* Listen to the Radio....Online *

* I had a variety of things to blog about this evening, but then remembered this:

Have I mentioned that I was interviewed a couple of weeks ago for a Des Moines, Iowa radio station? An amazing man, John Busbee, read my memoir and asked to interview me about it. And why would an Iowa radio station want to interview me? My maternal grandparents, and my parents were all born and lived there for many years....So my roots are in Iowa. In my memoir From Pigtails to Chin Hairs I write about my magical summer vacations in Greenfield, Iowa. It is still my favorite small town in America!

source: free clip art

It will air tomorrow, Wednesday November 12th, a...t 11:13 AM CST. If it's possible, please listen to it Streaming Live at http://www.kfmg991.org/

They don't have the capacity for archives at the moment, but I will receive a CD of the interview some time soon.

I'm a bit nervous but at the same time, can't wait to hear it!


* I'd like to welcome two new followers! One is Janet Givens, and I think the other one is "Phyllis." I say, "I think" because Janet's is the only new face/icon showing. And from what I can tell, the newest "blank" follower face is Phyllis. *

Welcome to you both and I hope you always enjoy

what you read and see. Thanks very much!

~~~

 

 

Please don't forget......11:13 AM CST, Wednesday, November 12th! 

 



 

* A SPLENDID AUTUMN MORNING.....AND * BOING! *

♪♪ It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor.... ♪♪

 

 

Vern and I went on our usual morning walk this morning. It was sunny, crisp and just beautiful. I decided it was a good day to take a couple of photos of him and the crunchy leaves. He was moving as I took these with my cell phone camera. They came out pretty good, didn't they? 

 

 

 

  We walk past this dazzling fire bush

  every time we take our usual route.

 

Okay, so what part does the word BOING! have to do with today? We've lived in our townhouse for a year and a half now and every morning Vern and I walk outside through the garage. I hit the button next to the light switch and we meander towards the opening door. We're usually at the door as it's going up and I bend slightly to walk on out.

Do you think it's possible the door was rising slower than normal, or was I just not paying attention when I smacked my forehead on it?!

B O I N G!

(be sure to click on the link)

Ahhh, a story to add to the klutz chapter of my sequel!

Wishing everyone a fabulous weekend....and my next post should have a variety of information.

"A few days ago I walked along the edge of the lake and was treated to the crunch and rustle of leaves with each step I made. The acoustics of this season are different and all sounds, no matter how hushed, are as crisp as autumn air." - Eric Sloane

 



* NOSTALGIC SUNDAY *

It's Time Again for Another Nostalgic Sunday!

Hello and Happy Nostalgic Sunday. Today's nostalgia pertains to two things.

(I've been lamenting lately about trying to get back into blogging on a regular basis. Although I was pretty sure I knew the reasons why I hadn't been able to solve my problem, I was still stuck. And wouldn't you know that serendipity came along just when I needed it? I happened upon the blog of Jennifer Brown Banks @ Pen & Pro$per and when I read her post about blogging, taking breaks from blogging, etc. Ah Ha.... And so, here I am today....)

~~~

 

Yesterday, The Ronald and I attended Trash or Treasure in the town of Collinsville, Illinois, which is about 40 miles from our house. Trash or Treasure is very similar to the fabulous PBS program, Antiques Roadshow, only a smaller venue. If you're a fan of the roadshow, you've probably dreamed of having something that's worth a lot of money, just like some of the people on the show!

 

Beautiful bowl left to me by my Great Aunt Grace

.....and a different view

 

I have a couple of items I thought might be worth something monetarily, so The Ronald and I drove over there. It was a chilly, but glorious, sunny day and the trip was such fun.

We traveled over highways we hadn't been on in a long time, and drove over the new (Feb 2014) Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge for the first time. We'd seen videos of it on the local news while it was being built, then when it was completed and opened to traffic. But being on it, of course, is amazing. It's really beautiful! These are the two pictures I took while we drove across it....one from inside the front windshield, one out the back.



It is a "cable-stayed" bridge, which I'd never heard of before. I assumed it was a suspension bridge, but NO....they are two different things. The link explains both, and shows pictures and drawings, which I didn't bother to read entirely. (too much like a math word problem to me!)

Photo from Stl.today  (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

SO....the two different nostalgic things on this post are:

1) The beautiful bowl from my Aunt Grace: It's not worth much, monetarily, which is great to know because now I will have it out where it can be seen, and at times maybe used. And of course, it means THE WORLD to me because it was my aunt's and she chose me as the recipient!

I wrote about the bowl in my memoir in the chapter titled "Self-Centered Sadie." I'm still very grateful that I actually retrieved it and can enjoy it until the day I pass it on to a beloved relative of mine...yet to be determined!

~

2) The new bridge named for St. Louis Cardinals, Baseball Hall of Fame member, Stan "The Man" Musial. Stan was a baseball favorite here in St. Louis his entire baseball career, from 1941 - 1963. (That just doesn't happen these days.) His nickname could also be "The Gentleman" because that's what he always was. I was aware of him and how important he was even at a very young age. And would you believe I also mentioned him in my memoir?! It's in the chapter "I Adored my Dad."



"Sharing tales of those we've lost is how we keep from really losing them." - Mitch Albom, For One More Day

(One of my absolute favorite books. I've read it at least three times in the past couple of years !)

* BOOK GIVE-AWAY WINNER *

Congratulations to Susan at Writing Straight From The Heart - - She is the winner of a print copy of my memoir: From Pigtails to Chin Hairs: A Memoir & More.

Your book will be on its way soon, Susan! Thanks to all who participated!

"There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we spent with a favorite book." –Marcel Proust

* A PINTEREST QUOTE & BOOK GIVE AWAY *

I'm still learning about Pinterest and it occurred to me this afternoon that I could create a board of quotes, beginning with something kooky my mother said to me after I graduated from high school in 1971.

 

It was obviously so memorable I included it all these years later, in my memoir: From Pigtails to Chin Hairs: A Memoir & More. It's at the end of the chapter titled: "That Crowbar Changed Everything"

 

 

Becky - Summer of 1971

Please click on the link below to go to the Pinterest board and read the quote.

http://www.pinterest.com/beckypovich/funny-quotes-by-mothers-to-daughters/

 

 

If you haven't already read my memoir, would you say my mother's quote would inspire/motivate you to want to read it?

 

I'm including a give-away with this blog post. If you'd like to be included for a chance to win a print copy or ebook, leave a comment below about mothers/daughters/quotes and indicate which book you prefer: print or ebook. Give-away will be open until midnight on Friday, October 24th. If you mention this on Facebook, Twitter, or your own blog, you'll get an extra point for each. Feel free to tell your family and friends - - and Good Luck!

* DELICIOUS AUTUMN *

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." - George Eliot

My beloved Vern last October, 2013.

(I'm the one at the other end of the leash and taking the picture!)

 

 

Vern and I continue to go on several walks every day, especially when the weather is so beautiful. At 7:30 this morning, I actually saw my breath when I exhaled, just a little bit, but still...I love the crisp, cool, autumn temperatures! J

  

 

I've got a lot going on right now and still not finding the time to blog. Hopefully..soon!

* A BRIGHT, AUTUMN BACKGROUND *

                        ♪ The falling leaves drift by my window.
                                     The falling leaves of red and gold. ♪

Ahh, I love autumn! It's my favorite time of the year, and today I decided to add some glorious fall colors to my background. This photo is one of the trees in our front yard in November 2012. (We've since moved, but I get to see thousands of beautiful leaves in my new neighborhood, too.)

It may be a bit "too busy" for my background, but I won't have it up for very long. Soon it will be time for another change, as in the changing leaves...!

Ba-Dum tssshhh...Rim Shot!

 

 

 

I hope to be back to blogging sometime soon. I miss everyone very much!

 

 

 

 

 

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." - L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables



* WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG BREAK FOR WRITERS EVERYWHERE *

Happy October 1st 2014!

Writerly News

 

Hello Everyone ~ Although I have missed blogging, being away from it this past month has been good for me. One less thing to stress about.

 

I'd like to be able to announce that I've gotten tons of writing accomplished....but I haven't. I HAVE, though, succeeded in doing some really good marketing in my area. My memoir is now being stocked in two more local gift shops, J and I have many more places to call on.

 

More about all that at a later time. Today I want to share contests and calls for submissions I've recently come across. 

* * Note: I will be sending out my 2nd newsletter sometime very soon. If you haven't signed up yet and would like to, please go to my website and fill out the info: http://www.beckypovich.com/contact-me-for-newsletter-comments-and-book-clubs.html 

 

 

 

Publishing Syndicate: This is the Not Your Mother's Book On... _ _ _ _ _ publisher. They always have call outs but the current ones look like these three.

NYMB...On Sex: Immediately!

NYMB...On Military Life: January 1, 2015

NYMB...On Menopause: January 1, 2015

 



 

Page & Spine; a weekly literary magazine, is having their First Annual Christmas Contest!  They will pay $100 for the Best Story, plus another $100 for the Best Poem! There's only a $5.00 entry fee for each item submitted. Their website also says: showcasing emerging writers. I really don't know anything about them, but it's a legitimate site! So, go for it! I'd love to hear from anyone who enters!

 

 

The Copperfield Review; A Journal for Readers and Writers of Historical Fiction, is now accepting historical short fiction, poetry, and history-based nonfiction for Copperfield‘s first anthology. I think this sounds so exciting, because I don't remember ever coming across an anthology for historical fiction writers! (It also says they have changed their guidelines, so be sure to read everything. I didn't look enough to notice if there was an entry fee or not, either.)

 

 

The Furious Gazelle; Halloween Contest. Deadline October 24th. (I'm getting lazier as I type, so look it up for more info!) J

 

Chicken Soup for the Soul FOOD Contest: Yes, Chicken Soup has a food contest! This link takes you to the information which is listed on Facebook. The deadline to enter is December 29th. It sounds like a lot of fun. I keep forgetting about it, but I want to enter, too.

 

 



Chicken Soup for the Soul: Calls for Submissions (Writing!) 

 

Dreams & Premonitions - Deadline 12/31/2014

Hope & Miracles - Deadline 10/30/2014

Inspiration for Nurses - Deadline 11/30/2014

Living a Life of Purpose by Volunteering - Deadline 12/31/2014

Stories about the Christmas Season - Deadline 1/31/2015

Support for Therapists/Mental Health Professionals - Deadline 12/31/2014

Thanks to My Mom - Deadline 10/20/2014 (I think this is a new, extended date.)

Time to Thrive - Deadline 12/31/2014

 

 

 

Okay everyone out there who writes or even thinks about writing - -  there's a little bit of everything right here for you to try!!

 

 

I've noticed I have some new Blog Followers and as always I want to acknowledge them. I'm not sure but I think I have three new wonderful blog friends......

 

 

* Welcome to my newest followers: Beauty Ink, Michael Mixerr, and Sherri Ellis at Mama Diaries. I hope you'll stop by often and always enjoy what you read and see! Thank you! *

 

 

In honor of it being October 1st, and because of my love of autumn and the stunning colors the leaves become, I'm ending with a quote about....Trees!

 

 

 

 

 "Listen to the trees as they sway in the wind. Their leaves are telling secrets...." -- Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration