Dear Abby - 12 Vintage Dachshund Valentines With a Long Theme

Happy Valentine's Day, dear friends!

Today I would love to share a few special vintage Valentines with you.  They all feature dachshunds and the theme of LONG or LONGING.  My Momma says that most of these cards are 1950's to 1960's vintage.  I have 12 cards to share, so without further ado ...

A dachshund in a yellow bow says: "I long for you to be mine."

A solid black dachshund says: "Valentine I Long 4 U."

A black and white dachshund says simply "I long."  (I bet there is a continued message inside the card.)

A dachshund in a jaunty red cap and red and white sweater says: "Dog gone it! I long to see you."

This cute dachshund carries a rose in her mouth and wears a yellow blanket.  "L-O-N-G-I-N-G for a Valentine."

A dachshund in a red sweater with hearts says: "I'm longing for you Valentine."

A pretty dachshund with a blue bow on her tail says: "I've liked you a long time, Valentine!"

This sweet dachshund has a blue bow around her neck.  "Hi! For a long long time."

This dachshund has a white heart balloon and a blue collar.  "I long to be your Valentine."

A dachshund in a yellow sweater gives a bone to a pretty poodle.  "I've got a bone I'm longing to pick with you."

This dachshund wears a green bow.  "I'd go a long way for a Valentine like you!"

A Valentine in a red collar stands by some flocked pink and red hearts.  "I long for you to be mine!"

I hope you enjoyed these sweet, old timey Valentines and I hope YOU have an extra special day with the people and animals that you love.

Love,
Abby xoxoxo

Book Review and Giveaway - A Crafter Quilts a Crime: A Handcrafted Mystery by Holly Quinn

My Review
Sammy Kane runs a craft store in a small town in Wisconsin. During the annual Fire and Ice event, she has the fun idea to have crafters pose as live mannequins in her store window. This is a great idea until one of the mannequins dies unexpectedly! When suspicion falls upon her brother-in-law, Sammy works with her cousin Heidi and sister Ellie to solve the crime.

This is the third book in the Handcrafted Mystery series. I have read all the books, and love this series. I really enjoy the craft store setting. I feel like I learn about different crafts in each book.  A Crafter Quilts a Crime focuses on quilting, and there were some interesting details about the quilting group working together.

I also enjoy the amateur detective group of S.H.E. - Sammy, Heidi, and Ellie. They have loved mysteries since they were young girls, and they have a talent for working together to solve real life crimes too! Sammy gets into some real jeopardy in this book and there are even a few scary pages for her dog Bara.

I like Sammy's slow moving relationship with police detective Liam. Her detecting causes some real conflict in the early stages of their relationship in this book. Liam is an interesting character with a complex backstory. Holly Quinn has a real gift for character development.

The mystery was fast paced and the clues were interesting. I solved it early on but enjoyed watching the S.H.E. team work together.

I recommend A Crafter Quilts a Crime (and the Handcrafted Mystery series) for fans of cozy mysteries, and especially for anyone who is interested in crafting and small town settings. You will really enjoy this series!

Book Synopsis

Perfect for fans of Betty Hechtman and Maggie Sefton, Holly Quinn’s third Handcrafted mystery aspires to wrap you in its warmth.

Community Craft proprietor Sammy Kane must piece together a patchwork of clues when a “live” mannequin ends up stone-cold dead.

Snowcapped pines and glittery dusted sidewalks adorn tranquil Heartsford, Wisconsin, while residents cuddle beneath heirloom quilts in front of cozy wood fires. But come the next day, the below-zero temperatures won’t keep the locals away from Heartsford’s annual Fire & Ice event. To boost customer traffic at Community Craft’s one-night-only sale, Samantha “Sammy” Kane persuades a few of the craftspeople who sell their wares at the store to participate in a live mannequin window display contest.

Local quilter Wanda Wadsworth emerges as a favorite to win the contest, as she manages to not move a muscle for an unusual amount of time. Onlookers outside the window try everything to get her to crack–tapping on the glass and making funny faces–but nothing disrupts Wanda’s stillness. When the eagle-eyed spectators realize Wanda isn’t breathing, a blanket of grief and fear descends upon the wintry town.

Detective Liam Nash can’t seem to piece the clues together. Fortunately, Sammy’s cousin, Heidi, and her sister, Ellie, are on hand to reconvene their detective team, S.H.E. They set out to solve Wanda’s untimely death before the case grows as icy as a sub-zero Wisconsin winter. But they are all too aware that the killer is too close for comfort.

Author Bio
Holly Quinn has published two stand-alone fiction novels in another persona. She graduated from Carroll University in Wisconsin with a Bachelor of Science in business and a minor in marketing. This is her second Handcrafted mystery. Visit her @ www.authorhollyquinn.com

Author Links
Website – www.authorhollyquinn.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/HollyQuinnbooks/
GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7940795.Holly_Quinn

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – BAM – IndieBound – Powell’s Books – Walmart 

Giveaway  

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Dear Abby - Videos That Abby Likes: Dachshund Riding on a Skateboard Animation

Dear Friends,

I am on the run this week so I'll be short and sweet!  (That joke never grows old for me.) 

I found the most fun animated video - super short! - on Youtube.  I love it and think you will like it too. It is an animation of a dachshund riding a skateboard, and there is even a song about a wiener dog.  The animation is by Evan Spiridellis with music by Parry Gripp, and the video page links back to a dachshund rescue group my Momma likes: Dachshund Rescue of North America (DRNA).

I hope you enjoy this little animation as much as I do:



Have a great weekend!

Love,
Abby xoxoxo

Book Review and Giveaway - Bonbon with the Wind (Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery) by Dorothy St. James

My Review
Bonbon With the Wind is the latest book in Dorothy St. James' Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery series.  Chocolate shop owner Penn (Charity Penn) is at the center of this story. After evacuating for a hurricane with her boyfriend, surfing lawyer Harley, and her friends Althea and Bertie, she returns home.  Penn and her Papillon dog Stella discover a body while walking on the beach.  It turns out the man who was killed is Joe Davies, a local who was interested in treasure hunting, and who believed in some local folklore about a mysterious figure called the Grey Lady.  Penn gets involved in helping to solve the case.

I wanted to read this book because I really enjoyed the previous mystery I read in this series.  I love southern settings, love cozy mysteries featuring dogs, and enjoyed the chocolate shop setting.

Bonbon with the Wind is a delightful mystery.  It is set at Camellia Beach near Charleston just before and in the aftermath of an early October hurricane.  Camellia Beach is a quaint little town.  I loved the details of the chocolate shop and candy making, and also liked the glimpses of other shops.

I really like Penn, her work, her relationship with Harley, and her friendships and sense of community.  She makes a good amateur detective, too, and it was fun watching her solve this mystery.

The Grey Lady folklore at the heart of this novel added an extra element of southern folklore that was particularly intriguing.

I find this series has more substance than many other cozy mysteries.  It works well on several levels, and the story is a bit more complex.  I like Dorothy St. James' writing style and her gift of description and sense of place.

I highly recommend Bonbon With the Wind and the Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery series to fans of cozy mysteries, and especially to anyone who loves southern settings, dog mysteries, and elements of food (candy) and folklore.  This is a very enjoyable read!

Book Synopsis

Join Penn and Stella on their latest adventure!

There’s a legend in the Sea Islands that before a hurricane hits the Gray Lady can be seen walking down the beach warning of doom. Penn doesn’t believe in such silly stories, but she does believe weather forecasters. A powerful hurricane is heading their way. Everyone on the island of Camellia Beach is busy boarding up windows and securing valuables to upper levels of buildings. Joe Davies, a local treasure hunter with an unquenchable sweet tooth, claims to have seen the Gray Lady walking toward him just that morning and is terrified for his life.

After the storm passes everyone returns to survey the damage. As Penn walks her little dog Stella on the beach, she finds Joe Davies’ body washed up onshore. Not only that, it looks as if an exploding transformer caused Joe’s seaside shack to burn to the ground. Did the Gray Lady claim another victim? Many on the island believe that is exactly what happened.

Penn is sure there’s another explanation. She follows the clues and hints of lost gold to discover that the truth behind the treasure hunter’s death is as much of a maze as the boating channels winding their way through the local marshes.

Author Bio
Dorothy St. James is the author of the White House Gardener mysteries. For the past twenty years she made her home on Folly Beach, an artsy island community in South Carolina with her sculptor husband. Dorothy is a member of Mystery Writers of America (MWA), Sisters in Crime (SiNC), and the International Thriller Writers (ITW). This is her fourth Southern Chocolate Shop mystery.

Author Links
Website – http://www.dorothystjames.com
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/dorothystjames
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/dorothywrites
BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/profile/dorothy-st-james

Purchase Link – Amazon 

Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Dear Abby - Dogs in Winter (Vintage Pictures)

Dear Friends,

I hope you are having a good week! I have a few more vintage pictures to share today of dogs in winter. I shared vintage pictures of dachshunds in winter last week. These are pictures of other dog breeds that I like as well!

A woman travels through the snow (perhaps in a sleigh) with her Wirehair Fox Terrier.

A little terrier dog helps a boy make a snowman.  It looks like he is helping a lot by pulling on that scarf!

A dog watches two people make snow angels.  He has the right idea about not joining in!  (Brrr!)

Two little girls walk a little terrier dog in the snow.  They all have on bright 1960's colors -- even the dog!

A little dog is excited inside on a snow day.  In this family scene, a little girl and her mother are watching the father of the family go off to work.  The little boy is putting snow boots on.  The dog (who looks like a  beagle mix) is dancing around.

Photograph of a Jack Russell Terrier being pushed on the ice in a sled by two old fashioned women.

1940's advertisement for spark plugs featuring a Scottish Terrier in the snow
 

I hope you enjoyed these pictures and hope you have a warm and cozy weekend ahead!  Thanks for visiting today.

Love,
Abby xoxoxo