All My X’s by Cher’ley

 This Blog  by Cher’ley Grogg

Countless lives cross over the course of a lifetime. Think of the zillions of people you’ve crossed lives with.

 

In my life people have come and gone, since I was in the ministry for so many years I’ve probably met more on a personal level than most people do. I often wonder where they all are and what they’re doing. They’re really not X’s, only people who have gone a different route than me. I wonder how some of them are doing now. 

An article in Psychology Today talks about a study on the importance of friends.

• Social support is related to psychological well-being, meaning that the more a person feels he has friends and family who are there for him, the less likely he is to feel depressed and anxious (Turner, 1981).
• High levels of social support predict more job satisfaction and longer job tenure than low levels of social support (Harris, Winskowski, & Engdahl, 2007).
• Older adults with a chronic illness who had medium levels of social support had 41% less chance of death than those with low levels of social support, and high levels of social support resulted in a 55% lower chance of death. (Zhang, Norris, Gregg, & Beckles, 2007).

 May will become my month for reconnecting. Some by visits, some by phone calls, some by emails, but mostly I’ll connect on Facebook. On a personal note, a card or phone call still means a lot to me. I like to get something in the mail besides bills and something on the phone besides tele-marketers.

With the social media so readily available, we can meet thousands of social friends. But, before Facebook and Twitter there were groups that we joined which were on a more personal basis. I was in a group I loved called “Spoiled Ink” and later “Edit Red”. We got close. We shared our writing, our critiques, and our lives. I’ve been in a lot of groups, but none touched me as much as that one. I wonder where all of those people are? Maybe one or two of them will see this “All My X’s” and connect with me.

Make sure not to get over-connected on social media and please, please-don’t stay glued to your phones when there is real company present.

I decided I’d like to use this blog to connect to some of my X’s. Some of my old friends are from real life, some from old groups, or writing sites, some are more recent, and some are my old friends from Writing Wrangler and Warriors. I just want to say “Hi, how  are you?” You may use this blog to connect to some of your X’s or contact them in a different way.

No matter if it’s been days or years, use this opportunity to say “I still care.”  I really do.

Who are you thinking of right now?

Stamp Out Murder”.

“The Secret in Grandma’s Trunk” This is an especially good book for your Tween Children and Grandchildren.

And please join me on my Facebook Fanpage, that’s managed by one of my most faithful fans: Cindy Ferrell

What’s Your Sign? by Cher’ley

 This Blog  by Cher’ley Grogg

 Doris got me thinking about the stars. She talked about going to see the stars and I’m talking about how the stars influence our lives.

We all know the most famous pick up line of all time is “What’s Your Sign¿”  Did anyone ever use this line on you? In my day, it was like saying, “How you doing?”

A lot of people, as soon as they get out of bed, check their horoscope to see how their day will go. They won’t make a move unless it’s in the stars. The stars direct them in their love life and in their finances.

This is my Chinese Horoscope for Sagittarius.  Is this possible?

While you might think you know what you want, it’s possible your mind is going to change soon enough. So leave some doors open. There’s not always a right and wrong path — just different opportunities for learning.

I used to read my horoscope every day. Opened the paper to horoscopes, then the cartoons, society, ads, and finally the news.

As a teen, my friends and I talked about astrology and how the stars and planets aligned. It was a fun thing to discuss. I think we all are aware of our sign.

An Hour Scope to predict the future.

The descendant is directly across from the ascendant (As) in the chart, in the three o’clock position (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A horoscope is an astrological chart or diagram representing the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, astrological aspects, and sensitive angles at the time of an event, such as the moment of a person’s birth. The word horoscope is derived from Greek words meaning “a look at the hours” (horoskopos, pl. horoskopoi, or “marker(s) of the hour.”) Other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel, or simply chart.

So, what’s your sign? What’s your favorite characters sign? How much does your horoscope influence you?

If you’re a writer, does astrology come into play in your novel?

If you get a chance check out my novels. I’m interested in knowing what you think.

Stamp Out Murder”.

“The Secret in Grandma’s Trunk” This is an especially good book for your Tween Children and Grandchildren.

And please join me on my Facebook Fanpage, that’s managed by one of my most faithful fans: Cindy Ferrell

Hot Cross Buns by Cher’ley

 This Blog  by Cher’ley Grogg

Hot Cross Buns! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hot cross buns, hot cross buns–one a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns. I learned to play that little ditty on the piano long before I learned what a hot cross bun was.

Tune and lyrics for Hot Cross Buns, North Yorkshire version (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bread is an important part of my life, has been for as long as I can remember. I sometimes think about the bread truck that used to come to  Grandma’s house.

Excitement exploded from me,  every kind of bread imaginable to a child’s mind, and  my favorite  raisin bread, was piled high on that truck. The bread truck carried lots of goodies. Ooie-gooie cinnamon rolls, a large assortment of cookies and even some candies filled the shelves of the white panel truck. Grandma normally bought the same products every week, but when I was spending a few days with her, I picked out whatever I wanted.

Mom, on the other hand, bought bread from the bread store. I believe the loaves were a nickle a piece, and Mom bought 10 or more then froze them. There was a big difference between bread at our house and bread at Grandma’s house.

Once a month or so our house would be filled with a glorious smell and I often smelled the same smell at Grandma’s. Remember the jingle, “Nothing says lovin’, like somethin’ from the oven”. Sometimes I helped to make the bread, after we’d properly beat it, we put the perfectly rounded loaves in a pan to rise (my little eyes kept close watch)and them we baked. The smell of the bread baking wafted through the air, filling the whole house with the glorious aroma. We plucked the loaves from the oven and placed them on cooling racks.

Then we ate it.

Sometimes, it’s hard to get fresh bread. I used to aggravate my husband because I’d go down the bread aisle feeling each loaf, now he sometimes shops by himself and upon returning from the store, he’ll inform me, “This was the softest loaf.”

McKeel’s Bed & Breakfast, in my novel “Stamp Out Murder” is famous for its food, especially the baked goods. There’s a recipe for old-fashioned “Apple Dumplin’s” and how to prepare them in one of the chapters.

Here’s Aunt Linda’s Yeast Bread Recipe:

 Original recipe makes 2 – 9×5 inch loaves

• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 3 tablespoons lard, softened
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 6 1/2 cups bread flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Stir in lard, salt and two cups of the flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
2. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
3. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and form into loaves. Place the loaves into two lightly greased 9×5 inch loaf pans. Cover the loaves with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
5. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

As a writer, I hope I convey a deep memory in you through your sense of smell.  I also found this cool site with memories from the late 50’s and early 60’s. 

How do you feel about bread, is it important to you? Do you have memories of delicious aromas wafting through your house?

Stamp Out Murder”.

“The Secret in Grandma’s Trunk” This is an especially good book for your Tween Children and Grandchildren.

And please join me on my Facebook Fanpage, that’s managed by one of my most faithful fans: Cindy Ferrell

Pinch Me, I’m Irish by Cher’ley

 This Blog  by Cher’ley Grogg

Don’t pinch me, I’m not Irish. St. Patrick’s Day is just another day to celebrate, and I never miss the opportunity to have a celebration or a feast. For Christians, St. Patrick’s Day commemorates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.

Drinking green beer, eating cabbage and corned beef, and looking for shamrocks are all fun things to do. But, my favorite St. Patrick’s Day activity when I was a child (and maybe now too) was pinching the people who didn’t wear green. I looked high and low for anyone who forgot to wear green, and of course found a few. Basically, the wearing of green was to make a person invisible to leprechauns who would run up and pinch anyone who was not wearing green, so, I being a little imp,  imitated the leprechauns. The cabbage and corned beef actually started out as cabbage and bacon, but bacon was so expensive in the United States,  they changed it to corned beef. The drinking of the green beer, well…what can be said about that?

Do I feel lucky?

In the springtime, my mother and would sit for hours in a clover patch searching  for a four leaf clover, she could spot them so quickly that  I would be in awe. Eventually we would tire of searching for the Shamrocks, and if we were lucky enough to find a four-leaf clover ,  we’d take our treasure inside  and press it in a big book for good luck. Legend says that each leaf of the clover means something: the first is for hope, the second for faith, the third for love and the fourth for luck.

Some Fun St. Patrick’s Day facts:  

• My brother-in-law was born on St. Patrick’s Day, which is March 17,  and that is the same day that St. Patrick died in 461 A.D. 
• The first St. Patrick’s Day parade was held in Boston in 1737 
• Many young people dye their hair green on this day 
• Many bars in the United States served green beer to celebrate St Patty’s Day 
• 34 million Americans have Irish ancestry that is  almost 9 times the population of Ireland which is 4.1 million people 
• If You come to visit me in West Virginia perhaps we will go see the town Mount Gay-Shamrock, West Virginia

 

Hearts, Stars, and Horseshoes
Clovers and Blue moons
Pots of gold and rainbows,
And the red balloon

That’s the luck of me lucky charms! 
Their magically delicious!

Writing instructors say you should never use luck to solve your mysteries, but should a writer use luck in his stories?

How has luck affected your life? How do you celebrate St. Patrick ’s Day? And for an extra bit of luck– name the US River that is dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day.

Stamp Out Murder”.

“The Secret in Grandma’s Trunk” This is an especially good book for your Tween Children and Grandchildren.

And please join me on my Facebook Fanpage, that’s managed by one of my most faithful fans: Cindy Ferrell

Be Brave and Courageous

 This Blog  by Cher’ley Grogg

Be Brave and Courageous this was the thought that came to me as I was cleaning my cherished items in my curio cabinet. 

Some of my favorite verses in the Bible are about being brave and courageous or strong and courageous. My favorite is: Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

                                                                                                                                                    I’m not a physically strong person, especially compared to the body   builder Lisa Aukland.

I am strong in other ways. I am strong emotionally and I have been brave through the years, especially when it came to rearing youngin’s . My children were raised to be brave and courageous, and most of the time they were. I remember when my daughter was little and she had to go to the doctor to get a shot. She’d start crying before the doctor came into the room. I could not bribe her into bravery and I could not shame her into bravery, no way was she accepting those shots. Usually she cried so loudly that she couldn’t hear my pleas. It always amazed the doctors when they would enter the room and all they could hear was the roar of a child’s cries.

Now she’s all grown with children of her own and she has raised her boys to be brave and courageous. Over the last several months she has been suffering with back pain. I suggested she go in to get a pain shot to help ease her pain until they can figure out what her problem is. She instantly turned pale and said, “Mom, I am not going into the doctor to get a shot for any reason.”

So it was with my son, I raised him to be brave and courageous. And he was, mostly, unless it came to spiders. If a spider got close to him he’d yell, “Kill it, kill it.” The fear in his voice gave me cold chills. Once he married, his wife saw a spider and she said to my son, “Kill it!” He handed her a shoe and yelled, “Kill it, kill it.”

He also raised his children to be brave and courageous. It worked. He had a beautiful little girl who loved bugs. Bugs of all kinds, if there was a spider in their house and she was present she would yell,  “ Don’t kill it, don’t kill it.”

In my novel “Stamp Out Murder” James was not a strong and courageous man.  In fact, he was very passive until the life of the girl he loved was in danger, from somewhere deep within himself he pulled out the  strength to be brave and courageous.

In my tween novel “The Secret in Grandma’s Trunk” Brandon and Jacob had to pull out grown up feelings, in order to save Grandma, they had to be brave and courageous.

In your life, have you ever had to be brave and courageous? Was it a life threatening situation or something more common?

Stamp Out Murder”.

“The Secret in Grandma’s Trunk” This is an especially good book for your Tween Children and Grandchildren.

And please join me on my Facebook Fanpage, that’s managed by one of my most faithful fans: Cindy Ferrell

Photos: Cher’ley Grogg-My children and granddaughter

Grandparents Do What?

 This Blog  by Cher’ley Grogg

My one Grandma died when I was 12. but she gave me

a lifetime of memories. I remember her hugs and the way the food she prepared tasted. She was diabetic so she always had candy around her house. I remember the Fizzies she kept in her refrigerator and how she had to feel her dishes to make sure she had them clean.

They did not cost half a pay check in the 1960’s. Fizzies 

I watched as she added stuff from the jar in the middle of her table to her coffee or tea. I knew it was like liquid sugar. One day I picked it up and took a big swig. It was so nasty. I have never since then used saccharin straight from the bottle. Do they still make saccharin?

Her yard was like a big playground with hillsides to slide down, apple trees to climb and grape arbors to hide under and her house was fascinating.

She taught me to play solitaire against Old Soul and how to fix creamed tomatoes. I could spend the day writing about the fun experiences I had with Grandma.

Some things really remind me of her like hummingbirds, aprons, table cloths and flowered dishes.

Early this morning I was washing an old bowl that had a couple of chips on the back of the rim and age lines and I thought of Grandma. 

As a writer, I always put old people in my stories. I really

, cropped from photo of “Grandma Moses donating her painting “Battle of Bennington” to Mrs. George Kuhner who accepts it for DAR.” (Photo cropped because the painting itself is most likely still copyrighted.) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

like spunky or funny old people. In Stamp Out Murder, I have the two old geezers (which almost everyone has known a couple of men just like them) and in The Secret in Grandma’s Trunk, Grandma is very spirited, just like my mother was with her grandchildren.

How has your Grandparents effected your life? And if you are a writer, do you ever put your grandparents or at least things they have taught you in your stories?

Stamp Out Murder”.

“The Secret in Grandma’s Trunk” This is an especially good book for your Tween Children and Grandchildren.

And please join me on my Facebook Fanpage, that’s managed by one of my most faithful fans: Cindy Ferrell

Wiggly eyes and Chin Dropping Action

This Blog                                                                                                                                                                        by Cher’ley Grogg

Before you have your character perform a certain act, try it yourself. Her eyes rolled all the way back in her head as she thought.  He wiggled his eyes and raised one eyebrow, while dropping his jaw to his chest.

How many expressions can you find in this picture?

I see these expressions all the time and I try to do them. I know there are some things people can do that I can’t like wiggle their ears, raise one eyebrow, and touch their nose with their tongue, but I don’t know anyone who can wiggle their eyes or realistically drop their jaw to their chest.

Beauty Girl Surprise. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Using expressions is good, just be careful how you use them and when you use them.

Towards the end of chapter 13 in “The Secret in Grandma’s Trunk”, the Dickens children are talking about cookies. Two of them tend to be a little heavier and the third one, Jacob, is wiry and he’s chastising the other two. “I don’t think being skinny is a requisite for playing soccer.” She held her chin high in the air. “Besides, I’m losing.”

An exercise I did one time was to watch something happening, out of hearing distance, and put all the emotions into it that I could. It just so happened I was riding down the road in Ohio and a state trooper had pulled someone over. I had my husband slow way down so I could get a better look and I wrote down everything I saw. I don’t remember what I wrote for the assignment, but I remember the incident and the emotions. Emotions are what we are trying to get across, so that is what we should try to put into our writing.

Here’s a link to Center for Nonverbal Studies, it’s very interesting.

If you are a reader, I hope you will read “The Secret in Grandma’s Trunk” it is full of emotion, from very high anger to a satisfying feeling of belonging.

“Stamp Out Murder”.

“The Secret in Grandma’s Trunk” This is an especially good book for your Tween Children and Grandchildren.

And please join me on my Facebook Fanpage, that’s managed by one of my most faithful fans: Cindy Ferrell

Guilty Pleasure

This Blog                                                                                                                                                                            by

Cher’ley Grogg

I love those words, they sound so yummy and indulgent. Let’s think about what is guilty and what is pleasure and why would one feel guilty for having pleasure. As I indulged in a couple of my favorite things today. I started thinking about guilty pleasures. The urban dictionary says guilty pleasures are those things we shouldn’t like, but we like anyway. I’m reading a novel, Sherry’s to be exact, and catching up on my email, and working on my novel.  Where’s the guilt? I should be sleeping because I have to work tonight.  Don’t tell my hubby, because I’ll probably have to stop driving before my 11 hours are up.

My top “Guilty Pleasure” is a long, long bath. It’s not  something I get to do while I’m on the road driving from city to city, but when I’m home, I’m saying

 I’m hard to buy for at Christmas so I make up lists of several things that I would enjoy and pass them around. One of the things on my list last last year was Calgon. I got   enough Calgon to last for a few years and I loved it. Great   gift.  I light my candles, put on some music, turn on the jets  and relax until the water turns really cold.    I often feel guilty   for spending so much time in the tub, there are a gazillion things I should be doing.

Read my article “Guilty Pleasure is a Fun Obsession” Leave me a comment if you have time.

In “ The Secret in Grandma’s Trunk”,  Great-grandma     comes to live with Brandon and his family, Brandon is  really upset because she is there and he thinks there must be a way for her to move out. Perhaps there is enough treasure in Grandma’s Trunk to make this happen. In Chapter Fourteen Brandon couldn’t wait to get into the trunk and when he finally did his pleasure of finding the  key and getting the trunk open quickly turned to guilt.

  Bones Guilty Pleasure song: Hot Blooded

How often do your pleasures turn to guilt? Is there a Christmas Gift that could help you enjoy your guilty pleasure?

“Stamp Out Murder”.

“The Secret in Grandma’s Trunk” This is an especially good book for your Tween Children and Grandchildren.

And please join me on my Facebook Fanpage, that’s managed by one of my most faithful fans: Cindy Ferrell

I’ve Got a Secret

This blog by Cher’ley Grogg

Author “The Secret in Grandma’s Trunk”

In the book, three teens  keep secrets from their parents. When you were a teen were you good at keeping secrets? Grandma has a secret that she has kept for 75 years. A            deadly secret so she never told anyone.

There are secret recipes, secret ingredients, secret agents, secret makemovers, secret passageways, secret lives,    secret circles, but one   thing’s for sure, –Victoria has no secrets, anymore

Everyone loves a secret and most of us have them. Have    you ever shared a secret? How did that work out?

The Experts at Wiley say:  total secrecy was rare, and that most secret-holders had informed at least one   other person about their secret. Moreover, the       findings challenge the view that secrets keeping has negative effects on secret-holders.

Do you remember the show “I’ve Got A Secret”?

One of the old shows that can’t be duplicated. They’re tried.

Cher’ley is the author of “The Secret in Grandma’s Trunk

The Secret in Grandma’s Trunk can be purchased at:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Secret-Grandmas-Trunk-Along/dp/1475282656

Visit Cher’ley on Face Book at: http://www.facebook.com/cherleygroggfanpage

image from Public Domain

What’s Your Story?

This Blog by

Cher’ley Grogg

If you visited a town called Wanton in West Virginia you might overhear James and Carolyn as they walk through the thick woods. James is fascinated with his young lady who is multi-talented, yet extremely humble. She picks up a leaf and holds it up to the sunlight and whispers this poem called the Autumn Evolution.

Colors are brilliant
Evolution of autumn
Blown away too soon

At McKeel’s Bed and Breakfast, you’d also hear a famous storyteller spinning a yarn, which stems from a true story. Uncle Lionel drew a deep breath and his deep voice burst forth. “I’ve heard it and I know it’s true, there was a man found dead in Stink Creek. Now Stink Creek is in a part of the woods, not fer from a favo-right swimmin’ hole. West Virginia has a fair share of swimmin’ holes, you know.” With a twinkle in his eye, the big burly man got close to one of the lady guests and winked. “If’n you have a notion, you can go in the buff.”

Now you can imagine, she huffed and blushed. He had her attention and mine. “The man got pretty riled up because some young fellows tipped his outhouse every year about this time.” He swept his big hand towards the sky. “The moon was a- full. His shotgun was a-loaded with salt. He was fixin to teach these young bucks a lesson they’d never forget.” And they didn’t. They never forgot the wails of that there man as he slid over the hill, a-break’n his neck. When they pulled the outhouse off’n him he was still a’hold’n his shotgun. It’s said, and I know it’s true, if’n you go swimmin’ by the light of the moon, at the ole’ swimming hole, you can hear him awailn’ and it sounds like he’s a-slidin’ over the hill into Stink Creek.”

The big, burly man looked me straight in the eye and said, “ So the next time you want to protect your outhouse don’t fall asleep before the Moon is Full.” And I sure won’t.

If you’d like to hear another story from Uncle Lionel you can find it in the last part of Chapter Seven in

“Stamp Out Murder”.

There are some real adventures in “The Secret in Grandma’s Trunk” too. This is an especially good book for your Tween Children and Grandchildren.

And please join me on my Facebook Fanpage, that’s managed by one of my most faithful fans: