Only Precious To Me by Megan

When I returned from the RWA National convention in July, I had strep throat. Bad. Coming home on July 2, a Saturday, meant my doctor wouldn't be in until Tuesday! I had three excruciating days of throat pain to endure. So I watched TV. lol

Yes, I watched Cardinals baseball--no surprise there. YAY to my team for their amazing comeback and World Series win!! (Y'all knew I'd sneak in a mention of the boys, didn't you?) However, I watched a lot of TV, and I tried different shows, one of which was "Storage Wars." For those of you who haven't seen it, when renters fail to pay for three months, their storage lockers are put up for auction. The show centers on four main buyers--two own thrift stores, one is a collector and one (I think) takes stuff to thrift markets. After winning a locker, they go through it and evaluate its worth.

I admit, I thought it was a trashy, low-class version of "Antiques Roadshow," the PBS program where people have their "treasures" evaluated by experts. And it may be, lol, but I've become hooked. I don't care for the bickering, but I love to see what's been stored, what treasures or unique items are found, and of course, how much they're worth. It's kind of like a pirate of old opening a chest to discover if it's clothing or doubloons.

My family didn't have antiques,--or doubloons for that matter. :) But we had some cool traditions that had props. On Thanksgiving, we would use the turkey salt and pepper shakers. Only on Thanksgiving. That's when my mom would also make Whipped Cream Salad, which I later learned was similar to Ambrosia, but since I never ate it, I had no idea. Whipped cream and the unused mandarin oranges and pineapple bits from the sweet potatoes, and sometimes coconut. [shudder] Had she thrown in chocolate, I might have at least tried it, but honestly, none of those things appeal to me, and coconut is a deal-breaker. She served it in what we called the Whipped Cream Salad bowl, a carnival glass dish she received as a bonus for buying gasoline or something back in the 50s.

For several years, I searched for a cute Thanksgiving turkey set to continue the tradition in my home. The only sets I found had two toms and no hen. No hen? I don't think so. Almost twelve years passed when my mom gave me the turkeys for my birthday. I've never had a more special present! No, they're not valuable, except for the memories. A couple of years later, she gave me the Whipped Cream Salad bowl. To me, these are priceless items. (I serve mashed potatoes in the WCS bowl,)

The other item in my picture is a potholder my mother-in-law made, which we only use in the fall. The guys on "Storage Wars" would no doubt throw this stuff out (even the carnival glass bowl isn't valuable), but these things remind me what I'm truly thankful for--my family.

And if I can keep my brother or sister from stealing them when they visit, I'll pass them down to my children. LOL

What beloved item/s do y'all treasure? I'd love to hear about them.

Best,
Megan Kelly

www.megankellybooks.com

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Far-flung friends

I hesitate to use the phrase “It’s a Small World,” because every time I do, that theme from the Disneyland Small World attraction gets stuck in my head and won’t go away. La-la-la-la…oh, just shoot me.

No, wait! I mean, shoot me over to Europe for a visit.

Once upon a time, I spent six months in Italy and another six months traveling on a playwriting fellowship. These days, I stick close to home in Southern California with my husband of 33 years, my garden and my wonderful writing friends from Romance Writers of America’s Orange County Chapter (check out www.OCCRWA.org. If you’re in the area, come to a meeting).

But it is, as they say, a diminutive globe.

I teach writing through Long Ridge Writers Group, and some of my students email their lessons from far-away places. South Africa, for instance. The UK. All over the U.S. and Canada.

The characters in my books, who often seem almost as real to me as the people I know, also come from a variety of places—almost always somewhere I’ve lived or visited. In my October release, The Surgeon’s Surprise Twins, the hero, Dr. Owen Tartikoff, is from Boston. He just moved to Southern California to head the fertility program at my fictional Safe Harbor Medical Center. As for me, I went to college near Boston (Brandeis University).

Then there’s Croatia. Never been there. But I have a friend in Zagreb.

It all came about because of a photograph. If I post it right, you can see the beautiful cover of my Regency romance, Song for a Lady, which I’ve reissued in a digital edition.

I found this photo on a website that allows people to download and use images for free. So far, so good. I credited the Croatian photographer, Darko Skender, in my publicity.

Then I heard from him. He never lets people use his photos commercially and was unhappy to discover his photo on my cover. Of course, I offered to take it down. Then this kind man—a retired police officer—decided to be generous and let me use it anyway. We emailed a bit, and ended up as friends. We even Tweet.

As it happens, my mother also has a friend in Zagreb, Hanibal Salvaro, a distinguished ceramic artist. No, he and my new friend aren’t acquainted, but I have a feeling they’ll meet one of these days.

After all, it’s a minuscule sphere.