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Saturday, February 21, 2026

Wildflower Haven: A Review

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 Readers who have enjoyed Lin Stepp 's other  Mountain Home books are likely to enjoy the latest one: Wildflower Haven . The cover depi...
Monday, February 02, 2026

Discontented Winter

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 Now is the winter of my discontent—or perhaps it's the weather of my discontent. We've had some rough winter weather in the last w...
Saturday, December 13, 2025

A Nearby Smith Mystery

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 Recently I discovered a Smith cousin from the 1800s who lived not far from me: John Henry Smith , a great-grandson of my fifth great-grandf...
Sunday, July 20, 2025

Free-Range Summers

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I wrote the followoing article for a local family magazine several years ago. That magazine was short-lived, so I'm recycling the articl...
Monday, July 14, 2025

Gifts in Appalachian Lit

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  I've been a fan of Appalachian literature ever since I read Jesse Stuart's short story, " Split Cherry Tree ," in my 7th...
Thursday, March 20, 2025

Same Place, Different Times

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 In the late 1920s, my maternal grandfather, Howard Ruble, bought some land on Watts Avenue in Roanoke's Rugby section and built a house...
Saturday, March 08, 2025

Red Mill Bookstore Review

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The Red Mill Bookstore is the latest in Lin Stepp 's Smoky Mountain series.  I've enjoyed  other books in this series— Happy Valley...
Tuesday, March 04, 2025

SOTK 2025

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  The 2025 State of the Kitties Report  by Tanner (Resident Housecat-in-Chief)) Well, it's been nearly a year since you last heard from ...