Authentic Romantic Historical Fiction

Tag: family

Did you have a good Thanksgiving?

Phone App:

I think I’ve tried using this app before, but they’ve made a few changes, so I don’t know if I’ll be successful or not in writing this post on my phone.

Thanksgiving:

I did have a good one, although I was separated from my family due to COVID Caution (that’s a thing, right?).

My Thanksgiving Dinner on plateI hope a photo of my dinner appeared above. If not, I’ll have to get on my computer and put it in. (It’s on the left. As close as I can squeeze it in, you know.) I roasted a large baking hen, had mashed potatoes with butter (I didn’t want to make gravy), stuffing, peas, black olives, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie with whipping cream on top. (Sorry, I didn’t take a pic of the pie) I initially had more things on my menu list, but I decided to go simple, preparing only the essentials. It was very yummy!

I’ve been posting #GiveThanks messages on social media. Initially, my global faith leader (President Russell M. Nelson) asked members of my church to express our gratitude on social media during the week from November 20 to November 26, which was Thanksgiving Day in the U.S.  I think I missed a day, maybe two, but I’m going to continue making expressions of gratitude, because, for one, it made my feed so much more cheerful when other people did so, and secondly, it made me happy to say what made me grateful.

Technology:

Technology has been kicking me around the block lately. I’ve had internet problems, email problems, and phone problems. Is it just 2020 manifesting itself? I’ll be so glad to see this year in the dust!

Holiday Decorations:

Comic reindeer head below "Noel" bannerI haven’t done much decoration for Christmas yet, but I did put up some door decor. It looks like I’ll have to add that picture, too. I’ll “publish” this now, so I can edit it.

Sometimes I wish I had the gift of decorating, but sadly,  I don’t. A wreath or door hanger on the outside door is about as much as I can manage, although I do have an unused Christmas Tree sitting in a box in a closet, and other miscellaneous decorations and lights. I actually strung lights on my roadside deck rails one year (that was  before I had health problems).

I think when God was handing out the gift of decorating, I was off in a corner writing a story. Or singing a song. Or playing a guitar or piano. I did get in line in time to receive those gifts. Both music and writing have enhanced my life, and I hope that by sharing them, I have made others happy.

Oddly enough, my elder daughter got the gift! She is a marvel at crafting clever decorations.She has many other wonderful gifts.

Culinary Arts:

She’s also a good cook. I quit doing that when my kids all moved out after my husband’s death. I usually only heat things up. But I put the chicken in the oven and actually baked it.

Corned beef and red cabbage on a plateAnd, of all things, I made a batch of corned beef and cabbage, red cabbage, the other day. The cabbage had been sitting on the counter for a while, and I didn’t want it to get so bad that I had to chuck it. I hadn’t let it get bad, though, and it made a tasty dish.

Of course I have leftovers. One person cannot eat in one go the results from preparing a dish composed of a head of cabbage and a tin of corned beef, right?

I also have leftover chicken. That was one BIG bird! I’ve already consumed the extra stuffing, mashed potatoes, olives, peas, and cranberry sauce. The pie has disappeared, as well. But the chicken was eight pounds and some. Next year I will go back to fixing a Cornish game hen.

Final Thoughts:

I #GiveThanks for all the blessing of a benevolent God upon my head. I #GiveThanks for a loving family. I #GiveThanks for a multitude of friends who love me and pray for improved health for me. I still don’t know what, if any, treatment I have in store for the three major maladies that were discovered at mid year. This is a busy time of year in the medical community, due in part to the plague that has beset the world, so I’ll just hunker down and wait. I’ve had a lot of practice in waiting this past six months. Five months. It’s just five months, although it feels more like fifty. In the meantime, I have more stories to write.

May you have peace and joy throughout this month, and prosperity and freedom in the coming year.

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Eclipse Madness

I don’t have much of a neat story to share. (But I’ll share anyway.) I stayed up way too late last night watching the “pre-game show” on The Weather Channel. I went to bed briefly (3 hours), setting my alarm for a half hour before things were supposed to happen in my pocket of the world.

When I got up, the sun shone brightly in a cloudless sky. After a while, the light dimmed a bit and the temperature dipped two degrees. I found coverage on TV of Arizona doings a bit late, but with some channel hopping, got to tune in on this week’s big event.

Elsewhere, several groups of my extended family gathered in Idaho, where they enjoyed the spectacularness of the Great American Solar Eclipse.

Remember, Bloodied Leather, my short story that kicks off the “Shenandoah Neighbors” companion stories to the Owen Family Saga, is available for only $0.99 through the end of the month, at all major online vendors.

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Counting a Few Blessings

Once in a while, I have to sit back and count my blessings. Among them is a daughter who doesn’t mind if I bend her ear to listen to a scene I wrote. Her feedback is so helpful, and her responses are genuinely what I worked for.

I’m also grateful for wherever it is I get my inspiration for characters (there are several theories to consider). For the current work-in-progress (WIP), I’ve looked up settler and long-time Shenandoah Valley folk to borrow their surnames. They just fit.

When I started this crazy adventure story back in my late teens, I had no idea that a real family named “Owen” (no s) actually settled just across the mountain from where I plopped down my characters in Colorado Territory. I didn’t know that fact until thirty-some years later. I had no idea that the surname “Owen” was that of several Confederate soldiers who originated from the Shenandoah Valley. I had no idea I would eventually write about the American Civil War as it impacted MY Owen family.

Blind luck? Serendipity? Whatever I owe this whole shebang to, it’s very special to me, and I’m grateful for the experience.

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