A Thank-You Gift for You

This is a time for giving thanks to each of you who, knowingly or unknowingly, have enabled, motivated, or inspired us to do good work and to enjoy the ride. As the critters in Froggy’s world of plenty have expressed, we have so much for which to be grateful. We hope you enjoy Living Well in Froggy’s World of Plenty: Sweet Talk to Read Aloud, a thank-you gift especially for you.

As one reviewer wrote about the book, “It’ll brighten your day, even if you didn’t think you needed it.”

One and all are welcome to enjoy this freebie on November 23, 24, and 25.

Just click here to download.

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Renewal

The time, the moment, and the space are ripe for relaxation, rest, and renewal.

The winter solstice approaches. With the shortening of sunlit days and the lengthening of starry, darkened nights, Froggy and friends sleep in a bit longer and eat a morsel less. Foraging for food becomes more work with ice and snow atop the hardened ground.

Woodsy comments to Belle Birdie, “I chipped a nice winter home in Mr. Tree’s trunk. There’s room for you to take shelter. I have another safe, comfortable abode just around the bend on Trunk Turnpike.”

“Thank you, Woodsy. I’ll take extra good care of this hallowed, hollow refuge from the winter’s cold. On snowy days, let’s unfold and flap our wings and visit Froggy on the pond. We will invite all the flocks wintering up North to join us.”

“The bird-bathing pond will be available to you any time,” said Froggy. “Visit whenever you like and have a cool, refreshing drink on the rocks.”

“I’ll visit, too,” adds Squirrely. “On a chilled day, I’ll be sure to bring along my squirrely kids and my antsy kith and kin to skate on the glistening, gleaming, glowing, icy surface.”

The critters know that in any season, in any weather, during hours of light and dark, the time, the moment, and the space are ripe for relaxation, rest, and renewal.

From Living Well in Froggy’s World of Plenty: Sweet Talk to Read Aloud, a collection of flash stories I wrote with the intention to charm and enchant readers and listeners alike.

New edition: take a look inside…

Many years ago, as a young employee, I thought that at the end of each day, I should have a clean desk. To me, that meant my work was done, I could go home, and the next day I would start anew. What I eventually learned is that work at any job is rarely, if ever, done. The best one can do is stop work at a place in which continuing is possible—the next day, the next month, the next year.

I have come to feel the same way about authoring and publishing my books. There is always more work to do. Over the past few months, I have revisited my three published books, tweaked them, and refreshed the content and covers. The second edition of Living Well in Froggy’s World of Plenty: Sweet Talk to Read Aloud is now live! It’s up and ready for you to read.

Reviewers of the first edition commented on the messages that this book about Froggy and his critter friends conveys.

Each chapter, a self-contained story, teaches positive virtues: caring, respect, and honesty, through the characters’ observations, musings, and actions.

It easily lends itself to talking about diversity, kindness, acceptance, sharing and protecting nature, and valuing and honoring friendships.

The collection of stories focuses on the central themes of working together, focusing on the positive, and living in the present.

They commented, too, on the mood the book brings forth.

You’ll walk away feeling uplifted, with a spring in your walk and a smile on your face.

It’ll brighten your day, even if you didn’t think you needed it.

Take a Look Inside Amazon for this new edition of Living Well in Froggy’s World of Plenty: Sweet Talk to Read Aloud. I hope you like what you see—slices of life intended to entertain and inspire families, both the adults and youth.

Now, on to my next job—finalizing second editions of Career Success in 12 Easy Steps: A Journal and A Bisl of This, A Bisl of That: Eating Our Way. This author’s work is never done.

Audiences might like to know…

I am a published author! In 2011, I published my first book, Career Success in 12 Easy Steps: a Journal. In 2014, I published my second book, A Bisl of This, A Bisl of That: Eating Our Way. In 2017, I published my latest book, Living Well in Froggy’s World of Plenty: Sweet Talk to Read. At this rate, book four should be ready in 2020. Yikes! It’s almost time to consider a topic.

In the meantime, I’m going to write a talk that I can deliver to audiences, sharing my experiences authoring, publishing, and promoting my books. What will I say?

That depends on what audiences want to know. For now, I’ll put my imagination to work and think about one member of my audience—you.

Living Well in Froggy’s World of Plenty

You might like to know that before I started writing about Froggy and his critter friends, I could feel a book percolating. Then on Leap Year day, February 29, 2016, the bubbles surfaced. Froggy has a wart that one day is gone, gone, gone. He wasn’t sure how this happened. Froggy, Flutter By, Orchid, Sweetie B, Bobalong Bird, and their other critter friends would help me to explore and discover healing and wellness.

You might like to know that while writing about Froggy, I was ensconced in a happy place. I sat at the beautiful cherry writer’s desk that my woodworker brother built especially for me. Using a new laptop computer, I wrote in brief stints of maybe an hour or so before starting my workday. From the window at my left, I looked at the changing seasons and let the stories—30 or so slices of life—write themselves.

You might like to know that while writing about Froggy, it occurred to me that, if Mom were still alive, she would be 100 on May 28, 2017. That gave me a goal. Books would be in hand to distribute to family and friends who would gather on that day. I am happy to say, “Mission accomplished.”

A Bisl of This, A Bisl of That

You might like to know about the origins for this book—a combination cookbook, inspiration, and memoir. I called my cousin to wish her well on upcoming surgery. The worrying tone changed when I asked for one of Grandma’s famous recipes. “Let’s start a cookbook,” she suggested. “You send an email to all the cousins, with a copy to me, requesting favorite recipes,” I responded. And so it began.

You might like to know that a few recipes trickled in. Then a few more arrived. I forwarded all arriving emails so that the cousins and others could see how this project was taking shape. More recipes arrived as well as requests to include Larry’s Potato Latkes (pancakes), Aunt Jeanette’s Stuffed Cabbage, Mom’s Chocolate Sponge Cake, Grandma’s special Mile-High Lemon Meringue Pie. Stories accompanied the recipes and the requests—heartwarming remembrances of cooks and kitchens that continue to nourish and sustain.

Hobbies in Froggy’s World of Plenty

A word cloud of sweet talk you’ll read in Froggy’s World of Plenty

On February 29, 2016, Leap Year Day, I started a story here about Froggy. I added a another blog entry about Froggy and his critter friends, and then I added another, and then I added yet another. Along the way, while writing and imagining the critters’ perfect world of plenty, I set a goal. On May 28, 2017, Froggy’s story would be a book that I could distribute at a gathering to honor my dear mother on what would have been her 100th birthday. That wonderful day has now come and gone. Family and friends have their books in hand.

Here is a slice of life just for you from Living Well in Froggy’s World of Plenty: Sweet Talk to Read Aloud.

A hobby makes one limber, lively, and lovely

The critters all had hobbies, activities that brought them pleasure and joy.

Some of the hobbies were physical. Anty Annie, believe it or not, was into body building. She would position each limb, assume a perfect posture, and pose.

Bumbler B and Sweetie B often listened to the birdsongs around them, and they would whirl and twirl and dance, dance, dance.

Flutter By was crafty, indeed. She loved fabrics, textures, and colors, and could she ever sew and knit caps, capes, and other wearable art.

Fuzzy Chick Chick loved teaching Baby Chick Chick how to decorate egg shells with squares and diamonds, dots and lines, and curls and swirls.

Mama Orchid and daughter Minnie O loved to collect and categorize. They had samples of every type of orchid around. They could identify even the minutest details of their pedigree.

Mr. Tree was deeply into genealogy. He meticulously observed the roots and scrupulously studied the origins of his many critter friends.

Froggy’s Awe-Filled Day

Image is courtesy of Open Clipart

You may recall that Froggy imagines the day when his wart will be gone, gone, gone! On this particular day, Froggy has not a care in the world. Along with his many friends, Froggy is simply awestruck.

The critters gathered to witness a new birth. The shell wiggled, then crackled, and then broke as Fuzzy, the chick-chick, came into view. It was a miracle.

With a crack-crack here and a cluck-cluck there, Fuzzy’s family and friends rejoiced. The yard filled with papa chick, mama chick, and many other chick-chicks. All were in awe of this new creation.

Froggy, Orchid, Rosie, Squirrely, Belle Birdie, Woody, and Wiggly, too, all simply stopped. On the ground, in the trees, in the air, and near the pond, the many critter friends watched the birth and the antics of the other chickens, along with their feathered kin. Froggy and his critter friends heard the cluck-clucks, the quack-quacks, and even the moo-moos, bah-bahs, and nay-nays of neighboring creatures.

In time, Froggy and friends gathered ‘round. In awe of the new birth and the joy of those who welcomed baby Fuzzy to the yard, they were quieter than usual. Froggy and friends felt close to the cluckers and the surrounding quackers, mooers, bahers, and nayers, and to each other. Squirrely remained still just long enough to give Froggy a knowing wink that conveyed the awe that both experienced that moment.

Woody paused from his usual chipping on a favorite tree trunk and looked down to witness the earth’s critters below. Woody then looked back up, did a little two-step, and turned to see Belle Birdie dancing a pirouette. Woody nodded to Belle. Belle nodded back. Like Froggy and Squirrely, they experienced the wonder of this awe-filled day.

© 2016 Judith Ellison Shenouda

Now, tell Froggy and friends (and me, too) about your awe-filled day.

Progress—More on Froggy’s Story

Remember I wrote about Froggy who wonders what made that annoying wart wander away? Well, every now and then, I think about Froggy and his human friends who experience wellness, somewhat mystified as to how the healing really occurred.
I committed to writing Froggy’s story and I’ve made some progress. I’ve dipped into my own well, my reservoir, my creative source for exploring wellness. I needed a place to hold what pokes through the gray matter and created a template for my new book. I simply took the file for my earlier book, stripped away the content, and had place savers for a book title, subtitle, front matter, chapters, and end matter. I had styles for headings, paragraphs, lists, and quotes. With a container all set to go, I pasted my start to Froggy’s story into a chapter. With the momentum building, I was on a roll.
About This Book started to take shape.

Wellness is all encompassing. It touches all aspects of one’s being. Wellness permeates—and transcends—the person. When one is well, there’s a sense of wholeness, a sense that all is right with the world.
Annoyances, irritations, aches, and pain subside, fade away, dissipate, and disappear. One becomes open to the light. One is free to attend to the good, the sacred, even the holy.
Experts in various disciplines know something about wellness. The doctor… The nutritionist… The athlete… The naturalist… The musician… The entertainer… All have their take on the subject.
Yet, the composite from the many disciplines is not the whole story. A mystical ingredient exists. In the process of writing this book, I am hopeful that the known ingredients of wellness and the mystical might just meet.

The Dedication helped me to establish a timeline.
With my late mother’s 100th birthday one year from now, I have a goal—to honor the occasion with a book in hand, one that serves as an expression of a daughter’s love and admiration.
Progress is sweet.
What I have, thus far, accomplished are little steps toward turning an idea into a book. Yet, little steps are steps nevertheless. Progress is sweet. I feel good.

Froggy takes a leap of faith

One happy Froggy (courtesy of https://openclipart.org/user-detail/krzysiu)

Most years have 365 days, but 2016, with 366 days, is a leap year. And today, February 29, is the day that was added. Look before you leap, leaps and bounds, a quantum leap, leaping lizards, and leap frogs have come to mind throughout the day. Leap of faith has lingered longer than the other leaps.

A little story about Froggy has started to poke into consciousness.

One day, Froggy finds a wart, an imperfection, an irritant. Through a leap of faith, Froggy imagines a day when this wart will be gone, gone, gone! That day arrives, and Froggy ponders, “What happened?”

Today, I am taking a leap of faith that, in time, Froggy’s story will be written and published—right here!