Writing - the ups and downs

This novel is set in the town of Evergreen, Michigan, home of The Christmas Store, where main character Faith works selling ornaments and trees along with a variety of newly arrived “special” angels, both beautiful and inspiring. She soon becomes involved in helping the town’s elderly sisters, Cora and Carrie, save their Victorian Bed and Breakfast from being sold, thanks to their nephew David who has come to town to convince them to retire and move into a retirement community near him in Arizona. Faith and David have both experienced broken hearts and try to guard their hearts from further hurt, by working actively to not fall for each other, even as they begin to feel a growing attachment. They’re thrown together on enough occasions to make them miss each other when they are apart. Cora and Carrie help the romance along by setting them up on dates. Faith and David volunteer to help organize the church’s Christmas in July Bazaar and work closely to set up booths and then end u...

Thanksgiving 8000 Calorie Poem May your stuffing be tasty, May your turkey plump, May your potatoes and gravy Have nary a lump. May your yams be delicious And your pies take the prize, And may your Thanksgiving dinner Stay off your thighs! - Anonymous Blessings to you and yours, Barb

Unwanted Visitor - This Cold. Making me miserable. Making me Feel - Other worldly. Cotton-brained and Blurrry eyed. Sneezing- sharing Germs with Throw pillows And my cozy blanket - Making apologies As I snuggle On the sofa I wish for The enemy to Exit - take this evil and go. Instead -  I'm killing it softly With an arsenal of vitamins, Cold pills, antibiotics. It will go down before Seven to Ten days. Or ELSE. Blessings and may your days remain cold-free!

The weather is cooperating and we've been able to get outside and put away all the things we enjoyed during the summer weather preparing for the season change.  We threw out the bedraggled red begonias from the front porch and all the dried geraniums from the back deck.  Our winters are often harsh so I'll clean and store our white wooden rockers in the basement til spring. A gift from our daughter, Lisa. I love rocking on the front porch when the weather is warm. R has already stored our red metal chairs and table from the deck in his barn as well as the bigger table and chairs where we often have lunch - when I can get him off the lawn tractor! I find comfort in putting to bed the items that bring me such joy in summer. I feel as though I'm wrapping them in a warm quilt to rest until beautiful weather when they'll claim their rightful place outdoors. I put away the little green garden chair with the wreath and flowers - photo on my blog. Even the pumpkin...

The visit with our daughter Jill, her husband Jason, and the four grandchildren in Wisconsin went by too quickly. We were able to spend some special time with Jill when the family was gone. We took her to lunch and she and I did lots of shopping by ourselves. I found the thrift stores in Wisconsin to be full of treasures. I came home with a beautiful nativity set, two pairs of jeans, a top, and a sweater. All looked new. Some with tags. Jackson, their French Bulldog, and Samson, their English Bulldog were excited to see us. We are not dog people but we were able to exist peacefully. We got a kick out of both dogs for all their individual traits. Jackson guards food. It doesn't matter who has the food he stands on guard until every morsel is gone, I'm assuming to make sure he gets a crumb if it drops. He chases Samson away from the food area. And just looking at chunky Samson brings a smile to your face. While R hung around the house I went to three fourth grade classes on...

We're getting ready for a change in scenery. Tomorrow we head to Milwaukee from our home in Ohio to visit our youngest four grandchildren - Chase, Tanner, and Mackenzie - triplets - who will turn 10 while we are there. And Austin Cole who just turned 6. And our daughter Jill and her husband Jason. We are so excited we can't stand it. I've been packing our bags and tucking in treats and little gifts all week. We visited the neaby Apple Barn and bought fresh apple butter,  honey and apples to take to them. You'd think we were taking a trip to Europe, the way we've been assembling items. Don't forget to take this or that, we keep reminding each other. Of course at our age, it's DO NOT forget to pack your prescriptions. We'll only be gone a week but you'd think we were going for the winter. We both look forward to the change in scenery. Especially with fall here and the leaves putting on a grand and colorful show. Our trip will take us through In...

Thanks to the beauty of October and it's brisk refreshing days,  I've been hard at work again on my writing project - THE NOVEL.  I've been rewriting all 312 pages of it and its nearing the finish line. I passed page 215 in the rewrite yesterday. I'm updating and tweaking the story. Once it's finished I have some new places to send it to. Keep those fingers crossed. This book has been a work in progress for ten years from the day I had the idea to now. It's grown by leaps and bounds. It's been around to dozens of places and has a fair amount of rejections. Okay, a huge stack. On the other hand it's won one award and gained praise from many readers, editors and agents. My dream has been to see this book published. My long ago goal was to sell short stories and essays. Those goals have been met. Now it's back to the big dream. The published novel. If the Lord's willing and the creek don't rise and  I experience no other disaster...