Month: December 2022

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Ready to Celebrate!

ellenparkerwrites

Are you ready for the holiday? Do you have a new calendar at hand? House cleaned to host a party? Or items either assembled or planned to take to your host/hostess? What about clothing? New dress? Sweater? Boots?

These “Painted Ladies” are dressed in their finest colors and ready to host your party.

Let your imagination wander. Which porch are you stepping on? What sort of smells and sounds greet you when your host opens the door? Are you the first to arrive? Or the last? Did you need an umbrella to keep off snow or rain?

A New Years Eve party in a church basement opens STARR TREE FARM. A person never knows what the new year — or even the next week — will bring to their lives. Check out the sweet romance here: https://amzn.to/2zqIQEw

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Fun in Snow

ellenparkerwrites

Puzzle artists pick perfect weather. They celebrate the hours after the storm has passed and the sun offers bright light.

They ignore the tense moments in car or school bus as tires hunt for traction on slick roads. Or shoveling the driveway. Or breaking a path to the barn to care for the animals. Everything takes longer and a different set of questions cross your mind. Are the water pipes frozen? How did the youngest calf fare? How late will the milk truck be running today?

How was your weather these last few days? Did it storm? Liquid or solid from your clouds? Did you go searching for your heavy coat, gloves, and boots? Or did you have a mild, seasonal weekend?

The residents of this fictional village are having winter fun. I think I’d enjoy a snowman building contest. Doubt if I’d win any prizes. The few snow figures in my past have been basic, not artistic. Perhaps you’d prefer to find a hill and go down on a sled or toboggan?

I find some happy memories including snow and winter storms. True — some of them only rated laughter long after the event — but they serve as lovely punctuation marks in the narrative of my life.

STARR TREE FARM, set during a Wisconsin January, includes remarks on the weather. Check it out (with a nice warm beverage at hand) here: https://amzn.to/2zqIQEw

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Let Every Voice…

ellenparkerwrites

Winter holidays and music go together like potatoes and gravy or snow and boots.

Do you favor the happy, upbeat rhythm of popular music? Or the ballads from decades ago? Perhaps you prefer familiar, sacred melodies.

Each has a certain charm. Like many people, I can enjoy a variety of holiday tunes with soaring melodies, religious lyrics, and comedy tunes of reindeer.

This puzzles features many voices with many songs. I like to think the tunes are happy. However, I know some spread a word of warning to their loved ones. As we sing our winter holiday songs, let’s look forward to the spring chorus of our feathered friends.

Small town residents need to be flexible. Beth Cosgrove, known in the community as the breeder of German shepherds and accountant, is also called upon to sing a solo for a church service. Nervous – yes. (She prefers to sing in a group.) Astonished when an audience comes to rehearsal — double yes. Check out the sweet romance SEED OF DESIRE for the entire story. Kindle: https://amzn.to/2RDFgxH

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Retreat to the Lake

ellenparkerwrites

Has the pre-Holiday rush got you in a tangle?

Take a hint from this puzzle and retreat to the lake. (Literally or via other means.)

Close your eyes and draw a deep breath. Is that a hint of pine? Campfire? Do I hear water lapping against the dock?

I like to imagine a cozy evening by this lake cabin’s fireplace. Popcorn, hot beverage, and quiet conversation. Think of the adventures we could plot. Or reminisce about the escapades of previous years.?

Looking for a cabin retreat? Selected Missouri State Parks have cabins to rent short term. For a sweet romance set in the parks — pick up MORNING TRYST. A great gift to yourself or others. Kindle: https://amzn.to/35gH37S

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A Day in the Park

ellenparkerwrites

Shall we go for a ride?

Perhaps rent a canoe.

Or would you rather try your hands, and legs, at a bicycle?

The puzzle artist has accomplished his task well. A variety of features and activities woven together by the park path.

On this mid-December day this scene may warm you. Can you think back to a walk or park visit when the weather was similar to the puzzle picture? In this more modern era, I’ll opt for dressing in jeans and a T-shirt and sneakers on my feet. No parasol required — I’ll wear a cap and a dab of sunscreen. (If I remember.)

Serena Carter, the heroine in MORNING TRYST spends large portions of time in parks. However, they are of the more rugged variety. Forest, rivers, hiking trails, fishing streams, and historic homes and sites are more typical of Missouri State Parks. For more about this sweet romance, click here: https://amzn.to/35gH37S

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Desert in Bloom

ellenparkerwrites

December’s a little early. You’ll find more color in the desert in another month or two.

This pair, however, look right at home in this puzzle.

Unlike many puzzle artists, this series appears to blend photographs. I wonder how many they used. One for each bird? How many for the yellow blossoms? How many to get the cacti this straight and close together?

Have you visited the desert? Remember the sunscreen! And a hat! Check for critters before you sit on the ground. If you’re lucky, you may see a road runner darting between the clumps of vegetation.

The “Gusto Gang,” a group of women who became best friends in US Navy boot camp years ago, meet for a hiking adventure in National Parks. Sign up for my newsletter and get a free copy of the short DESERT ENCOUNTER. http://mailchi.mp/0e2c43fb8029/newsletter-plus-gift

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Time for Nostalgia?

ellenparkerwrites

December:

A month often filled with celebration and parties.

The final month of the calendar year. (In the West.)

An ideal time to assess the past and plan the future.

As I select and assemble jigsaw puzzles, I suspect the artists for these projects dive deep into nostalgia. How else to explain the prevalence of horses and horse-drawn vehicles. Often the emphasis is on rural or small-town life. In a cleaned-up idealized form.

Oh, I appreciate they have an assignment to follow. They need to put a lot of different elements into a small space. Most manage to keep it colorful and hide a few little items a person doesn’t notice when they pull the box off the shelf. Have you assembled a puzzle this year?

In COMFORT ZONE, a sweet romance set in St. Louis, the hero designs puzzles — but not the picture kind.

For more information or to buy for your Kindle, click here: https://amzn.to/2ZvL0Av

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Table-Top Travel

ellenparkerwrites

During the last three years — I actually started a little before the COVID lock-downs — I’ve assembled dozens of jigsaw puzzles. The idea at first was to minimize the snacking during evening TV. Has it worked?

Thanks to a gift of boxes of puzzles and the local library, my coffee table usually has a puzzle in some stage of assembly. Size limits the ones I dare attempt. And at the beginning, the pieces are often two deep.

This one, done in May, reminded me of European travel.

A riot of flowers in generous beds. Windowboxes. Red roof.

Can you imagine yourself as a guest with a second-floor room. The scent in the morning is a touch of heaven.

Travel without the airport hassle and long drive. Some assembly required.

Want to travel in a sweet romance? In MORNING TRYST you get an introduction to several Missouri State Parks. Kindle: https://amzn.to/35gH37S

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On Silent Wings

ellenparkerwrites

Seek a little silence. Escape from the hustle and bustle of the modern world. Unplug for a time.

All good advice to help a person regain some balance and perspective.

Does this seem impossible? Too many obligations to others? Lack of transportation or mobility?

Perhaps a picture will need to substitute.

This puzzle, assembled a little more than a year ago, gives a peaceful winter view. Can you imagine yourself following a trail along a creek after an early snowfall? Sounds are muffled. The snow sparkles as the sun sets. And then–the majestic snowy owl glides past on silent wings. No harm to you — he’s seeking much smaller creatures who have strayed from their cozy dens.

What’s one way you find calm in your life?

Starr Tree Farm — a winter story set in Wisconsin — includes the heroine seeking solace in a walk on the Christmas tree farm. Two collies, Taffy & Cocoa, hike along for security and humor. Find details here: https://amzn.to/2zqIQEw