• Sunday Snippet: The Back Home Again Edition

    We’re back in the city after just over a week at the lake. It was very nice there–swimming, a couple of boat rides, time with lake pals… all in all, the lake was lovely. Our city neighbors came up for a day while we were there and we really enjoyed visiting in a different venue. The lake was turning over, so we didn’t get to swim, but we took a long boat ride and enjoyed the sun and the lovely early September breezes. Lunch was hot dogs on the grill, chips, veggies, and some delish brownies that neighbor Mary brought. Yum! We sat on the deck under the trees and…

  • Sunday Snippet: The Gone Fishin’ Edition

    Yup… I really had nothing for today. My brain is exhausted and empty from finishing up the second book in the Weaver Sisters trilogy for Tule Publishing. I’ll be sending it off to my editor tomorrow and I’ll be on pins and needles until I hear from her. I’m never sure if I’ve hit the mark or not–sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t, but with the help of my editor, the awesome and brilliant Sinclair Sawney, it will turn into what it should be. So, this morning, when I was lying awake in bed, wondering what I was going to write about in the Sunday Snippet, Son texted, “Anybody awake?”…

  • Sunday Snippet: A Day of Lake Life Revisited

    Some days are just perfect lake days, you know? Days where you’re having so much fun, you forget to take pictures, you forget you even have a phone, so what this post lacks in pictures, I hope I can make up for in words. I got up early  to write, but before I started, I made coffee and checked the outside temperature. When I opened the front door to slip out onto the deck, a doe and her two fawns were nibbling our neighbor’s hostas. The fawns still had spots, so they were pretty young. They bolted when they heard me, but they sorta hung around because we kept spotting…

  • Sunday Snippet: The Power Outage Edition

    So, I’m writing this on Saturday and it’s storming like crazy up here at the lake. Wind, rain, thunder, lightning–all the good stuff that make a Midwest summer storm. We’ve had branches down–cleanup is coming as soon as the rain ends and a power outage that happened right at breakfast time and lasted about three hours. We ended up having warm cantaloupe, which I cut up by flashlight, and graham crackers for breakfast because we didn’t want to open the fridge during the outage. I wasn’t able to work because my laptop battery had just started to charge when the power went out… too bad for editor Nan, who does…

  • Sunday Snippet: The Lake Life Is the Best Life Edition

    I know. I know. I’ve done this topic before, but it’s my blog, so… you get another one today because it’s June and we’re here and so are Son and Grandboy and it’s been a good Father’s Day weekend so far. We got the cottage washed, which needed doing since May, but all the rain made it impossible, but it’s shiny clean now and I’m going to work on sprucing up the shutters today. Also, got plans to weed–we’re going to get new river rock for around the whole cottage, but we aren’t there yet. But, you know. it’s the lake, so we don’t feel the urgency, which is what…

  • Sunday Snippet: The I Did It Edition

    I did indeed do it–the book signing at Whyte Horse Winery and wow, was it a blast! Right off, there isn’t a more welcoming venue than this winery. The owner, Amanda Thomas, is so very accommodating and welcoming–just ready to help you in any way she can. Plus her winery and bistro has some of the best food and wine around. The folks who come there are looking for fun, so to be part of that is a treat. Lots of laughter, lots of conversations, lots of noise, and lots good wine and of wonderful scents from the pizza oven! We had a great day, both selling books and talking…

  • Sunday Snippet: The News Edition

    Well, it’s a new Sunday morning and I just opened up the house to let in some fresh spring air. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and there’s a gentle breeze. It’s the last week in April and it finally feels like spring, although we’ve had what is typical for spring in the Midwest–rain, cold, snow, warm temps, and then chilly again. We went up the lake yesterday–just for the day–and cleaned up the yard. Picked up sticks, weeded, and swept winter’s detritus off the deck. Then came home and christened our new deck here with margs and a lovely visit with neighbors, Mary and Bob. How we…

  • Sunday Snippet: The I’m Ready for Spring Edition

    I am. Aren’t you? We had a whisper of spring this past week–a couple of days in the sixties–and oh, man, it was lovely. I walked in the ‘hood with neighbor, Mary, checked out the green that is peeking up from my garden beds, and just stood in the driveway and inhaled the scent of spring. That said, I’m writing this Sunday post on Saturday morning and it’s currently 13 degrees out. So cold, there isn’t even frost on the ground. Welcome to the Midwest, where the only real weather guarantee is that there will be some. I’m not whining, though, because I love living in the Midwest, where we…

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  • Sunday Snippet: The First Real Snippet for 2022 Edition

    It’s cold here–like really cold. Single digits cold. We went up to check on the lake cottage on Thursday and discovered that the pilot light on the furnace had blown out in the high winds they’d had on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was 23 degrees in the cottage and the antifreeze in the toilets had a skim of ice. Yikes! Husband relit the pilot and then we went to friend Moe’s (she’s a year-rounder) and stayed in her warm house until ours got up to a decent temperature. The cottage is totally winterized, so all is well, and the time away from my computer gave me the opportunity to sit…

  • Sunday Snippet: The Oh, Hell, I Almost Forgot Edition

    I know, I know. It’s Sunday Snippet time and I’m here editing away and dammit! It hit me that I hadn’t posted my blog yet. Is 2:30 on Sunday afternoon too late? I’m saying no. I have a list of blog prompts for each month of the year, which I do not consider cheating, merely assisting. Sometimes, when I’ve got nothin’, like today, these prompts are my best source of inspiration. Today’s is “What are the best things about fall?” This is a terrific one for me because I love fall. Right off, I’m a fall baby–born in late September, along with my brother, my grandmother, my sister, my brother-in-law,…

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