Hope Toler Dougherty's Blog, page 9

January Dreams Lead to Spring Realities

January is the month I peruse seed catalogs and gardening books, just like Daddy used to do. It’s the perfect time to sit and dream about beautiful blooms and plump tomatoes and fragrant herbs greeting me from my garden plot or in planters on my front porch. I love turning the pages with colorful petals and perfect vegetables and new plants I’ve never seen before. I can stare at the pictures and read the descriptions for many nights until I take the plunge and order. Lots of entertainment from a...

Inauguration Thoughts

This week we experienced another inauguration, a peaceful transition of power. Trump to Biden. Republican to Democrat.

Social media was crazy with tears and sadness on one side and popping champagne bottles on the other.

Last week, I was shopping in a local gift store. A friend was shopping, too. The recent tragic, craziness at the Capitol, of course, crept into our conversation as well as the coming inauguration. I don’t remember exactly what was said first, but I said, “I have friends on both ...

Happy New Year 2021!

Well, 2020 went out in true 2020 fashion. Because all of us came down with COVID, we didn’t get to celebrate like normal. I didn’t get to bake all our usual cookies. I didn’t bake my husband’s birthday cake. I didn’t finish Christmas shopping. I didn’t get to light the last Advent candle at church with all four of my children (for the first time ever!). I could go on, but I think you get the message.

I did get to experience the vast love from my community and church and family as piles of food ...

Bobby Gray Toler Obituary

I’m sharing my daddy’s obituary today.

Bobby Gray Toler, age 85, stepped into Heaven Wednesday afternoon from his home, surrounded by his family.  Born October 15, 1935 in Johnston County, he was a son of the late Richard Leslie and Agnes Toler. His older brother, Delton Toler, and an infant sister, Clara, predeceased him. Bobby served in the US Army Infantry from November, 1958 through November, 1960 where he was stationed in Aschaffenburg, Germany and then transferred to the US Army Reserve.

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Heirloom Glazed Pecans Recipe

Glazed pecans are delicious and perfect for the holiday season. Have you ever tried them? Heres an easy recipe that Ill use on the pecans Im saving from our trees  Ive used this recipe for years and think of Mrs. Edna Smith every time I use it because shes the one who submitted it to our church cookbook way back in the day.

This recipe doesnt use butter, perfect for the dairy-free crowd. Other recipes include cloves and nutmeg and even orange peel, but those recipes tend to hide the nut...

Picking up Pee-cans or Puh-cahns?

Lately, I feel like I’ve discovered picking up pecans. It’s a peaceful time for me, and I pick up some almost every day.

One of the pecan trees on our land.

Last week while we were in Manteo, I picked up pecans under an ancient tree in the yard of a house on the National Register of Historic Places. Kevin called a realtor because it was listed for sale.  I couldn’t leave those pecans and picked up ten while he chatted. Big fat ones, just lying in the grass.

I’m not some urban-type person who now...

#HalloweenThrowbackChallenge

Here’s a back-in-the-day picture of all of us dressed to cheer on our favorite team, the Pittsburgh Steelers! These weren’t our Halloween costumes, however. We donated money to our local fire department for one 8 x 10 picture. We dressed in black and gold for our portrait session as a joke because we aren’t not photogenic and hate having our picture made.

Of course, we bought a package when the proofs came back, and we still have a bunch of these pictures in a folder waiting for exactly a time l...

Do You Believe God Delivers Help?

I was praying and writing on this tiny sliver of land, Hatteras Island, the Outer Banks, NC.

 

Last week, I needed God to help me in a big way. I just signed a contract for a Christmas novella with the manuscript due next spring and all I had for the story was the time, Christmas; the setting, the Outer Banks; and the genre, contemporary romance. One possible, vague idea involved letters and grandmothers, but that’s it, folks.

I’m Inadequate; God is limitless.

God’s help is constant, just li...

Are You For or Against Expensive Sunglasses?

Expensive sunglasses—yes or no? do you pay a lot for sunglasses? Ches Windham, of course, owns a pair of Ray-Bans in the beginning of Forever Music. One of the first scenes shows him with paperwork for his pair that got broken at the airport parking lot.  They’re a status symbol for him that goes with his brand new car and his gig as a rising-profile attorney at a downtown Charlotte law firm.

According to Google, some Ray-Ban models can go as high as $500. Five hundred dollars?

Back in the Day

B...

Writing Retreat on the Outer Banks

God’s promise, a rainbow, after a quick shower Monday afternoon.

This week I’m on Hatteras Island at a writing retreat. I’m here to begin a novella for a Christmas collection with other Scrivenings Press authors and sharing the week with five other Christian writers.

This retreat has been planned since last year. (I wrote about my Hatteras week last year. Here’s a blog post, if you’re interested in reading.) I vacillated about coming for a while because of the pandemic and other reasons, but the...