Andiamo Amore Wedding Ceremonies

06/30/2024

Sebastian at 21 yeas with me his grandmother. Celebrating.

06/30/2024

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEBASTIAN. Funny, sarcastic, kind and lefthanded. Love you.

06/30/2024

Hurricane Beryl is growing larger and more dangerous. She is forceful mimicking a lead character in my last three Captain Beauregard Murder mystery Books. Hopefully This new Beryl will show some refinement as my character and go off to sea. If only.
Love the name Beryl but oh when named for a storm, it doesn't quite fit a lady.

06/30/2024

Fourth of July. I heard “America, the Beautiful” sung in church today and I cried. I cried for the beauty implicit in the first two verses memorializing our gorgeous country. We live in a land that has just about everything one could desire. I cried also for the tortuous attitude of some of our citizens, visitors, or others who would desecrate the land and our residents for their own flagrant wants or even to deliberately harm our citizens and our land. The what and why of which is lost on me. I celebrate the gift of this country and its freedom I have enjoyed. I pray the essence of which will be saved. Love this country and its people.
K.B.Pellegrino, Author

06/12/2024

John – Dad and Father’s Day
Most of us love our dad. Our dad was or is in some fashion our hero, our comfort, our guide throughout our life, our teacher, our corrector. My dad did all those jobs and did them well. But what I remember and what sticks out is the throbbing in my heart and head caused by his early death at age sixty-two years. And it happened in 1973. Even now the abrupt end to his life when remembered causes such pain. Does it show in me that pain? No, most would not know. June 6, 1911, was his birthday and later on June 6, 1945, was the nation’s D-day. But D-day for me would always be August 17, 1973, when he left us.

John was a quiet man, expressive when needed. He was a brilliant engineer who performed amazing feats in metallurgy. John’s contracts with the Corps of Army Engineers for the first atomic subs startled others with his successful adapting to what was needed when others could not perform. His building a stainless-steel cross still standing in St. Augustine, Florida on the sea shows his vision beyond business as did his boat entry in the National Boat Show some many years back of a stainless-steel boat with a jet-propelled engine and winning recognition. He took me on many business trips. I sat in industry sales-offices. I watched him and others. I learned. He was a patient man but insisted on proper work. He could not abide those who did not try their best. He accepted error in others and in me, but he did not accept lack of motivation. He was a loving man to us, five children: three boys and two girls. He was an exceptionally proud husband to his Kay. And he had eleven living grandchildren before he died. He thought they were the wonders of the world. He so missed not seeing them and the last one never knew his grandpa.

At home he cooked Sunday dinners with Mom as his sous chef or we traveled to mountains and lakes and ate out at some wonderful restaurants. This was at a time when he had gained an economic status that surprised him and allowed eating in restaurants. Dad and his Kay (our mom) married in 1933 post-depression, and it required his working three jobs to stay afloat. He was not a partier but enjoyed family and family weddings and parties. For business meetings, John held his own. He was self-aware of his talents and what he could do. In other settings he was the quiet man.

I took his presence to heart when I chose Joe as my husband. Two men opposite in culture and interests but alike in the ability to love and endure.

To all of you who have loved a good man, husband, or father, and now miss him, I send love and the reminder: we have been lucky.
K.B.Pellegrino, Author

04/13/2024

Othello: The Inspired Purchase (17 years ago)
Bought with the sudden inspiration and energy of a veteran gambler-
A simple solution for me has always been the first I ever sought.
How helpful to Joe would be a big furry four-foot rambler,
For when I’m gone for good and his soul with sadness is fraught.

With loss and lack of friendship – without help and daily love
“When I’m gone”, I said to myself with great drama
“He will need a prop, a clock - and structure – a treasure trove.”
A dog is to be bought, all warmth and kisses. An idea in me – is it Karma?

He, my spouse, is annoyed. “I’m not even crazy about dogs,” he said.
“Who will take ‘it’ when we travel? When we’re late, when we’re sick?”
“It’s bought already,” I said. “He’s a black labradoodle and he’s well-bred.
When I chose him, he spoke to me. He’s in our fate.”

Joe, unhappily, drives us, our grandson Tristan and me to Connecticut to pick up our new friend.
Midst the ten puppies Othello stands tall but clearly clinging to his mom.
Will he want to leave? Will his heart, crushed on leaving, to our love bend.
For now, I see the future in all its parts; one and two, the total sum.

Joe gingerly washes his hands before handling the pup
Who practically jumps on him licking his hands and sniffing his pants.
I watch and see glints in both sets of brown eyes, Yup
The union will work, I say to myself. They’ll be no negative rants.”

Othello is easy. He obeys. He snuggles. He lies at Joe’s feet.
There is no downside. Joe gets trained with the dog at the pet school.
Parks unknown to us before are new arenas for a good walking beat.
Altogether, Joe and I and our grand dog – so very cool!

06/08/2022

Planting Season...
It comes at the most inconvenient time. I'm an author, and my day is planned around some time for serious thinking and writing. It must fit in with my life. It so often does not. People make plans for me. They ask me first. I dot the dates and times in my phone. Normally these plans are made weeks in advance. How could I have known things would pile up? Important medical appointments could only be made during my prime writing time. Weddings, Showers, Birthday parties, and catching up with old friends visiting from afar fill in my calendar. Normally I manage fairly well, not great, but good enough.

Then comes my visits to nurseries and the invitation given personally by those perennials, annuals, shrubs, and trees saying, "Buy me. I am beautiful. Buy me, I am hardy. Buy me, you've never seen one of me before." And I do buy. What was I thinking? I must plant them. four days of rain prevent their conversion to my gardens. Then four days or business requiring my presence out of town. Now the little darlings look wilted and I feel sad at my wilted checkbook. Did I pay all that money to just throw away.

It's just misty out this day. I mix the dirt and mulch and whatever and plant half of them. I soak them and the next day their floppy little leaves perk up. The other perennials left are larger. I am unable to dig in the clay enough to amend the soil. Alas, I am not strong enough; too much time writing and not lifting weights. Don't say something about my age - not relevant. So I soak those plants, set them in the shade again, and regale my extended family for strong arms to help. Let's see who is willing to be my indentured servant for a couple of hours. By the way my editor is sending back the reviews on my latest book "BERYL KENT AND MIXED MOTIVES." I'll have no time to plant next week. Family, help my perennials, don't let them die.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author

04/24/2022

Hello, Fellow Book Enthusiasts,

I want to share some exciting news with you!

I am happy to announce my seventh book in the Captain Beauregard Mystery Series, Beryl Kent and the Bleeding Man will be featured at the 27th Anniversary Los Angeles Times Festival of Books this weekend April 23-24th.

My book will be exhibited at booth #923 by Lettra Press LLC.

I was also interviewed by Dr. Angela Chester, Pastoral Counselor, author and host of Daily Spark TV.

The interview will be airing on May 24, at 10 AM. You can listen live!

Click the link below for more information about Dr. Angela:
http://www.drangelachester.com/daily-spark-tv-1.html

Or simply click here:
https://www.preachthewordnetworktv.com/

Available Here:
TV Stations: Amazon Fire TV,
Direct TV Channel 5155,
Glory Star Satellite Channel 51,
Preach The Word Network Worldwide, or
Check Local TV listing

Local Channels:
Atlanta: WYGA Channel 16.5
Upstate New York: WUCB Channel 32.3
LA County / San Bernardino: K24LS Channel 24.7
Detroit MI: WLPC Channel 28.5

DAILY SPARK TV also airs on Roku.com and Vimeo.com
You can watch any time after the interview has aired.

For more information click the link below:

https://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/

I hope you enjoy!

Thanks,
Kathleen

03/15/2022

It twists and turns. Enjoy!

Rudy Beauregard and his detectives find it questionable when good men die from accidents on the side of roads. Is there a serial murderer working his evil in Western Mass or is it just the coincidence of too many drunk drivers out there? He and his detectives think it’s murder.

02/05/2022

Some of High Brow’s featured items such as their Mac and Cheese will make an appearance at Jackalope.

12/19/2021

NO SNOW for Christmas 2021. Yesterday there was a possibility for snow, but it was not to be had. When I posted this photo in 2020 it was in the spring, and we were hoping for crocus not more snow. Now is the time I want the winter-wonderland, but Mother Nature is telling me that "Like all good things, they come in their time not mine."
Still this photo reminds me of the magic of winter. Perhaps if we combine that magic with the splendor and love of Christmas, it would be too much to ask. Whatever the weather the Christmas season, with its promise of goodness and kindness prevailing, makes me happy.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author

11/16/2021

Who is Beryl Kent? Well, Beryl is a relatively new resident of West Mass, Massachusetts. She is a force of nature, quick-minded, and interferes in Captain Beauregard’s cases; she thinks not deliberately as she considers her actions but at the whim of fate. The trouble is she is a successful buttinsky who adds value wherever she intrudes. Learn more: https://kbpellegrino.com/beryl-kent-and-the-bleeding-man/

11/14/2021

The Book of Mysteries by Jonathan Cahn
I read with great interest the author Cahn's elevating the 'teacher' to great heights as the teacher gives lessons from a low perch. Ah, the lessons grabbed me as they inspired me to write. Each page's lesson was framed from the ordinary in life. But the result felt like a revelation. As if going over old material allowed me to see a new idea or to seek a new journey or to feel something lost to me before. The book of teachings is to be read and absorbed regularly, not all at once. On day 166, "The Audible Sapphire " is written. Its mission is selected from the bible. "Today, make every word that comes out of your mouth a precious jewel, a gift of life, the spoken sapphire"

Each page is a class with a resulting mission quote.

Despite my initial disdain exclaimed to my friend who suggested this reading, I have found inspiration from some of the readings. You know, when you look at life through a different lens, clarity often emerges.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author

07/21/2021

This author is grinning ear to ear because...a dish of authentic bouillabaisse is before her... I thought I was in Marseille. I was eating at a small restaurant in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, the oldest summer resort in the states. The chef had all the spices in sync for that special fish stew taste. I floated in sensual pleasure. My hosts, Joey and Janet, seemed surprised at my appreciation of this culinary masterpiece. The chef Americanized this epicurean delight by replacing cut potatoes with smashed potatoes placed in the center of the stew. It actually enhanced the dish.

Oh, how I love surprises. This one was unexpected but what else are surprises. As I walked through Joey's acreage by Lake Winnipesaukee, I was accompanied by a rafter of turkeys walking along side of me with a baby fox nestled in the greenery as our audience. Many sounds startled my ears in the woods on both sides of my path raising just a bit of anxiety that the bear family in the area may just appear. But the scents of the pines, the glorious beds of ferns, and the cool breeze rewarded me for taking my two mile morning walk. Life was good on this vacation. I wish it for you too. K. B. Pellegrino, Author

05/22/2021

Coming up on Memorial Day weekend. Normally I celebrate the holiday on Cape Cod where I see flags everywhere. I hope I will be there this year. Masks are mostly gone by the 29th. I will see faces for a change. My fellow citizens are important and I look forward to walking by them on the holiday street crowds in Sandwich. I want to... need to... must honor all those who died serving our country, past and present. Those who served for me, my family, my friends, and all of us should be remembered. I see the flag waving on Memorial Day and I am always brought to tears when I think of those men and women who served for days, years, and sometimes their workable life to enable me to have my life in what I hope will continue to be a free society, one in which I am proud to live. I have children and their progeny. I want for them and all others what I have enjoyed. May the future bring us all peace and respect for our military and each other.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author

05/10/2021

Editing
I have finished the very rough draft of my seventh Captain Beauregard Mystery novel. It's name is not yet finalized. Now comes the difficult work. First step is a rewrite. I must view my work as critic of plot and character consistency. It takes time and great mental effort including memory recall. The process requires active thinking. I do not hate it as much as I do editing for use of words, punctuation, and grammatical use of phrases and clauses positioning.
Next I do the first of my three self edits. These edits are more automatic processes for me, but they annoy me. Despite my religious efforts at detail, I often miss the most common item. I wish perfection, but this writer often does not catch self-made mistakes. By the third editing try, I'm ready for the third process. I send my book out to my police procedural editor, a former police chief. She takes me to task for pushing policing too far in any direction. She reminds me I once was on our city's police commission and should remember more than I do. Since it's fiction, I research policing and sometimes use policing methods from smaller departments. We then discuss my deviations and I make decisions to stay or rewrite. Next I send the manuscript out to my mainstay editor. He likes the genre and sends me notes when I have had logic strays. Other than that it is grammar and word use. I then re-edit the manuscript. Exhausting is how I view the process, but necessary. My baby is now ready for publication. And........that is the most psychically problematic process. I hope when you read my books, you will remember, I work diligently to make a good read in murder.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author

05/05/2021

Rainy Day
On a rainy day, I am reminded that three of my grandparents immigrated from Ireland in the early 1900's. I've visited Ireland on several occasions. The people are friendly, the pubs inviting, and the land is greener than the travel brochures can capture photographically. The reality is greater than the advertising. Today is one of those rainy days common in Ireland and I am fighting flu like symptoms the result of a drug infusion where every bone in my body aches. I am able to sit at my desk and type, but that is about all I can do. So follow me in my logic please. Rain brings the beautiful foliage, grass, and flowers. My not feeling well allows me to think singularly about writing. If I didn't have this bone pain, I'd be trying to do ten things as once. The rain and the pain focus me. I believe in overcoming little obstacles in my life. I had wanted to garden today. Nope, can't do. I had wanted to visit a friend and do some shopping. Nope, the pain is worse when I walk. So I write. At the moment I am editing. Is there a more tedious job? I may hate editing, but I have learned editing it the most important job. Currently I am editing my seventh novel, where I have developed a new character, a woman named Beryl Kent. MCU Captain Beauregard thinks she is intrusive. Well she is, but her behavior helps him. Such fun! Enjoy the weather.

K. B. Pellegrino, Author

04/25/2021

Innocence Inspires
This baby girl Harper is pleased to be flying from Chicago to Miami. She has absolutely no fear of flying. Why? Because she is totally innocent of knowledge of potential catastrophes. She has what many would call an 'innocence.'
Why is it we cannot maintain some of that same 'innocence' in life? Why do we find trusting in others so difficult? Harper trusts Mom and Dad to take care of her. Don't they always? We adults are weighted down with negative news, COVID-19 fears, and questions about motives of those around us. Some trust easily and sometimes to their own jeopardy. Others do not trust and find living uninspiring. How do we keep some of Harper's complete and unquestioning trust midst this crazy world? We work on it. I don't think we can learn a balance of trust vs suspicion by denying evil exists in the world. We must be more realistic than that. We all experience disappointments in or even outright fear from others' actions. Still, we know we must go on. Take time out of your week to look at symbols of innocence and rejuvenate yourself. And of course the final caution is: if you yourself are not trustworthy or disappoint with disregard or create fear in others, then you will be unable to trust or develop the simplicity of being an innocent. I feel for you then.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author

04/21/2021

Renewal of Spirit
I purchased a shed for my city space in August 2020. COVID related problems prevented immediate delivery, delaying it to mid-March 2021. Five days later the shed was destroyed in a sudden and violent storm. Such occurrences take the wind from our sails. But then reality sets in! Next steps were ordering the same shed over again, begging for immediate delivery, speaking with the insurance appraiser, getting assistance with removing the shed, the tree, and other damaged items. I did all of that, but I must say my heart was not in it. It felt like I was editing my book for a tenth time, wherein I feel no forward movement. I used to hate dress rehearsals when I was an actor. It always seemed as if the dress rehearsal was stealing my energy.

Two days ago, the new shed was delivered. The same shed in the same colors with no differences. It is nice, but I did not feel the pleasure I had felt when the first was delivered. It cost me more in time and effort than I planned for. It made me wonder if I ever should have bothered. Yesterday I worked in my yard, planting herbs, moving furniture, pruning twigs and branches, and I connected. I realized the shed belonged there. I realized that doing things twice happens a lot in my life. Perhaps someone from above is forcing me to slow down. A greater lesson given me is the renewal of spirit when I must face difficulties. This is just a small blip in my life, but my spirit is renewed.

K. B. PellegrinoR

04/15/2021

WRITING IN THE MCU CAPTAIN RUDYBEAUREGARD MYSTERY SERIES
I am busy on this rainy day in late April writing the seventh novel in my MCU Captain Beauregard Mystery Series. In this book, I introduce a new character who is a sophisticated buttinski.
Lo, poor Beauregard finds her intrusive, but she also finds evidence. His detectives enjoy his discomfort while his wife Mona enjoys the buttinski. All this interaction comes with the lady's eyes upon them as they investigate a complicated case involving murders, su***de, several murder attempts, theft, and financial interactions. They are left attempting to beat the lady out in fact finding. She does intrude and has even made the acquaintance of defense attorney Norberto Cull. Police procedurals are upended by a citizen and not the first time for Beauregard. Expecting to publish by July 2021.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author

04/07/2021

My yearly visitors have arrived. Not all of them quite yet, I'm sorry to say. Analogous to receiving Amazon packages during shut down, when one or two come daily, my arrivals are just as reliable. Crocus in purple appear along with daffodil in yellow to start my parade. Next is the stunning dogwood tree in massive white coloring. I see other blooms in forsythias and buds on some of my fruit trees. Azaleas are waiting to show their stuff in colors of pink and red in my plot of land. Almost time for the bed of lily of the valley with its special aroma bringing delight to an area of shade. My yard has more sun than shade. You are aware there are many more colorful flowers who love sun than those that love shade. I have shade because i delight in evergreens. Alas, I must remedy color needs with some annuals. My hydrangeas are yet to show their blooms that stay with me throughout the summer and autumn.

I liken my garden to the characters in my mystery novels. So many are colorful. Mostly those with flaming profiles entrench themselves in one novel, while the characters with staying power appear in all my books and are the epitome of the evergreen. The evergreen is there in all seasons fighting wild winds, raid, snow, sleet and horrific storms. This is New England. Perhaps you readers from outside the area think our northeast tip of the country is not as showy as other areas. Come look at the sturdiness of our plants and my West Mast MCU Captain Rudy Beauregard, a survivor of life and professional storms. They are, the evergreens and Rudy, my loves. Oh how wonderful it is to take for granted my floral visitors and my most important character. I do love a showy mass of flowers. Consider a bed of lavender or a hardy lilac bush with their aromas. Love it. Read my books and meet Lavendar, a special lady, or Mary Lou whose life is a rollercoaster of negatives and positives, or Lily Tagliano a tough talking but now in love detective, or Norberto Cull the quintessentially perfect defense attorney. Norberto is an evergreen. Lavender is a blooming showing tree. Read about them and categorize them. Have fun.

K. B. Pellegrino, Author

04/04/2021

02/28/2021

Stephen R. Jendrysik, Chicopee Historian, wrote a piece on Chicopee's History in 'THE SUNDAY REPUBLICAN' today titled, "Robbers and cops in 1930s Chicopee." He drew from several research sources. The selections were wonderful and gave a review to old time small city reporting that I just loved. This report included names of the cops and some of the victims, the setting for a robbery, a description of the getaway car with rumble seat, some selections for amounts stolen and some witness reports. He quoted phrases which I as a mystery lover enjoyed such as,"...with bullets flying and police in hot pursuit," or "... the men jumped into a light roadster parked on Market Street," or "...The man with the gun climbed into the car's rumble seat, an open air seat at the back of the automobile." I could go on. The language was of a time. The reporting had all the earmarks of a 'Who Dunnit' and settings included 'The Dandy Lunch on Church Street," and "The Restaurant at the Falls Inn." Action included shootings in the street all taking place on August 7, 1932. Jendrysik's formulation of his resource data reads like a wonderful short story and, I am most appreciative of good writing including a slice of local history of which I had no knowledge. I thank him for his efforts. History reporting from Jendrysik I have seen before, but his humor and plotting and organization rising to the conclusion made my day. I quote from the end, "A general description of the roadster and three of the registration plate numbers were all the investigators had.

Every high school kid knw the gang had robbed the biggest Sunday night card game in Chicopee." Like any good story teller, he led us astray, while giving us hints, and then slams with the ending. Kudoos to you Mr. Jendrysik.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author