H is for Honeybees (and a master beekeeper)

April 9, 2014

2014 A to Z Blog Challenge

A Rural Life

Day 8

H is for Honeybees

We’ve reached the second week of the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge! This is the fourth year I’ve participated in the challenge, and this year, 2014, is all about My Rural Life. It’s sort of like middle America meets urban sprawl meets Walton’s Mountain. It’s my life and the forces that come together to make my unique world. 

So thanks for coming along for the ride in the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge.

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I promised a long time ago I'd tell you about my grandfather's beekeeping. Today's the day to deliver on that promise. 

One of my earliest memories is helping my grandfather make frames for honeycomb. Not many people around here kept bees, but Pop was known for his honey. And like everything else, if Pop was doing it, I could be found lurking at his shoulder, learning. (I must have been a real nuisance to my dad and granddad, always following them and asking bazillions of questions.)

Keeping bees is easier than you might think. The bees do all the heavy lifting and you just help them along. The older folks in the community would call my grandfather with a report of a swarm and Pop would hitch the wagon to his tractor, load an empty hive he kept at the ready, and off he’d go to see if he could capture the queen. If I got away before my mother realized what was happening, I’d tag along. Pop and I got away with all sorts of things as long as my parents didn’t catch us. My parents didn’t think BEES were an appropriate hobby for me to adopt. (They didn’t like tadpoles and crayfish, either.) All in all, they were correct, but when I officially retire, I might see if I can find and capture a swarm to keep a hive.

The pictures tell the story. I think I was in my twenties when I took them. Pop spotted a swarm along the back stone fence on what had just become my property, a gift from my grandparents. My grandmother called and said he was working a swarm so I grabbed my camera and went to watch.

He spread a piece of plastic and set the new hive on it. For some reason, Pop only ever used aged scrap wood for the hives. I suppose anything harmful in the wood and/or paint had aged out and no longer posed a threat to the bees. Anyway, once the hive was in place, Pop would cut the branch the swarm was hanging on, carry it to the hive and careful lay it on the plastic sheet. The bees would spread out and he could spot the new queen and get her inside the hive. Then all the worker bees followed her in and Pop would temporarily block the hive entrance to trap them so he could transport it to its place in the row. Bee charming is an art and he rarely got stung.

Honeybees - all our pollinators - are threatened these days, and it IS a serious matter. I’m grateful that scientists and biologists take the problem seriously and are working on solutions. The world is not going to be a nice place if we lose pollinators. Less fruit. Fewer veggies. Fewer flowers. Fewer trees. We need honeybees. Even if you’re a city dweller, plant a flower on your balcony and feed a bee. You might be helping to save more than one tiny life.

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You didn’t really think you’d get away without a 
brief book promo, did you?

H is also for HIGHWAY NIGHTS. 

For more information please visit the book page at 

https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/highway-nights-by-kc-kendricks.html

Highway Nights is available at Amazon

www.amazon.com/Highway-Nights-KC-Kendricks-ebook/dp/B01F4F7GX4?ie=UTF8&ref_=asap_bc

KC Kendricks

My home on the web- Between the Keys: 

http://kckendricks.blogspot.com

Visit my bookshelf at: 

https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/the-bookshelf-of-kc-kendricks-and-rayne.html

Social media links:

twitter.com/kckendricks

facebook.com/kckendricks

pinterest.com/kckendricks/boards

instagram.com/kc_kendricks

My country life at Holly Tree Manor: hollytreemanor.blogspot.com

Life through the eyes of Greenbrier Smokey Deuce: deucesday.blogspot.com

G is for Ghost Deer in the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge

April 8, 2014

2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge

A Rural Life

Day 7

G is for Ghost Deer

Welcome to the second week of the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge! Thanks for stepping into my world Between the Keys.

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About seventeen years ago we began to hear rumors of white deer on the mountain. There was some discussion as we considered the source of this rumor, but we couldn’t discount the possibility. Albino deer are not an extreme rarity although my at the time eighty-eight-year-old grandfather, who'd lived here all his life, had never heard or seen any in our area. We were naturally curious and so kept our “eyes peeled.”

The story was eventually given credence when a local park ranger snagged a picture of a white fawn. My grandfather and I were ready to hike out at night and conduct a stakeout where we knew the deer came to the creek to drink. We had to get a look at this bambi. Unfortunately Pop mentioned our plan to the wrong family member (that being my mother, his daughter) and we were promptly grounded after dark. We didn’t give up hope, though. It took another two years for our patience to be rewarded.

The dog woke me one night with what I immediately recognized as his “critter” bark. I would have rolled over and gone back to sleep but it was autumn and I’d left the bedroom window open. It was cold. Half asleep, I staggered to the window, noted in some foggy part of my brain there were ghost deer in my front yard, closed the window and went back to bed.

Yep. You got it.

I woke up in the morning and realized what had happened. I used every foul word in my vocabulary and friends, I have an extensive vocabulary. There had been two white “ghost” deer in my front yard, two beautiful ethereal wraiths, and I had just gone back to sleep. Someone smack me, please

I couldn’t tell my grandfather. He’d stay up for a week sitting at his kitchen window watching into the night if I told him. I needed something else to happen, and it did. The next week as my partner and I were driving home from bowling, we were given a gift. Standing under the dusk to dawn light at the neighbor’s barn was a white doe with a late season fawn at her feet. We bolted to my grandfather’s door, hopped back in the car and let it drift down the hill. She was still there.

The three of us sat there in silence watching her for the longest time. She was worried about us, stomping her hooves and shaking her head and tail, but her baby refused to get up and run away and she refused to abandon it. Finally we decided to start the engine and leave her to the night. That did it. The fawn jumped up and ran into the darkness and mama followed. That was the only time my grandfather got to see the ghost deer. I was more fortunate as my picture attests. The ghost deer took up residence in the woods behind my house and frequently grazed in my back yard. There were four ghost deer living one year. I believe they were all doe because I never saw a rack on any of them. We know the last white fawn died young. Pop was out walking one day and found its body near the creek. 

The ghost deer have vanished from here again but maybe some day the gene will resurface and my woods will again be home to the white deer. I do hope so because I’d love for the new generation to see them, but I realize they may not even care. I already see the signs they won’t have the deep roots to this place my cousins and I do.

That will be as is. For myself, I feel the universe had given me a scared trust. I will ever be grateful for those few years the ghost deer lived in my woods.

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You didn’t really think you’d get away without one more
brief book promo, did you?

G is also for GIVE ME ONE NIGHT. 

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JF1BLLG

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01JF1BLLG

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01JF1BLLG

Apple/iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1137471041

Rakuten/KOBO

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/give-me-one-night-1

Barnes & Noble/Nook

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/give-me-one-night-kc-kendricks/1029825620

Universal link to additional booksellers: https://books2read.com/u/bzppxj

Give Me One Night webpage: 

https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/give-me-one-night-by-kc-kendricks.html

KC Kendricks
My home on the web- Between the Keys: http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
twitter.com/kckendricks
facebook.com/kckendricks
pinterest.com/kckendricks/boards
instagram.com/kc_kendricks
My country life at Holly Tree Manor

F is for Foxgloves

April 7, 2014

2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge

A Rural Life

Day 6

F is for Foxgloves

We’ve reached the second week of the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge! As they say - time flies. I hope you're enjoying the variety the challenge offers as much as I am. Bloggers are writers and writing is all about telling people your story. So thanks for coming along for the ride in the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge.

  

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If you’re a frequent visitor here at Between the Keys, you may have read my foxglove story before. I write often of my grandparents and the influence they had on my life. It’s less difficult than writing about my parents since my mom is still alive and I respect her privacy. My grandparents are ever constant in my mind, centered, together, always tolerant and loving in ways one’s parents cannot be. It’s the way of things, you know. 

I decided to reprint a blog from 2010, which just happens to be the most read entry I’ve ever posted. I think it has withstood the passing of time and is all the more appropriate given that those seeds from so long ago continue to sprout and grow with robust health.

July 11, 2010

I have faded memories of the old log cabin on the other side of the creek, the one my grandparents ‘went to house keeping’ in back in 1930. Abandoned by my grandparents when they built a brick home in 1940, the dark logs with their white chinking had almost disappeared when I was a girl, hidden by the poplar grove that sprang up in the old front yard. When I was about eight, my granddad hooked a chain on the old Allis Chalmers tractor, and pulled the cabin down lest one of his grandchildren come to harm playing in its shadow. From 1965 to 2007, the forest laid claim to the property, shrouding it in grapevines, behind a carpet of ferns.

Being an only child (and the only girl), in a generation of mostly only children, makes for some very close ties. My cousins and I act more like brothers and sister than some blood siblings do. When the subject was broached that one among the next generation was interested in the old lot, there was no need for discussion. All us grandkids are established with our own homes, on property given us by our grandparents (yes, we’re all neighbors and have been for almost thirty years). We welcomed the chance to honor the spirit of our grandparents, and pass the old property to one of the great-grandkids who would care for it. Clearing began in 2007, and the new, modern house was completed in 2008, built on the exact spot where the cabin stood so many years ago. 

Little did I know the treasure that would surface this year when I paid a visit to my young cousin. I strolled down my lane, hopped the creek, and walked across a carpet of grass where a few short years ago, wild ferns grew. Being family, I went around the corner of the house with the intent of using the kitchen door. What I saw stopped me dead in my tracks.

The entire length of the backyard, where lawn met the woods, was awash with pink, purple, and white foxgloves, yellow coreopsis, white daisies, and red sweet Williams. What sprawled before me were the flowers of my grandmother’s first garden. I plopped down on the porch step, and cried.

All those seeds, dormant in the good earth for decades, had fulfilled the promise of sun and rain, sprouted and grown, and now bloomed. I marveled at the miracle.

I’ve since transplanted roots and harvested seeds. Come fall, I’ll move more roots to my own garden, increasing my chances of good growth in the spring. I will cast the seeds back onto the earth, and watch for seedlings in the coming years, a precious legacy unknowingly left by a woman who loved her only granddaughter well.

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You didn’t really think you’d get away without a brief book promo, did you?

F is also for Fallon Roxbury of THE BACK STAIRS, BENEATH DARK STARS, RIVER WALK and now MOON DANCES. For more information please visit my website at http://www.kckendricks.com/SundownSaga.html 

KC Kendricks

Website: http://www.kckendricks.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks

Blog: http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/kckendricks
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kckendricks

Eye of the Beholder and blog hops

 April 5, 2014

2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge

A Rural Life

Day 5

E is for Eye of the Beholder

Today’s blog, being it publishes on a Saturday, was originally intended to do double duty. Not only is this the first Saturday in the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge, it would have been a My Sexy Saturday Saturday. I have a book with an E title which works perfectly except My Sexy Saturday is taking a short hiatus. 

In the spirit of the My Sexy Saturday blog hop, here are seven paragraphs from Eye of the Beholder. Our hero, Ben, met the new guy at the local coffee shop just yesterday. This morning, he goes back for more conversation and to see if Andy will go out with him. Andy knows how to flirt, as Ben discovers, and the good news is Andy already likes him a lot. Enjoy!

= = = = = = =

I nibbled at my muffin for a few minutes. Andy was sorta cute. I could invite him to a movie this afternoon and see what he said. It was one sure way to find out which team he batted for. “When do you get off, Andy?”

A smile teased his lips as he cocked his head to the left and raised his eyebrow. “Usually about midnight every night, one way or the other.”

I bet I looked stupid with my mouth hanging open. A wide grin split his face then he laughed, a low, happy sound that said he was pleased to have rendered me speechless. Andy sobered - at least a little.

“Ben, are you attempting to ask me out?”

I gripped my coffee cup for dear life as I gathered my wits. “I’m not sure now. I think you might need to go home and get some sleep.”

He leaned forward and brushed his knuckles across mine. “I don’t like to sleep alone, Ben.”

The smooth, silky way he said my name made me shiver, but I’m sure he intended that I would. Heart thudding unevenly in my chest, I met his gaze.

= = = = =

Thanks for stopping by Between the Keys today as part of the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Have a great weekend! The challenge takes a break every Sunday, so see you Monday with a blog for F (unless I decide to blog tomorrow about Moon Dances).

For more about Eye of the Beholder, please visit my webpage at https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/eye-of-beholder-by-kc-kendricks.html

KC Kendricks
My home on the web- Between the Keys: http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
twitter.com/kckendricks
facebook.com/kckendricks
pinterest.com/kckendricks/boards
instagram.com/kc_kendricks
My country life at Holly Tree Manor

D is for Dogs I Have Known - KC Kendricks (2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge)

April 4, 2014

2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge

A Rural Life

Day 4

D is for Dogs I Have Known

We’ve made it to the first Friday in the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge! This year is all about my rural life with a little book promo tossed in at the end for good measure. Thanks for making a stop here at Between the Keys as part of your 2014 A to Z Blogging experience. 

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Only once in my life have I been without a dog. I’d lost a most beloved companion to Cushing’s disease and the thought of “replacing” him was unbearable. I suppose I took his loss harder than most because he was my companion for the seven years I lived alone. He was a pointer-hound mix, and very handsome with incredible yellow eyes that shone with bright intelligence.  In his prime, he was a muscular ninety pounds and when people asked if I was afraid of living alone, I laughed.

The dog who shares my life these days is an aging black Labrador Retriever. I got him as a pup and helped him develop every bad habit he has. In other words, he’s a bit spoiled. But he’s an excellent companion and if I had to choose between man and dog, it would be a close-run thing keeping in mind the dog doesn’t watch sports.  I grieve a little with each new gray hair on his muzzle.

Life has many seasons and looking back, each dog who has shared my life has given me their particular season. Rebel was my youth, and Reba my teenage years. Kelly saw the passing of my father and beautiful Raven with her long feathers my first home. Little Bogart taught me life is sometimes unfairly short, and poor Blackjack that some souls are so damaged that to set them free from pain and fear is the greatest gift you can give them.

I’ve loved all of them singularly for who they were, and I loved them all as Canis lupus familiaris. Each one was a unique individual as identifiable as “self” as any person. The day is coming (far too soon) when it will be time to make a home for another pup. I know while I won’t forget those dogs who came before this future bundle of joy, I’ll love the new one at least as much.

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Has a dog ever been a character in a KC Kendricks book? Yes! Check out Ranger in Kentucky 98 Proof. He’s modeled on Cal, pictured above, and the best dog I ever had.

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You didn’t really think you’d get away without 

a brief book promo, did you?

D is also for DESERT SNOW. 
What happened at the White Party was more
than he ever dreamed possible.

For more information please visit
https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/desert-snow-by-kc-kendricks.html


KC Kendricks

Website: http://www.kckendricks.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks

Blog: http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/kckendricks
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kckendricks

C is for Caboose - 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge (KC Kendricks)

April 3, 2014

2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge

A Rural Life

Day 3

C is for Caboose

Welcome to the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge! This is the fourth year I've participated in the challenge, and this year is all about living in rural America. It’s sort of like Walton’s Mountain meets the big city meets middle America. 

Will I do a little promo along the way? You know I will! Writing is a big part of who I am. So thanks for coming along for the ride in the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge.

_*_*_*_*_*_

The part of Maryland I call home has a long and storied rail history. My great-grandfather was a railroad man, as were two of his five sons. Around here, it’s hard to find a family that doesn’t have a connection to the rails. Even today, the CSX, Norfolk Southern, and the Winchester and Western Railroads roll through town on a regular basis.

When I was a little girl it seemed every trip to anywhere meant a stop at a rail crossing to wait as a train rolled past. It was a big deal to count the number of cars in the train and then to blow the horn at the caboose, especially if the conductor was rear platform waving.

I’ve grown up some since those days but I still have a fondness for trains. It’s rare to have traffic stopped since in the last fifty years a concerted effort was made to build overpasses for cars. But every once in a while it happens and I’m drawn into memories of being in the car with my elders, counting.

These days, even when I see a train, I don’t see many cabooses, and I think that’s a shame. I guess it’s not cost effective to drag the weight of the caboose when it doesn't carry a payload, but I miss them. It makes me sad that it’s one more thing the little ones in my life will never know.

But caboose or not, I still wave when the last boxcar goes by. And sometimes I look over at the vehicle next to mine and the people inside are waving, too.

A note from the author: When a publisher call came for a stories with an “all aboard” theme, I pulled from the local history for the opening to the story, “Station to Station.”

­­_*_*_*_*_

You didn't really think you’d get away without a brief book promo, did you?

C is for Catching Fireflies. For more information please visit my website at www.kckendricks.com/CatchingFireflies.html

Catching Fireflies is available at
Amazon, iTunes/Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo,
and other online booksellers. 

KC Kendricks

Website: http://www.kckendricks.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks

Blog: http://kckendricks.blogspot.com

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/kckendricks

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kckendricks

B is for Bridges in the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge

April 2, 2014

2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge

A Rural Life

Day 2

B is for Bridges

Welcome to the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge! This is the fourth year I've participated in the challenge, and I’m all set to go. This year, 2014, is all about my rural life. It’s sort of like Walton’s Mountain meets the big city meets middle America. It’s my life and the forces that come together to make my unique world.

Will I do a little promo along the way? Absolutely! I'm a writer. I can’t blog if I cut out part of my life. So just like life this year will be a mix-up - a wonderful combination of this and that all rolled into one that may seem chaotic on the surface but blends together to create the whole package that is A Rural Life.

So thanks for coming along for the ride in the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge.

*_*_*_*_*

Bridges fascinate me with the duality of their nature. Maybe it’s because I’m a Gemini I see the past, present and future in a bridge.

Bridges call to me to move forward, to cross to the other side with the quiet promise they won’t let me fall as I take those fateful steps. And yet they remain, a link to the past and the path recently traveled. From the purely functional, most aesthetic blending of steel and art to the completely metaphorical, I love bridges.

Needing to find both witty and/or sentimental quotes about bridges, I turned to Google. Once there, it was a struggle to pull the gems from the rubbish. I wonder, as always, if the quotes are real and if they’re attributed to the correct person. Maybe I shouldn’t let it bog me down.

Maybe, if the words give a proper representation of bridges, I should be happy with that and cross the bridge over to tomorrow and the letter C.

Quotes

“The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn” - David Russell, Scottish classical guitarist

“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” - Jim Rohn, American Speaker and Author.

“Sometimes you get the best light from burning a bridge.” -Don Henley, founding member of Eagles

“We are told never to cross a bridge until we come to it, but this world is owned by men who have 'crossed bridges' in their imagination far ahead of the crowd.” - unknown

“What need the bridge be wider than the flood?” - Shakespeare

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You didn't’t really think you’d get away without a brief book promo, did you? B is for Beneath Dark Stars.

For more information please visit my website at

kckendricks.com/BeneathDarkStars.html

BENEATH DARK STARS 
Gay romance with a paranormal shift
available now at Amazon, iTunes/Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and other online booksellers. 


KC Kendricks

Website: http://www.kckendricks.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks

Blog: http://kckendricks.blogspot.com

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/kckendricks

Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/betweenthekeys

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kckendricks

A is for the Apple Tree Story- 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge

April 1, 2014

2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge

A Rural Life

Day 1

A is for the Apple Tree Story

Welcome to the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge! This is the fourth year I've participated in the challenge, and I’m all set to go. It’s time to reconnect with bloggers from past challenges and to meet new people and make new friends.

This year, 2014, is all about my rural life. It’s sort of like Walton’s Mountain meets the big city meets middle America. It’s my life and the forces that come together to make my unique world. 

Will I do a little promo along the way? Sure! Writing is a huge part of who I am. I can’t blog if I cut out part of my life, now can I? So just like life this year will be a mix-up - a wonderful combination of this and that all rolled into one that may seem chaotic on the surface but blends together to create the whole package that is A Rural Life.

So thanks for coming along for the ride in the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge.

_*_*_*_*_*_

My grandmother had an apple tree that she greatly favored for the quality of apples it produced. The tree was on a sight line from my grandmother’s kitchen window and she kept an eye on it throughout each summer to determine how much applesauce and apple butter she would be making in the fall.

One year, the old tree was so full of apples the branches bowed toward the ground. Anticipation ran high. Everyone counted their pies before they were baked until the day IT happened.

As dawn broke, the heinous crime was revealed. Every apple as far up as a person could reach was gone. My grandmother was livid.

Someone had crept in under cover of darkness and stolen the apples from her best tree. She was ready to shoot first and forget about asking any questions at all. You've heard the saying, “dig the hole, hire the hearse.” She was there and, let's face it, we have enough property we could sing along with Vicki Lawrence ("and that's one body that'll never be found....").

My grandfather went outside to investigate the crime in more depth and discovered the truth. No human hand had wrought such mischief. The local deer had come in for a midnight feast. It wasn't long until instead of rows of canned applesauce lining her shelves, venison filled my grandmother’s freezer. 

The tree is gone now, as is my grandparent's house, but the story remains part of my family’s dialogue. A cousin owns the old home place and has planted new trees in line from where the old one stood. We laughed about that old story as we stood and admired his new little saplings, counting the years until they produce. And I gave him fair warning - he shouldn't question where the apples came from if someday I give him a fresh-baked apple crisp.

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You didn’t really think you’d get away without a brief book promo, did you?

A is also for A Hard Habit to Break. For more information, please visit my website at https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/a-hard-habit-to-break-book-of-men-of.html .  

 KC Kendricks

My home on the web- Between the Keys: 

http://kckendricks.blogspot.com

Visit my bookshelf at: 

https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/the-bookshelf-of-kc-kendricks-and-rayne.html

Social media links:

twitter.com/kckendricks

facebook.com/kckendricks

pinterest.com/kckendricks/boards

instagram.com/kc_kendricks

My country life at Holly Tree Manor: hollytreemanor.blogspot.com

Life through the eyes of Greenbrier Smokey Deuce: deucesday.blogspot.com

Ready...Set....GO! The 2014 A-Z Blog Challenge begins tomorrow!

March 31, 2014

I believe it's good to always have a plan. There's an old saying that the devil is in the details and it's often true. Details are difficult. So I like to have a plan, and above is mine for the 2014 A-Z Blog Challenge. Twenty-six blogs in twenty-six days. It's not for those scared of commitment. Check out the Survivor badges displayed on the left side of the blog. I earned those badges. No one just handed them to me.

Will I adhere to the 2014 plan? I guess you'll have to check back every day because the answer will only be found between the keys. 

KC Kendricks

website: http://www.kckendricks.com

That pesky headline news addiction meets Twitter at paper.li

March 30, 2014

I love to read the headlines. If it's weird and different (or NASCAR) it catches my attention. I wish I could break the habit, but I'd have to change the homepage my browser opens up to and you know what a hassle that is. 

Yeah, okay. You busted me. I really don't want to lose the addiction to the headlines. I might miss out on something really intellectual such as which actress/starlet went on talk television without her underwear. No, I did NOT read that article. I try to stay top shelf. Like this one about Jack Daniels whiskey. http://news.yahoo.com/jack-daniels-angers-rivals-over-tennessee-whiskey-rule-041037020.html

And then there are the cat and dogs stories. The big red S on my forehead is for sucker. I guess I get sucked in to reading about half of those stories. Add funny pet videos under this category for another time waster. 

Thanks to my buddy Brenda Williamson, I now have another outlet for feeding the beast. It's called paper.li . Paper.li is - okay I don't know what it REALLY is. It's a website that gathers articles from blogs and tweets from Twitter and creates a personalized "newspaper" just for you that you can share with the world. You set up your own paper and tell it what content to look for for you. Brenda created one and it was such fun to read I jumped on board, too. (It's likely tracking my every move, but I'm pretty harmless. Track away.) 

The KC Kendricks Media Daily. Two parts interesting stuff from around the Internet and one part promotional tool. I'm still learning the system and tweaking the search parameters - it's a work in progress, much like myself. If you follow me on Twitter, just watch the feed at http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks for the daily link. If you want to go check it out sooner, try paper.li/newsstand and then search for KC Kendricks.  You can actually subscribe if want. 

Is it going to make the headline news more fun? It might. My "paper" is more about romance and romance authors than anything else, so what's not to like about that? More romance is what we need in the world. 

KC

Mindfully doing

March 28, 2014

Is there ever a good time to be too busy? I wouldn't know. I'm always busy and to what degree hardly matters. Busy is busy in my world. I complete one task and another pops up on my list to take its place. I'm not whinging, mind you. I'd rather be busy than bored. But some days I need to step back, gather my wits, and figure out a new order for events my world. 

This morning was typical in that I arrived at work, settled at my desk with a cup of coffee, and opened my calendar. The A to Z Blogging Challenge is four days away - check. Moon Dances should be released April 5/6 - check. Sign up for My Sexy Saturday - um, no. There doesn't appear to be one this weekend. Bowling - check. Employer stuff - check, check, check, and check. Oil change - check. Price stone for driveway - check. Stop by the wine store - check. Coffee order - check. Yep, there's a lot on my list for today and what really needs to be there is a reminder to take a few deep breaths every morning. 

When I see my to-do list getting to this point I know it's time to prioritize a few things. Doing mind-lessly is very different from doing mind-fully and the latter is better. If I take on my tasks and do them mindfully, paying attention to what I'm actually doing, the result is more satisfying and my mental state more positive. Sound like psychiatric-speak? Perhaps, but I don't see it that way.

What I do know is if I pay attention to what I'm doing, even the more onerous tasks seem easier. I need to price stone for my long lane to repair the damage done this past winter. Calling the quarry is a pain in the ass because it's blatantly obvious quarry personnel as a whole don't like dealing with homeowners. I'll deal with them mindfully because the end result - a smooth surface on the lane - will be achieved more quickly than if I don't. And having a restored surface will make me happy every time I drive my Charger in and out the lane. So I'll take a deep breath and pick up the phone. 

But for the record, I won't need a deep breath before I stop at my local wine shack. I'll save that until I'm inside since they also now sell gourmet coffees. I expect to do quite a bit of mindful shopping when I get there this afternoon. After all, I'm buying moments to savor with the people I care about. I hope I'm never too busy for that. 

KC
http://www.kckendricks.com 


PS. That's not my calendar. I found a .jpg on the Internet after I screwed up taking a photo of mine. I wasn't mindful enough of the lighting.

7/5/14 PSS. Moon Dances is now available at http://www.amberquill.com/store/p/1943-Moon-Dances.aspx

Quiet Sunday Morning

March 23, 2014

Spring has arrived and I've learned something very important - I'm not as young as I used to be! Okay, I'm not that old, either, but yesterday drove home the fact this winter just past was hard in more ways than one. 

I'm blessed to have a beautiful little corner of the world to care for but with that blessing comes work. Yard work. Yesterday was the first day we could comfortably get outside and begin the season-long task of keeping our yard neat and tidy. It was time to pick up sticks. After, of course, I checked out the crocus. It's finally blooming. 

We were fortunate to make it through the winter without major tree damage. We had good rain last summer so I guess that the trees sucked up enough moisture and weren't quite as brittle as in years past. One large branch which had died several years ago did finally fall to ground, but other than that, we had only small stuff to gather and toss in the burn ring. My partner and I both enjoyed being out in the sun but wished for a less breezy day. We'll have to burn the brush pile some other day, preferably a drizzly one. 

The trouble hit this morning when I rolled out of bed. I'm stiff in places I've never been stiff before and this will not do. I've contemplated taking a basic yoga class and now may be the time. Or at the very least I should stream in a basic routine on my HDX tablet and stretch more. My work ethic won't suffer that much if I take time to stretch every day. And maybe it could stand to suffer since my work ethic is why I'm stiff this morning. Too much computer time and not enough me time. 

Thankfully, I've been moving around this morning and the muscle stiffness has worked out. My dear old dog is still limping a bit and I'll be more careful the next time we work in the yard that he doesn't follow us so closely. Winter has taken a toll on him, too. 

I'm into my second cup of coffee and the quiet of the house is fading. My partner is awake. I hear him groaning. I bet he's stiff, too. I should be kind and not mention to him he's getting older and I know how hard the yard work is on him. I should sympathize with him. I should do a lot of things but I'm not going to confess I was stiff and sore this morning. 

Truth is, it's too good of an opportunity to pass. As soon as he has his coffee and is safely ensconced in his recliner, I'm going to pounce and remind him he's not as young as he used to be. 

KC

Give Me One Night on the Seductive Studs & Sirens blog hop

March 22, 2014

**This blog hop is no longer in existence.**

I'm changing it up this week and visiting the Seductive Studs and Sirens weekly blog hop. No particular reason other than too much routine can be, well, too much. This week I have a short excerpt from Give Me One Night. 

Enjoy!

_*_*_*_

My quarry stood at the bar, sipping what appeared to be a soda. I stepped into the whirling yellow disco lights, planted my feet, squared my shoulders, put my hands on my hips, and waited for him to spot me. It didn’t take long.

He looked me up and down, a slow, lazy appraisal that focused my attention on his face. Then he smiled and lowered his eyelids with a slight nod of his head.

In that instant I knew something about him there are no flowery or romantic words for—only gut instinct. He wanted me to fuck him.

My body responded to the knowledge. Arousal snapped through me, sending shivers down my spine.

My nipples, sensitive as any girl’s, tingled to the point the fabric of my sweater rubbing against them became deliciously painful. My cock swelled to its full seven-and-three-quarter-inch glory in a single pounding heartbeat.

I’d fuck him until he was limp as a rag doll in less time than that if I could get my hands on him.

_*_*_*_

Give Me One Night is now available at 
Amazon, iTunes/Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and other online booksellers. 

Give Me One Night webpage:
https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/give-me-one-night-by-kc-kendricks.html

 KC Kendricks
My home on the web- Between the Keys: http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
twitter.com/kckendricks
facebook.com/kckendricks
pinterest.com/kckendricks/boards
instagram.com/kc_kendricks
My country life at Holly Tree Manor

 

Bored, Stroked and Blueprinted - new this weekend!

March 15, 2014

**Updated 4/2/21 - the My Sexy Saturday blog hop has been closed.**

The My Sexy Saturday blog hop is doing double duty for me this weekend. Depending on what time you arrive here at Between the Keys, my latest book, Bored, Stroked and Blueprinted is about to go on sale or just did go on sale at Amber Allure. Yea!! 

My first car was a 1969 Camaro that we restored after it was stolen. When Amber Allure put out the call for a PAX based on the theme of our guys meeting in a garage, I tossed my wrench on top of the pile. And being a little motorhead from back in the day, what else could I title the story except Bored, Stroked and Blueprinted? 

Here are seven sexy paragraphs from my [about-to-be] new release. I hope you enjoy it. 
= = = = = =

He sighed. “I’m not a good risk, Mick. I might wake up tomorrow and decide Warren County is no longer my home.”

Who hadn’t thought of chucking it all and walking away? I had, many times. No one was immune to the lure of a fresh start free of the baggage of family, ex-lovers and mountains of mistakes. It was more difficult to stay put and re-invent oneself, and some people didn’t have the strength for it. Some had been beaten down too much by circumstances. I couldn’t say that to him for fear he’d realize I knew about him, and judged him, which I didn’t.

“So sell me the car today. I’ll pay cash.”

Very slowly, Logan turned his head and looked at me, one eyebrow raised. “Seriously? You really need to learn how to cruise a guy because, friend, you suck at it.”

“Who says I’m cruising you?”

“That hand sneaking up my thigh.”

I stopped and patted his leg. “I notice you didn’t tell me to quit.”

= = = = = =

To read an excerpt and find buy links, please visit https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/bored-stroked-and-blueprinted-by-kc.html

_*_*_*_*_*_*_

 KC Kendricks

My home on the web- Between the Keys: 

http://kckendricks.blogspot.com

Visit my bookshelf at: 

https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/the-bookshelf-of-kc-kendricks-and-rayne.html

Social media links:

Life through the eyes of my black Lab, Greenbrier Smokey Deuce: deucesday.blogspot.com

My country life at Holly Tree Manor: hollytreemanor.blogspot.com

twitter.com/kckendricks

pinterest.com/kckendricks/boards

instagram.com/kc_kendricks

facebook.com/kckendricks

Open Roads for this My Sexy Saturday

March 8, 2014

**Updated 4/2/21 - the My Sexy Saturday blog hop has been closed.**

Welcome to week #39 of My Sexy Saturday.

There's a line in a Joe Cocker song that goes something like "point me east and let me go." I'm sort of like that only east isn't a very good direction for a Marylander. West, south and north are far better. Head east from here and in a few hours you hit the surf and you're done.


Open Roads sprang into being when a couple of ideas blended together. The big questions to building the story were what would happen if you met the right person far from home? Would you stay? Would you walk away? Would you risk your heart for a handful of perfect days? I think the answers worked very well in Open Roads.

*_*_*_*

His gray gaze held my hazel one captive as I held out my hand to him. “Tyler Phillips, owner-operator.”

Strong fingers closed around mine, holding my hand a moment too long for politeness. “Noel Springs, stranded motorist.” Awareness arced between us, that recognition so many people call “gaydar.” I called it something else—lightning. Noel Springs was gay and he liked what he saw. He let go of my hand as I motioned at the ratty sofa that took up the east wall of the room. It was slated for replacement in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, but it was only June.

“Have a seat, Noel. While your engine cools, I need to finish up a job in the garage.”

“It might take a while for that to happen, Tyler.” He looked me up and down again, a slow, lazy perusal that made my heart beat a little faster. It also brought out my attitude.

I shifted my weight, a subtle movement that let my hips go forward. He noticed, so I tossed him a little tease at him. “Like what you see?”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “Yeah. I do. It’s a shame, too, because home is nowhere near here.”

“The universe does enjoy playing its little games with people.” I smiled again, nodded, then walked away before I got stupid with him. A little flirtation was fine, but I didn’t trick with my customers.

_*_*_*_*_

Open Roads - book two in the Men of Marionville series
available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and other online booksellers.

_*_*_*_*_*_*_

 KC Kendricks

My home on the web- Between the Keys: 

http://kckendricks.blogspot.com

Visit my bookshelf at: 

https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/the-bookshelf-of-kc-kendricks-and-rayne.html

Social media links:

Life through the eyes of my black Lab, Greenbrier Smokey Deuce: deucesday.blogspot.com

My country life at Holly Tree Manor: hollytreemanor.blogspot.com

twitter.com/kckendricks

pinterest.com/kckendricks/boards

instagram.com/kc_kendricks

facebook.com/kckendricks