Window Over The Sink

Happy Halloween, by the way, but since I don't really do Halloween, that's all I have to say about that. What I do really do, because it helps in preparation for both the holiday season and for getting the next year off to a good start ... a hopeful start ... is 30 Days of Gratitude. I'm not sure when I started it. I'm sure there were a few years I didn't finish it, and a few more when I was typing some of the gratitudes with my teeth clenched. Seriously, this qualifies for a

by Navi Vernon Because my writing voice is still silent for the most part, I'm giving it a break. Hopefully it will wake up soon. Rather than skip another Saturday, I went digging for something I wish I'd written. This essay from my friend Navi Vernon came up. Since she understands this particular silence, and since she wrote this in October of 2021, it seemed like a good idea to latch onto it again. Thanks, Navi, for everything. To the rest of you, thanks for your patience a

by Denny See Many of you know my husband, Duane Flaherty, passed away on October 3. You also know he had a guitar in his hands nearly every day from the time he was nine, and that he sang. Oh, he sang. A friend for all those years, and a member of one of the first bands he played in as well as the last, Denny See, wrote the following for him. It is wonderful, and it is Duane. Thank you, Denny, from his family. Love to you and Barb. - Liz The Spiritual Leader Many years of son

"Good friends help you to find important things when you have lost them… your smile, your hope, and your courage." — Doe Zantamata In Hard Lemonade, Emily Sherridan certainly finds this to be true. After getting married and leaving her home in Chicago to live in Los Angeles, she depends on friends more than she ever expected—more than she wants to. As I’m writing this post, I’m lying on my couch with my legs elevated following knee surgery. And friends are checking in, help

Willie Nelson has a song that says, It's not somethin' you get over, but it's somethin' you get through."

Honestly, I know I can be unreasonable sometimes. I can get offended by things as simple as a tree being cut down when I really liked how it looked where it was. Frankly, if it's not my tree, I shouldn't care, right? Well, I still do. So today, when I was wasting my usual unconscionable amount of time scrolling Facebook, I came to one of those tell me how to update this already perfectly beautiful kitchen posts. I really liked the dark, heavy walnut cupboards, and I hope they

That’s me. Born in 1950, an unexpected sixth child to parents already in their forties who thought they were done. I grew up on a farm six miles from where I live now. We called the midday meal dinner and the evening one supper. We went to town on Friday nights, when the stores were open till nine, after the milking was done. We grew up with politics being discussed, religion being practiced—or not; it was up to you. You’d get your mouth washed out with soap if you let certai

by M.J. Schiller FOUR AND TWENTY BLACKBIRDS Fairytale Romance Series, Book One Once upon a time, a woman fell in love with a prince…and married his brother. Once upon a time… A young lady named Izzy was abducted by marauders and forced into slavery. Upon her arrival at the castle, she was taken in by one of the king’s advisors, a wise and kindly man. As time passed, she fell in love with a young man whom she later discovered was the prince. This prince, Trevarius, as he was

September 1 is a special day to me. It was the day my brother Joe married Sadie, the sister he brought home just for me! While I've been saying that for 60-some years, no one quite believes me. September is a colorful, hopeful time, and I wish that for you. In the meantime, Shades of Green releases today. It's one of my favorite stories ever, and Cari and Zack are in the favorite couples list, too. It's the end of the Harper Loch Trilogy. I hope you like it. Pastor Cari Newla

No post today. I don't have it in me. I am doing a Facebook party today--you're all invited. There will be conversations and prizes. https://www.facebook.com/groups/thefiresidebookcafe/? On Tuesday, September 1, Shades of Green, Book 3 in Colors, the Harper Loch Trilogy, will release. I hope you like it. I'll be back next week. Wishing you joy and heart's ease. Be nice to somebody.

by Susie Black The United Television Network exiles disgraced investigative reporter Sunny Knight to a remote California desert affiliate. Sunny is informed by the station owner that, since nothing happens in the middle of nowhere, the station does not need an investigative reporter, and she is now the weather reporter. After they have a vicious altercation, the station owner’s bridge partner is discovered dead, and Sunny’s boss is arrested for the murder. Despite her differe

This was first on the Window in April of 2022, and again in 2024. It's an April-like post, but like now, it was a time of changing, of sorrow and dance, of loss and worry. As when I first wrote it, our family is getting used to yet another loss--it hasn't been a good year. I hope you won't mind reading it again. I've always known what the word ephemeral meant, but I've never used it--possibly because I didn't know how to spell it and I'm not completely sure of its pronunciat

I've done that particular game on Facebook a few times. I'm not very exciting. There are usually a whole bunch of things I've never, ever done, and a few things I never, ever will. However, further into my ongoing discussion of age, never have I ever seen this much water! I remember when the dam was built and how exciting it was to the community. It was beyond my comprehension that land would be covered with water in order to make other land safe from being covered with water

Years ago, Duane worked on something in the front yard, finished it, and laid a screwdriver in the elbow created by a branch reaching out from the trunk of a tree. He forgot it was there. Then he remembered and he meant to get it, but ... well, he didn't. When he finally did, the elbow had fattened up around the screwdriver so that he couldn't pull it free. Over time, we watched the tree trunk grow around the screwdriver. I'm not sure when it happened, but at some point it di

Dave Letterman Whenever I can't think of something to write about, I make lists. I didn't get the idea from Facebook, where there are lists all the time, or even from Dave Letterman, who singlehandedly made the Top Ten list famous. No, wait ... I used to listen to the Top Ten Songs of the Week on WLS every week. I can't remember the day, time, or even the DJ--Ron Riley, maybe?--but I never missed it. When I tried to figure out where the concept of Top Tens came from, I couldn

by Nan Reinhardt You know, as authors, we work hard to develop a brand that our readers come to expect. My brand, as you all know is sweet, small-town romance with a tiny touch of sensuality. My characters kiss—often passionately. Sometimes, they end up in the bedroom, but the door is firmly closed and what they’re doing in there is left to readers’ imaginations. Every so often, my characters get mad or frustrated and a hell or damn or a crap might come out—you know, everyday

by Debra Jo Myers Clowns! Funny faces, wild hair, colorful clothes, and big shoes. The creatures designed to bring laughter wherever they go! Except they don’t. Not for half the population suffering from coulrophobia. Yes, half! Coulrophobia – it sounds like it should be a fear of cults or something sinister, not a fear of clowns?! Grandpa gave me my first clown when I was six. It was an appropriate gift since mama signed me up to be a kiddie clown in the Peru Amateur Circu

It's #WriterWednesday, and it's me again, along with 38 other writers whose works have been combined to create Gals Guide's Fifth Annual Anthology. This year's theme is Rebellion. Blurb: How do you rebel? Sparks of rebellion can be found from family stories to famous women of history. Ripples of rebellion can start small and grow into big movements. The stories and poems in this year's Gals Guide Anthology showcase the political, as well as the deeply personal, defiant acts o

I've had a busy week and I used this on another blog a few weeks ago; if you've already read it, sorry! It's about writing, and about me, and about the road both the writing and I have taken. It's parade day today. I hope you enjoy it and that Circus Week has been a resounding success! I started out writing sweet romance. Of course, I did. I was nine years old, typing a princess story on my aunt's portable Royal typewriter at a table on my grandparents' enclosed front porch

There are declarations of love that are easy to write. When everyone agrees. When admiration is fashionable. When nothing is at stake. And then there are declarations of love that feel slightly out of time. This is one of those.