* PARTICIPATING IN A BLOG TOUR *

Hello everyone! As I wrote in my August 17th post, I'm on a lengthy blog break, but I'm participating in a blog tour I was asked to do right before that break. I'm sure I've previously answered the following four questions during another tour, but I didn't look back to see what my responses were. (Maybe I'll check after I post this and see how different they might be!)


My dear bloggy friend, Chatty Crone, invited me. If you've read her blog then you already know what a sweetie she is. She's sincere, funny, and has a strong faith. She is a recent breast cancer survivor and openly shares her, thankfully, very swift discovery and outcome.

Okay, without further ado, here are the questions and my answers:


1) What are you working on?
      
 I'm writing the sequel (no title yet) to my memoir, From Pigtails to Chin Hairs: A Memoir & More. I'm thrilled to say that since taking my blog break, I'm rolling right along with it. No, that doesn't mean it will be finished anytime soon! It just means I'm writing much more often that I was and it's definitely a wonderful feeling. (I need to fit some organization into my life, but writing is definitely my main focus.)
    

2) How does your work differ from others?
      I'm not sure how to answer this one! Since we are all different people and have our own habits, I really don't know how my work/writing differs from other writers. I will say this...I'm truly happy that I only write memoir/personal essays. I'm not organized enough to keep track of storylines or characters' names, etc! (Notice the sentence in parentheses in my reply to the first question!)



3) Why do you write/create what you do?
      Because I must! Ever since I discovered at the young age of 48 years old that I could write, I haven't stopped. And if I'm not at my laptop actually writing, I'm thinking about writing, jotting notes about things to write about, reading books about writing, talking with other writers about writing....You get the picture! And I write memoir because I want to share events in my life that might help others in some way because they've lived through similar situations, or are going through them now. I want them to laugh, smile, delve into themselves, maybe shed a tear, but mostly to laugh.


4) How does your writing/creating process work?
      Memories, whether happy or sad, pop into my head at all hours of the day, and sometimes in my sleep. Those are all the reasons I try to keep a pen and notepad handy, or talk into the voice notes app on my cell phone, so I'll have them when I get to my laptop to actually write. No matter where I am, there are reminders of my life, whether from long, long ago, or earlier in my adulthood: scents, sights, and sounds.
      

These flowers are in a family member's back yard.

They don't have a "scent", but the "sight" of them

certainly prompted writing ideas! And if you tap

them with your fingernail, they also make a "sound."

That's it from here.

I'm continuing to follow my bliss

 and I hope you are, too!

 

 

P.S. I'm waiting to hear back from a blog friend about being the next selection, but I wanted to go ahead and post this now.

* Note: I received an e-mail from Patti at Treasure Barn and she is happy to reply to the Blog Tour questions! It will be one day next month, which if you've noticed the calendar lately....September arrives in 5 days! Thank you, Patti!

 

* GOODREADS MEMOIR GIVE-AWAY *

Goodreads Book Giveaway

From Pigtails to Chin Hairs

by Becky Lewellen Povich

Giveaway ends August 31, 2014.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

* POSTSCRIPT TO BLOG BREAK *

Postscript to Blog Break

On Sunday's post, I forgot to say that during my blog break, I will continue to send out my newsletter. I expect to e-mail it between the 1st and 5th of the month.


If you haven't already signed up for it and would like to receive it, here is the link: http://www.beckypovich.com/contact-me-for-newsletter-comments-and-book-clubs.html


Thanks much!

* A NOSTALGIC SUNDAY ~ AND A BLOG BREAK *

It's Time for Another Nostalgic Sunday

 

 

In keeping with my beloved Andy Griffith Show characters,

 I'm displaying two photos from one of my favorite episodes,

"The Shoplifters," from 1964.

 

 

Andy discovered who the shoplifter was,

 (who had all kinds of jewelry and other valuables hidden underneath her coat)

when he accidentally bumped into the sweet little old lady inside the store.

 

When asked how he knew she was the thief,

Andy replied in his usual folksy manner,

 

"Little old ladies ought never to clank."

 

 

Even though Nostalgic Sundays are one of my favorite posts to write, I just haven't been able to keep up with them on a regular basis. In fact, I haven't been able to keep up with much of anything pertaining to blogging, as I've bemoaned quite a few times lately. SO, after much consideration, I've decided to take a much-needed social media break from blogs, Facebook, and Twitter. (unless I've already committed to hosting a guest here, or being the guest on another blog.)

As I've also said before, I really need to spend a lot more time writing my sequel, plus getting out into the world and doing more promoting and marketing of my memoir, instead of focusing mostly online.

I'm also going to work on my concentration abilities. I'm tired of being so forgetful and disorganized. That's just not who I am, or at least who I used to be, and I refuse to give up and chalk it up to "being too busy" to keep track of things.

My contact information is listed in my profile. I can be reached by e-mail and/or through my website, and I truly hope to hear from you. I'm not sure how long this break will last, but I expect a month or more.

I must leave you with some of my favorite quotes. I hope they inspire you. Every time I read them, it's like reading them again for the first time.

"If you really want to do something, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse." - Jim Rohn

 

"My favorite weather is bird-chirping weather."-- Loire Hartwould

 

"Books can be dangerous. The best ones should be labeled 'This could change your life.'" -- Helen Exley

 

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." -- Les Brown

"Friendship isn't about whom you have known the longest, but about who came and never left your side." - Unknown

 "Your chances of success in any undertaking can always be measured by your belief in yourself." -- Robert Collier

 "We did not change as we grew older, we just became more clearly ourselves." -- Lynn Hall

 

* TODAY IS VERN'S BIRTHDAY! *

Today is Vern's 13th Birthday!

We got him from a shelter in March of 2011. I took this picture of him the day we brought him home! He immediately felt at home....and got up on the love seat next to me! We wouldn't believe he is so "old" if we didn't have all the papers that came with him: Date of birth, vet records, etc. We hope he lives to be 20! He's definitely our much beloved pooch! 

Vern - March 2011

~~~~~

 

Source: Pinterest



 Source: Pinterest

Source: Pinterest

 



Vern hasn't had his "party" yet, so I'll post more photos either later or tomorrow!

* TEA CUP TUESDAY *

Hello! Today I'm once again joining in the fun for Tea Cup Tuesday with Martha's Favorites. This post is a bit different because it doesn't show any of my own tea cup sets and I'm including people and items from my recent trip to Iowa. I wanted to share the lovely place setting and snacks that my dear friend, Marge, had ready for my cousin Nancy and me when we visited her.

 

Here's Marge sitting at the table.

 She didn't want to be in the picture, but isn't she cute?!

 

 

I don't know the name of her china but isn't it pretty?The coffee was just right and the ice cream was de-lish! It was Butter Brickle, which I haven't had in years! We also had scrumptious scones, which are in the center of the table in the photo with Marge. 

I bought these next two items in an antique store while I was in Iowa

and although they aren't "tea cups" I wanted to share them, too,

especially because I think they're so unique!

 



 

This little white china piece, with gold trim and décor, was in the $1.00 section of the store and I just had to have it! It looks like a sugar bowl until you see the actual size of it! It's only 3 inches wide and about 2-1/2 inches tall. (see the ruler below)

 



I guess it could be a toothpick holder,

but I think I'll put sugar and Splenda packets in it.

 

The only marking is the Made in Germany on the bottom.

 

This pretty little dish was also in the $1.00 section,

and I think it looks a bit like a deviled egg dish,

but it, too, is small. It's about 5 inches across

and 6 inches from top to bottom.

Can you see the little hole at the top?

I guess that's to hang it up on a wall, which I intend to do!

 



 This is really much prettier than it looks here.

 My cell phone does not take the best photos sometimes!

 

 

There is gold trim around the edges and also along the top edge.

The little curly flower stems are also gold.

There's not a single marking on the bottom, so I know nothing more about it.

 

 

I'm joining Martha's Favorites Tea Cup Tuesdays, and Tuesday Cuppa Tea.

 

 

 

Wishing everyone a beautiful, blissful rest of the week. Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

~~~

* Please stop back in a couple of days to find out about my newest give-away! *



 

"Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is the special occasion." -- Ann Wells 

 



* SERENDIPITY IN IOWA *

While I was in Greenfield last week, I did a lot of walking. Why? For one reason, I didn't have a car, but also because the entire town is small, and level, and the weather was perfect. The Hotel Greenfield was right at the edge of the town square, too, so I could walk all the way around, browsing and window shopping, and purchasing some items, of course!

 

I'll be posting more photos in the next few days, but for this evening, I just have to share one of my serendipitous finds in an antique store on The Public Square.

 

 Eek! It's multiplication...with a 9!

Ahh, to find the answer, just turn it over!

After digging through a box of old flash cards of various sizes, I bought this one in J's Variety Store. Anyone who has read my memoir will know what is so significant about these particular numbers! The humorous chapter is titled, "Multiplication Made Easy." It's about how a possible life of crime was cut short at an early age!

~~~

I'll be sharing more news and photos as soon as I can. I'm happy to announce, too, that I went all the way back to my July 8th Tea Cup Tuesday post to catch up on my replies to your comments! Wow ~ nothing like being a month behind. I promise to do better on that, and also on visiting other blogs much more often!

~~~

 

Blogger is giving me trouble this morning, so if I even get this posted, it will surprise me.

Only a couple of things today >>>

Today, August 6, 2014 would have been my mother's 99th birthday! It feels odd to think of her that old, especially since she died relatively young. She was only 74 years old when she died.

My dad's birthday is also this month, on August 11th. He would have been 90. Yes, he was nine years younger than she was, and he died at age 78.

Mother, dad, Mike, and me.

Approx. 1958

Notice the Mother-Daughter dresses

my mother made!

 

 

 



The other thing I wanted to mention >>>

I've been replying to your comments and realized I haven't been doing a very good job at it! I'm still on Tea Cup Tuesday, from July 22nd, which I began this morning and that's when Blogger started s-l-o-w-i-n-g d-o-w-n. I'll keep getting caught up as soon as I can....and begin visiting your blogs and leaving comments for YOU! I apologize for being so s-l-o-w myself!


Okay, I'm now going to attempt to post this...for the fourth time! Acckkkkk!!!!

Oh My Gosh!! It worked!! Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!

 

 

* SO MUCH TO DO - SO MUCH TO SAY *

How have you been?? What all is happening in your lives?

I'm really looking forward to getting caught up on everyone's blogs! (or I should say "attempt" to get caught up, because we all know how bad I am at actually making the rounds.)

I have photos and fun tidbits to share so I'll be back as soon as I can. First, I must begin laundry and other household-like duties, while I listen to my 2-Disc copy of.... The Best Summer Songs......Ever!

                 Meet Me In Margaritaville: The Ultimate Collection

 

~~~

 

P.S. At approximately 9:30 pm CDT, I sent out my Inaugural Edition of my E-Newsletter!! Finally! I intend to send one monthly from now on. AND it does contain different information than I post here on my blog, so you may want to sign up for it. There's a place on the right side to do that, but it can also be done here: http://www.beckypovich.com/contact-me-for-newsletter-comments-and-book-clubs.html

 

 

 

Thanks and goodnight!