Kate Collins's Blog, page 89

Spotlight Saturday: ONLY SKEIN DEEP Excerpt

by Maggie Sefton


For today's Spotlight, I'm posting a scene from the new Kelly Flynn Mystery which will be out this coming Tuesday, June 6th.  In this scene, Kelly is recounting a memory for teenager Cassie.


A funny memory tickled the back of Kelly’s mind.  She decided to share it since it would make Cassie laugh.  “You know, several of us played on coed volleyball teams a few years ago.  Megan and I were both playing on one team.  And Steve and Marty were playing on another coed team.”“That sounds like fun,” Cassie said, as she continued to wind the yellow yarn.  More memories surged forward, and Kelly grinned.  “That was during a weird time when Steve and I were not talking to each other, not going out together, either.  In fact, we didn’t see each other at all.  Whenever I’d go over to see Megan and Marty, Lisa and Greg, and Jennifer and Pete, Steve wasn’t there.  And the reverse would happen whenever Steve went to visit them.  I wouldn’t be there.”The yarn winder stopped turning immediately.  Cassie turned in her chair, instead.  “What!  Why?”Kelly laughed.  “Like I said it was a weird time.  I’d said something to Steve that he didn’t like, and he got mad.  I came back to the cottage where we were both living together, and Steve had moved out completely.  His clothes were gone, everything.  Even his toothbrush.”  Kelly shook her head, thinking back now over the incident that caused their breakup.Cassie stared back at Kelly, her eyes wide, clearly incredulous at what she was hearing.  “I can’t believe that.  What did you say?”Kelly let out a sigh, realizing she would have to explain more for the story to make sense to Cassie.  “Well, let me back up some and try to explain.  The Recession had hit Northern Colorado like it did everywhere in the country, and builders and developers either shut down their housing developments or slowed them to a crawl.  Some builders went out of business completely.    No one was buying houses.  Steve was hanging on by his fingernails.  Everything he’d worked so hard for was slipping through his fingers, and he couldn’t stop it.  He’d even had to sell his properties in Old Town. Anyway, one night we’d come from being with the Gang and Marty and Megan announced they were going to get married.  Later, when Steve and I were back at the cottage, he suddenly, out of the blue, asked me if I wanted to get married, too.”     Cassie was listening attentively, Kelly noticed.  And, Dee Dee was looking over at them from across the room where she was checking buttons.  Even Rosa, glanced over from her spot behind the front counter.       “You said ‘yes,’ didn’t you?” Cassie demanded.     “Well. . .” Kelly started, wondering how to begin.     “No, she didn’t!” Mimi’s voice interjected.  The smiling shop owner had suddenly appeared from around the corridor where she’d obviously been listening.     Cassie blinked, clearly astonished.  “What!”     “Well. . .” Kelly tried again.  “I didn’t really say anything at first.  I was so shocked that he even asked I just stared at him.  Then, I blurted out something like, ‘Steve!  You’ve barely holding on, and you want to get married?’”     Cassie’s blue eyes got even wider.  “Oh, no. . .” she whispered.     “You didn’t,” Dee Dee ventured, looking as surprised as Cassie.     “Yeah, I did,” Kelly confessed.  “And I could tell from the look on his face that I’d said the wrong thing.  The very worst thing.  I could see that Steve was looking for reassurance.  Everything else in his life was falling apart.  And I acted like I was rejecting him.  So, he walked away.  The next day when I was at a client’s office, he came and cleared out all his things.  I was going to apologize and try to make up, but I never got the chance.  Steve was gone.”  Kelly looked around at her transfixed audience.      “What happened then?” Cassie asked.  “How’d you two get back together?”     “Yeah, this is a great story,” Dee Dee said with a laugh.  She gestured toward Kelly.  “I take it this Steve is the father, right?”     Kelly laughed out loud at that.  “Yes.  Yes, he is.  And, we did get back together, but not right away.  It took about a year---”     “What!”         “Didn’t you two see each other around town or something?”     “Nope,” Kelly said, shaking her head.  “I was either working in the cottage across the driveway, here in Lambspun,  or going to see my client in Denver or my other client’s properties in Fort Connor.  I kind of burrowed into my work.  And, so did Steve.  Because the housing situation was so bad, he actually joined with a builder in Northern Colorado who had a commercial development he was working on along with some other  commercial sites around Denver.  So Steve was out of town all the time.  He said he would often bunk at a friend’s place in Denver or sleep in his car.”       “Ohhhhhhhh, poor Steve,” Cassie sympathized.     “Yes, poor Steve,” Mimi echoed in a teasing tone from behind the counter.  Rosa giggled.       “Hey, you, two.  I didn’t make Steve sleep in his car,” Kelly countered with a laugh.  “All our friends said he just dropped out of everyone’s lives for about six months and   squirrelled himself away in Denver.”     “Squirrelled away,” Cassie snickered.  “Never heard that before.”     “Carl taught me that word,” Kelly teased.  “Anyway, about six months after he walked out, we accidentally ran into each other at this big real estate developers’ conference at a hotel in Denver.  Steve’s boss asked him to attend and pick up any new ideas developers were tossing around.  I attended because my Denver client was there, and he wanted me there as his financial advisor.”     “And. . .” Dee Dee encouraged.     “And, Steve and I nearly ran into each other at the coffee machine.”  Kelly laughed softly, remembering.  “He just stared at me, his mouth open.  After a moment I said to him, ‘Are you just gonna stare at me or say something?’  Anyway, that got us talking at least.  Work stuff mostly, then we both went back to our seats.  That’s all.”     Cassie looked puzzled.  “That’s all?  Something else must have happened.”     “Yeah,” Dee Dee prodded.  “How’d you two get to that volleyball game?”     “Oh, yeah,” Kelly said with another laugh.  “Sorry.  Pregnancy Brain.  Since we at least broke the ice, we would say ‘hello’ to each other at the conference.  Then a couple of weeks later, Megan and I started playing in a coed volleyball league in Northern Colorado.  Believe it or not, Steve and Marty were playing on one of the other teams.  And we had to play them one time.  Well, I was playing front line one night and Steve was right across from me.  We were both getting into the game, and one shot came over the net and I. .  .well, I stuffed it.  Right in Steve’s face.”     Cassie looked shocked at first, then burst out laughing.  “You didn’t!”     “Ohhhhhh, yes, I did,” Kelly said with a grin.  “And I enjoyed every minute of it.”     “What’d Steve do?”     “Yeah, what’d he do?” Dee Dee asked with a laugh.     “He shook his head to clear it, then he looked across the net at me and said, ‘You didn’t just do that.’  And, I said:  “Yeah, I did,’ and laughed.  Then he said, ‘Coming back at ya!’  And a couple of shots later he stuffed me right in my face.  Really rang my bell.”  Kelly laughed out loud, remembering.  “Payback.”       “Love it,” Dee Dee said as she returned to the buttons. 
     “Yay, Steve,” Cassie teased and returned to the butter yellow yarn on the winder.     

Coming to paperback this Tuesday: TITLE WAVE

by Lorraine Bartlett / Lorna Barrett / L.L. Bartlett


What do pin-up pictures have to do with Carol Talbot's murder?  Tricia will track down the answer. And you can join Tricia and Angelica from the Booktown Mysteries on Tuesday, when TITLE WAVE becomes available in paperback.
 
Order it now and have it on Tuesday!

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Books A Million
Book Depository
Chapters Indigo

Check the website for more information

The Amish Market

The Amish Market is one of my favorite places to shop and visit.  When it opened, I realized it would probably be a weekly stop, just like the grocery store.  Displayed above are a few of the hand-hewn toys that are for sale.  The furniture is of exceptional quality. What I like best about the market is that I can shop for food items but I can also have a glimpse of other specialty items.


For instance the Olive Spout has helped increase the flavors in everything I cook from meats to produce.  There I can sample flavored vinegars like peach vinegar that I use for salads, or flavored olive oils like blood orange which is especially tasty with fish.  Seasonings such as orange pepper and garlic pepper are also available.

Since Lancaster County is a hop, skip and jump away, I have set my new series--Daisy's Tea Garden Mysteries--there.  I do research in Lancaster County but the Amish Market can give me the flavor I want when I need it for my cozies.









The baked goods counter is lush.  My favorite is peanut butter cream filled donuts.  My husband likes the apple fritters.  But anyone with a sweet tooth can find the perfect treat at the bakery. Nearby is the homemade candy counter.  Oh my.











Did I mention there is also a restaurant?  This is an omelet breakfast sandwich, made to order.


At the restaurant before Christmas, I was so happy to see a senior angel tree.






From local strawberries in June to peaches and tomatoes later in summer, to chocolates and donuts and beautiful furniture, this market is one of my favorite places to visit as well as shop.  Taking in the aromas, the sites, and the products is wonderful for my creative senses.  And anything that helps my writing I embrace whole-heartedly.

The Big Cheat!

Okay, I have a confession...this year instead of buying a ton of annuals, planting for days and watering for evermore all summer long I did the unthinkable...I bought a ton of artificial flowers and filled my baskets with them!
No more watering and fertilizing or planning what amounts for lunch for the deer and insects...I’m done. They win! I’ve had it. As soon as I get done writing this blog I’m off to plant my artificial pots for the summer.
I know some of you are now throwing rocks at the computer and yelling Duffy, you fraud! But I’m just too tired to keep up with this. I have a half-acre full of trees, roses, hydrangeas, tall grasses, ferns etc and that is all I can manage.

Next week I’ll take pictures and post them and you can vote if you believe they are real or not.
So my question to you is...have you ever faked it? Put in an artificial plant? Bought a pie or cake and passed it off as your own?



Hugs, Duffy

How Did You Spend the Weekend?

by Maggie Sefton




All of us love a 3-day weekend.  It's a great chance to escape our everyday world and go up into the mountains---especially if you live in Colorado---or drive outside our suburban or city locations to a state or national park.

Pitch a tent, go camping, cook on a propane gas stove or over the camp fire in the campground, and wake up in the middle of the night wondering if those sounds you hear outside your family's tent are caused by raccoons looking for something/anything to eat---or if a ravenous bear is rooting around just waiting for a chance to charge into your tent.

Okay----that last example is a little too scary.  But all those experiences (minus the bear) are part and and parcel of the great American experience of outdoor forest camping.  Our family did it many times and enjoyed it immensely.

No matter how you chose to spend this recent Memorial Day weekend holiday, I hope you spared a moment to remember the American soldiers, sailors, and airmen/women who lost their lives during these past decades fighting for our country and our freedoms.  We owe them all a sincere "Thank You."

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

By Mary Kennedy





                                                                   

What's on YOUR burger?

Thumbs up?

by Lorraine Bartlett / Lorna Barrett / L.L. Bartlett

I am useless with my phone. It's a beautiful white iPhone 4 (used) and it lives in a beat-up pink case. (Very cheerful.) I use it quite a bit ... to take photos of martinis at the restaurants Mr. L and I go to.


Okay, Mr. L took this one of me in a joint called O'Keefe's. (Hey, it was cold. I kept my jacket on.)





This one is from a place called the Jolly Roger.




Back to O'Keefe's.

At the Sunset Grill.

You get the drift. I even made a movie of my cat, Fred (but since have not been able to do it again. Damn).

The thing I really can't do well at all is text. My friend (and former Cozy Chick) Ellery Adams can text faster than the wind. She sends me a text and I painstakingly send her a short message, and then 4 paragraphs come back lickity-split. Oy. And now ... something has happened to my thumb and I will never be able to be a thumb texter. One day I woke up and not only didn't it work anymore, it wouldn't bend, either. According to my quack, it's arthritis.  I mean, she just blew it off.

Hey, I need that thumb. It does wonderful things for me. Like ... helps me to open jars and club soda bottles for my Happy Hour whiskey. It helps me pour milk into my tea cup(s). Going down steps it help to hold onto a railing. But ... not anymore. "Well, you could have surgery, but it probably wouldn't work." Thanks for being so cheerful, Doc. So the advice was "live with it. Oh, or you could take turmeric capsules.

So I ordered turmeric capsules, which just arrived yesterday. I took one so far. It hasn't done much (anything, really).

Luckily, I can still type. Hitting the keyboard's space bar is about all that poor thumb can do these days. And when I'm not typing, it lives in a splint, because otherwise Mr. L will be sitting in his office hearing, "YIPE" all day long when I move it to attempt to do things like seal an envelope full of bookmarks for readers, or stick tape on a package of yet more bookmarks for Cozy Chicks readers. Or even putting a CD in the player under the theory that I might actually write a couple of sentences on the WIP.

So. That's it. I have a useless right thumb. Anybody else got one? If so, how do you cope?

Our Senior Special Needs Cat, London

by Karen Rose Smith


London, our sixteen-year-old senior feline, is now a special needs kitty. We rescued London when a friend who lived on a farm told us that one of their barn cats had delivered a litter in their shed. She was the half-sister of Ebbie who we had also brought home from the same farm. Ebbie and I had made an instant connection when we were visiting our friend who lived on the farm. I knew I had to bring her home. So when the same mama cat delivered a second liter, I knew one of her kittens would be the perfect companion for Ebbie. We spent time with London in the shed until she was old enough to bring home. But Ebbie and London's personalities were definitely different and London sensed my special bond with Ebbie and she sought my husband's affection.
After Ebbie passed almost three years ago, London was the senior cat in the house. She and Zoie Joy, another rescued kitten we brought in the house after finding her in a bush in the backyard, always got along and respected each other's territories. But when Halo and the kittens were introduced into the mix, London became much more territorial and we chose to keep her separated during the day.  When Halo and Paddy retreat to my office at night, London has the run of the house with Zoie...a system which seems to work in everyone's best interest.
About two years ago, we noticed that London, always a robust cat, was losing weight. We had her tested and her blood results revealed that she had stage two kidney disease. We changed her diet and she did well, maintaining her new weight over the next two years. Then a few weeks ago, she stopped coming down at night after Halo and Paddy went to my office. Her eyes always seemed to be fully dilated. Fearing blindness, we made an appointment with the vet who confirmed our suspicions. He did a blood pressure reading and blood work. Her blood pressure was high and her blood work showed stage three kidney disease. The vet suggested an ace-inhibitor which could help the blood pressure and stress on the kidneys.

Never an easy cat to medicate, we were concerned about giving London daily meds, but the vet was able to find a compounding pharmacy that prepared her meds in a chicken-flavored oil suspension solution that required only a .2 ml oral dose. London has been on the meds for about two weeks. She has been an excellent patient and her numbers have minimally improved. She has adapted well to her blindness and we have made some changes in how we approach her and speak to her so as not to startle her.
Caring for a senior feline is much the same as caring for an aging loved one. I can only hope that some day if I require special needs attention that I will be as accepting as London.  Thank you London for the valuable life lesson!




***************
The stray cat that my sleuth, Caprice De Luca rescues in GILT BY ASSOCIATION, the third book in my Caprice De Luca Home Staging mystery series, is based on London. Valentine is adopted by Caprice's Nana and also appears in later mysteries in the series.

Caprice De Luca Home Staging series, Book 3

Between training her new puppy, helping her sister with her baby, and searching for the perfect vintage dress for Kismet's Valentine's Day dance, home-stager Caprice De Luca has a lot on her to-do list. But she's never too busy to do a little staging, and she's looking forward to thawing February's frozen real estate market with her Hearts and Flowers Open House. Her client Louise Downing's romantically decorated home practically staged itself. But when Louise is found murdered, Caprice is forced to turn her attention from sweethearts to suspects. And as the truth comes out in stages, she discovers that Louise had more secrets than a box of chocolate truffles. . . 

GILT BY ASSOCIATION on Amazon

GILT BY ASSOCIATION on Barnes and Noble

Camera or iPhone

I come from the era of the camera. You know those things that take pictures and do nothing else but take pictures. They don’t have a flashlight or a calendar or have iTunes. In fact my first camera was a thing called a Brownie camera. It was amazing and I still consider it one of my best presents ever!
It took good pictures but it was expensive to have the film developed and when you are babysitting for 50cents an hour getting pictures developed is not a priority.

My husband and I went to Europe when we were first married. I didn’t want an engagement ring but the trip instead. A good choice. The trip was great, a real adventure and memorable. My husband lugged a camera around his neck for three weeks taking a ton of pics that we turned into slides. I haven’t had them out in probably thirty years.
My daughter is a really good photographer. She has 5K camera with lenses and tripod etc. She has the “eye” for really amazing shots. As my other daughter says… I can be standing right next to Ann, take the same picture and hers are always much better.
I have a point and shoot and have taken some good pics with it. Have some hanging on my wall of vacations and family etc. But it’s the subject matter that makes the pictures great not the excellent photography.
I was thinking of getting a new camera but realized my iPhone takes way better pictures than anything I was looking at in the new camera area. I don’t have an iPhone 7s (or whatever the upgrade is) but the pictures it takes are incredible!!!!!!
So, I’ve decided to just use my iPhone as a camera from here on out. No more camera that is just a camera for me. It’s light, I can share to instagram in a flash. And I already have it and don’t have to buy another new thing.
What about you? Do you use a camera that is just a camera? Use your iPhone? Do you have one of those iPhone 7 things that take great pics?

Hugs, Duffy