Gratitude
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Sunday Snippet: The Temporarily Closed Edition
Mes Amis, Covid has grabbed me and shaken me like I’m a stuffed toy in the grip of wolf teeth… this stuff is wicked. I’m taking a break today… I’ll be back on Wednesday with a new Author Spotlight and will return next Sunday with a brand-new Sunday Snippet. Until then … zzzzzz… Gratitude for this week: So very grateful for my friend and fab travel buddy, Carol Light, who made me feel brave even in a strange new place; the Montana mountains were so gorgeous; visiting the Old West towns of Virginia City and Ennis; Yellowstone–wow, just wow! The glorious waterfall at Ousel Falls. Vaccines-this first bout with covid,…
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Sunday Snippet: The Pure Joy Edition, Plus A Real Snippet!
It’s been hot and sultry here in the Midwest–temperatures in the nineties every day with humidity to match. T-storms come out of nowhere, shower us for a few minutes, and then the blazing sun returns to make the atmosphere even more heavy. It’s hard to even catch your breath outside. Except for morning or evening walks with my neighbor, I mostly stay inside in the AC and work and write. I set a goal each morning–this many pages done on an editing gig or this many words written today. I pretty much accomplish whatever goal I set. I mean, after all, when it’s too hot to be outside in the…
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Sunday Snippet: The July 4th Edition
I considered writing a long post about July 4 and what it means to be a true patriot right now, but someone else already did that. So go here and read Robert Reich’s message about what it means to be a patriot. I’ll wait. You’re back! Wasn’t that a terrific post by Professor Reich? I really have nothing to add this holiday weekend. I’m simply going to share this photo from July 4 a few years ago–Son and Grandboy celebrating America’s independence at the lake exactly the way Husband and Son did more years ago than I care to mention. I love our lake life together and how much Son…
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Sunday Snippet: The Memorable Days Edition
My friend Liz is a great source of inspiration, especially when it comes to blogging. When I don’t know what to write, she gives me fantastic ideas and one of her best is “Do a list.” Lists are always fun and something y’all can participate in, too. Today, I’m pulling this idea from a writing prompt that we used a few years ago on the Word Wranglers–telling about our five most memorable days, but the trick was that we couldn’t use the usual Pollyanna days–like our wedding day or the day our kids or grandkids were born or the day we signed our first book contract. Those are givens. So…
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Sunday Snippet: The One More Embarrassing Moment Edition…Sigh
Holy cats, kids, it’s Sunday again! No idea how that happened. It’s been an eventful week here at casa Reinhardt, although as I look back on the last few weeks, what sticks out is work. I’ve been working a lot this month of June and now as July appears on the horizon, I find myself wondering what happened to the first third of summer. But this week has been all about fun and lake life because I had my dear friend Minnie with me for a few days up at the cottage. It was delightful to share the lake with her and I think she had a good time. I…
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Sunday Snippet: The Father’s Day 2025 Edition
For many years, Father’s day was an…uncomfortable holiday for me. My dad left our family when I was 6 years old, and was never really in my childhood, except for the occasional times when we went to where he worked to pick up the few dollars he was willing to give us. He rarely paid support, and my mom worked her tail off going to school full time to get her nursing degree in addition to being a cashier at a grocery store to keep food on the table. I honestly don’t know how she did it. The woman didn’t sleep for over two years. Mother’s Day was huge for…
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Sunday Snippet: The Musing about Mom and Food Edition
Dear Mom, I was thinking about you today…that’s not new. I think about you almost every day. Seems like there’s something to remind me of you everywhere I look—violets in the grass, lilies of the valley in my garden, a book you once read to us, a woman wearing a flowy skirt and a teal blue T-shirt who passes by me in the tuna aisle at the Kroger. Believe it or not, it was the tuna aisle that made me think of you today. Remember when you started Weight Watchers back in the sixties—not sure when, except that it was when Jean Neidich first started the program? It was restrictive…
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Sunday Snippet: The Lake Life Reality Edition
We are in our 14th year here at the lake. It’s hard to believe we’ve had our cottage for so long, particularly given that we waited for so long to buy one. It seemed like whenever we were ready to buy, cottages were just out of our reach and when they were in our reach, we weren’t in a position to consider buying one. Fourteen years ago, when this marriage-long dream came true, we were overjoyed. We still are, although the realities of lake life are a little different from the fantasies. This is a rehash of the harsh realities of lake life, but I’m doing it again anyway because…
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Author Spotlight: Historical Romance Author Kate Moore Talks About Creating a Story…
Today I’m so pleased to welcome fellow Tule author, Kate Moore to the Author Spotlight. Her historical romances bring a touch of fun and a little different take to the genre. Kate taught English Literature to generations of high school students, who are now her Facebook friends, while she not-so-secretly penned Romances. In Kate’s stories, an undeniable mutual attraction brings honorable, edgy loners and warm, practical women into a circle of love in Regency England or contemporary California. A Golden Heart, Golden Crown, and Book Buyers Best award winner and three-time RITA finalist, Kate lives north of San Francisco with her surfer husband, their yellow Lab, toys for visiting grandkids,…
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Sunday Snippet: The Let Freedom Ring Edition
It’s a holiday weekend–which means a three-day weekend for a lot of folks. We’re at the lake and although this is sort of the official start of summer, the park isn’t hopping like it usually is every year at this time. Oh, it’s busy. Folks are here opening up their cottages and getting boats in the water, but somehow it seems more subdued. Even the amusement park, which has been a part of the lake community since 1928 isn’t as crowded as usual (that’s according to Son, who took his family there yesterday. I avoid the amusement park except to go by it in the boat when we’re cruising the…