May is a special month, as the weather warms up, flowers bloom, and folks start putting in gardens and getting outside. And May 10 marks several different things in my life.

It’s my dad’s 102nd birthday. I miss him so much. I know if he were with us, he’d be celebrating mightily. Before he turned ninety, he decided he would throw himself a big party. My sister and I already had big plans underway, so we ended up telling him about the surprise. Instead of being disappointed he had ruined our surprise, he threw himself into helping us organize. Luckily, everything he wanted, we already had on our list. It was a great party. He passed away a few weeks prior to his ninety-first birthday. But I’ll always have my memories of that fun time—both the organizing and the partying.

On May 10, 2019, I released the first book in my Cowboys of Mineral Springs series. At the time, I had written drafts for five books in the series and started a draft on book 6. I released book two in October 2019. I really need to get back to editing the rest of the series.

On May 10, I will have had my second Covid vaccination and will have quarantined for 2 weeks! Yay! So, without further ado, I will list ten things I really want to do this year—all, sad to say, still masked. But best to continue to be safe. Besides, I discovered when I wear my mask walking, it helps keep the allergens in the air at bay and I am able to walk without wheezing. All good! It’s important to focus on every little positive thing we can and not obsess on the negative.

So, in no particular order, my top ten things to do this year (and in honor of RTG’s Ten Year Anniversary):

1) Enjoy a backyard cocktail or cup of tea with friends.

2) Hit the local food truck scene and sit on a bench in the sun on the town mall to enjoy whatever I buy.

3) Spend the 4^th of July (and my grandson’s birthday, later in July) with my family, watching fireworks over the water, from my son’s front deck.

4) Enjoy the beach with my 3 grandsons later this summer as they attend surf camp (cancelled last summer.)

5) Enjoy time spent with my daughter and family when they visit from Colorado (cancelled last summer.)

6) Sit outside in the sun with my mom at her retirement community. We haven’t had face-to-face time since last summer - except waving to her through her apartment window.

7) Go to the farmer’s market and other outdoor events.

8) Get together in person for monthly fall meetings with my writers’ group (also cancelled.)

9) Attend a fall conference (also postponed from last year.)

10 Attend my daughter’s wedding (which means getting on a plane without freaking out, and still having to wear a mask for the five-hour trip.)

Here’s to a good rest of 2021.

And huge congratulations to the Romancing the Genres blog on ten years of success!

What is something you really look forward to?

The Love Left Behind

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Love-Left-Behind-Hartford-Estate-ebook/dp/B08L5N5DS9/

Books2Read

books2read.com/u/mglVqK

~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet and spicy romances and contemporary westerns from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.

Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine. Her newest novella is The Love Left Behind.

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CLIP ART:

Fireworks - free fireworks clipart - Google Search

Food Truck - Free Food Truck Cliparts, Download Free Food Truck Cliparts png images, Free ClipArts on Clipart Library (clipart-library.com)

Cocktails - free cocktail clipart - Google Search

Farmer’s Market - free farmer's market clipart - Google Search

Engagement - https://pixabay.com/illustrations/love-romantic-relationship-together-3581038/

It’s summer time… Time for a little research :-)

Besides sitting on the beach in the summer and enjoying this view….

I enjoy inventing cocktails. All my books feature a drink. I created the signature drink for my son’s wedding. A local bar still serves my rum dancer in the summer. So I’ve had some success.

But have you ever wondered where did that cocktail come from that you sip while enjoying a summer evening on the deck? Or around a bomb fire? Or at the family summer picnic?

Every Thursday on my blog, I feature a drink or recipe so I decided to do a little research on my fellow cocktail forerunners. (How many people can say they had to research drinking and create drinks for their job? ❤ my job)

This is my favorite martini creation ... Coconut Blast

This is my favorite way to eat fruit in the summer :-)

Here are some interesting things I learned:

1. Cocktails earliest roots are medical related. Gin and Tonic was developed for a way of taking daily quinine rations. Pink Gin was a way to combat seasickness. The Gimlet was developed as a way to keep vitamin C in sailors.

2. The world of drink development was VERY competitive. Countries had frosty relations over brandy and their national drink. Bar tenders in early Britain challenged each other to duels over the rights of drinks.

3. The American’s were the first to serve or use ice in their drinks.

4. The first cocktails were considered elegant and sleek – The Bee’s Knees, White Lady, Manhattan, and dry Martinis. When the Pina Cola and Mai Tai type of drinks hit the scene they were at first considered vulgar and low class.

What are some of your favorite summer/fall/winter/spring cocktails?

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Ten Fun To-Do Activities to Celebrate Getting My Vaccine! ... by Delsora Lowe