Cathy's first book of short stories, Silver In The Slop & Other Surprises, includes the story of feeding pigs on her father's farm with slop collected from a local restaurant - slop that often included pieces of silverware inadvertently tossed in by busy busboys who worked feverishly to keep up with hungry diners. Finding these castaway pieces of silver after the pigs had their fill - this "silver in the slop" - reminded the author, years later when she became a young widow, that "silver" can often be found in the "sloppiest" situations of life.