Chilly Day Chili

It’s 25 F today, with a real feel of 13 and though the wind is whipping, the sun is shining and the skies are the prettiest pale blue. I went out for a bit this morning and it was brutal, lol. I ran up to clean the church and then stopped to enjoy a cup of coffee with my sister. Other than that, I’ve been hanging out at home with Miss Emma today.

This will be my last week of working full-time. After this week, I will drop down to just one or two days a week. But I hope I never get over being thankful for the blessing of a day off 😊

 Thank the Lord I am finally starting to feel better. Still drained, still a bit stuffy, but so much better than I have felt in the last few weeks. There were a lot of things I could have done around the house today. I want to do a major deep clean and declutter. I need to start getting my paperwork together for my taxes. And there’s always laundry. But today, I’m giving myself permission to just “be.”

I made a pot of chili.

I lit some candles for warmth.

I wrote a key scene for Blackberry Summer that I’m feeling great about 😊

The rest of the afternoon… I haven’t decided whether I want to work on a puzzle or my crochet project. But either thing will be lovely.

Thank You, Lord, for chili in the crock pot on a cold, windy day. For candles and coffee and faithful old hound dogs. For so many hobbies and interests. And for days off to enjoy them 😊

What are you doing today?

Snowy Days…

I love snowy days when I don’t have to go out. They are the perfect days for getting things done around the house, like…

Reading books.

And working on puzzles. I love that this one is called In The Still Light of Dawn.

And writing. I’m making good progress!

You know, all the important stuff 🙂

I hope you have a lovely day, whatever that looks like for you!

Swap Till You Drop!

It was a gorgeous morning in Southern Ohio. A little on the chilly side at 34 F, but wall to wall sunshine made it a great day to be out and about, so Marge and I headed to the library to check out the puzzle swap.

On our way in I stopped by the front desk and donated copies of each of my three Redford’s Crossing Romances – something I’ve been meaning to do for quite some time. They will be catalogued and added to the library’s local author section.

As a fifty-year New Yorker, it seems funny to see my books in the Appalachian Author’s section, but after almost ten years in Ohio, I guess that’s what I am now 🙂

Off to the puzzles!

There weren’t many in the 500- piece range but I found some 750 and 1000 -piece puzzles I could not resist!

It takes me a minute to complete a 1000-piece puzzle, so these four should get me through the winter.

I can’t wait to start the one of the old ladies on the bus! It’s called The Conversation.

After leaving the library, we headed to the new Tim Hortons that recently opened in town.

I’m a Dunkin’ girl through and through, but I loved my Tim’s experience today. Marge and I both got salted caramel lattes and hazelnut muffins. Delicious!

I haven’t seen much of my sister since she returned from her trip to Pasadena for the Rose Parade, so it was a nice chance to catch up.

One of the things I want to focus on this year is fully enjoying life’s little blessings and special moments. A morning out with my sister definitely qualifies. With each piece I fit into my new puzzles, I will remember and be thankful for the gift of today 🙂

Opportunities

January started off with some challenges. Or, since I’ve decided to adopt a more positive mindset this year, I’ll call them opportunities. After weeks of acting glitchy, my little pink laptop finally bit the dust. Oh. My. Goodness. I felt so lost. I dug my tablet out of the junk drawer, dusted it off, and powered it up. It was not the same, but it was better than nothing. I was able to access my email accounts and my blogs, but being a tech-dummy, I didn’t try to do anything fancy, lol.

Being mostly offline for over a week showed me just how much time I waste mindlessly scrolling. Time that could be much better spent. I was able to get to Best Buy and get a new laptop, but I’m going to be much more intentional about my online time in the new year. Since I could still access my files on the old laptop, I was able to open and work on Blackberry Summer (thank You, Lord!) It was astounding how much writing I was able to do without the constant temptation to close out of my document and scroll. Kind of like the good old days, after paper and pen, but before the Internet, when I wrote books with a word processor.

I also came down with The Mother Of All Colds this month. Yes, it was miserable for a few days, but it forced me to slow down, take some hot baths, get some extra rest. Since my intention this year is to take life a little more slowly, I am off to a good start. I got a beautiful handmade crochet hook for Christmas, along with a few skeins of yarn. With my retirement just a couple of weeks away, I might just find the time to put them to use 😊

I’ll leave you with a pic of the puzzle I finished yesterday. I have just one left in the closet, but thankfully my local library is having a puzzle swap next week. I’ve penciled it on my calendar for Monday. The puzzle swap is my very favorite thing, except for the library book sale. I hope I won’t overdo it this time, but I probably will 😊

The First … And The Last

My last puzzle of 2025 became my first puzzle of the new year. I like scenes with little boxes, a different picture in each one. Though it was 1000 pieces and I’m more comfortable with 500, I loved all the little snowmen so I decided to give it a try. It was a lot more complicated than I expected and I almost gave up on it. With the patterns in the border repeating, I gave up on putting the edgies together first and just started working on random boxes. It took about two weeks to finally get the edge pieces done and another week before I put in the last piece 🙂 I’m glad I persevered, but I think I will stick with 500 piece puzzles. At least for awhile 🙂

Big Boy Joy

I’ve decided not to make any resolutions this year, but I have made a couple of decisions. I’ve decided to take life a bit more slowly. To live a bit more intentionally. To do what I can to make life better for those in my little corner of the world, and to take the time to recognize and be thankful for my blessings. I want to pay more attention to the things, big or small, that bring me joy. Today my friend, Sharon, and I popped into the Big Boy for lunch. I’m so glad they have not taken down their Christmas tree yet. What could be more smile-provoking than a ten-foot tree chuck full of Big Boys! Big Boys, little joys 🙂

2025 – In The Books!

2025 was a good year in so many ways. I picked up lots of new subscribers (thank you!) and discovered so many interesting new blogs and blogger friends. I love these glimpses into your lives 🙂

This summer I embarked on a journey to a (mostly) sugar free lifestyle. I was pleasantly surprised this morning to discover I have lost 15.8 pounds! In the new year I want to incorporate more healthy choices, but eliminating sugar was a good place to start.

I read 56 books, falling just short of my Goodreads goal of 60. I will set my Reading Challenge goal at 60 again in the new year. I currently have 40 books on my bookshelf and 20 on my Kindle app. I hope to get through most of them, though let’s be honest, the year will end and I will still have sixty books or more in my TBR pile. I can’t help it, I’m a book junkie, lol.

I also read 11 books of the Old Testament, which I’ve been working through one chapter at a time.

On the writing front, I had two books release in 2025, Superheroes and Chester’s Miracle. I’m thrilled with the reviews they are getting. I’m on track to finish my current WIP, Blackberry Summer in the next few months (I hope 🙂 )

After much thought and prayer, I’m planning a life change in the new year. I’m retiring! I have been working for 44 years (unless you count the paper route I had when I was twelve, and the years I dusted furniture in my mom and dad’s furniture store ) Truthfully, this girl is tired. At 18 I walked into Burger King and began life in the working world. Oh, the places I’ve clocked into since then!

I’ve been a pizza maker. A mail sorter. A hairdresser. A nurse’s aide. A factory worker. For a few lovely years, I worked alongside my mother in our wallpaper shop. For even more years I was a teaching assistant. I have sold tickets and scooped popcorn in movie theaters, baked bread and fried doughnuts in bakeries. And always, in the background, I have been a writer.

Time is so precious. The older I get, the more I understand this. My plan is to still work one or two days a week. It will provide a little extra money and keep me from becoming a recluse 🙂 But I can no longer watch precious time slip away as I stand behind a cash register day after day. I want to spend my time on people. On hobbies. On my writing. And on whatever work the Lord gives me to do with the time that I have left 🙂

A Few Quiet Moments

I told myself that this year I would take December slow. I would spend more time being quiet, more time focusing on what matters. This year I would not hurry and stress my way through the Christmas season. That’s what I told myself. In reality, my December has kind of been like this:

But not today. Today I am having a second cup of coffee. I’m enjoying the twinkling lights on my Christmas tree, working on a ridiculously hard puzzle, and listening to music.

This evening I have plans to go out to dinner and then for a tour of lights around town with some friends. It is an annual tradition I love and always look forward to. But this morning I’m hanging out with Jesus. I’m reflecting on the Baby born in Bethlehem 2025 years ago and the indescribable gift He has given to me, to us all.

I love Enya’s rendition of O Come O Come Emmanuel. It’s so hauntingly beautiful. It gets my head in the right place.

Wishing you all a day of peace and quiet reflection!