Catherine Dougherty's Blog, page 14

Perhaps . . .

I couldn’t stop laughing when I read the following headline in our local daily newspaper:

“Gilford store robbed of wine &, perhaps, 1 hotdog”

The Laconia Daily Sun  Wednesday, January 22, 2014 (no byline given)

This is not a joke! According to the accompanying article, two men “being between 5-feet 10 inches tall” stole 3 bottles of wine and, “perhaps, 1 hotdog” from a convenience store. The authorities aren’t completely sure about the hotdog theft, but a half-eaten wiener (“still warm”) was found near where they think the getaway car was parked. They’ve confiscated it as evidence.

HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Can you believe it? I wish I could share a link to the actual article, but now, like many other periodicals, you have to pay for a subscription to access it online (although the print copy of the newspaper is still free).

Don’t be surprised if someday I write a novel containing a robbery where DNA of a half-eaten hotdog results in the capture of at least one, pretty dumb, petty thief!

Perhaps . . .

FYI – Writers are always on the lookout for interesting information to inspire them. In my first novel, in Polyester Pajamas, there’s a scene where the two main characters, Jean and Rosie, are wearing pajamas while pumping gas and purchasing food. This was inspired by a photo and article I saw in another local newspaper back when I was writing the book.

The Golden Egg

If you think breakfast is the same wherever you go to eat, then you haven’t yet been to The Golden Egg in Portsmouth, NH.

Yes, they’re “more than just a couple of good eggs.” Much more!

My husband and I enjoyed breakfast here today. Keeping to my New Year’s diet (oh, that dreaded word!), instead of eggs, sausage and toast (my husband’s choice), I indulged in a fresh fruit cup topped with non-fat vanilla yogurt, homemade granola and wheat germ. Now, how’s that for healthy?

It was also delicious and very satisfying! (They even make their own granola.)

If you’re ever in the Portsmouth area, check this place out. It’s very popular, so it’s usually crowded, and sometimes you have to wait for a seat, but, believe me, it’s worth the wait!

http://www.goldeneggrestaurant.com/gallery.html

SIMPLE PLEASURE

Isn’t this the cutest little Christmas tree? When I walked into a grocery store this morning, it was in a cart of marked down items, the only one of its kind, and caught my attention right away. It was like it had my name written on it—I had to check it out.

As I read the discounted price, I knew it was meant to be. Originally $7.99, it was now only 99 cents. What a great decoration (even if it was after Christmas)! What a great find!

I went to pay for it and expressed how cute it was to the cashier. That’s when she informed me it was a “living” tree.  At first, I couldn’t believe her because it didn’t feel real. After reading the tag attached to it, though, I realized she was right.

For only 99 cents and perfect timing (the cashier seemed disappointed she didn’t find it first), I am now the proud owner of a “living” Italian Stone Pine. It is now sitting pretty atop a beautiful hand-dyed and woven tea coaster on a table in my living room.

In a few days, the tree will go into a bigger container. Then, when spring comes, we’ll replant it in our yard. According to the information provided, it should eventually become 40-80 feet high. I’ll have to show you pictures as it grows.

(I love when things have stories attached to them. Don’t you?)

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year filled with many “simple pleasures” (like my little “living” Christmas tree).

Let’s see how many we can find!

Winter Wonderland

Woke up this morning and peeked out the window. Over a foot of snow had fallen overnight and the roads were messy. That meant we wouldn’t be traveling anywhere today. Yay! I would wrap, decorate, do my Christmas cards, even write, read and relax. I had plenty of plans.

What I’d forgotten about (and was soon reminded of) was that snow also meant shoveling.

My husband always does the driveway and walkways after a storm, and on weekdays when I’m at my day job, he does everything else (including snowblowing parts of the lawn when he gets carried away). Unfortunately, this wasn’t a weekday, so I had to bear some of the burden and shovel the snow off our rather large deck.

When I walked onto the deck, snow up to my knees, I began muttering under my breath about how much I couldn’t stand this weather and how I wanted to move south. I’ve lived here all my life and don’t ski. I’ve never been on a snowmobile. Snow is heavy, wet and cold and I don’t have a use for it.

However….

After only a few minutes of shoveling, I stopped complaining. It was chilly out, but I was dressed for the occasion–boots, mittens, winter coat and hat. The cool air felt invigorating. The upper body workout was actually enjoyable. This wasn’t so bad after all. To my surprise, I was happy to be doing this.

Fast forward 5 hours later….

Decorating, wrapping, and Christmas cards all remain undone. My muscles ache from shoveling and I know tomorrow they’ll feel worse. Haven’t done any reading or writing yet either (except for this blog post). It’s dark outside and the day’s almost done.

Darn (pretty) snow!

Reason for the Season

I received an unexpected email last night from someone who blessed me with her kind words. She didn’t know it, but I’d been feeling a little down lately. Her email came at the perfect time and chased my blue mood away. It was a simple act of kindness that meant so much.

In December especially, kindness can go out the window when faced with traffic jams, money woes, and all of the rushing around. STRESS gets in the way making us sometimes forget what this upcoming holiday is about.

May this post help us remember the Reason for the Season. Whether you call it Christmas, like I do, or Happy Holidays (or whatever), this special time of year is all about LOVE. In fact, that’s what all times of the year are all about!

So, don’t forget to extend kind gestures along the way. Let someone go before you in the check-out line. Thank someone for helping you. Give another person the parking space closest to the store. Call or email a friend or family member you’ve lost touch with. Tell those you hold dear how much you care, even if they’ve heard it many times before.

Give them a hug.

Simple acts of love can mean so much. We have the ability to make another’s life, as the poem says below, “a little brighter” and “a tad bit lighter.”

Let me take this opportunity to thank you for your support. You have brightened my life and helped me make my dreams come true. I wish for all of you the wonderful things that money can never buy–good health, happiness and plenty of LOVE!

I hope you enjoy the poem!

CAPTURE ME

Capture me

Take me in

With your breath

Catch me

In your throat

Tasting the love

I’ve extended

With one kind gesture

A word, smile, embrace

Lifting you up

To make your day

A little brighter

To make your load

A tad bit lighter

Capture me

And echo out

With your own

Acts of love

For in some small way

We can all

Make a difference

in Woolen Bikinis – Free on Kindle

If you missed out on the first promotion in October, now’s the time to get your free copy of in Woolen Bikinis.

Two days only: Friday, November 29th – Saturday, November 30th

Be sure to get your free copy HERE (during the above-mentioned dates only).

This book is the 2nd in a series and can be enjoyed on its own, but you’ll want to download my first book as well - in Polyester Pajamas. The Kindle version is only $3.99.

Happy Reading!

Creative Writing

I was going through some old photos and came upon a few from the days when I was making crafty items and selling them at fairs. These days are no longer–I’m way too busy! However, as you can see by these pictures, marketing them still required some creative writing.

National Novel Writing Month

First of all, I want to congratulate Jose Caceres for being chosen the random winner in response to my last post Could it really be a typo?. He has won a $10 gift certificate to Amazon, courtesy of Grammarly.

Thank you to those who participated. To answer the question, I would say it was definitely a typo, but as Ann Everett (a very humorous author from Texas) commented, it was also an eye-catcher. The library may have displayed it that way on purpose–I’d like to think so.

Onward to what’s happening in my middle-aged author life:

On Monday (11/4), I was a guest on the Kim Power Stilson Talkworthy Radio Show (SiriusXM Channel 143). I shared information about New Hampshire and my books. If you didn’t get a chance to hear it live, the broadcast is now available online. Be sure to check it out by clicking the link below.

http://www.byuradio.org/episode/90b9218b649144818525155581f42b3c/new-hampshire

I was so nervous about that radio show! Talk about my books? Sure, easy stuff. Talk about New Hampshire? Well, yes, I’ve lived here all my life, but I just didn’t know if I could do it well. I listened to it myself today and, okay, I worried for nothing. It was a great experience, Kim is a wonderful host, and, as many of you are aware, I like to talk!

My next author event will take place tomorrow evening at Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, NH. I was at Gibson’s last year and discussed my first novel in Polyester Pajamas. This year, I’ll be in their new, much larger location and will share some interesting info about the recently released sequel in Woolen Bikinis. If you live nearby, please come. Their new bookstore is beautiful and I feel honored to be one of their featured authors. You can find out the details of the event here: http://gibsonsbookstore.com/event/in-woolen-bikinis

Besides working a full-time day job and traveling throughout the New England countryside with my husband on weekends, I am also participating in NaNoWriMo and GrammoWriMo. (Read my recent post NaNoWriMo (with a twist) to find out more.) Hopefully, these two endeavors will help re-establish some good daily writing habits. Really, it’s very easy to procrastinate and I usually do so by playing games online with my Facebook friends. (You may be one of them.)

I’m sure there will be several more events and projects happening this month and I’ll keep you posted along the way. Now, I think I’ll play a game of Angry Birds (15 minutes of procrastination) and then add a few more pages to my next book-in-progress. I’m as anxious as you are to see what Jean and Rosie get involved in next!

Happy National Novel Writing Month!

Could it really be a typo?

“I use Grammarly’s  free grammar check  because a writer without a grammar checker is like a witch without a broom or a ghost without a BOO!”

On the subject of writing . . .

A few weeks ago, this sign was displayed on the front lawn of a library (town name omitted). CIVAL WAR? Looks funny, don’t you think? I’ve Googled the word cival, but it keeps bringing me to the definition of civil.

Okay, so what’re your thoughts on this?

The word CIVAL on the sign is:

A typo
Correct (alternative way to spell civil)
Incorrect, but only because the library staff ran out of the letter I
None of the above (please explain)

Everyone who responds to this with an answer and/or comment by November 4th will be entered into a drawing. I’ll announce the winner and prize next week.

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Here are some photos taken last weekend in and around Prescott Park in Portsmouth, NH.

Find out Prescott Park’s history, view more photos, and learn about the many plants that bloom there every year by clicking HERE.