Thanksgiving

My husband and I traveled to Alaska to see our daughter over Thanksgiving. It was so awesome to see so many sights that were rugged and wild. I saw a bald eagle fly majestically in the valley next to the rocky cliffs. Mountain goats on crags of a sheer cliff. The wonder of it all was almost too much to take in at times.  

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made. Without Him nothing was made that has been made.  John 1:1-3

My

Halloween and Unicef

What a strange custom Halloween is. I remember as a child, I had no idea that you could get Candy. The first Halloween I remember, my sisters and brothers Trick-or-Treated for Unicef. Often our neighbors would say, "What?" We would repeat, all 8 of us, "Trick or Treat for Unicef." Then we would hold out our carefully constructed bowls of paper that were to remind us that children in faraway lands only received one bowl of rice per day. Two years in a row we did that. I still had no idea that other kids were getting candy.

Then it happened. We dressed up as usual, but this time after a dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches, we said, "Trick or Treat," and people gave us a piece of candy at every door. What a thrill.  And for that reason alone, I make sure I am home every Halloween to give little children candy. It’s a kid’s day. There are other messages about the day. But I choose it to be only a kid’s holiday for dress-up, candy and fun.

Below was taken from Unicef’s website - https://www.unicefusa.org/trick-or-treat/learn-more

Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF began 68 years ago as a way to help kids still affected by World War II. Since then, millions of children across the United States have gone door to door on Halloween with UNICEF collection boxes, calling out, "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF!" The annual tradition of Kids Helping Kids® — involving donations big and small — has helped to raise nearly $177 million since 1950.




Be alert and of sober mind . Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ , after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5:8-11

Research

Research, research is such a vital part of writing. I love reading old maps, looking into customs and phrases of another time period. But then there comes that point in researching when you are looking for a specific fact. Maybe the terrain of the area you are writing about. Or the distance one would have to travel on horseback

How I wish I knew someone from the time I am writing about so that I could just ask these questions. I would take great notes. Then I could get back to writing. 

Instead I am still researching. I need my heroine to ride from her home somewhere outside of London to London. So on horseback, I’ve found she could ride about 48 miles in a day. But I want her to arrive in London in 3-4 hours. Oh and the hero is with her—two people only one horse. So the horse although quite large would take approximately will take more time to get to London. So now I am looking for a town 25 miles outside of London.

Once I find the town, then I have to see what the terrain is like. What types of vegetation grow there. After that I need to decide if they took the main road or the side roads or if they traveled through a forest.

Above is a forest that I know well. I could write about this forest. But it is on the wrong continent. I know the wildlife that lives in this forest. I know what the weather is like. The chill on an October afternoon. But I'm unsure of the temperatures of the place I am writing. 

So that is where today October 10^th finds me . . . deeply embroiled in research.

Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:20-21

     

Fall

Another month has slowly followed the last—from the almost unbearable heat to a distinctive chill in the mornings and evenings. We have so many tomatoes and peppers. The cucumbers and squash were annihilated by hail one evening.

One of my prize flowers, the pink hollyhock finally bloomed. Mind you, down the street, on a corner with no babying or extra water THAT hollyhock has bloomed all summer.

I love summer. I am sorry to see it leave. But fall is the next best. It is the time when I start writing once again every day. With long walks, boating, camping trips, and family discussions on the back porch nearly over, it is time to buckle down and get my first novel in tip top condition.

  

Here's to a long season of writing.

It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. Deuteronomy 13:4

Last Day in August

                         

Last day of August. Wow! It went so fast. I was only able to work on my

book. . . .maybe 10 hours this month. I will try to make it 11 hours in September, but there is one less day.

Up in Estes Park last weekend. 

Beautiful and so restful to spend time in the mountains. 

Truly my soul finds rest in God , my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. Psalm 62:1-2                                                                         

August 2018

Summer has gone by so quickly and I haven't posted at all in August. We've been to Mount Evans and St. Mary's Glacier, John Martin Reservoir and Pueblo Reservoir. We've seen mountain goats and marmots. Caught fish and cooked them over the grill.

Went camping.

Got caught in rain storms and have been hailed upon. And amidst it all, I keep writing. Always writing.

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the                     door frames of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

4th of July

Happy Fourth of July.

Cherry and Blueberry Pie with a little vanilla ice cream.

Red, White and Blue.

No writing today.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1