It’s October and pumpkins are popping up on porches and entryways all over the USA and elsewhere.
How do you handle the pumpkin thing? Do you carve or paint your own? Buy one already decorated, or use a decorative faux pumpkin or gourd? Does your pumpkin go au naturale? Do you hate pumpkins and seasonal decorating? Maybe you’re overwhelmed and just don’t want to deal with the pumpkin thing, or you’d love to get to it but you’re just too jammed.
The pumpkin thing is a microcosm of our values an… Continue
Added by Kerul Kassel on October 8, 2009 at 10:49am —
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A few months ago I posted this excerpt from my novel "Just a Season". I received a very special heartfelt request from a devoted follower asking me to repost “Granddaddy’s Lessons”. Although she calls herself “a fan of my thoughts,” I call her my friend. Therefore, I am honored to repost this message that I feel delivers a powerful message and I hope it will enlighten, empower, motivate, and touch your heart as well.
Today we live in a world where there is no more Granddaddy to share that preci… Continue
Added by Just a Season on August 9, 2009 at 8:36am —
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(Allegheny River Sunrise)
JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: I'm glad it's Friday.
CALLIOPE: You don't even go off to work any more.
JOE: Well, no. But I have felt under pressure lately, even if self ind… Continue
Added by Joseph Langen on June 26, 2009 at 6:49am —
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Goals! 2009
Be clear on what you want want it.
* Decide exactly what you really want
* Set goals in the three key areas of life
* Write clear, specific, measurable goals for yourself
* Identify the main obstacles holding you back
* Create a detailed plan of action
Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to assure that you are in the right position.
First, make sure that you really enjoy your work and that you do it well. You will never be successful at a job that you don't like.… Continue
As I write this there are only 29 days left of the year. How has your year gone? Are you happy with how things have been going and with the direction and pace for the balance of the year and for 2009?
This is the time of year to spend just an hour or two (or half a day or more, if you have that much available - most of us don't, though) thinking about what you want your life to look like next year, perhaps even starting with a longer range plan. What changes do you want to make in your career… Continue
Added by Kerul Kassel on December 5, 2008 at 12:47pm —
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It's Election Day in the U.S. as I write this, and it also marks the first time I've ever run for a "government position", as a supervisor on my little town's board, sort of like a town council. This is the height of my political ambitions - I never would have thought I'd even be a "candidate" in a public election. Speaking of candidates, if you live in the U.S., please make the time to vote. My opinion is if you don't vote, you've abdicated your right to complain about the political situation.… Continue
Added by Kerul Kassel on November 4, 2008 at 12:22pm —
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As many of you know, I've just embarked on a doctoral journey. I'm making great progress, and am learning oodles. I'm blessed to have a wonderful "study buddy" for one of my courses. (More about this important procrastination-busting strategy below.) A discussion with my fellow student earlier this week made me realize how grateful I was for our relationship. Sometimes we take for granted the things that are working, right?
PROCRASTIVITY TIP / EXERCISENo matter what your goal or task, whether i… Continue
Added by Kerul Kassel on July 2, 2008 at 12:41pm —
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I am so not ready for Christmas. I just realized I don't have much time either. One good thing is the DH is off Friday and possibly all next week, so I can give him a few chores to do, which may help some. I'm counting on him to put stamps and labels on the Christmas cards, and do a few things around the house to straighten it out some. Unfortunately, I'm the organizer in the family, so I can't expect too much on the getting-the- house ready front. That's pathetic, since I'm not very organized. (g)
Anyway, I hope to get the house into decent shape before Christmas, when I do my annual meal for the family. There's also that Christmas list to get together. Time is ticking away.
What about you? Are you ready for Christmas? Or do you celebrate another Holiday? If so, are you ready?
One of the main reasons for writing "Cynthia's Attic" came from my failure - failure to appreciate my ancestors. Our family stories are probably no more or less interesting than most, and I went out of my way to avoid remembering most of them or asking questions about my grandparents lives.
For instance. Did I bother to ask my grandfather what it was like playing in the first night football game in America?
Or did I try to find out just which relative "supposedly" sold a city block on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles for $20,000? Guaranteed, I would not be sitting here writing a blog had that particular relative held on to the property.
Then there's the story, "Cynthia's Attic: Curse of the Bayou," of my great-great grandfather, Augustus Boilliat who disappeared in 1860 while taking a load of produce down the Mississippi River to New Orleans? Oh, sure I've read different accounts about what happened to him, but lost forever are the stories his grandson (my grandfather) could've told me about facts he'd heard from my great-great grandmother, Marie Julia, about her husband's disappearance.
I remember a few accounts told by my dad about his adventures as a teenage cave guide at one of the largest caves in the Southern Indiana area, Wyandotte, but I only have to guess at some of the adventures he must've had.
That's why I'm writing adventures I wanted my ancestors to have; adventures I can enjoy with them through the eyes and voice of my character, Gus.
The idea for Cynthia's Attic: The Magician's Castle came from detailed genealogy research done by my cousin, Betty. Long before the Internet, she traveled to Switzerland to search for documents that would tie our great-grandmother, Harriet Kistler, to Peter Kistler the First, President of the Republic of Bern, 1470-1480. I've tried to honor the Kistler family in the fourth adventure in Cynthia's Attic.
Thanks, Morgan, for having me as a guest!
Mary Cunningham
Mary Cunningham is the author of the award-winning 'Tween fantasy/mystery series, Cynthia’s Attic. She is proud to announce the release of book four, "The Magician's Castle," Dec 1, 2009. Her children's mystery series was inspired by a recurring dream about a mysterious attic. After realizing that the dream took place in the home of her childhood friend, Cynthia, the dreams stopped and the writing began.
She is also co-writer of the humor-filled, women's lifestyle book, "Women Only Over Fifty (WOOF)," along with published stories, "Ghost Light" and "Christmas Daisy," A Cynthia's Attic short story.
To celebrate the release of "The Magician's Castle," (Quake/Echelon Press, DEC 1, 2009), a winner will be chosen on each blog stop to receive a copy of the "Cynthia's Attic" short story, "Christmas With Daisy!" So, be sure to make a comment!
Monday, I'm over at my group blog, http://makeminemystery.blogspot.com/, where I'm blogging about the mystery of the missing checks. Come on over and find out what it's all about.
I'm firming up some dates for speaking engagements in 2010. One's tentatively set for March 28, at 1:30 at the Niles Public Library, another probably in mid May at the Schaumburg Township District Library.
Also, coming up is a radio interview at WJJQ again on May 7, at 9:35 a.m. before my booksigning May 8 at Cover to Cover Books in Tomahawk, WI.
I've heard that some people are more afraid of public speaking than of dying. Surprisingly, I find it easier each time I do it. As long as I have my cheat sheet with me to glance down at once in a while for security and I like what I'm talking about, I'm okay.
What about you? Do you like to talk or would you rather not?
Once, Connor believed that his ability to see the future would grant him everything. Instead, it landed him in a prison of his own making. Connor gains wealth and prestige, but with every vision, his own sight dims. Moira curses herself for failing…