The official blog of Denise M. Baran-Unland, author. Discover her books for all ages at bryonyseries.com.
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday for Americans to honor the men and women who died in the country's service and to pray for (according to whatever faith they practice) permament peace.
Please take a moment in your busy day to watch this 54-second clip.
Since the beginning of this blog on August 1, 2010, Saturdays has been a day to celebrate BryonySeries author and Irish vampire character Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara, and all things Irish.
If you've ever met Ed Calkins, you might smile and no knowingly at the Irish parody exuberance in this video.
And if you don't, you will get a glimpse of Ed's strong and enthusiastic personality at WriteOn Joliet meetings as potrayed by all of the actors (except the two Americans) in this video.
Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzlMME_sekI
On January 17, The Timbers of Shorewood retirement community held its fourth "Meet the Authors" event for the members of WriteOn Joliet who contributed to its 2024 and 2025 anthologies.
Amy Odell, activities director, created light bulb ornaments for each participant.
For details about the event, our sponsors, and some really nice photos, read "Seniors meet local authors at ‘WriteOn Joliet’ annual event at Timbers of Shorewood."
Please enjoy the second part of the video.
On January 17, The Timbers of Shorewood retirement community held its fourth "Meet the Authors" event for the members of WriteOn Joliet who contributed to its 2024 and 2025 anthologies.
Amy Odell, activities director, created their light bulb ornaments for each participant.
For details about the event, our sponsors, and some really nice photos, read "Seniors meet local authors at ‘WriteOn Joliet’ annual event at Timbers of Shorewood."
And then watch part one of the event:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pabKhtEB5d0&t=562s
When WriteOn Joliet was hosting its first radio-style theater performance of original works, a very good acquaintance named JoAnn offered to create a promotional video for us, which turned out really nice (with her husband Stan adding the voice-over).
Since that time, JoAnn has started a YouTube channel called "Living Blessed," with plenty of fun thrifiting ideas, especially for people who garden.
And now that spring is here, and people are catching spring fever, JoAnn has a perfect video in her archives for you.
Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUBNcBcYfjA
Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Who's wearing green today?
Of course, the major Irish-themed holiday in the BryonySeries world, is not Saint Patrick's Day, but Calkins Day, which is celebrated every year on February 13.
And in Denise's world, we're not even corned beef until it goes on sale (we're having bacon burgers while we deep clean this evening).
Still, in keeping with the spirit of the day, I'm sharing a short vintage clip of a 1954 Saint Patrick's Day parage.
The year is one of the time settings in "House on Top of the Hill." And "Savannah" is a place in "Cornell Dyer and the Necklace of Forgetfulness" and a person in first and fifth installements of "Before The Blood" and "A Year of Shadows and Moonlight, Of Gathering Blooms in the Woods."
Enjoy the 1:01 minute trip back into time. And enjoy your day!
