Six Good Thoughts

Well wishes can show up in seeminly random places.

Here are half a dozen I've found in my journeys the past few years.

I hope at least one makes you smile.

Kindess Days

I realized the other day that I actually do very, very little to let people know about the two non-BryonySeries books I've written.

One is an editiing checklist for fiction that's a fundraiser for WriteOn Joliet.

The other is a devotional-style book on the non-obvious ways to find kindness.

Those who follow my BryonySeries Facebook page already know that I focus on different subseries on the different days of the week.

Going forward, I'm adding "kindness days" into the Sunday rotation in order to add two very components that are key to B.L.O.C.K.S. - the parent brand of the BryonySeries.

Because although all of the BryonySeries books (except Bertrand the Mouse, who promotes the fun in reading) involve the supernatural in some way, we deliver those books with an emphasis on these two characteristics:

A spirit of community.

And kindness.

Enjoy!

It's nice to be with you - the monkees (cover by bunso)

Anyone new to the BryonySeries blog might wonder why I post piano music on Sundays and how that fits into the BryonySeries world.

That's because one character - John Simons - was a nineteenth century world-renowned pianist and composer before he died and became a vampire.

I'm posting this piece today because I: like the Monkees, like this lesser-known Monkees song, never saw this song as a piano cover by now, and because one Sunday a month I'm laying aside the focus on the BryonySeries books and more kindness, especially since I did write one non-BryonySeries book to help foster kindness in the world.

The book is called "Nine Months of Kindness."

Enjoy this piece and may it inspire you to be a kinder person today - and to notice the often overlooked kindess of others.

Weathering the Storms

Like many, many others, I lost power, time, and money when a derecho and other strong storms ripped through the parts of Illinois last week.

I lost the same in 2020, when a derecho also ripped through the area, smack in the middle of the COVID-19 shutdown.

At the time, I was writing nine months worth of daily reflections on kindness (finding opportunties to be kind and finding kindness in others where I might have missed it otherwise), which I published later that year.

Here's what I wrote on two of those days in 2020.

AUGUST 10 

Be kind: Be thankful for the luxuries we take for granted.

A derecho blew through Will County this afternoon.

            Shortly afterwards, I was wandering through rubble, taking pictures of the aftermath for The Herald-News

            This single, brief storm uprooted trees, damaged homes and properties, and cut power to thousands of homes. Many people were especially angry about the loss of power and internet.

            Offering prayers and thinking good thoughts for the safety of the workers who bring us such luxuries as refrigerators and hot water might be a better use of time while we’re eating crackers in the dark than griping.

AUGUST 14 

Be kind: Spotlight someone else’s good works.

An injured baby squirrel will live another day because a kind person picked it up after the derecho and found a local squirrel rescue to accept it.

            That might not sound like a big deal to you.

            But you are not a squirrel.

            Yes, I wrote a story about it. And I’m glad I did. Because I added a postscript to this post.

            A few weeks later, someone I know in another state rescued two baby squirrels and didn’t know what to do.

            By connecting the novice with the expert, two more squirrels are now doing well.

From "Nine Months of Kindness"

Two Boys and a Sign

To paraphrase a popular saying, with great opportunity comes great responsibility.

Meaning, Jan Staley, owner of The Book Market in Crest Hill, has been wonderfully generous in giving BryonySeries a display space inside her store.

And the collaboration has been wonderful, including ways to draw people's attention top the display and giving them basic information about special offers, gifts, etc.

So that has led to an ever-changing array of homemade signs.

You should know I'm completely useless in that regard.

Daniel, however, is amazing. And for every display except one, he's made the signs, often collaborating with Rebekah.

For 2025, we're seeking ways to make signage easier, such as a felt board or magnetic board. This will save us sign time, for time is an especially precious resource in our family.

So naturally the final sign of 2024 gave us trouble, so much so that the BryonySeries Christmas display went up last week without the sign.

The fault lay within the paper. The letters simply wouldn't stick to it, even after throwing our best solutions at it.

So Daniel began anew last night. And Timothy joined him.

The project took several hours, which is a wealth of time when these young men working very full-time jobs and are taking master level classes.

Now anyone who walks into The Book Market for the rest of the year, they will see a festive sign and the information.

But the subtext of that sign shows a few other things, too: a commitment to help out with a task I can't properly executive, the willingness to give up their time and give of themselves for a project that doesn't directly benefit them,  and the ability to collaborate to get the job done.

And today, I'll be sitting across that sign from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with full knowledge that the sign is more than paper, stickers, and bows.

The sign represents the characters of two fine young men,

Happy Tuesday!

A Tiny Purple Flower From Justin

Isn't it amazing how one small gift can do so much?

My thirteen-year-old adopted grandson Justin recently sent this to me through the grapevine one day.

Not only is the gift sweet in and of itself, but he's also observant enough to know the BryonySeries connection behind the motif.

But Justin is more than observant. He acted on his observation by deciding I might like to have it.

And then Justin made sure I received it.

So now when I look at it, I naturally see the fruit of my imagination, a tangible reward of the team's marketing and branding efforts on all things BryonySeries...

And I see a thoughtful teenager who is growing into a thoughtful young man.

Happy Thursday!

Five Minutes of Kindness

More than thirty years ago, I received a blond, 1950s-era (estimate) piece of furniture for five minutes of kindness.

I had visited a stranger in the hospital, the mother of a friend of someone my mother knew. This woman (I was told) was Catholic, in poor health, and experiencing depression, too.

Our pastor always stressed the importance of ministering to others, and this was my first time "ministering."

I popped a tuna casserole in the oven, grabbed a rosary, and drove away to the hospital across town. My husband worked an afternoon shift at the time. So once I arrived, I could only stay one hour before I had to leave.

I parked, hurried up to the room, and the woman was sound asleep. So I waited.

She awakened five minutes before I had to leave, a bit jolted by a stranger in her room. Her son arrived around the same time. So he made the introduction. I shared a bit of hard-earned inspiration and left.

That was a Monday afternoon. She died Wednesday morning.

Her son said my visit made such a difference to her, that he offered me her favorite piece of furniture, the hutch. But before he could deliver it, another relative claimed it. He was very apologetic. But my visit was from my heart; I wasn't looking to receive anything.

Two years later, that relative went into a nursing home. The son called and once again offered me the hutch. It's a very heavy piece of furniture. But it's gone where we've gone.

When we move from Marycrest to Channahon, we took it with us. When we lost the home in Channahon and moved to my mother's, it was one of the few items that went into our small storage unit. When four of us moved into a small apartment, we took it with us. It went to the first townhome, the second townhome, the third townhome.

Gilded Age Furniture Restoration recently "restored" the piece, along with my grandmother's dresser. The hutch holds some extra special dishes, such as pieces that belonged to familu members who are no longer with us.

Timothy has already claimed the piece after I die.

One of the reasons why this piece is so important to our family is the story behind it. That story proves that each act of kindness, sincerely given, can literally change someone's life.

The world is never not in need of kindness, I think.

Happy Monday!

Happy Calkins Day! (Amid Frustrating Technology Woes)

I could spend this post grumbling about the time I lost this past week to a technology issue that just won't resolve itself, no matter how many hours of lost time trying and the large amount of in-house expertise we've thrown at it.

I'm behind in "life" tasks, housework, responding to social media, and my own personal fiction writing goals.

So now that you know why I've appeared to recently "ghost" any of the above, I'm moving onto something happier, cheerier, and with a tone that I hope is close to your heart, too.

Happy Calkins Day!

And what does exactly does this mean?

Despite the multiple posts I've written this week about the BryonySeries holiday that Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara, invented for himself before the series existed (here, here, here, and here) the heart of Calkins day is not about attending any event or a ploy to market books.

If Ed Calkins (a real person turned Irish vampire in the BryonySeries turned author for the series) can "steal" my characters for his writings I can "steal" his holiday for the sake of positivity.

Calkins Day, which is celebrated every year on Feb. 13 (by us), is Ed's birthday.

It's the day after Lincoln's Birthday and the day before Valentine's Day.

Ed thinks it should be a three-day holiday. And why not? 

Here are three good reasons:

1) No matter how anyone in 2023 considers Abraham Lincoln, few people would argue the world today needs strong leaders.

2) Calkins Day represents laughter, imagination, and generosity. Few people would argue the world needs all three today, perhaps more than ever.

3) Valentine's Day represents love, all love, not just romantic love, which is capricious by nature. Do you know anyone who doesn't need to give or receive more love? No? Me, neither.

So to those points:

1) Let's resolve to be worthy examples of people who follow us.

2a) Let's laugh a whole lot more and smile more often than that. 

2b) Give yourself permission to imagine and create without expectation that the result isn't "good enough" by some expert's standards. I mean, you can't bake a delicious cake without spilling some flour.

2c) Adopt of spirit of generosity, first with yourself and then with others. If you're generous with the time you need for yourself, you'll be more happily generous with the time you can give others.

3) Finally love a whole lot more. 

Love yourself with all your flaws.

And love others in the same manner.

Happy Calkins Day!

Three Kindness Reflections

Good morning!

Three thoughts from Nine Months of Kindness to inspire the beginning of your week.

1) Be kind: A detour in your day might mean the world to another.

2) Be Kind: Sometimes, the best show of appreciation is to show up.

3) Be kind: Learn to be a gracious taker.

May blessings abound for you today and throughout the entire week and may you find grace in unexpected places.

 

Nine Months of Kindness

By late 2019, I had an idea to correct some of the negative attitudes that had crept into my thinking. So what's a writer to do?

I know. Write a book about the process.

 And then to share took with others. Just in case anyone might be curious to read what I learned along the way or embark on a attitude shift of their own.

The topic was simple. I wanted to explore simple, reachable, and attainable ways to be more kind. 

I also wanted to be more aware of the kindnesses of others (not necessarily directed at me, just in general) of the many, varied, and even subtle ways people display kindness.

So on January 1, 2020, I wrote the first entry. And I continued writing one each day for the next nine months.

Or to be more realistic, I often jotted a few notes as placeholder text and then caught up on the actual writing when I had more time.

Most of the entries are brief - a few lines or a couple short paragraphs.. Only one entry, I believe, runs into a second page. So if you wanted to read just one each day, your commitment time would be less than five minutes - and that would include opening the book.

And isn't the cover art beautiful? My daughter Rebekah designed it from one of her photos. 

Here is the back cover summary:

They say “kindness” begins at home, and home starts with the person in the mirror. In “Nine Months of Kindness,” writer/editor Denise M. Baran-Unland spent part of 2020 exploring ways she could become kinder to herself and the people in her life. She shares her experiences, and her reflections, in this book.

Ironically, Amazon released the book on January 15, the day I turned fifty-nine and a half and also the day I began my eighth year as the features editor at The Herald-News.

You may purchase Nine Months of Kindness here.

And for an immediate reflection on kindness, visit check out this blog post by WriteOn Joliet member and poet Holly Coop: https://hollycoopauthor.wordpress.com/2021/01/03/spread-the-virus.

Community News: March 5 and March 6

Check out the awesome things people are doing.

If you live within the Herald-News' coverage area (most of Will and Grundy counties in Illinois), and you'd like to share your organization's news or upcoming events, email the information to new@theherald-news.com.



Dine at Culver’s donate to Silver Cross in New Lenox 

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/02/25/dine-at-culvers-donate-to-silver-cross-in-new-lenox/aqq4yti/


Learn about cultures, taste new food, at Frankfort event

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/03/03/learn-about-cultures-taste-new-food-at-frankfort-event/avk8q8p/


D.157-C encourages spread of positivity during Frankfort Kindness Project 

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/02/27/d-157-c-encourages-spread-of-positivity-during-frankfort-kindness-project/a9580em/


D. 202 in Plainfield to host musicals this spring

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/02/26/d-202-in-plainfield-to-host-musicals-this-spring/akg7hq6/


Plus three new stories that posted:

This library's gone to the dark side 
White Oak Library district to offer 'Monsters and Myths of March' 

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/03/03/this-librarys-gone-to-the-dark-side/ajjoro2/


'I see the world through a rectangular frame'
Homer Glen photographer exhibiting artwork at Joliet cafe

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/02/25/i-see-the-world-through-a-rectangular-frame/dvl55j1/


LocalLit book review: 'Mouse in the House' by J.L. Callison of Aurora

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/03/02/locallit-book-review-mouse-in-the-house-by-j-l-callison-of-aurora/aqzwawp/



NEWSLETTERS

Sign up for the Will County Go Guide

http://www.theherald-news.com/newsletter/will-county-go-guide/#//


Sign up for the LocalLit Short Story Newsletter

http://www.theherald-news.com/newsletter/locallit/


Sign up for The Munsonville Times

https://www.bryonyseries.com/munsonville-times

Illustration by Christopher Gleason for "Staked!" Follow him at artworkbytopher.comartworkbytopher.com.

Community News: March 3 and March 4, 2020

Check out the awesome things people are doing.

If you live within the Herald-News' coverage area (most of Will and Grundy counties in Illinois), and you'd like to share your organization's news or upcoming events, email the information to new@theherald-news.com.


Troy Shorewood students lead clothing drive, kindness challenge

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/02/27/troy-shorewood-students-lead-clothing-drive-kindness-challenge/ax1leb4/


My Joyful Heart in Mokena hosting pillow drive

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/02/27/my-joyful-heart-in-mokena-hosting-pillow-drive/abq5mhl/


Frankfort students make blankets for Project Linus

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/02/27/frankfort-students-make-blankets-for-project-linus/a21yyj5/


Students compete at #Joliet D. 86 STEM Extravaganza 

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/02/27/students-compete-at-joliet-d-86-stem-extravaganza/a50rppy/


State Rep. Batinick visits Liberty Elementary School in Plainfield

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/02/27/state-rep-batinick-visits-liberty-elementary-school-in-plainfield/a4115f/


Pets of the Week: March 2

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/02/25/pets-of-the-week-march-2/ds1u5zw/


Two good blogs to check out


"Finding Focus and Holding Focus" by James Pressler 

http://www.writingandtheprocess.com/2020/02/find-focus-and-holding-focus.html?fbclid=IwAR1cqYXEYq56qYHsJ7h8vT3nXCuokMaVacLr3a0rSZXxu4dydgim_vJKJ3M


"The Holy Rolling Barnstorming Tour of 2020" by Tom Hernandez

https://tomhernandezblog.wordpress.com/2020/03/03/the-holy-rolling-barnstorming-tour-of-2020/?fbclid=IwAR1wQBMH9mZy_7iuTTKmX0jaXDM1ZBeTpSB6A0wBbONMDP6iHHoiL4OV-I0


NEWSLETTERS


Sign up for the Will County Go Guide

http://www.theherald-news.com/newsletter/will-county-go-guide/#//


Sign up for the LocalLit Short Story Newsletter

http://www.theherald-news.com/newsletter/locallit/


Sign up for The Munsonville Times

https://www.bryonyseries.com/munsonville-times

Illustration by Kathleen Rose VAn Pelt for "Bryony."

Community News: Nov. 13, 2019

Check out the awesome things people are doing.

If you live within the Herald-News' coverage area (most of Will and Grundy counties in Illinois), and you'd like to share your organization's news or upcoming events, email the information to new@theherald-news.com.


Frankfort elementary school celebrates spirit of kindness

https://www.theherald-news.com/2019/11/09/frannkfort-elementary-school-celebrates-spirit-of-kindness/arlpknt/


NuMark CU volunteers spread awareness for National Bullying Prevention Month 

https://www.theherald-news.com/2019/11/09/numark-cu-volunteers-spread-awareness-for-national-bullying-prevention-month/az69gtf/


Local students earn scholarships, awards and are inducted into honor societies

https://www.theherald-news.com/2019/11/11/local-students-earn-scholarships-awards-and-are-inducted-into-honor-societies/aer1rd9/


Local students graduate, earn dean's list

https://www.theherald-news.com/2019/11/11/local-students-graduate-earn-deans-list/aatg1a1/


NEWSLETTERS

Sign up for the Will County Go Guide

http://www.theherald-news.com/newsletter/will-county-go-guide/#//


Sign up for the LocalLit Short Story Newsletter

http://www.theherald-news.com/newsletter/locallit/


Sign up for The Munsonville Times

https://www.bryonyseries.com/munsonville-times

Illustration by Matt Coundiff for"Visage."

Short on Sleep, Long on Love?

Last night I pulled long night to make sure one of my adult sons, who is sick and had to pull a long shift yesterday and then drive forty-five minutes home at midnight, got home safely.

Both of us have an early rising today, me to work, and him in a day-long refresher class to renew a certification. So we were a couple of sleepy kindred spirits.

I did get some work done, so it wasn't a total waste.

And the house is clean, the third installation of Before the Blood is ready for Rebekah to give it a look-over and reupload, and I have (finally) have new shoes. This may sound silly, but Timothy threw my old gym shoes away at the store they were so bad, and I've worn a broken pair of flats for the last year. Don't ask.

The irony as I struggled to stay awake is that the caffeine kicked in by the time he made it home.

Yeah.

Tomorrow: an update on last Saturday's event.

Happy Monday, readers, writers, and vampire fans! :)

Photo by Timothy Baran

Story Round-Up: Features in The Herald-News, Oct. 1 through Oct. 6

Last night at WriteOn Joliet, we passed the proof copy of our first anthology 'around the table, and one member, who is agented and currently rediting her novel for the publisher, burst into tears at actually seeing her works in print.

We have come a long way ever since Kristina Skaggs approached me in late 2011 and asked me to co-lead a writer's group with her. I refused, she asked again, and we went back and forth for a long time before I finally, and reluctantly, relented. I'm sure today's members are glad I did. And so am I.

Back to the proof. My co-leader Tom Hernandez found two typos, and I saw some formatting errors we missed correcting when the pages shifted. Our group's best copyediter took the book home and will mark all the pages since she has the sharpest, and the freshest, eyes for the whole now. Tom and I have looked at it too much to be objective any more.

The whirl of festivals continues! Books and moi (along with another WriteOn Joliet author, Holly Coop), will appear at the Oswego Literary Festival bright and early tomorrow morning - but not until I meet lots of steep deadlines today.

To learn more about Holly and her books, read this interview with her HERE.

Keep reading for information about tomorrow's festival, community events and briefs, and my feature stories for this week.

Oswego Literary Festival

When: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 7

Where: Oswego Public Library, 32 Jefferson St., Oswego

Etc: Local authors, BryonySeries books and other merchandise for sale, giveaways and raffle baskets. Free to attend.

​Contact: bryonyseries@gmail.com

Visit: www.oswegoil.org

If you do stop by to "Hi" to me, Timothy (my helper for this fair), and/or Bertrand (Yes, of course, Bertrand will be there), here's what I'll have at my table.

1) A variety of BryonySeries product for sale: books, cookbooks, and bryony-themed homemade soy candles in five scents. Copies of Cornell Dyer and the Missing Tombstone. (new copies haven't arrived yet). Copies of three different Bertrand the Mouse books: Bertrand and the Lucky Clover, Bertrand's First Book of Numbers, and Bertrand and the Christmas surprise (because it's not too early to think about buying Christmas presents).

2) Assorted small giveaways for kids (sticks, eraser, plastic spiders, and the like).

3) Free gift of sample chapter from Before the Blood when you sign up for the upcoming BryonySeries newsletter.

4) A chance to win a BryonySeries basket full of great BryonySeries stuff.

5) A chance to win the out-of-print 2012 holiday edition of Visage. (It's the only place where I'm photographed as a kangaroo. Seriously).

6) For those who've read Bryony: Play the Bryony trivia game and win a 20 percent discount on anything for sale on my table. Play as many times as you like. Each win gets you another 20 percent discount.

7) Information on upcoming releases.

8) Information on WriteOn Joliet and WriteOn Joliet's upcoming open mic night.

9) And maybe, just maybe, Timothy might read some of his original poetry.

Hope to see you there!

And moving on...

Where to find my non-bylined works?

Local events: Pets, health, faith, and arts and entertainment calendars: where to find them? Under the sections tab on the left hand side of http://www.theherald-news.com/. Click on "features" and the topics drop down. Assembled by moi.

More local events: Gotta Do It, also by me, runs each Sunday in the People section.

Community news: Again, under the sections tab, under features, and by topic. Updates are posted on these days in print and web and in web on other days as I have the time: Monday (pets), Tuesday (health), Thursday (faith), Friday (arts and entertainment), and Sunday (people).

Daily updates: I do post the briefs and calendars on Twitter during the week, so you're welcome to follow me at @Denise_Unland61.

BryonySeries stuff: I post curated content relating to the BryonySeries at @BryonySeries. And assorted related content at www.facebook.com/BryonySeries. And of course, please follow the adventures of Bertrand the Mouse on Instagram at bertrand_bryonyseries.

Thank you for reading The Herald-News. And for reading this blog. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Not just another Joliet memoir

Naturally, since Robert Hafey is Joliet born and raised, "Boomhood" is heavy in Joliet memories and experiences, the types of recollections many Jolietans will recognize.

But that's not where the story ends.

http://www.theherald-news.com/lists/2017/09/29/308f8f6cdb67434b9b6bb69fcc4d63cc/index.xml

An Extraordinary Life: Caregiving was Joliet man's true calling

Before becoming caregiver to his mother Helen Cremeens (deceased), Richard Cremeens was a licensed mental health counselor at the mental health division of the Will County Health Department, serving mostly children and adolescents, his obituary said.

Kathy Cremeens of Joliet, Richard's twin sister, pictured on the right, said Richard had great respect for his coworkers and often used his clinical skills in hospital emergency rooms in Will County assessing if his young clients could go home or needed more care.

"And if they needed more care, he knew where and how to get it," Kathy said. "I know he spent a lot of time trying to determine what was best for a child. He always did his best and succeeded in getting those patients the care they needed."

Joliet woman changed her mind because of a goldendoodle

And then Lisa Morel Las found herself searching online for golden doodles and read about one in Plainfield. 

“Lo and behold, it fit every one of my criteria,” Lisa said. 

It got better from there.

http://www.theherald-news.com/lists/2017/10/01/914cc86b64a047beb4e2d21c32557b0a/index.xml?page=1

Pets of the Week: Oct. 2

Read the caption of each photo to find out about that pet, including where he or she can be adopted.

http://www.theherald-news.com/lists/2017/09/30/705fc1c566a847baa9a346849ff1435c/index.xml

Mystery Diner: Minooka's Dock Rotz has good food, variety of craft beers

On Monday at Dock Rotz, the food choice was simple for me. The Dock Burger is almost half off at $5 (regular $9.95) with the standard cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion.

The nacho and beer choices weren't as simple.

http://www.theherald-news.com/lists/2017/10/03/60ac8083b4124b28be3e4dc69d5128ad/index.xml


Joliet church pairs faith with works for hurricane victims

"We said, 'Let's so something,'" Jake Garcia, the church's discipleship director, said. "Let's not just send some things. Let's send some people."

http://www.theherald-news.com/lists/2017/10/04/557f4f811ce4474799a7f07ed5e95b3d/index.xml

St. Raymond’s to offer faith-building events

The first speaker, the Rev. John Kartje, will discuss the relationship between faith and science at 7 p.m. Oct. 12. The second speaker, Colleen Murphy Duggan, will discuss Catholic parenting at 7 p.m. Nov. 9.

Both speakers are experts on their respective topics, Elaine Gutierrez, director of development at the Cathedral of St. Raymond, said. Kartje is the rector of Mundelein Seminary and an astrophysicist Duggan is the mother of five and a prominent author and blogger on Catholic parenting.

http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/10/04/st-raymonds-to-offer-faith-building-events/a71dsi8/

Kindness is rock-solid in Will, Grundy Counties

"It's easy; it's simple, yet powerful," Cemeno said. "It's about spreading kindness one rock at a time and building a community of just kindness."

http://www.theherald-news.com/lists/2017/10/04/1740ae71cea1405b85cc077a0084b923/index.xml

Artworks: Artworks: Joliet man's artwork featured on clocks sold in Target

Green's conceptions of Pinocchio and The Old Woman Who Lived on a Shoe are being featured on clocks made by Chicago Lighthouse Industries, which – according to its website – provides "industrial job training and continuous employment to people who are legally blind through the production of high-quality brand name consumer products."

How Green's artwork wound up on these clocks is another story.

http://www.theherald-news.com/lists/2017/10/04/5205f429d8274760af4a60a4022a762e/index.xml?page=1