Dear Readers,
For 2009, my keyword is going to be SIMPLIFY! I'm going to start blogging smarter, not harder. So rather than try to keep up with three blogs, I've started a new and improved blog over at wordpress. I'll pretty much be blogging there exclusively from now on, so please, drop by and let's get caught up!
Jean
http://mjeanpike.wordpress.com
We got socked again yesterday, here in Western New York. The local weather channel rated the storm a solid ten on the 'milk and bread-o-meter' with nine inches of snow and plenty more where that came from. The schools were closed. Main Street looked like an Old West ghost town. Did we panic? Nah, we're used to it.I don't know how my non-writing neighbors deal with being weekend shut-ins. Me, I fire up the pellet stove, put on the coffee, and take myself away.
As luck would have it, my current work in progress is a summertime story. And better yet, a lake story. As snow piles up outside my window, my characters are enjoying starlit nights and sunny days with leisurely strolls on sandy beaches. That’s not to say that all is placid at Shadow Lake. Not even close. Love triangles, bitchy ex-wives, pulse pounding danger, even a recalcitrant teen – it’s all in there and believe me, the sparks are flying!
Ahhh, but Shadow Lake is a romance novel, after all and I’ve a feeling those sparks will soon be fanned into the flames of desire.
… Is it me or is it getting warm in here?
I’m not a Black Friday person. Fact is, I’m not a very good shopper on the best of days, and rolling out of bed at four a.m. and trudging off to the mall to be jostled by the teeming masses just doesn’t sound like any fun at all. As Thanksgiving Fridays go, I like mine green, with splashes of gold and red. ‘Round here, the day after Thanksgiving doesn’t mean shopping. It means it’s time to put up the Christmas tree.
As trees go, mine is a little bit Charlie Brownish. I came across it several years ago while out rummage sale shopping; a six- foot simulated pine tree complete with packing box for easy storage. I’d never had an artificial tree before, never even considered one, but in a world that grows ever more complicated, I’ve discovered that I love my hassle-free tree. I can count on it to stand up straight every time, without a fight, and it never drops a single needle.
Today I hauled it out, along with boxes of ornaments, lights, and the various other trappings of Christmas. A magical feeling came over me, just as it does every year when I decorate my tree. Each box holds a memory, and every ornament is a friend. There are the lumpy snowmen my son and I made out of Play Dough too many years ago to count. The
delicate, hand blown angels my sister and I picked up one year on a girls’ day out. There are ornaments commemorating my first Christmas as a married gal, and our first Christmas in our new home. On our tree, there are footballs and black labs and calico kittens. My husband’s collection of muscle cars and Harley Davidson motorcycles dangle happily beside the rag angels my mother made me years ago. On our tree, as in our home, there is room for all.
I know I may be rushing it, but I just can’t seem to help it. I guess for me putting up the tree is about memories -- the long-ago ones I cherish, and the ones I’m making now, without even knowing it. And for me, capturing beautiful moments is the best part of the season.
