Happy Wednesday & Happy December! I hope December 2021 finds all of you well. I can't believe we're already nearing the end of 2021. It feels like the year just started yesterday or something. Who participated in NaNoWriMo2021? I didn't. I don't really do NaNo, but I fully support those who do. If you did participate, I wish you a great word count! If NaNoWriMo something that works for you as an author and/or you enjoy it, then I say go for it! I know people who do Camp NaNoWriMo or other NaNo-like events and they say they actually help them with their writing. Every author is different, so you have to find a process/technique that works for you. I'm working on getting into the Christmas spirit. We're in the process of putting up the tree (have to fix something on the lights so the ornaments aren't on there, yet). I've been playing Christmas Carols and I've almost completed my Christmas shopping. My biggest concern with the cooler weather isn...

Happy Wednesday Everybody, Sorry it's taken me forever to update (December is half gone already!) I promise you, I haven't been sitting around twiddling my thumbs. I've actually been really busy. Yesterday I finally finished my Christmas shopping. I even made a To-Do list yesterday and put "Make To-Do List" as one of the items--partially because I've been meaning to make one, and partially to have something to cross off right away. As you can see, we finally got the tree decorated. It's so pretty! Offspring got excited about putting the tinsel on. It's always fun to get out the Christmas stuff and see things we haven't seen in a year. Unfortunately, my computer refuses to upload this picture the right way. I had flipped it so that it was vertical, but then Blogger wouldn't upload it.*Sigh*. Anyway, I promise, in real life it's NOT sideways. There's two particular ornaments on the tree that have a special meaning to me. One i...

Happy St. Nicholas Day / Tuesday Everybody! In my background, I have Flemish (Lowland Dutch) and German, and from what I understand, both backgrounds celebrate St. Nicholas Day. St. Nicholas is who Santa Claus is based on. He was a real person. Unfortunately, not a lot is known about him, other than the fact that he would often provide for the poor and needy. There's a story that there was a girl whose father was too poor to provide a dowry (which was extremely important back then, not as much now). So at night, St. Nicholas dropped off money so that the girl could get married. He was a bishop and tried very hard to help all those in need. I heard that the Dutch put out wooden shoes. They place hay in the shoes for St. Nicholas' horse. Growing up, we'd put out a shoe downstairs the night before St. Nicholas Day. In the morning we'd have  presents in and under our shoes, and sweet treats in our shoes. It was great fun, and not many people I know celebrated...

Happy Monday Everybody, I hope y'all had a great weekend! My weekend was packed! I had shopping to do, church, and we went to the library--but it was a good weekend. This morning after coming home from an errand, I pulled up to find that there were Grackles (big black birds, but not crows) and a Turkey Vulture picking at the garbage along the curb that was waiting for the garbage truck. I had never seen a Turkey Vulture that close before (and I was glad I was in the car). Those things are huge and ugly. You want to feel sorry for them for being so ugly, but they're so huge that you start wondering if you'd win if they tried to attack you. Fortunately, said vulture flew away and landed on the opposite side of the street on some one's rooftop, so I was able to get to the door unmolested by an ugly (and possibly vicious) bird. Although, I doubt they attack humans, but you can't be too careful! LOL. (yes, I'm being funny--it's okay to laugh). Okay...I have...

Happy Thursday Everybody, For those of you in the USA (and for those who aren't but who celebrate the holiday) I wish all of you a very happy, blessed, and safe Thanksgiving. What's everyone's plans? We're getting together with my parents and some others. Dad does the majority of the cooking and baking and he's awesome at both. (My husband looks forward to the turkey and apple pie LOL). Oh and tomorrow is Black Friday...so who's going to be out Christmas Shopping on Black Friday? Have A Thankful Thursday!

Happy Tuesday All, Have I ever mentioned I love this time of year? I love the colder weather, I love family get togethers and all of that. I'm thrilled the Christmas Season is seeping in and that I finally started my Christmas Shopping...although, I'm behind. You see, normally I start in October (I have several people to shop for and some are easier than others). I thought about talking to my husband and going ahead and getting some of it done in October, but other things kept demanding my attention. So now, I've started. I don't object to Christmas shopping because I enjoy picking out just the right thing for someone. My problem, like I suggested above, happens when someone is hard to shop for. But when I get a chance to be creative shopping can be fun. Of course, I have to support my fellow authors. So, many of whom I shop for receive books. Fortunately I come from a family of readers, and pretty much the people I get books for are readers, too. So...