If you have the time

I know how busy everyone is this time of year, but if you can drop by Dawn's Reading Nook. There is an interview up for Donna Steele and you all know she is my favorite non-spanko writer. If you can drop by and say hey, I know she would appreciate it.

Also Cassie and Tom are answering questions at the Reading Room. I'll be sure to stick my head back in before Christmas!

Sadly

Nick's mom passed away last night, one day before her 93rd birthday. The family was gathering last night at the nursing home to have a birthday dinner with her. Nick had stopped by to see her earlier in the afternoon and they talked a little. Nick's sister came with my father-in-law about a half hour before Nick's mom passed away. They had been married for over seventy years. 

We all know it's for the best, but it's hard. She was my mother-in-law for thirty-four years and I couldn't possible have had a better one. All she ever wanted to do was take care of her family. She was a lovely, sweet woman and she'll be greatly missed.

It's my birthday and ...

I’m turning sixty again! 

I think sixty is a great age. Last year when I turned sixty for the first time Mollie had a wonderful surprise for me – more than sixty birthday wishes from so many of my friends that she had secretly contacted. I got so many wonderful gift and sweet cards, it was amazing and so sweet of Mollie to pull it all together for me. That was one reason I’m repeating sixty.

Another reason is that it’s a nice round number. I can remember it. Am I the only one who gets lost after a zero or five year, sixty-one, sixty-two, sixty-three, who can keep it straight? It’s not like I’m trying to convince people I’m twenty-nine or something. I can pass for sixty and probably can for several more years. I’ll be able to get my senior discounts without having to show ID. I slipped into the movies with Sunny and Ella last year where you had to be sixty-two to get the senior discount and no one questioned me. Hmm… maybe that’s not such a great thing.

It was one year ago tomorrow that I completed my teaching career. Great career, I’m grateful it was the one I chose and even more grateful that it’s now over and I can pursue my love of writing. I can travel when I want, stay home when I want – what’s not to love?

So, sixty it is for the next twenty years or so. By then I might be looking a little rough for sixty and might have to move it to seventy. We’ll see.

Meanwhile, my sweet Nick still remembers about birthday spankings. I have a feeling he’ll be keeping an accurate count and in his count, I’ll definitely be sixty-one!

*I got an unexpected early birthday gift from Ella over at Ella Ever After! Please go there and read her 'book report' on Cassie's Life!

Meme

 I’m game!

CAN YOU FILL THIS OUT WITHOUT FIBBING?

1. What was the last thing you put in your mouth. Sitting here typing and drinking coffee.

2. Where was your profile picture taken? On FB in's the mountains.

3. Worst pain? Kidney stones. Don’t want to try that again.

4. Favorite place you've traveled? I love traveling to meet up with friends. But I truly love staying home.

5. How late did you stay up last night? 11:30, last night (Tuesday) watching election returns.

6. If you could, would you move? Not in a million years.

7. Favorite toy as a child? Two favorites, a beautiful realistic baby doll and the toy machine gun I had to keep her safe.

8. Favorite TV show as a kid? Lassie

9. How do you feel right now? Warm and comfy   

10. When was the last time you cried? When I was telling a friend a little about a book I was recommending.

11. Who took your profile picture? Nick

12. Who is the last person you took a picture with? Nick

13. What's your favorite season? In between, summer to fall and winter to spring. I like the change of temperature.

14. If you could have any career, what would you pick? Writer

15. Do you think relationships are worth it? All mine are.

16. If you could talk to ANYONE right now who would it be? Probably my Mom, but there are so many I could choose.

17. Are you a good influence? I think I am.

18. Does pineapple belong on pizza? It does not!

19. You have the remote, what are you watching right now? Law and Order, SVU or maybe HGTV.

20. Who do you think will play along? Sunny already has hers up, and I know Ella love a good meme.

Like everyone else...

I'd like to have something to post. But nothing even close to on topic comes to mind. I've been too busy to think of things to do to get Nick to spank and he hasn't been around enough to do any. There's no problem, we're just busy. And this business will continue until at least next week, but it will probably settle down before Christmas.

So jump over to the Reading Room for a few questions for Allie, Ryan and Cassie. I'll be around sometime next week.

Busy Times

Time seems to be picking up speed as it usually does this time of year. I’m nearly ready with gifts and wrapping and such. Less ready with decorations. Since we keep them up through the first week or two in January for the boys to come for Christmas, I hate to get them up too early.

Things are peaceful here. But Nick and I don’t seem to see much of one another. Many days he is taking supper up to his dad. On the days he’s home at supper time, I’m often visiting with his mom. By the time we’re both home and settled he’s snoozing in his chair. It’s not going to be better any time soon. One of sister is having surgery in early January and the other, an accountant, begins her pre-tax working until 8 or 9 every day. But we plug on. MIL will be 93 this month. FIL is 96 and his brother turned 100 last month. Longevity lives!

Now one thing did happen you might be interested in. My ultra-busy schedule (of sitting on my butt for long stretched doing nothing) kept me from getting my laundry put away in my 24-hour window. Nick noticed. Bringing Blondie’s paddle into the living room with him he suggested I might remember better if I bent over and took hold of the laundry basket and stared at it to help get my transgression in my mind.

Fine, fine, I went along willingly. But as the spanking progressed I had a strong urge to say something. Gratefully we have been doing this long enough for me to have the sense to wait until he finished. But once I was up and the paddle down I had to tell him the truth (honesty is the best policy). So, I said,

“Thank you, honey. I'll get this put away right now. And by the way, you are shitty at warm-ups!”

I realize not many participating in TTWD could get away with a statement like that. But it was 100% truthful! Nick laughed and offered to start over, but I declined. I guess the poor man can’t be good at everything.

Don’t get so wound up in holiday preparations and forget to take care of yourselves. If you do I hope your HOH turns you up and paddles you good! Maybe you should read a good book, I have some I could suggest…

Cookie Exchange - From PK? What?

Are you kidding me? A cookie recipe? From PK? I don't cook. But never one to be left out completely, I will tell you about the best cookie in the world. 

It's a white chocolate chip, oatmeal, blueberry cookie. Do I have the recipe? Have I made these fantastic cookies - of course not. But I have where you can order them. This cookie did win the best cookie contest in Southern Living Magazine one year. This is a tiny little cookie company that ships all over the world. And it actually began as a senior class project. 

Mollie and a friend decided to get a dozen cookies from this company for a friend's birthday. They went to pick them up and the cookies didn't even make it back to their apartment. When you pick them up hot you just sit in the car and eat them. They are amazing!

So go to their website, look over all the cookies they have and while you're waiting on your order you can read below how this little company began.

https://appcookieco.com/

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Appalachia Cookie Company makes cookies the way your grandma’s grandma made them: from scratch, with real ingredients. Our products range from the traditional (Chocolate Chip, Snickerdoodle, etc…) to the unique (Blueberry White Chocolate Oatmeal, Apple Pie) with a few off the wall flavors like our Bacon & Bourbon cookie with dark chocolate and maple syrup. Our flavors aren’t the only unique aspect about our niche bakery. We also deliver fresh, made to order cookies and ice cold milk until 3am, locally. The only thing we care about as much as the quality of our Appalachia Cookie Company cookies are the communities that we are fortunate enough to call home. 30-Thirty Project is our labor of love, a subscription based shipping package that allows us to donate 30lbs of food per month per subscription to families in need.

It all began in 2012, while living in a small college apartment above a bar in the beautiful mountains of NC. As a student at Appalachian State University the company’s founder, David Holloman, saw a need for an alternative to the traditional late night pizza and sandwiches.  While he knew he wasn’t the first to offer late night dessert delivery, and he certainly wasn’t the first to person to bake a cookie, it was his goal to make the absolute best cookies people had ever eaten. With that goal in mind he bought a mixer and began making a batch of what would come to be… some of the worst cookies anyone had ever tasted. That’s right, Appalachia Cookie Company made a lot of really bad cookies before we started making the incredible treats we have today. After a year of late nights, early mornings, burnt cookies, oven fires, final exams, capstones and lots of trial and error, the cookies were ready.

Getting Started

A small, out-of-the-way, storefront in a subdivided warehouse was the company’s first storefront. The elegant sign that first adorned the future home of the best cookies on earth was made of cardboard and had “COOKIES” scribbled in sharpie with an arrow pointing to the front door. It was the kind of place you could walk in and stand next to the oven while your cookies baked. The store also had a bunch of the previous business owner’s equipment in the front of the store. It ALSO was the kind of place that quickly lead to the local Sheriff wanting to know what we were “really doing until 3AM.”

Convincing the Masses

Well, we quickly made a believer out of the Sheriff’s department. Within the first year we had such a large demand that we had customers from all over the country asking for our confectionary delights. We began our shipping program just over a year after the company opened and  within three months we had shipped Appalachia Cookie Company cookies as far as California, Hawaii and even Ireland. The company was quickly outgrowing its space and it was time for a change. After almost a year of searching for a location that would fit the company’s needs, we found the perfect spot.

Appalachia Cookie Company had the opportunity to return to where it all began, after nearly three years of being in business. The company’s new home would be one of the three retail spaces (below the apartment and next to the bar) where the original recipes were created. You can’t walk up to the ovens any more but the cookies are still the same, made from scratch and baked to order.

We’re growing!

It is our goal to continue to grow to other cities and spread our delicious cookies across the country for everyone to enjoy.

It is Appalachia Cookie Company’s goal not only to bake and deliver a high quality product to our customers but also to better the community and environment in which we operate. A healthy community means a healthy business. We hope that you will join us in this goal and not only become our customer but also our friend.