If you look at the window beyond my cat Dukee, you will see some moisture had formed on it. It is not yet cold enough to freeze here but the temperature has dropped quite a bit in the last hour. Where we live in Florida, it has gotten as cold as thirty degrees before. And for us, that is cold. I do not think that I could ever survive in the north again. Because of the chill and the winter months, here is a little poem for you.
The Florida Chill
Winter has arrived
and so we survive
with warmer clothes
and sock covered toes.
With the fireplace lit
and slippers that fit
we snuggle inside
until it warms up outside.
The chill is upon us
but we will make it through
because it is nothing like
Canada where your fingers
turn blue.
***************
I hope that you enjoyed my little chilly poem. And for all of you who do deal with extreme cold temperatures, please try to stay warm and do not forget the animals.
Did you know that I have four books on Amazon? Look for my name Pennie R. S. Nelson to find them. Take care.
Love the poem. I live in central California so we don’t get freezing weather. It gets cold, but I just add more layers of clothing and turn the heater on for a bit 😁
Yeah, that is one thing nice about living in warmer climates is that all we need to do usually is layer up a little more because the cold won’t last too long. Thank you for reading and the comment Christina. Take care.
Happy New Year Everyone. I hope that your holidays were peaceful and happy. Mine was nice but my oldest neice and her wife had to stay home because they were sick, so we will have to celebrate with them in the new year. I did get to spend time with my one niece and her family. My great-niece, her daughter, is now three and full of energy so it was fun to watch her on Christmas day.
As for welcoming the new year, my sister and I stayed in and watched Dick Clark’s Rockin Eve on ABC. There were a lot of nice performances with newer and older stars which made it good. There were also a lot of firework activity all around us so falling asleep early was not an option. I hope all of you made it through New Years Eve and welcomed New Years Day with hope.
I titled this post the way I did because sometimes we take the next day or the next year for granted. And then when I heard that some people were injured and lost their home because of fireworks, that topped it. Respect for others and oneself has been lost by many. Too many times we think that we know everything and that we are always in control. That is not the case. Nobody knows everything and accidents can happen. Respect the time because the next minute might not come. Understand and respect the situation because at the drop of a penny, someone can get hurt and even die. To many of us take each day for granted and believe that tomorrow will be another day. To many times we believe that our loved one will still be here next week. That is not always the case. I learned that in 2025 when my dad passed away.
Each day should be welcomed and enjoyed. Each day, respect should be shown and given. Each day, we should cherish and celebrate it. When you respect and appreciate each day, your life will be filled with more happiness. Some people might not show you respect but they will lose out in the end. Our choices have consequences. Do you want to receive the good or the bad ones?
I am not sure if this post makes sense to you and I apologize if it does not. But, if you do understand it and welcome it, you have gained more of my respect. May this year of 2026 bring you the blessings that you desire and good health and happiness.
5 responses to “Welcome and Respect The New Year”
Willie Torres Jr.
Happy New Year, my friend. This is such a good reminder not to take today for granted. Each day is a gift from God, and we are called to cherish it, love one another, and walk humbly with Him.
Praying 2026 brings you Peace, Healing, and many Blessings.
You might have heard others say love yourself first before entering into a relationship. Many of us enter into a relationship because we are attracted to the person. Being attracted is fine but if you are not happy with who you are as a individual, you will struggle emotionally. I understand that you probably do not want to be alone in this world but your overall happiness with yourself is important too.
If you struggle with how you feel about yourself such as, your appearance, how you laugh, or how you do things, you are not happy with yourself. And unless you change how you feel, you will not be happy with anyone. This goes back to changing your thoughts and mindset. For example; if you look at yourself in the mirror and think or say I look old, change that thought. If you plant that thought in your mind, it will lead to more negative thoughts.
Instead you can say, I might be older but I look good. When you plant that seed, it will grow into more movements where you will work even harder to feel even better about yourself. Our minds control a lot of how we live. Same as if you let the negative of what others say or do control how you feel, you will not be happy. Change that negative to something that will make you go in a better direction. Living a life with a mindset that brings more happiness takes work, but it can be done. You can do it if you work at it.
The photo above is of my sister and my great niece. They were decorating Little Addies tree in her bedroom. To me, capturing special moments like these will hopefully bring more joy for the family in the future. I hope that you enjoyed this little poem. Please let me know in the comments section below.
When Jessy and Joslyn moved to the country, they kept to themselves but still enjoyed some of the small town events. And by living there for about seven months now, most of the townspeople were very friendly and welcoming. But because of Jessy and Joslyn’s unconventional life style, a few were a little leery of them. Those people, Jessy and Joslyn learned to stay clear of.
For the fourth of July, the community had a game filled afternoon picnic with a small firework display at night. For Halloween, there was a trick or treat fair with hayrides, food and haunted houses. And the kids of course got free candy. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, the community as a whole always celebrated Thanksgiving a week early. That way families still had family time on the actual day itself. And then of course, the month of December was full of various festivities that Jessy and Joslyn were looking forward to.
On the day of the community Thanksgiving, Joslyn and Jessy planned to have a few friends over so they were not going to go into town this time. Liam, a friend of theirs convinced the women to deep fry a turkey for their special meal. Neither of them had ever deep fried a turkey before but Joslyn was willing to give it a try. She had everything bought and set up according to the instructions. The next thing was to prepare the turkey for the fryer. Their friend Tanya arrived early and offered to help Jessy prepare the rest of the meal while Joslyn did the turkey.
Joslyn took the seasoned turkey out onto the deck and waited for the oil to heat up to the required temperature. When it did, she took a pole and carefully lowered the turkey into the fryer. The oil spit and splattered so Joslyn quickly moved her hands and pole away from it. The turkey sunk down into the oil so she thought everything was going to be alright. What the women did not realize was how important it is for the turkey to be completely thawed before putting it into hot oil. The splattered hot oil started to burn and the flames shot out onto the deck.
“Jessy, call 911,” Joslyn yelled.
Jessy looked out the patio door and saw the turkey fryer engulfed in flames. She quickly grabbed her phone and called for the fire department. Tanya looked out and saw the fire all around the turkey fryer and on the deck. She then looked for Joslyn and saw her standing in the backyard. When Jessy got off the phone with the operator, her and Tanya ran out the front door and around the house. They wanted to make sure that Joslyn was alright. She had some minor burns on her hands from the spitting oil but she was okay. Jessy asked Tanya if she would go wait in the front yard for the fire department which she did.
When the fire department arrived, Tanya guided them to the back of the house. Three firefighters quickly got the fire under control so no damage to the house was done. The wood deck however looked a lot better before this happened. Joslyn and Jessy were given some fire safety instructions from the lead fireman when it comes to deep frying a turkey. Joslyn told him that he had nothing to worry about because she was not going to attempt that ever again.
The fireman smiled, “well if you still want to try deep fried turkey, go down to Lawson Park later, one of our volunteer firemen will be serving up some down there.”
“Oh, well we have some friends coming over so we don’t want to impose,” Joslyn said.
“You won’t be imposing. Just bring a dish or two to pass,” the fireman said.
“Thank you, and thank you so much for saving our house,” Joslyn and Jessy said.
“No problem, that is what we do,” the fireman said and walked toward the front of the house.
Jessy looked at the burned deck and then hugged Joslyn, “are you sure that you are okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Just a little shaken is all.”
Jessy and Joslyn walked hand in hand and met Tanya in the front yard. The fire truck had just left the house and drove down the road.
“I guess we are not having a turkey this year,” Joslyn said to Tanya.
“Well, we could go down to your town park for some. I was actually invited by one of the firemen,” Tanya smiled.
Just then, Liam pulled into the driveway. The three of them watched as he got out of his SUV, waved and said happy Thanksgiving. He then opened up the back door of his vehicle and took out a large container.
“I made pies,” Liam said as he held up the container.
Jessy, Joslyn and Tanya smiled. They knew that Liam was going to be disappointed when he hears that there will be no turkey this year.
As Liam got closer to them though, he sniffed the air, “is something burning?”
Joslyn smiled, put her arm around Liam’s back and said, “yes, your turkey just went up in flames.”
Jessy took the container of pies before anything happened to them and went into the house with Tanya. Joslyn carefully explained to Liam what had happened before he got there as they walked into the kitchen.
“Oh my gosh, are you alright?” Liam stopped and scanned the front of Joslyn.
“Yes, I’m okay, but the deck isn’t.”
Liam hurried to the back door and gasped when he saw the charred wood of the deck, “I am so sorry. I should have told you to do it in the yard.”
“Well, we learned a lesson today and that is, a partially frozen turkey and hot oil will not work well together,” Jessy said.
“Oh, I didn’t know that either,” Liam said and frowned as he looked back out at the deck.
“So, we can eat here and have what we made this morning plus leftover chicken, or take what we made this morning and a pie and go down town to the community Thanksgiving,” Jessy said as she looked at everyone there.
“I vote down town,” Tanya smiled.
“Sounds good to me but we have to wait for Devin,” Liam said.
“Oh of course, and, we can still try deep fried turkey because we were told by the lead fireman that they will have some down at the park today,” Joslyn grinned at Liam.
Liam grinned but then softly said, “I’m sorry again that your deck got burned.”
“It’s okay, we all learned a very valuable lesson today. The use of fire and oil is not something to take lightly. It could have been worse but it wasn’t,” Jessy said.
When Devin arrived and knocked on the door, Joslyn answered it. She gave him a hug and invited him inside. They explained to Devin what had happened with the turkey so he agreed to join in with the festivities down town. Within the group of them, they had three dishes that seemed good enough to share with the townspeople. Liam was a little nervous though because he also knew how smaller towns judged outsiders.
Jessy, Joslyn and Tanya rode in one vehicle while Liam and Devin rode in another. The two drivers were able to find parking spots near each other so they all could walk into to the park together. With the food in their hands and smiles on their faces, the five of them were greeted with many happy Thanksgiving’s. Bud Harrison, the town mayor, even introduced himself to Liam and Devin. Jessy and Joslyn of course already met the mayor shortly after they moved there. Tanya found Billy, the fireman who invited her there and chatted with him for awhile.
By the late afternoon, the day had turned out much better then it started. Jessy and Joslyn did not expect such a warm welcoming for their gay friends. Mayor Harrison even asked Joslyn if anyone was hurt by the fire that he was told about. She assured him that everyone was alright and that the firemen did a great job. A couple of men who worked for the lumberyard even offered to rebuild their deck for only the cost of materials which surprised Jessy. And the compassion that was felt from most of the townspeople was heartwarming to all five of them. They had seen stuff like this in the movies but never expected the love and acceptance in real life. This small town made a nice impression on them all. As for the deep fried turkey, it was not as tasty as they were told it would be.
The End
This story was written with gratitude in mind and because for us in the USA, we celebrate Thanksgiving next week. This story will hopefully encourage people to show more compassion to others and help out when you can. I am always appreciative for the people who come into my life. May God bless you.
Sandy took her younger brother and sister out trick or treating on Halloween night. This was something that the three of them did together since the twins were born. They all lived for the freedom that they felt on that special night each year. But, it was almost ten and Sandy told the twins that they had to get going home soon.
Jona whined, “just a little longer, please?”
“Yeah, can’t we go over to the next street and then go home?” Jessica asked.
Sandy looked at her siblings and then smiled, “okay, a few more houses on the next street and then home.”
“Yay,” Jona yelled.
“We are going to Elm Street, we are going to Elm street,” Jessica sang.
Jona looked at Jessica and said, “how about Thriller?”
“Yeah, okay,” Jessica smiled.
The twins ran ahead of Sandy and started to sing “It’s close to midnight and something evil is lurking in the dark.”
Sandy yelled out, “slow down you two.”
Jessica and Jona looked at each other and giggled as they came to a slower walk. Sandy followed the two of them as they turned the corner and saw the first house on that block. The yard had a couple of fifteen foot tall skeletons along with many normal sized skeleton’s. There was also a large cauldron with steam rising from it and a witch standing by it. The family that lived there had spooky music playing with occasional wolf howls that echoed down the street.
This yard is pretty cool,” Jona said as he stopped and looked at the witch.
“I like that kitty cat skeleton over there,” Jessica pointed.
“Well, are you two going to get some more candy or not?” Sandy said while she walked up behind them.
Sandy watched the twins as they walked up to the door and knocked. The owner opened the door and quickly dropped a couple pieces of candy bars in each bag before she closed the door.
“Thank you,” the twins said simultaneously.
“They must remember you two from last year,” Sandy said with a smile.
Jona skipped down the sidewalk and then stopped. He looked inside his candy bag and dug around in it.
“What’s wrong Jona?” Sandy asked him.
“I’m getting hungry so I was just wondering what I had in here.”
“I’m getting hungry too,” Jessica said.
“Well, after we stop at the Mitchell’s house, we will stop for something to eat,” Sandy said.
“Okay, yay,” Jona smiled.
The three of them walked up to their family friends house, the Mitchell’s, and rang the doorbell. Mr. Mitchell glanced out the window and then opened the front door.
“Well, happy Halloween. Look who we have this year?” Mr. Mitchell said.
Nancy Mitchell walked up next to her husband and smiled, “nice batman costume Jona. And who are you Jessica?”
“I am an American serial killer on trial,” Jessica said.
Nancy smiled and then looked at Sandy, “how is your mom doing?”
“Oh, she’s doing much better. We are going to bring home something for her to eat when we leave here,” Sandy smiled.
Nancy smiled, glanced at her husband and then said, “we will let you be on your way then. Tell her hello for us and you three take care too.”
“Okay, I will and thank you,” Sandy smiled and then turned around.
Mr. Mitchell closed the door and shut the porch light off after the kids left the porch. Sandy walked with the twins down the sidewalk and to the fourth house. The lights inside the house were off but the porch was lit up. Jona saw a candy bowl and ran up to it. Jessica was right behind him but then stopped.
“I thought you two wanted to eat?” Sandy said as she walked up to Jessica.
“Oh yeah, I’m hungry,” Jona grinned and then looked at Sandy.
Sandy walked up onto the porch and directed the twins to stand off to each side of the door. She rang the bell and put on an act like she was crying. She rang the bell again and asked for someone’s help. Jona stood patiently waiting but his claws and fangs started to emerge. Jessica leaned her back up against the house and listened. She heard someone coming to the door.
When the owner saw through the small window a young lady in distress, he opened the door. Sandy stepped back and let the twins attack the man. They pushed him inside and Sandy slammed the door.
A few minutes had passed and Nancy Mitchell heard Jona and Jessica howl. She looked at her husband and asked him, “did you lock the door?”
Mr. Mitchell nodded, “yes, of course I did.”
The End
I wrote this story for any of you who celebrate Halloween. My family loves Halloween and we like to have fun with it. My oldest niece already held a small Halloween party which was fun. I dressed as a cute scarecrow this year.
On Halloween though I have to work. So if I do anything after work it will not be until 7:30 at night. I might go have dinner at my niece’s house but sure yet. Does anyone on here do anything special for Halloween? If you do go out please stay safe.
Fun and spooky Halloween story! Your costume is adorable! We don’t get trick or treaters anymore, and that is a shame. When our four children were young, the neighborhood was full of kids out on Halloween night. (I still buy candy for our grandchildren…)
Hello everyone. I hope that you all are doing well. I am happy to announce that my new book ‘The Possible Nightmare’ is available now in two different formats. Digital and paperback. You can find it on Amazon. https://a.co/d/0KdCUwq
The book is a collection of seven short spooky stories and made available just in time for Halloween. I worked really hard to get these stories done for the season so I hope that you enjoy them. If you enjoy reading stories that involve ghosts, spooky cemeteries and unknown creatures, then you will find them in this book.
Most of you who read my work know that I love spooky stories. I am happy that I can share my imagination with you on here and in my books. If you would like to read the first chapter before you buy, click the link below.
This book is a good one for the Halloween season tease. I want to thank you in advance for purchasing my books, thank you. Now, go buy one. Most appreciated.
I am sure you will my Dear Friend. Don’t be discouraged (like me). Keep doing what you love and sharing it with the world. You truly have a beautiful gift…
Hello everyone and thank you for being here with me. It is you who keep me going with my writing, so thank you.
By the title you can see that I do have my new book coming out soon on Amazon. ‘The Possible Nightmare’. You can pre-order now if you like but otherwise, the digital format will be available October 22nd and the paperback on the 25th.
Some of you might remember me saying that I was not sure if I would get a spooky book done for this year but, I guess it was meant to be. Because I was working on my book ‘Hope Within Sixty Days’ and also resettling in a new place, I did not think that I would have enough time. But everything worked out. I just hope that you all like this new book.
‘The Possible Nightmare’ is a collection of seven short stories with the Halloween season in mind. I went with a different title from the past two Halloween books so that I hopefully will attract more readers. That is one thing that is very difficult for us writer’s, is to have readers who want to buy the books. That is why reviews from readers who do buy our books are very important.
In this book you will find two stores that involve cemeteries. I am not sure why I have such a fascination with cemeteries but I do. Cemeteries are supposed to be a place of rest for those who pass, but there is just something about them that are intriguing. It could be because with death, some spirits, if you believe, will hang around their place of rest. If they have not moved on because of unresolved earthly issues, their resting place might be like their home once was to them. And with my belief in this, it is very possible to see a spirit or ghost in a cemetery.
In ‘The Possible Nightmare’ you will also find a couple of stories that have a strange creature in them. I grew up watching creature features and have always loved them so I have to include them. Although, the two stories in there were written very differently when it comes to survival. The three other stories, well, watch out for jilted lovers. Do not make deals with the devil. And the next time you fly on an airplane, make sure that it is a day time flight.
I hope that I have gotten your attention with this post and that you will buy my book. If you enjoy creepy, spooky and somewhat disturbing material, then you will find it in, ‘The Possible Nightmare’. Click the link below to pre-order the digital copy
It was around midnight when Julian and his girlfriend Bonnie saw a fireball fly across the sky. They were not sure where it landed but they were curious. Julian drove and drove, but because it was so dark and it could be anywhere, they could not find it. Bonnie told Julian that it was late and she wanted to go home. Julian understood because he was getting tired too.
The next morning after Bonnie and Julian got some sleep, Julian thought about going to the lake.
““Hey babe, how about grabbing our suits and heading up to the lake today?”
Bonnie walked out of the bathroom, “that sounds like fun. I can pack a few things in a cooler and we can have lunch up there too.”
Julian smiled and then hopped out of bed with excitement. He felt that even though they could not afford to go away for vacation, he planned to make this staycation a fun one.
“Jul, do you think that we can stop at the smoothie shop on the way?” Bonnie asked.“Sure, I’ll have the tropical one,” Julian said and then went into the bathroom.On the way up to the lake Julian mentioned the fireball that they saw last night. Because they were only ten miles from the area where they saw it, Julian wondered if they might be able to find it.
“Julian, I hope that is not the reason why you mentioned the lake this morning,” Bonnie glared at him.
“No. I didn’t even think of it until now,” Julian looked at Bonnie and gave her his gleaming smile.
“Let’s enjoy the lake for awhile and then we can look around for it, okay?” Bonnie said.
Julian smiled and then pulled into the parking lot for the beach. Because it was a Monday, Bonnie and Julian were the only two there, at least for now. Bonnie got out of the car, grabbed her bag, and walked over to the restroom to change. Julian grabbed the cooler, the blanket, and his towel and walked down onto the beach. He found a nice clean spot and laid the blanket out. Julian then plunged down onto the blanket and did five pushups while he waited for Bonnie.
“There is my man showing off and thinking that he is all that,” Bonnie said as she walked up behind him.
Julian snickered, plopped down onto his stomach and then rolled over onto his back, “you know that you like this body,” he said with a big smile.
Bonnie grinned and then dropped her bag down onto the blanket. She looked at the lake, took a breath and then walked towards it. Julian admired Bonnies tan and gorgeous figure as she walked towards the water. He sighed with happiness.
Bonnie shuffled her feet in the sand and felt the warm water run over them.“Wow, this water is really warm for this time of year,” Bonnie called out to Julian.
Julian continued to watch Bonnie as she walked out into the water until he heard a car pull up behind him.
“We aren’t alone anymore,” Julian called out to Bonnie.
Bonnie nodded as she walked further out and enjoyed the warmth. Julian saw that it was an older couple who looked as if sunning themselves was their life now. Julian got up from the blanket and did a short stretch of his back. He smiled and nodded at the older gentleman as he entered the sand. The man smiled back and said that it was a beautiful day.
Julian nodded, “yes it is.”
Julian turned and walked towards the water. As he entered the lake, he noticed the big differance in the temperature. The air was a warm seventy-two and the water felt like eighty.
“You were right, the water is unuasually warm,” Julian said to Bonnie.
Bonnie swam out a little further and enjoyed the peacful moment. The birds were chirping from the trees along the lake bank and the sun was warm and high. Even though their solitude was interrupted by another couple, Bonnie still felt relaxed. Julian first watched as the older couple set up their folding lounge chairs and sat down on them. Then, he swam out to be by Bonnie.
“This was a good idea, right?” Julian said as he swam right next to her.
“Yes it was. I think I needed this,” Bonnie said and then kissed Julian on the cheek.
The older couple sat in their chairs right next to each other and did not say a word to one another. It was as if this day was repetative for them both. Julian floated in the water and occasionally looked at the couple. He thought briefly if that would be Bonnie and himself at their retirement age.
All of a sudden, Bonnie let out a scream. Julian quickly looked at her.
“What’s wrong?” Julian said and then swam over to her.
“Jul, get this stuff off of me,” Bonnie said in a panic.
“Oh babe, that’s only seaweed,” Julian said.
“No, it hurts, get it off of me.”
Julian tried to pull off the seaweed stuff but it clung tightly to her. When he was able to pull some of it off, more of it came up from underneath them. Bonnie screamed again which made the older couple look at them.
The older man yelled out, “is everything okay out there?”
Just like that, Bonnie screamed again and was pulled under the water. She fought her way back up to the top but her blood started to spread around them.
“Oh my gosh, Bonnie,” Julian yelled.
Suddenly Julian felt the pain of the seaweed or whatever it was. It was biting him now too. Because of his splashing and thrashing, the older couple got up and called out to them.
“Are you two alright?” The man yelled out.
“The seaweed,” Julian yelled.
Bonnie and now Julian tried to escape the seaweed stuff but it continued to feed on of their flesh. Their blood pooled all around them.
“Something is wrong honey,” the older lady said to her husband.
As Bonnie lost blood and energy, she eventually disappeared beneath the water. Julian continued to fight and even tried to swim to shore, but the seaweed stuff held onto him tight. The older woman felt panicked and her husband called 911. Julian squirmed and thrashed in the water but he could no longer resist the strength of the stuff. The older gentleman told the officer that something is in lake and two people have now gone under.
The police arrived at the lake about ten minutes later and talked to the older couple. They noticed some of the blood as it made its way to the shore.
“Neither of you saw what was attacking them?” The one officer asked.
“No sir, I heard the fellow yell seaweed but that was it,” the man said.
The police sargent knew that the water had to be investigated and the remains needed to be found, but fear for another life had set in. What could be in the water and where did it come from?
The End
This story is for the Halloween season. Many of my stories can be found on my Substack platform under, Pennie’s Writing’s. I also include many of these in my books this time of year. I hope that you like it. Also, I will be publishing a new book later this month. Be on the lookout for, ‘The Possible Nightmare’.
Pennize Work 
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