Beach Houses ~ by Kim Hornsby

Beach Houses. I love 'em. I love the thought of 'em. I love the light blues, the wood, the palm trees, the salty breezes, driftwood, sand, hammocks, and inside the walls and under beach house roofs I love those signs that read "Everything is Better at The Beach."

If I had a beach house, I'd write books looking at the ocean, drink gin and tonics, wear stripes, play guitar on the front steps, sing scat, wear coral-colored lipstick, eat papaya salads, twirl in long skirts on the porch.

What would you do?

Here's some photos to inspire you...

I call this one Frond Cottage

I call this one Blue Bungalow

This one is The Hangin' House

I call this Seagull Hideaway

This one is Sandy Shack

This one is Seashell Cottage

Begonia Cottage

This one is called New Beginnings.

Do you have a favorite?

Home Grown ~ Lexa Fisher

The kiwi arbor

Several years ago we bought a house with a neglected yard and I joined the Seattle trend to "eat your yard". Old, long neglected plants were replaced with edibles. Though it took several years to get started, especially in the backyard which gets little sunlight, rosemary now thrives along with red currants, an elderberry shrub, raspberries, kiwi grapes, and gooseberries.

Despite the small size of our lot, in the sunnier front yard I've managed to squeeze in two plum trees, a four-way grafted apple tree, two columnar apple trees, two figs (our favorite), a dwarf peach, seven raspberry bushes, and nine different herbs.

Friends thought I was silly using strawberries for ground cover, but we get at least twenty quarts a year from the small strip where the plants have filled in nicely. Plenty enough to share with co-workers and friends! This year the raspberries that were planted last September have also given us an abundant and delicious crop.

June 2nd--strawberry season begins!

Planter buckets hold tomatoes, potatoes (so much fun to dig!), and rhubarb. Lettuce will be planted between the raspberries in late summer, and hot peppers find space in one of the herb beds. One day maybe I'll have grapes for wine-making from this little vine along the side fence.




Pollinators are important for fruit plants, so we do our part to keep them healthy. Did you know that bees get thirsty? In order to drink, they need to keep their feet dry while they sip water. Here's a bee waterer that my husband designed and made for our yard with his 3-D printer.

This thirsty bee gets a drink of nectar from a sage flower. When the herbs are in flower we have a lively yard!






I considered a hive with honey bees because 
we love honey, but a lot of new beekeepers lose their bees over the winter and my neighbor is allergic to bee stings. After donning a bee-keeper's suit and tending an active hive with an established beekeeper, I was convinced honey bees weren't for me! Instead, we have blue and green orchard bees and bee houses for their nesting. They don't produce honey, but they are prolific pollinators.



Birds are such fun to watch and provide great entertainment for our indoor-only cat who watches from her window perch. My favorite bird, the black-capped chickadee, has been nesting in this little house outside my home office. In the evening I can occasionally hear the babies chirping.





It takes a few hours of yard work on several weekends, but we now enjoy a lot of home grown goodness.

Meet Our Members ~ Dennis Green

Dennis Green

A popular radio personality in his native Iowa, Dennis's adventures as a DJ have been covered by newspapers from Anchorage to Los Angeles. He has also worked on the stage, TV, and independent film.

By day, he is the general manager of Iowa's only jazz radio station, KCCK-FM. And if it's 5:30 am, you can probably find him in the pool, working out with the Milky Way Masters swim club.

To read Dennis' blog posts and find out more about his books, please visit his MEMBER PAGE

Finding my Way Through Fear ~ Kathy Coatney

photo: Pexels.com free photos

I recently listened to a podcast on IQ testing, and I’ve never believed in them because I think we are capable of so much more than the results of a simple test. I’ve also come to believe the biggest stumbling block to learning something new is fear. There are three main instances I can point to where fear has held me back.

The first fear I tackled came in my early thirties when I decided to become a writer. I hadn't considered a career as an author before that point, but after taking a class on freelance writing I was hooked. From there I started writing romance novels and freelance articles. I soon discovered that was the easy part—submitting my work, however, left me in a cold sweat.

But I found this fear to be more insidious than just preventing me from sending it out to editors. It also stopped me from starting a project. To this day, every time I start a new book I’m terrified I can’t do it, that the last one was a fluke, that it’s not good enough, and will never be good enough. This fear still strikes me even after publishing five romances, seven children’s books, and over a thousand articles in the last twenty-five years.

Speaking with other authors, I’ve discovered this is a universal fear, so when I find myself not writing and looking for any excuse not to write (cleaning toilets is my go to avoidance) I discuss it with a fellow author, and just acknowledging the fear, gets me on the road to production.

My second fear was exercising. I’ve always viewed myself as

awkward and klutzy, but I didn’t like that image, so I signed up for an aerobics class. From there, I began mountain biking, cross country skiing, hiking, and three years ago I started running.

I’ve always been a slow, flat-footed runner, but I decided to give it

photo: Pexels.com RUN4FFWPU

a try. Nine months later, I did a five run, plus a half mile sprint. That year I also did the Pat Tillman 4.2 mile run. I completed both runs without stopping, much to my satisfaction.

Was I fast? Absolutely not. I’d like to improve my speed, but it would take more time and effort than I want to invest. Not because I’m afraid, but because there are other things I want to do like Zumba. This was very intimidating for me as I have a hard time coordinating my arms and legs. I still struggle with it, but I’m not giving up.

The third, and the most terrifying fear I ever faced was singing. All my life I’ve wanted to learn to sing, but I was terrified of singing in front of anyone. Twenty years ago I heard an interview with a music teacher who said anyone could learn to sing and that stuck with me. On a whim, I did an online search and came across a local music school, and I inquired about lessons.

A few days later the secretary of the school called me, and after I explained what I wanted, she made it her mission in life to find the perfect teacher for me. Days later, I was set to start my first lesson.

I remember that day like it was yesterday. The room had a piano, chair, chalkboard and dozens of chairs stacked against the wall. What I remember most is the door that faced the main desk had a

photo: Pexels.com Wendy Wei

small window in it where I could see students, parents, and teachers walking past, and they could all hear me as I struggled to screech out the scale on the piano. By the end of that 30 minute class, I was drenched in sweat and certain I would never put myself through anything so awful again.

Fortunately, I have a wonderful, caring instructor who has patiently worked with and encouraged me for the last two years. I’ve seen progress that at times was so painfully slow I wanted to scream, and other times, came in huge leaps and bounds that encouraged and pushed me forward. I am still very self-conscious about singing in front of others, but with each improvement my confidence builds, and fear has less control over me.

Will I ever be a professional singer? Not likely, again because it would take a tremendous commitment that I’m not willing to make.

One of my greatest challenges is that I’m a perfectionist, and I don’t want to do anything unless I can do it perfectly. That has held me back more frequently than my fear, but I’m slowly overcoming that, too. 

What’s next? I’m not sure, but I’m a firm believer in this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. “Do the thing we fear, and death of fear is certain.”

Facing my fears has made them less terrifying, and each one I’ve tackled has enriched my life beyond measure. What’s holding you back from your dreams?

Before I sign off, just a little bit about my books. I write deeply

emotional, small town, romances. I have a three book series, Falling For You…Again, Falling in Love With You, Falling in Love for the First Time. She’s Out of His League is currently a stand alone, but there are two more books in the series that will be released shortly. Leave Me Breathless is a romantic mystery, and I will have more to follow in that series, too. The Crooked Halo Chronicles is a short story series I will be developing into full length novels. These books have love, romance, and guardian angels. You can get Angels R Us for free just by subscribing to my newsletter.

Thank you for inviting me to blog on Originality by Design. It was lovely spending time here. I look forward to meeting up with you on social media.  

Kathy Coatney has spent long hours behind the lens of a camera,

Kathy Coatney

wading through cow manure, rice paddies and orchards over her twenty-year career as a photojournalist specializing in agriculture. 

     She loves, and writes, deeply emotional, small-town contemporary romance. Ironically, her books carry an agriculture thread in them, some more than others. She also has a series of nonfiction children’s books, From the Farm to the Table and Dad’s Girls.

NOTE: Kathy wrote under the pen name of Kate Curran, but all books are now published with Kathy Coatney.

You can connect with Kathy by clicking on the links below...

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

WEBSITE

Comfort Items ~ by Jacquolyn McMurray

Photo by Eva Darron on Unsplash

Because I live across the ocean from most of my family and many of my friends, plane tickets are a big part of our family budget. 





In the past twelve months, I've boarded flights from Kailua-Kona to the continental U.S. five times. Most of my flights are to Seattle, Washington. Inflight time is about five and a half hours and the return flight is longer due to headwinds--not extremely long, but long enough to warrant some thoughtful selections for my carry-on. One of my friends refers to these as comfort items. 


At the top of my list is my Kindle.  It's always loaded with several unread books, a few games, and a couple of downloaded movies. As long as I have my charger, I'm good to go. One of my favorite things is the number of writing craft books I have at my fingertips at all times.













I've tried a variety of pillows and have settled on these two: a self inflating lumbar pillow and a neck pillow that typically ends up cushioning my elbow.








I always take a hoodie with a zipper. I like that I can pull up the hood if cold air is creeping down my neck.  

A variety of products to keep hands clean and eyes and lips moist are nestled in a ziplock.  



 



And I always have some gluten-free snacks. 

What do you consider comfort items when you travel?