This is Twelfth Night, the Epiphany, the impetus for the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas. With my family’s help, I added words that might be appropriate for a writer of cozy mysteries. Thanks, Matt, Dawn, Sara, Nathan! A Cozy Mystery Writer’s Sizzling Twelve Days of Christmas On the first day of Christmas, Santa brought to […]

Looking Back Without Stumbling
Sometimes, when beginning a new year, I like to look back at the old one. So, yesterday, I not only looked back at 2014, I went way, way back to 1953 and a 5-year diary my mother gave me in 1952. It was full of a young girl’s thoughts and experiences. Some of them were […]

St. Swithin’s Day? No, Not That
I kept thinking, this morning, that December 27 must be of historical significance or religious significance. St. Swithin came to mind. I looked it up and since it is July, this can’t be the day to celebrate that good saint. It is significantly wet here in NWArkansas and, although Christmas Day the sun shone, the […]

Delicious Shivers
“Let’s tell scary stories,” I said. “OK,” both Sara and Nathan agreed. So I went first. I thought I was doing pretty well, building up to the exciting and shivery climax. “Mem, that’s not scary,” one of them said. “Wait, wait!” I protested. “I haven’t gotten to the really good part yet.” Then when my […]

‘Twas Christmas Eve
I woke up this morning and sprang from my bed, with thoughts of a busy day rife in my head. Now on with the coffee pot, on with my blog; fill the bird feeders and also the dog. Quick, to the kitchen I go in a hurry; from counter to stove top I scoot and […]

Shortest, Darkest, Day
At last it’s here–the first day of winter. At 5:03 p.m. it will officially begin. This is the winter solstice. Isn’t it wonderful how God planned the seasons, set the planets in motion, and made this one day of all the year, the shortest? The temperature isn’t quite down to freezing this morning and, guess […]

