Mama Diaries

Monday, June 11, 2018

Giveaway and Saga of a Snail



Before I begin, I'd like to let you all know that I'm doing a giveaway of my upcoming book, Bubba and Squirt's Big Dig to China. The publisher has three extra review copies, and we thought it would be fun to give you a chance to win one. This is open to US residents only. If you are interested, please say so in the comments below. The winners will be selected on Monday, June 18th. If you are selected, I will contact you for your email address, which I will give to the publisher. The book will come directly from the publisher. Good luck!

Now for the story:  Some of you who are friends with me on Facebook may have seen the photo of a snail crawling up my back door. We had affectionately named this snail, Gary. Here he is:


Gary was a very messy house guest. He left trails of snail poop all over the door. When he disappeared for a day, we thought he was gone. But he wasn't. He reappeared leaving more trails of snail poop. Quite frankly, I was getting tired of cleaning up after Gary. My husband decided he'd had enough, too. He peeled the snail off the top of the door and relocated him under a bush. 

But poor Gary didn't fare so well. If you are a sensitive soul, you may not want to read the rest of this story. Our ferocious cat, Bootsy, decided to take matters into his own paws. Bootsy is a critter killer. He kills anything he can find:  frogs, chipmunks, birds, cock roaches (which we don't mind). . . and snails. We found poor Gary's shell in pieces, deposited outside the back door. We are quite certain that Bootsy is the guilty party. Guess Bootsy didn't like the poop on the window, either! 


One more thing I heard about which I thought was interesting:  Do you remember how I told you that my son had to get a permit to sell lemonade at his stand? Lots of kids get fined if they don't. Well, Country Time Lemonade is taking a stand to raise money to pay lemonade stand fines. It's called Legal-Ade. Kids can get help here. 


    

37 comments:

  1. Good for them! A lemonade stand permit is dumb.
    Poor Gary. We hardly knew you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good luck with your book Sherry,
    Loved the story about the snail made good reading. Never heard of a permit for a lemonade stand here, good for the kids.

    Yvonne.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe we'll send all our kids across the pond so they can have lemonade stands free of charge. :)

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Now that cat of yours is going to demand escargot for dinner! Your "China-digging" book sounds interesting.

    www.thepulpitandthepen.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Escargot with garlic sauce! Won't he be a stinky cat!

      Delete
  5. Gary would've met the same fate at our house. May he rest in pieces...

    ReplyDelete
  6. my cat is afraid of messing with the snails as they like to leave their nasty goo in his plate of food during night, so he's probably afraid of their revenge.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My cat is ferocious. No snail would dare to leave goo on his plate!

      Delete
  7. Hey, everyone, Sherry's book is so good and a ton of fun! So, enter, enter, enter! :D

    Oh, but poor Gary.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi, Sherry!

    I am always sad to read about the death of a critter, but at least the deed was done by another animal and not a human. You guys tried your best to relocate Gary and it just didn't work out.

    Yessum, please enter me in the drawing to win a copy of Bubba and Squirt's Big Dig to China. A middle grade reader lives next door to me and I would like to gift it to her.

    Thank you, dear friend Sherry!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your interest in entering the contest!

      Yes, poor Gary. His life was cut short by my ferocious beast!

      Delete
  9. I don't know if I feel so sorry for Gary. Bootsy might have thought he was doing you all a favor.

    I like the lemonade stand legal aid idea. I hope it works out in the kiddos' favor.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, and I would be interested in winning the book.

      Delete
    2. I'm sure Bootsy was only trying to be helpful.

      Legal Ade is a good idea. I wonder how many kids will use it.

      Delete
  10. I can't believe about the lemonade stand. That's ridiculous.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is ridiculous. Just another money-making scheme for the city government.

      Delete
  11. Yes, life isn't easy for a snail, but that's mother Nature.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I just realized they need permit for lemonade !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I heard about it a few years ago and was really surprised.

      Delete
  13. Awww, poor Gary! :(

    And wow, had no idea that lemonade stands needed permits. That's awesome how Country Time Lemonade wants to help!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah. If they didn't help, a lot of kids would probably think lemonade stands weren't worth it. Country Time might lose some business.

      Delete
  14. Poor Gary :-( I loved that you named him. I had no idea that snails left "residue" behind.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was shocked at the amount of residue Gary left. He was a big snail, but still, it was ridiculous.

      Delete
  15. Nothing against Gary but I can't say I'm as enthusiastic as you are. Having eaten several of his plants, Mr t, even less so. On a positive note though, his type make a wonderful snake for our hedgehogs who, in decline, need as much help as they can get.

    Wonderful news about the book. Good luck everyone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry to hear hedgehogs are on the decline. They should immigrate here. We have plenty of snails to feed them.

      Delete
  16. Good to the people for your book!
    Poor Gary! I feel bad for him!
    Way to go Country Time! That's excellent!
    Big Hugs!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, poor Gary. Little critters don't fare well in my yard because of our ferocious cat.

      I too, found Country Time's Legal Ade commendable.

      Delete
  17. I meant to say, good luck to everyone, for the chance on winning your book!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Can't say I blame Bootsy. The snail poop was obstructing the view.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I couldn't read what happened to Gary- so thanks for the warning. He looks so cute in the photo.

    Getting a permit for a lemonade stand seems excessive for kids.
    ~Jess

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's totally excessive! Let kids be kids and don't burden them with adult expenses.

      Delete