Great Christmas Idea

Speaking of Christmas---I recently emailed  our annual randomly chosen Christmas List to everyone in the family who is  employed and out of school and is old enough to purchase one gift for another member.   Every adult has something to open  and no one has to worry about breaking the bank with buying individual gifts for all. Anything on sale works, but a reasonable limit is set and, ignoring inflation, we always keep the limit the same.  I’d tell you what our limit is but then you would discover either how cheap or extravagant we are. Besides, I like to add mystery to your lives. 
 
So here is the great Christmas idea. I was talking to Christine Clark, a very nice new acquaintance, and she told me what her family does in December.  They, too, draw names and every Christmas Eve, they exchange a pair of brand new and freshly laundered (to remove the sizing) pajamas and a book!   They dress in their jammies and eat fondue and do  wholesome all-American family activities.  (We always have Grampy read The Night Before Christmas to the children.  Very sweet.  This, of course, goes along with the book theme).
 
No matter what you do for your Christmas, if you don’t already have a single gift exchange with a limit, please consider it. Just think, no after Christmas credit card bills to pay!
 
PS  All bets are off when it comes to the little ones and presents, of course!

Things that Clog My Mind = Score

I was reading The Gettysburg Address the other day, you know I love history, and suddenly I took particular note of the word score.  I thought of its meaning here, 20 years, of course, and then a scroll of definitions unrolled inside my brain.  I don’t know why this word came to represent so many different things but check these out:

 

To score- mark or cut as to score the meat or score the glass before you break it for a clean edge

Score points in a game

Keep score of those points

Score or grade a paper

To score a musical number- write down the notes

A score- the orchestrations of a musical

He scored, as in kissed a girl

“Score!” when you win or succeed and do a high-five because of it

On that score or for that reason

Score drugs

Even the score

 

I haven’t consulted a dictionary so there may be more, but no wonder English is a confusing language to learn.  Hey, wait a minute. Perhaps it’s not so difficult.  Since I just covered twelve meanings with one word, it would reason that we have 12% less words to learn after all. Did I do that math right?  (I do words. Numbers, not so much...)

Year of Living Graciously - October

Life is good when you put a little effort into it. -Nancy Kamp

Inside Secret-Designing Goodbye Lie's Cover

A Goodbye Lie Favorite*

by Jane Marie and Bonnie Shively

 

    Jane Marie:  When I'm at book signings, I often point out the meaning behind the cover of The Goodbye Lie.  I spent a long while deciding how I wanted the cover to look.  It had to be in good taste, of course.  I wanted it to be intriguing, to suggest what the story might be about, but didn't want to give too much away.  Where would the fun be in that?

 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Goodbye-Jane-Marie-Malcolm/dp/0974918229

I knew I wanted sand as a backdrop since the Dunnigan family lives on Amelia Island off the coast of Florida, and the beach and Atlantic Ocean play a significant part in the story.  It would have been ideal to lay out my design on the actual beach, but I didn't want things to blow away or get covered with a dusting of sand, so I asked my husband, Bruce, to tote a pail of sand from the beach to our house.  I found a 3'x4' rectangle of plywood in the garage, laid it in the courtyard inside our wall so no one would see what I was doing, covered the wood with the sand and went to work. 

 

Leaving room for a title in large enough letters to be read in an online bookstore cover photo, I thought about the elements of the book. I used flowers from my garden for color - roses, sweet alyssum, pansies and hibiscus.   But how would I represent a man and a woman?  What did they have in common?  Gloves, among other things!  I chose a long formal glove that was actually worn by my daughter, Barbra, at her wedding.  I asked a former Marine if he had a dress glove he could loan me to use as a soldier's glove.  He did. I put the man's glove over the woman's.  Was he protecting her?  Was she trying to get away from him?

 

I added the pewter jewel “coffin” as the Victorians called it.  It had been our mother's, and I've had it for years filled with religious medals and rosaries.  Since a medallion is mentioned in The Goodbye Lie, I put that in the pewter box.

 

I also wanted a ribbon to weave around and through the picture to represent the meandering story line.  I had the ends of the ribbon running off the edge of the picture to show there was no beginning or end to the story really, that a sequel or even a prequel might happen. 

 

After taking a dozen shots, I went to work on the covers for Velvet Undertow, Mark of a Man and A Thing Most Necessary (now entitled Sand and Sin), the rest of the books in The Goodbye Lie series, so far.  They all have the same sand, flowers and ribbon, but the main objects in the middle are different to represent a different story.  I was pleased with the results.  And apparently the cover for The Goodbye Lie passed muster because my toughest and best critic and editor, Nancy [Kamp] went with it.  Whew!      

 

    Bonnie:  They taught me in art class in college that true art speaks to the beholder.  It may speak differently to each person, but if it speaks, it is art.

 

The ribbon - I was thinking along the lines of ... she let it fall from her dress in a carefree moment, lost in both thought and contentment.  I can picture her [Breelan] walking hand-in-hand with Waite in the moonlight.   Barefoot, of course.  She's dreamily walking with her eyes closed because she is so happy and serene, and doesn't want the moment or the magic of it to end.  As she slowly walks, she unties her ribbon, plays with it a bit, and it loosely falls from her fingers without notice or care that it has dropped.  Her dress has in that instant gone from formal to romantically casual and flowing. ... Oh man ... am I a hopeless romantic, or what?

 

[The shorter glove]could easily be a man's formal dress glove.  That's what I thought.  The gloves are one of the first things they shed when they reached that beach, and without meaning to, they dropped them one on top of the other in a gesture of everlasting oneness.

 

I hadn't quite figured out the jewel coffin, but the flowers were from the wedding [in the story], and of course they were symbolic too.  Perhaps the jewel symbolized the treasure they had both finally uncovered together (their admitted love for each other).

 

(Reprinted from 

http://www.greenlightwrite.com/goodbyeliecover.htm.)

The Great Uncovering

Due to my Bunko party, I had the annual Great Uncovering.  It was so grand an event, it made our little parlor appear twice the size!  Whatever could this be?  If a cat or dog belongs to you--let me rephrase that--If you belong to a cat or dog, then you will understand the necessity for swathing your furniture in sheets, towels or blankets to protect it from the ravages of stinky, biting, shedding, clawing, but loving, animals.  We have tattered burgundy towels pinned to the back of our recliners overlaid by matching burgundy sheets.  That, dear readers, was what was removed, hence, the Great Uncovering.

 

note attractive shreds

 

The naked easy chairs left such a positive impression, the room could have been photographed for Good Housekeeping magazine. With the towels and sheets, I think Kennel and Flea magazine would be more fitting.  “Let’s give it a try and leave the chairs uncovered,” I said to Bruce. “Button (aka Little Naughty) will be a good girl.  She’s a year older and won’t shred the furniture.”

 

“Go for it,” Bruce replied, laughing in my face.

 

And so I did—for about 17 minutes.  Ignoring the extra tall scratching post which I read was good because it would draw her attention like a tree outside, she eyeballed the furniture and pounced.  I heard the tearing before I saw it.

 

“No!” I commanded.  To her mind, no means: I’ve got their attention now and atta girl. More claws, sharper claws.  Oh, you missed a spot.  Be sure to include every square inch now.

 

After I lifted her from her hang-ten position on the back of Bruce’s chair, I thought to try the water bottle.  Sitting in my still naked chair when she attacked, I sprayed her with water.  On the chin, the side, the hip, I squirted her.  She retreated to lick and clean herself, only to  return for more and more and more.  When she started smelling the water bottle I placed on the floor beside me for easy access, I realized she was clawing the furniture to get me to spray her!  She was training me! And, too, I remembered that she loves water. ( As a kitten, we found her peeking out, yes out, of the toilet bowl.  It seemed reasonable she would like water because someone once told me if a cat has any orange fur, Button is a calico with orange, black and white fur, they are related to tigers and tigers swim. Believe it or don't.)  

 

Well now, the room, once again, appears smaller since I’ve returned the freshly laundered sheets and towels to their permanent positions.  Bruce suggested I add a white hand towel where the head rests.  We wouldn’t want to soil those ripped sheets, now would we?  Besides, a raggedy old white towel will be a standout against the rich dark burgundy—an interior designer's delight, to be sure.  Sigh… 

 

Chuck Hall's One Man Show

Chuck and "the band"

Fall into more Fernandina fancy with my newly designed Blog, Blog, Blog in autumn colors!
 

And how better to start this season than with local celebrity and funny man, Chuck  Hall. Last night we attended Chuck's Old Time Family Hour held at our Amelia Community Theatre with donations going toward their beautiful new building. Well, I'll tell you a little secret. Mr. Chuck is way more talented than I thought. Yes, he's a wood carver and I knew he picked at the banjo but heck, folks, he is quite the lively all-around entertainer! The audience clapped and sang along, as Chuck strummed that banjo, belting out a dozen tunes from I've Been Workin' on the Railroad to You are My Sunshine to O Brother, Where Art Thou? - I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow. Accompanied by an electronic band, produced with the push of a button on a small contraption attached to the mike stand, Family Hour lasted a good ninety minutes and there was never a lull.

One of my favorite jokes he told was about the man who went to a revival meeting and the preacher asked him what his trouble was. The man said it was his hearing. Well, the preacher prayed over him mightily and then asked, "So how's your hearing now?"  The man answered, "I don't know. My hearing isn't until next Wednesday."  With material like that, you know we had a good time!

  Chuck "joking" around!

 

Thanks, Chuck.  American can use more good, clean, wholesome family entertainment like your show.  Keep it coming!

 

Chuck Hall and Bruce Malcolm AFTER the show. (The hour was up,

 so there was no time for Bruce and HIS railroad song.

That's why they call it a one man show, Brucey.)





This Time, I'm Innocent

In the interest of truth and self-worth, this is a disclaimer from Gracious Jane Marie aka Jane Marie Malcolm aka ME.  I was looking at Nook's sample pages of my Amelia Island's Velvet Undertow. To my horror, at the end of the first chapter, I discovered they, the Nook people, made a typo.  They split the word anything, not at any-thing but an-ything!  While they say the average book has at least nine typos in it, I can boldly tell you I am more than capable of making my quota of mistakes without anyone's help.  I hope this does not deter readers from meeting my fictional Dunnigan family and joining their Amelia Island, Florida adventures and romance in the 1880s.  I just want folks to understand that I KNOW an-ything is incorrect.  I feel better now.  PS  I checked Kindle's sample pages and we're good. Whew!  I'll check the paperback next and then The Goodbye Lie...

Nook's Amelia Island's Velvet Undertow - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/amelia-islands-velvet-undertow-jane-marie-malcolm/1019217795?ean=9781449029203

Kindle's Amelia Island's Velvet Undertow - http://www.amazon.com/Amelia-Islands-VELVET-UNDERTOW-ebook/dp/B0069SB4XY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376857701&sr=8-1&keywords=amelia+island%27s+velvet+undertow#_

Goodbye Lie paperback - http://www.amazon.com/The-Goodbye-Jane-Marie-Malcolm/dp/0974918229/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1379648228&sr=8-3&keywords=goodbye+lie

Mark of a Man- Unique Utensil

Grammy Camp Outing- Granddaughter Ava and I spent three hours at Fort Clinch on Amelia Island, Florida.  The military reenactors made the year, 1864, come to life for us.  Of particular interest was the hospital, located on the second floor where the white painted walls and open windows resulted in a good breeze, great ventilation and a cheery atmosphere, all of which helped in a speedy recovery. Many of the medical instruments were unrecognizable to most of us as was the item below.  Can you guess what it is? 

 

This is an eating utensil for a one armed man.  While holding the wooden or antler handle, he rocked the curved blade back and forth, cutting his meat and then stabbed it with the fork on the end.  Very sad for the need of such a took, but very clever.

Because I thought it was so interesting, I worked a short passage about this utensil into my upcoming novel, Mark of  Man, part of the Amelia Island's Goodbye Lie Trilogy. Watch for it.

September 11th

Once Upon a Time in America...

Traveling Book Club from Georgia

I was recently honored by a visit from The Traveling Book Club from north Georgia.  Read the article below and hear how it happened!
 
Reprinted from September 4, 2013 Fernandina Beach News-Leader.

Book Club Travels Through Time

 The Traveling Book Club members shown
 standing in the back row, left to right,
are Melissa Camp and Billie Carlock.
Seating in the front row, left to right, is Cheryl Parham,
author Jane Marie Malcolm and Amy Chambers.

One phone call from Maggie DeVries, owner of Books Plus, 107 Centre Street in Fernandina Beach, to local author Jane Marie Malcolm, resulted in a two-and-a-half hour laugh-filled jaunt around historic downtown Amelia Island, Florida. 

As is the custom on their annual vacation, members of the seven person Traveling Book Club from Ringgold, Georgia, just south of Chattanooga, Tennessee, pick a place to visit and then an author from that area.  This time, four in their group drove some seven hours to spend time on Amelia Island.  Member Melissa Camp did an internet search of historical fiction on Amelia Island and Malcolm’s name and her Goodbye Lie trilogy appeared.     

Camp, along with Billie Carlock, Cheryl Parham and Amy Chambers, all teachers at Heritage Middle School in Ringgold, had read The Goodbye Lie by the time Malcolm met them at the bookstore two days later.  What was requested to be a book discussion ended up in an expedition of many of the historical places described in the novel set in 1882, with an occasional reading of a descriptive paragraph from the book.  

From the docks to The Florida House, up Centre Street and on to St. Michael Catholic Church, Amelia Island Lighthouse, Fort Clinch and Amelia Beach, plus much more in between, they ended their journey in the dark in Old Town.  

“About all we could see up in Old Fernandina was the outline of the Pippi Longstocking house," Malcolm explained, "but it was enough for them to realize the distance between old and new Fernandina, as I wanted."

Questions and opinions regarding their common interest, The Goodbye Lie, filled the time, making the hour hand seemingly whip around the clock.  “As a writer, it is so wonderful when readers get it and enter my world.  I hope these ladies are hooked for life because there is more to come!”  As a reminder of their time on Amelia Island, Malcolm left each of the women with one of her hand painted "Secret Pebbles", featured in her Amelia Island’s Velvet Undertow, the second novel in the series. 

“The secret in the pebble is what is shared,” the author said.  “May their love of reading about the escapades of my fictional Dunnigan family and my love of writing about this close Irish clan bring The Traveling Book Club back to see new friends and old places here on our island.”

For information about Amelia Island’s Goodbye Lie Trilogy (where Little House on the Prairie meets Gone With The Wind in Fernandina, Florida), visit Malcolm's website at http://www.graciousjanemarie.com/,  her family friendly blog at http://www.http/graciousjanemarie.blogspot.com/  and read her free and silly online Martha Bear stories at http://www.marthabear.com/.  The Goodbye Lie and Amelia Island's Velvet Undertow are available online and where books are sold.                    
  
********************

Jane Marie,

I wanted to thank you for how "gracious" you were in meeting us and sharing a great evening of fun.  We are meeting Friday with the rest of the "girls" who were not able to make it on the trip.  They will be so jealous!  It is true that we are officially "Good-bye Liars" since I know we will be back and not able to say good-bye to such a peaceful, relaxing place so full of history and stories that are waiting to be told.  Now you just have to publish those stories, so we can read them!  Thanks again for a wonderful step back into history. 

Billie

Happy Gran Day!

Like any good grammy, I proudly share my little Ava's refrigerator art.  A true talent.  She gets it from me.  Oh, okay, from her other grandmother and great grandmother, too.

 

Happy Grandparents' Day!

Goodbye Lie Diaries - Aunt Noreen & Labor Day

Fernandina on Amelia Island, Florida
1889

Aunt Noreen

 
 

 

 

 

*Aunt Noreen writes:  I, for one, am concerned what this holiday, called Labor Day, will bring.  It is so difficult to get good help these days and now with this extra day for the hired hands and servants to just lay about... Well, I can endure if I must.  I can make my own tea and draw my own bath, but to have to make an extra three meals for my family?  Granted, they praise me for my cooking, still-- Yes, I already do these things when Winnie American has her regular day off during the week.  But to encourage idleness like this?  What will be next? Pet Your Rabbit Day or perhaps National Shine Your Door Knocker Day?  My word!  We live in absurd times. 

***********

Jane Marie writes: You can rest easy, Aunt Noreen. In your future, my time, studies show that rewarding hard work with a day off enlivens the spirit of workers and makes them happier and more productive.  So bake a peach cobbler for your family and save a piece for Winnie.  She'll appreciate your efforts.  Oh, and remember to take it out of the oven this time.  Happy Labor Day everyone!

*Noreen Dunnigan Duffy is a featured player in Amelia Island's Goodbye Lie Trilogy and lives next door to her brother, Michael Dunnigan, just southwest of the Amelia Light (lighthouse), on the west side of the marsh.  Aunt Noreen is not known for her cooking but rather her difficult personality and is in constant battle with Grandmother Peeper.  Their squabbles make for interesting times at Dunnigan family gatherings or any time Aunt Noreen struggles her way across the cropped field for a visit.  Pepper makes sure her stay in never long.  

Year of Living Graciously - September / Goodbye Lie Diaries - Breelan

Write a paragraph or two about an every day event in newspaper style including who, what, when, where, why and how.  Once identified, be sure and refer to all persons in the story by their last names, adding a quotation if possible. 

***
Fernandina, Florida
1898


Breelan

*Breelan Dunnigan: "Writing articles for our Florida Mirror  is something I used to do quite often when I was a cub reporter.  I believe, in your time,  you now call our local paper The News-Leader. I'm currently working advertising for our family business, Aqua Verdi Passenger Line, but still submit a story to the Mirror when I can.  The last article they printed was about my brother, Pat Dunnigan, and the other boys in our family who have gone off to fight for our country in the Spanish American War.  We pray for them every day.  Jane Marie will tell you all about their trials in her next book, Mark of a Man.  Until that time, know we keep a candle in our window at Dunnigan Manor in hopes Pat, Warren Lowell and Mickey will be safe and home soon." 


* Breelan Dunnigan is featured in The Goodbye Lie, the title novel in Amelia Island's Goodbye Lie Trilogy set in Fernandina on Amelia Island, Florida in 1882.  Mark of a Man  follows Amelia Island's Velvet Undertow in he series.

Chili Con Carne Recipe

A friend reminded me that Bruce's recipe for Chili Con Carne was in the

 Fernandina Beach American Legion Post 54 cookbook.  Copied from those pages, here it is. Although it may be warm where you live, chili is a year round delight. Enjoy! 

Off We Go!

 

Here is our Abby.  She loves to go bye-bye in the car in her car seat.  We introduced her to biking the other day and she loves that, too.  Wearing her harness and strapped in the basket, she didn't try to jump out once!  If she stood up, I stopped the bike and told her to sit, which she did.

Now all I need to do is find a doggie helmet with ear holes.

 

 

                         Note the shredded bath towel, courtesy of the cat, on which Abby sits.

 

Title Time

I continue my not-so-requested tradition of creating titles for books I will never write.  Here are more:

Gone With The Win - a guide to gamblers trying to quit

Gone With The Sin - how to be a better person

Gone With The Tin - recycling cans

Gone With The Fin - how to catch that big fish

Gone With The Kin - a destination family reunion

Then, of course, we have:

Love is a Many Fendered Thing - a car collector's guide

Love is a Heavy Burdened Thing - working through a troubled relationship

Love is a Many Gendered Thing - speaks for itself

Life is a Many Mentored Thing - your personal heroes

Drunk is a Many Bendered Thing - help for those who imbibe too often

Stay tuned...

Amelia Island's Goodbye Lie Trivia Question - Clover

Clover is the fiction Dunnigan family handyman and friend.  What is his surname?

Answer: Even I had forgotten I'd given Clover a last name!!!  I was scanning The Goodbye Lie for information so the continuity would flow in Mark of a Man, the third novel in my Amelia Island's Goodbye Lie Trilogy, and found it.  Say hi to Mr. Clover Williams!!!  I now remember thinking since Clover was such a colorful name, his family name should be simple, less exotic. No offence intended to any folks named Williams, of course.

Page 33 from The Goodbye Lie paperback:

     "Did I see you waving to Clover?" she asked.

     "The man coming out of the cabin? Yes."

     "Clover Williams is our hired hand. More of a wonderful friend, really. With Daddy at his office downtown so much of the time, we needed someone to lend a hand with the heavy chores. Clover's been with us since just before I was born," Breelan replied, suddenly realizing she'd been giving out her family history to a stranger.

Moonglow over Amelia Island

 I was driving east at 5 pm and saw the HUGE moon!

  I walked to the edge of the ocean and took this picture.

 I used no blue filter.

9 pm with ships on the horizon

Whale of a Male -Goodbye Lie's Waite Taylor

Meet or get reacquainted with Waite Taylor. Using descriptions and quotes taken directly from the pages of my historical novel, Amelia Island's THE GOODBYE LIE,  here is a profile of Waite, the male lead in the story set in 1882 Fernandina on Amelia Island, Florida.

Name:  Waite Montoya Taylor

Born: That face had seen many a scrap in its thirty-odd years, she guessed.

Parents: ...the sole child of a Venezuelan heiress, Carla Montoya, and an English seaman, Kenneth Waite Taylor.

Height:  He was easily a head taller than she.

Eyes:  Breelan looked into his deep black eyes. She had to speak for fear she'd tumble into their depths in the silent moment that followed.

Hair: The dark hair was full, damp, and wickedly wild from the weather, yet it suited him.

His Physique: The broad shoulders of a man lying on top of her were blocking her line of sight.

...how graceful his movement for a man of his size.

 A strong arm caught her round her waist.

His Scent: He smelled of leather and bay rum cologne. He smelled good. 

Facial Features:  The moon escaped from its cloud captors to better light his face. It was a smooth face, no beard, no moustache. The skin looked dark, like that of someone who loved the out of doors...
 His jaw was so square, ... the line of it broken only by the cleft in his chin. His nose was surprisingly straight, considering the small uneven scars he wore at his hairline, across his right cheek and on his neck, just below his right ear.

Occupation: Waite Taylor, captain of that passenger liner... His father ... was killed when his vessel was rammed broadside by a sinking Federal supply ship. They say that since that time, his son vowed to have a career at sea, no matter what manner of ship he served on, in honor of the man who'd shown him the wonder of the waters.

Character:  Strange. Miss Ella would even trust this man alone with her daughter. She was certain he would never physically harm her girl.

"I would say you were a man who'd experienced much in life and one who is probably capable of handling most any situation." 

He was certainly old enough to be married. His days of running after different girls should be over unless he was a widower or a philanderer. Yes, she'd known him long enough to classify him as a philanderer, snagging every fast trick his barbaric bulk craved.

Military Service:  " He joined the Confederate Army at sixteen. I understand his father wanted him by his side to fight the Yankees at sea, but Taylor chose to stand with the lads from his class on land. He served with the Third Florida in the Battle of Olustee.  ... he received a battlefield commission raising his rank to lieutenant.

Checking a nearby line, a young crewman interjected innocently, "Ah, go on, Cap'n. Tell the good folks how they give ya a medal for valor on the battlefield so's they can rest easy." 

 History: "He was raised in the Florida Keys and sailed the Caribbean with his father until his mother's passing when he was fourteen.  After the war, he earned his shipmaster's license and eventually became the youngest captain in the history of the transatlantic shipping company, Atlantic Eagle Cargo Lines. For a dozen years he commanded a regular run between Baltimore and South Hampton, England, delivering lumber, turpentine, cotton and phosphate. I understand he wanted a change, so built his passenger ship, Gentle Comfort, named in memory of his beloved mother, and he's been running the Comfort along the eastern shore of the United States ever since."

His Quote:  "Just to be in her town was an ordeal, but I had to take control. I had to face things. When we arrived yesterday in Fernandina, all my resolve left me. That's why I stayed aboard. I wasn't just reading. The truth is I was studying, investigating where she comes from, trying to get closer to her somehow. The more knowledge I acquired about her background, the worse I wanted her. So I purposely started drinking last night until I passed out. With enough liquor in me, I knew she'd be safe from the wild man who wanted to pound on her door in the middle of the night and take her away for himself.
     "This morning, with damn near the worst hangover I've ever had as a reminder of my determination [to stay away], I was prepared to be strong and leave town without ever attempting to see her. I was counting the minutes until we pulled out, until I escaped Amelia Island. You can't know how shocked I was when she arrived at the foot of the dock, her father handing her over to me! It was her uncle, Clabe Duffy, who corresponded with me. I didn't know the name. I swear to God, I had no earthly idea she was one of the girls I was to watch over. Now she's here, aboard my ship, and so is temptation."

There's GPS and GPS

GPS stands for Global Positioning System. The system consists of 24 Navstar satellites that orbit Earth. The satellites are monitored and controlled by stations on Earth. The satellites send back an exact location to anyone who has a GPS receiver. GPS is the most accurate navigation system developed to date. It gives latitude, longitude, altitude and time to an unlimited number of people anywhere on Earth in all kinds of weather. (copied directly from:  http://www.ehow.com/about_5040585_gps-mean.html#ixzz2cL3O0zmp)

Today in church, the pastor mentioned GPS. I didn't remember what GPS stood for exactly, so I looked it up.  After reading the above paragraph, now I know.  Of course, when we want to go to a new location, we punch in the destination on Garmey, what we call our Garmin GPS unit, and it spits out the directions.  Then it came to me how GPS could also stand for God's Perfect Salvation, God's Powerful Solution, God- Problem Solver, etc.  So if you ever need serious direction in life, GPS the Lord, and he'll guide you to the right road.

Grammy Camp Sprinkles and Peeper

The last day of Grammy Camp, granddaughter Ava and I had a blast creating beautiful cupcakes. We made butter frosting.  If it was too thin, we added more powdered sugar.  "It's getting lumpy and dry, Grammy." So, we added more milk.   Because of the different consistencies of the icing,

 the result was better than what we expected!

The sprinkles were completely Ava's doing.  To quote her, 

 "Sprinkles are what make a cupcake a cupcake."

  Such deep wisdom at a young age, she gets it from me.

 

1880s

Fernandina on Amelia Island

 

Grandmother Peeper* writes: 

 

Missy Ava and Miss Jane,

   Them is some perty lookin' little cakes and theys so full a colors.  As ya most likely heard, I have a eye fer knowin' my colors.  Everybody but Aunt Noreena says so.  She's wouldn't know red from ruby ifn ya buried her in a bushel basket a apples. Makes me wanta bake some for the Dunnigans.  I'll best be ahidin' 'um  if there's any left after supper lest Noreena  brings her big self over here, as usual, and stuffs some in her pocketbook.

 

*Grandmother Peeper is a favorite character, and I do mean character, of readers of Amelia Island's Goodbye Lie Trilogy, available anywhere novels and ebooks are sold. For more info, go to our website at www.GraciousJaneMarie.com and refer to the top of the column on the right side of this blog. -jmm

A Goodbye Lie Favorite - Guess What This Is

We were visiting Fort Clinch here on Amelia Island and talking to one of the female reenactors participating that day.  As you can see in the picture below, they had set up tea and linens and other feminine finery. On item in particular caught my attention. Can you guess what it is?  I thought it was a curling iron.  Wrong. They had to tell me.

 

It is an antique glove stretcher used primarily for outdoor kid leather.   Click here to see more info on the subject. http://www.objectlessons.org/clothes-and-accessories-20th-century-to-present/gloves--stretchers-edwardian-original/s54/a1047/. 

Thank you to Fort Clinch and the site, Object Lessons.

Fishy, Fishy on the Pan

Why do these things keep happening to me?  No tellin', but I love it! 

Below, see my two "fish"  which magically appeared as we ate away the other thinly sliced baked zucchini chips!  Granted, the angel fish on the right is a smidgen scorched. Next time I'll pay attention to the timer when it goes off. --Or not because the blackened fins add to the realistic look, don't cha think?  And the scorch on the left fish appeared in the perfect spot for a closed eye to make her look like she's asleep!

 

Here is the link to my recipe for Baked Zucchini Chips- http://www.greenlightwrite.com/zucchinichips.htm

 from our 700 page website, www.GraciousJaneMarie.com.

  

Year of Living Graciously - August

In your best cursive, on your prettiest stationery, write a letter to future generations and hide it for them to find...

Hollywood Hearts - Romantic Ricardo Montalban

I am easily distracted and today's distraction was a Technicolor movie from 1953 starring Lana Turner and Ricardo Montalban.  Called Latin Lovers, the film depicts Hollywood's version of the title--and they do a right fine job of it with Ricardo.  This clip of him dancing the samba  in Rio with Miss Turner--speaks for itself. Oh, first he dances with Rita Moreno, the brunette, and then Lana, the blonde.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q7Z_cJGdnI

                                                             Link to the poster above:
http://www.amazon.com/Lovers-Poster-Ricardo-Montalban-Calhern/dp/B002S7ABB6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1375067411&sr=8-2&keywords=latin+lovers+ricardo

While he didn't do his own singing here, he has in other movies. This song from the same Latin Lovers is called A Little More of Your Love.  It actually is the scene prior to their dancing. With his over-the-top masculine mannerisms, all I can say is, "Chick-a-boom, chick-a-boom, chick-a-boom, boom, boom!"  By the way, when you watch him singing this entire song in English, you may find it odd that Lana then says something to him in Portuguese and when he answers her in English, she says, "But you speak English!"  Duh!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNR5_0PUUfI

Ricardo, born in Mexico, was 6 feet tall and 33 years old at the time of this movie. Lana was 32. He was married to actress Loretta Young's younger sister, Georgiana, for 63 years and they had four children.  His back was badly injured during filming of Across the Wide Missouri and plagued him the rest of his life.  He died at 88.

In my research online, I found a quote by Mr. Montalban concerning his definition of debonair: "To me it means love of neighbor ... To always be considerate of others' feelings, to practice good manners ... Of course, you must know how to treat women ... A gentleman must not dress up too much or too little ... He should try to make everyone around him feel comfortable. Just modest ... No, no, you cannot buy debonair ... It has nothing to do with possessions ... Whatever it is, it has to be completely natural. You cannot be aware of it or else it disappears. I never tried to be debonair. I am who I am."  Source: Dan Neil. "A Gentleman, Naturally." Los Angeles Times Magazine. 11/6/2005. pg I.11.

Thank you to YouTube.com, Amazon.com and Dan Neil for this online info.
 

Grammy Camp - sit-upons

Here is an hour's worth of activity, something we made at Grammy Camp.  Easy, fun and functional, I recalled the sit-upon I made as a Girl Scout a few years back. So, granddaughter Ava and I created this 18" x 18" sit-upon made from folded newspapers which are then woven to form a square.  Clear packing tape secures the edges. To make it waterproof, we wrapped the entire sit-upon with more clear packing tape.  Except for the tape, this sit-upon was free of charge, too, once Grampy had finished reading the paper, of course.  Great for camping, the beach, the woods, pulling weeds or sitting on the driveway playing jacks, let everyone in the family make their own for their own unique use.

Since newspapers have narrowed over the years, (have you noticed?), we folded 12 double sheets in half lengthwise, then half again. Arranging them with six strips laid vertically and six strips laid horizontally, we began weaving and tucking in the ends once the weave was complete. Make sure the open sides of the outside edge strips face out so you can tuck in the ends. You can also make a more colorful sit-upon from the funny papers, but it could take several weeks to save enough of them.
Happy sitting!

Note the year 2013 on the sit-upon. Pure coincidence!