Things have been pretty quiet this week and I really haven’t had a lot to say. But I thought I’d jump on here and post a few of the highlights. Since the Bills played the Bengals on Sunday, Miss Emma and Chester exchanged their Christmas gifts early.
Though we live fairly near Cincinnati, growing up in Western NY we are definitely team Bills! Emma loved her Bills hot dog squeaky toy. Thanks, Chester!
Chester got a custom made Bengals doggie scarf. Doesn’t he look proud? Who Dey!
I put together a fun Christmas puzzle. It was a little challenging because it had so many odd shaped pieces.
My sister always gets me something special when I have a new book out. She had this ornament custom made for Chester’s Miracle. Absolutely love it!
And lastly, a random pic of a morning moon from the other day. I’m kind of obsessed with the moon!
I hope everyone’s having a wonderful and blessed week. Christmas will be here before we know it 🙂
I say this every month, but I really don’t know where February disappeared to. Granted, I “lost” a few days of an already short month to the flu, but still…
Looking at my calendar, I did do rather a lot this month (for me!) Minus a couple of sick days I worked my regular amount of hours, though sometimes it feels like I spend every waking hour at my workplace.
I read just three books (well, three and a half, as I am in the middle of one now.) All three were ‘new to me’ authors and all were very good!
The Favorite Daughter by Kiara Rouda – a psychological thriller I literally could not put down.
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson, a tender late-in-life love story set in the English countryside.
His Dark Song, by an author and blogger I recently discovered, Ada Jenkins. This is a delightful retelling of The Pied Piper of Hamelin. If you like a clean romance novella with feisty heroines and tough-n-tender hero, you should check this one out!
I decided to alternate my reading between physical books and Kindles, and since the first of the year I have managed to clear some space on my bookshelf. Which is good, because the Library Spring Book Sale is just around the corner 😉
I also did three puzzles, had a lunch date with a friend who recently retired, and a coffee date to celebrate my sister’s birthday. I won a Valentine’s Coffee Date with Jesus from Stephanie’s Ninth Suitcase. I haven’t done that yet. Soon!
There was a haircut, a doctor’s appointment, a hearing aid check, and my usual service projects. I didn’t make much progress on my current WIP but I plan to change that in March. I’m anxiously awaiting my final edits for Superheroes. I always feel a little bit in limbo before the release of a new book. I did put a final polish on my latest Christmas novella, which I will submit to PBG by the end of March – I’m super excited about that one, too 😊
So that’s how a month slips away, a day, a moment, at a time. What was your February like?
Puzzling has always been kind of a winter thing for me, a fun and relaxing way to pass the cold, snowy days and the evenings that start at five or six o’clock. I have done more puzzles this winter than the last two put together. My latest, a 500 piece Springbok puzzle called Country General Store, was so much fun!
Like the last one, it conjured up pleasant thoughts of yesteryear. It’s still almost a month before spring officially begins, but I think after one more (a lovely 300 piece scene of a cabin in the mountains) I will put my card table back under the bed and be done for awhile. I need to turn my attention back to my writing now 🙂
Despite a passing shower this morning it is even nicer out today than yesterday. The temps are supposed to hit 63 degrees this afternoon. Yayy! Since I am working closing shifts all week I have the morning and early afternoon free. Emma and I will definitely head back to the park today.
It was even warm enough to sit outside with my coffee this morning. I was greeted by a couple of robins in the sugar maple, and I was happy to see a male and female bluebird popping in and out of the nest box. And… my tulips and daffodils have started coming up!!
All of these things seem like miracles to me every year, but especially this year, after the challenging winter we’ve had. Do I dare believe spring has sprung early??
It is 40 lovely degrees out this morning, the warmest weather we have had in quite awhile. Since it’s been a long time since we’ve walked, I put Miss Emma in the car and headed to the park.
She’s never quite sure what the car ride is going to be, and was overjoyed when we pulled into her favorite parking lot!
It was quite messy in some spots so we were careful to stay on the path. Well, at least I was.
There were a few other people at the park today. Miss Emma forgot her manners and told a couple of people off, and she wanted to sniff EVERYTHING, but I gave her quite a bit of leash since she’s been cooped up in the house all winter.
I loved the way the sunlight reflected off this tree.
We did just two laps today, but enjoyed every minute of it. The weather is supposed to play nice, at least for this week, so I plan to walk as much as possible. Do we dare hope the winter weather is finally over??
This cold weather we’ve been having has made me even more of a homebody than usual. There’s something about temperatures in the teens and low twenties that saps my energy. After working all day, I don’t feel like doing much of anything. I’m not a TV watcher. Thank heavens for books and puzzles! After I finished the Bear and Butterfly puzzle on Sunday, I went through my stack and got out a fun, 300 piece puzzle that I could do quickly. I finished it in just three sittings.
I loved all the small details in this puzzle.
The little white church, the quilts hanging on the clothes line, the people going about their day.
Little glimpses of Americana that made my thoughts drift to a simpler time in history. And gentler weather!
This is proving to be a very interesting weather weekend, even for Ohio. In the night we had a rip roaring thunder and lightning storm. I woke up to a soaking rain, but decided to head up to church anyway. My church is a few miles out a country road and things were looking a bit floody but the rain seemed to be letting up. In the course of the service, the rain turned to snow! I normally have lunch with family on my Sundays off (they live on the same country road as the church) but not quite sure what the weather had in mind next, I came on home and made a sandwich instead 🙂 By the time I got back to town the temps had dropped below freezing. Half the city is currently flooded and half is without power. All that to say, it seemed like a good day to get back in jammies and work on my puzzle: Black Bear and Butterflies. What a nice way to spend a crazy-weather Sunday! This was a fun one. Like a great book, I almost hated to finish it 🙂
I rarely go out to eat, but a friend is retiring from our workplace so I wanted to take her out to lunch to celebrate. Our first thought was Chillicothe, where there are a lot more choices for restaurants and thrifting, which is one of our favorite things! But they were predicting some nasty weather and by noon the snow had already been falling for a few hours. Since Chillicothe is thirty minutes from here, we decided to stay in town. Our town has no shortage of places to eat and we decided on Bob Evans. I’m glad we did. I got the Wildfire Chicken salad and sourdough rolls and it was delicious!
After lunch we went to poke around at Big Lots. Unfortunately that store will be closing soon but it was nice to get in on some great deals. I’ve been wanting to give my bedroom a facelift and I got a beautiful Bed in a Bag set for a steal at $19.99! The ultra soft comforter is reversible, a dusty rose on one side and white on the other. I love white bedding but have resisted because of Miss Emma’s shedding. If it turns out it was a bad choice, I’m not out much. I have a few ideas on how I want to spruce up the space. Maybe I will post before and after pics when it’s all done!
By the time we left the store the snow had stopped, so I hope we are done now. It was a lovely way to spend a day off. But on my next one I really have to get busy and do some writing!
I rarely post more than once a day, but I’m so excited I have to share. Today has surely been a day of blessings! I just found out I won a “Date with Jesus” from Stephanie’s Ninth Suitcase! I usually pretty much ignore Valentine’s Day. I know that sounds strange coming from a romance writer 🙂 I have nothing at all against February 14th, it’s just not something I celebrate. But this year will be different. Thank you, Stephanie, for Making Valentine’s Day great again!
I haven’t been feeling that great the last few weeks and thought a visit to the salon might give me just the boost I needed. Turns out I was right. I’ve been coloring my hair since I was sixteen years old. I’m just done. For the last several months my stylist has cutting away the last of the color. This morning’s visit took care of most of it and one more good cut around July should do it. I’m pleasantly surprised that there isn’t more gray. The streaks I have, I can live with. At least for now 🙂
M. Jean Pike 