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It was a very enjoyable experience to work with my granddaughter to select a beginning mask pattern. We started with reviewing the masks and finally chose one with different sizes and styles, then downloaded the . Thank you, CraftPassion.com. We are changing it as we go along. She cut; I sewed. There is a stack of sewing to be done on my old Singer cabinet model. Really interesting project, but cutting the curves and reinforcing w/stay stitching took time. She cut the T-shirt and stretched for the cords, either the ear loops or the head ties. These masks are lined and top stitched. We are considering other alterations, and working with our limited choices of fabric.

Keeping up with necessaries during this time is work. Sheltering requires lots of groceries, cooking, and dishes/cleaning. I’ve covered my couches with blankets, pads, whatever to preserve it during heavy useage, and am ordering base necessities to be delivered. It’s a change of lifestyle for sure. I’ve asked my grandchildren to write about what happened when they were first told that school had changed to online education. I hope they do as when these times change, years later, they can review the startling adjustments made very quickly.

Meanwhile, back at the farm, as they say�� Here’s a 99cent sale and your chance to get started on 2 great series, the Tallchiefs and my Basket Series.

“Thoroughly enjoyable western romance.” A pro billiards lady, taking all bets, finds her match in a winner take all. This down on his luck ex-gunslinger wants everything, including a mother for his bad-mouthed little daughter.

 Sweet Clementine knows the heartbreak of being jilted. When her sister dumps a dude-ranch owner, Clementine fears for him. Evan is grumpy and just maybe sexually impaired by her sister’s jilting him. She’s determined to help him. But can she?

  2nd in Series, each with a legend: When a man of Fearghus blood places the ring upon the right woman’s finger, he’ll capture his true love forever.

This is the 3rd of my Basket Trilogy, and I recommend starting with the first, , then , 3rd , and a novella for fun,

Here’s hoping you and yours are doing well, despite Sheltering and/or whatever your area allows. I’m missing a few things, like shopping in thrift stores, but so glad we have material stored from them to be able to make these masks. Actually, grateful for so many things in these hard times. But there is a big, fat zucchini from my daughter’s garden that needs grating for zucchini bread and I’d better go. (It seems like everyone in the neighborhood has a little garden going.) Until next time��

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How are you today? I bet your plans are different from yesterday, right? (Yes, I am trying for humor. Big smile here.)

For many creatives (I like to think I am creative. Another smile.) life is much the same. We stay close to home, to our projects. I like to cook; however every once in a while it would be nice to eat out. I know that some parts of the country are doing that now, and some people. But at this moment, were sticking close to home and what we can do. This morning I am looking at making my first upside down pineapple cake with crushed pineapple only, no maraschino cherries. I have one can of crushed pineapple and that is where it is going. I am also looking at making my first batch of whole wheat bagels. Not a clue on that one, but I will learn.

Meanwhile I’m taking a lot of pictures and I am currently painting. And no, it is not finished. But it did provide distraction from my current book Work In Progress (WIP). And I needed the break. My granddaughters have been wanting to learn how to paint from me, though I am untrained and have painted a lot. I drafted a beginning step-by-step that we could use while Sheltering. (One granddaughter has already said she’s done.) I will be publishing that step-by-step somewhere as other grandmothers trying to work with/communicate with their families long distance via video, are interested.

With years of this changing projection ahead of us, I’m looking at making more No-Knead breads as found on YouTube. The basic breads are terrific, and better with change. The most basic bread, makes terrific garlic toast. And we found that a loaf freezes well too. Typically I make two loaves at one time, to save oven energy.

And here’s another dollar-saver I’m doing right now: homemade laundry detergent. While I have a LOW efficiency washer (translate OLD), this might not be good for high efficiency. It is useful in multiple ways and basically only has three cheap ingredients: Fels Naptha bar soap, washing soda, Borax laundry booster. Here’s my recipe on this:

½ bar Fels Naptha (Good to rub on stains, too.)

½ cup washing soda and ½ cup Borax Laundry Booster

A large bucket/container. Mine is granite wear.

Directions: Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. (I use my stainless steel soup pot.)  Add 6 cups water and heat, stirring, until the soap dissolves.  Add washing soda and Borax. Really Important: Stir until well dissolved.  Remove from heat.  Pour 4 cups hot water into the container.   Add the soap mixture to the container and stir.  Then add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir.  Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. (Mine is a watery gel, but if gels too much, I might whip a little.)  Use ½ cup per load.

I find this soap can be used for almost anything, and Fels Naptha smells so good. Some people use other bars of soap, but I happen to love the smell and hardworking Fels Naptha. I have chunks of it in my kitchen drawers.

Here is a new cover I made amid doing other things. (ebook only now) is an older book, and filled with humor that we need in today’s world. I am thankful for so many things today, including you, including a camera that takes great shots that I can use on my covers �� sometimes, like those roses.

If you read my books, please note that I will be putting some of these humor books on sale. That’s all for now. Enjoy your day!

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How are you coping today? Most people are really using this time wisely, and the yards around my street never looked better. A gardener business just delivered really nice looking plants that disappeared behind the houses. A chipmunk, rabbits and quail are defeating my efforts, but I thought you might be interested in what I’m doing��

By chance today, while I was preparing the topics for this blog and my writers blog, I came across two Jane Morgans. The first one is: Jane Morgan Art. I am a fan of her work which is very delicate grouping of flowers. I believe she is English, check that out? The second one is: Jayne Morgan, and she has infused me this special day with the need to get out my paints.

I’ve been resisting getting out my paints, seeing what I have available, seeing what I need. But after seeing that California poppies that Jayne Morgan painted, I thought I would start there with the simplicity, rather than my usual wildlife. Do check both of these artists out, so individual styles, each beautiful. If I manage to get a somewhat decent painting, I will be happy. It has been years since I painted.

More and more I am certain that each of us needs whatever fine arts we are drawn to. This to balance out our anxiety, and the problems of coping every day with hardships we had not expected. Creating gives us the relaxation we need, whether it is musical, craft-type, painting, sewing, hand embroidering (a friend still does this even though there is machine available for embroidering.) She says it relaxes her and I believe that truly we all must be doing something to relieve today’s stress.

I am one of those who enjoys almost anything to do with creating, whether it is potting or gardening, painting, photography, or writing. Today, I did hit a stop-and-think point in my brand-new book, and that is what took me searching to see what paints, palette knives, supplies I had without leaving Shelter. I rounded the neighborhood taking shots of California poppies, brilliant orange flowers. That Painting is one-day’s session. My daughters are calling it “Cheesy Popcorn��. Just wait! I’ll show them that I may be a Van Gogh-in-making as it is a new style for me.

Generally I bake, but I’m enjoying bread far too much for my waistline. I enjoy cooking, but I am not enjoying the constant cleanup or the dishes. Today, I am massively planning a new black bean burger recipe, with hamburger buns. I’m slow cooking (I love my slow cooker!) my black beans and putting bread dough nearby, as it doesn’t like to rise in these cool days. BTW, that Bagel sesame mix is super on almost anything. I believe it is a Trader Jo’s product?

And I am not enjoying the chipmunk who dug up my lettuce. I have many plant starts right now, taking them outside to quote harden a bit, and then bringing them in. Hopefully I’ll be able to get a few vegetables from my “pot�� garden, this after once gardening a huge plot, and canning everything that came my way.

You are blessed in today’s world for so many things, and maybe more so if you do have an area for gardening or can make one.

If you are a writer, I hope you’ll stop by my , which is currently featuring writer how-tos. And most of all, I hope you find a creative endeavor that will relax you and yet make you feel good, because you have created something, and used your time well.

I’m getting ready for some book sales, so I hope you are on my for that news. And you can ? I’d love for you to tell me what you’d like to see in this newsletter? And if you have a good black bean hamburger recipe, I’d appreciate that as I am just now testing different ones��

Until next time�� Here’s a big hats-off to health-care workers and those parents who are homeschooling!

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I’m catching up after a busy and sometimes sad last 2-3 years. And now what? I’m sheltering at home like everyone else, which is fine. The New Normal, they say. I am so sorry for those we have lost, but so proud of those doctors, nurses, and staffs who are laying their lives and hearts out there to help. Courageous people!

Some of this New Normal is a first for me, like washing eggs and oranges, etc. NO-Knead bread as shown on YouTube has become my favorite baking. My granddaughters ages 14 and 10 are now also making these easy recipes. For one thing, no eggs and no milk, just basically flour, salt, yeast and water. It’s Artisan bread, soft inside and crusty outside. (Don’t forget to add that pan of water in your oven.) Tons of recipes on YouTube and I’m headed for the pizza dough next. This is delicious bread. So far, the girls and I have baked whole wheat, plain, and oatmeal honey.

My WIP (Work in Progress) now is the third of my Fresh Start trilogy, the first two out early 2018. Kenna’s and Olivia’s story have waited, but Crystal’s is turning into a good story, I think. Just You and Just Love were the first two. They are women’s fiction, about women’s choices, with romance.

Then there is ad work, cover designs, etc. You can catch more at at Facebook. is now .99 for a limited time (Maybe 4/15/20). “Loved, loved, loved this adorable romance!�� >>Oklahoma rancher Lucas Walkington will do anything for his twin teenage girls, including appearing on a dating show as The Love Bandit. To help her sister, Chastity Beauchamp substitutes as Honey, a Heartbeats Goddess. City girl Chastity knows more about filing cabinets than men, but when she sees this delicious rancher, she wants her one chance for delight. He’s soon whisking Chastity away to greater, outer Oklahoma.

I do hope you’ll catch my . , too, and if you are a writer, I have another leaning more toward that. It is much easier than this website to manage, so more frequent. And a , which isn’t out very much, only when I have news.

Then, amid everything else, I’m thinking about making laundry soap, ever so cheap and easy. I use the plain washer kind, as I have a plain washer. However, for the nicer machines, find a different recipe. Good old Fels Naptha, washing soda, and Borax Laundry booster is all it takes. You save a lot of $, but be careful of the recipe you use as machines are different.

I do enjoy working at home, though I know not all appreciate it. For one thing, I admire all parents who are actively homeschooling. Really do. Tough job, but also a time to get across important life message.

Oh, and at my page, I’ve begun tucking in author notes about my stories: where I researched, why I like the theme, etc. I did the cover for , and that includes the sweetheart necklace Dad gave to Mom when they were courting. You might find that interesting?

Until next time, do a lot of hand washing, be very careful, thank our medical workers AND our grocery store people, AND use that hand cream��.

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In the quiet of night, candlelight helps with deep thoughts. I’ve always had very quiet and reflective holidays at year’s end, which we are now heading into. Sometimes, I burn candles with essential oils, depending on needs. But lately with a recent loss in our family, candlelight eases me a bit. Do you know why candlelight helps an aching heart?

During the holidays, I usually bake more: gingerbread men, liebkucken cookies, cinnamon rolls/breads, etc. I wrap and send gifts, if needed. However, this year, I don’t know. Right now, with high winds and heavy rains, I’ve just put on a crockpot of ham and beans/kale etc. and started 2 bowls of no-knead oatmeal artisan breads. (2 bowls as it rises faster than 2 in 1, and I don’t like to underuse oven space with high energy charges.) The ham and beans is a family favorite, but also a slow-cooker lets me use time to reflect, do necessaries, and consider all those who lost their lives in Pearl Harbor, celebrated yesterday. The survivors are elderly, some in their 90s, and this tragedy needs remembrance.

Dealing with a deep loss, during a time when holiday cheer is normal. Or is it? So many are facing difficult trials, and what can an individual do to march on in life?

I’ve dug into my new home and wrap it around me, almost a protection against outer negativity which is too difficult now. For a time, it must stay outside my little world. There is no absolute healing, but perhaps ways to temporarily deal with the sudden shock and loss of a loved one. Each heart has different modes of carrying on. During the most stressful times, I crocheted dishcloths with a Tunisian hook, just running those stitches back and forth. Truthfully, errors didn’t matter, nor weaving in ends, but that small busy easy thing did hold me together during the worst situations. My neighbors are happy to weave in the strings and get rid of lots of odd dishcloths.

For now, I am reading more: some poetry from my stepfather’s beloved books in memory of him. I read a variety of non-fiction, plus fiction. Probably more non-fiction, antiquity, US western history, inspirational, etc. It feels as though I am storing up to begin again�� I had just downsized, and now wish I had my Shakespeare and Old English volumes. Odd wishes for the return of things gone��

But I’ve also dug into catching up my writing business from the last stressful 2 years, 2018 & 2019, when I could do little but meet necessary life-situations. I wasn’t ready at one point to get back into my stories or the other necessary business, but now my stories are calling me. One book, the last of a new series begun in spring 2018, has yet to be finished. I’m working on it now, and the lighter character, a woman, dealing with a new life is helping me deal with my own life. This is what writers do, while writing: live within a mix of their family of characters.

Every writer deals with ongoing real life/tragedy, etc. and either goes on writing or doesn’t. I wrote about this at my .

Right now, for me, it is a struggle to return to what was and continue with a part of my family torn away, but still in my heart.

I hope this helps someone deal with devastating loss, coping during the Holidays with so many memories of loved ones stored in their hearts. It’s a real job to put pieces somewhat together and live on without them.

At the end of the year, preparing for next, candles and quiet do help ease troubled hearts��

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I’m all charged up this Monday. It’s morning. (I fade off in the afternoon and never quite match my morning energy.) Yesterday, I started back into a story that has waited during this move and settling in. My sister and a friend are also settling in to new places, downsizing, etc., so those are our talk-topics. However, I moved cross-country, and was not prepared for all the paperwork resettling. It’s consuming, but hopefully I’m at the tail end. And I love to take road trips. Below is a shot of my favorite traveling combo. Roomy enough for my yoga hoop.

I hope you can see this rose. It’s just for you. By the way, I love reading ‘s newsletters. So upbeat and inspirational. We need that.

Here is another shot of a rose and some big orange flower I love–zinnias?. But the sunflower bouquet has fever few, an herb (?), which is new to me. A lovely friend gave both to me. Amazing how long the upright bouquet lasted��. A new white mantle would really help this one in the new house, which we’ll get there�� I hope there is a “restore�� warehouse around here somewhere. I’m learning where “what�� is.

My painting would look great on my new wall, but one of my daughters refuses to give it up. BTW, if there is any topic you’d like me to include on this blog (I have ), let me know?

You have a super week out there!

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How are you? I hope your summer is going perfectly and that you have time to relax and enjoy. It’s a time to re-think/refresh/enjoy friendships and personal space, so badly needed sometimes.

We’ve had some family health problems, plus I’ve moved in the last year, no easy chore. Many people are in the same mode, different reasons, but still that time demands so much energy. And then, hey! But we need healing time, too, whatever is our favorite. Take time for you? Just you?

To recharge/refresh, I love to drive and have just returned from a cross-country drive of 7254 miles. Flying is super, but if you haven’t taken road trips across this great country, try the experience?

These “windmills�� were an eerie sight and a real plus for states. Not sure where I took this shot, but it seemed like hundreds of these slow moving windmills, turning slowly. I’ve traveled this route before: California, NV, UT, Nebraska, etc., and down to lower Missouri, but this time, flooding in the Midwest was terrible. Driving through storms, heavy rains, etc., aren’t fun, but part of the journey. I can highly recommend cargo pants and hoping to do a Road Trip Tips piece, whenever I catch up. This time, with Life360 app (which I highly recommend for family/friends traveling connections) my “people�� knew where I was at all times.

This is a little of my catch-up, to celebrate MidSummer. These are older books, but you may have missed them? I’d love to hear from you, . I’m also on / and am preparing a now.

Now all I have to do is to get back into my stories, unpack the rest of the moving boxes, and…and…and�� But do take time for yourself this summer?

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Lined in cedar and crafted by my brother, my hope chest is filled with family mementoes. The hardwood was taken from the inner portion of a large wooden spool; it was used to hold cable. For those unfamiliar with a “hope chest��, it is a chest used to store a girl’s embroidered pillowcases, etc. created as she prepared for marriage.

Mine is filled with my mother’s doilies, hand-stitched quilts from my grandmother–such tiny stitches. When I look at the tiny ruffled, crocheted doilies and those stitches, I am amazed at the eyesight, the tiny needles and hooks necessary to create them.

I am in the process or reorganizing my hope chest, and in deep thought about my mother. I’m closer to her somehow, taking my time and thinking of her, smoothing her handiwork and remembering how she would sit and crochet, her peaceful time. And I wonder if we’re not missing some of this necessary gap from today’s daily pressure, this peaceful time.

Opening and organizing my hope chest became a very personal journey, though I have more to do. (I will never/ever starch those ruffled doilies.) This isn’t every day work, or something to hurry, but very intimate and treasured, this link to my mother.

Note the two handkerchieves, black and red. Black for funerals; red and red/green/white edging for Christmastime.

The crocheted edging or maybe tatted edges around the ladies handkerchiefs are perfect–my mother would rip/undo any crochet work that wasn’t perfect and redo it. Purchased for crocheting and/or tatting, handkerchieves had/have tiny holes around the edges, allowing attached handiwork. Feminine handkerchieves might have stripes or flowers, etc. and were used daily, reserving the edged ones for church, social meetings.

I found peace in hand-washing and ironing my mother’s handkerchieves. Fearing a dryer would be too harsh, I hung them about. The whole process, my journey, was a very gentle, reflective, personal time with my mother. She always had a neat handkerchief in her purse.

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All writers�� stories have background and interesting pieces about the story journey that may not turn up in promotions. While I have new work/stories, I’ve just finished re-releasing and thought you might enjoy some background involved in the Tallchief stories. Rather than manufacturing our stories, story-teller writers do a tremendous amount of background work which includes family relationships, crafts, location (I’ve always been to the real locations of my fictional ones), time matrixes, etc.

Book 3 Tallchief Series

is the 3rd book of the Tallchief series, and is now in re-release with a brand new cover. You can more about this and the other books–in fact any of my books at Amazon and other places. The re-releases, which these books are, are repackaged with different covers.

I created these covers, and many of the featured items are my own. How much fun! In this case, the locket is my father’s sweetheart gift to my mother, the silver feather pin is one I got to celebrate this very popular series, and the deer horn was drilled by my sister. The logo is one I developed for the first 5 Tallchief books, but more spun-off the original series–this by request.

The fictional town of Amen Flats, Wyoming with all the family, the ranches/businesses and loves circulating through the stories is like every other small western town. I’ve driven/visited many to research my stories, including the Oregon Trail. If you can, you will thoroughly enjoy taking that drive and seeing/feeling what the pioneers experienced. The Cariboo trail was the setting for Delilah, the story of a Mountie after the killer of the heroine’s brother.

More about the background of the Tallchief series: I’ve written numerous books for this particular publisher and when it came time to submit new book ideas to my editor (Thank you, ), little did I know my submission wasn’t the norm. That is, I submitted all 5 Tallchiefs at once, complete with a genealogy chart, beginning with ancestors Tallchief, who captured a Scottish woman (Una) traveling West. That story is how the lady and the Sioux Native American settled their love. The publishers had never seen a proposal like this, as a usual process is to do one or more books, then add on, etc. Plus mine had a geneaology chart and the story of those loves, each connected to a legend handed down from Una, see below.

Since the Tallchief series is now in re-release, a second-time around, I kept the original timeline for Una and Tallchief, i.e. great-great-grandmother. To correct the time matrix would have been intense.

I studied weaving (which I will never do), dyes, etc. for Elspeth’s book. Just as Una was a weaver and Elspeth’s mother was, so was Elspeth. I researched heather to see if appropriate for blooming around their parents�� graves on Tallchief Mountain–by the way, the Tallchiefs parents were killed in a thief’s hold-up when Duncan was only 18. All 5 stayed together, working with cattle/sheep and doing what they could with rodeos and Elspeth’s weaving. Elspeth’s at 14 took on the household chores with a firm hand. It was hardest on Fiona, the youngest, because she had to be “good��.

Bits of their stories are interwoven with all books, because Una kept a journal. When hard times caused her to sell her Scottish dowry, she noted the item’s legend. At this writing, I am working on the re-release of The Seduction of Fiona Tallchief and others. Fiona’s may have more deer-horn buttons, plus antique sewing materials. I’m researching those now.

I hope you enjoyed this journey with me, an insight to a writer’s journey of related stories. I’m certain you have family objects you treasure as I treasure those on Tallchief for Keeps cover. Today, we’re hunting for my grandmother’s tatting shuttle. I suppose I’ll study that, too.

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The business part of relocation to a different state is not fun. It takes real every-day dedication to find suitable dentists, banks, doctors, let alone the mountain of address changes. I’m still not completely settled in my home: unpacking, shifting/arranging whatever.

And now I’m looking for My Writer Tribe. Definition: Easy Coffee Meet Ups, Person to Person business discussions (plenty of those online, but sometime writers need Face Time of the real kind), input/output sharing, sitting at a book store pounding away at a WIP while slurping coffee. I have yet to find one of these places here, but I will.

Writers are loners by nature, coming out of their creative caves periodically. They, rather I, seem to socialize best within the ILK of the same nature. We say odd things sometimes, like the discussion of how to murder someone, gruesome forensics or whose bed who is in and why. Outsiders of the Same ILK Tribe do not always understand such dialogue and therefore can be shocked. Language of the Tribe can be difficult to translate/comprehend.

We have different Tribes, such as my Knitter Tribe. I’m not a Knitter, but enjoy the chit-chat while I attempt some plain old dishcloths. At the meetings, I am tolerated, for which I am grateful while they create absolutely gorgeous works. The picture is of my favorite dishcloth yarn. I’ve met a few gardeners and I’m starting seeds which are doing okay. Different Tribes make for a well-rounded person, IMHO. Also materials can be incorporated into stories.

We can go to conferences, retreats, library presentations, etc., but familiars around a coffee/lunch table of the same Ilk are the best, IMHO. We also “drop out�� from meetings as we work on our stories, or WIPs (work in progress).

But back to my Writer Tribe: Here are some slots into which a writer may fall: fiction/non-fiction, beginners, mid-levels and hard-boiled pros. I’m certain you can come up with more writer-slots, i.e. Magazine writers, etc. The best tribe are those who can share within the same slot–or out of it with new material. Publishing business/covers/marketing etc. are always on the table.

I’m making contact with Libraries and whatever I can find online in addition to my friends there, hoping for that easy coffee meeting of my ILK Tribe. We have some excellent online loops, but that coffee-table tribe is always great, too. When I started, we had a super one at a local pub. I learned so much from pros.

Right now, I’m deep into my writing cave, working on the 3rd book of a trilogy interrupted last May. When Summer comes, I’m probably not at the writer tables, so I’m pushing now. If you have a coffee group of any kind that you enjoy, I’d love to hear about it!

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