Tag: miriam jones bradley

Double Cousins Gazette – The Four Whats of Summer 2023

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Here is my latest newsletter! If you want to get the next one, sign up here on my website!

 

Have you thought, “What is Miriam Jones Bradley up to these days?” Today I want to answer that question with four “whats”. So, let’s get started!.

What’s Up With Miriam?

The past eighteen months have been filled with physical challenges from cancer (clean bill of health there) to three injuries, the last being some broken ribs. I’ve only been able to work 26 weeks of the past year at the hospital so I have been branching out into the freelance writing field.

I’ve written a few articles for a local weekly newspaper, had one of the pieces of my All I Have Needed – A Legacy For Life book published in a woman’s magazine, and written several articles for HealthDay, an online health site. It has been challenging, but exciting to see God provide these opportunities.

What else is Miriam working on?

Besides the freelance writing, I am currently working on three other projects.
1. I have written short devotions (think “Keys for Kids”) that relate to each chapter of the first Double Cousins Mystery. I am working now on editing them. Then we will publish it as a companion book to The Double Cousins and the Mystery of the Missing Watch. I plan to write a devotional for each of my mysteries.
2. I am writing a picture book about my Grandpa Jones’ journey from Kansas to Nebraska in a covered wagon when he was eight. This was the first project I dreamed of twenty-five years ago.
3. Initial research for the next Nearly Twins book is complete, and I hope to work on the plot in the next month.

What events does Miriam have coming up in the near future?

On July 27th we plan to leave for points west.
Monday, July 31st we will have a booth at the Custer County Fair in Broken Bow, NE.
Thursday, August 3rd we will be at the Market in the Square in downtown Broken Bow, NE.
Saturday morning, August 12th I will be signing books at Everybody’s Bookstore in Rapid City, SD
Thursday, August 17th, we will be at the Market in the Square in Broken Bow, NE again.
September 28th-29th I will present five sessions at the KCEA (Keystone Christian Educators Association) conference in Pennsylvania.

I have dates available and am seeking opportunities for school visits this fall. If you know of a school that would like me to come, please have them contact me at this email.

  • What Has Miriam Been Reading?

I’ve enjoyed going to the library more often this year and I’ve checked out books in different age groups. Here are some of my favorite reads.

Picture books:
Still Dreaming by Claudia Guadalupe Martínez and Magdalena Mora
Elsie’s Bird by Jane Yolen
Dear Mr. G by Christine Evans
Marie’s Ocean: Marie Tharp Maps the Mountains Under the Sea
by Josie James
Moon Tree – The Story of One Extraordinary Tree
by Carolyn Frasier  and Simona Mulazzani
Middle Grade Fiction:
Sisterhood of Sleuths by Jennifer Chambliss Bertram
A Kind of Paradise by Amy Rebecca Tan
A Sky Full of Song by Susan Meyer
Fiction:
How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior
Cross Creek by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Agatha Christie mysteries (several)
 
I hope this email answers the majority of questions you might have, as well as give you some ideas for books to check out! I would love to hear from you. If you have any other questions please comment below!

A Prayer for “The Normal Signs of Aging”

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I love May Day. Not because it is the month when you can (mostly) count on spring finally arriving. I mean, if winter lingers through April, at least May is the month when spring must come. And, it isn’t because of the celebrations surrounding May Day, although when I was a kid, I loved making little baskets to take to my neighbor friends. No, my love of May Day is actually rather selfish. As a child, I knew that May Day meant that May 2nd was the very next day and May 2nd is my birthday.

Yesterday, I once again celebrated my birthday. The excitement still lingers even though I am now three-quarters through my life expectancy. Last year I was distracted from the full ramifications of the shock of the big 6-0 by the cancer I faced. And, to be honest, the best birthday present I ever received was the phone call from my doctor telling me my lymph nodes were clean and I didn’t need any more treatment!

But, this year has provided more opportunities to experience what others tell me are normal signs of aging. Muscles, joints, bones, energy, focus, hair that has thinned and won’t do what it used to. . . if you know, you know.

However, with age has come a realization that there are things I wish I had grabbed onto when I was younger. Things like the truth of the power available to me to live the Christian life through God’s power, rather than my attempts. Sigh. Maybe this is some of the wisdom that people talk about getting with age. To be honest, I kind of feel like I’m finally growing up. You know, maybe I’m 40 now?

When my sister-in-law wished me a Happy Birthday, I asked her. . . “How did this happen to us?”

She responded with, “One day at a time, but it still SNUCK UP on us!”

Snuck up, that’s the truth.

So, yesterday, instead of going to the arboretum as we had planned, I made an urgent visit to my optometrist to see about the new floaters and flashes in my right eye. Thankfully, as with last year, I received the best possible news from the doctor. “Your retina is fine.” But, then she had to add that other phrase. “It is just a normal sign of aging.” Yes. I think my eyes might have rolled.

There is a prayer I found a couple of years ago in The Divine Hours, by Phyllis Tickle. It is meant as a morning prayer, but by just changing the word “day” to “year” it can be a prayer for the year. Since I am facing the normal process of aging, I think it might help me remember that available power I spoke about just a moment ago. It is now not only my morning prayer, but also my birthday prayer.

Lord God Almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought me safely to this new year. Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity, and in all I do direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose, through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen

Memories Bring Inspiration

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April 16th was the 118th anniversary of the day my grandpa, George Lee Jones was born. It seems impossible that he has been in heaven 25 years already, but it’s true. I can still picture him pouring cream over a piece of pie Grandma baked, sitting on his stool while milking the cow, or bouncing around the pasture in his white Ford pickup, one hand on the wheel. For me, these memories bring inspiration. Memories, they are like gifts that keep on giving.

To celebrate Grandpa’s birthday, I thought I would share a little about one of my current projects. If you have followed my blog over the past several years, you know that my first mystery, The Double Cousins and the Mystery of the Missing Watch was set on, and inspired by Grandpa’s ranch, south of Berwyn, Nebraska. In addition the last book in the series is also set on what was Grandpa’s ranch and the cover has a picture of the ranch. 

When we were kids, we spent a week or two several different summers out on the ranch with cousins. It might have been only two summers, but it seemed like a huge part of our childhood. So many great memories.                                     

If you’ve ever attended one of my speaking opportunities or workshops on the writing process, you’ve most likely heard the story about A Boy Named George. That’s because, in order to explain to students why I became an author, this story has to be told. And so I tell it.

Fast forward to the present. After nearly 25 years of writing, editing, publishing, and marketing books I am finally working on the picture book I originally wanted to write. It is the story of George’s Journey, a fictional retelling of the migration Grandpa’s family made from Kansas to Nebraska when he was eight. It involves a covered wagon, cold, dust, and adventures.

The advice I was given all of those years ago about picture books being the hardest ones to write was true. Cramming such a grand story into eight hundred words seems an impossible task. But, it is one I’m determined to accomplish. Stay tuned for more on this topic. Writing a manuscript is just the beginning of the process. After that the real “hard work” starts.

But, like Uncle Jim once said, “Dad (George) didn’t teach us to give up just because it was hard.”

Home is Where. . .

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At physical therapy yesterday I overheard part of a conversation. Apparently the patient shared that she was from elsewhere, but had lived here about twenty years. “Twenty years,” the therapist said. “You should be a local by now!”

I’m not so sure about that. After all, the Bradleys arrived in western North Carolina  before the Revolutionary War, and the only way I get “local credibility” with my local patients is when I mention that my husband is from here, and in fact was born in the hospital where I now work.

It made me think about home. What is home? Where is home?

When I got married my wise uncle, Jim Jones told me, “home is where you make it.” Great advice for a middle aged woman leaving her entire family and moving from South Dakota to South Florida in July. I took it to heart, but still when I was asked where I was from I always said South Dakota, or the Great Plains states.

When I’m getting ready to go visit my family in South Dakota or Nebraska I tell people I am going home for a visit. I’ve certainly never considered that I would ever think of myself as being “from North Carolina.”

Yet, here I am. I realized a couple of weeks ago that not only have I lived longer in Hendersonville than any other city, but I’ve lived in this house longer than any other house, by a long shot. And to top it off, I’ve worked at Pardee hospital eleven years now, one year longer than any other hospital.

So, is this home?  Maybe, but not completely.  After all, you can take the girl out of the Great Plains, but I don’t think you can ever take the Great Plains out of the girl. That’s where I grew up. It is where my parent and siblings, nieces and nephews mostly reside. It is home.

But there’s one thing that seals the deal. It isn’t the house, the town, or the job. It’s the husband. Home is where my husband is.

Time Travel Through Texas Hash (AKA Spanish Rice)

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Last week my husband asked about a Spanish Rice dish I remembered from my childhood. We’ve discussed this before. His mother’s Spanish Rice did not have meat. Mine had hamburger. But, other than that they seemed quite similar.

So, I confidently went to the box that holds recipes from three generations and looked. I was sure it was there, but it wasn’t. My next step was the Betty Crocker cookbook I inherited from Grandma McKnight. It was identical to my mother’s copy which my sister had (until her dog ate it.)

Anyway, there under the rice section was a recipe for Spanish Rice. But, it wasn’t at all like we remembered. However, across the page was one titled Texas Hash and it looked to be the right recipe, so Bruce made it.

Wow! You know that moment when something takes you right back to your childhood? This was one of those moments. It was delicious.

Old recipe books sometimes are outdated. Sometimes they are pushed aside because of newer ones with glossier pictures. But there are still people in this world who love cookbooks. Old ones or new ones, practical or impractical, it matters not. I am unashamedly one of those people.

I can lose myself for hours in a pile of cookbooks. If it is one of those community cookbooks, I can lose myself for hours in ONE cookbook! I have one with about fifty tiny post-its fluttering from the book where I marked a page because the recipe looked good. I may never do anything with all of them, but they are there for future reference.

It seems the internet is taking the place of cookbooks, and I’m not immune to this. We have a huge three-ring binder filled with recipes discovered on the internet or you-tube and printed off for “Bruce and Miriam’s” cookbook. Often we look through this collection when seeking for inspiration.

But, this week was potluck Sunday at our church and we knew right away what we would take. We made up another batch of the Texas Hash/Spanish Rice and off we went to church. It was well received. The classics always are, aren’t they?

2023 Spring-Easter Book Suggestions

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The time-change is always an indication that spring is here. Or, at least that it is coming soon!

Spring means Easter. It will be here before we know it. The stores are already full of Easter baskets and chocolate. Like every other holiday, consumerism has affected Easter too.

Our parents chose to focus on the real meaning of Easter—Christ’s resurrection. We didn’t do Easter baskets and I don’t remember ever being in an Easter egg hunt. Our excitement was over the Easter bonnet, the new dress from Aunt Rachel, white gloves, and new shoes.

 

But many people enjoy giving Easter baskets. So I had a few suggestions for items parents, grandparents, or aunts and uncles could give a child, whether in an Easter basket or not. I know you will be shocked to hear that my recommendations are books.

First, I want to suggest a new book I came across the other day, The Garden, The Curtain, and The Cross by Carl Laferton, illustrated by Catalina Echeverri. It is a retelling of the gospel account from the Garden of Eden to the Resurrection.

Second, a friend wrote a delightful story about a bunny who wants to save the flowers in the fall. Now, I know it isn’t fall, but it’s a bunny, okay? Saving Kate’s Flowers, by Cindy Sommer, won the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award – New York and has educational elements to boot. This is a beautiful picture book that all ages can enjoy. It’s illustrated by Laurie Allen Klein.

 

 

 

Third, I would like to remind you of Carolyn Frasier’s new book Moon Tree-The Story of One Extraordinary Tree, illustrated by Simona Mulazzani. This non-fiction book would be a fantastic choice for children of all ages. It too has wonderful educational information.

Next I have ideas for older readers. Susan K Marlow, my first editor, wrote an entire series for ages 6 and up. In these books she follows  Andi Carter and friends from childhood to age eighteen. Take a look at this video and check out her website. It is chock full of books and ideas. She even has accompanying educational materials for homeschoolers and young writers.

https://circlecadventures.com/book-series/

 

 

 

Finally, I would love it if you would consider my Double Cousins Mysteries as well as the Nearly Twins book. You can find more about them here on my website, and they are available through online stores. I am always happy to sell signed copies.

All you need to do is email me at miriamjonesbradley@gmail.com and we’ll get you taken care of!                         

So there you have it. My Spring 2023 book suggestions. Do you know of a great book or series for children? Share those titles below.

A Cautionary Tale – Five Fall Prevention Essentials

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As a nurse for 38 years I’ve taught fall prevention to patients more than any other single topic. I’ve also received multiple educational opportunities on the subject—at least 38.

Yet sadly, two days after Christmas I tripped while cleaning my house, turned my ankle, and broke my fibula—the smaller of the two bones in the lower leg. As I reviewed (over and over) what happened, how it happened, and what I could have done to prevent it, I identified the root cause/causes. I also realized that I had some work to do in my own home and life.

So here are my top five fall prevention essentials.

Remove Tripping Hazards.

Yes, this was my downfall—literally. A foot-stool, which I subsequently used to prop up the broken leg, stuck out a little too far and I tripped.

  • Keep pathways clear
  • Tape rugs to the floor or remove them completely
  • Fight the clutter ooze. You know what I mean.

 

Lights! Action!

  • Turn on lights before entering a room, or going up or down stairs.
  • Keep a night light on in the bathroom.
  • Turn on the bedside lamp before getting up to go to the bathroom.
  • Leave your porch light on if you are coming home after dark.

 

Don’t Be A Slug – Maintain physical strength, balance, and mobility

This is admittedly another probable root cause of my broken ankle. My balance is not good and I was unable to recover from the lack of balance/tripping conspiracy. According to the CDC, falls among adults 65 and older caused over 34,000 deaths in 2019, and there are 36 million falls reported among adults older than 65 each year. Many of these are due to loss of balance. I’m not 65, but here I am.

  • Many fitness centers, the YMCA, and other groups, offer exercise classes. You can find a world of exercises, yoga, stretches, and mobility helps online and on YouTube.
  • Some Medicare providers pay for fitness programs.
  • Walk around the block. Walk at the mall. Walk around the inside of your house.
  • Focus on exercises that build your core muscles, those in the center off your body.
  • Ask your doctor to recommend the best exercise(s) for you.

 

Move With Intention And Forethought

In my recent fall, I turned and changed direction suddenly, lost my balance, and my foot found the stool. It was a terrible tumbling trifecta!

  • Don’t make any sudden changes of direction.
  • Be aware what hazards (pets, uneven ground) is in front of you.
  • Sit on the edge of the bed for a minute before getting up in the night.
  • Take your time. Don’t rush.

 

Assistive Devices

  • If you need it, there is no shame in using a cane, walker, or wheelchair. It certainly is better than a fall.
  • Put non-slip material in the bottom of your tub or shower. Use a shower chair if necessary.
  • Install grab bars in the shower and beside the toilet.
  • Install hand rails on staircases.
  • Wear proper footwear.
  • Buy a “reacher” so you don’t need to use a foot stool. Keep things you commonly use within arm’s reach.
  • Don’t climb ladders without someone at the bottom to stabilize it.

 

Now that I’ve done my root-cause analysis and have my list of necessary corrections, I’m hoping I can avoid future falls. Will you join me?

 

We’ll call it “Fall Free In ’23”!

 

Please share your favorite fall prevention suggestion in the comments below!

A Collection of Quotes on Reading

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“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

Dr. Seuss

 

“I kept always two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in.” 

Robert Louis Stevenson

 

The person who deserves most pity is a lonesome one on a rainy day who doesn’t know how to read.”

Benjamin Franklin

 

“Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren’t very new after all.” 

Abraham Lincoln

 

“The man who does not read good books is no better than the man who can’t.”

Mark Twain

 

“Show me a family of readers, and I will show you the people who move the world.”

Napoléon Bonaparte

 

“Somebody who only reads newspapers and at best books of contemporary authors looks to me like an extremely near-sighted person who scorns eyeglasses. He is completely dependent on the prejudices and fashions of his times, since he never gets to see or hear anything else.” 

Albert Einstein

 

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”

  Cicero

 

“A book is a gift you can open again and again.”

  Garrison Keillor

 

“Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift.”

Kate DiCamillo

 

“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.”

 Emilie Buchwald

 

“No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.”  Confucius

 

“There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world.  Love of books is the best of all.”

Jacqueline Kennedy

 

“So please, oh please, we beg, we pray, go throw your TV set away, and in its place you can install a lovely bookshelf on the wall.”

Roald Dahl

 

These quotes are all by famous people. Do you have a book quote for me? Share it below in the comments.

Ten Ways To Celebrate National Reading Month

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March 2 was Read Across America Day, celebrating the birthday of Dr. Seuss. It is a day when we are all encouraged to read a book, especially out loud to children. Schools, libraries, and homes across America love to celebrate this day.

But did you know that the entire month of March is National Reading Month? Yep, it’s true. We get to celebrate reading all month long! Isn’t that amazing?

But how can we celebrate?

I have ten suggestions for ways you, your family, your class, or your group can celebrate.

 

  1. Read aloud for 15 minutes a day. “To my children,” you ask? Nope. I think it would be great to pick a book and read aloud as a family or class, but even as a couple or a single person there is something special about reading aloud. Read to your cat, your dog, or yourself. Using a second sense will engage different parts of the brain. My younger sister used to read to her cat, Rusty all the time when she was little. Rusty didn’t seem to mind.
  2. Visit your local library and check out not only books, but the variety of activities they offer. I am always amazed when I walk into my local library. Posters and screens grab my attention and tell me all the wonderful things I can find to do at the library. According to my local Youth Services Coordinator, Caitilin Lindsey, this month the Henderson County libraries “are encouraging families to read books nominated for the North Carolina Children’s Choice Book Award so they can vote for their favorites throughout the month of March.”
  3. Go to your local bookstore. Spend some time browsing the shelves. If you need to, leave your billfold in the car. (I am talking to myself there.) Bookstores are not only a great place to buy books and sometimes coffee, but they often host programs such as book signings, author events, book clubs, etc. It is also a wonderful place to find new ideas for books you may want to look for in your library.
  4. Get a library card. I tend to assume everyone has one, because I had one at a young age. One of the first places I visit when I move to a new town is the library. And, once I have that all-important piece of mail to verify my address, I march myself into the library and get a card. It never fails to thrill. Getting a child his or her own library card can be a life-changing event.
  5. Try a new author or genre. We all tend to find authors and genres we like, but how about challenging yourself to trying something new. A biography? A mystery? Are you an adult? Read a middle grade book. (In my humble opinion they are the best.) Non-fiction? History? Science Fiction? A time period you know nothing about? A brand new author? An old book? How about Dickens? (I do better if I listen to Dickens rather than trying to read it.)
  6. Here’s an idea. Pick an audio book and listen to it each morning on your way to work or while driving the kids to school. My sister and her children listened to many Hank The Cow Dog books that way. Have a quiet hour where everyone finds an activity they can do while listening such as coloring, building toys, or simply lying on the floor with your feet on a chair and listen to a book together.
  7. I had an Aunt and Uncle who would host a reading party with their children. They would go out to the picnic table and everyone would bring their book. No one talked. They just sat there and read their books. Sometimes neighbor kids would come and join them. I think this would be the perfect party for an introvert. I’m just guessing as I’m not one. Don’t invite me to this party. I will ruin it.
  8. Have a reading challenge. You can challenge yourself to read a certain number of books or pages. Or gather friends or family and come up with your own group challenge. You could end the month with a party where everyone shares the favorite book that they read.
  9. With Spring on its way, it might be fun to note some of the blossoming plants and reappearing wildlife. Take a nature walk and make a list of the different things you see. Then, take your list to the library and find books about each one. Make it a goal to learn more about the plants and wildlife in your neighborhood. A quick way to learn about something is to go to the nonfiction section of the children’s library and find books on your topic.
  10. Choose an actual official reading time each day. Make it an appointment not to be missed. It can be too easy to make reading an “if I have time I’ll try to read” thing.

As President Harry S Truman said,

“Readers of good books, particularly books of biography and history, are preparing themselves for leadership. Not all readers become leaders, but all leaders must be readers.”

 

Do you have any additional ideas? Please share below in the comments.

Who Knew This Was A Thing. . .

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Who knew this was a thing. . .Walking a pig, that is.

Let me start at the beginning. Tomorrow, March 1st, is National Pig Day. This realization immediately reminded me of several things. A couple of years ago I read a memoir titled How To Walk A Pig and other lessons in country living by Steven Coffman, published in 1995. I picked it up from a free table at a local library and thoroughly enjoyed his tales of a city person adjusting to farm life. One story involved a pig he had to walk home from the neighbor’s house. It was pretty hilarious, but I never in my life imagined that walking a pig was a real thing.

Fast forward to Fall 2021 when we made our big trip out West. Between book marketing and sales events, we visited family along the way. While visiting Uncle Tom and Aunt Twyla in Nebraska, we had the opportunity to go up the road to their son, Terry’s, place. When we arrived, Terry’s son, Tyler was out walking his pig.  

Yes, you heard me right. He was walking the pig. Turns out they were training the pigs for the fair and that’s part of it. You walk them. He had a switch and with a gentle touch the pig would walk and turn as Tyler wanted him to. I was amazed. Check out the picture I took! It was quite an investment of time as you need to walk them more than once a day.

You think that’s amazing? Listen to this. Those pigs were “potty-trained.” They would wait until they were taken out of their stalls and outside to do their business. I kid you not.

Pigs have been a curiosity to me since I was little, I guess. According to Grandma Jones’ favorite “Miriam Story,” I was unimpressed with what I had been told as a child. Apparently, when I was about five we visited the ranch and Grandma took us down to the barn. I stood at the fence and watched the pigs grunt and snuffle around for a bit, then announced, “Pigs don’t say oink!”

I also loved Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. But they never said anything about training Wilbur to follow directions before the fair. Maybe if they had he would have won first place. I guess it wasn’t in the plot.

So, tomorrow, remember to celebrate pigs. We will celebrate with pulled pork sandwiches.

Don’t tell Wilbur.