Me and Mr. Potato Head

Welcome to our special Spuds and Spurs week! Spuds, you say? Yes, indeed. Potatoes were a staple on the westward trails. They were nutritious and stored well, so pioneers depended on them, and as such they should be celebrated. They are also one of my favorite foods.

I’m from Idaho originally and the license plate of my first car proudly read “Famous Potatoes”. As a teen that was a mortifying thing to have on one’s car. I survived, but I thought it was kind of embarrassing to be from a potato state when other kids got to be from states famous for wild horses or aliens. When I traveled out of state and let it be known that I was from Idaho, people invariably said, “Potatoes, right?”

Right–except that I never ate an Idaho potato until I moved to Colorado in 1982, where there were special bins marked “Idaho Potatoes”. At the time they didn’t sell Idaho spuds in the northern part of Idaho–they sold potatoes from Washington, Oregon, California and North Dakota. I love all potatoes, so I didn’t care.

And now to Mr. Potato Head…

Shortly after I married, my husband and I moved to northern Nevada, where we lived near the largest spud farm in the nation. (Yes, Nevada, not Idaho.)  I took a job teaching junior high school, and since I’m a big fan of whimsy, I used my kids’ Mr. Potato Heads  as room decorations. The students, would  ask why I had so many Mr. Potato Heads, and I would explain that I was from Idaho and Mr. Potato Head was my favorite animal.

That stopped them in their tracks. “But…he’s a potato, not an animal.”

“Does he have legs and eyes and a nose and a mouth?”

“Well…yes.”

“Then he’s my favorite animal.”

Soon the kids were bringing me their old Potato Heads, and I started getting new ones as gifts. One student negotiated a trade–he’d give me his prince and princess Potato Heads in exchange for my Darth Tater. I liked the kid, so I agreed. I kind of miss Darth, though.

The original Mr. Potato Head was invented in 1949 and made with actual potatoes. The Mr. Potato Head kit supplied the face and body components, which were on nails, and the child had to come up with his own potato to put them on. Toys were slightly more deadly back then. You don’t find points sharp enough to skewer a potato on kids’s toys nowadays.  The plastic potato body was included in the kit in 1964 and in 1975, the spud body became much larger.

Some fun Mr. Potato Head facts–he received four votes to be mayor of Boise, Idaho in 1985. He was the official Spokes Spud for the Great American Smoke Out in 197 and surrendered his pipe. He was the first toy ever advertised on television in 1952.

Mr, Potato Head has  starred in films, been featured in McDonald Happy Meals, floated high as a balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and even dresses up as a cowboy. In fact…Cowboy Mr. Potato Head will be one of the prizes given away in our special event. So exciting!

And Now…The Spurs and Spuds Contest

Here’s how the contest works–it’s simple, but a little different from our past contests. Every day two blog commentors will be chosen as semi-finalists. On Sunday, September 29, two winners will be chosen from the semi-finalists. The grand prizes are a great big Lays Potato Variety Pack, and Mr. And Mrs. Potato Head

To enter to be one of my semi-finalists, please tell me if you had a Mr. Potato Head. If you are lucky enough to be randomly chosen as my semi-finalists, you will also receive an autographed copy of my soon-to-be-released book, A Ranch Between Them.

To recap:

  1. Two semi-finalists chosen each day.
  2. Two grand prize winners chosen from all semi-finalists and announced on Sunday.
  3. To enter my contest, tell me if you had a Mr. Potato Head.
  4. My semi-finalists will receive autographed copies of my latest book.

Good luck!

Jeannie

 

 

 

 

Carolyn Brown Has a Winner!

YeeHaw! We had us some fun, Miz Carolyn! Thank you for coming.

One thing is clear, we love our cowboys…and Christmas!

Now for the drawing………….

The autographed copy of Christmas With a Cowboy goes to……

SABRINA TEMPLIN

Shout Amen and pass the butter! I’m tickled for you, Sabrina.

Be watching for Miz Carolyn’s email.

Tomorrow’s the start of Spuds and Spurs Week! Everyone come.

Christmas with a Cowboy & Giveaway

Irish lass meets wild Texas cowboy in Christmas with a Cowboy. A one night stand in Ireland comes back to haunt them both when they’re thrown together in Texas this time. Throw a baby into the mix and the story gets even more complicated.

Maverick Callahan is a freewheeling Texas cowboy who loves to hit the honky tonk on Saturday night, dance with the pretty girls, and maybe get lucky once in a while. But a year ago he fell head-over-heels with an extraordinary woman that still haunts his dreams, and keeps him from being totally happy. He didn’t even know her last name so when she appears on his doorstep like a Christmas miracle he’s determined not to waste his lucky break.

Bridget O’Malley’s world had done a 380 degree turn around since the previous Christmas. She’s lost her beloved grandmother and is now the guardian of her best friend’s baby daughter. She’s thought about Maverick from Texas, but she didn’t even know his last name, and then her grandmother’s friend invites her to Texas to help her out for a while. If she’d known Maverick would be on the same ranch, she might have refused the offer, but it was too late once she was there.

Mama told me that I came from Irish ancestors and that my great-great-great-great-great grandmother, Miz Martha Cummins, came over here from Ireland. Mama kept Grandma Martha’s wedding ring in her little cedar jewelry box, and it’s been passed down to me. It’s nothing fancy, just a little band that her groom made for her out of a coin, but in our family we tie it into the girls’ wedding bouquets for their “something old.”

According to my DNA Mama was right, so it was a real treat to get to get to know Bridget since she comes from Cork County, Ireland. Of course, Maverick has Irish ancestors, too, so that made it doubly fun to write. I fell in love with Maverick in Cowboy Rebel, and throwing him into a situation with Bridget was so much fun. Hopefully all of you will enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it—there’s always a little magic in the air when I’m writing a Christmas book.

And all y’all get a double cowboy Christmas present because my good friend, Sara Richardson is including, Rocky Mountain Cowboy Christmas in my book. So happy reading to all y’all!!

I’ll give away a signed copy of Christmas with a Cowboy!!

                                        Carolyn’s books can be purchased here:

Amazon

                                                                              

 

 

 

Game Day Winners!

Man, did we have fun! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did.

Now it’s time to see who wins the prizes……….

The two $10 Amazon gift cards go to……..

      CARYL KANE

      PATRICIA B.

Books 1 & 2 Outlaw Mail Order Brides goes to ……….

DENISE

YIPPEE! I’m happy for all of you. Watch for my email.

Thank you for playing, everyone!!

 

Longing For a Cowboy Christmas & Giveaway

 

 

 

Linda Broday and I are celebrating the publication of our new book Longing for a Cowboy Christmas.

This is the second book we’ve done together.  Last year, our stories appeared in Christmas in a Cowboy’s Arms.

That’s the exciting part.  The fun part is this: We are each giving away something special to one lucky reader.  We can’t wait to see who you are. 

“Brimming with holiday magic, this feel-good anthology of historical romance novellas, all centered on the cowboy mystique and second chances, will delight and charm.” Publisher’s Weekly

 

 

Margaret’s Story: A Love Letter to Santa

She turned his life upside-down.  Could she really be the right woman for him?

Holly Sanders plans to make this the best Christmas for a town hard hit by the drought.   Okay, maybe she’s overdone the bows, baubles and garlands.  But is that a reason for the new blacksmith Tom Chandler to declare war on tinsel?

Tom doesn’t mean to play scrooge. But when his dog’s objections to the endless caroling gets them tossed out of his boarding house, he decides enough is enough.

The escalating battle takes an unexpected turn when he spots Holly struggling against the wind with an armload of presents and rushes to help her. Before he knows what happened, the green-eyed beauty recruits him to play Santa’s helper. After helping make one small boy’s Christmas wish come true, he’s utterly hooked, and suddenly has a wish of his own!   But convincing Holly he’s the right man for her would require a miracle—and maybe even a little help from Santa.

Linda’s Story: The Christmas Wedding

As a late November storm batters her sod house, Rebel Avery’s thoughts are on the man she loves and plans to marry. Eight months ago, Outlaw Travis Lassiter had been captured and she fears he’s dead. To occupy her worried mind, she tells two small orphans she’s taken in how she used to celebrate the Advent and gets an idea.

The fledgling town of Hope’s Crossing has never had a Christmas celebration, so Rebel and the other women decide to make the entire town the Advent calendar. On their designated day, each home gives the children a treat. Day after day passes and it becomes increasingly apparent that Travis will not return. Rebel befriends a lonely recluse and gives her the only thing of value that she possesses—swaths of red satin fabric she’d saved for a wedding dress.

As they move toward the holiday, sagging spirits are renewed, a makeshift family is formed, and Rebel finds that through troubled times, love endures and conquers all. 

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 Now tell us, are you an early Christmas shopper or do you wait till the last minute?

         Linda’s prize                                                         Margaret’s prize                       Collections make great hostess and teacher gifts (hint, hint). 

Amazon

B&N