Hope Toler Dougherty's Blog, page 11

Announcing a New Publishing House!

My books just got acquired by a new publisher, Scrivenings Press. To celebrate, the new publishing house is hosting a Facebook party on Tuesday night, July 7th from 6-8:30 CDT. (That’s 7-9:30 EDT.) Attendees will get to meet many authors and  have a chance to win books and a $50 gift card.

Click to see and respond to the invitation.

I hope to see you tomorrow night!

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Easter a New Way

I wrote the rough draft of this post on April 10th, Good Friday and then promptly forgot it.

I’d been a little melancholy all week because of the stay-at-home order to flatten the Covid-19 curve. The week leading up to holidays are normally packed for me, and Holy Week is no different. Last year, I was busy making plans, studying menus and recipes, securing last-minute invites, checking my Easter Menu and Grocery list that’s saved in my documents.

I love perrusing this list, drawing lines throug...

Running 5Ks and Forever Music

Let’s just get this straight. I hate running 5Ks.

Showing off my third place medal from the Java Jog.

Even so, I find myself running 5Ks .

Here’s a list of some of the 5Ks I’ve run:

Quinn’s Eagle Project–run to add children’s books to our public library.

Feel the Burn–fundraiser for our fire department

Uganda–fundraiser for our church’s mission trip to Uganda

Senior Class–fundraiser for a senior class at our high school

Java Jog –fundraiser for our high school sponsored by my favorite coffee sho...

Flag Day 2020

June 14th is flag Day. This year the day fell on a Sunday. I try to avoid social media and working on Sunday, so I’m posting pictures of our flag today instead of yesterday.

Here it is with the wind blowing south to north.

 

Sometimes the wind is a bit fickle.

Sometimes there’s no wind at all, but isn’t the sky beautiful?

Sometimes the wind blows from north to south.

Sometimes heavy rains force the pond to escape its banks.

The flag still looks good with fierce storm clouds swirling.

Our flag ...

Musical Inspiration for Forever Music

I saw this billboard at the Outer Banks last fall.

When my husband and I were dating in Charlotte, NC, we frequented a little pub called the Red Door Tavern for quick suppers. One night as we were eating, an older gentleman, probably my age now, dropped change in the juke box and soon the strains of “What a Wonderful World” permeated the restaurant.

It’s always been one of my favorite songs, and I was happy to hear it.  Written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss, the song’s been recorded hundr...

I Apologize

This week has been a hard week in the United States.

On Monday I saw a comment on a Facebook post of someone I consider like a son. (Let’s call him Joe.) I have two white biological sons, but I feel like I have several non-white, adopted ones as well. All of these young men who are in their mid-twenties now grew up in youth group together with our children. They’ve been to our house, shared holidays and vacations, and slept over. We gave two a place to live for over a year. We’ve counseled them...

My Little Free Library

I asked for a Little Free Library for Christmas, 2017, and my brother made me one. (I just forgot to write a post about it.) It’s planted at the end of our driveway and now is filled with all kinds of books. It makes me happy every time I spy it when I come home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here he is measuring and…I’m not sure what. Maybe he’s making sure it’ll withstand our NC hurricanes.

 

 

Here’s the finished product. I love it! Don’t you! It’s also the site of my Forever Music book drive-by Covid-style...

Drive-By Book Launch Covid-Style

In North Carolina, we’re still in the modified phase two of reopening the state. Some businesses are open, but libraries aren’t fully functional yet. I wanted to have a book launch at my public library. Since that may not happen for a good while, I thought of the next best place, my Little Free Library at the end of my driveway! Our drive-by Covid-style book launch turned out to be quite successful

 

 

A sweet friend, Susan, brought a gorgeous flower arrangement she created from her garden. The...

Memorial Day 2020

Today is Memorial Day. That’s the day we remember people who have died while serving in the United States Armed Services.

They’re the ones who fought for our right to rant on Facebook, disagree with leaders, vote for change or status quo, to worship when and where we want, to sing “America the Beautiful” or say things like, “If this or that doesn’t happen, I’m moving to Canada.” They’re the people who left family, friends, and comfortable beds to be told what to do and when and how to do it.

The...

Remember the Orchid

My orchid is still blooming at our house. I never thought of myself as an orchid person. I never really wanted one because I thought they were too fussy…until someone gave me one. Unfortunately, that one died despite my trying to keep it alive. The one in the picture is one I bought in September of 2018 because three of my children were coming home for Labor Day Weekend, and I wanted to celebrate.

I kept it alive, and it rewarded me with another blooming in February, 2020.  It’s mid May now, an...