K.C. Kendricks's Blog, page 93
July 11, 2013
Never satisfied
July 11, 2013
It's happened again. I'm changing the look of my website. I've lost count of what incarnation this is. Six? Seven? Twelve? I really don't know.
The last time I redid it, I loved the colorful rainbow I found. It's so bright and full of action and life I had to use it. After doing most of the pages it turned out that it didn't quite fit my vision, but I went with it. One must sometimes move back to priorities and I had a couple of deadlines to meet.
I still have deadlines to meet, but it's been bugging me. I still love the stylized rainbow, but I'm tired of the black background, especially since I figured out why the website didn't load properly on Chrome with the previous red background. (It's still best viewed using IE for some reason.) I'm going to have to do the work to revamp the site a little bit at a time, but that's the way it goes. I started on one of the "back" pages last night and I think it's going to be fine.
If you want to check it out, please visit the FAQ page at KCKendricks .
Have a great day!
KC
http://www.kckendricks.com
http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks
http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
It's happened again. I'm changing the look of my website. I've lost count of what incarnation this is. Six? Seven? Twelve? I really don't know.
The last time I redid it, I loved the colorful rainbow I found. It's so bright and full of action and life I had to use it. After doing most of the pages it turned out that it didn't quite fit my vision, but I went with it. One must sometimes move back to priorities and I had a couple of deadlines to meet.
I still have deadlines to meet, but it's been bugging me. I still love the stylized rainbow, but I'm tired of the black background, especially since I figured out why the website didn't load properly on Chrome with the previous red background. (It's still best viewed using IE for some reason.) I'm going to have to do the work to revamp the site a little bit at a time, but that's the way it goes. I started on one of the "back" pages last night and I think it's going to be fine.
If you want to check it out, please visit the FAQ page at KCKendricks .
Have a great day!
KC
http://www.kckendricks.com
http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks
http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
July 8, 2013
Port.....or Starboard
July 8, 2013
The world is full of interesting and fun facts that don't do a thing to bring about world peace or to end world hunger. Nonetheless, we like them. Our brains are like little sponges and we suck up these tidbits because they make us feel smarter.
Wanna know what tidbit of totally useless information I learned recently? Sure you do. You're at Between the Keys so smile! So here it is. From Wikipedia, the reason why only PORT wine from Portugal can be called PORT:
Port wine (also known as Vinho do Porto, Portuguese pronunciation: [ˌviɲuduˈpoɾtu], Porto, and often simply port) is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal.[1] It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine though it also comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties. Fortified wines in the style of port are also produced outside Portugal, most notably in Australia, South Africa, Canada, India, Argentina, and the United States. Under European Union Protected Designation of Origin guidelines, only the product from Portugal may be labelled as port or Porto.[2] In the United States, wines labelled "port" may come from anywhere in the world,[3] while the names "Dão", "Oporto", "Porto", and "Vinho do Porto" have been recognized as foreign, non-generic names for wines originating in Portugal.[4]
Huh.
We recently stopped by Knob Hall Winery again and got a bottle of their wine made "in the style of port." OMG is it delicious!
So what do they call it since they can't call it "port?" Starboard, of course!
KC
http://www.kckendricks.com
http://www.pinterest.com/kckendricks
http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks
http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
The world is full of interesting and fun facts that don't do a thing to bring about world peace or to end world hunger. Nonetheless, we like them. Our brains are like little sponges and we suck up these tidbits because they make us feel smarter.
Wanna know what tidbit of totally useless information I learned recently? Sure you do. You're at Between the Keys so smile! So here it is. From Wikipedia, the reason why only PORT wine from Portugal can be called PORT:
Port wine (also known as Vinho do Porto, Portuguese pronunciation: [ˌviɲuduˈpoɾtu], Porto, and often simply port) is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal.[1] It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine though it also comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties. Fortified wines in the style of port are also produced outside Portugal, most notably in Australia, South Africa, Canada, India, Argentina, and the United States. Under European Union Protected Designation of Origin guidelines, only the product from Portugal may be labelled as port or Porto.[2] In the United States, wines labelled "port" may come from anywhere in the world,[3] while the names "Dão", "Oporto", "Porto", and "Vinho do Porto" have been recognized as foreign, non-generic names for wines originating in Portugal.[4]
Huh.
We recently stopped by Knob Hall Winery again and got a bottle of their wine made "in the style of port." OMG is it delicious!
So what do they call it since they can't call it "port?" Starboard, of course!
KC
http://www.kckendricks.com
http://www.pinterest.com/kckendricks
http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks
http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
July 7, 2013
The Family Tree
July 7, 2013
One of the things I wanted to do when I retired from gainful employment, but not from life, was research my family tree. That got a jump start about eighteen months ago thanks to a blunder made by my mother that led to the discovery of a previously unknown cousin. This cousin, being of a generous nature, handed over my maternal grandmother's genealogy. Every new reveal is great fun, well, except for learning someone died from snakebite, etc. Times were hard in the 1800s.
Along with the discoveries comes a different sort of eye-opener, that being the reason behind my lack of knowledge. Apparently very few in my family really cared where we came from. Heck, I'm not even sure they cared where we're going. It's a bit unsettling. Anyway, they didn't feel it necessary to impart some interesting information to myself or my cousins - like how many people we're distantly related to on this mountain and how. It's a bit scary-fascinating.
Thankfully there are places like Ancestry, Rootweb, Find a Grave and others. I really like Find a Grave because it's FREE and there are volunteers all over the USA finding grave sites and photographing monuments and stones to preserve the information before time and weather erode it.
If you're one of the lucky few who have had family members go before you and publish books on part of your family tree, get the books. You may not care but your children may thank you.
Remember - they won't learn this stuff through osmosis, so help them out. They might just thank you one day.
KC
http://www.kckendricks.com
http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks
http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
One of the things I wanted to do when I retired from gainful employment, but not from life, was research my family tree. That got a jump start about eighteen months ago thanks to a blunder made by my mother that led to the discovery of a previously unknown cousin. This cousin, being of a generous nature, handed over my maternal grandmother's genealogy. Every new reveal is great fun, well, except for learning someone died from snakebite, etc. Times were hard in the 1800s.
Along with the discoveries comes a different sort of eye-opener, that being the reason behind my lack of knowledge. Apparently very few in my family really cared where we came from. Heck, I'm not even sure they cared where we're going. It's a bit unsettling. Anyway, they didn't feel it necessary to impart some interesting information to myself or my cousins - like how many people we're distantly related to on this mountain and how. It's a bit scary-fascinating.
Thankfully there are places like Ancestry, Rootweb, Find a Grave and others. I really like Find a Grave because it's FREE and there are volunteers all over the USA finding grave sites and photographing monuments and stones to preserve the information before time and weather erode it.
If you're one of the lucky few who have had family members go before you and publish books on part of your family tree, get the books. You may not care but your children may thank you.
Remember - they won't learn this stuff through osmosis, so help them out. They might just thank you one day.
KC
http://www.kckendricks.com
http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks
http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
July 6, 2013
Congrats to John and Scott
July 6, 2013
Congratulations to Captain Jack Harkness and his long-time love Scott Gill on their nuptials! Yep - after twenty years or so, John Barrowman and Scott Gill have tied the knot in sunny California.
I hope the naysayers took notice that the sky did not fall.
And to whomever is in charge of these things - we need more TORCHWOOD!
KC
http://www.kckendricks.com
http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
Congratulations to Captain Jack Harkness and his long-time love Scott Gill on their nuptials! Yep - after twenty years or so, John Barrowman and Scott Gill have tied the knot in sunny California.
I hope the naysayers took notice that the sky did not fall.
And to whomever is in charge of these things - we need more TORCHWOOD!
KC
http://www.kckendricks.com
http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
July 3, 2013
Doors of Time reviewed by Sensual Reads
July 3, 2013 Happy 4th of July holiday, everyone! As one of the lucky dogs who have a four-day weekend, I plan to cram as much as possible into the next couple of days. And housecleaning is NOT on my list. Nor is yardwork. It's time to have a little fun and celebrate - responsibly, of course. But before the family funfest begins, I have a wonderful piece of business to take care of!
Many thanks to Elise at Sensual Reads who has reviewed Doors of Time. I think this is the first time I ever got an email from a reviewer with a "great job" included, and I've been at this writing business for a while now.
Here's what she has to say about Doors of Time:
You cannot help but fall in love with these two men who want nothing but the best for each other. Neither one is afraid to do whatever is needed to ensure a happy ending. Looking for a great story with a happy ending, a great plot and two wonderful heroes? Look no more, you have found it with Doors of Time by K.C. Kendricks. You will not be disappointed. It is good to the last word.
All I can say is WOW! She really liked it!
KC Kendricks
http://www.kckendricks.com
http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks
http://www.pinterest.com/kckendricks
July 1, 2013
July? Seriously? The summertime blues of dealing with people
July 1, 2013
I've been pensive lately as I consider my place in the universe. We've reached the halfway point of 2013 and I'm feeling a little stifled and stymied. That's not like me at all.
Nor is it like me to be discouraged. Is this the "summertime blues" for which there ain't no cure? If so, it's going to prove problematic to treat with the growing chaos of health care "reform" in the United States.
I suppose this funk started with a series of conversations with a woman who thinks she knows everything about everything. I'm sure you know the type. We rarely discuss life and death so in the overall scheme of things it's all fru-fru and just small talk. What I do care about is the lingering toxicity of dealing with her, what being nice on a continuing basis is doing to my state of mind.
The difficult person is something we all deal with from time-to-time. The stresses of a relationship in which we endeavor to create equality and balance with someone who cares little for such things is exhausting. Unless we decide to sever ties, we have to change our internal responses to that person for our own mental and emotional health.
Too often these days we do choose to sever ties. It's the easiest way out of a bad situation and, truthfully, no one should rule it out as a last resort. But isn't there more?
It's hard work to look beneath the surface, to take the time to discover the perspective of the other person and make the effort to understand their motivations and their point of view, but it's a worthwhile process. Sometimes we learn more about ourselves, who we don't want to be, than the other person but doesn't that benefit us? Learning about self comes from both the positive and the negative.
Some people live small lives full of fear and anxiety. As hard as it is, we need to be kind to them. We may be the only beacon of light they have and they fear losing us. The older they are, the greater that fear may become. Being alone at the end of days is a daunting prospect for anyone.
So it's time for me to shake off my dismay and discouragement and embrace a gentler, more loving approach to people I perceive to be greatly unhappy. I can't fix their situation or improve their lot in life, but I can be kind.
It will improve my life, and that is worth the effort.
KC
http://www.kckendricks.com
http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks
I've been pensive lately as I consider my place in the universe. We've reached the halfway point of 2013 and I'm feeling a little stifled and stymied. That's not like me at all.
Nor is it like me to be discouraged. Is this the "summertime blues" for which there ain't no cure? If so, it's going to prove problematic to treat with the growing chaos of health care "reform" in the United States.
I suppose this funk started with a series of conversations with a woman who thinks she knows everything about everything. I'm sure you know the type. We rarely discuss life and death so in the overall scheme of things it's all fru-fru and just small talk. What I do care about is the lingering toxicity of dealing with her, what being nice on a continuing basis is doing to my state of mind.
The difficult person is something we all deal with from time-to-time. The stresses of a relationship in which we endeavor to create equality and balance with someone who cares little for such things is exhausting. Unless we decide to sever ties, we have to change our internal responses to that person for our own mental and emotional health.
Too often these days we do choose to sever ties. It's the easiest way out of a bad situation and, truthfully, no one should rule it out as a last resort. But isn't there more?
It's hard work to look beneath the surface, to take the time to discover the perspective of the other person and make the effort to understand their motivations and their point of view, but it's a worthwhile process. Sometimes we learn more about ourselves, who we don't want to be, than the other person but doesn't that benefit us? Learning about self comes from both the positive and the negative.
Some people live small lives full of fear and anxiety. As hard as it is, we need to be kind to them. We may be the only beacon of light they have and they fear losing us. The older they are, the greater that fear may become. Being alone at the end of days is a daunting prospect for anyone.
So it's time for me to shake off my dismay and discouragement and embrace a gentler, more loving approach to people I perceive to be greatly unhappy. I can't fix their situation or improve their lot in life, but I can be kind.
It will improve my life, and that is worth the effort.
KC
http://www.kckendricks.com
http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks
June 23, 2013
Double Diamonds now available
June 23, 2013
I must have missed the publisher's announcement this past week that Double Diamonds is available at Amazon. Not surprising considering my week started with my car getting nailed in the parking lot at work and went downhill from there. I'm amazed I got as much done as I did, but remember that I am woman. Hear me roar in a positive, kick ass, get it done and keep moving forward sort of way. I keep writing every day which is my version of taking a happy pill. And, for me, it works like sunshine!
So I'll stop rambling and get to the promo - Double Diamonds is now available at Amazon. Yea! Double Diamonds is a single paperback containing the stories Double Deuce and Deuce of Diamonds, the story of Ian Coulter and Rick Mohr.
For more about Ian and Rick, please visit my website at www.kckendricks.com
To purchase Double Diamonds, please visit Amazon.
KC Kendricks http://www.kckendricks.com http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks http://www.pinterest.com/kckendricks http://blogspot.com.kckendricks
I must have missed the publisher's announcement this past week that Double Diamonds is available at Amazon. Not surprising considering my week started with my car getting nailed in the parking lot at work and went downhill from there. I'm amazed I got as much done as I did, but remember that I am woman. Hear me roar in a positive, kick ass, get it done and keep moving forward sort of way. I keep writing every day which is my version of taking a happy pill. And, for me, it works like sunshine! So I'll stop rambling and get to the promo - Double Diamonds is now available at Amazon. Yea! Double Diamonds is a single paperback containing the stories Double Deuce and Deuce of Diamonds, the story of Ian Coulter and Rick Mohr.
For more about Ian and Rick, please visit my website at www.kckendricks.com
To purchase Double Diamonds, please visit Amazon.
KC Kendricks http://www.kckendricks.com http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks http://www.pinterest.com/kckendricks http://blogspot.com.kckendricks
June 17, 2013
Accepting responsibility for your actions
June 17, 2013
It started out as any other Monday. I got up, went through my morning routine, drove to work, parked my car in my usual spot, and when inside to take care of business. I didn't get far.
I barely had the computer booted up when our custodian came into my office (a very excitable fellow on a good day and this was not) and said there'd been an accident in the parking lot involving my car.
Excuse me? My car?? My car was parked. I left her sitting in the sun, soaking up the rays, her pristine silver finish glistening with flawless perfection. When I parked her this morning she had not a scratch on her.
Then a woman driving a Ford Explorer somehow backed into my car. She cut across the parking lot and then backed up. And she backed up into the side of my car. Did I mention the lot I park in can accommodate seventy-five cars, but at 8:00 AM only three cars are on the lot? Mine, the custodian’s, and director’s. We’re the early birds - in early and out early.
Three cars in a huge lot and this careless woman can’t avoid them.
Luckily for me the custodian and the financial director were in the parking lot at the time and saw it happen. Unluckily for her she wasn't able to rabbit out here, which by all reports was her first impulse.
What's wrong with people anyway? You make a careless mistake in your first impulse is to run and hide and try get away with it? Is that really where we’re going in this country?
I don't know why she thought she could run. Why would she want to bother trying to get away? How was this going to ruin HER day?
She's not the one who had to spend several hours on the phone with insurance companies. She's not the one who had to leave work and go to the body shop and get an estimate. She's not the one who had to go to the claims office and process a bunch paperwork. She's not the one who’s going to be driving some shit piece of rental car crap for four days. She simply thanked the police officer and merrily drove away. It's just not right.
I was minding my business. I was legally parked on my employer’s lot. She was on private property that doesn’t belong to her. And now I've lost a morning's work, my car is damaged, and I'm the one inconvenienced all the way around. And the person whose careless inattention caused the accident gets to drive away like nothing ever happened. It's just not right.
Just not right.
KC
It started out as any other Monday. I got up, went through my morning routine, drove to work, parked my car in my usual spot, and when inside to take care of business. I didn't get far.
I barely had the computer booted up when our custodian came into my office (a very excitable fellow on a good day and this was not) and said there'd been an accident in the parking lot involving my car.
Excuse me? My car?? My car was parked. I left her sitting in the sun, soaking up the rays, her pristine silver finish glistening with flawless perfection. When I parked her this morning she had not a scratch on her.
Then a woman driving a Ford Explorer somehow backed into my car. She cut across the parking lot and then backed up. And she backed up into the side of my car. Did I mention the lot I park in can accommodate seventy-five cars, but at 8:00 AM only three cars are on the lot? Mine, the custodian’s, and director’s. We’re the early birds - in early and out early.
Three cars in a huge lot and this careless woman can’t avoid them.
Luckily for me the custodian and the financial director were in the parking lot at the time and saw it happen. Unluckily for her she wasn't able to rabbit out here, which by all reports was her first impulse.
What's wrong with people anyway? You make a careless mistake in your first impulse is to run and hide and try get away with it? Is that really where we’re going in this country?
I don't know why she thought she could run. Why would she want to bother trying to get away? How was this going to ruin HER day?
She's not the one who had to spend several hours on the phone with insurance companies. She's not the one who had to leave work and go to the body shop and get an estimate. She's not the one who had to go to the claims office and process a bunch paperwork. She's not the one who’s going to be driving some shit piece of rental car crap for four days. She simply thanked the police officer and merrily drove away. It's just not right.
I was minding my business. I was legally parked on my employer’s lot. She was on private property that doesn’t belong to her. And now I've lost a morning's work, my car is damaged, and I'm the one inconvenienced all the way around. And the person whose careless inattention caused the accident gets to drive away like nothing ever happened. It's just not right.
Just not right.
KC
June 8, 2013
A June Wedding
June 8, 2013
Today marks what would have been my parent's 58th wedding anniversary. My parents met when my father's sister married my mother's brother a few years earlier. The wedding was a small, private affair as my mother has never been fond of the "big and splashy" anything. The marriage lasted until my father's death in 1983.
This is one of only five pictures I have of that day. Mom's dress was tea-length with lace overlay and must have been expensive for its time, one of the few store-bought dresses she had up to that point. (Mom was an excellent seamstress in her day and we both dressed well for pennies.)
I wonder what my parents would be like together today. I know I'd no longer be embarrassed by their antics. Being older and hopefully wiser, I look back at them and realize how lucky I was to have parents who chased each other around the house. How I ended up an only child is a real mystery.
Their future didn't work out as planned on June 8, 1955, but they made the best of the time they had together, and that's a lesson we should all take to heart.
Today marks what would have been my parent's 58th wedding anniversary. My parents met when my father's sister married my mother's brother a few years earlier. The wedding was a small, private affair as my mother has never been fond of the "big and splashy" anything. The marriage lasted until my father's death in 1983.
This is one of only five pictures I have of that day. Mom's dress was tea-length with lace overlay and must have been expensive for its time, one of the few store-bought dresses she had up to that point. (Mom was an excellent seamstress in her day and we both dressed well for pennies.)
I wonder what my parents would be like together today. I know I'd no longer be embarrassed by their antics. Being older and hopefully wiser, I look back at them and realize how lucky I was to have parents who chased each other around the house. How I ended up an only child is a real mystery.
Their future didn't work out as planned on June 8, 1955, but they made the best of the time they had together, and that's a lesson we should all take to heart.
June 1, 2013
It's 4.5 Nymphs for Deuce of Diamonds
June 1, 2013
Thanks to Chocolate Minx at Literary Nymphs for her 4.5 Nymph review of Deuce of Diamonds. She gives a short story synopsis and then says, "KC Kendricks has created a splendid as well as an exceptionally enjoyable follow-up to Double Deuce."
Not a lot to work with on the promo circuit, but enough of a snippet to get the job done. I like her review style in that she doesn't use a review to promote herself. A review is supposed to be about the book and this reviewer sticks to business. And that's the highest praise KC will give.
You can read the entire review at: http://literarynymphsreviewsonly.blogspot.com/2013/05/deuce-of-diamonds.html?zx=30eab1e942c3176
And while we're doing a little promo here, Double Deuce and Deuce of Diamonds will be together in a single paperback, Double Diamonds, sometime this summer. I'll give a shout out on Twitter when it's available. Heck, I might even make it over to facebook.
KC
http://www.kckendricks.com
http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks
