Friday, November 30, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Blog Tour--#17
This blog tour has been great fun for me and I hope for everyone else involved as well.
Today we head to Bethany's blog at About My Father's Business, in which we discover that she and I have similar husbands. What fortunate women we are!
And a Quote of the Day:
Me: [Reading blog tour comments] Oh dear. How can I tell if all these nice comments are going to my head?
Emily: If you start having dreams that they're going to make a movie out of your book.
Jenny: with Brad Pitt starring as Dad.
Today we head to Bethany's blog at About My Father's Business, in which we discover that she and I have similar husbands. What fortunate women we are!
And a Quote of the Day:
Me: [Reading blog tour comments] Oh dear. How can I tell if all these nice comments are going to my head?
Emily: If you start having dreams that they're going to make a movie out of your book.
Jenny: with Brad Pitt starring as Dad.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Blog Tour--Stop 16
Kim Martin and I go way back to my Amish days, and in today's review she remembers what happened when our horse, Fern, got too old to pull the buggy up the hill.
Since then, we've met at very random times and places, and I wish we could sit down and reminisce over a pot of tea.
You'll enjoy her review, I'm sure. Right here.
Since then, we've met at very random times and places, and I wish we could sit down and reminisce over a pot of tea.
You'll enjoy her review, I'm sure. Right here.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Blog tour stop #15
The last week of the blog tour is underway. If this is an east-to-west journey, we're about in Utah and getting to Idaho soon. It's been fun for me and I hope for you, too.
Today we go to Mark Roth's blog. He was nervous about being the only guy on the list but he shouldn't have been.
Here's Aint Complicated.
And coming up:
Today we go to Mark Roth's blog. He was nervous about being the only guy on the list but he shouldn't have been.
Here's Aint Complicated.
And coming up:
November 28-- Kim Martin at Sweaters 4 u 2
November 29-- Bethany Eicher at About My Father's Business
November 30-- Christine Weaver at Shall Run and Not Be Weary
December 1--Gina at Home Joys
Thanks for coming along on the journey.
Ordering information for Tea and Trouble Brewing:
Send a check for $15 (includes postage) to:
Dorcas Smucker
31148 Substation Drive
Harrisburg, OR 97446
Special: all four of my books for $40, including postage. U.S. customers only.
Or order from Amazon.
Thanks again for coming along for the ride.
Thanks for coming along on the journey.
Ordering information for Tea and Trouble Brewing:
Send a check for $15 (includes postage) to:
Dorcas Smucker
31148 Substation Drive
Harrisburg, OR 97446
Special: all four of my books for $40, including postage. U.S. customers only.
Or order from Amazon.
Thanks again for coming along for the ride.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Book Signing at RG
This Thursday from 4-6 pm there's a book signing at the Register-Guard building at 3500 Chad Drive for RG authors.
In case you can't read this, the others are Bob Welch, Jan Eliot, and Bill Sullivan.
They had this very nice ad in the print edition, but I couldn't download it from the website, so I scanned it instead.
Hope to see you there.
In case you can't read this, the others are Bob Welch, Jan Eliot, and Bill Sullivan.
They had this very nice ad in the print edition, but I couldn't download it from the website, so I scanned it instead.
Hope to see you there.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Blog Tour--Stop 13
Today we go all the way
to Poland and Anita Yoder's Tis a Gift to Receive. She's a true
word-crafter and you'll enjoy reading her past posts. She's also the
first blog tour host to do an interview.
Here it is.
Here it is.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Gifts
There are plenty of things I like about Christmas.
The music.
The celebration of Jesus's coming.
The food.
The family gatherings.
But there is one thing that I very much dislike: shopping for gifts.
Or, more accurately: shopping for gifts when I have no clue what people need, and have a feeling they really don't need anything I can give them.
You are all bouncing in your seats, waving your hands, and yelling, "But Mrs. Smuckerrrr..!!"
Calm down. I know what you're thinking. I should get creative and make stuff. Special stuff. Personal stuff. Tea cozies and candles and tote bags and cookies in re-purposed tins and big stick pretzels dipped in white chocolate.
I won't have time for that unless I don't sleep for the next month. Also, this is too much thinking for a brain so overtaxed that it forgot to invite John and Laura to the family Thanksgiving dinner, thinking they were still in Poland or something.
Thankfully someone else was on the ball and called me up. "Um, Dorcas???"
The other day while Jenny was in choir I wandered around Walmart, picking up milk and meat but also scouting out gifts.
Clothes? How many people really want their moms to buy them clothes?
That's what I thought.
Electronics? Tools? There is no possible way I'll pick the right thing without being specifically told, so why not just hand them a few twenties and say, Here. Help yourself.
Popcorn in Santa tins, cellophany pre-packaged cappuccino mixes with cups, glass jars with red candles so strongly scented of cinnamon that they set off an asthma attack.
Sigh.
Here's what I like:
1. When I know someone needs something and I can fill that need. Like a gas card for your child's teacher. Or the year Paul's sister needed a coat and we all pooled our money and Bonnie--whose taste we all trusted and who enjoys shopping--went and picked it out.
2. Words. If I send Christmas cards, I can't sleep at night unless I include some words conveying what these people mean to us and why they're special. I would be thrilled if everyone who normally buys me gifts would sit down and write a few pages of nice words instead.
Well, I also wouldn't mind that cute little teapot at Shoppe of Shalom, ceramic, with an infuser, or the stack of cute note papers in the third aisle.
But words would be fine too.
Today I was talking with a young person about how those first gifts after you start dating are fraught with peril and heavy with meaning. I remember buying Paul I think two different gifts and returning both of them before I finally bought a set of James Herriot books because he likes to read.
However, he has never really liked James Herriot.
He married me anyhow. And today he went to Home Depot and used a gift card from last Christmas to buy some on-sale tools he needed, then he came home and gave me the tools and said I can wrap them up and give them to him for Christmas.
We are one couple who does not fight about finances.
The young person I spoke with, who has an actual guy in her life this Christmas, said,
Quote of the Day:
"I always thought if I was going to buy a guy clothes, it would be from a cool store, like Old Navy. But the other day I was kind of startled to realize that if I was going to buy clothes for him that he'd like I'd probably have to go to Coastal Farms."
The music.
The celebration of Jesus's coming.
The food.
The family gatherings.
But there is one thing that I very much dislike: shopping for gifts.
Or, more accurately: shopping for gifts when I have no clue what people need, and have a feeling they really don't need anything I can give them.
You are all bouncing in your seats, waving your hands, and yelling, "But Mrs. Smuckerrrr..!!"
Calm down. I know what you're thinking. I should get creative and make stuff. Special stuff. Personal stuff. Tea cozies and candles and tote bags and cookies in re-purposed tins and big stick pretzels dipped in white chocolate.
I won't have time for that unless I don't sleep for the next month. Also, this is too much thinking for a brain so overtaxed that it forgot to invite John and Laura to the family Thanksgiving dinner, thinking they were still in Poland or something.
Thankfully someone else was on the ball and called me up. "Um, Dorcas???"
The other day while Jenny was in choir I wandered around Walmart, picking up milk and meat but also scouting out gifts.
Clothes? How many people really want their moms to buy them clothes?
That's what I thought.
Electronics? Tools? There is no possible way I'll pick the right thing without being specifically told, so why not just hand them a few twenties and say, Here. Help yourself.
Popcorn in Santa tins, cellophany pre-packaged cappuccino mixes with cups, glass jars with red candles so strongly scented of cinnamon that they set off an asthma attack.
Sigh.
Here's what I like:
1. When I know someone needs something and I can fill that need. Like a gas card for your child's teacher. Or the year Paul's sister needed a coat and we all pooled our money and Bonnie--whose taste we all trusted and who enjoys shopping--went and picked it out.
2. Words. If I send Christmas cards, I can't sleep at night unless I include some words conveying what these people mean to us and why they're special. I would be thrilled if everyone who normally buys me gifts would sit down and write a few pages of nice words instead.
Well, I also wouldn't mind that cute little teapot at Shoppe of Shalom, ceramic, with an infuser, or the stack of cute note papers in the third aisle.
But words would be fine too.
Today I was talking with a young person about how those first gifts after you start dating are fraught with peril and heavy with meaning. I remember buying Paul I think two different gifts and returning both of them before I finally bought a set of James Herriot books because he likes to read.
However, he has never really liked James Herriot.
He married me anyhow. And today he went to Home Depot and used a gift card from last Christmas to buy some on-sale tools he needed, then he came home and gave me the tools and said I can wrap them up and give them to him for Christmas.
We are one couple who does not fight about finances.
The young person I spoke with, who has an actual guy in her life this Christmas, said,
Quote of the Day:
"I always thought if I was going to buy a guy clothes, it would be from a cool store, like Old Navy. But the other day I was kind of startled to realize that if I was going to buy clothes for him that he'd like I'd probably have to go to Coastal Farms."
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