It seems my home in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is receiving what lots of people across the nation were hoping to hear from Punxutawney Phil, the world’s most well-known groundhog — that there’s going to be an early spring. As Joni Mitchell famously said, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.” Hey, Phil, can we take it back? According to the news, Punxutawney … Continue reading Don’t Know What You’ve Got
Filling out a medical form a few days ago, I had to write 2024 for the first time. Having been born and grown up in the twentieth century, this date still sounds futuristic to me. It brings to mind the song 2525, which first came on the radio in 1969. (I had to look up the release date and the artist, Zager and Evans). At the … Continue reading Good intentions
We don’t have any little ones on our gift list this year, and I miss shopping for them. When our niece Molly, who is nineteen now, was about two, we gave her a bouncing Tigger doll for Christmas. While enthusiastic with the idea, my husband later became less than enamored with this gift. After I had already wrapped the box and slipped Tigger under the … Continue reading The joy of Christmas shopping
I’m not donning a costume for Halloween this year. In fact, it’s been quite a number of years since I put on a disguise for All Hallows Eve. But I did spend some time over the weekend thinking back on Halloweens Past. One year when I was still in high school, I went out a double date with one of my best friends, her boyfriend … Continue reading Costumes I have known
When I was a kid, my mom was very protective. I could ride my bike from corner to corner. But not around the block. She wanted to stand in our driveway, turn her head to the left and to the right and be able to see me. On occasion she’d loosen the leash just a little. She’d let me walk, along with my little sister … Continue reading Candy-coated memories
Welcome to “Behind the Book,” our fun new Chicks on the Case feature! Join us as we Chicks share the real stories behind our stories: Inspiration, motivation, frustration, jubilation– research, rewrites, tidbits– you’ll find them all right here… Hi, Vickie here. Authors often get asked how much research we have to do for each book. So, I thought I’d share a peek into a tiny bit … Continue reading Behind the book: My Fair Latte
A few weeks ago I mentioned on the blog that my niece was getting married the first weekend in July, and that hubs and I were driving down to Tennessee for the wedding. (It was beautiful — and so was the bride!) We generally head south for Christmas to visit with my and John’s family. This was the first time we had traveled down south … Continue reading I’ll have some sweet tea, hon
Recently I was looking through some old photos, mug shots, pictures of me at events, signings, and other promotional type stuff. It occurred to me that “the Cloud” enables me to hang on to crummy photos almost indefinitely. It also occurs to me that I need some new photos. I’m not terribly vain, so I decided to share some of the outtakes with you. (These … Continue reading I need some new photos
Harry Potter turned 33 last week. (Not the one who went to school at Hogwarts, but the one (aka Daniel Radcliffe, who was born in London and who, apropos of nothing, is still only 5 ft. 5 inches tall. This makes me feel a bit old, since Harry is eternally 8 years old to me. I had a birthday in May that was a millstone, … Continue reading Sunrise, sunset
Friday was May 5 – Cinco de Mayo! I don’t have any Mexican heritage that I’m aware of. But hubs and I didn’t let that prevent us from celebrating in our own quiet way. I made taco salad. We imbibed some margaritas. Viva tequila! And we watched Nacho Libre, a fun movie we’ve seen several times before. Saturday, we moved from tequila to tea, watching … Continue reading An international weekend at home
Hard to believe it’s almost Easter. Hard for me to believe I’ve reached the age where the weeks and months pass so quickly! When I was a kid my mom would say stuff like: Where did this month go? This year has just flown by. Christmas will be here before we know it! I thought she was crazy. It seemed to take forever for Spring … Continue reading The Egg and I
Some things have felt a bit overwhelming for me lately, which has led me to think a lot about perspective. The church I attended as a child had a steeple atop the chapel. After worship services had long since moved into the new auditorium, a grade-school friend and I climbed through the old baptistry and into the steeple which housed the by-then silent bells. It … Continue reading A matter of perspective
Chicks on the Case 