Your Christmas Memories

 

I very much hope you all are able to enjoy this season, whether you’re celebrating Christmas or Hannukah. It’s the season of joy and love that brings smiles to all our faces.

Sunday, I had lunch with Cyndi and Bill at their house—roast chicken, baked sweet potatoes with brown sugar, fresh salad and topped off with her homemade chocolate pecan pie and brownies. It was a good deal more than lunch; it was more like a scrumptious Sunday dinner!

I brought along a small tin of Christmas questions to be used as a memory jogger and conversation starter. What a hit that was! Questions like: What is your favorite Christmas song? What is a treasured memory you have of Christmas? Do you have a special ornament and what memories does it evoke? What is your favorite Christmas food and what story is associated with it?  What is your favorite Christmas tradition? And a few other questions, all of which got us thinking and remembering and sharing stories from long ago. We had a wonderful time reminiscing and telling stories the others hadn’t heard. I highly recommend this activity when you get together with loved ones, or even not so loved ones, this week. You never know what you might learn about a person and what that person realizes he/she hadn’t thought about in years. You’ll bring a smile to that person’s face as well as your own. What better gift is there?

So Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah to you all and may we all go into 2023 with a renewed spirit of hope and love. And above all, let us not forget the reason, and the child, we celebrate this time of year.

I’ll see you next year!

 

Quote of the Day: Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.  Norman Vincent Peale

Happy All the Holidays I Missed!

Hello! Happy Halloween, Happy Thanksgiving, and if I don’t get this out soon, Merry Christmas!

I trust you all had a happy and safe Thanksgiving. I did, by eating too much at Cyndi and Bill’s house, as usual. But, oh, it was so good!

Here’s a bit of what’s been happening.

On Friday, November 18, I went with my church group to the Carolina Opry Theater in Myrtle Beach, SC to see a Christmas show. I highly recommend you go see it if you have the opportunity. It was a two and a half hour show and I was in third row center. It just doesn’t get much better.

The next day, Saturday, my writing group held our first annual Book Fair in the morning. It was held at the First United Methodist Church on Main Street in Fuquay-Varina.  Nine or ten of us who are all published and award-winning writers sold and autographed our books. For the first such event of our group, it was a smashing success.  Plus, it was good to see each other in person after meeting on Zoom for more than two years.

This coming Saturday, I will be in Clayton, NC at a school’s holiday bazaar, selling my books along with sixty other craft fair vendors. I’m very much looking forward to it.  

Here’s something you didn’t know—all my novels are now in audio form. The last one to be put on audio was Redeeming Rob. If you want, go to ACX.com or audible.com and if you like to listen to stories, you can buy them for a very nominal fee. If you do, please let me know what you think of the story you pick—Willard Manor, Leaving Mark, Finding Gary, Saving Lou, Remaking Danny, Redeeming Rob, or Testing Michael. The narrators are excellent.

I’m now ready to sit back and enjoy Christmas. I’ll be decorating the house any day now to transform it into a sparkling wonderland. Well, at least it’ll look more Christmasy than it does right now! It’ll be interesting to see how Winston reacts to his first Christmas in our house, and if Chip decides that the Christmas tree is still the best place to perch.

Winston

Chip Waiting for the Tree to go Up

Quote of the Day:  Christmas isn’t just a day. It’s a frame of mind. Miracle on 34th Street

Travel Dos and Don't and Never Again!

I’ve been home from my trip to Connecticut for just over two weeks now and figured I ought to let you in on what I discovered.

First, it was terrific seeing my son Mike, my daughter Tammy Sue, and my sister, Donna. But that’s not what I discovered since I’ve always loved spending time with them. And one could argue that I got to spend more time with them since I flew up this time instead of driving. I flew on Avelo Airlines, getting me from Raleigh to New Haven in an hour and a half, compared to spending two days on the road driving. That part was good.

However, because I flew, I needed Cyndi and Bill to drive me to the airport Monday morning for my 9:00 flight.

I needed Mike to pick me up in New Haven when I landed. We went out for breakfast, then back to his house to spend most of the day and at night, he took me to Fairfield, CT to Donna’s house.

It was wonderful seeing her living quarters her son built for her, attached to the main house that she and her husband Joe had lived in for many, many years. Now she has no big house to maintain and a small apartment of her own, where her son and his wife can pop in and check on her throughout the day.

I stayed with Donna until Friday noon when Enterprise car rental came and picked me up so I could rent a car for the drive to Manchester, CT to see Tammy and Curtis.

I returned the car Saturday; Mike was waiting to take me back to his house for a few hours, then to a hotel in New Haven so he could take me to the airport by 5:30 the next morning.

Arriving home on Sunday, Cyndi and Bill once again drove to Raleigh to pick me up, take me to breakfast, and bring me home.

So what did I discover? The next time I go to Connecticut, I’m driving! I’m too independent to have everyone stop what they’re doing and cart me around. If I’d driven this time, no one would have had to take me to the airport, or pick me up from the airport, and take me back to the airport, and pick me up from the airport. I wouldn’t have had to rent a car, which was another headache. The rental place closes at noon on Saturday and are closed on Sunday; therefore, by returning the car after twelve noon on Saturday, I would have been charged an extra TWO days in addition to the one-day rental charge because they don’t bill until Monday when they open again. I believe I raised my voice on the phone and let the manager know that it’s not my fault they’re closed Saturday afternoon and Sunday.  She wouldn’t budge. As it turned out, Mike got there before noon to wait for me and told the manager I was on my way. She said, sweetly to him, “No problem, here’s my card, email me when she gets in.”  Mike was my savior as I didn’t have to pay for two extra days by arriving at 12:15.

When I do make the drive north, I go through Pennsylvania, spend a night at a hotel in Carlisle, and finish the trip the next morning. And reverse the process coming back. So yes, that means two nights in a hotel. And gas, which is minimal with my Prius hybrid. We’re talking maybe $300 round trip for hotels and gas. And above all, not being beholden to anyone, even though everyone said they were happy to cart me around. This trip cost me $200 round trip airfare plus another $200 for the hotel for one night and the car rental. Driving may take longer, but I’m in no hurry and it costs less. I can hop in my car and go anywhere I want right from my front door. 

To add insult to injury, the airport confiscated my tiny Swiss Army knife when the x-ray showed it lying contentedly in the bottom of my luggage.

However, I did learn one good thing—if you’re over 70, you don’t have to take off your shoes when going through security! 

Update Du Jour

 I would like to update you on the goings on in my writing world.

First, a narrator, Lawrence Sonderling, recently finished the audio version of my third novel, Finding Gary. He is also the narrator of my fifth novel, Remaking Danny, and has just contracted to narrate my sixth novel, Redeeming Rob. What was it like to hear him tell Gary’s story? I have to say  I wasn’t prepared to hear it read aloud. I choked up and cried during the funeral scene even though I knew what was happening because I wrote the darn book! It still got to me. The audio version is now available on Amazon for $2.99. Keep the tissues handy.

Secondly, you may remember that my NC Scribes writing group collaborated on a book about our September 11 recollections. The book is called: 9/11, That Beautiful, Broken Day. One of our members, Nancy Panko, submitted the book to the Military Writers Society of America’s yearly contest. The award ceremony was held in New Orleans last Saturday and our book won a silver medal! So, all of us who contributed to the book are award-winning, medal winning, authors! That book is also available on Amazon. P.S. Nancy also came home with two other medals of her own.  Go Nancy!

Thirdly, I will be autographing my seventh and award-winning novel Testing Michael at a few craft fairs in the coming months. If you’re in the area, please stop by, I’d love to see you. September 10-11, I will be in Angier at the Carolina Dream venue on Butts Road from 12 – 4 pm both days.   On November 18^th and 19^th, I will be at the Salem Baptist Preschool Holiday Market on Salem Street in Apex, NC from 9 – 4 pm both days.  On December 3, I will be at the Cleveland High Holiday Bazaar on Glen Road in Garner, NC from 9 – 3 pm.  My book is $12 and gives you a glimpse of the Civil War through the eyes of a thirteen-year-old boy who joins the war as a messenger, against his mother’s wishes. I include a short quiz about children in the Civil War with each book. Like the others, the book is also available on Amazon in print, Kindle, and audio.

Christmas is coming fast so you might want to think Christmas gifts for the readers on your list. 🎄

 

Quote of the Day from Testing Michael: “Professor, do you think that could ever happen again? That we might have one part of our country fighting another part? Could we ever be that divided again?”

Mike thoughtfully answered, “I certainly hope not. . . I would like to think we learned our lesson about how to live with one another, accepting our differences while appreciating our commonality.”

Jim tapped on his drum and offered an “Amen.”

WOW, WOW, WOW!

Let me tell you about something I did yesterday that knocked my socks off! I had seen ads for the Vincent van Gogh exhibit a few months back when it was in Charlotte, NC. Now that it moved to Raleigh, I asked Cyndi if she and Bill would be interested in going with me. Cyndi thought Bill might like it, but she wasn’t that interested in going to an art exhibit; however, yesterday morning the three of us drove to Raleigh and found “Van Gogh, the Immersive Experience” in a building in Pleasant Valley Mall. There was no doubt we were at the right place as the whole exterior of the building yelled “Van Gogh!” in bright, bold colors.

We entered and I got a senior ticket and Bill got a military ticket, leaving Cyndi as the only adult in the room! In the first few rooms, we saw paintings by Van Gogh and read plaques explaining his life. In one alcove there was a large picture of a vase of flowers and as we watched, the vase color and type of flowers continually changed.

There was a display of Van Gogh’s bedroom and we were allowed to enter and take pictures of ourselves in the bedroom. Of course I did!

BUT THEN, we went into a big room where there were chairs and benches, the room was dark, music played softly, we could hear Vincent’s words being spoken, and the whole room came alive! His famous pictures of sunflowers were splashed on all four walls and on the floor, constantly moving. You’ve heard of surround sound, this was surround art. The

room grew darker and the sky lit up with his painting of Starry Night. Individual works of his art would then appear along the walls, and then they MOVED. One picture being ripped away as a picture underneath appeared, then that would rip away revealing yet another. The pictures were alive as the person in the picture changed shape before our eyes. One picture was of water, then the water sloshed out of the frame and appeared to fall onto the floor. I never knew where to look next. I was mesmerized.  

When that show, which was thirty to forty minutes long, was over we exited into another room where we were invited to take a template of one of his art works and sit down and color it with the crayons provided. Bill and I both did that and THEN we got to put our pictures in a device that displayed our pictures on a wall. They stayed there until being replaced eventually with other’s pictures. But, we can say our artwork hung in an exhibit! And we got to take our pictures home.

THEN, the day got even more incredible. We paid an extra $5 each to sit on a stool, put a virtual reality headpiece on, and float through his bedroom, down the stairs, out the door, and through the streets of Arles, France for ten wonderful minutes, then end up back in his bedroom. And the whole time, we stayed seated on a stool, a stool we held onto tightly for fear of falling once we started moving (or appearing to move.)

I admired technology before, but now I have an entirely new appreciation for what can be done. Amazing! Fantastic! Incredulous!

By the end, Cyndi decided art could be really
interesting! For me, I’ve been spoiled. I’ll never want to see a typical art exhibit again. If the Van Gogh Immersive exhibit comes to your area, don’t miss it. It's been going around the country since 2017 and seen by over five million people. You’ll be glad you went.  And by the way, we learned a lot about Vincent van Gogh so it was educational as well. And, of course, there was a gift shop where we gladly shopped.

Here are more pictures from the Immersive room.

Quote of the Day: I dream of a painting, then I paint my dream. Vincent van Gogh

 

stranger in the lifeboat

Two blogs ago, I promised you I had another blockbuster book for you to consider. Well, here it is. It is Mitch Albom’s the stranger in the lifeboat. Yes, he doesn’t seem to care for capital letters much as most of his titles are in lower case. If you’ve read Mitch Albom’s Tuesday’s with Morrie or the five people you meet in heaven, you are most likely entranced by his work. I know I am, and this book is no exception. His writing is excellent, descriptions are pure poetry, and his skill in telling a story is unsurpassed.

The thrill about this book is that you start out feeling confident in knowing what’s going on, only to discover you don’t know a thing. His twists and turns keep you turning the page.

The first chapter starts with:

            When we pulled him from the water, he didn’t have a scratch on him. That’s the first thing I noticed.

And ends with:

            Nina touched his shoulder and said, “Well, thank the Lord we found you.”

            Which is when the man finally spoke.

            “I am the Lord,” he whispered.

And it just gets better and better.

Halfway through the book, it reads thus:

            Now Annabelle, I must share one more thing, and then I will rest. The writing takes a lot out of me. Processing thought. Thinking about anything besides water and food…..Still, last night, in a moment of grace, we witnessed something otherworldly. It was after midnight. As I slept, I felt a sensation through my closed lids, as if someone had turned on the lights. I heard a gasp, and I opened my eyes to witness an utterly amazing sight.

            The entire sea was aglow.

            Patches below the surface were illuminating the water like a million small light bulbs, casting a Disneyland bluish white all the way to the horizon….

            I glanced at the Lord. Little Alice was asleep next to him. Wake up, child, I wanted to say. See something astonishing before we die.

I have read it, my daughter has read it and my son-in-law has read it; all with different reading tastes and yet we were all speechless in trying to describe the book, but couldn’t stop talking about it.

Do yourself a favor and put this book on your summer reading list. It’s a small little book that packs a powerful punch.

Quote of the Day: Good books don't give up their secrets all at once. Stephen King

P.S. Stewart's funeral service will be held Friday, July 8, 2022 at 11 am at Kennebec Baptist Church in Angier, NC.  I will have my sister, my two daughters and their husbands, and my son, all here with me at the same time. I am truly blessed and well supported.

Welcome Home, Thy Good and Faithful Servant

I told you in my last post that I would be presenting another book for your reading enjoyment, but, due to unforeseen circumstances, that will have to wait.

Last Thursday, the 19th, Stewart and I got in the car and made our way to Crescent City, Florida for a few days of getting away and visiting my long-time girlfriend. I drove and he handled the new collection of country classic CDs we'd ordered. 

The eight-hour trip turned into nine and a half hours after encountering a traffic jam in South Carolina that took an hour and a half to clear. No matter, we sang to the music and enjoyed the trip. We took our little dog, Winston, with us and he sat in the back seat enjoying the view from the window. 

At 7:30 pm we arrived at my friend's house; she came out to meet us and I introduced her to Stewart. We then got the rollator out of the car so he could get in the house and sit down. At that point, he immediately passed from this life to the next. Paramedics were called and they worked on him at the house, in the ambulance and in the hospital, for forty minutes to no avail.

When my friend and I arrived at the hospital, we were put into a room and told, "Wait here, the doctor will be in to talk with you."  I knew what that meant and began to steel myself for the news. There's no easy way to tell someone their loved one has died. 

While the ambulance was still at the house, I called Cyndi and Bill to tell them what was happening and they immediately got in the car to start the drive south. I met up with them the next afternoon, Friday, at the funeral home.

Monday, Cyndi drove me home and Bill stayed in Florida to be able to bring his dad's ashes home when ready. 

Do not grieve for Stewart. He no longer has to struggle for every breath. He's no longer tethered to an oxygen hose. He no longer needs a walker or wheelchair to get around. He was 86 years old and had a sparkle in his eyes that reflected his amazing zest for life. 

We knew when we got married that we wouldn't have a long marriage and we didn't, but we packed a lot of living into the two years we had. We both felt that the two years we had together (plus two years before we married)  were better than all our other years lived prior to meeting each other.  

God is good. He gave us those few wonderful years together and He got us right to my girlfriend's house before taking Stewart so it didn't happen somewhere on the road where I would have been all alone in the middle of nowhere. I praise Him for that. 

Stewart was an aide to the Admiral for seven years in the Navy; he was a master electrician in construction up until he retired in 2000; and he raised six children of his own and four more children of his second wife. And he loved my three children as though they were his own. 

He came from an intact loving family that went to church and said grace at meals and instilled in him a strong set of values that he carried to his last breath. The world has lost a powerful, wonderful man, but Heaven is all the better for his arrival.  He is now reunited with his parents, sister, and four of his six children. He will never again have to bury another child. 

I very much look forward to reuniting with him one sweet day and feeling the warmth of his strong arms around me forever.

Quote of the Day: Death is nothing else but going home to God. Mother Teresa

 

Death Upon a Midnight Clear

For all my readers, I have two treats for you. One I’ll tell you about now, and the other will be the subject of my next blog.

I have a writer friend who goes by the name of Det. James E. Lewis, Retired. Upon leaving the U.S. Marines, he joined the Louisville Police Force where he became detective and did  undercover work with street people. His novels relate his experiences in the police force. I interviewed Jim in October of 2018 when his first book came out, Back in the Game. You can find that blog post over here on the left side.

His second book, Death Upon a Midnight Clear, is equally as good, if not better. I’m shouting from the rooftops that everyone ought to indulge themselves and get lost in the world of Jim’s alter ego, Retired Detective Ray Conway. As a bonus, the dry-witted Colonel from his first book plays a large part in this story as well.

In Death, a homeless woman, who’s known only as Maggie a mean drunk, finds a newborn baby on a church doorstep during the Christmas season and claims it as her own. Where are the baby’s parents? Why does Maggie name the baby Mike? What is Maggie’s real name? Who is the dead girl in the woods? These are questions the police want answered and soon the investigation is under way.

Jim Lewis is a genius at hooking his readers and pulling them in. Here are the book’s opening lines:

          You know the day has potential to be lousy when you’re jolted awake at two in the morning by the cell phone shrieking, blue lights flooding the neighborhood and police banging on the front door.

          Not even bothering to roll over, Maureen indicates her displeasure from her side of the bed in that special tone of voice that only an experienced police wife owns; “I think your police buddies want you to come out and play. Now tell them to knock off the noise before they wake up the whole neighborhood! Again!”

And it just gets better and better from there. Jim gives you a realistic look at the ins and outs of police life and does it with a sense of humor that’ll keep you engrossed right up to the last page.

Jim says, “This book, like my others, are about people I met on the street while serving in law enforcement. What I would like readers to take from the story is that no one is born a drunk or homeless and sometimes what you don’t say is more important than what you do say. Everyone has a story and maybe if we take the time to look past the moment, we can give them a hand up. Good things happen when we care about one another.”

Do yourself a favor and go to Amazon.com and order this book for a great summer read. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

Today's Quote: Most people never really sat down and got to know a homeless person, but every homeless person is just a real person that was created by God and it is the same kind of different as us; they just have a different story. Ron Hall

Get 'Em While They're Hot!

Today I'm unabashedly promoting two books, both of which I had a part in.

The first is a Chicken Soup for the Soul book, Kindness Matters, in which I have a story on page 19 called, My Alpine Angel. My story relates back to living in El Cajon, CA and working in Alpine and the very unexpected act of kindness and decency I received from another driver one harrowing, rainy day. 

The book goes on sale March 22 at your local bookstore, or, I have some copies if you want one. The books from me, while the supply lasts, are $10 each and that includes the cost of shipping. I'll even autograph my story for you. Such a deal!

In our small read and critique group called NC Scribes, we have had a total of forty-eight stories published in CSS over the years. So much so, that the editor, Amy Newmark, calls us "The Chicken Coop."  I'm honored to be part of the chicken coop. This is my second story with CSS.

Okay, on to the second book. This one is called, Testing Michael, the seventh in my historical novels. I just finished it, self-published it, and it's for sale on Amazon under the name of Linda Loegel/Hemby (Type in Linda Hemby). My other books are under the name of Linda Loegel.

Michael Mueller is a thirteen-year-old boy who joins the Civil War as a messenger. He travels to places far outside his New Haven, CT home, makes friends, meets new people, and witnesses not only big city wonders but also the atrocities of war that give him nightmares. Will he get back to his family in one piece? Guess you'll have to order the book to find out.

I enjoyed writing this book more than any of the others and I trust my passion will shine through the pages. The battles, generals and events are true, so if you want to see the Civil War through a young boy's eyes, I urge you to read Testing Michael. You may learn history in a whole new, fascinating way.

Since all of my books are connected to each other in one way or another, this story has a double connection to Willard Manor. One connection is obvious, the other might take time to discern. 

I appreciate any and all reviews left on Amazon, but mainly, I just appreciate you being a friend or family member that I can share my stories with. Thank you for that.

Quote of the Day: A house divided against itself cannot stand. Abraham Lincoln

 

It's a Boy!

It's a boy! I'm happy to announce there's a new member of the Hemby family weighing in at twelve pounds. He's five years old and his name is Winston. He's been with us for one month now. 

Winston coming home with us

He's part Shih tzu and part poodle mixed with a whole lot of love. He's just a soft ball of curly, cuddly fur.

                

He has attached himself to me. I move an inch and he's up and ready to follow me wherever I go. Stewart runs a close second as Winston will sit with him and stay with him, until I move; then all bets are off. He sleeps between us on the bed while his bed sits on the floor acting as a toy box. 

He has adjusted to our two birds in the house, Charlie and Chip. They do love to fly low over him, though, since they know they can generally fly out of the way. Winston gets his exercise running back and forth trying to keep up with them. He caught Charlie twice but thankfully didn't know what to do with him, so I was able to get Charlie out of harm's way.

Charlie and Chip      

Chip is on the faucet and Winston is telling him to come down and play with him. Chip knows better.

Here's Winston sitting on my lap intently watching a Trump rally 

As you may know, we had to put Stewart's pug, Shadow, to sleep last March and vowed we would never get another dog. All things change, though, and recently we agreed we'd like to get an adult dog, not a puppy that would require a LOT of work and attention. This little guy who turns six in June, is an adult but still has a lot of puppy playfulness in him. He's the best of both worlds. 

The family that owned him for five years felt it was in Winston's best interests to find him a new home where he would be king of the hill and not low man on the totem pole with their three other dogs. They trained him very well. He sits, heels, and is housetrained; he's a pleasure to have in the house. EXCEPT, when a closed door gets between him and me. At that point, he howls like a coyote in pure anguish. We're working with him to get over that by giving him the job of getting in a chair when I leave. He's slowly getting better since, thanks to his former owners, he's extremely trainable.

Welcome to your new world, Winston! 

Thank Heavens for the Internet

I know it’s been a while since I last wrote, so let me wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! There, now we’re up to date.

I’d like to talk today about modern technology and how it affects research. I do a lot of research for my historical novels and if it weren’t for today’s technology, I’d be writing books more like the Dick and Jane series. See Spot run.

If I had to go to the library, as great as libraries are, I’d be spending a majority of my time driving to the library, trying to find a book that answers my questions, and driving home again where I would then get back on the computer to pick up where I left off.

Thanks to Bill Gates and others, I can stay sitting at my computer, open a tab to look up something, and get right back to my manuscript.

Just since writing my current novel, Testing Michael, I’ve learned about powder monkeys, gunwales, clothes, toys, food and medicine during the time of the Civil War, the Civil War itself and it’s various battles, and the weapons used at that time. Without the internet, I might as well set up my bed in the library because every day I’m researching two or three topics. And while I’m reading about one topic, I generally find interesting tidbits I didn’t know I didn’t know.

For instance, did you know, that urine was collected to make black powder for the muskets? I didn’t either. That was something the women at home could do to help with the war effort. Did you know General Grant was on crutches during the battle of Shiloh? Or that some cannon balls exploded while others just plowed into their target and did damage?  Or that one-fifth of all the soldiers in the war were under eighteen and many only thirteen and fourteen years old? And that there were women disguised as men fighting alongside the men? Do you know what a pike weapon is? Or that very few bugles were used to announce assembly, reveille, or taps and such; instead, they used drums, something young boys could be enlisted to do?

Research is so easy now with the internet and far more encompassing than looking up one thing at a time in a book. I keep three or four tabs open at once from various sources and can refer back to a particular battle anytime I want. Viva la internet!

I am past the half-way mark in Michael and I’ll let you know when it’s published and available. Stay tuned. In the meantime, I’m having a ball writing this book and I hope it shows in the finished product.

 

Quote of the Day: Dear God, Thank you for another day, my health, and the internet.
Mokokoma Mokhonoana