The only thing I wanted for Christmas in 2022 was a nine-foot Christmas tree to fill the corner of our living room, next to the sliding door to our lanai (a fancy Floridian term for screened-in porch). Since some members of our family are allergic to real pines, we found one we could use over and over again, hopefully with lights that will continue to work. Ten-foot ceilings are nice, but we still had to bend the top branch to fit our angel on top. Our son had time to put it up before Halloween, so there it sat, bare and forlorn, for about three days before I broke down and covered it with ornaments. A Christmas tree, resplendent and lit every night since before Halloween. I loved it.
Our tree is loaded with memories. Taking it down involves many whispers of endearment to times and loves past, and a few stray tears. It takes days to pack up Christmas for that reason. I’m reluctant to say goodbye again.
Allow me to share a few of those memories with you. In the photo above, The tiny wooden ornaments on top came from Germany, back in the nineteen hundreds. The clothespin doll dressed in white leather with black yarn hair was a gift from Dyana, from a mother-daughter trip we took to Cherokee, NC, to see how accurate my descriptions were in Terra’s Call. Research after the fact. The dove with the rainbow and Nativity scene came from Arizona, a trip Bill and I earned with our company years ago.
Our moms grace the tree, and even though we know they’re having a blast in Heaven, we like to think they have a good view of the family from their perches. My mom is on the left, Bill’s mom in the middle, and my mom’s sister, Melitta, on the right. Photo ornaments our kids made in pre-school and grade school remind us of those sweet bygone years, and their children get a kick out of seeing them at that age. When we travel, we buy ornaments, and I spot some from Costa Maya, Mt. Vernon (Washington’s home in Virginia), and the Flagler museum in Palm Beach.
I took pictures of every angle today. I’ll share one more set, and then let you off the hook, so to speak.
Travels, Nativity scenes, tennis, writing, the Gators…it’s all there, in our tree. Who we are, who we love, what we love to do, where we’ve been, and Who we believe in are all represented. Our lives lit up, on display at random, pretty much the way we live.
I’m taking it down, carefully wrapping each piece and organizing it in a bin for next year as I savor each memory. Only not today.
Today, we’re going to a delayed New Year’s Eve party with some friends who have a ginormous RV and spend months on the road. This should be fun! Tomorrow, I’ll share a little about our Christmases in Germany, and what I want for Christmas this year. And more photos.
Welcome to day five of A Day In My Life! Happy Epiphany, or Three Kings Day!
I love living in Florida in January. Today, January 6, is the Epiphany, a Christian festival commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the gentiles in the persons of the Magi (from dictionary.com). It’s also known as Three Kings Day, or the day before I take my inside Christmas decorations down. The photo is our young magnolia tree, which blooms whenever it feels like it, even in January.
As I looked up the official definition of Epiphany, I came across the word of the day, which is germinant. It means beginning to grow or develop, like the single bloom on the young tree. Or the beginning of a new year, where resolutions are being made, annual words are chosen, and writers take up a new challenge to write every day. Aren’t we all germinant in some respects?
Bill and I spent all afternoon today with a couple from church we absolutely love. Heidi and Antoine fill the atmosphere around them with joy. They’ve been married nearly nine years, and their laughter together is both contagious and delightful to hear! I feel energized every time I’m around them.
Antoine has a wonderful singing voice and sings on our praise team. Heidi joins me and a few other ladies for a rousing lunch once a month, where we discuss anything and everything and lift each other up. We are Princesses, daughters of the KING. We know who we are and Whose we are, and when we get together, everyone around us knows it, too. Rowdy only begins to describe our lunches together. Speaking of which, we have a lunch date next week!
I posted another book review today. The book moved me, and I loved the glimpses into a remarkable woman’s life. Even better, I’m enjoying getting to know the author through these daily blogs.
How time works, how it bends and stretches, contracts and sometimes seems to stop, is a mystery to me. Even more mysterious is how I manage to get anything done in the span of a single day. We’re closing in on the end of it and there are still chores to do, so hasta mañana, my friends! Have a good night!
I woke up making lists in my head of all the things I must get done this month. Some of the items made it into my notebook to be accomplished today, and the rest drifted off to wait for my next vulnerable half-dream state. High on my priority list is my need to finish editing my friend’s book and to write the next chapter in mine. Instead…
… I spent an hour or two doing my morning routine. Did you know that the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament is from the point of view of a spoiled King who had EVERYTHING? King Solomon was the richest man on earth. He had more wisdom than anyone ever had, he had hundreds of wives and a few hundred more children than I have, and he was BORED.
At the beginning of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon focused on how great he was, how he’d done everything a man can possibly do, and that nothing was new under the sun. He’d seen it all, done it all, knew it all, and there was nothing left for him to discover. How sad. Poor Solomon had yet to learn the lesson the Lord pointed me to today. We can choose to rely on ourselves, or we can choose to rely on the One who makes everything new, every morning. As it turned out, the king dying of ennui actually had an awakening, but you’ll have to read the book to find out how.
… I started the laundry. At the time of this writing, I’d also finished it, folded, and put it away.
… My iMac called my name after I put in the first load, and I jumped on to start editing. Instead, I caught up on emails and discovered everyone’s comments on all the blog posts from yesterday. I also found today’s entries that had already been posted and left my comments. I love reading your blogs! Nonnie, this was a great idea! Even though it takes up so much time.
I wrote a book review I’ll be posting today, and at lunch I read a short book I enjoyed very much. Every day needs some balance, right?
It is now nearly 5pm, and I haven’t started doing the two items that made my list. This does not bode well for the rest of January. Tomorrow is another day. I’m off to make dinner, watch another Christmas Hallmark movie (we recorded them all), and hopefully get to bed at a sensible hour. After all, at my age, what else is there to do?
One of my favorite scents in our Florida winter is the aroma of freshly mown grass. During my morning routine, when summer humidity gives way to winter’s dry air, I open all the windows in the house. Today, this smell brought me back to the carefree summer days of my childhood. Scents are powerful memory triggers. In my day, summertime meant leaving the house and spending all day roaming outside with my friends. A quick check-in at lunchtime was all our parents required until the street lights came on in the evening, and then we’d better be home in a hurry. Days long past. Winters, our new summers.
The Lord reminded me today that He is constantly teaching us. During good times, it’s easy to trust in God, but when those hard times come, I try to figure out ways to fix things. Mostly, I can’t. I’ve learned to say, “I trust you, Lord,” no matter what’s going on. It turns my focus away from the problem and toward the one who loves me and knows where I am along the path He’s made for me.
I spent an hour or so this morning crunching numbers. We keep track of our mileage for our businesses, particularly Bill’s mileage. He was a pro at a tennis club his brother owned until Bob passed away and the club was sold. The new owners lacked integrity, so Bill launched out on his own. Many of his students also left the club and found new places where their favorite pro could teach them. They train at different tennis courts around our area, and Bill is much happier.
I can only do numbers for so long until my eyes cross and I feel my temper rise, so I went over to our RRBC chat room to say hello. To my surprise, Justin Timberlake was singing Can’t Stop the Feeling! I got up and danced through it twice! Thanks for the exercise. What a way to start the day.
The best part of today was a visit from another of my adopted daughters! Beth, her husband Joe, and two of their children, Olivia and Chase, stopped by on their way back to Pennsylvania from their vacation in South Florida. We had lunch together at one of our favorite local restaurants (not the one in the photos) and laughed and reminisced, and Bill and I got to know the kids.
Beth was one of Dyana’s best friends growing up. Fiercely loyal to one another, they lived many adventures together, some of which I still don’t know about and probably wouldn’t want to. They wouldn’t be the wonderful women they are today without that bond they still share. When her mom was going through a painful divorce, just about the time I went through mine, she and Beth moved in with us for a time. We newly-single moms encouraged one another and loaned each other strength until we could stand on our own. Our daughters’ bond grew unbreakable through that experience. Beth is another daughter who calls me Mom. I am rich in the children God has given me!
After their visit, I finished reading the November/December issue of the Pipeline Magazine and enjoyed every article. I watched the replay of Shirley Harris Slaughter hosting Raters Not Haters. What a great book they discussed! I won’t spoil it for anyone else, but I do encourage you to watch it if you haven’t already done so. You’ve done a great job with the show, Shirley!
I spent the rest of the day visiting the other writers who’ve taken up this 30-day blogging challenge. Writing? This is it for today. Tomorrow I plan to work on that book I’m editing and hope to get a chapter finished in the trilogy I’m writing. It’s tempting to spend all day reading, but it is time to exercise some willpower.
This scripture came up in my morning devotions. “Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10 Do you know how hard it is to be still? How does one still the mind that is busy planning the day ahead, trying to figure out how everything will fit in? Or still the body that’s ready to jump up to tackle the next chore, and the next. It can be done. Here’s how I experienced living in the moment today.
First, an introduction. My adopted daughter Natalia is a little younger than our daughter Dyana. As a child in Pennsylvania, Natalia spent a lot of time with us, including some weeks when staying at home was not an option. Her home atmosphere was sometimes intolerable, and we were her sanctuary. Over the years, we went separate ways. She lived a colorful, exciting life, but always under the shadow of childhood trauma. A number of years ago, we discovered that we lived minutes from each other in Florida. She’s family and always will be, and she feels the same about us. She calls me “Mom,” and I love her like one of our own.
Today, Natalia and I went to see Avatar, The Way of Water, in 3D at an iMax theater in downtown West Palm Beach. Watching a movie like that is living in the moment. It was my third time seeing it, but I never once thought ahead from one scene to the next because I was totally immersed in every scene as it happened. Life beyond the movie ceased to exist. My entire being was on Pandora with the Sully family, exploring the beauty of that world. The characters captured my emotions and my heart thrilled with a sense of awe at the life in Pandora’s oceans. Exciting conflict, surprising nuances in the antagonist, strong emotions, and growth among family members kept my full attention for more than three hours.
When we left the theater, the sun had just set and music and light poured from the surrounding restaurants. This tree, in full Pandora colors, caught my eye. I took it as another kiss from God.
Living in the moment is like reading a good book. Total immersion. Focusing on the now. Life doesn’t need to be full of drama and colors, plot and compelling characters, to be enjoyed in the moment. Being still can simply mean being peaceful, not filled with anxiety, not thinking ahead to what comes next, or what to say next.
So that was my today. I got no writing done, other than this blog, but I got some quality living done.
Hi, and Happy New Year! I’m PTL Perrin, author, but you can call me Patty. I’ve accepted a challenge to share a day in my life with you. Not only today, but every day for the rest of January, 2023! Let’s start with TODAY, and see how this goes.
Any day is a great day with my sweetheart Bill in it! I kid you not. This month will mark twenty-nine years of marriage to a man whose smile brightens any room, any space, anywhere. I’m getting ahead of myself. You’ll hear more about that on our actual anniversary. Just understand that any revelations about my day are likely to include mentions of my Bill.
A typical day starts with a morning routine, which can take anywhere from two hours to four, depending on how much trouble I have with my eyebrows. I get up, shower, get a fruit and Reliv smoothie, spend some much-needed time with Lord reading the Bible and several devotionals, and draw on my eyebrows. On some days, like this morning, they go on easily, matching in expression and are more-or-less even on my face. I wish every day started as smoothly.
Thank the Lord I don’t have to be anywhere specific most mornings. It’s one of the perks of having traveled around the sun as many times as I have. Bill, on the other hand, has traveled longer and still has early lessons some days. He teaches tennis, which he loves, to people he loves, so the hardship is worth it to him. I’m enjoying my 74th trip around the sun. Remaining positive while aging is not for the faint of heart. I have much to be grateful for, including my strong heart.
“Set priorities in your life according to My will,” from Sarah Young’s Jesus Today, struck me as a directive from the Lord this morning. I debated accepting this challenge because my January schedule is normally chock full of accounting stuff, and numbers are NOT my favorite things to play with. We have two corporations for our family businesses, and I serve as the involuntary Ad-Hoc Treasurer for two more. So I prayed, and the Lord reminded me I want to write more.
“Yes,” I argued. “I want to write more in my BOOK. You know, the one I’ve been wanting to finish. The second book in the trilogy.”
I am convinced the Lord speaks to me, although not usually in words. I felt a smidge of excitement about this project. I will be writing every day. Writing begets writing. My fingers will get the exercise. My mind will open to new ideas. I’ll get to read about my author friends who also accepted the challenge.
“But, Lord, I can read theirs without writing my own. I’m sure theirs will be so much more interesting. Who wants to read about keeping accounts?”
Then I thought about mindfulness. What DO I do all day? If I keep track, I might carve out more time for writing. To make a long conversation short, here I am. And here’s the rest of my day.
I wrote a review and posted it. As I read other people’s reviews, mine seem simplistic. At least they’re honest, and I won’t post a review with less than four stars because my hope is to encourage people to read the books I read and like. The problem is, as soon as I finish reading a book, I move on to other things that must be done. Then another book grabs my attention, and the review has been forgotten. Forgive me, my friends! One resolution this year is to go back, re-read, and post more reviews.
I had lunch at 3pm, because I usually eat when I’m hungry. I fixed a banana, peanut butter, Reliv smoothie, and chowed down on some crackers. Too much information? Can’t wait to start reading the other blogs in this challenge!
I spent two hours on editing a friend’s memoir. She’s transparent and brave and I marvel at how God has moved in her life. I’m humbled that she trusts me with this task, and I’m determined to pour my best effort into it.
Bill and I took a walk around our beautiful neighborhood this evening. Many homes were still decorated for Christmas.
Our son Mike took down our outside lights yesterday, and then we went to his family’s house for New Year’s dinner. His wife Jenn is a great cook, and their children are wonderful. His dad and step-mom were also there. Funny story. Jenn’s mom is Patty. Mike’s mom is Patty. Mike’s step-mom is Pattie. So when anyone, at any family gathering calls for either Mom or Patty, we ALL answer!
I’m wrapping this up here. In the evenings, Bill and I watch a movie together — usually Hallmark. I like action movies and he’s a sucker for chick flicks.
I’m going to see Avatar, The Way of Water for the third time tomorrow with one of our “adopted” daughters. We’ll see it in iMax 3D, and I can hardly wait! I’ll tell you more about the movie, and about her, tomorrow! Hasta Mañana!
Please leave Linda a comment below or anywhere along the tour, for your chance to win one of her awesome giveaways!
Welcome to Day 7 of the REIMAGINING NEON Blog Tour! It’s an honor to introduce Author Linda C. Mims and her exciting, newly reimagined book, THE NEON HOUSES. I loved the characters in the original story, and I’ve preordered my copy so I can get reacquainted with them.
It takes a vivid imagination and a good deal of research to create a world that does not yet exist. Details matter, especially when they differentiate between cultures. Take food, for example.
Linda, how does food define the cultures in 2087?.
BUT WHAT ARE THEY EATING?
The Neon Houses, set in 2087, depicts two worlds. One world shows a food desert where food is genetically modified, dehydrated, plant-based and powdered—if there’s food at all. The other world is a cornucopia of real meat, vegetables, poultry, eggs, fish, and fruit.
The main character, Noel Kennedy, has her feet planted in both worlds and is unapologetically sympathetic to the needs of the citizens in the Southland. When we first meet her, hurrying to the home of a recently murdered student, she’s leaning out of the passenger window yelling bloody murder at a thief who has just snatched a bag of groceries from an old man.
Back home at the annual barbeque she and her husband famously host, we see disks laden with platters of smoked meats, grilled vegetables, desserts, and other delectables. These dishes sail through the air, over the heads of guests who use remote controls to land a disk, or they summon human androids to take their orders. This scene is two-fold, lavishly contrasting the two societies, and setting the stage for the next murder.
Noel’s nemesis, Warren Simpson, is a cunning, ruthless villain who rules the land that borders the southern outskirts of her city. He is a thief and the purveyor of illegal goods. Yet, when his nephew is accused of murder, Warren discards that theory. The kid isn’t like him, and murder is the farthest thing from the kid’s nature.
Simpson gathers his family around the dining table to plot murder, set-ups, and surveillance. During the meal, readers see dishes of roasted beef, whipped potatoes and gravy, green beans, fresh tomatoes, and warm bread spread out on a snowy tablecloth. Simpson’s wives, their children, and his young adult nephew surround him. When the food isn’t served quickly enough, his nephew makes smacking sounds and bangs his silverware on the table. Simpson cuffs him lightly. The scene is normal, almost endearing, and allows us to see the human side of the villain.
In undeniable New Chicago tradition, soy-dog stands, and taco stands dot the area near downtown. When a call comes over the radio warning Noel and her husband they’ve been spotted while scouting the primary suspect, they’re under the on-ramp of the Kennedy Expressway eating at a taco stand that’s located there. Before they hightail it, Noel takes a moment to wipe taco sauce from her husband’s mouth.
Fifty years into the future, the world has changed, but food, family, and gatherings remain the same—maybe more for my sense of normalcy than the characters’.
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EXCERPT FROM THE NEON HOUSES:
Noel and Dickey stood at a little taco stand on Morgan and Lake and ordered the special with cola spritzes.
“I’m too old to eat this junk,” Dickey said.
“I know.” Noel laughed. “But we don’t want to go too far away, in case Harlan calls. I figure we can eat this and get back before Jessica’s date is over. I want to see his face. Hell, I want to touch him.”
“You see that car?” Dickey asked, nodding toward a vehicle that had made a U-turn and was idling on the opposite side of the street. “I’d swear it followed us from the restaurant.”
Noel nodded. “That’s Warren Simpson’s men. They’ve been following me since the day Lord Nelson’s man chased me from shantytown.
“This isn’t us, Noel, and as soon as we get out of this, we’re never doing it again. Promise?”
She smiled as she wiped taco sauce from his mouth with her napkin.
Blurb:
What would you do if you were the daughter of a cult hero who boasted a past full of exciting, colorful exploits?
Suppose the thing that made your mother a cult hero was also inside you.
Now, imagine spending your whole life trying to hide it—until you shared the heart stopping death of someone close to you.
Supposed that death brought you face to face with the gift of the neon houses.
New Chicago and its neighboring town, The Southland, are vastly different worlds in circa 2087, but Dr. Noel Kennedy is an expert at navigating both worlds. As the Deputy Chief of Schools in The Southland, Noel has perfected being a solid, middle-class citizen. Not even her husband, Fredrick Kennedy, truly understands what she is.
When Zarah Fisher, Noel’s young protégé, is murdered on a deserted street in The Southland, Noel knows the exact moment Zarah takes her last breath. Though miles away, Noel feels the girl’s terror, and hears her anguished screams inside her own head because of an inheritance that has left her with extraordinary gifts.
Can Noel find justice for Zarah without risking it all?
Murder, mayhem, and suspense abound in this action packed page-turner. More than a mystery, The Neon Houses thrills the reader with scenes of a futuristic 2087. Autoplanes, body planes, and flying buses are the norm. Robots and androids cook, clean, and serve the affluent, while dystopia lurks just around the corner.
***
You are invited to connect with Linda via her social media outlets below:
LINDA MIMS is a writer, a dreamer, and an educator, who hails from a quiet village just south of Chicago. Her stories are mainly about urban characters who are engaged in mystery and mysticism. Her hope is that while entertaining and informing, she’s also sending the message that humans aren’t that different and all each of us want is a better world.
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To follow along with the rest of the tour, please visit theAUTHOR’S TOUR PAGE on the 4WillsPublishing site. If you’d like to book your own blog tour and have your book promoted in similar grand fashion, please clickHERE. Thanks for supporting this author and her work!
Someone, probably my Mom, once told me that when you point your finger at someone in criticism, you’re pointing three fingers back at yourself. I believe most of us like to think we aren’t critical of others, but is that true? Nonnie Jules, who is as honest with herself as she is with others, shares our common flaw, and gives us a great tool to rid ourselves of it! I’ve copied it and plan to use it daily. Read on…
I woke up this morning with a question in my head. Nonnie, are you critical of others? Now, don’t confuse this with being honest in a book review, please. (You all knew I would clarify that, right?) What I was asking myself was, do I find that I sit (or stand) in judgement of others? Because I posed this question to myself in my mirror, it was on my spirit that I share it with you and ask you the same question…
Do you find that you sit (or stand) in judgement of others? Do you find that you do it often?
Do you find yourself in a restaurant looking at someone who might have a few extra pounds on them, wondering why they are returning to the buffet table for a third time? Or, do you wonder why they are at a buffet in the first place?
The manuscript is finished and you’ve decided to Indie publish. So what do you do next? My friend, published Author D.L. Finn, has a handy checklist for you…
Hi SEers! Denise here to talk about an exciting and stressful time, getting a book ready for release.
After you receive your book back from beta readers, if you do that, made your final revisions, and checked it over just one more time—it’s ready to go to your editor. An editor is the one step I recommend you never skip. Even though there are many programs to run it through, they still miss things.
What should you do while you wait for your book to be edited? Here are a few suggestions.
If you have not done so, now is the time to create a cover or have it done.
Traditionally published or independently published? Does it matter? Author Nonnie Jules lays it out for us in this no-nonsense comparison. I know what I choose!
You all are begging me to write this post, aren’t you? Yes, you really are! If I see one more bio or tweet that says #TraditionallyPublishedAuthor, I am literally going to scream!
What exactly does that mean anyway? What are you trying to tell us? Does that mean that your books are better than #IndiePublished books?
Seriously? Is that what you fell for? Ha! Well, they fooled you, honey, so please wipe that silly look off your face; and close your mouth.
Here are the facts…
*They say that being traditionally published brings prestige. Well, maybe 15-20 years ago it did. Listen, saying to me that you’re traditionally published, is going to get you the same reaction as one of those Sunday-only Christians telling me they live in church all week. (FYI, I watch my purse closer in church than I would if I frequented a smoke-filled bar 5…
PTL Perrin Writes... 