#FunStuff

#NewSeries – #ForgottenWords – #DoYouRemember?

/ Marcia Meara / 57 Comments

Lately, while reading this or that, I’ve found myself brought up short by the use of one  word or another seldom heard these days. I’ve begun to take note of some that I’ve merely read here or there, and some that I definitely remember from days gone by. It occurred to me that they might make a quick and easy fun series  of posts to share now and then on a slow week, so … here goes the first one!

How many of you remember the word “crinoline?” Is it something you stumbled upon while reading and decided to look up, or is it something you are personally familiar with? Inquiring minds wanna know! (No cheating by looking it up NOW, though. It’ll be more fun to wing it.)

Familiar or not, I’m betting it isn’t something that’s currently a part of your life.

Okay, your turn now!
If you don’t know, feel free to make a guess. 

 

#BeMyGuest on #TheWriteStuff – #FunStuff – #TenThingsYouMayNotKnow AboutMe

/ Marcia Meara / 26 Comments

Hi, Everyone! Just a quick heads up to let you know I am hoping to get all my regular features back up and running over the next few weeks. Today, I’m looking for folks who might be interested in taking part in #TenThingsYouMayNotKnowAboutMe over the weeks ahead. I can book dates for you every other Wednesday, starting March 16, and on into the foreseeable future. If you think you’d like to take part, email me, and we’ll reserve a date for you. (  marciameara16@gmail.com  )

The good news is, you don’t have to have your post materials to me until about ten days or so before the day we’ve saved for you.  For information on what I’ll need from you by that point, please check in the header bar above under General Blog Rules and Various Feature Instructions. 

This #TenThings feature has been one of the most fun things we’ve shared here on The Write Stuff, and I hope a lot of you  will want to take part. Don’t forget, it doesn’t have to be a list of jaw-dropping experiences, though those are pretty interesting, for sure. But the idea is to get to know each other better, and perhaps have a laugh or two while doing so. AND, you get to promote your books at the end of the post, as well.

I’ll be waiting to start filling in the dates as soon as I hear from some of you. And if you have any questions, please know you are always welcome to email me, and I’ll try my best to answer them.

Can’t wait to see who’ll be next up for this fun event! (And if I’ve forgotten anything here, just give me a nudge and I’ll add it to this post.)

Thanks! And let the fun begin!

#ReblogAlert – Smorgasbord Weekly RoundUp

/ Marcia Meara / 10 Comments

What a fabulous week this was on Sally Cronin’s Smorgasbord! Her Weekly RoundUp post has enough going on to keep you busy until the NEXT one! So many great guests,  including some of my very favorite writers and bloggers! And the videos are wonderful, as usual. My favorite is the beautiful story behind the friendship of a beautiful parrot and a dog. (There’s a lesson in there somewhere, too.) Hope you’ll stop by and check it out. It’s well worth seeing for yourself!

You can visit Sally’s Smorgasbord Weekly RoundUp HERE.

#ReblogAlert – Sally Cronin’s Smorgasbord Weekly RoundUp

/ Marcia Meara / 4 Comments

I know I say this every time, but honestly, Sally’s Weekly RoundUp is unbelievable this time! It’s always a pleasure to share these vastly entertaining and amusing posts, but this one is truly amazing. Check it out and you’ll see what I mean.  I predict you’ll enjoy the heck out of it. 🙂

You can read Sally’s Smorgasbord Weekly Round Up post HERE.

#ReblogAlert – Sally Cronin’s Smorgasbord Weekly Round Up

/ Marcia Meara / 7 Comments

As always, I’m delighted to pass along Sally Cronin’s jam-packed Weekly Round-Up post. It’s always a pleasure to share these vastly entertaining and amusing posts, and I highly recommend you stop by to check this one out. Even if you’ve visited a few times this week, there’s bound to be something you missed. Take a look, and enjoy! 🙂

You can read Sally’s Smorgasbord Weekly Round Up post HERE.

And that’s all for now, folks! Have a great weekend!

#ReblogAlert – Sally Cronin’s Weekly Round-Up Post

/ Marcia Meara / 9 Comments

Once again, I’m delighted to share Sally Cronin’s fabulous Weekly Round-Up post. It’s always a pleasure to pass along these vastly entertaining posts, and I highly recommend you stop by to check this one out. Even if you’ve visited a few times this week, there’s bound to be something you missed. Take a look, and enjoy! 🙂

You can read Sally’s Smorgasbord Weekly Round Up post HERE.

And that’s all for now, folks! Have a great weekend!

And The Winner IS ……

/ Marcia Meara / 15 Comments

Good Morning Everybody! Yesterday, our Special Guest was Sue Coletta, with a wonderfully creepy excerpt from her newest book, Pretty Evil New England.

(If you missed that great post, you can check it out here.)

Sue offered a free copy of her new paperback to anyone I chose from the folks who stopped by to comment, and this morning, I drew a name from a hat to see who that would be. (Well, actually I drew it from a plastic storage container, but don’t tell Craig Boyack that. He’s very partial to hats! Especially magic ones. 😀 ) So now we have our winner.  

CONGRATULATIONS, JAN SIKES!

Jan, if you will email me with your mailing information, I will make all the necessary arrangements to have your copy of Pretty Evil New England winging its way to you as soon as possible.

HAPPY READING!

BUY Pretty Evil New England here:

Amazon (all countries, Kindle & paperback)
Barnes & Noble (NOOK & paperback)
Books-A-Million (ebook & paperback)
IndieBound (paperback)
BookShop (paperback pre-order sale)
Globe Pequot
Rowman & Littlefield

Home from Denver, and Up to My Usual Mischief Once More

/ Marcia Meara / 32 Comments


Red Rocks Park and Natural Amphitheater

Brace yourselves, folks–she’s baa-aack! And bringing photos and news along with her! We had a lovely time in Arvada (just outside of Denver) and enjoyed the nippy (20 degrees or so) weather. Even got a bit of snow, but nothing like the 18″ that fell a couple of weeks before we went. 

We visited several outdoor areas and parks, including the one above, and took a long drive into the mountains. Sadly, our planned trip to Estes Park was cancelled due to heavy snow up that high the day we were planning to go, but we’ll see it in the spring, I’m sure.

We did visit Lair O’ the Bear park, but could only hike a small ways along the trail, as it was iced over and very slippery. Will visit that one again in the spring, too. Still, as you can see from the above photo, it was beautiful, and we had a great day.


Red Rocks Amphitheater from the Top


Some of the Fantastic Rock Formations at Red Rocks Park


More red rocks at Red Rocks

We had a fabulous time at Red Rocks Park & Amphitheater, where many, many concerts have been held. Mark got a nice shot of the amphitheater itself, but by the time I made it up there, I was too winded to think about pictures. But I DID make it, and it’s a pretty steep path. I am ecstatic to be able to say I sat on the stage where so many groups have performed! Yay, me, for persevering through all the huffing and puffing! I’d share the pics of Mark and I at the top, but they are somewhat less than flattering, so I’m sparing your sensibilities! 😀

John Denver “Spirit”

One of my favorite things about the park was this fantastic statue of John Denver, an icon of the area, for sure. (You can hardly keep yourself from singing “Rocky Mountain High” under your breath as you hike along!) We really enjoyed the day. I was also excited (birdwatcher that I am) to spot my first magpies on this trip. Got a great look at one at Red Rocks, as well as seeing a small herd of mule deer.

Mule Deer (a first for us)

Gramps and Kaelen

Here’s another shot from one of our outings, though I’m not sure which one.  Gramps and Kaelen usually led the way on our adventures.


Picnic in the Snow, Anyone?
(We ate FAST, then went for our hike!) 😀


Back at the (WARM) House!


Erin, Me, and Reya 

And I think I’ll close this with a picture of three generations of happy ladies, windblown, red-cheeked, and having a great time.

Hope all of you have been enjoying the season, so far, and are ready to celebrate the holidays. Me? I haven’t bought a single Christmas gift, so I suspect I’m going to be very, very busy this week! 😀 But I’ll be ho-ho-hoing all the way! 

Merry Christmas!

 

Coming Soon: New #WeeklyGiveaway Contest. #WinFreeDownloads

/ Marcia Meara / 17 Comments

Been thinking of a way to set up a contest on The Write Stuff that would be a little bit different, while not taking hours and hours to put together each week, and I think I’ve got it! But you’ll have to be patient to learn more. All I can say is, starting this Friday, July 19, I will be running a weekly contest that I hope will be  fun and entertaining, and will result in some of you guys winning a free download of one of my books, your choice, of course. 

Sound like something you might enjoy? Well, stay tuned for full details on Friday! I can say no more! 😀

#Events Update #EnterpriseMuseum – Backyard Birds Part 1

/ Marcia Meara / 27 Comments

I’m still here, honest! Had company last week, and a luncheon/tea to host this past Saturday, and a brand-new presentation on backyard birds to prepare for this coming Saturday. (Some days I have to wonder, when am I supposed to WRITE?)

At any rate, I wanted to share this event update with you, in case some of you local folks might want to come. I’m continuing my Central Florida’s Fabulous Wildlife series with a three-parter on Backyard Birds. I get asked about birds people see around their yards all the time, and decided this would be a fun “mini-series” to do. Part 1 is entitled “The Usual Suspects,” and features cardinals, bluejays, titmice, and the more common feeder visitors. Loads of good photos, help with identifying a few you might not know, and tidbits to share on feeding & nesting habits. I’ll be presenting this on Saturday (2/16) at Enterprise Museum, 1:00pm, and it’s FREE, no reservations required. Come on by, if you can.

On March 9, same time & place, I’ll be presenting Backyard Birds Part 2, entitled “The Tricky Ones.”  (Tricky in the sense that they are harder to spot, less common, or only seen during spring and fall migrations.

And on March 23, also same time & location, I’ll be presenting Backyard Birds, Part 3, Attracting Birds to Your Yard. This one will focus on various feeder types ( and which birds prefer which kinds), water sources (including bird baths, small ponds, and fountains), and landscaping to provide cover and additional food sources (berries, nectar plants, and seeds).

I know most of you don’t live here in Central Florida, but for those who do, just know it would MAKE my day to see some of you there this Saturday! 🙂 And if you can help me get the word out, I’d greatly appreciate it.

THANKS, you wonderful folks. I’ll do my best to be much more visible around here this week, I promise!

PS: Bet you’ve never seen a cardinal that looks like THIS! If you’d like to
learn more about him, come on by Enterprise Museum this Saturday.  😀

Backyard Birds Part 1: The Usual Suspects
Saturday, Feb 16, 1:00pm
Enterprise Museum, 360 Main St, Enterprise FL, 32725
(386) 259-5900