Fresh Start

Old News -- A Glimpse at Midwest Life 100 and 125 Years Ago

04/17/2013 14:27:00

From the Trempealeau County (WI) Times

March 29, 1888

No spring weather yet.

General election next Tuesday. Elect good officers.

Snow three feet deep on the level. How is that for the 29th day of March?

Dr. H.N. Rogers has secured the services of a first-class Scandinavian pharmacist, who will arrive and take charge of his drugstore about the first of next month.

How are we to get rid of the great amount of snow this spring, without being knocked off pins by a flood, is what troubles our citizens.

Business is almost at a standstill, owing to the snow blockade.

April 5, 1888

Fine spring weather. A thunderstorm yesterday. Snow disappearing rapidly and orderly.

March 27, 1913

Vote against license. Whitehall has no need for saloons.

Charles Densmore has purchased a team of draft horses from Herbert Duxbury. Charlie doesn't seem to be in a hurry about returning to California.

April 3, 1913

We are requested to state that "electric ironing" day will be resumed next week.

Anyone know what "electric ironing" day was?

"Then and Now" Love Story Contest

02/13/2013 15:44:00

Since I write contemporary tales with historical threads, I thought it would be fun to hear some of your "Then and Now" love stories. And I'll sweeten the deal with a delish prize for the winner: All three books in my Lost Sanctuary Seriesand a heart-shaped box of chocolates.

I write romance stories, but yours can be any kind of love story. Tell me why you love your husband, wife, son, daughter, mom, dad, friend. Sorry, no pets this time.

Here are the rules:

1. Finish these statements:

I loved him/her then because ________________.

I love him/her now because __________________.

2. Each entry must be at least 100 words.

3. Enter as many times as you want, but each essay must be about a different person.

4. Entries will be judged on heart, not writing skill. Make the judges laugh, cry, swoon, or just smile broadly and you've got a shot!

5. Since I'll be using two impartial judges, close friends, relatives, even my own kids are welcome and encouraged to participate.

6. By entering, you are giving permission to share your love story with the world. (And maybe spark a new book idea!)

7. Non-winning entries will be put in a heart-shaped bowl and I'll draw a winner to receive a copy of Today's Shadows and a massive bar of dark chocolate.

8. E-mail entry to me at bmelby1@gmail.com with "Contest" in the subject line. Deadline: Wednesday, February 20.

9. U.S. and Canada entrants only, please.

10. Forward this link to all of your friends who love someone.

Saying Goodbye to the "Stuff"--Tabled

06/27/2012 15:22:00

Brand New Table

Waaaay back in 1976--in the days when we searched couch cushions for milk money--my sweet hubby surprised me with a handcrafted coffee table for Christmas. He'd been sneaking over to his parents' basement to work on it without my knowledge.

I loved this table. As time went on it became more and more precious. Each of our four boys left his mark on it. Literally.

But the day came when we moved and upgraded from pine to oak. After a lot of justifying to the man who wanted to chuck it, my memory-and-scratch-laden coffee table was relegated to the garage rafters...and then the basement of the next house. In my mind, it still had a future. Someday we would build that cozy log cabin in the woods we'd always dreamed of and it would fit the decor perfectly.

Fast forward to 2012. Our "cabin" is an aging Class C RV. With kids living in three states and grandkids who will be off to college who-knows-where about the time Bill retires, we want to be mobile. I've finally faced the sobering truth--there isn't going to be a cabin in the woods.

If you've followed this blog, you know my struggles with letting go of the "stuff." But not long ago I took a deep breath, snapped the elastic on my big girl panties, and said goodbye to the coffee table. I gave Bill permission to haul it to the campfire--something he'd hinted at doing for years.

And so he did.

But the next day I looked out the back window. The table had somehow left the fire pit and was now sitting between two Adirondack chairs.

"I figured we could use it as a bench," my softer-than-he-appears hubby said sheepishly.

As so we can.

The grandkids sit on it. It makes a great place to assemble s'mores. The memories continue to build with another generation of kids leaving their marks. And as I watch them, I can't help but make an analogy: Thank you, God, for all the times you've hauled me out of the ash heap and given me new purpose. . .and a second chance.

Keeping What Really Matters (and a revelation about why I write what I write)

05/19/2012 16:41:00

In the on-going saga of cleaning the Melby basement and letting go of sentimental stuff, I stumbled on another tough one: Children's books. So I prioritized them on a 1 to 10 scale of memory-making intensity. It helped me part with a huge stack.

But these are all tens:

They are the books I distinctly remember reading to my boys. Some of them have their names inscribed in my mom's handwriting. In one, Jeff's name (in his printing) is crossed out and Mark's scrawled below it. In Baby Animals, the eyes of every animal are scribbled over in crayon. Definitely worth keeping and reading to my grandkids.

And then I unearthed a book I remember my mom reading to me. (Yes, they had books back then.) It's called Food and Clothes-- Published in 1938, reprinted in 1940, by Thomas Nelson (the original company began in 1798!)

The book is divided into two sections: Food. And Clothes. (I know. . .duh. What else would you expect considering the title?) The Food half contains "Then and Now" stories like "Milk (or Bread or Meat), A Story of Long Ago." The "then" stories feature a cave man family. The "Now" stories are about a "modern" family. As a kid I loved imagining what it would have been like to be Kim or Kee (never could figure out which was the cave girl and which the boy). Looking at it now, I love that the "Then" back then is the "Long Ago" now. (Raise your hand if that made no sense at all!)

Anyway, it got me thinking that maybe my writing career actually began while I was snuggling on the "davenport" with my mom when I was three or four. Because now I'm writing contemporary stories with historical parallels -- grown-up "Then and Now" stories. My current books go back to 1852, the Roaring Twenties, and 1912. The proposal I'm working on has parallels in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. Something to remember as I snuggle up with grandkids and a pile of books.

What were your favorite books as a child? Do you see any way they influences the course of your life? I'd love to hear your stories.

How Do I Let Go of This Stuff?

05/16/2012 11:16:00

I've known for years that I have ADD. Now I'm finding I also have APAD:

Aluminum Pan Attachment Disorder.

My sweet little mom died last June. She was 93. She lived a wonderful life and left us with so many heartwarming memories, life lessons. . .and aluminum pans.

I don't believe in aluminum pans. Did you know they've been linked to Alzheimer's?Okay, so the Alzheimer's Association says it's a myth, but can we really believe them? I'm a bit of a health nut--occasionally crossing the line into health nut case--which is why I switched to glass cookware several years ago.

So my mom dies and I inherit her pans. Pans I will never use, but which hold precious memories of from-scratch baked beans, clam chowder, barbecue, lime jello with pineapple and cottage cheese, and the best chuck roasts and gravy in the whole world. Oh, and Christmas plum pudding. How can I let go of the pans I learned to cook with? And the scenes attached to them that attach me to my past?

Sure, I could bless someone else with them, but what kind of a person would donate a potentially-dementia-causing pan to charity?

To really see the ridiculousness of my problem you need to take a close look at this picture. See the little green stickers? Those were put there by my mom when we had a garage sale to get rid of things she didn't want to cart along to the retirement center. They didn't sell (maybe because I hid them under the card table). But she let go of it all, so why can't I??

I'm beginning to see why I've found my writing niche in contemporary stories with a historical thread. Seeing reflections of the past in the events of today is not just a passion -- it's an illness.

Help! Anybody have a cure for APAD? How do you let go??

A Bridge to the Past

04/11/2012 13:38:00

I'll soon be sharing pictures and stories from "The Research Road" as I visit Mineral Point, Wisconsin, Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and hopefully some stops on old Route 66. For a sneak peek, join me atThe Barn Door.

Thank you, Lisa Lickel, for the invite.

Tomorrow's Sun Book Launch

01/12/2012 14:00:00

Tomorrow's Sun, the first book in my Last Sanctuary Series, is set in Rochester, WI. The story idea came to me while having lunch with hubby at the historic Chances Restaurant, so it seemed the logical place to host a launch party to introduce the book. If you live anywhere in the area, please come and join me on Saturday for food, door prizes, and a chance to chat at Chances!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Chances Restaurant

205 W. Main Street

Rochester, WI

1:00 to 3:00

Tomorrow's Sun Book Trailer

12/01/2011 21:19:00

Tomorrow's Sun, my first full-length book, will be released on January 1. Check out the book trailer.

Tomorrow's Sun is now available for pre-sale on Amazon and will also be released on Kindle and Nook.

Cinderella Stories-- Real and Make-Believe

11/08/2011 15:37:00

I love stories of life-changing moments--real-life and fictional. So I've invited friends--both writers and "normal" people--to talk about times in their lives when God intervened--times when their dreams were shattered, their goals thwarted--times when all looked bleak or desperate and the only option left was surrender to God's holy plan. We'll hear how He changed people or circumstances in unexpected ways.

We'll also be hearing from some fiction characters. They'll tell us how they coped (or didn't!) when they hit that inevitable "Change of Plans," "Point of No Return," and "Major Setback" in their stories.

I'm hoping you'll decided to become a Follower so you don't miss a single post. And do leave comments. My guest bloggers will want to hear how their stories touched your heart. And please let me know if you'd like to share your own spiritual Cinderella story.

My first guest author will beEileen Key, sweet friend and one of the authors I had the joy of working with on A Door County Christmas and Cedar Creek Seasons (releasing in May). Watch for Eileen's story on Tuesday, November 15.