I just learned a new word: hygge. If you’d like to read more about it, it’s in The Farmer’s Almanac. Just click on the link. The word comes to us from Denmark, which has long, cold, dark winters. Just as a friendly hug warms the heart, so does the Norwegian hygge. They dress in soft, […]

A Spooky, Scary, Mysterious, Yet Cozy Quiz
When I was in school, “Pop Quiz” were two of the scariest words around, but school was a long time ago and now, when I take a quiz, it is just for fun. That’s what this is this morning, a just-for fun quiz on my five published cozy mysteries. Pour another cup of coffee, get comfortable, […]

When Hope Soars Over the Goal Post
Hope–that fire within, the heartbeat that keeps us pushing toward the goal post. Hope beat hard in the hearts of the two teams in the Super Bowl last night. I am not a sports fan. I don’t know a thing about the rules for football. I know more about baseball but I don’t care much […]

Memorable Stops Along the Road Map of Life
Does anybody remember actual, old paper road maps? They were folded just so, and when traveling, I would unfold only the part I needed to find the right route. Life is like that–unfolding a little at a time, depending upon how far along we are on our journey, re-folding what isn’t needed any more. Once, years […]

Happy Groundhog Day
Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow! Six more weeks of winter. It’s always kind of fun to see the big deal the folk in Pennsylvania and other places make of Groundhog Day. I have a feeling, though, we’d have six more weeks of winter anyway. Wit, wisdom and fun crackled around the hundred-year old table at […]

After the Ball Is Over, After the Book Is Finished
After the ball is over, does the melody linger on? I can’t speak for all writers, but this writer is a puzzle, a bundle of contradictions. How can a book that I’ve worked on, groaned and moaned over, re-written, edited, worried about, fluffed up, lengthened, shortened, and at last declared finished, be so hard to […]

