grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

a certain slant of sunlight…

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sunlight through the kitchen window

I know right off when the day is destined to be a good one. I can tell by the slant of sunlight through my kitchen window. This simple ray of sunshine, as yellow as the apples it shines upon, sends me working out into the yard all day long. The world could turn upside down and I’d be fine as long as I’m busy in the garden.

That was yesterday and yesterday was my favorite sort of day. A trip to the nursery and lots of digging in the dirt. Today I feel the ache in my back. It’s a good ache—the ache of transplanting hostas and moving around day lilies. Sometimes plants need to be relocated. Sometimes I think I must do it for the feel of it.Continue Reading

my Little Free Library runneth over with books!

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Little Free Library Books!

What timing. A couple of weeks ago, I returned from Austin to find my Little Free Library almost completely empty. Sometimes the “take a book, leave a book” idea leaves my library out of balance, and that’s okay because—think about it—if you go for a walk and happen upon a Little Free Library that contains a book you want to read, you may not have another book with you to leave in its place. Understandable. It’s all good in the end because there are other times my book supply runneth over from donations from friends and neighbors.

Here’s where the good timing came into play… I also returned to find an entire box of books in my mail—a donation to my Little Free Library from my publisher. (So yes, I’m required to tell you I received free books but all opinions are my own.) The books were those published by SYP Publishing over the last few years. The variety is great, from fishing tales to suspense and thriller and every genre in between. Many are award-winning books from the Florida Authors and Publisher’s Association. (SYP is located in Tallahassee so that ‘splains the Florida connection.)

Of course now I have a dilemma because I want to read each book even though I already have a stack of books waiting for me.Continue Reading

Dear Gracie Lee Fan Club Members,

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Dear Gracie Lee Fan Club Members,

I like the way this is going so far.

Gracie Lee's Fan Club

I am so blown away by the way friends and family and people I’ve never met have embraced The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee. I don’t know what I expected, but I certainly didn’t expect such excitement. The fact that anyone takes time out of a beautiful spring day to attend a book signing makes me happy. But the number of people who have been to two and three books signings is astounding!

That’s a fan club, I think.

A wonderful surprise waited for me when I returned home to Fayetteville yesterdayContinue Reading

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