2026: The Summer Heat

Posted on July 26, 2026 by peggylchambers

               

It’s hot! That is putting it mildly. The center of the country is hosting the heat dome this week, and we are getting triple digit temperatures. When you add in the humidity the Great Plains brings, that increases it even more. I saw a forecast for 114℉ heat indices, and that is not uncommon.

 I’m staying inside. Thankfully, I have that option—and I have a lot of writing waiting on my attention.

My husband and I take a walk early in the morning before it gets too hot and that way I do something besides sit and write. He also mows the grass early finishing before noon. If all else fails, we could run out and play in the sprinkler.

Many years ago, I managed the city pool and took my kids to swimming lessons in the morning. Their dad picked them up early afternoon and had them under the air conditioning before it got terribly hot. But we were young and the heat didn’t affect us a much as it does now. If I tried to work outside in the middle of the day now, I’d die. My hat is off to all the roofers, lawn services, and mail carriers—or anyone who works outdoors. My husband used to work on the flightline in the middle of the day during the summer (and the middle of the night in the winter).

Now we are retired and can stay inside most of the time. I have been thinking about making a Sonic run for a Cherry Limeade in my air-conditioned car. That shouldn’t be too painful.

Stay cool out there and  what are you doing, writing, reading, or creating this week?

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2026: Summer Gardening

Posted on July 19, 2026 by peggylchambers

I’ve been doing a little gardening this week. Yes, it is hot, but I’m still recovering from back surgery and I’m just beginning to get to the point of being able to weed my flower gardens. They have really taken a hit this year. I hope to do better next year.

The other night while I watered before dark when it was a cool as it was going to get, I ran into this guy in my shrubs. He is a hummingbird moth. They mimic the flight of a hummingbird and hover over flowers sucking nectar like a hummingbird. I gave up on my hummingbird feeders a few years ago when they were invaded by ants, wasps and the occasional meadowlark hanging upside down and sucking it dry. The hummingbirds never had a chance, and I was constantly cleaning them. Sorry hummingbirds.

So, now I have the moths. I find them interesting. Nature is normally interesting.

I have been weeding mornings and evenings and writing during the heat of the day. (Ah retirement!) And I have been making some great progress on writing my latest middle grade book that I find so much fun. I can’t wait to show it to you. Evidently, I’m a kid at heart.

It’s 100 plus degrees in the shade here in the heartland (at least we’re not on fire or flooding) and I am lucky enough to have an air-conditioned house and food to eat, so I write. I am blessed. How about you?

What are you doing, writing, reading, or creating this week?

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2026: Summer Vegetables and How to Use Them

Posted on July 12, 2026 by peggylchambers

I’ve been cooking for a long time. Some of my creations are better than others. But I’ve seen a lot of recipes on the internet lately with a come-on of “say hi or yum or something” and I’ll give you a recipe. No thank you. I don’t need a come on. So, I created my own recipe from what I remembered reading.

It is gardening season and if you have a vegetable garden you are up to your eyes in zucchini and tomatoes. I don’t have a vegetable garden, but I love to eat fresh vegetables and there are farmers’ markets everywhere.

 I found a recipe this week with layered squash, tomatoes, and cheese, and I decided to try to make it.

 I sauteed some chicken thighs in olive oil with garlic and Italian seasonings. Then I sliced and layered zucchini, yellow squash, and tomatoes (I forgot the onion) then put the chicken on top of it.

I made a cheese sauce and poured it over the top of the casserole and then added parmesan cheese (did I mention I used a lot of garlic and Italian seasonings?) Then I baked it at 350 degrees for 45 minutes and it was really good! It would be good without the chicken if you’re vegetarian or just need a side dish and a way to use up all those zucchinis!

Or you could make more zucchini bread.

But it turned out pretty good even without the onion and it made two meals for us. I served it with Naan and hot honey hummus. Yummy. We’ll have it again tomorrow night.

What are you doing, writing, reading, or creating this week?

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2026: It was a Great Party, I got a Tattoo

Posted on July 5, 2026 by peggylchambers

This is the blog for last week when I couldn’t get the picture to work. so, enjoy this week!

It’s been a long time since I had a bridal shower, and they have changed. We used to sit in a dress and sip from a punch cup as the bride opened her presents and everyone oooohed and awwwwed. It was boring for everyone but the bride. Yesterday was not that way.

My grandson is getting married in November. This has been a yearlong affair. It took forever for the bride to “say yes to the dress,” which is an event in itself. The ring in his pocket stayed there until he could make the perfect trip for the perfect time to get down on one knee.

 I made my wedding dress when I got married. My mother made my sister’s and my other bridesmaid also made hers. There were only two bridesmaids, and the ceremony took place in the chapel of the church since there weren’t a lot of people in attendance. It was a quick ceremony at the church followed by a week-long honeymoon at a cabin on an Oklahoma lake. I don’t know about this honeymoon yet, but I’m sure it will be lavish. This wedding spans three days and there are eight bridesmaids. I have to find a formal dress as grandma of the groom. My mother wore something from her closet.

Earlier this year, we had a lot of fun when my daughter pulled out my wedding dress and hers and the current bride tried them on. There were a lot of laughs. Times have changed. Our dresses didn’t fit her idea of what she wanted, after all they were from 1972 and 1996. Times have changed.

But back to the party. I came home with a stick-on tattoo of the groom’s face on my arm. I don’t know how long it will last. There were trays of food (not just cake and punch) and frozen Moscato wine not to mention other things to drink. There was cake, though it wasn’t the main event. There were tons of pictures taken, and there was a designated place in the house to take them. The pool was open if you wanted to swim. It was a party. And I had fun.

I drove to Oklahoma City and picked up my daughter and then we drove to Moore to the home where the shower took place. All the family members were there. My husband said he thought that was just a girl thing. He was wrong. I hope to get him to the next one. Yes, there will be a next one and it too will have a theme. Then the big event in November. The bride and groom have been together for six years and they are looking forward to the rest of their lives. We all are.

I wish them love and luck and let the parties begin!

What are you doing, writing, reading, or creating this week?

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2026: Blog Number Two

Posted on June 28, 2026 by peggylchambers

This is the second blog I’ve written this morning. I try to get an idea during the week and let you know what is going on in my life (if you’re interested) or some great event that I want to write about. And I did. You’ll get to read it next week.

 I have a question: when did .heic become a thing and what happened to saving a picture as a .jpg? My computer is not old, but evidently is part of the ongoing war between Apple and PC.  Anyway, the blog originally written for this morning will be next week while the picture is being converted to something different. I’m winging it here.

 This week was our 54th wedding anniversary. Since I wrote my first blog about the upcoming nuptials of my grandson, I’ll bore you with my own wedding. You may have heard this before.

 We were way too young to get married and way to broke to live. I made my wedding dress and we were married in a chapel instead of the large sanctuary because there were few attendants. My mother got married at her brother-in-law’s home with only the preacher and three other people in attendance. I don’t know about my grandmother’s wedding, but it was probably at a small country church and flowers from her yard. She was a gardener.

But 54 years later (some harder than others) we are still married. We don’t quite look the same—we aren’t the same. But we’re together and have children with lives of their own and grandchildren to go with them.

My grandson is getting married in November. It will be a 3-day event and very formal. Not like any in my family’s history. But it will be fun. I’m looking forward to it. I’ll hopefully have pictures next week of the first bridal shower. But today, you are stuck with blog number two. Thanks for staying with me.

What are you doing, writing, reading, or creating this week?

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2026: Happy Father’s Day!

Posted on June 21, 2026 by peggylchambers

My dad came from a poor background and worked hard all his life. He grew up in northwest Arkansas during the depression, like my mother, and loved his family. This picture of him was obviously taken in front of someone else’s car, but I’m glad to have a picture of him as a very handsome young man. He was thrilled to get to see part of the world during WWII, not because of the war, but because of the opportunities. He trained to be an aircraft mechanic and used that training all his life.  He asked me to type this up for him not long before he died and it is attached to a globe in the bedroom with grease pencil markings of the places he visited. It seemed fitting to show you this for Father’s Day.

JAMES L. OSBURN

MILITARY HISTORY

(Autobiography)

I was born at Walnut Ridge, AR on January 16, 1923. I entered the military services May 19, 1943. I took Basic Training at Amarillo, TX then Aircraft and Engine Maintenance a Keesler Field, MS on B24 bombers then to B-24 factory at Detroit, MI (or Ypsilanti, MI, close to Detroit), then to B-24 Gunnery School at Harlingen, TX. This was to prepare me for Engineer-Gunner on B-24s.

A change of status then due to the war, had all the B-24s they needed. My gunnery training came to a halt and many others at Harlingen. We were dispersed to other areas to become aircraft and engine mechanics. I was sent to Guadalcanal to be a part of the Air Transport Command. I became an aircraft general mechanic shuttling out and back from Guadalcanal to many islands to maintain many aircraft of many types. I was flown from Guadalcanal to many islands where many types of U.S. military aircraft was stranded (engine, electrical, hydraulic, tires, propellers, etc.) awaiting a mechanic to be flown with parts and tools and repair the aircraft. I was that purpose and that mechanic for many, many months, many aircraft, many type of aircraft. I would be flown back to Guadalcanal, spend a night and be flown down to problems at various islands, then repair and back. I finally transferred to the Philippines and soon to Guam. At this time there were ma battle body damage at Guam needing aircraft transportation to the United States and hospitals.

We were involved in repair of C-54 aircraft out of the China, Burma, India (CBI) that had been in rough use. We had eleven (11) stalls built to match the design of the C-54s. It allowed 20+ mechanics at each stall and around the clock (24 hours per day) and producing a serviceable aircraft sometimes in one or two days and sometimes weeks from each stall. I ran one of those docks or stalls along with another controller. It was production maintenance; however, each aircraft was the same type as the last one. You would almost know what parts would require replacement. As the aircraft was removed from the dock, they would be loading sick GIs (military); crank up and head for the United States and another entered that dock. When I left there, 9 months after I arrived, I rode a ship to the U.S., into San Francisco, then a bus here and there until I was discharged and home.

All this was rough and hard work, but I used that schooling after I left the military to obtain nine certificates for my purposes and for me and my family’s living. One of those certificates was for a pilot license and the other eight authorized specific maintenance, inspector’s training, certifications for many mechanics to become certified as a qualified mechanic and inspect and certify aircraft after crash, etc.

 Like my father-in-law, husband, and son, they worked hard for themselves and their families and did their best to provide for their families. Happy Father’s Day to all of them.

What are you reading, creating, or writing this week?

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2026: Great First Lines, “First of all, we Were Drinkin'”

Posted on June 14, 2026 by peggylchambers

Every story needs a great first line. It is how you hook your reader. It tells them what the story will be about and makes them want to read it. 

Some great examples are:

House of Night – P. C. Cast – “Just when I thought my day couldn’t get any worse I saw the dead guy standing next to my locker.”

The Dark Tower Series – Stephen King – “The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed.”

Percy Jackson – Rick Riordan – “Look I didn’t want to be a half-blood.”

Twilight – Stephanie Meyer – “I’d never given much thought to how I would die.”

American Gods – Neil Gaiman – “Shadow had done three years in prison.”

            These first lines of each book tell you as the reader what you have to look forward to in your book. It makes or breaks the story to come.

“First of all, we were drinkin’” was how my husband’s friend started all of his stories. It might have been the only true thing that came out of his mouth, but it was funny.  Recently the title of the Enid Writers Club prompt for the month was “And That is How we Ended up Spending the Night in Jail” and this is the story I submitted. You are only allowed 150 words to get your point across, so you need to be concise.      

            It had been a hot day on the lake and the fish weren’t biting, so we went to the island to slake our thirsts. Finally, after we all took our boats in for the night, we traipsed downhill to the firepit for more libations.  It was the weekend.

            It wasn’t long before the police showed up.  It was a dry summer and campfires were off limits, especially to drunks. 

            When Bobby flew around the corner on his four-wheeler so he could bring the cop a beer, he ended up in handcuffs.  With the attitudes of the day, soon there weren’t enough handcuffs. Reinforcements were called.

            But now the line to the one toilet in the corner is long and I don’t know if I can wait.

            From the first line we know it was hot and they were drinking to stay hydrated, or just because beer goes with fishing and the lake. But there were consequences. And we know we’d like to find out what happened when not a drop of water had been consumed on a hot day fishing. We were sure that good choices weren’t made.

            When I’m writing a book I change my first line many times. I know what my book is about but how do I get that point across to someone who might like to read it. 

            Be sure to write a great first line, it could make or break your book. Change it as many times as you need to before publication because it is important. Good luck with your writing.

What are you reading, writing, supporting, or creating this week?

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2026: Scholarship Winner and Contest Winners of Enid Writers Club

Posted on June 7, 2026 by peggylchambers

The Enid Writers Club ended their 2025-2026 season with an annual banquet, scholarship contest, and inner-club writing contest this May. We will resume meetings in September.

The Enid Writers Club, in conjunction with St. Matthews Episcopal Church, hold an annual writing contest for senior high school students every year; 2000 words for $1000. The scholarship winnings are paid to the institute of higher learning that the graduate plans to attend in the fall. This year’s scholarship winner was James Mills, a recent graduate of Chisholm High School who will be attending the University of Oklahoma in the fall. Congratulations James!

The Enid Writers Club inner-club writing contest winners for this year were:

Short Story category:

1st place: Peggy Chambers for The Adventures of Katie and Thag

2nd place: Bobbie Mardis for The Stowaway

3rd place: Martha Draper for Philately Anyone?

Juvenile Short Story category:

1st place: Kristi Miller for The Magic Tree

2nd place: Bobbie Mardis for Purple Haired Man

3rd place: Martha Draper for McNutty

Flash Fiction category:

1st place: Kristi Miller for White Blanket

2nd place: Bobbie Mardis for Ripples

3rd place: Martha Draper for Buyers and Sellers

Poetry category:

1st place: Paula Benge for Dare I Go

2nd place: Carly Taylor for Haunted

3rd place: Kristi Miller for Fat and Chubby

Humor category:

1st place: Bobbie Mardis for Christmas Day Plans

2nd place: Peggy Chambers for Lizard on the Roof

3rd place: Kristi Miller for What a Day!

Article Inspirational Category:

1st place: Martha Draper for Hemingway

Memoir category:

1st place: Martha Draper for A Special Fellow in my Life

2nd place: Carly Taylor for Confessional Line

The Enid Writers Club is 102 years old this year, the oldest writing club in the state of Oklahoma, and we meet on the first Thursday of each month, September through May at NWOSU. The Enid Writers Club is open to all who aspire to improve their writing and join with like minds. All skill levels and age groups are welcome. Membership dues are $15 annually.

Congratulations to all the winners and hope to see you again in the fall.

What are you reading, writing, supporting, or creating this week?

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2025: Smugglers of Sandhill Island

Posted on May 31, 2026 by peggylchambers

Dani, a stressed-out tour boat captain, attempts to save her brother, Cody, from the local drug dealers only to find she and her boat will be their next victim. This time, Cody owes some big money, and the only person he knows to help him is his sister.

That was the caption I wrote for a Famous Authors celebration at OWFI this year. I had a new book, and I hoped I might have a few new readers.  There are four Sandhill Island books, one a novella under the One Scoop or Two anthologies for The Wild Rose Press and three novels. They cover the residents of the tiny tourist island and their daily lives, some good and some bad. But always interesting.

Then I wrote a blurb for the back of the book hoping someone would be interested enough to pick up a copy.

Dani Brown grew up poor and hard working. Her brother, Cody, only grew up poor. Always wanting the easy way out, Cody ran drugs and lived his life on handouts. When they were young, Dani and Cody were inseparable, now Dani only sees him if he’s desperate. The drugs he samples and sells have started to rot his brain.

This time, Cody owes some big money, and the only person he knows to help him is his sister. When the cartel realizes she owns a boat that could run even more drugs for them, she is torn between saving her brother and living her life. The final Sandhill Island story pits sister against brother in a life-or-death struggle.

And some people did read the Sandhill Island series. They’re available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble in paperback or electronically.  You can also find them electronically several places from https://books2read.com/u/mdeZ85 .

Really you can find them lots of places because The Wild Rose Press makes them available. They’re just that good. 

The Sandhill Island series can be read in any order because they are stand-alone stories about the island and you are bound to run into some of the same characters as you read along. And you’ll be happy to see them again and find out how their lives are working out.

Pick up a copy of Smugglers of Sandhill Island and as always leave me a review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads or anywhere you visit. The people of Sandhill Island are waiting for you!

 What are you reading, writing, supporting, or creating this week?

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2026: The Taj Mahal

Posted on May 24, 2026 by peggylchambers

I am writing a new children’s book about world-wide artifacts and places of honor. The main character of the book visits many ancient ruins and learns lessons wherever she goes. And I am learning so much! Lately I’ve been researching the Taj Mahal. I had no idea how much work went into this shrine, how old it is, and how it has withstood the test of time. It makes me wonder about the construction of Oklahoma roads. Hmmmm.

But writing requires research and you are bound to learn something no matter what you write. One thing writing does is it makes you sit down and do the work, if you ever want to accomplish your dream. Look up that subject! Get an idea in mind about how it would look! And then put it on paper with the words in an order that is equally as beautiful as the subject you researched. Or try to.

Did you know that the Taj Mahal is made of white marble that changes color with the light? Depending upon what time of day you visit, the shrine can be pink, yellow, or white. So, it is open to the public for long hours to view those colors. It’s not a 9-to-5 kind of museum. Now I want to visit the shrine.

Writing can be a learning experience for the writer as well as the reader. When I began thinking of this project, I wanted to show children the wonders of the world and to teach them respect for the work that went into them. And instead, I taught myself. I wanted to get the information right and not just invent facts. I had very little information in my head about the Taj Mahal other than I could name it if I saw a picture. Now I am in awe of the workmanship as well as the original idea which began in 1632. There is a lot to learn there about workmanship and engineering that went into the building of that shrine.

I’m thrilled to get back on this project.  I always have more than one story floating around in my head, but sometimes, you need to get back to the ones you love instead of the ones that are bogged down in the back of your mind. I’m welcoming myself back to the story I fell in love with even though the other one isn’t finished.

What are you reading, writing, supporting, or creating this week?

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