Today's Annabelle Pics

New Annabelle Pictures

With Aunt Georgia

With Aunt Jill

Speaking Engagement

Announcement from the Democratic Women of Watauga County -

Kaye Wilkinson Barley will be our guest speaker at the February Democratic Women of Watauga County luncheon. 

We convene at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday. February 8, at the Sagebrush Steakhouse (1111 Hwy 105 S. in Boone).

Kaye, a photographer and writer, will be speaking about "Marching in Washington," her experiences of participating in the historic Women's March on Washington on January 21. 

Many marchers went to the nation's Capitol from Watauga County.

Our monthly luncheons are open to everyone. Hope to see you there!

Annabelle Barley Comes to Boone

We went to Zebulon yesterday and picked up our sweet Annabelle.

I can't say enough good things about Judy and her Carlins Kennels.

She had a Puppy Pick-up Party for the families and we nibbled on cookies and cupcakes while we played with and admired the puppies.

It was nice meeting the other families.

Annabelle's brother will be living in Pinehurst, NC

One of her sisters is going to Atlanta

And the other sister will stay with Judy.  And we plan on going back to visit, of course.

Enjoy these shots - some from yesterday

and, of course, we started taking pictures of her first thing this morning.

I'm not sure she'll ever be the photo ham that Harley was, but we'll see.

I hope Harley is smiling down on us and is pleased.

Miss you, Harley

(note:  If you post a comment and don't see it right away, not to worry.  I have the "moderate comments" app engaged.  It may take a little while, but I promise I will see all comments and post them).

"Oh, Kaye!"

It's Super Bowl Sunday!!

It's also the first Sunday of the month, so come chat with us at Jungle Red - http://www.jungleredwriters.com/ - where we're chatting just a bit about football, and also about the newest member of the Barley family.

Dear Conservative Family and Friends,

To my conservative family and friends: You have been given a gift. 

The gift is this: Your guy won, your team has the house and the senate. 

And it's going ... not great. 

My charge to you is this: figure out how you want to be represented in history. You are on the cusp of being the party that rose up and fought for what you told us you stood for, or you can be the people we have to explain to our children when they ask why no one fought the breakdown of our democracy.


If you voted for the president or a Republican senator because you believe in fiscal conservatism, you should be furious that your tax dollars are going to build a wall that will have zero impact on the effects of immigration.

If you hate the left because of "Political Correctness," you need to be asking yourself if you're okay with the President censoring communications from MULTIPLE government organizations like the National Park Service, the EPA and more.

If you voted because you hated Secretary Clinton's email server, I expect you to be calling your representatives to ask why Steve Bannon and others continue to use their unsecured personal emails and why your president is using an unsecured android device still.

If you voted because you believed there would be better protection against terrorists, you need to ask yourself why it's okay that your president just took away $130 million in anti-terror funds from New York with his punishment of Sanctuary Cities.

If you are angry that your insurance is too expensive, you should ask why your senators are repealing ACA without a replacement, an action that will leave 20 million people without insurance at all.

If you believe the Clinton initiative provided unequal treatment to countries that supported their foundation, you should be livid that your president has moved to block visas from Muslim countries like Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, but not places where he has business ties like Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

This is an opportunity to prove that you voted for the reasons you say you did. I am taking you seriously; I am taking you literally." 
~Levi Frerichs

The Ban - FactCheck.org

"Trump’s comparison of his immigration actions to Obama’s policy in 2011 is a faulty one. The fact is that the Obama administration was responding to a known and specific threat from one country and limited its response to refugees from that country, while Trump’s order temporarily bans refugees from all countries — indefinitely in the case of those from Syria — and temporarily bars all other visitors from seven predominately Muslim countries."

This from FactCheck.Org, which I wish more people were familiar with.

http://www.factcheck.org/2017/01/trumps-faulty-refugee-policy-comparison/

New Annabelle Pictures

This little bundle of fur will be coming home to live with us next week.

How cute is this baby?!

The Land of the Free?!

Pffftttt  

We are now the land of greed and hypocrisy.  

It's only going to get worse.

Announcing the 2016 Agatha Nominees

Offering my most sincere congratulations to all the nominees!!!

The Agatha Awards will be presented on April 29, 2017, at the Malice Banquet. 

Winners in each category will be decided via onsite ballot by the attendees of Malice 29.  

Best Contemporary Novel Body on the Bayou by Ellen Byron (Crooked Lane Books) Quiet Neighbors by Catriona McPherson (Midnight Ink) A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny (Minotaur Books) Fogged Inn by Barbara Ross (Kensington) Say No More by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge Books) Best Historical Novel Whispers Beyond the Veil by Jessica Estevao (Berkley) Get Me to the Grave on Time by D.E. Ireland (Grainger Press) Delivering the Truth by Edith Maxwell (Midnight Ink) The Reek of Red Herrings by Catriona McPherson (Minotaur Books) Murder in Morningside Heights by Victoria Thompson (Berkley) Best First Novel Terror in Taffeta by Marla Cooper (Minotaur) Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon (Henery Press) The Semester of Our Discontent by Cynthia Kuhn (Henery Press) Decanting a Murder by Nadine Nettmann (Midnight Ink) Design for Dying by Renee Patrick (Forge Books) Best Nonfiction Mastering Suspense, Structure, and Plot: How to Write Gripping Stories that Keep Readers on the Edge of Their Seats by Jane K. Cleland (Writer's Digest Books) A Good Man with a Dog: A Game Warden's 25 Years in the Maine Woods by Roger Guay with Kate Clark Flora (Skyhorse Publishing) Sara Paretsky: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction by Margaret Kinsman (McFarland Books) Best Short Story "Double Jinx: A Bellissimo Casino Crime Caper Short Story" by Gretchen Archer (Henery Press) "The Best-Laid Plans" by Barb Goffman in Malice Domestic 11: Murder Most Conventional (Wildside Press) "The Mayor and the Midwife" by Edith Maxwell in Blood on the Bayou: Bouchercon Anthology 2016 (Down & Out Books) "The Last Blue Glass" by B.K. Stevens in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine "Parallel Play" by Art Taylor in Chesapeake Crimes: Storm Warning (Wildside Press) Best Children/Young Adult Trapped: A Mei-hua Adventure by P.A. DeVoe (Drum Tower Press) Spy Ski School by Stuart Gibbs (Simon & Schuster) Tag, You're Dead by J C Lane (Poisoned Pen Press) The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos (Balzer & Bray) The Secret of the Puzzle Box: The Code Busters Club by Penny Warner (Darby Creek)