbing shoulders with some of her poems…well, I wouldn’t have believed it, I can tell you that. And yet, it happened. Life is good!

I will keep you guys posted as the release date nears, so that those of you who love anthologies as much as I do can head to amazon for your own copy. I know I’ll be buying several! (I love getting my Christmas shopping done early!) 😉

And for anyone who’d like to read “On The River,” my contribution to The Green Anthology,  click here.

NOTE: The date of release for The Green Anthology has been changed to March 15, making it just in time for my birthday weekend!  Yay!

(Reposted from Bookin’ It)