When the travel bug hits the next itch might be about deciding where to go, There are SO many great choices. Stay local? Go international? Take a cruise? Go camping? Return to Disneyland? Back to Hawaii? Try a train? Go visit Sandra Claus... at the South Pole? :)
Ack! It can be overload.
So how about a simple road trip? They can be the best! Whether you take off right from home or fly somewhere and rent a car to see a region, road trips literally let you...
Well, as I mentioned in my last post, we had planned a big vacation in Europe for almost two years. We were traveling with some of our favorite people and spending two weeks floating down the Rhine and Moselle rivers through five countries in Europe. Such fun!
We get all packed, everything arranged to be gone and then the day ahead of when we were flying the news came in that the cruise was cancelled. The summer had been unusually hot and the rivers had...
Well, when I last chatted here, I had declared this year to be my best year ever. I was full of anticipation, hope, plans - all the good stuff. And then . . . Life started to shake rattle and roll.
My husband got sick. My sister got sick. One of my best friends was hospitalized. And worse, worse, worst of all, one of the dearest people in our lives fell lethally ill with one of the worst cancers ever and our world was really turned inside out and upside down. Topping it all off, the river...
When I was growing up, summers were pretty simple: playing with the neighbor kids; vacation bible school; time at camp; family camping vacations and walks to the Bookmobile to check out piles of books! Pretty darn ideal all in all.
I miss parts of all of that. As I bought more books over the years than I could possibly read while working and pursuing happiness , I would promise myself that when my summers were open...
I had a wonderful birthday and from that I have declared this year is going to be:
I put that in all caps because sometimes you have to be really loud to be sure the whole of the Universe hears you and knows you mean business. The way I see it, two thirds of having the best year ever is declaring that it will be the best year ever. Words matter. Thoughts matter. Actions matter. Intentions matter.
I know you all know all that - I write it mostly to remind myself. If I...
Hello July!
Happy Birthday America and Happy Birthday to me! America and I share a birthday, and it is always packed full of fun. Until I was about 10, I thought the annual 4th of July parade was especially for me. I mean it was the best day of all for a birthday: it was summer, there was a parade and there was lots of fun fireworks. What more could a girl possibly want? Plus, my mom always made our birthdays fun growing up. She would throw creative parties with games and outdoor adventuring....
There has been so much fun going on lately, I haven't kept up on my chatting with you all here or writing a single word in either book I'm working on! I'd lament about my lack of discipline but the truth is I'm having too much fun to whine about it. Last post I was ranting about non-clappers so this post I'm switching over to raving. Here are some of my favorite things lately:
Peonies!
I was late discovering the marvelous magic of these incredible flowers....
Apologies ahead of time, but today I'm on a rant or maybe a bit of a lecture. What's my topic? Theater manners.
I love live theater. Whether it's local, touring shows or, my favorite of all, Broadway, it's one of my favorite activities. For me, this love of theater started when my sisters and I were young, and my parents would take us to the Childrens Theater in Seattle. (Thanks Mom! Thanks Dad!) So fun! It continued as I got older and the annual theater memberships were for musicals like ...
A quick post today sharing the first chapter of one of the new books in progress. The Jarless Genie is written first person between Anna Cause - the sister of Sandra Claus... of South Pole Santa fame - and Crispin, a genie on the loose in New York City. It's all still a rough draft but coming along. (I hope you like Troubadour. I've been having so much fun with him!) Oh, and I welcome your feedback and suggestions. Some of my favorite things about the South Pole Santa books came from great...
Holly hocks and chalk a blocks, we are living in some challenging times! At every turn something new seems to be rising as a hurdle to calm and peace and happiness. I hate it when I'm feeling anxious or restless or even a bit scared of late. It's just not my norm. So, I dug out my reminders of how to stay at peace and keep magic and joy in the forefront of my mind. Maybe these can help you too.
Turn off the news! Right now this is my number one step to being calm and at rest. The news is so...
True confession time everyone:
This winter while I really should have been working on South Pole Santa promos and my new writing projects, I have watched a lot of TV. A lot. The days are short. Dark comes early. We get rain, cold and fog, on the daily, making driving at night just plain dangerous. Going out in the evenings has no appeal. I think it must be part of this whole getting older thing. Whatever it's from, it leads to an increased number of evening hours watching a variety of programs...
Oh Oh Oh dear readers, life has been a buzz buzz of busy! So I'm top-of-mind writing today with some recent examples of why life is buzzing and about moving out of my very comfortable comfort zone.
First, with seven others who are near and dear to me, I'm fresh off the plane from Thailand! We spent two weeks sailing on a catamaran through the south islands off of Phuket. So exotic! The islands looked and felt like we had...
After finishing Enchantments, the fifth book in the South Pole Santa series, I stepped away from writing for a while. For too long, really. I needed a break and got busy reading so many great books by other authors. For me, I find that I can't be reading other books when I'm busy writing my own. It all gets too jumbled and my mind becomes obsessively focused on my own project.
But the not writing drought is ending. Crazily, the Universe has given me three book ideas of late and I'm excited...
Like the elves in the South Pole Santa series, I have a fondness for staying home. Living in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, there is always something to do. However, like the elves, I also love to explore. Our planet is filled with stunning and interesting places to visit with cultures that are different and people just like us. Reflecting on our travels, both within the US and abroad, I honestly can’t think of any place we didn't enjoy. There are some destinations I might not revisit (this...
It's February and I made it through my month of not buying groceries with ease! I really "cheated" only a couple of times—once, buying my husband's favorite cereal, and once, mindlessly picking up a four pack of muffins at Trader Joe's as I checked out. Otherwise, I stuck to veggies, fruit, eggs, and dairy (plus a loaf of bread, some parmesan, and olive oil that might be considered optional), but that was it. I spent a total of $112 on groceries. Go me! Who knew surviving without cereal could...
Can you believe it’s already just a month until Valentine’s Day? Time really does fly—one minute it’s the holidays, and the next, we’re seeing heart-shaped everything in every shop window!
Valentine’s Day brings out a lot of feelings for people. Personally, I’m not a fan of the expectations that often come with the day, and I know how tough it can feel for anyone wishing they were in a relationship. (For the record: it’s my least favorite day, next to Mother’s Day, to go out for dinner—...
When last we chatted here, I mentioned one of the best things about January was having time to get organized. Well, check it out! I started with my very disorganized refrigerator, and it is miles and miles better than it was. Thank goodness! I still have nine other areas on my list to organize this month but its good to get started and get one done.
My stretch goal for January, though, is a little more unique. I'm going to try to eat only out of our freezer and pantry for the month. We can...
Okay so the 12 months of 2025 are gone, gone, gone and it's time to look ahead and get planning for the next busy 12 kicking off with the long month of January.
Honestly, January is not my favorite month. In fact, thanks to the short days here in the Pacific Northwest (we get light only til 4/4:30 each day) and loads of drizzly rain with cloud cover, January is my least favorite in a monthly line-up.
In the South Pole Santa books, January is Slumber Month and all the elves plus Santa and Mrs....
When I was growing up, it was our family tradition to get a tree right around the middle of December. Dad would load mom, my two sisters and yours truly into the car and we'd head to the tree lot. There was lots of tree lot choices in those days since artificial trees were pretty much non-existent. We'd search around the lot looking less for the perfect tree but rather one that fit the family budget. Us girls didn't care. We were getting a tree!
Then, when I first got married, we had moved...
I read a blog post recently by Sophie Stern that read:
I love Thanksgiving.
I love finding reasons to be grateful, and I love food, and I love celebrating.
Me too!
So I’m just borrowing Sophie’s words to say how much I love this holiday. I have a long list everyday of all that I’m grateful for. Here are some for today:
