• Literary Pursuits

    Write 31 Days Wrap-up

    Today wraps up the Write 31 Days challenge. And while I didn’t actually write something new every day, I did manage to post every day throughout the month of October. That was challenge enough for this year. Maybe next year I’ll have more of a theme for October’s challenge. It’s been a lot of fun. I’ve enjoyed coming up with…

  • Literary Pursuits

    31 Days of Ramblin’

    My friend, Sheila at Making the Most of Every Day, encouraged me to join the Write 31 Days writing challenge for the month of October. You may have noticed that during the past few weeks I’ve been trying to blog five days a week, taking weekends off. Now that I’m in the groove, I decided to go for the 31-day…

  • Literary Pursuits

    Why Do I Blog?

    Those of you who have been following my blog for awhile have probably noticed that I’ve been doing some updating lately. The most obvious is that I’ve moved from Blogger to my own domain. That has been a learning curve in and of itself. My site layout is not yet what I want it to be, but that will come…

  • Heritage

    The Granddaddy Tapes

    This coming weekend my parents and their five children, along with in-laws and grandchildren, will be gathering to celebrate my parents’ 50th anniversary which was earlier this spring. In preparation for a day of sharing memories, I’ve been gathering pictures and scrapbooks and all kinds of memorabilia to take along. As I was getting things together I happened to remember…

  • Literary Pursuits

    Weevils in the Flour

    Awhile back I was reading some (way) back issues in the archives of the Altus Times-Democrat newspaper on Google News. Altus is the county seat of the little town where my mother grew up. I am working on a novel set in the area during the Dust Bowl days of the Great Depression. This was an ad for a local grocery store…

  • Literary Pursuits

    Writer’s Retreat

     This week a friend and I went “off the grid” for a mini writer’s retreat. We stayed in one of these cute little lakeside cabins. It was a productive time. We both worked on our books, brainstormed with each other, and enjoyed probably just a tad too much off-topic chit-chat. The weather was pretty blustery, though the sun was out…

  • Literary Pursuits

    Quiet Times

    During the summer months I look forward to having my morning quiet times on the deck just outside the kitchen. It is shady and cool there early in the morning. The breeze rustles the aspen and fir trees along the fence. The chickens cluck contentedly. The dog sniffs around the yard to see if anything has changed overnight. The cat…

  • Literary Pursuits

    Goldtown Adventures – review

    Fellow homeschool-mom Susan K. Marlow’s new book series for kids, Goldtown Adventures, has launched! Badge of Honor  is an exciting historical novel for kids. It takes place in the waning days of the California gold rush, as seen through the eyes of 12-year-old Jem. There is still gold to be found (small amounts, anyway) if one is willing to work…

  • Heritage

    The Eldorado Courier

    My grandparents and their children moved away from Eldorado, Oklahoma in 1958. Many of our relatives still lived there, so my grandparents had a subscription to The Eldorado Courier (pronounced “Elda-ray-duh Coo-yer”) to keep up with the happenings in their hometown. Sometimes Grandmother would include a clipping from the Courier in a letter to Mother when I was growing up. When I…

  • Literary Pursuits

    Writer’s Retreat

    I’m not sure I dare admit that I spent this past weekend at a writer’s retreat, because then I would have to admit that I’ve officially started my novel. That’s exciting for me, but very scary at the same time because, you see, if I start it, I have to finish it, right? And if I finish it, you’re probably…