| ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
Showing posts with label puppy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label puppy. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 01, 2023
Holly's November Newsletter
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Word of the Year—2021
Every year for more than a decade I've talked about giving up New Year's Resolutions and instead coming up with a Word of the Year. My Word of the year for 2020 was Patience. I feel very prophetic about it because 2020 was definitely a year that required a lot of patience. I tend to try to view the world as a glass half full sort of place, but frankly this year has been required a lot of work to maintain that view. So many people are hurting and suffering. 1 out of every 1,000 Americans has succumbed to Covid. Even while I find the beauty in the world—whether it's the minions, my family, a new studio, a new book, the cottage—I see the beauty but it's tinged with the sorrow that we've all felt. Patience. It's taken a lot of work and patience.Most years I simply share my Word of the Year. This year, I'm going to walk you through how I pick one. (If you've watched Trippin' with Holly and Susan videos, you've seen my weird, circular thought process in some of them.)
I've tried to make a difference where I can. I've tried to spread glee. I've...I've patiently tried to make the world just a little brighter.
So now I need to pick a Word for 2021. My first inclination was HOPE. I'm hopeful that before the end of '21 things will be better. Not necessarily back to normal, but better. HOPE feels like a good choice even though I've used it as a Word of the Year in the past. I don't think anyone can ever have too much hope.
And yet, I also think this coming year is going to rely on SCIENCE. For a decade scientist worked on a new way of developing vaccines. They worked, they tested their mRNA technology and when this horrible virus came along, they'd laid the groundwork for preparing an effective inoculation in record time. My family is filled with frontline workers and I'm so proud and THANKFUL for the work they do. And I'm so THANKFUL for that science as they've begun getting inoculations that will protect them. So THANKFUL. That's another great idea for a Word for '21. I'm THANKFUL for my brave and amazing family. I'm THANKFUL to the scientists who've worked so hard for a decade and put us in a place where we could confront this pandemic in a timely way.
I'm Hopeful and Thankful. Both words encompass science. So now I've narrowed my word to one of those two. Those Trippin' videos will also show you that I have no problem twisting things to suit my purpose...I could just pick two words. And yet...I love having one word to focus on.
I'm hopeful that scientist continue to work hard and think of new ways to save lives. I'm thankful for all they've done and are doing. If you've ever read How to Catch a Groom, you know of my inherent fondness for science and I feel this year has proven that fondness out.
I'm thankful for all our frontline workers and hopeful their jobs will become just a bit easier in '21.
I'm hopeful that our country will find a way to come together and work together for the good of all of us...the good of the least of us. I'm thankful for all the people who've spent their lives working for the least of us.
I still haven't decided. So I plugged the both those words into Google to see what popped up. I found:
“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” Gilbert Keith Chesterton
You all know that glee is a word I use a lot. I strive for finding that glee everywhere in everything.
This seems like a sign.
So while I'm full of hope for '21 my word of the year is THANKFUL.
I'm thankful for scientists. Thankful for frontline workers who've faced so much this year. I'm thankful for Himself. I'm thankful for my family and friends. I am thankful for my writing and my pottery. I'm thankful for Tallulah. I'm thankful that despite the troubles this year, the new year brings with it hope for something better.
I am thankful.
I've had words like Patience, Stretch, Step, Glee, Hope, Time, Chapter, Stop...
THANKFUL. It's a good word to add to my list and a good word to center the new year around.
THANKFUL. It's a good word to add to my list and a good word to center the new year around.
When I wrote Same Time Next Summer, I investigated TBIs (traumatic brain injuries) and discovered that recovery from a TBI isn't sudden. It's slow and difficult process. I suspect 2021 is going to be like that. Things will be better, but not all of a sudden. Slowly, with hard work, we're going to get back to normal or a new normal. And I am going to try to be thankful for each step in the process.
Wishing you all a hopeful, thankful new year!
Holly
PS My Books and Pottery
And check out Hometown Hearts:
Crib Notes: Hometown Hearts #1
A Special Kind of Different: Hometown Hearts #2
Suddenly a Father: Hometown Hearts #4
Monday, July 20, 2020
A Quiet Day
I was minion-less today, so I head out to The Cottage. It was a quiet day. Just me and Tallulah. But for all that, it was full.I started another clock. I have a better idea how to make the back, so I'm experimenting with that. I played with more textures and made more gnomes, some ornaments and another bear. I'll confess, I will never be a production potter. I really enjoy working on different things.
I worked in the quiet of the studio and thought a lot about John Lewis's passing. He was a great man who stood for what was right. Losing him diminishes the country. He said, "We must continue to go forward as one people, as brothers and sisters." That is my hope. That we put away the divisions and remember the things that bind us as a people. I talk about the fact that we're all more alike than different in so many of my books. I hope we all find a way to remember that.
 |
| Tallulah the Coon Hound |
I'm still working on tiles. All the experiments are going to become the backsplash in my studio. So today I picked some Queen Anne's Lace and other roadside wildflowers and tried them out as tiles. I feel like I'm getting better at transferring and carving them, but I'm still working out how to glaze them. I want enough color to show off the flowers and leaves, but not too much. LOL
Finally, I brought a few more pictures out to the studio and hung them. Someday in the not so distant future, there won't be much wall-space left. LOL One is by PA artist Jonas Bradford...I love it. I'm still watching for a Clementine Hunter. It'll be a print...I can't afford an original. LOLMy views in the studio and outside the studio are lovely and so inspiring!
I beat Himself home. It's so nice that The Cottage is just a bit more than a half hour from home. The drive gives me a bit of time to listen to a podcast. Today I was listening to Chuck Rosenberg's The Oath. He was interviewing Fiona Hill. She's led such an interesting life.
That's my day! Creative, inspiring, funny and quiet.
If you missed my latest Studio Tour, I'm reposting it here! And if you've missed any of my Hometown Hearts books, I hope you'll check them out! ~Holly
Crib Notes: Hometown Hearts #1
A Special Kind of Different: Hometown Hearts #2
Homecoming: Hometown Hearts #3
PREORDER Suddenly a Father: Hometown Hearts #4
Available in September
Thursday, June 25, 2020
Tallulah Here...
Tallulah here.
What? You don't think a puppy can write a blog? Well, I can. My role model, Peggy, wrote a book. So I figure I can write a blog.
I've lived with Holly since March. She got me right before Pennsylvania locked down. But my story starts before that. It starts with Peggy.
 |
| Everything But a Dog |
You see, Holly went to Philadelphia to spend a week with her two Philly minions. She'd been so sad because she'd lost her best friend, Ella. She'd lost Ethel Merman before that, and she and Ella did everything together. She even wrote a book about Ethel and Ella. (She changed their names because she didn't want the...wait for it...PUParazzi to Hound them.) When Ella passed, she told herself she wasn't going to get a new dog. She thought of reasons why NOT having a dog was a good thing. She could travel and not worry about a dog. She didn't have to clean up after the dog in the yard. And Ella never really enjoyed camp and Holly loved it, so she could go out to camp and not feel bad that Ella wasn't enjoying it.
 |
| Peggy and Me |
So when she got home, she told Himself she might be ready for a new dog. And by the end of the month, they went to pick me up. The people brought out my two brothers and two sisters, but I knew Holly was mine and I didn't want her to pick one of them by mistake. So I sat on her foot. If she took a step to see the others, I followed her and sat on her foot. I wanted to be clear about who she belonged to. (People sometimes miss the obvious.) Yes, it was puppy love at first sight. |
| Quarantine |
And in the end, she was smart enough to get my message. They took me home. And I have been an amazing dog, if I do say so myself. Here it is, just three months later and I've gone from 12 lbs to 40+ lbs. I am house-trained (mainly) and walk very nice (except when a car or robin goes by...I mean even the best puppy has her limits). I have slept through the night since my first night at home. Frankly, Holly gets up WAY too early for me. I usually follow her, but after she makes me go outside (see the mainly house-trained part, which is technically outside-trained), I take my pre-breakfast nap. I love the minions...the youngest one here in town is very tasty. Hey, I don't really taste too much. And he lets me—encourages me even. Holly doesn't. She's pretty strict about not eating minions. SIGH. I've tried and tried to train her to ignore my tiny little tasting of minions but she doesn't seem to understand so I might have to give it up that fight.
Oh, and I love camp!
Oh, and I love camp!
Yes, I've found my home and while Holly still misses Ethel and Ella, she's happy I'm here. I can still smell traces of them in the house, and even though I never met them, I sort of miss them, too.
Holly writes romances for a living. She wrote a short story starring me...and two humans who might be falling in love. She's said over and over again that hearts are amazing things. Every time you think they're as full as they can be, you find there's still room. She thought she wasn't going to get a new dog because her heart seemed full after Ethel and Ella and she wasn't sure she could find more room in it for a new dog. Yet she found space in her heart for me. Her new book, Homecoming, is a book about hearts that break and then discover they can heal and find room to love again. I like that.
So, that's my story. I've found my forever home and Holly's found...me. I keep Holly and Himself busy. I make them laugh. And I have entertained the minions during the pandemic...that's a big job. So thanks to Miranda and Peggy for making Holly realize I was out there waiting for her.
Love,
Tallulah
PS Check out my story and Holly's Hometown Hearts series.
PREORDER Suddenly a Father: Hometown Hearts #4
Crib Notes: Hometown Hearts #1
A Special Kind of Different: Hometown Hearts #2
Homecoming: Hometown Hearts #3
PREORDER Suddenly a Father: Hometown Hearts #4
Available in September
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Book Sale!! Crib Notes
How are things going? I hope you're staying in and staying safe! We've been busy with training Tallulah. She's growing so fast! She's doubled her weight since we brought her home in March! And we're busy working on my studio! I'll post pictures of the finished area sometime soon!Other than that, I've been working on a new series (more about that soon!) and wrote a Covid-19 short story, Quarantine...that features a puppy named Tallulah. Yep, truth in fiction!
But the big news is, Crib Notes is on sale now!
Thanks, as always, for all your support! If you have a moment, please share the sale on your social media, or leave a review at your favorite site! The Hometown Hearts series is about family. I think it's a very timely subject in our current situation.
Holly
On Sale: Crib Notes, HH #1
Out Now: A Special Kind of Different, HH #2
The rest of the Hometown Hearts series will be coming soon.
Suddenly a Father will be out in September of 2020 and
Something Borrowed, Something Blue and Something Perfect in 2021!
Thursday, April 09, 2020
Quarantine
 |
| Quarantine |
As always, there are elements of real life in my fiction. Of course this one has a puppy in it. Tallulah Mae to be exact. And it's a story of heroes. A nurse and a grocer. I think this crisis has reminded us all that heroes are everywhere.
I still love writing short stories. Those were my first writing sales and they're still such a joy to write. I hope you check out Quarantine and I'm including the list of the other shorts I have up and available. And don't forget the first two books in my Hometown Hearts series are out, and the third is up for preorder!
I hope you all are staying safe and staying at home. I hope despite everything that's going on, you're still finding moments of glee in your days.
If, like me, you're home with kids, I've got some tips on what we're doing here with 4-8 year olds. Tip 1 & Tip 2.
Holly
Other Short Stories and Novellas
Nothing But Series
(Short stories w/ characters from my Everything But series and my WLVH series)
(Short stories w/ characters from my Everything But series and my WLVH series)
Book 1 Nothing But Love
Book 2 Nothing But Heart
Book 3 Nothing But Luck
OUT NOW: Crib Notes
Out Now: A Special Kind of Different
The rest of the Hometown Hearts series will be coming soon.
Suddenly a Father will be out in September of 2020 and
Something Borrowed, Something Blue and Something Perfect in 2021!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)