Christmas is always a high for me.  It’s a time of getting the family together, hearing from far-away friends, feasting.  Then come the quiet days of putting away decorations, CDs, movies, cards, nativities and lights.  Jesus continues to be celebrated in our house. But a new year is a day away. I’ve written before about my Possibilities lists. It’s time to start planning new ones. Interesting how simply writing things down can help bring things to fruition.  Once the lists are made, I put away the spiral notebook for another year.  Then, on the next New Year’s Eve, Continue Reading

by guest blogger Jacqueline Tisthammer There are many beautiful traditions to love at Christmastime: nights alight with dazzling displays, neighbors sharing family favorite treats, music evoking decades gone by, candlelit churches keeping vigil in song, gifts that bring delight and joy.  But every once in a while I wonder… why is it that I love Christmastime so much? Is it the pumpkin spice lattes and repetitive playlists? Are we really that enamored of turkey that never gets done cooking at the right time or kids hyped up on sugar? I still get all the feels when I hear Continue Reading

I went to the library for information and found out about The Writers’ Market, a book put out each year with information on agents and publishers.  I selected agents I thought fit what I was writing and sent a query letter. The first agent agreed to work with me. However, he wanted upfront money“to make the manuscript salable”.  Fortunately,I didn’t have the money “required” and also didn’t like the sound of “the deal”.  I found another agent in the book, and unfortunately, signed with him. He sold my first novel and co-mingled the funds. I ended up having to hire legal assistance to end that Continue Reading

When did you know you wanted to be a writer? I knew I was going to be a writer from early childhood.  I didn’t know what I would write because I didn’t enjoy reading.  In fact, I was a very poor reader. It wasn’t for lack of opportunity.  My mother took me and my brother to the library every week to pick out books.  My brother turned into a voracious reader (still is).  I just didn’t catch the reading bug until much later (after I married into the Rivers family). We lived on “chicken alley”, two miles out of town.  Both of my parents worked. I came home to an empty house, though my Continue Reading

We’re on the freeway, trying to get somewhere on time, and brake lights are flashing up ahead. What is it about people who slow down and even stop to see someone else’s misfortune or tragedy?  I confess I’ve slowed down and looked, too.  Then wished I hadn’t.  Is it human nature to gawk?  Is there some kind of evil at work here, a tendency to be fascinated when images come of disaster? Car chases and crashes are a big thing in the movies. Is that because movie-makers know how many people love to watch mayhem – at least, the unreal kind they can see safely and only vicariously Continue Reading

Have you ever heard of ASMR?  I hadn’t until a cab driver turned on a radio talk show.  It was a long ride and Rick and I got to hear quite a bit of the program. Apparently, many people are becoming addicted to an “autonomy sensory meridian response” they get by making and/or viewing YouTube videos. The sounds and visuals can bring on calming, pleasurable feelings often accompanied by a tingling sensation. Tingles?  Do they mean the kind of sensations people feel when physically attracted?  Can you have the same tingle anytime, anywhere with a thumb stroke and mundane YouTube video?  Or do Continue Reading

I collect quotes, notebooks full of them. Some are from famous people, some infamous, most from lesser or unknown. I never knew a man who was good at making excuses, who was good at anything else. (Benjamin Franklin) I’ve been through some horrible things in my life – a few of which actually happened. (Mark Twain) Pride is like bad breath.  Everyone knows you have it – except you.  (Jim Swaney) Whatever you do, do it so well that when people see you do it, they’ll want to come back and see you do it, and they’ll want to bring others and show them how well you do what you do.  (Walt Continue Reading

I read recently that our governor is planning to sink $400M into a satellite system that will study climate change.  It’s all well and good to have your head in the clouds if you mind what needs to be done on earth, but our California roads are in sad disrepair, and, unfortunately, most of the money earmarked for road repair has been rerouted to the general fund. A hunk will probably end up in space. Ah, well. So what if a couple of our main byways-highways ride like a bucking horse. Soon after reading about the prospective satellite, I read about Daan Roosegaarde, a Dutch artist and Continue Reading

All summer, I’ve attempted to keep our front and back lawns green.  We have a sprinkler system, but there are still dry areas that look less than healthy.  Rick or I hosed those areas diligently, then groaned over the rising water bill.  There’s a lot to be said for other kinds of ground cover, unless your HOA says no way. Our first rain came a few days ago.  A heavy mist, really, or more accurately, a light sprinkle – and within another day, the lawns turned an almost neon green.  It was like God lit an inner light in the grass just so I’d get the message again: there’s a big difference Continue Reading