Fantasy and Dreams

Friday, January 14, 2022

HERE IT COMES: WINTER STORM by Sarah J. McNeal #TheWildingsSeries

Some of you may already be experiencing the Big Winter Storm that’s laying down heaps of snow, ice, sleet, and freezing rain across most of the United States. I feel for the Canadians who are accustomed to this kind of winter weather.

As the temperatures take a deep dive and create a strong cold front that will collide with the moisture laden air from the south we are about to find ourselves in nature’s powerful grip. Those of us who have received the warning that it’s coming, at least have time to prepare. (Thank you to NOAA and the assiduous meteorologists for their calculated and scientific work to give us that warning.)

I guess preparation may be different depending on what part of the continent you reside. Here in North Carolina where snow is not seen as often as other parts of the country, the first thing southerners do is run to the grocery stores to stock upon supplies. Bread and milk are famously the 2 main items on that list. Personally, because of the frequency of power outages, I wonder why canned meals like beef stew and spaghetti that, if need be, you can eat right from the can aren’t the main items, or crackers and peanut butter, but that’s just me.

To assure that I’ll have heat in the event that I DO have a power outage, I want to make sure the gas logs in my fireplace are functioning well. Having the luck that I sometimes do, my gas logs are acting up. The pilot light is good and strong, but when I turn on the gas for the logs the wonderful warm flames only last about 10 minutes and the dang thing turns itself off. Grrr! Yesterday I took the ceramic log off, cleaned off the grill and fired it up. It took only seconds before the dang thing turned itself off again. So today I’m going to clean the whole business up and follow that up with some intense vacuuming. I’ll relight the pilot light and say a prayer. I would call my heating and air conditioning guy to look at it, but he’s probably swamped already and there’s not enough time left before the storm hits.

We are predicted to have snow in the beginning, but then it’s going to turn into freezing rain. It’s freezing rain that is the worst. Not only is it the hardest to drive on, (Thank goodness I don’t have to drive to work in it any more) but it’s the very thing that will take out power lines and bring down trees. The expectation is that we WILL have power outages and they are already assembling emergency teams from states like Florida to help us resolve those problems.

Stay safe and warm, my friends. And don’t forget to look out for the birds, too.

Are you in an area that has been, or will be hit by this winter storm? What do you do to prepare for it?

Sarah J. McNeal

Author of Heartwarming Stories

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Saturday, January 08, 2022

NURSERY RHYMES, BEDTIME STORIES, AND PARENTS by Sarah J. McNeal #TheWildingsSeries

When my sister and I were very young, we had a phonograph and colorful records, each one with a nursery rhyme set to music. I guess this was the equivalent of the modern day “Sesame Street” in which children are taught by using music and rhymes. Well, my sister and I knew all those nursery rhymes by heart and sang them often. At the time I was 3 and my sister was 4. These rhymes were so imaginative, like “Peter the Pumpkin Eater” who kept his wife in a pumpkin shell, and “Winken, Blinken, and Nod” about 3 kids who sailed off in a wooden shoe to fish for herring in the beautiful sea. Because I heard these nursery rhymes so often, I started making up my own songs. I would just start singing and make them up as I went along.

Mom taught us a nighttime prayer and a blessing before meals. In fact, we each had a cup with the blessing written on it. My cup had the prayer written in red, and my sister’s had the prayer written in blue. They were simple and short prayers. Some of you may know them. The nighttime prayer was, “Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep.” The table blessing was, “God is great; God is good, let us thank Him for this food.”

When nighttime came our parents would take turns reading stories to us as they tucked us in at night. One of our favorite books was “Finn and His Warrior Band” an Irish story filled with imaginative beings like mermaids, dragons, monsters, and witches. You’d think these stories were scary except we knew Finn and his warrior band would always come to the rescue. (The only thing I was afraid of was foxes and spiders. I had a night light to dispel those creatures.) Pop liked to affect the dialogue of the characters. It was a comforting feeling to have a parent read to us and tuck us in for that transition from day activities to restful, nighttime sleep.

Because our parents invested their time in us and how they thought of ways to teach us things like music, faith, and creativity, we developed into what I think were thoughtful, creative human beings who had values and imagination. I felt protected and loved by my parents. Children should always feel that way, but we know, sadly, that not every child gets nurturing and guidance like that. I am forever grateful for the parents I had.

What did your parents do that made you feel good and secure? Did they read to you or spend time with you in a way that made you feel special and loved? What is your favorite memory of you and a parent from your childhood?

For writers: Do you write about parents in your stories? Do you write children’s books or young adult books?

Sarah J. McNeal

Author of Heartwarming Stories

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Friday, December 31, 2021

YEAR OF THE TIGER 2022 by Sarah J. McNeal

YEAR OF THE TIGER  2022
2022 is the year of the tiger. I had to look this up to find out what we should expect, so here's what I discovered:
The tiger is one of the12 Chinese Zodiac Animals. 
The Year of the Tiger occurs every 12 years. 
In Chinese astrology, each sign is also ruled by an earthly and heavenly branch. This Lunar New Year, the 2022 Year of the Tiger will be a 'water tiger' governed by the element of wood.
Because this year is a water tiger, you can expect good fortune in relationships and family life. Tigers can expect to succeed in their career with hard work and determination.
The Water Tiger is the most harmonious of the Chinese Tigers and best at communication. They talk rather than roar. I hope this means we can expect a more peaceful year where leaders negotiate to work things out.
WHAT WILL BRING US LUCK DURING THE YEAR OF THE TIGER?
The colors green and blue will bring good luck and fortune for Tigers in 2022. Lucky numbers are 1, 3 and 7. Be sure to stay clear of the color white and numbers 4 and 9 throughout the year.
Tiger is one of the most favorable Chinese symbols and, perhaps, best known the world over.
Because of the absolute power of the Tiger, this zodiac sign is honored in China as the ultimate protector of home and hearth.
Tiger energy is believed to guard against the three main things that can bring devastation to any home: fire, thieves, and ghosts.

People born in the year of the tiger are thought to be competitive, self-confident, and brave. As a spirit animal, the meaning for the tiger is said to be willpower, courage, and personal strength.
Tigers, considered to be brave, cruel, forceful, and terrifying, are the symbol of power and lordliness in Chinese culture. If you're born in 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998 or 2010, then you're ruled by the powerful tiger.

Sarah J. McNeal 
Author
of Heartwarming Stories
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Amazon Author's Page
Fantasy and Dreams
(sarahmcneal.blogspot.com)
Instagram

Saturday, November 20, 2021

THANKSGIVING WITHOUT TURKEY by Sarah J. McNeal

I may have told this family story, but it bears repeating.

When I was about 9 years old and deep into holiday traditions and clinging to the magic of believing in Santa Claus even though the evidence disproved it, I looked forward to the traditional turkey dinner for Thanksgiving. As far as I was concerned, you could have whatever you wanted for Christmas like that delicious Christmas ham roasted all day in the over with pineapple held in place with whole cloves, and a juicy cherry in the middle of each pineapple circle or even a Christmas goose, I didn’t care. But Thanksgiving dinner was a whole other matter; it was a turkey and stuffing or it just wasn’t Thanksgiving. Just throw down your napkin and call it over and done if there was no turkey.

Well, Pop, who had a love for roast beef which we had every Sunday, decided this particular Thanksgiving that roast beef would be on our table instead of turkey. No stuffing, no cranberry sauce (we always forgot it anyway, but that’s not the point), no candied yams, just the same ol’ Sunday dinner of a Yankee pot roast of beef, potatoes, and carrots. Phooey! What a terrible idea. Thanksgiving was ruined as far as I was concerned. I didn’t care if the Pilgrims would have loved roast beef as Pop tried to convince me, I was ready to leave home.

I hung my head in shame at school when the kids talked about their Thanksgiving turkey and all those delicious fixin’s. They would be appalled if they knew my family was having a Thanksgiving roast beef. See? The words don’t even flow together the way Thanksgiving turkey does.

I was furious and sad at the same time. Even going to the Thanksgiving parade uptown could not cheer me up. I sat in misery through the entire Thanksgiving dinner and made sure my disappointment was known. I’m pretty sure I made everybody’s holiday dismal.

We never had roast beef at Thanksgiving again. The thing is, all these years later with some wisdom and life experiences we come to have with age, I think about that turkeyless Thanksgiving. There are many people in this world that didn’t have turkey, not even a chicken on their table to celebrate Thanksgiving. The whole idea of Thanksgiving is to give thanks and gratitude for whatever we have. As so many kids, I was self-involved and lacked insight into the feelings and situations in other people’s lives. There were probably kids in my school who weren’t having turkey because they couldn’t afford a turkey. All I cared about then was what I thought I would be missing without a grain of gratitude or thankfulness. I know better now. Lesson learned.

Saturday, October 16, 2021

My First Halloween by Sarah J. McNeal #TheWildingsSeries

I'm on the left, my sister, Mary is on the right.

I was 4 years old and we were living in the small, rural village of Luthersburg, Pennsylvania in 1951. Life was very different then. Everybody knew everybody, and as much as gossip was a big entertainment, people were kind to one another and were generous to their neighbors. They also liked to celebrate everything. If a leaf fell from the tree, it was cause for celebration. So, Halloween was a big deal and, naturally, the town had a carnival for the kids.

Mom, who made all our clothes back then, also made our costumes for the Halloween carnival. She made a clown costume for me with big puffy balls down the front and poke-a-dot material with plenty of rickrack trim. It wasn’t the kind of clown from “It”, but more like Bozo the clown with a happy face. I was so excited about the costume and the carnival. I was pretty enthusiastic about the prospects of candy treats, too.

Remember these peanut butter taffy kisses you always got?

I had a great time at the carnival. I don’t remember much of what I did there, but suffice it to say, I was in kid heaven when we got home. I wanted to hurry up and get inside so I could see what treats were in my bag. In my enthusiasm to get out of the car, I forgot to wait for Pop to bring it to a stop. Keep in mind, in those days there were no seatbelts or special child seats to impede my exit from the car. I flung the door open and immediately feel to the ground. Pop brought the car to a screeching halt and ran back to me hollering, “Are you hurt?” He told me later he thought he had run over me with the car. I was completely fine, just a little scuffed up from the gravel in the driveway. Mom came running as Pop scooped me up and we all ran inside the house to see if any damage was done. I was fine, but there was a big lecture delivered by Pop about not leaping from a moving car. Of course, most of this was lost on me, a kid who was just eager to get to her Halloween treats. I’ll never forget that first Halloween memory, however, and the excitement I felt about the quirky holiday.

The picture I added is the only one I have of my sister and me when we lived in Pennsylvania. The next year we moved to North Carolina. I wore the clown costume one more time to go trick-or-treating with my sister and the neighborhood kids—no parental supervision and we made it out alive.

What do you remember about your first Halloween? Were you allowed to eat all your treats as you wanted, or did your parents dole out the treats to you in some reasonable manner? What was your first costume?

My only Halloween story from #TheWildingsSeries

Sarah J. McNeal

Author of Heartwarming Stories

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Monday, October 11, 2021

Indigenous Peoples Day by Sarah J. McNeal #TheWildingsSeries

October 11, 2021 is Indigenous Peoples Day

Today we honor the Indigenous Peoples, the first humans to enter this country and to whom we show our respect for their vigilance and courage in protecting the natural resources of this land. They remind us how to be humanitarians and they teach us how to care for the living beings both in the wilds and in our homes.

Through their dances they heal and teach about what was and what should be. They have endured many trials, and yet, they have persevered. In spite of everything, they have remained friends to all people and contributed to our mutual history.

Long before the rest of us came from our different countries and cultures, the Indigenous People were here looking after things, acting as stewards of the wild things and the wild places. Because of their devotion, we still have many of those wild places and wild beings to treasure from one generation to the next.

And so, on this day as well as every other day, I thank the Indigenous People for their stewardship, dedication, and courage. THANK YOU!

Until next time, all good things to your corner of the universe...

Sarah J. McNeal

Author of Heartwarming Stories

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Wednesday, September 08, 2021

I LOVE AMERICA by Sarah J. McNeal #TheWildingsSeries

I love America. I’m not talking about the government, politics, laws, or Wall Street; I’m talking about the uniqueness of this country in which people from all over the world come together and share their cultures, ideals, and beliefs with others to become “Americans”. I love that we live on a land with such great expanse and diversity, both geographically and culturally. We are cradled between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and rest above the Gulf of Mexico. We have friendly neighbors to the north and the south and we share a common love of freedom.

We may squabble amongst ourselves as most families do, but no matter what happens, no matter how dark or bright our days or history, we will find our way and we will do it together.

Sarah J. McNeal

Author of Heartwarming Stories

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Sunday, August 15, 2021

SEARCHING FOR PEACE by Sarah J. McNeal #TheWildingsSeries

There was supposed to be a big meteorite shower a few nights ago. We used to call them shooting stars, but they’re actually meteorites. They’re still beautiful all the same. Anyway, it should be a wonderful sight to behold what with the lightning bugs lighting up the backyard and the shooting stars above. I could certainly use some uplifting lights and happy thoughts.

I’ve been watching too much news lately—too much Covid dangers, Fire and Flood disasters, Climate change heating up the planet, and politicians finding fault with everything. Kinda feel like this lighthouse out in some rough seas.

I tried getting my mind off all this bad news by watching a series on Netflix. Well, that might not have been a good plan because I chose “Chicago Med” which is all about emergency medicine and critical care. It is, in fact, the most realistic medical show I’ve ever seen. I usually avoid medical shows because they made me feel I was at work all day. This particular series just brought back all the intense feelings I had when I worked critical care and replayed them in my head like flashbacks that were sad or angry or helpless. It was like picking at a scab until I made it bleed.

So, my new plan is to be quiet, go out on my deck when the sun goes down (slathered in mosquito repellent), and just enjoy watching nature and listening to the cicadas sing with my dog by my side.

How are y’all doin’ out there? Are you okay? What is your best coping mechanism for dealing with stress?

If you or a loved one has had difficulty coping with the turmoil of today’s events and the pandemic, or have been having difficulty with emotional distress or depression, you may want to call the following for the help you need:

Healing Direction Therapy, PLLC

Tracey L. Beaty, LCMHC (Therapist)

980-272-8058

Or email her at healingdirection@yahoo.com

Until Next Time...

Sunday, August 01, 2021

NOTHING SAYS SUMMER LIKE AUGUST by Sarah J. McNea l#TheWildingsSeries

I’ve heard it said that August is like the Sunday of summer. Sunday is that last day before you go back to the work grind on Monday or the last day of freedom before school. It’s the end of sleeping in, wearing pajamas all day, laying in the hammock with a cool drink, sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch and waving to your neighbors when they walk by, and the end of spontaneous trips to the beach or the mountains.

Every month has its own particular weather, for August that means it HOT! It also means hurricanes, forest fires, and draught—or here where I live, thunder storms on the daily. Still, we love August.

August is when our efforts in the garden pay off. Fruits and vegetables are ripening faster than we can harvest them. I remember how all the gardeners at work would bring in their excess fruits and vegetables and we’d all exchange our abundance for someone else’s who grew something we didn’t have. By the way, my 3 apples came in on my apple tree, but before they were fully ripened, the birds and squirrels feasted on them. I’m okay with that though.

August is the month when we try to get that last refreshing swim in the pool or take a trip to the beach and swim in the ocean and eat seafood until we burst. I have a fondness for the Breezeway Seafood Restaurant at Topsail Beach, but I also love the Calabash at Myrtle Beach. Of course, the one seafood you can’t eat in August is oysters…you can only eat them in the months with an “R”, so September will get them back on the menu (provided you like oysters.) Some of us prefer the cooler climate of the mountains and the shady trails and waterfalls. Blowing Rock is mostly my autumn favorite, but it’s great in the heat of summer, too.

What is your favorite thing to do in August? Are you a beach person, or are the cooler climes in the mountains more your thing? Do you like to laze around doing nothing or just looking for a place in the shade?

Sarah J. McNeal

Author of Heartwarming Stories

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

HOT SUMMER DAYS by Sarah J. McNeal

Left to Right: Matthew (nephew), Mary (sister), Ron (Mary's Husband), Pop, Mom, Me

We did not have air conditioning in our house when I was growing up. After some years, Pop got a window air conditioner in the bedroom for Mom because she had heart failure and hard a hard time breathing. We were lucky to live in an old house, part of which was made of logs and later, updated with white wooden siding. We had numerous trees, mostly oaks and elms that shaded the house and helped keep it cool. But even with all those advantages, hot humid summers could become overwhelming. Many nights when the humidity was high, I would wake up to damp sheets from the damp air. There were times when the air was so still and the temperature was so high, thunder storms were a welcome relief because of the wind associated with them.

We kept the windows wide open all over the house. In those days we didn’t worry about break-ins because they just weren’t a thing. Only once, when no one was home did we experience a break-in, but it was kind of a sad thing. A neighbor across the field was suspected of the break-in and the only thing missing was canned goods from the pantry. Pop must have felt compassion for the neighbor because he didn’t report it to the police and didn’t seem to feel anyone was in danger from this person. We did, however, start locking the doors when no one was home after that.

Pop, Mary, Me. Mom: out in the side yard by the screened-in porch

The heat drove us outside for meals and family gatherings. We often went down to the edge of the orchard under the shelter of trees to catch a breeze and some comfort. We spent a lot of time hanging out in the screened-in porch in the evenings and had meals in the side yard during the day. I never felt deprived because we didn’t have air conditioning. Even today looking back at those days I feel a kind of happiness in the way we used to adjust our lives to the heat of summer. We had great conversations and somehow food tasted better outside. We weren’t closeted inside the house staring at a TV or confined under a roof instead of out in the fresh air with clouds and stars overhead. I look back on those days with fondness and joy.

Did you grow up with air conditioning? How did you beat the heat of summer when you were growing up? Do you miss those days or are you glad you don’t have to deal hot and humid days in summer? What is your favorite thing about summer these days?

THE WILDINGS: A FAMILY SAGA (BOXED SET) only 99 cents

Prairie Rose Publications

BY SARAH MCNEAL

Buy Link: THE WILDINGS

Until Next Time...

Sarah J. McNeal

Author of Heartwarming Stories

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Sunday, July 18, 2021

Disasters and Prayers by Sarah J. McNeal, author

Forest Fires in Northern California

My thoughts and Prayers go out to our friends Europe from the floods that have taken 180 lives so far, to the people of Northern California experiencing yet another season of devastating forest fires, to the Mid-westerners suffering from the heat and extreme drought along the Colorado River, now estimated to have dropped its water level 140 feet, and to the families of those lost in the collapse of buildings in Florida.

Have any of these disasters affected you or your loved ones? Is there anything the rest of us can do to help you?

The Floods in Europe

Sarah J. McNeal

Author of Heartwarming Stories

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Amazon Author's Page

Fantasy and Dreams (sarahmcneal.blogspot.com)

Saturday, June 19, 2021

FATHER'S DAY by Sarah J. McNeal #TheWildingsSeries

FATHER’S DAY 2021

Pop loved fishing. Here he is with his big catch.

Pop wasn’t the kind of dad who gave a lot of hugs and said, “I love you” very often. In fact, he seldom did those 2 things, but he DID show me love in the language he knew best; he showed me almost on the daily the time and energy he was willing to spend on me.

He helped my sister and me gather straw and put it in water to “ferment”, and then we looked at it under the microscope taking daily samples to see what going on in the murky water. It was like a microcosm of the universe in a drop of liquid. One celled animals developed, then new ones came in, and the first ones preyed on the second until the third group followed and did the same. Eventually all the living things were gone.

Pop showed us how to grow an organic garden without using pesticides, and gave us the knowledge to make compost. We were allowed to grow pollywogs we got from the pond to grow them until they became frogs. Those weren’t the only animals from the wild we were allowed to have; we had lizards and snakes, too. We learned the value of each creature in nature and learned to be respectful and reverent of all living things. “Everything has a purpose on Earth.”

He was a huge fan of conservation before conservation was a thing. He joined clubs like the Jacques Cousteau Society to protect nature’s creatures.

Pop in his kilt with his dog, Ember

As I have probably said before of him, he was a bit of an odd ball. Our freezer became his animal lab. He found a dead hawk, or maybe it was an owl alongside the road. He picked it up and put it in the freezer until he could turn it over to the Rapture Center for them to examine. Turns out it’s actually illegal to remove feathers or other parts of a bird of prey, so it’s a good thing he preserved it for them.

He dug up an ant hill, put it in a plastic bag in the freezer to keep until he could make the framed glass ant farm for the oldest nephew. It would have worked out fine if he had been able to get the queen, but unfortunately, the ants did not make it.

There were other road kill entries into the freezer hall of fame, so it was with caution that anyone lifted that freezer lid since we never knew what was in there.

Pop at work in the U.S. Weather Bureau at Douglas Airport

Pop loved math. He thought it was fun. My sister and I did not inherit that ability. Pop tried to teach me my multiplication tables and I’m certain he found that exhausting. Later, when I became a critical care nurse, his teaching about setting up algebraic equations came in very handy. Calculators had finally come into being by then. To show his pride in my work he gave me my first little calculator to keep in my pocket so I could calculate mixing and dispensing cardiac drugs. That was his “I love you” gift. He also gave me a Littman Master’s stethoscope when I passed the Coronary Care Curriculum to get into Coronary Care—another “I love you and I’m proud of you gift.”

Because Pop was a meteorologist, he was asked from time to time by our teachers to come to our classes and teach about the weather. He didn’t mind taking the time to do that for us and I think he actually enjoyed it. He taught my sister and me all about pressure areas, cold and hot fronts, and different cloud formations. Later, when he retired from the U.S. Weather Bureau and worked at WSOC TV, he worked with the filming crew to create little documentaries about wildlife and nature. I think that was something he really enjoyed doing.

Pop in the front yard wearing the suit Mom made for him

He was a big personality with a quirky sense of humor. I often went to him for advice on how to negotiate through life, and he always had something helpful to say to get me through. He died August 16, 1981 while he was touring the entire East Coast. While in Wilmington, NC, my favorite town, he had a ruptured aortic aneurism and was gone within 32 hours.

I miss him. I will always miss him. He was a great dad and I was lucky to have had him. He was like a harbor I could sail to in times of trouble. On this coming Father’s Day I honor my dad, James William McNeal. I love you, Pop.

Sarah J. McNeal

Author of Heartwarming Stories

Website

Facebook

Twitter