Ideas for your home

The June issue of Country Living has home, vacation, wedding, and outdoor room ideas; a selection of mail-order chicken coops; photos of collectibles; and a variety of peach recipes. The Real Estate Sampler focuses on homes with sleeping porches; and I came across bathroom sinks by Porcher, which I'd never heard of. (I'm looking for a new bathroom sink; I have yet to decide between a pedestal sink or one with a cabinet. I need counter space, but I don't have much room...)

Organizing your garage (link)

This is a useful article on the managemylife (Sears) website.  It satrts out with a test and follows up with only five steps.  #2 is easy--and something I wouldn't have thought of:  Chalk around your car.  #3 is not so easy, but essential: Empty your garage.  There are hints for each step.  Start now here: http://www.managemylife.com/mmh/projects/organize_garage

Paint sheen choices (link)

What's the difference between flat, eggshell, semigloss, satin, and high gloss?  Find out here: http://blog.hgtvremodels.com/2013/04/08/what-paint-sheen-should-i-choose/

Who would you invite to dinner?

When Dustin Smiley was deployed overseas for a year, his wife and their three boys weren't looking forward to seeing his empty place at dinner, and they came up with the idea of inviting someone to join them for dinner every Monday. A fascinating variety of guests--over 200--came for casual meals--nothing fancy--paper towels for napkins, bagged salads, lasagna, etc.
Check out the article by Sarah Smiley in the Sunday, May 12, issue of Parade and find out how they got started 'cause it can be intimidating to invite people whom you don't even know. I enjoyed this article because that's the kind of unprentious meals we have at our house, and it's something any of us can do. And she's written a book, Dinner with the Smileys, which gives more background. I think it'll motivate people to do something similar and reach out to people who would appreciate it more than we can imagine.

Learn more about Detour Trail on Pinterest

I continue to add wolves, horses, and western lore to my Western Style board on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/joyvsmith/western-style/  Check out ‘Stagecoach’ Mary Fields and other photos giving you a glimpse of  life on the frontier. 

And I recently added photos to my Cool Critters and Exploring Gardens boards.

Links and teasers for Detour Trail

Westward bound on the Oregon Trail, Lorrie Emerson is left behind and alone after her uncle is killed. Ignoring the wagon master's advice to go home, she rounds up others needing help; they join a later wagon train and are soon slogging through dust and mud and steep mountain passes, but it's not long before she's again forging her own trail and searching for a new home and supplies as winter reaches out its icy hands.... Settling the frontier isn't easy!

Here's my romantic blurb: http://www.blurbsinbloom.com/2013/03/detour-trail.html

You can find Detour Trail at the publisher: http://www.melange-books.com/authors/joyvsmith/detourtrail.html

And Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Detour-Trail-Joy-V-Smith/dp/1612355706/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1364491553&sr=8-8&keywords=Joy+V.+Smith

It's supposed to be available online elsewhere one of these days...

You can read teasers and background on my writing blog 'cause that's my theme for the A to Z blog challenge this year: http://pagadan.wordpress.com/

And here's my interview with The Western Online: http://www.thewesternonline.com/interviewjoysmith.html

If you'd like to see pictures of horses, mules, and western characters, check out my Western Style board on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/joyvsmith/

Home decorating ideas from Country Living

How about filling your tall vases with vine clippings--with or without flowers. And there are several pages with photos of frugal finds. (I love the imitation croquet mallet plant markers, but how long will they last in the ground?)  There are more great suggestions in the May 2013 issue of Country Living.  There's also a good article on staging your yard sale, and I like the Lemon Ice paint color (subtle) from Benjamin Moore.

Sparkle note: If you drag a treat from the box, and click on it again, Sparkle will jump up and catch it!

Home and landscape suggestions

There are some lovely landscape, courtyard, and porch ideas in the May 2013 issue of Southern Living, along with suggestions for the best southern lilacs. (I haven't yet succeeded with Lavender Lady; I think I'll try one of the others.) And check out the recipe selection; the blackberry frozen yogurt sounds refreshing, and there's a collection of Vidalia onion recipes.

Detour Trail updates

Check out my Detour Trail page at AskDavid: http://askdavid.com/reviews/book/western/5048

And for more teasers and western lore tidbits, check out my writing blog, where I'm participating in the A to Z blog challenge: http://pagadan.wordpress.com/

Mooving Out (flash fiction)

One of my flash fiction stories is up today at Flash Fiction Friday: http://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/2013/04/12/flash-fiction-friday-082-mooving-out-by-joy-v-smith/