Category – ‘Tis the Season

On this long-awaited day, the sun is shining, and the temps are pleasantly warm. I’m always so relieved to get past February. Turning the page on my calendar today makes me happy and hopeful. Goodbye winter! I know it’s a little early still, but today I’m wandering around the yard, peering into beds and loving all the daffodils poking up! Are you ready for the change of seasons?

I can never resist taking a pic of these Christopher Elbow chocolates. Got these for Valentine’s Day, and they taste as good as they look! Yum!

Valentine weekend is the perfect time to snuggle up with a book boyfriend and enjoy a heartwarming happy ever after! Whether you’re celebrating friends, family or your significant other, hope you feel the love! XOXO

It may be February, but I can imagine the tulips popping up already and butterfly cookies! I have a good imagination, and a longing for springtime.

I’ve had to wear my snowboots recently. When I drag them out, I am reminded of the emergency trip to buy them in Whistler, BC, in December 2011, when my old boots fell apart. And I’m then reminded of my daughter breaking her leg in February 2012 on another trip to Whistler, which in turn reminds me of going to care for my daughter and also seeing my mother in the assisted living facility where she had just moved. Boots. And memories. Funny how they go together. What winter items bring memories to your mind?

I’m not a fan of snow. But it can be pretty if you’re curled up with a book and looking at it from the inside!

As soon as Christmas is over, I’m done with winter and ready for spring! Sadly, I didn’t get around to planting new bulbs in the fall, so I’ll have to hope the perennials from previous years blossom again! Did you plant bulbs for this spring?

Merry Christmas, KC peeps! One of the things we like to do on Christmas night is drive around and look at holiday lights. That generally includes The Plaza and Crown Center. Where are your favorite displays?

Though the tradition of caroling is old, many of the Christmas carols we sing today did not exist in the late 1840s, when some of my historical novels took place. Those that were sung in this time period (with their year of origin) included Angels from the Realms of Glory (1816), Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabelle or Un Flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle (1553), Deck the Halls (1500s), The First Noel (1600, possibly earlier), God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (1833), Good Christian Men Rejoice (1837), The Holly and the Ivy (1600, possibly earlier), Joy to the World (1839), O Christmas Tree (1824), O Come All Ye Faithful or Adeste Fideles (1200s), O Come, O Come Emmanuel (1100s), Sing We Now of Christmas or Noël Nouvelet (1400s), Twelve Days of Christmas (1780), We Wish You a Merry

Continue reading Christmas Carols in the 1840s

We all know the standard gifts for dads: ties, socks, mugs. But it can be even more difficult to shop for geek dads. This year, I made a list of specific items in a variety of price ranges that I might actually use. Cheap items for my kids to think about. But I asked my wife for something a little more expensive: a Unicomp Model M keyboard for my computer. It’s a remake of the classic tank of a keyboard that came with 80’s computers. Here’s hoping I get it.