>Hello Friends, Just wanted to let you know that Chasing Lilacs is being offered in a giveaway at my friend, Margaret Daley’s, blog this week. Read about it and enter here. Also, the folks at Novel Journey are hosting me today and asked some great questions. Find out which childhood book first made an impression on me, get the scoop …
>HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY
>To moms everywhere: No matter where your kiddos are – I wish you a lovely Mother’s Day. Being a mom is one of the greatest privileges I’ve had. Love to my boys, their precious wives, and all my grandkids. You know who you are. PS: Once every few years, Mother’s Day falls on the birthday of my grandmother on my …
>SPRING BREAK Special of the Week: Dirt Cake
>It’s spring break week for the kiddos, and we had the privilege of having our six-year-old twin grandsons spend a few days with us. It amazing how much they’ve grown and seeing their little minds at work. Reading, drawing, swinging at golf balls in the back yard (the plastic practice ones), trying new foods. But when I announced we’d be …
>The Christmas Spirit
>I’m the first to admit, the Christmas spirit is a little slow in making its appearance around here. I’m consumed with me-isms—my book promotion, my next project, my responsibilities to the writing groups I belong to, my blog posts, my email. It’s no wonder I feel like such a Scrooge. When we see only ourselves and the urgencies around us, …
>Carve Diem
>In anticipation of three of our grandchildren visiting, I threw out a question on FaceBook about carving pumpkins. Is it too early? Any hints for a fun experience? Here were some of the responses: 1. Put Vaseline on the raw edges where you make the cuts to help pumpkin last longer.2. In the north we used to carve them a …
>One WICKED Show
> We’ve had our theater tickets for months! I’m a huge fan of Broadway musicals, and after hearing my daughter-in-law rave about WICKED, we coughed up the $$ for five tickets. Hubby and me, our son and daughter-in-law (Happy early birthday Allison), and our twelve-year-old grandson. The three-hour show was even better than all the hype, so without giving anything …
>MAKING MEMORIES
> Christmas has come and gone. We had good weather, safe travels, and only one person became ill and had to delay spending Christmas with the family, so overall it was all good. As usual, pictures tell the story much better than I could, so enjoy some of my favorite holiday shots. My dad (where we celebrated Christmas Eve), my …
>FOR UNTO US IS BORN . . .
> MERRY CHRISTMAS The mad rush is quickly winding down. The shopping is done, the gifts wrapped, the baked goods packed up. All we have to do is load the car and head out west where our family is waiting for the annual Christmas Eve gathering. Christmas Eve is the only tradition that has remained somewhat the same for as …
>JINGLE BELLS . . . Tuba Style
> Drake (my first born grandson) is one of two tuba players in his school’s Sixth Grade Beginner Band, and the FIRST tuba player in our family. He goes to a small school (although not that small compared to their neighboring rural towns) so the Christmas concert is a combined effort of beginners, junior high, high school, and the jazz …
>Fa-la-la-la-la!
> Tis the season! I wish I were one of those early shoppers who had all my gifts purchased, wrapped, and under the tree by the day after Thanksgiving, but I’m not. As a matter of fact, I don’t even have a list made yet, so if you’re out there and still want to get your request in to me, …