The Winter Garden

This is the time of year that my fingers start to itch to get in to the garden. During Saturday's trip to the local home improvement store for some paint, I got sidetracked into browsing the display of seed packets, looking for something interesting.

Luckily, a couple of weeks ago, I came across some bulb kits on sale. My favorite for this time of year is forcing paperwhites. Easy as plopping the bulbs in a shallow container and adding water.

We are also fortunate to have a small, sunny alcove off the kitchen which is now the haven for all the plants I rescued from the garden. It's the perfect spot for the bowl of paperwhites. If you start now, you will most likely have blooms for Valentine's Day.

Two New Books!

Two of my favorite authors have releases this month: Award winning author Nell Dixon's Dangerous to Know is available at Moonlit Romance.

www.moonlitromance.com

Nell has also gotten a rave review for Be My Hero, which was released by Moonlit Romance in 2007. http://theromancestudio.com/reviews/reviews/bemyherodixon.htm


And later this week Denise Patrick's book, Strikes Don't Matter will be released by By Grace Publishing. I had the privilege to read it as Denise was working on it, and it's too good to miss!
www.bygracepublishing.com

And don't miss her book Adopting Alyssa, a 2008 Eppie Finalist and 2008 CAPA nominee!

January Freeze

Old Man Winter is back - and with a vengence. I knew the warmer temperatures were too good to last. We're going to be below freezing for the forseeable future -and we're expecting snow this afternoon into tomorrow.

January Thaw

Yes, it's came. Yes, it was early. Way early. Yes, it made a mess.

When you've had snow on the ground since Thanksgiving and suddenly the temperature climbs to the mid-forties... can you say swamp?

Naturally, the run-off freezes during the night. Yesterday morning, after a few showers, the roads, (steps, deck, patio, driveway) were solid ice. My husband called twice on his way to work to make sure our daughter did not drive herself to school. We skated together in the van in a ballet of skids and slides as drivers slowed for stop signs but didn't allow the cars to lose their momentum. One scary moment at a notoriously slippery intersection, but all was well.

Two New Contests!

There is a brand new authors' blog for Moonlit Romance and By Grace Publishing, and there are two contests running right now.

Here is the new link: http://uniqueenterprises.blogspot.com/

Check out the new features: a contest and an e-magazine with free short story each month, and bi-monthly University Fridays for aspiring authors.


What better way to cure the after-the-holiday blues than with a little romance?

Happy New Year

A new year filled with hope and promise. A chance to "do-over" the resolutions that lasted about a week last year.

With renewed grit and determination, we'll see how long I can stay the course. I have already bent one resolution slightly: take the dog for a nice, daily walk. With the temperature hovering in the low teens and a wind chill in the single digits it just didn't happen. We did have a long game of tug-o-war with his new tug-o-war rope which is attached to a small, but heavy, not to mention smelly, rubber tire.

Best wishes for a Happy New Year.