Dear Friends,
Let me start with wishing everyone a happy, healthy, less-stress 2025. It’s been a few tumultuous years, so before we begin, I’d like to ask you to stop for a few seconds, take a long inhale, then exhale any left-over angst from last year. Now, take another slow, deep breath and imagine the air is filled with blessings. Better? I hope so. For years I’ve been looking for ways to let some of the stress go. One way to do it is to prioritize your worries, by shedding the little things. Believe me, so much of it are the little things, and a lot of it is worrying about what someone else thinks of us. If they are your friend, they will think good thoughts. Okay so maybe once in a while you get on each other’s nerves, or you want to tell them that their overuse of the word “like” is bugging the pants off you, which I can tell you, drives me absolutely nuts! Is it perfectly fine when you are using it to describe enjoyment, or a simile, but every other word? Imagine if we substituted another word, for example (notice I didn’t use the word “like” but it would have been appropriate LOL) how about the word “duh?” I’m laughing just thinking about it.
Getting back to the new year. How about we resolve to be strong and kind, to each other, and to ourselves? I’m not trying to be Pollyanna. I know it’s hard to be pleasant when your life is in chaos, but remember you are not alone. Most people are going through something, even if it’s trying to find that one darn missing sock. Hang in there. I honestly believe better days are ahead. That was my message last January, and the January before. All I can say is the same things I said before. Be strong. Be kind. Have Faith.
The cats managed to mangle a few Christmas trees. They think ornaments are toys. Next year I may invest in rubber ornaments if they make them. If they don’t then someone should! Based on the stories I’ve heard; most pet owners would buy them for sure!
Once again I want to thank you for all your support last year and the years before. Your kind words on social media mean a lot to me. I’m not a big fan of social media because too many people use it in negative ways so I greatly appreciate positive feedback and spreading a little cheer.
Time to talk books. For those of you who are Sisterhood fans, the paperback edition of Backwater Justice is on sale now. If you haven’t read any of the previous books in the series have no fear. There is a lot of back story so you don’t have to start at the beginning of the series. I try to do that with each new installment, speaking of which, this one is #36 of the Sisterhood series. I am incredibly happy that people continue to enjoy the quest for justice, by women! The story revolves around the enormously powerful Spangler family in the Pacific Northwest who lord over the lumber industry. When two young girls go missing and suspicion points at them, the patriarch phones his dear friend Myra to help in the search. But within the confines of the corporation, many other secrets are discovered, not the least of which is the trafficking of fentanyl as far south as Mexico to the Canadian border. It’s quite topical, if I say so myself, considering I wrote it over a year ago.
Sometimes I scare myself when I write about things that eventually happen. Believe me, I do not claim to have any psychic abilities whatsoever. It just seems to occur from time to time. Too bad I can’t do that with the lottery!
No matter where you live, the weather seems to be unpredictable. We’ve had temperature swings from 65 to 35 degrees in two days. I worry about the trees and the plants. They have no idea what’s going on. Come to think of it, it seems like the weather has the meteorologists perplexed as well.
Let’s hang on to our hats, coats, and pantaloons and face the New Year with as much gusto as possible. To help with that, I am including some comfort food recipes to fuel your soul including easy slow cooker yummies.
Be well, be safe. Be kind. Have fun.
All the best,
Fern
