I Got the Sunshine Award!

The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspire others in the blogosphere. I am delighted to have been awarded one by Jennifer Wells, author of Magick Charm (A great book which I read.) and Practically Dreaming! (A book which is now on my TBR list.) Go check out her blog here.

Here are the rules for accepting this award:

* Link back to the person who gave me the award.
* Answer the following questions.
* Nominate ten bloggers for the award.
* Link my nominees to the post and let them know about the award.

How easy is that?

Now you get to see the questions and my answers. :^)


What is your favorite Christmas/festive movie?

It's a Wonderful Life has always been my favorite Christmas movie. It's old but it chokes me up every time, and hubby always watches it because there is a scene with an accordion in it!

What is your favorite flower?

This is a tough question. Flowers are all beautiful. I love every single one--wildflowers, invasive weeds, and as well as the cultivated kinds. However, even more amazing than the colors and shapes are the fragrances unique to each bloom. My top three for fragrance: roses, lilacs, and lily of the valley--though even the lowly clover has a deliciously sweet scent. I simply cannot choose a favorite. They are all wonderful.

What is your favorite non-alcoholic beverage?

I drink large quantities of tea, mostly ordinary black tea--sometimes with skim milk and sometimes without. I let it steep forever until it is really dark and lukewarm. In the evening I'll drink herb tea. My current favorite herb tea is Celestial Seasoning's Bengal Spice. I don't put sugar in my tea, which makes it very low in calories. :^)

What is your passion?

Aside from writing, I do oil paintings. Lately, I've been doing a series of seascapes. My paintings are very detailed and it takes me forever to finish a painting but I enjoy every moment. I also like to sing, which is a good thing because hubby sometimes wants me to sing along while he plays the accordion.

What is your favorite time of year?

I enjoy cool, fresh air so fall is the best. Spring is good if it's not raining. Summer is too hot, and there are mosquitoes waiting to drink my blood. Winter would be great without all the snow. Snow is pretty, but it turns into ice and that makes walking dangerous.

What is your favorite time of day?

Every hour of the day has its good points. I like to be up when the sun is up, and I enjoy being busy in the morning and in the afternoon. Nevertheless, the peaceful time after supper is done and the dishes are put away is a lovely part of the day. I rarely stay up late. Nightime is for sleeping.

What is your favorite physical activity?

I have never been good at most sports, although skating was a favorite of mine when I was younger and lived above a lake that froze over every winter. I used to enjoy bicycling, too, when I was younger. Now, I have a recumbent bike, which I like because I can exercise and read at the same time. I also like to walk. I tried the gym for a while, but I hated it--mostly due to the music.

However, hubby signed us up for a bocce team and we are now playing bocce. So far, I think I will be able to handle this game. It's easy.

What is your favorite vacation?

I like to go to places that are full of history and old houses. I loved Williamsburg and Plimouth Plantation. I also love to visit the homes of famous authors like Harriet Beecher Stowe and Mark Twain. But I don't always have to go that far to find old houses because New Jersey has plenty of them.

Here are several of my favorite bloggers and my nominees for the Sunshine Award:

1. Veronica Singleton at Thursday's Child

2. Irene Peterson at Days of Glory

3. Jon Gibbs at An Englishman in New Jersey

4. Debora Dennis at Scribbling Through Time

5. Kim McMahill at Embrace Adventure

6. Kiersten Hallie Krum at Two Left Shoes

7. Janet Lane Walters at Eclectic Writer

8. Aaron Michael Ritchey at The Blog of Ritcheyanity

9. Lindsey R. Loucks at Jesse Said Yes

10. Katie O'Sullivan at Author. Editor. Mommy. Dog Whisperer.

Round Robin

I participated in a writing round robin with the authors of the Prism Book Group. A round robin has nothing to do with the bird of the same name. In a writing round robin, everyone takes a turn writing a segment of a story. This can be fun--or it can be a nightmare. Since I was scheduled to write the ending of the story, I was a bit nervous. In addition, since hubby and I went on our long road trip to Florida, I knew I would have to wrap everything up in the story after we returned.

We returned on Friday. I spent Saturday working on the ending of the round robin. I finished by ten o'clock that evening. It presented quite a mental challenge, but I found it a fascinating. The story, After the Storm, will be offered free at the publisher's website once it is edited. The first round robin, Lightning Strikes, put together by the authors at the Prism Book Group will be offered free at the website during their grand opening kick-off on Wednesday, August 22nd. There will be an opportunity to win a Kindle and a pitch day for aspiring authors.

So visit the Prism Book Group and join in the fun!

A Matter of Taste

When Babci makes up her mind, there's no stopping her. She insisted upon buying a shirt for hubby and a blouse for me. We did not believe we needed anything new, but that did not matter to Babci. We went to Beall's.

Buying clothing is not fun for hubby in general and when she picked out a polo shirt, he groaned. He never wears polo shirts except in the band since the band's summer uniform is a polo shirt. However, I saw a tropical-style summer shirt with bright colors and bold flowers--the kind hubby favors in the summertime and pointed it out to Babci. She swooped it up and put it in the basket. Hubby muttered how he didn't really need another shirt, but it was an inexpensive shirt so he did not grumble too much.

My turn came next. Babci went to a rack of women's blouses and picked up several blouses with designs of the type she favors, the kind with large pastel flowers. (Maybe hubby's love of crazy tropical shirts is genetic.) It was actually rather funny because she kept pulling blouses off the rack that resembled stuff in her closet.

But that's not me. Lately, I tend to choose solids.

I found a simple pink tee and a somewhat fancier brown tee. Real exciting stuff.

Nevertheless, Babci was happy because she succeeded in giving us gifts. At least, we had a choice. A shirt or blouse given as a gift that is never worn is a waste of money.

Everyone has their own style and that sense of style extends to far more than clothing. It includes books.

I am not a fan of science fiction or vampire novels. I've read a few, but they do not appeal to my taste as a rule. To me, vampires are the bad guys and all that blood-sucking is gross. I liked Bram Stoker's Dracula, because Dracula dies in the end.

But that's just me. Plenty of people enjoy those types of books and that's great. Reading is supposed to be fun.

What was the worst gift you've ever received?

Thirty-Six Years

Hubby and I were wed on August 7th, 1976. Tomorrow is our thirty-sixth anniversary. Happy Anniversary to us! How time flies.

No-Wilt Lima Bean Salad

I found this recipe in our local newspaper six years ago and it has become a favorite, probably because I love lima beans, but the feta cheese is a real treat, too. I've taken this to many summertime potluck suppers and it always disappears so I know there are others who have enjoyed it.

Ingredients:

* 1 bag, 1 lb frozen lima beans ( approximately 3 cups )
* 1 sm red onion finely chopped
* 2 cups chopped tomatoes
* 1/2 bunch fresh parsley chopped
* 1/4 cup chopped green or black olives
* 1 tsp dried oregano
* 1/2 cup olive oil (I've used less and it's been fine.)
* 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
* 2 garlic cloves minced
* 8 oz feta cheese crumbled or as desired
* Salt and Pepper to taste if needed

How to make it:

* Cook beans to pkg directions and drain and cool.
* Combine remaining ingredients except cheese.
* Add lima beans and feta cheese.
* Mix to blend. Taste for seasoning
* Chill well, about one to two hours.

Serves six.

Special Guest: Jenn Nixon

Today I am offering a special feature! One of my author friends, Jenn Nixon, has had a new book released, Lucky's Charm. Jenn’s love of writing started the year she received her first diary and Nancy Drew novel. Throughout her teenage years, she kept a diary of her personal thoughts and feelings but graduated from Nancy Drew to other mystery suspense novels.

Jenn often adds a thriller and suspense element to anything she writes be it Romance, Science Fiction, or Fantasy. When not writing, she spends her time reading, observing pop culture, playing with her two dogs, and working on various charitable projects in her home state of New Jersey.

Here's the blurb for the book Lucky’s Charm:

To protect her family and find a killer, Felicia “Lucky” Fascino assumed her adoptive father’s identity and joined the network, an organization of moral assassins to finish the job he began. Eliminating the man responsible for murdering her mother has consumed her for the last five years. While keeping her Uncle Stephen and cousin Elizabeth at arm’s length, Lucky begins to feel the weight of her career choice and reclusive lifestyle. Then a chance encounter with an enigmatic hit man, during one of her jobs, turns into a provocative and dangerous affair. Distracted by the secret trysts with Kenji Zinn and mounting tension within her family, Lucky makes reckless mistakes that threaten her livelihood and almost claim her life.

Excerpt:

Lucky learns her uncle is retiring…

When Lucky decided to step into her father’s network shoes, one stipulation had been telling Bet. Although she wasn’t pleased to learn Lucky killed people for a living, Bet eventually accepted the truth.

During the last year, Bet integrated herself into network conversations and privately mentioned suspecting her father had been into something shady for a while. She’d been right. However, the more she learned about what Lucky did, the more she’d want to know. Always a cousin first, Bet was big on family and didn’t mind shoving her nose in everyone’s business. The reasons were simple: a family had to stick together. Most families handed down a farm or at least a tax preparation business, but contract killing was way out in left field.

Family first. That was their expression, had been for years. Bet said it more than once: family doesn’t turn their backs on each other. Even though Lucky never told her the real reasons that she did what she did, Bet had always been there to help.

“There’s not going to be any trouble is there? I mean, do people quit from this business and live to talk about it?” Lucky glanced over at him. It was rare a contract killer made it to “retirement.” The cops found you because you got sloppy, someone else killed you, or like her father, it wore you down and diseased your body. Handlers had a certain amount of anonymity and better survival rates, but they were still at risk.

“The network likes to keep tabs on those who opt out, just for safety reasons, but there’s no reason to fear retribution from Ruddy and his partners or other contractors. He knows I’ve been thinking about it; the few I know won’t be surprised either. Some think we’ve gone soft because of the earlier jobs I’ve turned down for you.” He pressed his lips together in a tight smile.

“Hey, don’t give me shit; you know how I feel about those scrap board jobs.” She ran her finger along the edge of the shelf and turned back to the fire. “I’ve kept us in so we can keep digging, and I’ve made us a lot of money.”

“Luke was the same way. He wouldn’t take a job unless he felt justified.” He patted the spot beside him, and when she sat down, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “You have enough money saved to call it quits too.”

The thought had crossed her mind many times over the last five years. What would it be like to feel normal again? Stop killing and start living. Lucky had no idea. She was in so far, so deep, she didn’t know if there was a way out for her. Even if she did get “out,” what would she do? Contract killing didn’t exactly give you real-world skills to work in an office building or retail store.

It didn’t matter; getting out was a long way down the road. She still had an obligation to fulfill to the people who adopted, raised, and loved her. Questions needed answers. She and Phen hadn’t come close to those answers in all the years they’d been searching, but maybe his renewed focus could change things. Her life stayed on hold until she fulfilled her promise and gave her parents a bit of peace.

“You know I can’t quit,” Lucky said, resting her head on his shoulder. She allowed herself a moment of comfort from Phen; he was still her uncle, despite knowing what she had to do to keep that promise. “When you get me some solid leads and I find out who killed her, I’ll stop. Until then, Lucky lives.”

You can find Jenn Nixon at her website:
www.jennnixon.com

Or her Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/JennNixonAuthor

Check out her tweets, too!
Twitter: @jennnixon

Belated Book Birthday!

It has been a little over a year since I uploaded Prince of the Mist to the Kindle platform. Afterward, I uploaded the book to Smashwords for wider distribution. Finally, I struggled over the paper edition, which I uploaded to CreateSpace.

At first, I set the price for the ebook at $2.99, but since it is a novella I later dropped it to $1.99. The paper edition is $5.99--a real bargain.

I designed the cover using a stock photo I purchased. It is eye-catching at 1" high, which helps. I have really been pleased at the response.

Here's a piece of cake for this momentous occasion! (Chocolate is good for you!) Enjoy.

Studying the Stats

Above is the overview of the stats from my Facebook fan page. The graph goes up and down depending on whether I manage to snag someone's attention on the never-ending scroll of status messages in their news feed. It isn't easy and other people can have different results depending upon who their fans are. I do have fans who read my excerpts and enter my contests, but by far the overwhelming favorite topic on my fan page is food.

My fans like to look at food--though not usually the food I have prepared at home. I snapped a photo of my sausage biscuit in a fast food restaurant one day and was amazed that people found it so interesting. Yes, it was tasty but really there wasn't anything unique about it. I took a photo of my fried shrimp at the Lobsterfest and lots of people looked at that. I know there are people who claim to hate reading about what anyone had for supper, but people on Facebook sure are interested in looking at a photo of it--add the recipe and it's even better.

I try to include photos or videos with every post. I don't have an amazing number of fans like Diana Gabaldon (one of Daughter #1's favorite authors). Diana Gabaldon doesn't post photos with every status message on her fan page, but it doesn't matter. For me, it matters.

Flowers and gardening seem to be a big hit, which is a problem for me because I do not have a green thumb. My luck with plants is abysmal. This is embarrassing since my sister is a horticulturist. She is always searching for plants for me that I can't kill. Still, I have taken some nice photos and my fans apparently appreciate the pictures. They can commiserate with me when the deer eat my plants. They can give me advice about what deer might not eat.

Yes, my fans enjoy giving me advice. It's okay. I can always use it. Especially when it comes to gardening.

I'm not terrific when it comes to decorating either. So when I put up a photo of the lampshades I bought that did not look right, I received a wealth of suggestions.

When I dropped my favorite Corningware roasting pan, I got a lot of sympathy. Evidently, there are those who can relate to my klutziness.

Losing weight is a great topic, too.

My fans do look at photos of my artwork, an area where I do have some skill. I get lots of compliments, which sort of makes up for the posts about my klutziness.

Ancient photos receive quite a bit of attention. So far, the photo I posted of me in my Girl Scout uniform has gotten more hits than anything else I've posted. I've gotten more hits than my number of fans. Maybe they all looked at it twice?

What would you like to see on my Facebook fan page?

I Was Lucky

There's me on the left, mixing paints, which is something I still love to do. My brother is sitting on the floor with my sister. In the photo on the right, my mother is at the easel.

It is now three years since Mom passed away. Today is the anniversary of that loss. Mom is still missed, but I consider myself very lucky to have had such a wonderful mother. Mom stayed home to raise us. Yes, the majority of mothers were stay-at-home moms during that era, but my mother put her heart and soul into the job. Nurturing came first.

Still, she never gave up her art. Often, she would paint late at night. Later, when everyone had grown up, she had more time to devote to her passion. For a look at some of her work go to this post:

http://penelopemarzec.blogspot.com/2009/07/some-of-my-moms-paintings.html

No matter how important her art was to her, when someone needed her, she was there. She did the right thing and gave out the best advice. Always.

I wish I could use my cellphone to give her a call. :^(

The New Blue Arrow

I noticed something new on the Barnes & Noble website when I went to check out the status of my books. There's a clever little icon on the bottom right corner of my newer books, a small blue arrow with the words, "Read instantly." It reminded me of Alice and the bottle that said, "Drink me." The arrow intends to entice readers to open the book right away and begin reading a sample.

It worked for me. I checked my own books and then I went and checked out a whole bunch of other books. This could be dangerous. My to-be-read stash of books has been out of hand for a long, long time.

There is one glitch. The cute little blue arrow does not work with older browsers. While that does not matter because anyone can download a free sample, the instant gratification of reading a sample with one click makes it so much more satisfying and you can be assured that you will not wind up ten inches high as Alice did.

So go on over to my page at Barnes & Noble, http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/penelope-marzec. Read a few samples and see which one grabs you.

Life Skill #34A : Changing a Flat Tire

I believe all of us need to know certain Life Skills. I taught my daughters to cook, do laundry, and clean toilet bowls. They met other students in college who did not know these things.

On my list, Life Skill #34A is changing a flat tire. I was reminded of this particular skill on Friday night. Daughter #1 went out with a friend and at the end of the evening, her friend discovered she had a flat tire on her car.

Everyone who owns a car should know how to change a tire. It's easy to use a cellphone to call a road service, but it might take a while for help to arrive. If you are in a cold place, waiting might not be a good idea. Also remember that cellphone batteries sometimes fail at critical times and that often flat tires happen in places where there are no cell towers, pay phones, or other people.

When our daughters bought their first cars, hubby taught them how to change the tire. A young woman should never expect a hunky hero to be nearby. It would be nice, but in real life it doesn't always work out that way.

I know this because it happened to me.

Once, I had to change a flat tire while it was snowing on a dark lonely interstate in February. Cellphones had not been invented yet and I did not have a CB radio either. Fortunately, I was not alone. I had my mother, my youngest sister and my friend with me. We had been visiting my other sister in a hospital in Scranton.

By the time we headed for home, it was dark and snow was falling. I drove slower because the road had become icy.

On a lonely stretch of Interstate 380, the car pulled to the right as one tire went flat. I had flares, which I lit. I got out the tools, the spare, and the jack. My younger sister held the flashlight. I took off the hubcap and handed it to my friend for safe keeping so we didn't lose it in the thickly falling snow.

A few eighteen wheelers passed us. We did not see a single patrol car.

I had gotten the wheels balanced a few day before the trip and the lug nuts were on so tight that it took both my mother and I to loosen them. As we removed each one them, we placed them in the hubcap which my friend held.

The snow continued to fall. We put on spare in about twenty minutes--just as the flares sputtered out.

As soon as we got rolling again, I turned up the heat. We could have turned into icicles if we had stayed in the cold much longer.

Make sure your daughters know how to change a flat tire. Make sure they are strong, independent women who know what to do--just in case a hunky hero isn't nearby. Or, in case, they have to change a flat for a clueless hunky hero. :^)

Barnacle Dad

My father was never a seafaring man. Yes, he traveled to the South Pacific during World War II in a troop ship, and he could row our rowboat in Treasure Lake, but that was the extent of his watery adventures. So when the dermatologist told me Dad has a barnacle on his back, I thought it was funny--and so did Dad.

The technical name for Dad's unsightly bump is seborrheic keratosis, but it is commonly called a barnacle. Big, ugly, crusty and brown, it stuck out and was visible under his shirt. Yesterday, I took him to the dermatologist who sliced it off quickly and painlessly.

Years ago, when hubby had a boat. He used to put a special paint on the bottom to prevent barnacles--the real ones. Can barnacles be prevented on people? Hmmm?

New Website

I spent quite a bit of time yesterday working on my new website. It is plain and simple, which is the way I generally like things to be. Less is more is most matters--although I haven't been able to apply that principle to my collection of books. :^(

I used a free Weebly site and forwarded my domain name to it. So anyone can type in penelopemarzec.com and wind up at penelopemarzec.weebly.com. (I love the magical internet.)

I intend to add more stuff like links or banners in the future. For now it has all the important information, which is mainly my books and links to each of them. There's a contest and a contact form, too. So go ahead and sign up for the contest! What have you got to lose.

My Newsletter

Here's a view of the newsletter I send out sporadically to my fans using MailChimp. If you go to Summer Scuttlebutt you can read the entire newsletter, which includes a recipe for Lemon Bars that you won't want to miss. (It's easy, quick, and so delicious!)

If you would like to receive the next newsletter go to the contact page at my website HERE. In the comment section write NEWSLETTER. That's all you have to do. Then the next time I send out a newsletter, you'll get one. I don't send out a newsletter very often, so you won't have a cluttered email inbox on my account. :^) However, if you would enjoy hearing from me on a daily basis, LIKE my Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/penelopemarzecbooks Right now I have a lovely photo of the blizzard of 2010 there--maybe it will cool you off. :^)

Begging for Love

Half-Way Up the Pyramid of the Moon

That's me, age 24, half-way up the Pyramid of the Moon in Mexico. I gave up climbing at that point. In 1974, I went to Mexico with my sister-in-law and one of her friends. My brother had died six months earlier, so my sister-in-law was a relatively new widow.

I had taken French classes in high school so I did not know any Spanish at all, but my sister-in-law spoke fluent Spanish. We went to several small towns of historical significance and then wound up in Mexico City. The small towns had been far more interesting to me for the glimpse of authentic Mexican culture. Mexico City was another big, international city and I had seen several of those by that point in my life. However, I had never seen pyramids so I happily hopped on a bus to spend the day climbing. But it was hot and I tired out fairly quickly. Reading about the pyramids was more fascinating than climbing them.

When I think of Mexico now, I think of the small towns with the plazas on Saturday night and the sound of a mariachi band drifting through the air. I think of the bakeries and the taste of fresh bolillos. I think of the bullfight, too. Poor bull.

But the pyramids. Well, I saw them and I climbed upon them. But I'd rather sit in a plaza, listen to mariachi music and eat bolillos.

In the Style of the Vanderbilts

Hubby and I went on a Road Scholar tour of Great Camp Sagamore. This was our third Road Scholar tour. We've enjoyed each of the programs. In 2010, we visited White River Junction in Vermont. (You can read about that tour HERE.) Last year we visited Chincoteague in Virginia. (Check it out HERE.)

Great Camp Sagamore was a very different experience. For one thing, there is no cell phone service. It is in the wilderness--what was once known as the Dismal Wilderness. It is the land of no cell phone towers. However, there is a phone in the camp which visitors may use with a prepaid calling card.

There isn't any television either, which isn't a bad thing for me or hubby because we don't watch it anyhow. There is a large screen TV with a DVD player and there are some DVDs available for guests. There are board games and books for the use of guests, too.

There is wifi--not in individual rooms but in the dining hall and the reading room. Some people are happy to leave all the technology behind when they go into the wilderness, but I did not want to be cut off completely.

At Great Camp Sagamore, guests usually share bathrooms. Ours was a little way down the hall, but very clean, neat, and modern. We had a bathroom with a shower, but some visitors got old-fashioned bathtubs with feet. :^)

Meals are served buffet style in the big dining room and the food was great. We had to clear our own dishes off the table and put them in the kitchen to be cleaned. All guests took turns wiping down the tables and sweeping the floor. We had to make our own beds and take care of our towels and linens.

Great Camp Sagamore is not a luxury hotel. It is a living museum.

Hubby and I arrived one day early, which gave us the opportunity to visit the Adirondack Museum. That extensive collection was well worth the price of admission.

The one thing that bothered just about everyone was the black flies. It was black fly season. In New Jersey, we are annoyed with mosquitoes, but in the Adirondacks, the black flies swarm. I did not know this until the young lady who signed us in at the office suggested we borrow bug jackets. I had never heard of a bug jacket until that point, but I found it to be a very useful garment.

The jacket made me look strange. Maybe I scared the bugs away! Hubby preferred slathering himself with bug repellent.

Naturally, the Vanderbilts did not visit Great Camp Sagamore during black fly season. The Vanderbilts usually came for a month in August once the black flies were done swarming. The Vanderbilts also came for a few weeks at Christmas time. That was it for the most part. However, many dignitaries and even movie stars were invited to the camp. The caretakers lived there year round.

Hubby and I enjoyed rowing and canoeing on the lake. We played a game of croquet with another couple who knew the rules. (Croquet was a favorite game at Sagamore.) In addition to touring all the buildings at Sagamore, the Road Scholars toured Uncas, which is nearby.

In addition to lectures on the history of the camp and the Vanderbilts, we were treated to entertainment by Bill Smith, an Adirondack treasure!

We enjoyed the company of other Road Scholars who came from all over the country to learn about the camp. Road Scholars runs terrific programs and the prices are reasonable. You can sign up HERE.

One Good Father

This is a photo of my paternal grandfather. He lived to be 86. His mother came to this country from Ireland as a domestic, and for the rest of her life she never wanted to go back to Ireland. She met her husband here in the States. They married, settled in Jersey City and had nine children. My grandfather was the oldest. He was short, like the rest of his siblings--a veritable brood of leprechauns. My grandfather had a dry wit and was always poking fun at anyone and everyone.

He came of age as World War I erupted. Given the job of cook in the trenches, he also had to retrieve the bodies of fallen soldiers.

After the conflict ended, he got a job as a jitney bus driver. Then he met my grandmother. She wasn't Catholic. At that time, marrying outside the faith was frowned upon. My grandparents were not married at the altar, they were married in the vestibule of the church.

He became a milkman and in those days, even in the city, the milkman delivered milk with a horse and wagon, early in the morning. It was steady work--even during the Depression. He and my grandmother had three boys. My father is the oldest. The second son died in World War II.

My grandmother's father owned a chicken farm. When he died, my grandfather could have inherited the farm, but he did not like chickens. He said they were always dying. He continued to be a milkman until he retired--although after a while the horse and wagon were replaced with a truck. :^)

After my grandmother died, Granddad continued to live in his house in the city. He helped out the neighbors and had his job at the polls during elections. Some of his siblings still lived in the old family home a few blocks away and they sent him homemade soup or meatballs. But he could cook up a very good Western omelet on his own.

He got cancer and stayed with my parents for a while. Then he had to go into a nursing home, but he was not there for long before he died.

He was a good father. He remained faithful to his wife, worked at a steady job until he retired, and then helped those around him. His children became hard-working honest men, committed to their wives and families, too.

My grandfather was one of the best, but there are many other great fathers in the world today--like my own hubby, my father, his brother, my sisters' husbands, and so many more. I want to wish all of them a Happy Father's Day.

The Problem With Traveling

Here's a very young me overlooking Florence, Italy. A long time ago, I signed up for summer study in Italy. I got six college credits, plus I learned a lot about Italian history. Years later, I wrote a suspense novel with Florence as the setting, but I knew the story needed work and I never got around to fixing it. I feel I should really take another trip to Italy to see if I have all the details correct. :^)

I enjoyed Florence and I was there for six weeks, so after a while I did not feel like a tourist anymore. Nevertheless, I missed my home and my family. In those days, communication overseas was difficult. I wrote letters and my family wrote back to me. I still have those letters and they are a real treasure.

I have other books I finished that I know need work. There's one with Mexico as a backdrop because I once visited Mexico, too. That's the problem with traveling. I'll go someplace and then I'll want to use it as a setting for a novel. I've been to Florida a gazillion times and I have every intention of using it as a setting one of these days.

I sure wish I could write faster.

Do you have any favorite settings for novels?

Two Rings

We had one car when I was young and Dad used it to go to work. He worked in Jersey City, but he spent most of his career on the graveyard shift because newspapers are put together at night.

I commuted to college in Jersey City. However, my father's schedule and mine seldom coincided. As a result, I had to walk a mile to the bus stop and hop on board the Red and Tan Lines everyday. I arrived at Journal Square in Jersey City approximately forty-five minutes later--depending on the traffic. From Journal Square I caught a bus that traveled along Kennedy Boulevard and reached the college in about fifteen minutes. If I had a class that ended at 6 p.m., I had a more arduous journey home because the Red and Tan, which was an express bus, left at 5:30 p.m. So I would have to take the local bus to the Square, then catch a PATH train to Newark, and then take another bus home--or if it was really late, I'd have to take a train.

When I arrived in my hometown, I would use a public pay phone to call home. I put in my dime, let the phone ring twice, and hung up. That was the signal for Mom or my brother to come and pick me up. I would start walking home, and if the car was available I would get picked up somewhere along the way. If not, I walked the entire distance, which seemed a lot longer in the evening because I was tired and hungry.

For four years, I cheated the phone company by hanging up the phone after two rings and taking back my dime. There's some irony in the situation because I wound up marrying hubby, who worked at Bell Labs. As it turned out, he had commuted to college also. He would signal his parents by ringing three times before he hung up.

Nowadays, there are fewer pay phones. When my daughter needs a ride home from the train station, she sends me a text message. It's so much simpler and far more efficient, plus her cellphone carrier can't complain because they get their money every month.

Texting can be a good thing.