Month: September 2015

Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop. This week we’re talking about our methods of relieving stress.


Anyone here remember MAD Magazine’s mascot, Alfred E. Neuman? I know, I’m dating myself, but he’s one of my heroes. His slogan was “What, me worry?” That’s been my mantra for much of my life. Only I take it a little farther.

See, when I find myself worrying about something, the first thing I ask myself is can I do something about it? If the answer is yes, then I need to get my act together and just do it. And if I can’t do anything about it, then I need to find something better to spend my energy on.


Shoot, if my mother’s stories are true, I had the same attitude as a baby. I was born weeks late, and when I finally decided to make my appearance, I was sucking my thumb. Yes folks, I was sucking my thumb while my poor mother spent hours trying to give birth to me. Of course,it was all for show, because I’m told I never sucked my thumb after that.

Now, if I’m being honest, I will admit that there are a few things that make me stressed. When my now grown-up kids were having issues as children, I stressed about how I could help them. When economics meant I needed to stretch not enough money too far, I stressed. When my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, I stressed. (She’s a survivor!)

Then I got out of my chair and did something. What I did depended upon the situation. But even making the plan of what I needed to do would help relieve the stress. Of course, I have some standard remedies for stress relief. I guess they came to me instinctively, because they are things I’ve done since I was a youngster.




I’ve always liked going for hikes and long walks. Growing up I lived in the country, and I’d spend hours walking along the nearby back roads and through the forests and meadows. I may not have as much time to do that as I used to, but I still go exploring when I get the opportunity,




If you’ve been reading my posts, you know that I do needlecraft. (Didn’t catch that post? Check the archives for the July Crafty Things post.) I find it totally relaxing to poke a needle and thread (or yarn) through canvas or cloth and end up with something beautiful. (At least in my humble opinion!)

My habit of getting up to the mountains whenever I can is another way to shed any stress I might be feeling. I say that the mountains “feed my soul.” I lived for too many years near sea level, and I spent a lot of time plotting how to get back to hilly country. I’m here now, and I’m still plotting how I can get even nearer and stay longer!








Finally, there’s my writing. Frankly, it causes me stress at the same time it relieves stress. Trying to find the right words can me a real headache. But once I finally get a story down, it’s such a satisfying feeling that I have to start all over again.


Want to find out what how other authors relieve stress? You can click on the links below, but I suggest you start over at Traci wooden-Carlisle’s blog. Check out her books while you’re there. Traci Wooden-Carlisle  (Isn’t that a beautiful cover?)






And feel free to leave a comment and tell us how you relieve stress. 

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This week on the Open Book Blog Hop: Songs from your past. Share your high school music loves.


Rebellion. That was the theme of music during my high school years. It was the height of the Vietnam protest era and the songs we listened to reflected the political discontent of the generation.


“Revolution” by the Beatles may have been a B side song, but it’s popularity couldn’t be denied. There were several versions, but the words expressed the feelings of many of my peers. Revolution. After all, we wanted to change the world.


If you’ve never heard it, take a listen. Or listen to it again. For some of us, it never gets old. In fact, it’s one of the songs my mother made the rule for—it could only be played once, and not over and over.

But the Beatles were tame compared to some of the other music. Woodstock introduced many groups to a wider audience. Some are still well-known, others have faded into history. Country Joe and the Fish may never have received much radio airtime as their Vietnam song didn’t meet decency standards, but their songs were made popular by word of mouth. Vietnam Song





Putting together this list reminded me of so many other great songs. There’s WAR by Edwin Starr and the Rolling Stones’ Paint It Black. There’s the Eve of Destruction and Fortunate Son.




But not all the popular songs were protest songs. Top songs ranged from Tony Orlando’s “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” Ribbon  to John Denver’s Rocky Mountain High. Rocky Mountain. Women singers had their share of popularity. Roberta Flack,Dionne Warwick, Janis Joplin, Carol King, Olivia Newton-John and Aretha Franklin all had major hits. Me and Bobby McGee was an anthem for every girl who longed to cut loose from society’s expectations and find themselves. 


Frankly, I could ramble on for a long time. So many songs, and I spent several hours reminiscing as I put this post together. So before I get off on another tangent—I haven’t even got to the country songs that crossed over to the popular lists—I’ll stop here and send you over to another of the authors. But before you leave, don’t forget to share the songs from your high school years in the comments.


PJ Fiala is the author of the Rolling Thunder Series. You can check out her books HERE  and see what music she listened to here PJ Fiala. 

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From rookie cops to special ops, this collection celebrates all that Protect and Serve.

There are certain moments that define our lives and become part of our culture. The Kennedy assassinations, Kent State, Mount Saint Helens, the Challenger exploding, and of course, the events of September 11, 2001.

I’m not going to post any pictures for this entry. We’ve all seen them, and for those of us who lived through the day, they’re burned into our brain. Each time I see them, the terror  and sorrow of the day rushes back.

I was working in a small branch of a law-enforcement related agency. It was a fairly normal, busy day, with scads of paperwork to get down for the courts. I’m not sure which on my co-workers first alerted the rest of the office to the first plane crashing, but soon the word spread.

A TV was set up in an office so we could keep track of what was going on while continuing to work. We tried to keep things going normally—we had clients in and out of the office—but it wasn’t easy. When the second plane flew into the Towers, none of us could believe it.

I think the tears started flowing when the towers collapsed. 

When the plane plowed into the Pentagon, it  get personal. I have a brother who lived and worked in the Washington DC area, and although he didn’t work for the military, I was worried about him. I was also worrying about my sister, who sometimes—but rarely—went into New York for her job.  

About the time we heard the first reports of a plane flying around Pennsylvania, the building was evacuated. No one could imagine our little office would be a target for anyone, but no one could imagine any of the day’s events. I was freaking out, because most of my family lived in Pennsylvania—my parents in particular because they lived in rural are in the western portion of the state— and suddenly we were cut off from the news. There we were, standing in the hot Florida sun, watching the skies, while I worried about about my parents and my siblings. 

I didn’t even have a cell phone to call them. Luckily, a few of my co-workers did, and one let me use hers to try to reach my parents. It took too long to get through. The lines were overloaded and it took too many tries before I was able to establish a connection. Finally, I got ringing at the other end, and my mother picked up.

At that point, most of my brothers and sisters had checked in. Everyone was safe. The only sibling that hadn’t reached  out to my parents was in a location that appeared to be safe.

Eventually, we were allowed back inside and we went back to work. Not that anything went back to normal. 

One of the weirdest things over the next couple of days was the absence of planes in the skies overhead. There were always planes in the sky, no matter one time of the day or night as we lived along several major plane routes. To look around and see no contrails, and hear nothing but traffic and birds, felt like a scene out of a sci-fi flick.


And that’s my personal remembrance of 9/11. If you’d like to share yours, you can do it in the comments.

To read about the experiences of others in our hop, check out the links below. One of them is Kelly Williams. Here’s a direct link to her blog. Blue Honor

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