Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 04-10-2020

Dear Reader,

Thanks for "writing" today's column by sharing your experiences. And I have a puzzling book question that reader Roxana M., has been trying to solve for years. Can you help her?

"Hello Suzanne, a few years ago you mentioned that you keep extra umbrellas in your car to give out as needed. Yesterday morning, on my way to work (I'm the CPA), I was stopped at a traffic light and saw a man waiting for the bus in the rain. Here I am, in my car and still gainfully employed, and who knows what this man's circumstances are. He was wearing a mask as we're all supposed to do when in public places. I reached into the back seat to find my umbrella, rolled down the window and gave it to him. He was very grateful, and I'm glad that your mention of this some time ago stuck with me, and I could make this small gesture to one in more need of an umbrella than me. Thank you for the inspiration to help our fellow man--COVID 19 or not." -- Christine B.

"Suzanne, I was hoping you could help me out. Several years ago (2013-2014) this email book club featured a book sample that I absolutely loved. I am trying to find that book, but with the COVID scare right now libraries are not open. Even more difficult I used to live in California and now reside in Utah, so I no longer have the California library card to my account, to even get the records for my book check out history.

The story is faith based (not religious doctrine), and it's about a doctor who falls in love with his patient, and she has a heart attack/heat stroke which then makes him realize that though he loves his deceased wife, he really wants to be with this new woman. The woman struggles with her self appearance and self worth. I don't know if that would help you but I'd appreciate any help you can give me. I have been searching for this book for months now. Can you or one of our readers help me out? Thank you in advance." -- Roxana M.

I've looked back in our book records, but I haven't been able to find the storyline Roxana's describing. (But I may have missed it, because I've sent out a lot of books.) If you have some ideas about the book Roxana is looking for, please send me an email.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends..

Keep washing your hands and singing "Happy Birthday!"

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader Column 04-09-2020

Dear Reader,

The best "medicine" for me right now is to get up every morning and ask myself, first thing, "What can I do for someone else today?"

So when I read an article in the local newspaper about the Senior Friendship Center looking for volunteers to call folks in their homes, to make sure they were able to get groceries, and other essentials, I knew it was the perfect match for me.

After filling out a 12 page application, including current and past job descriptions, I got the job! So everyday I call a list of 50 people, checking in with seniors, most of them living alone, to make sure everything is okay and to let them know what services the Friendship Center offers. Thankfully most of the folks are doing just fine, they have grown children who look in on them and make sure they get groceries. But some people aren't that fortunate.

"How about if I have someone give you a call once a week to have a nice chat, and to make sure you're okay?" I asked an 83-year-old woman who lives alone.

"It does get lonely," she whispered, "even if you could just call and say a couple of sentences, that would make me feel like I'm not alone."

"What can I do for someone else today?" Book club readers share some of their experiences...

"Suzanne, who knew that I, as an award-winning quilter, would suddenly be in such demand? I've been sewing reusable face masks from supplies I have on hand. My fabric stash makes lovely masks! Elastic is unavailable everywhere, because of this volunteer effort nationwide, so clever sewers are using bias and twill tape, shoelaces and grosgrain ribbon for ties. I've donated over 50 so far to local medical personnel, and I feel very Rosie-the-Riveter-ish!" -- Sheila P.

"I'm a kindergarten teacher. I'm trying to stay connected with my students. I miss them as much as they miss me. They all received writing journals, and they were given prompts for each day. Today's prompt was 'What do you miss most about school?' My students know me as Ms. Post. This student's journal entry melted my heart and gave me hope. ("What is one thing I miss about school? I love Ms. Post!") Just wanted to share this. Do not give up. There is so much good in the world. Thank you Suzanne for keeping us connected. Stay safe." With much appreciation, Ms. Post

"Hi Suzanne! I work from home, and in the evening, as always, I read and write, and I still take walks. Everything is different. But people are kind. My son calls often, and I check up on friends, and friends check up on me. I read of the Bear-in-the Window outreach, where families put teddy bears in the window so little kids can count them on walks. I didn't have a bear, but I had a bunny, which is seasonably appropriate--don't you think? Wishing you health and happiness," Diane O.

**Please use this email to enter your name in the drawing for the book, 1,000 Jokes for Kids of All Ages by Michael Kilgarriff. Email: Suzanne@DearReader.com

* I think the virus has spread to the server that delivers the book club. (You've got to have a little humor these days.) Our apologies if any of your daily reads or links have been interrupted. We are working on it right now.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

With so many new books out every week, we promise these titles deserve your attention:

(Fiction) BEYOND THE GHETTO GATES by Michelle Cameron

(Fiction) THREADS A DEPRESSION ERA TALE by Charlotte Whitney

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader Column 04-08-20

Dear Reader,

I'm wishin' for a little smile every day in the midst of everything going on around me, and Wisconsin book club reader Linda D.'s email gave me one..

"Suzanne, last week when my husband picked up three orders of fish fry at a local restaurant, guess what they gave us for ordering? A roll of toilet paper! Now I know in today's world TP's like money. But imagine before COVID-19 getting toilet paper with your meal, would it be like a commentary on the cooking? Or is toilet paper the new after dinner mint?"

"Dear Suzanne, I hope what I did makes people smile during this frightening time. I strung Christmas lights along my front porch rail. It looks beautiful!" -- Jean P.

A birthday party made book club reader Cedar D. smile...

"Hi Suzanne, my birthday (70! how did that happen?) was on March 31. Some of my friends had a Zoom party. My computer doesn't have a camera, but I called and we could hear each other. I could see them, and since they couldn't see me, I didn't have to brush my hair!

I made half a cake recipe, one pan, cut it in half so it would still be a layer cake. I couldn't fit 71 candles, so instead I used toothpicks. (I'm kidding, they were to hold the wax paper off the cake.) It was pretty good. I think I can finish it before it gets stale. I made extra icing to keep the cut edges covered. It's good to celebrate with friends--even from a distance."

In response to my suggestion of sorting container tops and bottoms for a stay-at-home activity, book club reader Liz wrote...

"Suzanne, I bet I won't be the only person who writes to let you know about the magic matching of Rubbermaid square food containers. All lids fit all bottoms with only three (incredibly visible) differences. Square tops are either small, medium or large. That's it! To get a wider variety of options, there are short, medium and tall containers that fit these lids. Even better, if you like, the lids also attach to the bottoms of the containers, making stacking and storing so much easier."

Liz, I think you should get a job writing marketing copy for Rubbermaid, I know you've sold me!

Book club reader Mari M. sent me a note "Thought you'd appreciate this" along with a photo of her son's latest homeschooling activity. It's sure to make you smile.

To see Mari M.'s photo, Cedar D.'s birthday party photo, and Noreen B.'s suggested use for your hanging shoe bags, and to enter today's giveaway for a book that will entertain your kids, grandkids and even you, "1,000 Jokes for Kids of All Ages" by Michael Kilgarriff, click here. 

What's makin' you smile these days? I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Keep washing your hands and singing "Happy Birthday"!

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader Column 04-07-2020

Dear Reader,

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, today's guest author, is also an award-winning Louisiana humorist, a popular blogger and speaker, and host of the All Things Southern podcast. Shellie's titles include Suck Your Stomach In and Put Some Color On and Heart Wide Open. Her latest work Finding Deep & Wide helps us step away from the exhaustion we feel when living under a spiritual to-do list.

Email: tomtom@allthingssouthern.com to say "Hello." Shellie would love to hear from you, and she's also giving away five copies of her book Finding Deep and Wide.

Kayaking Gone Wrong

While I've always been a dog person, my current canines make a practice of testing my affection. Joking. Mostly.

By way of introduction, Beaux and Hank are yellow labs. They're also inseparable, brothers by biology and brothers in crime. They had a record as long as my arm before their first birthdays. I've always said labs make the best pets, if you and your homestead can make it through their first two or three live-to-chew years. Two and half years in with these sweethearts and I now say, 'if I let them make it that long.' Joking. Totally.

I love these crazy dogs. Oh, sure they tried to drown me last year, but that was an accident. My home sits on a beautiful lake here in northeast Louisiana and I enjoy kayaking during the warm months. How could I have known they would launch a stealthy "fetch the owner" swim once I was out of sight?

I was a mile or more from the dock when I glanced over my shoulder to locate the source of some strange noises. It was Beaux and Hank, dog paddling furiously toward me, and snorting water in every direction! They were clearly under duress, having vastly underestimated their long-distance swimming skills.

By the time I got to them, the situation was growing dire. Both dogs were going under! Have I mentioned they are Honey I Enlarged the Dogs Huge? They were weighing in around a hundred pounds each at the time. I suppose it was adrenalin. Somehow, I was able to grab their collars and hoist them into the kayak, while praying furiously for those collars not to slip off their furry necks. Had that happened, this story would not have ended well.

And it did end well. Eventually.

After they tried to turn the kayak over in their excitement to be on board with me.

After they kept sitting on the 'sides' of the kayak every time I hollered, "Sit!"

We'd tilt dangerously to one side and I'd yell "Not there!" Bless 'em. Not having a grasp on English in the best of times, the boys would swap sides, each assuming I meant the other kayak wall! Lord, have mercy on us all.

Somehow, we managed not to capsize and make it safely back to the dock. And other than the flesh wounds I was sporting from their panicked paws, our near-death experience was a great bonding moment we lived to tell about another day. For a storyteller like yours truly, that goes down as a win!

You may be a dog person, or a cat person, or hey--perhaps you have a pet pig? Who knows? One thing I'm sure of, you're a reader or you wouldn't be part of this community, right? That's great because I just happen to have a giveaway for you! I'm giving away 5 copies of my new book, Finding Deep and Wide.

Send me an email and you'll be entered in the drawing! Email tomtom@allthingssouthern.com.

-- Shellie Rushing Tomlinson

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

THREADS: A DEPRESSION ERA TALE (Fiction) by Charlotte Whitney

Ready for a heart-warming tale of three sisters coming of age on a Midwestern farm during the throes of the Great Depression? One that will end on a note of hope? Opening with young Nellie digging for pirate treasure in the woods, and instead, discovering a dead baby, this novel promises to captivate your imagination with mystery, romance, and the sheer struggle to survive.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on THREADS to read more and to email author Charlotte Whitney, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 04-06-2020

Dear Reader,

After reading one of the headlines in today's newspaper, here in Sarasota, "New forecast says brace for major hurricanes to strike the US in 2020," instead of mentally piling-on this new anxiety-ridden information, adding it to the COVID-19 virus, my husband tripping and injuring his leg, my occipital neuralgia flaring (a bang-your-head-against-the-wall pain), and one of our cats being sick--I've decided this is almost getting laughable, so I'm announcing, "bring it on," and I'm taking Pat Benatar's advice in her song, "Hit me with your best shot!"

I'm ready. Now, instead of worrying, I've decided to give my full attention and concentrate on what I can do--in the moment--writing, dishes, gardening, calling a friend, turning on the bubble machine I run in front of my house. These things bring some "normal" into my day and they are where I can find peace.

Baking is another way for me to let down and relax. So when I saw a simple recipe for Pantry Peach Cobbler in the newspaper I decided to try something new. This recipe is really so good, it's unbelievable.

Pantry Peach Cobbler
(Yesterday's newspaper)
Recipe by Southern Kitchen

serves 6 to 8

8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 29-ounce canned peaches, in juice (I only had peaches in heavy syrup so I didn't add as much sugar)
1 cup sugar, plus more if you want to sprinkle after baking
3/4 all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the butter in an 8-inch square baking dish. Place in the oven to melt while the oven is heating.

Meanwhile, drain the peaches through a strainer set over a medium bowl. Discard half of the juice from the can, reserving the peaches and the remaining juice.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in the milk to form a smooth batter.

Carefully remove the hot baking dish from the oven. Pour the batter into the butter in the dish, allowing the butter to lop over the sides of the batter. Pour the peaches and their remaining juices evenly over the batter; do not stir. Bake until deeply golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the baking dish to a wire rack and sprinkle a little sugar over the top of the cobbler (if you desire). Let cool for at least 10 minutes and serve.

Tomorrow I will share more emails from readers. Let me know how the COVID-19 virus has changed your daily life. Email:

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

BEYOND THE GHETTO GATES (Fiction) by Michelle Cameron

Did you know that Napoleon had a Jewish nickname? He earned it during his 1796-7 campaign through Italy, when he liberated the Jews from their centuries-old incarceration in the ghettos. Based on this little-known slice of Italian Jewish history, this novel tells the story of two women--Jewish Mirelle, torn between love for a dashing French soldier and duty to her faith and family--and Francesca, tied by her Catholic belief to an abusive, murderous husband.

Napoleon's Jewish nickname? It plays on his last name: Helek Tov, a Good Part (Bonaparte).

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on BEYOND THE GHETTO GATES to read more and to email author Michelle Cameron, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 04-03-2020

Dear Reader,

Staying close to home for me, means staying closer to my kitchen, so I've been doing some extra baking, and it sounds like book club reader Mary B., is going to be baking today, too.

"Suzanne, I'd love your chocolate buttermilk frosting, if you don't mind sharing!" -- Mary B.

Mary, I think you're asking for the frosting recipe I mentioned in my column the other day? I misspoke when I said it was a chocolate buttermilk frosting, actually it's buttercream. You're going to love it!

DARK CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

1 cup unsalted butter, softened but not melted
3-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder (or you can use non-dark, if you prefer)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 tablespoons milk

Cream butter for a few minutes in the mixer. In separate bowl, sift together powdered sugar and cocoa. Turn mixer on to the lowest speed and add sifted ingredients. (Make sure you add slowly, or ingredients will blow everywhere.) Mix until the sugar and cocoa are absorbed by the butter. Increase mixer speed to medium, add vanilla, salt and milk. Beat for three minutes. If the frosting needs a stiffer consistency, add a little more powdered sugar, if it needs to be thinned out, add additional milk, one tablespoon at a time.

Today I plan on trying a new Custardy Peach recipe. I'll let you know if it's a winner. Please do stay in touch with how your daily routine has changed. I enjoy reading your emails and readers do, too.

From my inbox:

"Dear Suzanne, In my area (Atlanta), some grocery stores have designated an early morning shopping hour for older folks, one hour before the store opens to regular traffic. Last week, on the first day of such specialness, I approached the open door of a Kroger for the early morning shopping hour. Just ahead of me was a younger man.

As he got to the door, a masked Kroger employee said, 'Excuse me, sir. Are you over 65? This shopping time is just for those over 65.' The younger man said no he wasn't and then he asked when the store would open 'for real'! As he turned to leave, I was entering. So the young man stopped and asked the employee, 'Why didn't you ask her how old she is?'

And I quickly replied, 'She's being kind, sir.' And I think we all smiled. (I couldn't quite tell about the employee because of the mask; but, her eyes crinkled at the corners.) -- Barb R.

Dear Suzanne, Working at home is harder than I thought it would be. I do love staying in my jammies, barefoot, lounging on my bed, but I miss our patrons terribly! My cat Max is not much of a conversationalist...he thinks my lap is his domain, not the laptop's. I am still able to get a good bit done, but it is challenging. Right now our big concern is our Summer Reading Program. We were counting on local businesses in our small town for prizes, but we can't ask them now, as they are struggling. Any ideas?" -- Lynne S.

What are you doing? How has your daily routine changed? You can reach me at: Suzanne@DearReader.com

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader Column 04-02-2020

Dear Reader,

Readers have written today's column. How has your daily life changed because of the COVID-19 virus?

"Suzanne, being on a state-mandated lockdown and home almost all the time (except for doctor or grocery visits), I noticed that my two dogs and cat have been acting strangely. They've been demanding treats all day long, to the point that the dogs will go out in the yard and run back in, just to get their treat. I finally figured it out. They were used to my being away from the house a lot, and whenever I left, and when I came home, they always got a treat. They have assumed that now that I'm always here, it is always treat time. The cat is so confused that he doesn't know when to ask for his meals. He is on a diet and was used to getting fed small amounts when I'd leave and when I'd come back. Now he doesn't know what to make of the fact that I'm always here. He liked that schedule and this has ruined it." -- Dorie F.

"Hello, hello, my dear reading friend, so happy you're still alive and well. Life is all about perspective. One of the nice things about being forced to stay home is--well, cleaning my whole house. I was out on the patio this weekend, working on a much neglected pool and pump. When the pump broke, life got in the way and for a while I was calling it our 'big pond' but by the end of this week, I will be floating with a margarita and loving my staycation!" -- CD

"Suzanne, who knew that trying to find toilet paper would compare to the search for Beanie Babies and Cabbage Patch dolls? But I am finding things that I haven't seen in years, as I deep clean areas in my house that I've ignored for a long time. My house became a storage area for six kids that have moved on, and the items that came when my mother died (twenty-some years ago), I finally threw out curlers she used in the 40's.

I wish I could do more to help. For over 12 years, I have knitted prayer shawls, giving them to people who are sick or suffering from anything. Now I call my neighbors and ask if they would want one. If so, I put it in my mailbox and they come by and pick it up. It adds a little joy and brightens their day. Thank You for brightening my day." -- Mary Lee M.

"Hi Suzanne. Ok, here you go, the news is driving me crazy. The free concerts in small videos are all great. Sir Patrick Stewart is reading Shakespeare sonnets on my Twitter, that makes me happy. Seeing videos of people on balconies, singing clapping, playing instruments, happy. Hearing parents say they are playing board games with their kids. Wow, I think I'm finding a lot of happy in this crazy world! Silver lining." -- Angel P.

How has your daily life changed? I'd love to hear from you and so would other readers.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

With so many new books out every week, we promise this title deserves your attention:

(Fantasy) FROM BLOOD AND ASH by Jennifer Armentrout

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader Column 04-01-2020

Dear Reader,

Five, 20-inch wide, delicate tissue sunflowers, fancy die-cut flower paper plates, wooden silverware with golden trim, napkins sprinkled with flowers and amusingly dressed cats, and "Happy Birthday" hats, had been sitting in my closet waiting for the March 31st family birthday party for my brother-in-law. He's an avid gardener (who also fancies cats), so the birthday theme would have been a perfect match. Unfortunately because of the Coronavirus, our family party was canceled, but I decided the "party" must go on.

So I baked some chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttermilk frosting, organized a tray with a place setting and a hat from the party supplies, along with the tissue sunflowers, put a "Happy Birthday" hat on my head, and my husband and I drove over to my brother-in-law's house. We set the "party" on his doorstep, rang the bell, waved at him through the window and I sang "Happy Birthday!" It's a birthday I think he'll always remember. I know I will.

Book club reader Joanne H., has found a way to keep the "party" going too...

"Suzanne, we use Zoom to replace our girls night out (GNO) with girls night online. We make a drink and get on Zoom and chat for an hour or so. My husband and I also take daily walks through the neighborhood. We stop at friends houses and call them so they come to the door, while we stay in the street and chat for a few minutes.

I've kept busy cleaning out things I never have time to do. I've cleaned all the closets and am now organizing the thousands of pictures I've collected over the years. I'm finding so many mementos from when the kids were little, pictures they've drawn, cards and funny notes they wrote. I found a wooden heart from my daughter and she wrote on it "I'll stop sucking my thumb if I can get braces!" -- Joanne H.

How has your daily routine changed because of the Coronavirus?

How are you dealing with any anxiety?

And what makes you smile? I'd love to hear from you. I'll share your comments and ideas with readers.

George and Alice are making me smile every day. I'll tell you more about them tomorrow.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader Column 03-31-2020

Dear Reader,

Robin Blake, today's guest author has written six mystery novels about the 18th century English coroner Titus Cragg, and his scientific friend Dr Luke Fidelis. He is also the biographer of Anthony Van Dyck and George Stubbs.

Say hello (everyone loves email, especially in these times). Robin Blake can be contacted at robinblakeauthor@gmail.com

Please welcome author Robin Blake...

About Time, and Stories.

I dare say all story-telling is about time. As word succeeds word, and page follows page, the flow of time is tested and explored. Time is the water in which story-tellers swim. Stories are drenched in it.

Even when a story is pretending to look forward, it is actually looking back, because the all-important business of fiction is retrospection--in anger, in tears, in gratitude, but often only in simple curiosity. Ideally, though, the matter is not so simple. There should be a chord of emotions, because the music of time is complex. It is often discordant, but when it's harmonious, as the saying goes, time is medicinal, a consolation. Writers love to play on the sadness of time, but they know it can be a sweet sorrow just as often as it's a bitter pill.

Memory is the postman of time, bringing the past again and again to your door whether you want it or not. As everybody knows memory is selective, and a distorting lens. Its selections and distortions can't be eliminated, nor should they be, because they're loaded with important meanings. Just ask your analyst, if you have one. Or ask your mother, if you still have one. But be warned: her memories have their own distortions and their own, quite different, meanings. Memory is not only selective, it is relative.

The only element in the mind that is not of time is the moment. Time is escapement, but moments momentarily escape time. In them the mechanism stops, the sun stops. When the poet Louis Macneice held hands with his girl in a teashop, "time was away and somewhere else" and Macneice had an experience of bliss. But soon enough the shadow on the floor moved and the moment was gone.

We dream of seizing such moments in order to live in them, if only we had time enough. But that is impossible. All moments, without exception, are inevitably crushed under time's chariot-wheel. We don't have time because, instead, time has us.

Every moment, every precious moment, is transient: that is the deal. In the long run time, as we experience it, does not mean development, or progress, or even random accumulation. It means loss. It means never going back.

Get used to it, says common sense. But time is immune to common sense. Time is immune to everything, except story-telling.

-- Robin Blake
robinblakeauthor@gmail.com

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

This month's Penguin Classics book is The Awakening, by Kate Chopin. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.

Dear Reader Column 03-30-2020

Dear Reader,

I think we all need a little "funny" every day right now--I know I sure do. So I want to thank Carol B., from Iowa, for her response to last Wednesday's column about toilet paper...

"Suzanne, I loved your column and questions about toilet paper! It's a topic I've been thinking about myself, and recently included in a piece I wrote about our family's guidelines for our monthly Memoirs group. I've excerpted a paragraph that provides guidance on "how much" to use. <smile>

Some stores have limited the amount of toilet paper a customer may buy, a form of rationing. Strangely enough, our family had its own form of rationing toilet paper when I grew up. My parents didn't call it that, but in keeping with the family philosophy of conservation of and stretching resources, I was instructed to use three--and three only--squares of toilet paper per wipe. That was enough to keep your hand dry and do the job. My mother pooh-poohed those who tugged at the roll and mummified their hand with paper. 'Wasteful," she said, and "it can plug your plumbing.'

It was understood, though, that you had to start with quality paper, a 2-ply Scott brand was our family's choice. Similar stipulations were in place for using paper towels in public restrooms...only one towel. That was enough. My parents' instructions stuck. Without revealing too much personal information, let's just say that today I feel rather extravagant when I exceed the limit." -- Carol B., Burlington, Iowa

(Suzanne replies:) What a great email. Thanks so much for writing. If the toilet paper shelves in my grocery store weren't still bare, by golly Carol, I'd send you your very own six pack of TP and you could go a little crazy!

Besides counting squares of TP, I'd love to know how you're spending your extra "at home" time?

Are there any new projects you've tackled? My new challenge is to finally figure out how to match the bottoms and tops of the 20 plastic storage containers in my cupboard. (It really shouldn't be this hard.) My idea is to get out the magic markers and color coordinate--a red dot on the bottom, a red dot on the lid and they are a match. And move on to a different color. Wish me luck.

If you're working from home, how's it going? Any funny stories?

What (or who) is driving you nuts?

Are you homeschooling your children/grandchildren?

How are you staying connected to friends?

Are you using technology in a different way than you have before? How's it going?

And if you've been so fortunate--what has made you smile?

I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

FROM BLOOD AND ASH by Jennifer Armentrout

When I start reading a book, I want to be swept away, captivated, shocked and messed up in the best way possible from. This book is all of that. If you love forbidden romance, this book is for you. If you love snark, this book is for you. If you love action and intrigue, edge of your seat moments and being caught off guard by what you're reading, this book is for you.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on FROM BLOOD AND ASH to read more and to email author Jennifer Armentrout, you'll get a reply.

This month's Penguin Classics book is The Awakening, by Kate Chopin. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.