“All those cliches, those things you hear about having a baby and motherhood—all of them are true. And all of them are the most beautiful things you will ever experience.” —Penelope Cruz On Christmas after the birth of my first grandchild twenty plus years ago, I had her father set her down on the floor in front of the Christmas tree …
Memorable Gifts for All the Wrong Reasons
Have you been shopping to find the perfect gifts for your loved ones? Sometimes that perfect gift is illusive and sometimes even when you think you’ve found the very thing that will most please someone, the gift doesn’t live up to expectations. That’s when we try to believe it’s the thought that counts. But sometimes we wonder what they were …
The Wonder of the Story behind “Joy to the World”
Joy to the world! the Lord is come; Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare him room, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing. How many times have you sung “Joy to the World” at Christmas and thought how wonderfully it matched the feeling of the season of …
Dad Christmas Stories
The heart of a father is the masterpiece of nature. ~Abbe Prevost I sent out a newsletter last week. If you didn’t get it and would like to read my news, let me know and I’ll send one out to you. In the newsletter, I invited readers to share a Christmas story. I mentioned it could be about a special …
School Day Memories
“School times end but the memories last forever.” – Unknown I got this message from Nancy about my book, Along a Storied Trail. “Your best book yet!! Keep them coming. I went to a country school in WI in the 1940’s. All 8 grades; walked or rode bike to school. Small stove to heat the one room. One teacher …
Count Your Blessings
“The love of a family is life’s greatest blessing.” – Eve Burrows I asked you in last Sunday’s post to share something for which you were thankful as a way to enter a drawing to win a choice of one my autographed books. I wasn’t surprised that nearly all of you mentioned family as a number one blessing. I have …
Writing the Stories I Want to Write
“Help me to continue writing through those black moments of discouragement when I feel that nothing I write is good or worthwhile or will ever be read by anyone.” (an excerpt from A Writer’s Prayer by H. Joseph Chadwick) From the time I got hold of my first notebook and pen, I wanted to be a writer. All those lines …
When the Meadow Blooms Available for Pre-Order
I just turned in a second round of edits on my upcoming release, When the Meadow Blooms, that will be available May 2, 2022. Normally, at this stage I don’t have to do a great deal of editing except for places where a deleted line or a change of wording can make the reading better. But this time, my editor …
Corncrib Memories
If you’ve been stopping by here to see what I have to say now and again, then you know I’m a country girl. I grew up on a farm where my dad raised beef cattle although we never said beef cattle back then. They were just cows. Usually a mixture of colors and kinds. Dad did prefer Herefords. They were …
A Perfect Fall Day for a Hike
“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” ~John Muir Sometimes in the fall season of the year, you are gifted with a perfect day of sunshine, short sleeve temperatures, and friends who want to take a hike in the woods. That was my gift today as this crew of hikers showed up to take a …










