One Card Photo (see previous post)

Catching Up With You

Greetings, Thank you for dropping by. The original prime purpose of this site was that of promoting Grandmothers’ Necklace, an intriguing collection of short stories and poems compiled and edited by myself in order to raise funds to assist the grandmothers in sub-Saharan Africa who have been persevering in raising their grandchildren—orphaned by AIDS/HIV under conditions that most of us could never begin to, nor want to, imagine. Many talented writers from Ireland, the USA and Canada contributed to this book. People have told me several times that this is a wonderful book to have in the bathroom, as long as one is not worried about line-ups of anxious people awaiting a turn in the reading room. I prefer to think of it as a bedside book, suitable for a few short, satisfying reads before it is time to turn out the light. As recently as last month, Katharine Fletcher, author of several books about tours and trips, in an Ottawa Citizen column, encouraged Ottawa day-trippers to travel to the Valley Artisans Co-op Inc.’s Gallery, in Deep River. Imagine our joy when we saw one paragraph devoted to the book itself, with a recommendation to check it out! The Valley Artisans Co-op Inc., first business in Canada to carry our book, also hosts a page on their FB site about the book and where else in Canada to buy it. The Gallery itself has beautiful original items, perfect for gift-giving. If you check their site at http://www.valleyartisans.com/ , you’ll have some idea of what I mean. Customers from other provinces and countries stop there regularly on their trips through the area. The Valley Artisans have renewed their book supply once again. . Also during this past month, I received $100.00 from sales at the Antrim Truck Stop. Their copies are all gone for now. Orders have just come in from Southern Ontario, persons who have received the book as a gift and now, having read it, want to give it as a gift to friends. The beauty of it is that the contents are not stale-dated and the money can continue to go to help those who are working so hard on their own. What is happening with me, in addition to a continuing interest in promoting the book? One more bit of news re.Grandmothers to Grandmothers. For the annual Grandmothers’Tea sales tables, I was able to create some blank note paper using photos I’d taken in this area and elsewhere. Felt a strong urge to do something a little different in addition to the book. If I can, I’ll put one of the photos on the site. The other Petawawa Grannies (and Grandothers) are doing all sorts of things to work as one with the grandmothers in Africa. They served at a local Boston Pizza for one night and will be doing so again soon. A percentage of all food sales during that time goes to the Grandmothers to Grandmothers. One person made a quilt for auction. There are homemade jams and jellies. My own time is devoted to editing some very interesting manuscripts, tutoring a very capable officer from Garrison Petawawa and to a variety of writing enterprises. One disappointment was that a project in New York City was cancelled due to “artistic differences” among the persons there who had started it. I had hoped to see the monologue I’d submitted presented on the stage off-Broadway. Ah, well. My “The Cuddle of Cats” manuscript continues to receive good reviews from readers. An area veterinarian, after reading it, has stated she’d be happy to write some good words in the introduction or on the back cover. I’m hoping to interest a particular agent in it early next year. If and when it is published, I’d like a portion of the earnings to go the SPCA. Not everything, as is the case with the GN book. This one has to earn some money for our household. A few health challenges for my husband and me keep us from being as active as we would like to be. Still, there’s something to be said for having to be quiet for periods of time. The cats are cuddled nearby, or going mad as the birds and squirrels, back-dropped by the tall pines, give a performance on the window sill. The electrical fireplace is cozy (no fire with an oxygen user!). The music playing is rich and dream-promoting. As one daughter often says, “All is good.”