Now that I’m one good night’s sleep past our Christmas celebrations, I’m taking a breath today, reflecting on the many joys of 2023, and finally getting around to sending holiday greetings.
More than anything, my reflections center around gratitude I’ve read in friends’ and family’s letters and on my own. Here are some of 2023’s highlights for which I’m most grateful.
Grand-joy Teddy – such a happy kid, a 16-month-old charmer who’s got us all besotted! (So far, he likes Grandpa better than Santa!)
A wedding Rob and Jackie enjoyed as much as their guests – enhanced by California family! I had so much fun creating their ‘likenesses’ in a polymer clay ornament!
A great trip to Newport, RI, Cape Cod with boat rides – motor, sail, fast ferry – lobster, oysters, and beautiful sights!
Friends who braved the lake through all of August and September while we waited for the new Y to open! Air temps as low as 54 with water in the low 60s on our last day deserved celebration!
A heart-swelling visit to my Home Place area where I stayed with a forever-friend, met half our grade-school class of 18 for lunch, tramped through our old timber with Nephew Butch and his son Bryar, and got to pass on family stories!
Making stuff for fun and therapy that sells enough at art show sales to support the habit! We’re hoping for increased consumer confidence in 2024 at selective shows.
And Making Stuff Up… I launched novel #3 just last week on Amazon. Look Up is a spin-off from my first novel Come Back and a departure from my rural roots. There’s still time to take advantage of my Friends and Family Launch price and get this book on Kindle for only $0.99. The price goes up January 1!
Please – for me and every author you read – please write your honest review on the book’s Amazon page. Just a line or two helps in two ways. It gets the attention – eventually – of Amazon’s mysterious algorithm which helps others find the book. AND it sends an author’s fingers back to the keyboard to keep writing yet another book. (Yes, I have begun another novel.)
Finally, I’m grateful for twinkling lights that signal shining hope even in the darkest times. Our world needs hope – for peace, plenty, health, and joy. You, dear reader, bring lovely light to my life, and I am deeply grateful. Further, I feel sure you spread that light in bright beams that illuminate all things good and beautiful. Thank you for being an instrument of hope!
Bless you in 2024 and beyond!
Healthy People Learn! 