A Time For Everything

By several years prior to2022, I mean at least ten. When I went looking for a picture of the earliest version of the bird feeder bed, I found it in a post from 2022... But by the small circumference of the mulch and the lack of much else, I know the pic was from a long, long time ago.

Fast forward to the early 2000s and this was the set up: 

I've been meaning to upgrade this squirrel feeder bed for a while now. A long while. As captioned, that picture was taken just over two years ago. But it's probably been since BC (you know, before COVID) that it was last improved.

But what with all the family and life events, not to mention my getting-out-of-debt endeavors, the full funding just hasn't been available. I had some cash stashed for this project, but it was nowhere near enough to accomplish all the plans I had. So when Darling Daughter asked what I wanted for Mother's Day this year I had to think for a mere handful of seconds and the answer was clear: retaining wall blocks and mulch!

That tree has grown (of course it has) over the years and the "thighs" of the trunk--the sections where the trunk branches into roots--have also crept a little higher out of the ground. So rather than the single layer of landscape edgers you see above, I wanted at least two layers of my "tree ring bricks" to help hold in the mulch. So fast forward to 2026 and this is my squirrel feeder bed. 

I moved all the bird feeders farther out into the yard (just out of sight, of the top left of this image) as I didn't want this area overgrown with bird seed that germinated. And I reused the edgers that were originally here to create that planter in the top right.

Here's a closeup of the planter and the day lily I bought for it...

I'm still working on the bird feeder bed, so pictures of that will be along at some point. But I'm pleased that the squirrel feeder setup is finally done.

Stay cool and I'll catch you up in August!

First though--

Happy Birthday to ME!

I celebrated with DD mostly. Everyone else was busy--but that's okay, honestly.

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Let's get started on that Report Card, shall we?

#1) Finances ~ A+ ! I stopped spending and I've already reduced debt by $4K. So go me. :0)

#2) Health & Wellness ~ I'm giving myself a B. I've lost the 10 pounds. I still use my Hinge Health app to stay limber and keep the bursitis at bay. The healthier eating remains a challenge. I fall off the wagon a lot.

#3) Writing ~ A+ so far. As I mentioned last month, A Certain Kind of Man releases in five days. It's all set up and ready to go live on the 17th. The next book needs to be written from scratch, but it's gonna be a fun ride.

#4) Housekeeping / Home Improvement ~ C- I'm not doing very well on this front. Especially the housework. Long time blog readers know this has been an ongoing issue for ages. As for the home improvement...I guess D+ maybe. I've been working on a project in the backyard--which is not fully "home" improvement. I still have 6-ish months to come up with something, so we'll see how it goes.

#5a) Monthly Missives to Grandma ~ as you know my Grandma passed away--she got one letter from me before she passed...so C.

#5b) Read 12 books in 2026 ~ A+ so far. I've got seven books read so far! I think I'll blow right past 12 at some point.

Not a bad report card. Just a few more things to sort by the end of the year.

Stay cool as we heat up!

Hello Friends!

I was hoping to post a different message this month. Alas...I haven't finished the project in order to share the results. So instead, you get a post aka Misc Monday. But as it's not Monday, I couldn't call it that. :0)

In no particular order...

The Dallas Stars didn't make it out of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Honestly, I didn't expect them to. I kept up a positive vibe for Darling Daughter's sake, but, yeah. We've been missing a key player, two actually, for months and I just didn't think we'd be able to power through without them. And we didn't. >>shrugs<<

However, the Dallas Stars were granted another boon by the League and are scheduled for a Stadium Series game. Meaning DD and I will be watching a Stars game at the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium. Tickets went on sale yesterday and we have ours. Remember all the games we worked the concession stands as a fundraiser for Marching Band Boy?? Now we'll get to watch an actual game and be on the other side of the concession stand! (Better start saving up now!!)

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Mother's Day was a bit gray, but nice none-the-less. I got $50 worth of landscaping stones and a new bird feeder from one daughter, and I'll get mulch from the other once I'm ready for it. I even got a phone call from Sonshine. I skimped on chores and spent the time resting from my yard work bingeing "The Pitt" on HBO Max. Noah Wylie has aged like a fine wine.

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My Etsy store is consistently bestowing royalties on me due to my aggressive launch schedule and posts to Pinterest. I'm now averaging monthly royalties of $8 per month rather than enjoying the swing of -$2 to +$3. Needless to say, I'm chuffed about that.

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Book royalties, too, have been on a higher level as well. I took out an ad last November when I released my last book and since then, I've been very pleased with the return on my investment. I'd expected the royalty rates to taper off by now, but they haven't, so I'm really chuffed about that as well.

So much so that I'm planning another ad when...you guessed it...I release my next book.

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Coming June 17, 2026 -- A Certain Kind of Man!

One week. One story. One rancher who isn’t anything like the cowboys Liam learned to avoid.

Liam Townsend has spent years managing his anxiety with structure, chamomile tea, and the comfort of a predictable desk job. When his boss gives him a choice—write a feature on a Texas horse ranch or lose his position—Liam trades his tenth-floor office for Winchester Ranch and a world about as far outside his comfort zone as it gets.

Gentry Winchester didn’t ask for a journalist underfoot. He’s got a ranch to run, horses to train, and a grandfather showing the first signs of dementia to protect. What he doesn’t expect is a man who quietly walks into his chaos and starts making it better. Or the way that same man makes him question whether the life he’s built is actually the life he wants.

Pops Winchester has been the heart of this ranch for over seventy years. And the heart of Gentry’s world for as long as Gentry can remember. Sharp-eyed, stubborn, and funnier than he has any right to be, Pops is also the first one to see what Gentry can’t.

When a powerful storm bears down on the ranch and Pops follows a memory into its path, Liam must decide if he’s willing to act in spite of every fear still clawing at him.

Being a certain kind of man isn’t about meeting the expectations you were raised with. It’s about choosing the life and the love that feels like home.

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And that's that my friends. Catch you in June.

My beautiful Grandma as a late teen or very young 20-something woman.

Last month, I shared that my grandmother passed away at the age of 98. She was born in August of 1927.

Just think about what the world was like in 1927:

• No TV in most homes
• Radio as the primary connection to the world
• Handwritten letters as the norm
• Maybe there was a telephone in her home—maybe there wasn’t
• The effects of the U.S. stock market crash would reach Denmark in the early 1930s

Now consider the changes in how we live that she experienced over the course of her life:

• Basic medicine evolving into modern healthcare
• Limited mobility expanding into mass travel
• Televisions and telephones becoming standard in most homes
• A cash-based economy growing into structured banking systems
• Cars becoming common rather than rare

And yet, despite all of that change, there’s a line where her lived experience likely stopped keeping pace with the world.

As I mentioned last month, we communicated by letter. She lived in a care facility for years, and I don’t know that she ever used a computer or owned a cellphone. When I wrote to her, I never mentioned things like online shopping—I had no idea if she would even know what “online” meant.

AI would have been completely inconceivable to her.

The other thing that makes this all the more striking to me is that Denmark is now one of the most aggressively digitized countries in the world. Government communication, healthcare, and banking are all tied to digital ID systems and email. But I suspect that entire layer of life was handled for her by others—especially once she lost her sight.

She lived through nearly a century of change—and still ended her life just outside the world we now take for granted.

May she rest in peace.

From left to right:

Jen, Sonshine, my mom, my Darling Daughter,

Grandma in Denmark, and the Brown-Eyed Girl

My dear Grandma in Denmark was 98 years old. That bodes well for me.

On the other hand, Grandma had been in assisted living for a couple of decades and in the hospice wing of that facility for several years.

I got a message from my aunt a few weeks ago, who apparently keeps tabs on my grandma even though they aren't blood related. The aunt is my mom's half-sister on her dad's side. Grandma and my mom's dad divorced before I was born. Both my mom's parents remarried and had other children.

Anyway, my aunt must have visited Grandma every so often at least, and she was kind enough to send me periodic updates.

A few weeks ago she shared that my grandma had stopped eating and was in a lot of pain. I hope the hospice team was able to get that under control quickly and make her comfortable.

Yesterday I learned that Grandma has passed away.

For the last few weeks I’ve been living in that odd limbo, waiting for word—either that she was somehow feeling better, or that she had reached the end of a very long life.

You see, my grandma lived in Denmark. I hadn’t seen her in around twenty-eight years, when she last came to America to visit. Sonshine was three years old or so. (See picture above with a very young Jen!) I visited / lived with her and the man I called and considered Grandad in Denmark when I was in second grade, so we did have a real relationship once. But in the decades since, it’s mostly been through letters, me keeping her updated on my life.

As long-time readers know, sending letters to my grandma has been an ongoing goal—especially the last decade or so. Now you know why. I’m not sure if her son (my uncle) visited much, and I don’t know how often my aunt was able to stop by. Since my mom died a few years ago, I was the last contact she had with this line of the family.

My girls don’t really know her. The Brown-Eyed Girl “met” her when she was a year old and again when she was ten-ish. Darling Daughter was eight-ish and says she has no memories of that visit.

So while I’m sad she’s gone, the truth is the change to my everyday life will be small. Still, she was my grandma, and for many years we kept in touch the old-fashioned way—through letters crossing the ocean. I’m grateful we had that.

Screen grab courtesy WFAA.com Weather / 01/23/26.

January ended with a BRRRRRR--and yes in all caps!

But we survived and during those cold January mornings, I wrote and wrote and wrote.

Remember that goal to complete A Certain Kind of Man?  Well, I'd started on revisions in earnest in November and the universe has been blessing me with time. I completed the first draft on January 27th--a full four days before my deadline. The manuscript came in at 39,015K words. I'm chuffed. And hoping to add another six during revisions, but that's probably pushing it.

While I let the manuscript rest, I switched tasks and started working on creating Pinterest pins for both the Etsy store and my publishing/books. My research has said that Pinterest can help me increase sales in both entities. So I'm gonna give it go--but I need to stockpile pins before I start the process of adding pins to my Etsy Pinterest account. I have yet to create a Pinterest account for the books, but I'll get there eventually. A time for everything, eh?

Once I finish this next read-through, it'll be time to decide what book gets my attention next. I'm leaning toward Book Six, Game Misconduct, of the hockey series just because I want that series to get completed. But, to be honest, the characters and the plot are barely speaking to me. I'll have to noodle around with ideas a bit more when the time comes.

In other news--I'm reading again finally. I probably read four books in January. I'm well on my way reaching my goal of 12 books in 12 months--and with plenty of time to spare.

And, with a few dietary changes (better choices mostly), I've lost half the weight I'd planned for the whole. I'll keep going with the plan and rejoice in however many pounds I can lose. I've added some additional activity to my days / routine, so that ought to help as well.

I learned that my Chinese astrological sign is an Earth Monkey! And when I ran a comparison against my top-ten Clifton Personality Strengths--they were in pretty decent alignment. Then I added my standard US astrological sign (Gemini) into the mix, and according to ChatGPT, things remain pretty congruent. I found that very interesting.

And as this is late getting posted--I'll sign off now.

Have a super month.

Image courtesy IMGBIN.com.

Hello and Happy New Year!

I hope you're well.

I'm well and looking forward to 2026.

First though--the visit with my son was wonderful. And here is the recreated picture, as promised*:

*Darling Daughter didn't want to do the kissing of the cheeks, so we just went with this. And I'm lucky I got this at all, to be honest. DD is not a fan of having her picture taken.

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And now, let's dive right into the annual tradition of Fresh Start Goals.

As we determined a couple of months ago, I failed to come up with Fresh Start Goals for 2025. In hindsight, that was probably for the best. The first half of last year was full to brim with events that don't happen on a regular basis. Those goals would have just fallen by the wayside in a heap. The second half calmed down a bit, but once I'm off track, it's a challenge to get back on it.

But all of that is behind me. It's a brand new year, and life has reached a new state of normal. I spent some time contemplating what I want to accomplish in 2026, as well as revisiting my goals from 2021 through 2024. To be honest, my goals haven't changed much in probably a decade. :0)

After taking all sorts of things into consideration, I decided what I want to focus on this year. And here, without further ado, are my Fresh Start Goals for 2026:

• Finish and Publish another Book ~ on the table is A Certain Kind of Man, technically Book 7 of the Ten Rigs series, and Game Misconduct, Book Six of the Face Off For Love series. A Certain Kind of Man is at 32K words now and Game Misconduct is a brand new book that I'm a chapter or so into. Since A Certain Kind of Man has so many more words, I'm going to finish and publish this one first. I'll spend some time on Game Misconduct as well, so that it'll be ready for finishing and publishing as quickly as possible after A Certain Kind of Man goes out into the world.
• SMART Goal: this one is easy--finish and publish A Certain Kind of Man by 06/17/2026.
• Self Care ~ this encompasses exercise and healthy eating as well things like coloring my hair or doing home foot care. I also plan to get back to walking Rascal. Self care includes taking time out to craft (on my own or with my girls) as I've neglected those hobbies for some time. Self care will also include more reading. I didn't read as much in 2025 as I have in years past and there are soooo many good books out there waiting for me to discover them.
• SMART Goal: lose twenty pounds at 5 pounds a quarter; complete my "seeds" cross stitch sampler; read 12 books I've never read before; walk Rascal 2-3 times a week
• House Care ~ some of you long time followers probably know of my love-hate relationship with housekeeping. I really want to find a routine that allows me to keep up with the house. But house care will also encompass yard work as well as a home- or yard- improvement project or two.
• SMART Goal: come up with that routine by the end of March
• Reduce Debt ~ this has been an on-going endeavor for a few years. Getting money from mom's estate after she passed was a great jump start for this, but due to 2025's crazy first half, we moved backwards a little but just a little). My plan is to really curtail the spending once again as well as prefund as much as possible (road trips specifically) and get a few of 2024's and 2025's expenditures completely refunded.
• SMART: Reduce the balance on a specific credit card by $300 per quarter come heck or high water. (And yes, I have a specific card targeted); no spending on anything other than true necessities
• Letters to Grandma ~ 2025 was another challenge to my efforts in this department. My dear grandma will be NINETY-NINE years old in August, so being diligent with this task is more important than ever.
• SMART: a letter in the mail every six weeks; I sent her was a Christmas card on 11/28/25 and just dropped a regular letter in the mail last week

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And that's that my dear readers!

catch you next month.