WHEW! That was fun!

Les and Jenny came home for Christmas. We all had a good time. I know that sounds trite, but we did. We did our annual Critique Of Neighborhood Christmas decorations (lots of brownie points for the guy who tastefully strung green lights in his palm fronds and white lights on the trunks, then had a large Nativity inside over his front door lit from within and framed by the arched clerestory window). We baked cookies and pies and did dishes and watched movies. Les and I chatted till 3 am the first night. Jenny and I baked cookies the next day. Richard and the girls discussed politics, religion, death and taxes. And Harry Potter, books and dogs.

Chant adored Jenny. Leslie told him he was ugly and he stank! He went outside and decided to dig to China to see little Chinese dogs, I suppose. Echo gleefully joined him and they both got filthy. Flint stood by and only dipped his toes in the mud. Did I mention the mud?

Seems the pool guy left the pump on discharge after he left. The pool simply kept discharging water and the back yard was flooded. Chant had an easy time in his digging. Richard (who was the only one home) claims that Chant didn't have a white hair anywhere on his body. Since the dog is predominantly white, I figure he'd been digging for a while before Richard caught him.

He cleaned up nice, though. And the whole dog pack followed Jenny around for a few hours because she kept plopping down and letting them crawl all over her.

Les brought stuff back from her European trip - jewelry, scarves, and bits fo foreign money for the little boy who's father works with me. Daniel collects coins and he loves foreign money, so Les picked up a few coins for him.

Christmas morning was leisurely. I baked and talked and sampled stuff and listened to news. We opened presents at midnight Christmas Eve so we could enjoy the day. That's one of the few times I've done that, maybe we'll do it again.

Monday we all laid around, snacked, watched more movies and chatted with friends and family online and on the phone.

A good time was had by all.

HOME FOR CHRISTMAS new review!

HOME FOR CHRISTMAS received a 5 Ribbon Review from Sherree at Romance Junkies! Here's part of the review...

HOME FOR CHRISTMAS is a story that will show not only the love that a mother has for her child, but the deep love that God has for his children that have strayed. Merry K. Stahel has shown the reader that through perseverance the dreams that we have will come true. We only have to hold on to the hand of God and not let go. For the Lord hears our prayers and only wants what is best for us. I would highly recommend this author to others. I am proud to give this great author a 5 ribbon rating.

It's Amazing...

My sewing room was a disaster earlier this evening. I had quilt pieces all over. I've been procrastinating finishing one of the quilts I'm making for Christmas because...because...oh, who knows? I also had Christmas paper scattered about, in addition to presents for folk, unwrapped, needing alterations, and other little embellishments.

And then HE called. A realtor. He wants to show the house tomorrow at 1 pm.

I shanghaied Richard into wrapping presents. I sent him off to the living room with wrapping paper, tape, scissors and boxes. I stayed in my sewing room doing what needed doing and passing stuff to him every time he finished up another wrap job.

I talked to my brother Mark, my daughter Jenny, my friend Gerrie and started putting some of the unused sewing stuff away where it belonged. I altered Mom's (MIL Alma) pants and labeled all the clothing I got her for Christmas. She lives in an assisted living facility and they insist all clothing be labeled. Mom insists here clothing fit (naturally).

I then started on the dreaded quilt. See, I hate pinning it. I have to lay the quilt "sandwich" on the floor to do that. I have to crawl on my hands and knees and pin it all around to hold the whole thing together while I quilt it. It generally takes me about 2 hours to pin a quilt. This being a small one (twin size) and the fact I'm "birthing" it instead of binding it - it took me about an hour. Birthing is a process where you sew it right sides together all around the edges, then turn it right side out and quilt it AFTER that. You have to be careful doing this because you could end up with tucks and pleats where there shouldn't be any. I did pretty good, only one block got a tiny tuck.

Anyway, when we were done - Richard had wrapped half a dozen presents, I finished Mom's alterations and the quilt is quilted.

Now, tomorrow I can clean my sewing room easily as nothing is strung all over anymore. A quick vacuum and dust and this room will look presentable!

I will mail the packages and deposit my checks and take off Christmas shopping some more!

The new puppy, Chant will be most disappointed that I'm not quilting. Like Echo and Flint, he loves when I play with fabric on the floor - he thinks it's a soft bed for HIM. I had to chase him and Flint off into the other rooms so I could get stuff done. Then Echo and Flint wanted to go to bed with Dad, and Chant wanted to keep playing. I finally collared him and brought him into the sewing room with me so they could get some sleep.

I do need to work on other quilts if I am to get them out in time for Christmas, though. I have 3 more to go. Sigh.

Off to bed!

Chantry Rides Again...

Okay, I stole the line from a Louis L'Amour novel.

Champ, the little dog my co-workers rescued from the street in September is now mine. A new puppy showed up on Monday. I captured him and was getting ready to run him across the street to the Humane Society (people drop their unwanted animals in our enclosed fence often thinking we are part of the Humane Society). Anyway, the guys took one look at this beautiful tough, dingo looking dog with big brown eyes and fell in love. HE looks like a watchdog. Champ looks like what he is - a funny, adorable little Jack Russell terrier/Schnauzer mix who would allow a stranger into the yard with a "Hey, who are you? Look, you have a sparkly thing! I'm your friend, you can pet me, honest!"

Anyway, the guys didn't want 3 dogs. But they did want Bruno (the dingo-dog's new name). So...I took Champ. Did I mention the Thursday before that we put Champ and Tiger in the kitchen in their cages for the night because it was cold? And Champ kicked the back of his cage out, escaped and promptly found a box of rat poison and ate it? Since the guys all had hotshots, I took him to the vet. He's on medication to counter-effect the poison. Either he is immune to the poison or the meds are serious miracle workers. This dog has NO SYMPTOMS and is bouncing around like the puppy he is.

Oh yeah. Our entire family names all our dogs after Louis L'Amour novels or characters in said novels. Borden Chantry is a character in two books - BORDEN CHANTRY and CHANTRY RIDES AGAIN.

So, Champ is now Chantry, Chant for short. He has not noticed the difference. He comes when called. He comes even when I call Echo or Flint. LOL

He's scheduled for the chop shop...er...to be neutered and get his shots on December 27. Merry Christmas, little buddy!

My first review for HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!!!

http://romancereaderatheart.com/pubsandpromos/2005/dec05/HC_MS.html

"Merry Stahel is a wonderful writer who has taken a difficult storyline and written it to shine with God's love. I really enjoyed Dea's and Jesse's romance. They both felt abandoned by God and learned to love and trust Him again, and then to love and trust each other. The landscape of the story is so comforting. I imagined living at the old church and befriending Heidi and Joe—and Nate the donkey and Mary the chicken—just as Dea lived it. Santa hats off to Merry for a Merry Christmas tale!" ~ Cynthia Whitten

My Book

HOME FOR CHIRSTMAS

by Merry Stahel

If Dea Lacey can find sanctuary she might live in peace. But will the family homestead be the place, or will it bring more turmoil to her and the boy she’s taken as her own son.

Jesse McTavish struggles with the fact that life continues even when love is lost. When Dea presents him with his son, his first reaction is to shut himself off from more grief. Can he let this boy into his heart?

You can buy it as an e-book or as a print book at:



By Grace Publishing - www.bygracepublishing.com

or



www.fictionwise.com

I hope you enjoy it!

The Awesome Hot Crab/Artichoke Dip

This is the recipe for the awesome crab/artichoke dip.

I got it off AllRecipes.com but I altered it for my tastes (I don't like capers and 2 tablespoons of garlic is WAY too much!).


http://recipes.allrecipes.com/Utilities/PrintRecipe.aspx?RecipeID=20368&servings=18&Format=4x6


INGREDIENTS:
2 cups crabmeat ( I used 3 cans of fancy crabmeat)
1 cup sour cream
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup white Cheddar cheese
2 (8 ounce) jars artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 teaspoon powdered garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried dill, or to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning TM, or to
taste
1 (8 ounce) round loaf sourdough bread


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x8 inch square baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine crabmeat, sour cream, cream cheese, buttermilk, mayonnaise, Monterey Jack cheese, Cheddar cheese, artichoke hearts, garlic, black pepper and dill. Stir until well mixed. Spoon dip into prepared baking pan. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and Old Bay Seasoning TM.
3. Bake in preheated oven until top is crusty, about 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Cut the top off the loaf of bread. Hollow out the loaf and cube the top and the removed pieces so that they may be used for dipping. Spoon hot dip into hollow bread loaf. Serve immediately with bread pieces for dipping.

I was looking for Christmas music on the Net...

And found this...

http://www.macjams.com/song/13372

Go listen.

More Christmas things...

These are the Christmas coasters I finished today. I also made a flannel pillowcase for one of the nephews. I made a flannel quilt already that matches the pillowcase.

Richard and I went to a party last night. I made an awesome hot crab/artichoke dip, even if I say so myself. LOL. It disappeared quickly. Only a bit of leftover and I brought that home. Richard and I have already snacked on it.

People came and viewed the house yesterday AND today. It amazes me how much housework can be done by two people in thirty minutes. LOL. We zipped around making the bed, vacuuming, doing a quick swipe in the bathrooms, stuffing the dirty laundry in the washer and giving each room a quick air freshener spray, too! Richard lit the fire and I zapped some liquid potpourri in the microwave. We took the dogs for a ride, which they loved, of course.

I'm working on the next set of gifts. A couple quick quilts and soem little thigns, not sure what, yet.

Anyway, back to it!

Christmas is sneaking up on me...

Like a little ghost waiting in the wings to jump out and say "Boo!" Christmas is there...hiding...waiting...

I'm making quilted Chrismtas coasters right now. I've cut out 3 sets so far. Need two more and then that's done. They're being sold in the Calvert Hotel's antique shop. I also have to do the fabric envelopes with stationary inside.

I finished Mom's present. Both Mom and Pa's presents are done. Next up...my sister's family. I have stuff lined up and even parts half-done. The trick here is to FINISH.

Finding the TIME to finish is a whole 'nother story! But I shall continue onward.

I do love Christmas and every precious minute is worth it. LOL

Hmmm...

I work for a courier service. We talk cars, trucks, gas mileage and distance all the time. Some of our drivers drive tiny vehicles because they deliver small things. Some drive larger vehicles because they deliver larger things. (Our company's drivers drive their own vehicles). The SUV debate has been touched on in our office. Its impact is negligible, because drivers know that some things requiring delivery also require trucks or larger vehicles to deliver it. Here are some questions:

1. Do I tell you where you can and can't live?
2. Do I tell you what schools to send your kids to?
3. Do I tell you what religion to practice?
4. Do I tell you what jobs you can have (and not have)?
5. Do I tell you that you can only be paid so much and never allow you the opportunity to make more?
6. Do I tell you what you can and can't wear?
7. Do I tell you whether you get to eat...or not?
8. Do you pay my bills?

If the answer to all these questions is NO...then where do you get the idea that YOU get to tell ME what I can or can't drive?

Just because your opinion disagrees with mine doesn't give you more rights than me. Driving an SUV isn't against the law. Destroying other people's property is. If your opinions are against the law, rather than breaking that law do something to change it if you feel that strongly about it.

Group think is for cults and communists.

Try not to descend to it. You might need an large truck or an SUV to deliver something vital, like an oxygen tank, to you someday.

My Bookcover and By Grace Publishing's Online Birthday Bash...

This is my December 2005 Bookcover!

And my publisher is having an online one year anniversary party. Here's the announcement.

We're One Year Old! By Grace Publishing is celebrating a milestone birthday!

By Grace Publishing is hosting an all day party in our By Grace Publishing forum at http://www.eCataromance.com on NOVEMBER 14, 2005. The party is from 9am-5pm NY CST.

Its our birthday, but YOU get the gifts! We'll have interviews with our authors, snippets of our best selling books, games and contests. Win ebooks, and a gift certificate for Fictionwise that you can use on the ebook of your choice. Our big winner of the day will be getting an ebook basket valued at almost $18.

Come join our celebration and help us to kick off our second sucessful year.We look forward to seeing you here!

Come Chat with the By Grace Authors!

The Romance Studio is hosting a
By Grace Publishing Chat!

WHEN: Saturday, November 12

TIME: 9pm EST

WHERE: http://www.theromancestudio.com/chat.php


Enter the TRS site using the link above.
Click on the red lettering at the bottom of the TRS screen (I am 18 and I agree).

Follow the instructions from there.

We look forward to seeing you there!

For Halloween...

Yes. The dogs had to be dressed up for Halloween and this year Echo wanted to be a Princess so I present to you...

HER ROYAL MAJESTY, Princess Echo Avalon Stahel (We are not amused!)








AND......




For your viewing pleasure, and tons cuter than Johnny Depp...may I present...THE SCOURGE OF THE SEVEN SEAS (And the swimming pool), THE DREAD PIRATE, Flint Elmo Stahel!

Yes, that is a knife in his paw and no, he's NOT happy to see ya!

HOME FOR CHRISTMAS debuts...

Well - not really.

HOME FOR CHRISTMAS has an advance ad at www.waxromantic.com - so GO READ IT! Its all about me and the book!

Go. Now.

The Booksigning...

The booksigning....WOW. What can I say? I'll start at the beginning.

We went to stay in the Calvert Hotel in Calvert, Texas. The Hotel is a lovely bed and breakfast filled with antiques and ambiance. There's also a hair salon within the hotel.

We arrived about 5 pm. Nelson, John and Ron were waiting for me to arrive! I was as excited to see them as they were to see me. Richard and I nosed around the hotel admiring the stunning antiques and restoration the guys have done so far. As anyone who does restoration on old houses knows, it is a work in progress. I even peeked in the kitchen and harassed Ron, who graciously told me about the antique Hoosier cabinet he uses on a daily basis and let me see the bread and cookies he was making. Ahhh...the scents from that kitchen!

John explained things as I asked - does he know his antiques! He collects old hotel silver and had it all on display. Great punch bowls, serving pieces, chargers, milk pitchers, tea sets, compote bowls...he knew the history of many of the pieces and was able to tell us that, too. I asked a thousand questions and he answered them all. Many of the pieces are for sale! It was hard to not buy, but Richard and I are in the process of selling our house, so.....

Nelson showed us the rooms and allowed us to choose. Richard wanted to stay in the Robert E. Lee room, but we ended up staying in the Phillip Adkins room (I think I spelled that right). The rooms are named for their famous visitors or founding fathers/mothers.

Richard was catching a cold so he went upstairs to take a nap. Nelson and I went to a private party at the Calvert INN - another bed and breakfast down the street. Nelson took me inside to show off their restoration efforts. Oh, WOW. Restoration is a way of life in this little town and it shows. I met some lovely people and we had a wonderful time.

We came back to wake Richard and then Ron cooked us a scrumptious dinner. I basically told Richard I was gonna leave him for another man...I promptly decided to live at the hotel and let Ron cook for me, but then Richard burst my bubble and said I'd need money for that. Darn it. I'll have to make do with visits.

We went to bed and both of us slept like rocks. I heard the train go by once, butI simply rolled over before it was gone and went back to sleep. John says it goes by several times but I didn't notice. Its one of those soothing sounds, I guess.

The next day Ron cooked again - French toast and sausage...sigh. Richard and I enjoyed our breakfast without Echo and Flint hoping for sausage or kids asking for a bite. It was a mite strange to eat a whole plate of food by myself. Ron outdid himself and I told Richard I think I need to go to The Culinary Institute and learn to cook like that. He wholeheartedly agreed, the rat!

We then went for a walk around the neighborhood to look at the houses. Calvert is a tiny town but when the War Between The States was over, many of the Confederates came to Texas to settle. The town has several Confederate reenactments a year. It has the largest outdoor gazebo bandstand in the USA. The homes are lovely. Many are in various stages of repair and restoration but you can see what once was and what will be. Richard spent a couple hours taking photos later that day.

We then left to go to the booksigning. Nelson, John and I set up the tables and then I personalized them with all the stuff I brought! John brought some of Ron's cookies, too. Ron runs an eBay store called Better Cookies and sells them all over the USA. The snickerdoodles are fabulous! We all kept running between the four tables we set up to chat and compare notes.

The Hastings Bookstore in Bryan Texas has one of the friendliest staffs ever. Mara and Dena made us feel very welcome and worked hard to be sure things ran smoothly. Both deserve kudos for their efforts on our behalf. We had good traffic and I had a lovely time meeting Trana Mae Simmons, L. B. Cobb and their sidekicks. Yes, we all brought sidekicks and everyone had a great time. We sold books, made friends and laughed a lot. I got to wear a vintage tiara because this was a Pulpwood Queens Literacy Event and Membership Drive. I also met a couple Pulpwood Queens, including Suzan, who was just lovely!

We left from there and I was so sorry to go. Nelson, John, Ron and I are already plotting our next event...there's the December 3-4, 2005 Parade Of Homes in Calvert...and the Girlfriends Weekend in Jefferson for Pulpwood Queens...and...and...and...

Christmas is coming...

I looked at the quilt I made for the grand prize for my book contest and it got me thinking. I go all out for these books promoting and marketing like mad. And this year the book is coming out at Christmas. And yes, a few people will be getting a copy as a present.

But then I kept thinking. I do beautiful homemade crafts for these books and yet, members of my family still don't have quilts made by me. One of the reasons I wanted to learn to quilt was to make every member of my extended family (husband, children, parents, siblings, neices and nephews) a quilt. Although many of my family members have quilts made by me and a couple have more than one I am far from my goal.

So I decided that this year will be different. (Ha! how many times have you heard THAT?).

With that in mind - I shall be profiling my gift making and giving this year. I am determined to make as much as I can and the gifts will be meaningful, fun and useful all at once. I'll start with the children - the neices and nephews. I have four grand-nieces, ranging in age from 2 to 7. I have 7 nieces ranging in age from 5 to 24. I have 8 nephews ranging in age from 3 to 24. I have 6 brothers and 2 sisters. I have 5 sisters-in-law.

Two of the nieces I know very well, having spent quality time with them at various points in their lives. I'll start with them simply because they will be easy. Katie is 14 and Brittany is 12.

Yesterday I went out and bought colored stock paper and today I will buy matching envelopes. Katie loves horses, so I'm making her some horse stationary which will then be put inside a patchwork fabric envelope. I made the cards today. I found a lovely picture of an appaloosa horse in a free clip art forum and made that the front of the card. I did a logo on the back of the card with my name in it. When I finish the patchwork envelope, I'll take pictures to post here.

Brittany will be getting a variation of the same thing - Brit is a girlie-girl, she likes lace and dressing up and flowers and pink and blue. It'll be fun coming up with something pretty for her - lots of choices. Once I make hers, I'll post photos.

I just finished this quilted wallhanging this evening. It is 24" X 24".

When my book HOME FOR CHRISTMAS is published in early November, you may enter a contest to win this quilt!

I'll post details here and on my website when the time comes.

Online Author Day...

You are cordially invited to attend

The Belfry Collective 1st Author Day
Sponsored by the authors on

Tuesday, October 11, 2005, 6 am – 8 pm EST

At their Yahoo Group site: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The_Belfry_Collective_Author_Days/

On the schedule are selected excerpts, contests

with prizes, tidbits on writing, information on how

you might obtain our books, plus other surprises.

We hope to see you there!

An advance schedule should be available at the Yahoo

site’s main page about a week before the Author Day,

so that you may attend at your leisure.

For further updates and information, please visit

the Collective’s blog:
http://thebelfrycollective.com/blog/

or our home page at

http://thebelfrycollective.com/.


To obtain an invitation ON OCTOBER 11th:
The_Belfry_Collective_Author_Days-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

The “doors” will open wide at 6 am EST on Tuesday, October 11th.
NO PRE-APPROVAL OR PRIOR ADMITTANCE – THANKS!

Quilting...

I made a quilt for my friend Grace's soon-to-be-born baby. She is going with a jungle theme so I found this lovely little print and whipped up a whole cloth quilt. The back is a soft blue that matches the blue between the squares.

In other news, I'm in the midst of my revisions. I finished the first round this evening and will be emailing the whole document back to my editor in a few minutes. I ended up adding some 20 pages to the manuscript due to both the revisions and adding another chapter.