MY BIG SECRET! I Can't Believe It Myself! I'm An Author!!!!

Well, I am sorry to have kept you all 

IN THE DARK

for so long.

Just so you know- when I was
SICK THIS WINTER

I was NOT sitting around eating bon-bons

and watching old Columbo movies-

Well, I might have watched a few of those.

However, 

Before I could share this on my blog

I had to get all my ducks in a row~

before I made this announcement.

And WHAT IS IT?

Well,

I HAVE WRITTEN A BOOK!

A bonafide, honest-to-goodness 

PUBLISHED BOOK!

Ready?

TA-DAH!!!!

I did not even tell MyHero or my family

that I was doing this until I had a

PROOF COPY 

in hand.

They about fell over.

MyHero didn't fall over and die-

good thing because he has no life insurance.

Want to know what it's about?

Lucy was born and raised in Ridgebury, in the mountains of Pennsylvania; an area steeped in superstition. When Lucy was 6 she discovered she had the gift of “sight”-the ability to see the future of others but not her own. Her “sight” is somehow connected to the Deep Woods on the back of her farm and makes her an oddity to other children. When her father mysteriously disappears when Lucy is 9, she enters the Deep Woods looking for answers to questions she is too young to ask. As a young girl, she marries into a religious order and eventually moves to the Valley towns of Athens, Sayre and Waverly . As a young wife, she is terribly unhappy and her life takes many twists and turns- including one of forbidden love, betrayal and abandonment. Her quest for love takes her to Florida and the Midwest, but ultimately takes her home to the mountains to seek answers to age-old questions. It is a story that will touch your heart.

Yes-that is ME on the cover.

That is LUCY in the book.

There are a couple of you that knew

beforehand because I needed a bit of help 

along the way.

One friend has read it so she could 

promote it for me on her blog.

She had a less-than-perfect copy

because I only had a couple of proofs

and she got one.

My friend, Jettie Parrish, reviews books

for authors and she helped me navigate

the waters of publishing.

For that I am 

SO GRATEFUL.

Is it a GOOD book?

I dunno!

I THINK it is.

It is an "easy read"-much like

I write my blog.

I would call it a beach read-BUT-

there is no sex, violence, or bad language.

I don't want my grandkids to be embarrassed 

by it someday.

Although there is no sex 

there is fulfilling romance.

You can order it from Amazon for immediate delivery.

It is $14.95 plus shipping.

Click HERE for that link.

-OR-

You can order it from 

MY NEWLY SET UP 

ETSY SHOP-Diana Kosmoski Author

for the same price but I will pay shipping

AND I will autograph it for you-

It may take from one to two weeks

for it to arrive.

I can only ship to the 48 states 

through Etsy.

If you want an autographed 
hard copy/soft cover

from me and live outside the 

48 states let me know and 

I will see if we can accomplish that

via the local post office.

It should also be available

on Kindle very shortly.

I think the cost there 

will be $4 and some change.

edited to add:
Just got the notification from Kindle
Click HERE to purchase as an ebook.
It is $4.29

Whether or not I sell a single copy, 

I wanted to do this for my grandchildren.

Someday they can say their 

grandmother had a book published.

It is an oversized paperback and is

420 pages long with book club questions

at the end.

So---there you have it---

Now you know!

No more secrets here.....

Or are there?

That is one reason for the new picture in my profile.

My son insisted....the brat....

I looked younger in the "old" picture.

And so-

There you have it!!!

Can you believe it?

I still can't!

I AM A THIEF! There- I've Said It And Have A Recipe To Prove It!

I felt guilty 

ALL THE WAY HOME!

Kind-of...

okay...just a little bit guilty.

There is a house that no one lives in

on a permanent basis-

close to my son's house.

They check it once or twice a season.

They have a 

HUGE RHUBARB PATCH.

Every year it goes to waste!

Well,  when I pulled into my son's drive

and I blame him for LIVING

 there next to that patch

so it is really all his fault

my eyes were immediately 

drawn to that poor neglected patch.

That LITTLE DEVIL on my shoulder

whispered in my ear.

He said- DO IT!

GO TAKE SOME RHUBARB.

HE did not say STEAL

HE said TAKE.

So- ahem- I did!

Look at the result of my theft good fortune.

The DEVIL made me cut this rhubarb up

and slather it with sugar and a crunchy top.

Oven ready!

Now- The OTHER PERSON I blame is 

GERT@Gert, Tom  & Rusty, too,

because SHE posted the original recipe here

I doubled it for the monster eaters at this house:

You can find her original recipe by clicking above.

Here it is as I doubled it.

This makes a 9x13 pan FULL-(greased pan)

Rhubarb Crisp

8-10 Cups rhubarb, cut into ¾” pieces

1-1/2 Cups sugar

2/3 Cup flour

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

TOPPING:

2 Cups flour

1-1/4 Cups brown sugar

1 Cup Oatmeal- I used the one minute kind

1 Cup melted butter 

Directions: 

1.       Combine rhubarb, sugar, flour and cinnamon and put in an 9x13 greased pan.

2.       Combine flour, brown sugar, oatmeal, melted butter  and sprinkle crumbly mixture

  over rhubarb.

3.       Bake a 350 for one hour or until golden brown and bubbly.

We like it served with a scoop of ice cream

 but it is 

GREAT with whipped cream, too.

image

Yes-Now that I am thinking about it...

That GERT is really the one 

that made me a THIEF!

If you get a chance-pop over there and tell her that!

She does look DEVILISH in that red, doesn't she?

However-

Underneath that devilish look is the 

sweetest lady ever!

ps.  MyHero ate 5 helpings.
I may need a forklift to get him out the door
later this morning.....

NEW WORD WEDNESDAY

Well- this MIGHT sound like a 

COMMON WORD 

to you.

But-it can cause some consternation...

especially if you live in the south and 

hear a sentence that sounds like this:

SweetCheeks was fond of saying:

Let's go ride on 

THE ALLEYGATOR!

WHAT?

You want to ride on the ALLEYGATOR?

Where IS the ALLEYGATOR?

You know where it is, Nana!

It's at the STORE!

What? What Store?

I dunno.

You can ride it at the 

HOSPITAL, too!

Know where this is headed?

Well-here you are----

HERE IS THE 

ALLEYGATOR!

image

Yes-Yes-

That is a whole lot better than trying to ride one of

THESE SUCKERS!

image

So- Just this once I am going to 

KEEP MY BIG MOUTH SHUT

and keep my comment to myself....

but feel free to add YOURS!

So-next time you are by an

ALLEYGATOR

I dare you to say to someone:

I'll hold the
ALLEYGATOR for you while you get on!

Imagine the looks you will get!

More Reminiscing- HAIR-DO'S FROM THE 60s

Well, I did the 

No-Boys-Allowed  products of the 60's here

 ~one about Hair PRODUCTS from the 60's here

~ one about SCENTS of the SIXTIES here

~ one about the CLOTHING of the 60's here

So--Now that we have put on our 

SECRET deodorant,

Used enough DIPPTY-DOO 

so our hair won't move in a hurricane,

sprayed ourselves with Love's Fresh Lemon scent,

and got our groove on with a Gunne Sax dress-

Let's FIX OUR HAIR, 

shall we?

So---

What was popular in the 60's for hairstyles?

We had the TWIGGY cut

which was pretty easy care.

image

AND we had the BEEHIVE

which took a pound of lacquer hair spray 

to hold it in place.

image

How about THE BOB?

image

Or did you have the  

SPLIT BANG HI-TOP?

You needed one can of Aqua Net 

per day for this baby!

image

We had the long loose look

image

And-oh-yes- 

Let us NOT FORGET

THE BOWS!

There was the BIG BOW style---

image

And the 

LITTLE BOW STYLE

image

And let's not forget 

THE FLIP!

image

Speaking of FLIP~

Did YOU flip over a BOY that 

had a cut like

THIS ONE?

image

-OR-

Were you more likely to go for a guy that

wore his hair like this?

The "bad boy"?

image

As for me?

Well, I usually got stuck with someone that

looked like THIS-

image

How about YOU?

Do you recognize yourself in any of the  

1960's hairstyles above?

Or remember seeing pictures of 

YOUR MOM like that?

Or scarier still- Your GRANDMOTHER

that looked like any of them?

Spill the beans!

Meanwhile,
I'll be pushing the old beans around 
over at the VA this morning...
see you later!

SweetCheeks First Communion-Family Photos Today

Our little SWEET CHEEKS made her

FIRST COMMUNION

yesterday.

Look at the gloves!
They are heavily beaded  white gloves that 

belonged to her

GREAT GREAT GRANDMOTHER HAZEL.
She was a tiny little woman and the gloves

 are in perfect shape.

Our girl looked so sweet..

Here is the oldest, Lulu, 

with the littlest, Bright Eyes,

on their way into the service.

Little cousin CJK thought the whole thing was

A SCREAM!

A bit later---

He was trying to pry the gum out of Mom's mouth.

LOOK CLOSE!

We have a 

PHOTO BOMBER 
in the background!

I have never seen a baby that loves a camera

like Bright Eyes does.

Mama's Boy got the gold ring so he got to hold

Baby Bright Eyes.

Not a peep out of her during a one hour church service.

We are all SO SAD that NO ONE in the family

LIKES HER!

MyHero says these things just

WEAR HIM OUT!

Pardon my absence.

I am going to get a mirror to hold under his nose

to make sure he is still breathing.

Be back later!

ps.  I am not trying to be secretive.
I do have something special to share and thought
it would be okay to share it by today.
I have to wait a couple of days yet
so please bear with me.
I don't like doing this and I should have waited
to say anything before I had a GO.
Y'all can slap me when you see me!

Sunday Sass-Honey- I'm Home!

Here is where I was this 
past week!

Gotta love Waterlogue.
It can make a watercolor out of
any photo!
This is taken from the park across
the street from my daughter's house.

However, 
TODAY I AM HOME!

Oh- yeah- Home Sweet Home!

I had Mindy's two boys 

at the house in Milwaukee for the week.

They were good kids-busy-busy-

as kids that age are.

The topper is that the house has to be kept

REALTOR READY

in case there is a showing.

There were TWO SHOWINGS while I was there.

I like to put on the 

Dog & Pony Show

complete with cake on the table,

the dining room table set for show,

and fresh flowers throughout.

My best friend, SANDY, drove over from

MINNESOTA

and stayed for three days.

We ate ourselves sick and I got her 

hooked on 

CALL THE MIDWIFE.

She is fully addicted and now I have to send her

Season Two & Season Three

because she can't get PBS

out in the wilds of Minnesota!

We had a LOT of good LAUGHS!

Today I am off to our little 

SWEET CHEEKS

FIRST COMMUNION!
How in the world did she get this old?

I will have pictures of this special day tomorrow

and some other news for you, too!

So...y'all come back now, ya hear?

But----while you are waiting--

Let me show you a picture of the 

SMARTEST ONE YEAR OLD IN THE WORLD.

She is TEXTING!

Bet you can't beat THAT! 

Popping In With Some SAD NEWS About Beth Marie

I am still away from blogging

but have had several people ask me

about  Beth Marie.

This just came to me this morning:

Beth DeShasier

Obituary Guest Book Be the first to share your memories or express your condolences in the Guest Book for Beth DeShasier. View Sign PEKIN - Bertha Marie "Beth" DeShasier, 79, of Pekin passed away at8:24 a.m. Monday, May 4, 2015, at the OSF Richard L. Owens Hospice Home in Peoria. Born Sept. 25, 1935, in Bloomfield, Mo., to James and Madge (Harty) Maloney, she married Jim DeShasier on Dec. 2, 1955, in Macomb. He died Dec. 1, 2006, in Chicago.  She also was preceded in death by her parents; two brothers, James Ruben Maloney and James Robert Maloney; and three sisters, Cora Matteson, Christine Wholey and Mary Evelyn Rakestraw. Surviving are one daughter, Marcia (Mike) Gazza of Pekin; one son, Jim (Brett Schlenz) DeShasier of Chicago; one sister, Rae (Hugh) Dean of Kenova, W.Va.; and one brother, Bill (Karen) Maloney of O'Fallon. Beth retired and finished her career at the Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, where she worked on completing Officer Performance Reports. She also had previously worked for telephone companies in both Macomb and Paxton. Beth enjoyed blogging and, in earlier years, belonged to the American Legion Auxiliary in Paxton. She also was a room mother for her children in their elementary school days. She was of the Methodist faith. Her memorial service will be at 5 p.m. today, May 6, 2015, at Preston-Hanley Funeral Homes & Crematory in Pekin. The Rev. Gary L. Ford will officiate. Visitation will be one hour before the service. Private burial will be in Glen Cemetery in Paxton. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society , 4234 N. Knoxville Ave., Peoria, IL 61614; or the OSF Richard L. Owens Hospice Home, 8630 Illinois Route 91, Peoria, IL 61615. To express condolences online, visit www.preston-hanley.com.

I am so sorry for her friends and family.

She was a wonderful lady and I will miss her.

Sending love up to you, Beth Marie. 

YOU AREN'T GONNA LIKE THIS- NEW WORD WEDNESDAY!

I hate to do this!

I really do!

You are NOT gonna like this

NEW WORD.

It is a word from ME.

Ready?

The new word is-

GODDATAKEAREALBREAK

That is:

Gotta take a real break!

I have several irons in the fire right now.

A couple I can share today-

I have SweetCheeks, Ria & Lulu

here for a few days.

Daddy is out of town and Mama is working hard

so I am picking up a few pieces for them.

Wonder if I can make that watermark any bigger?

(that is a joke)

THEN-

NEXT WEEK-

I am going to Milwaukee to babysit

my other three grandchildren so that

their Mom and Dad

can go find a house in their new hometown.

I need to get a bunch of stuff done 

besides all that.

So---an early---

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO YOU !

I will see you in a couple of weeks-

PINKY PROMISE!

AND- I just might have a nice surprise for you then!

I have my fingers crossed that I 

have something special to share with you

when I come back....

and No- I am NOT pregnant!

Have a wonderful couple of weeks!

GETTING ON MY SOAP BOX

You know- I could have 

SWORN I posted this before

but it is still showing in 

DRAFT status so here it is

just in time for

MOTHER'S DAY!

It's a LONG POST 

and I am

GETTING ON MY SOAP BOX

Seriously,

Did you think I was 

going to stir up trouble

and controversy?

Not me!

I don't like that~

 although

I will stand up for what 

I think is right.

Not always a 

GOOD THING,

as our friend, Martha Stewart,

would say.

Nope this  

SOAP BOX

is about

making laundry detergent.

I wanted to give my girls 

a little something fun and

different for Mother's Day.

What to give them?

Hmmmm...

Something sweetly scented?

Something wholesome and clean?

Something to make their lives easier?

Something to save them money?

Yep, Yep, Yep And Yep.

Here is the sweet little package.

Here's what is inside.

There is a long handled 

1 Tablespoon measuring spoon

tucked inside.

Don't you love it?

It smells amazing.

It cleans better than anything

I have ever used.

Here is what you need to make it.

I'll post the recipe at the end.

Here is what you need to stir it with.

Do child labor laws prevent this

in your state?

Not to worry.

As long as you give regular breaks

you will NOT be arrested.

She chooses to ride bike rather

than smoke during her break.

Works for me.

I can't afford those cigars

she likes- bwhahaha.

(We moved from bucket to

Rubbermaid container for

stirring purposes).

It takes a lot of stirring,

and grating the bar soap

is the worst part of it all

to make this wonderful

concoction.

Here are the 3 bags all

set to go to my 3 girls

on Mother's Day.

I also put another little something

in each one that was geared just

to the recipient.

Here's the recipe in case you

are interested.

You can also use

FelsNaptha (which most people use)

 Ivory, Castile or PINK Zote bar soap.

I used the Pink Zote because 

I love the smell

and looks of it.

(The pink Zote soap is in an odd place

in most grocery stores-it is not with

the soaps or with the laundry detergents-

it is usually in the Mexican food section)

Home made Laundry Soap

and Softener

2 bars Fels Naptha (or Zote) Bar Soap

4 lbs. Borax

4 lbs. Arm & Hammer Washing Soda

4 lbs. Arm & Hammer Baking Soda

1 container OxiClean

1 container Purex softening CRYSTALS.

Grate bars of soap and mix into

all other ingredients.

Mix and store in airtight container.

1 to 2 tablespoons per load.

This is perfect for ANY type of

washer-including front loaders,

top loaders and HE (high efficiency ones).

This makes a LOT of soap

.

I gave away 4 large containers

of it and 1 small container.

 I have enough left for

several months worth of

laundry.  I think it averages

out to about 6 or 7 cents per load.

REMEMBER it makes NO SUDS but 

does a super job of cleaning!

Hope your day is full

of sunshine and freshness

I'll be hanging sheets on the line

this morning...

freshly washed with this soap.

And if anybody gets smart with me

I can wash their mouth out

with soap and not leave any

evidence....just sayin'....



ps- Off to the VA, dentist and coffee with a friend-you'll see me when you see me unless I decide to run away with Ronald McDonald in which case you will see me on billboards everywhere anyway.........