Living the Dream

April 18, 2025. It’s another “nature can’t make up its mind” day in my neighborhood. Hope things are better in yours. Well, it’s Good Friday and the Easter weekend is upon us. Easter’s late this year and yet it feels as if it was St Patrick’s day just yesterday.

Back in the day, Easter meant new clothes, new hats and gloves, and all the other lovely things that went with church on Easter morning. Not anymore. This year, I’ll be watching the service on You Tube, possibly still in my nightgown, sipping my cup of coffee. Avoiding crowds of disease carrying strangers is the order of the day.

Out eldest son is home for the weekend, and our daughter and her family , including Eleni’s boyfriend, will be here for dinner. Normally, I make a huge meal with lamb, ham, and all the trimmings, but this year we’re having appetizers followed by lasagna from the YIG delicatessen, Caesar salad, garlic bread, and dessert. I don’t know what it is since Angela is in charge of that. It may seem like an odd menu for this particular holiday, but it’s an easy no brainer one, and given my level of discomfort, it’s the best I can do. Next year, I promise lamb once more. By then, I will be 100% back to normal, walking without pain, and able to do some, if not all, of the things I could do before. Right now, I have to accept my limitations and move on from there.

Did you think I’d forgotten the letter of the day? Not quite. Today’s letter is P and I’ve chosen to talk about the color PINK. It used to be that pink was for girls and blue was for boys–it still is at gender reveal parties. Back in my day, we didn’t know what the baby was until it arrived, so my children wore a lot of white, yellow, mint green, and turquoise, the blue or pink coming after they were born. Of course, after two boys, our daughter wore a lot of blue hand-me-downs, too.

Today, anyone can wear pink. My husband has a couple of pink shirts that look great on him, and my grandsons do, too. Pink is also the symbol of the anti-bullying campaign in our schools, with Pink Shirt Day at the end of February.

On Sunday night, there was another kind of pink, a Pink Moon, also called an Easter moon. A friend took some great pictures. The last one is mine, taken through my office window, with a lovely view of one of our utility sheds.

makes sense that PINK should be your song today! See you tomorrow for Q. Here’s the MASTER LIST https://tinyurl.com/tauke86z

April 17, 2025. Good morning! It’s 0 C, supposed to be going up to 9 C today. The weather is doing its best to behave seasonally–if we knew what season it was! I have my pre-op meeting at the hospital this afternoon where they’ll do an EKG, blood work, and ask, a bunch of questions about my previous medical issues, some I remember, but don’t ask me for dates. The only ones of those I can give you are my children’s birth dates. For others, maybe the years, but honestly, i got better, so do you honestly think I stored that in my never to be forgotten memory file? I’ll also have to bring whatever medications and supplements I’m taking so that they can tell me what to stop. I’ll also meet the anesthetist who will see to it that I don’t feel anything during the surgery. That fun comes later! If I’m lucky, I’ll find out what time I need to be at the hospital for my procedure on the 24th. Procedure sounds so much less terrifying than operation.

Today’s letter is O. I’m going to talk about the pressure of being the oldest sibling. Only children never have that problem and younger ones are spared, but as the oldest, the parents expect you to set the example. I’m the oldest of two. My sister is not quite 4 years younger than I am, but as the oldest, I was supposed to be the one who protected her. Ha! I was the sickly wimp. She was the fighter and as soon as she could, she took over that role. Of course, there were still a lot of firsts, I had to navigate, but she reaped the benefits.

My eldest son was also the trendsetter. Considering that there are only 32 months between my eldest and his brother and sister, the youngest, they actually navigated the teen years pretty much together. When he would get mad at the others, his line was always, Just remember, I was what you never were–an only child. Today, even though they are separated my many miles, they are very close.

My daughter took a page out of our book and had her children clsoe together. You’ve met Tonio, Eleni and Georgia. Now, it’s time to meet the meet Nico, the oldest, the leader, the one who set the bar the others attempt to reach with great success. Born in mid-December, he started pre-K when he was only three. Part way through the year, his parents separated and he became the man of the house. He was four. His siblings where 3, 2, and 9 months old. They and their mother lived in a women’s shelter for three months. They refered to it as the clubhouse and what could’ve been a soul destroying start in live became part of an adventure thanks to the hard work and determination of their mother. When their father died five years later from a Fentanly overdose, it was tragic, but it didn’t change them in any way.

Nico has always been a role model. since Eleni is only 10 1/2 months younger than he is, he doesn’t recall ever being an only child. Those two are very close, but he’s also close to his other sister and brother.

Like the others, he is athletic, participates in activities, and achieved the rank of top cadet in his corps. He graduated from high school as an Ontario Scholar, with an official bilingual certificate, and won a special scholarship for being the kind of student he was. He’s currently writing exams to end his first year at the University of Ottawa. Throughout the year, in addition to getting top marks, he came home biweekly to work weekends at the No Frills store in town, thus earning money that will go toward next year’s tuition. He’s in Health Sciences, and plans to be a medical doctor. Meet Nico.

No matter what he chose to do, he did it well, and I have no doubt that he’ll continue to do so. Once he gets started, there’s nothing to stop him. The oldest leads the way!

Today’s song is one from long ago.

Come back tomorrow for the letter P. Here’s the MASTER LIST https://tinyurl.com/tauke86z

April 16, 2025 Well, we might be in the second half of April, but Old Man Winter must’ve found someone’s Viagra. Rain, snow, and cold. How long can he keep it up? I’m done with it and him. I want those spring flowers and warmer temperatures.

But it is what it is, and other that bitching about the weather, there’s nothing I can do, although I have been looking at brochures for fall cruises. I just have to check with the surgeon about flying.

Today’s letter is N. My mind is a blank. I can think of nothing. Since I usually have plenty to say, this has never happened to be before, not even once. Writer’s Block? No way! I don’t want to be a Negative Nellie, but how do I deal with this?

If you’ve guessed that I’ve decided to blog about negative words that start with N, you win the prize.

There are more negative words than those that start with N. Here’s a list that might interest you. https://fluentland.com/negative-vocabulary-word-list/

I’m going to focus on the N words. These include: naive, nasty, naughty, nausea,nauseous, negate, negative, neither, never, no, nobody, nondescript, nonsense, none, no one, not, nothing, nowhere, and noxious. I’m sure that, given the circumstances, other N words can be negative, but today these will have to suffice. To amuse yourself, try to use at least a coupleof them today. As for me, I’m naive enough to realize that nasty weather can bring out the naughty in me. You’re turn.

But never can be something positive.

For my blind follower, the meme says: You will never regret the times you stopped to listen to a loved one, or put down your phone to be present, or paused to notice something beautiful, or made an effort to be kind. This is the good stuff. Don’t miss it.

Come back tomorrow for the letter O. Here’s the MASTER LIST https://tinyurl.com/tauke86z

April 15, 2025. Halfway through the month and the challenge. Rain’s back with the potential for snow. Old man winter might’ve been down for the count, but he wasn’t out. Oh well, I haven’t got anywhere to go anyway.

I’m slowly getting things organized. I’ve got meals ready in the freezer for my early recovery days. My husband is a great guy, but while he can make a simple cold cut sandwich, and K D, better known in the US as Kraft Macaroni and Cheese dinner (no real cheese needed) he can’t cook. So, there will be a lot of take out, delivery, and frozen meals until I’m able to resume kitchen duties.

Today’s letter is M. Last week when I mentioned my Cocktails for You series, one on my readers noted that they sounded interesting but that she didn’t drink alcohol. I’m not a heavy drinker, basically just a social one, although I do enjoy a glass of wine watching television, but in preparation for my surgery, I stopped drinking any form of alcohol a month ago. For The Last Supper, I had a Virgin Caesar, same as a regular Caesar, minus the vodka. The term given to non-alcoholic versions of cocktails is mocktails. So, this morning, M is for Mocktail.

I went online and found a few mocktails just for you. Here’s the link if you would like to find more of them than the three I’m offering you. https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-recipes/g42297893/best-mocktail-recipes/

The most common mocktail is The Shirley Temple named after a child actress.

This O.G. mocktail, dating back to the 1930s, was reportedly created for the famous child actress. One story goes that Shirley and her parents were at the Brown Derby (or Chasen’s, by some accounts) in Hollywood. Her parents were nursing cocktails, and little Shirley complained that she wanted a drink like the “grown-ups,” so the bartender created a nonalcoholic version on the spot.

Throughout the rest of Shirley Temple’s life, waiters and fans would delight in giving her the drink. Turns out, at least as an adult, she thought it was too sweet. Our not-as-sweet version of the Shirley Temple drink uses homemade pomegranate syrup and seltzer. We think adult Shirley would have approved, but to give it more kid-appeal, you can use a little more syrup

Here’s one that would work for Halloween! It’s called Black Charcoal Lemonade!

Activated charcoal powder into fresh-squeezed lemon juice makes this an extra-spooky sweet-and-sour drink. The ingredients include:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 Tbsp. activated black charcoal
• 1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice
• 4 cups cold water

Directions:

• Step 1In small saucepan, combine sugar and 3/4 cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer (do not stir) until sugar dissolves, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in charcoal, and let cool completely.
  1. Step 2 In large pitcher, combine lemon juice, cooled sugar syrup, and 4 cups cold water. Serve over ice.

Here’s one for the holidays: The Cranberry Basil Spritzer. This one is made to share.

Ingredients

For Basil Syrup:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

For Spritzer:

• 2 cups unsweetened cranberry juice
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 L chilled club soda
• 4 slices lime
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish

Directions

• 1. Step 1Make Basil Syrup: In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring water and sugar to a boil. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add basil leaves, remove pan from heat, and let steep for 20 minutes.Strain syrup and let cool for at least 1 hour. 
  2. Step 2Make Spritzer: In a large pitcher, combine syrup, unsweetened cranberry juice, and fresh lime juice. Fill pitcher with chilled club soda, then add lime slices, fresh cranberries, and basil leaves. To serve, pour spritzers over ice, top each with a splash more club soda, and garnish with basil.

So there you have it. Three non-alcholic drinks. In actual fact, you can order just about any cocktail on the menu. Just ask them to make it a virgin.

And of course, after that there’s only one suitable song.

Come back tomorrow for the letter N. Here’s the MASTER LIST https://tinyurl.com/tauke86z

April 14, 2025. Spring may have booted Old Man Winter out of the way and sent him back to wherever he resides for the warmer months. I’m not saying he’s ready to listen, but it’s sunny today, and the temperature has climbed back to double digits–just 12C, but I’ll take it. That’s warm enough for me to put on a light jacket, sit in a sheltered area, and enjoy the sun on my face. I’m having the front entrance of my house redone next month, building a veranda there, so that I can sit in the sun and engage in a little people watching, letting my mind wander. Some of those passing by are neighbors I know. While many walk dogs, others just walk, some leisurely, others as if the hounds of hell are chasing them.

Today’s letter is L. Many times I’ve used this letter to blog about love, and while that is definitely a valid topic, I’m sure there’ll be plenty of blogs about it today.

I’ve decided to blog about lies. We all lie. It’s a fact of life. Sometimes, we lie because we know the truth will hurt someone. We call those white lies. Sometimes, we lie by not revealing the truth about something. We call those lies of omission. As a parent, we lie to our children to protect them.

I could add a few more to that list, such as the tooth fairy pays more for clean teeth. Then there’s Santa Claus bringing coal to naughty children, and of course, the Easter Bunny brings eggs to those who behave–how old were they when they realized that bunnies didn’t lay eggs, especially chocolate ones?

Of course, there were others that involved a squirt of magic potion, water, to scare away the monsters in the closet and under the bed, but whatever story I invented to respond to something that could harm them, was made out of love.

But there are other lies out there, the kind that while meant well, often end up hurting those we love. Everything is going to be alright is probably the worst one. Most of us can’t predict the future. We can’t see that they’ll land the job of their dreams. We don’t know that there won’t be a broken heart in their future, an abusive relationship, an illness, a death, or something else that will NOT make everything alright for them or for us, since we’ll suffer right along side of them.

I think the worst kind of lies are the ones we tell ourselves, the ones where we chose to bury our heads in the sand and ignore the truth in front of us. Our world is sick. Our air is polluted, and parts of our planet are suffering because of it. People are dying because of lies, ideologies that are aimed at destroying others for the sake of wealth and/or religion. When will the lies stop?

On that gloomy note, I bring you today’s song, something a little more upbeat.

That’s it. Tomorrow I’ll explore the letter M. Here’s the MASTER LIST  https://tinyurl.com/tauke86z

April 12, 2025. Today is the day! The Unforgettable Revenge Box set is FREE! Seven full-length bestsellers from amazing authors. I still can’t believe that they let me publish my work with them.

Mimi Barbour – Special Agent Hunter
A ruthless killer resurfaces, taunting Special Agent Hunter for a final deadly showdown. Can he outmaneuver the twisted game before time runs out?

Angela Stevens – The Devil’s Own: Bowker Street
A priest. A devilishly seductive woman. A confession that changes everything. Not all sins can be forgiven… or resisted.

Taylor Lee – Topaz: Ladies of the Night
A dark past ties Topaz to a high-ranking cartel leader. Now, she must face the demons she buried—before they bury her.

Susanne Matthews – Fire Angel
When a serial killer strikes again, the past and present collide in a terrifying hunt for justice. She won’t stop until the flames of vengeance are extinguished.

Callie Bardot – Looks Like Trouble to Me
He’s running from trouble. She is trouble. Sparks fly when their worlds collide in a fiery clash of desire and danger.

Jennifer St. Giles – Kaylee’s Justice
She sees the truth… and it could cost her everything. A dangerous enemy will stop at nothing to silence her forever.

Susan Jean Ricci – Turning Up the Heat
Wedding bells are ringing—until a scheming adversary threatens to destroy everything. Will love conquer all, or will old enemies win?

Grab your copy now! https://mybook.to/uRevenge

Today’s letter is K, and I’m going to talk about killers. Almost every romance suspense novel revolves around killers–they’ve killed or they’re about to kill. Some of them are more devious than others as if the case of my Fire Angel, one of the books you can get free today only.

Book Description:

Everything happens for a reason.
Criminal profiler Jake McKenzie returned from Afghanistan minus a leg, determined never to let anyone get close enough to hurt him again. When his old friend asks him to help with a serial arsonist case, he jumps at the chance to prove his worth, but as the bodies pile up, he realizes he needs help. He convinces the chief to bring in a fire investigator, stunned to discover that the woman is none other than the girl who vanished from his life twenty years ago.

Alexis Michaels fled Paradise and an abusive uncle only to almost die in a fire that left her scarred not only on the outside, but on the inside, leaving her with psychic abilities. With that gift, she’s climbed to the top of her profession. Her abilities may be the only thing that can find and stop the Fire Angel, a pyromaniac turned revenge arsonist serial killer who’s slowly turning a peaceful town into Hell on Earth. The problem is, to do the job, she has to return to the one place where she swore she would never set foot again.

Faced with confusing emotions and a killer who’s made it clear he wants her to stay out of his business, Alexis must deal with the past before she can move on. But things may get too hot even for her as the Fire Angel moves toward the final act in his revenge drama.

We all have demons. Luckily, we don’t all set them free.

Here’s your song for the day.

Come back Monday for the letter L. In the meantime, why not check out some of the other bloggers? MASTER LIST https://tinyurl.com/tauke86z

April 11, 2025. Did that make you laugh? My husband emails me a Dad joke every morning. some are funny, some are real groaners, but in their own way, they all make me smile. Starting a day with a smile on your face, and a cup of coffee, can make everything seem brighter.

Laughter is the best medicine is more than just a saying; it’s a necessity. There is enough doom and gloom around us every day that we really do need to lighten up, and I don’t mean lose a few pounds–although in my case that’s probably true.

There are lots of political jokes out there and lots of lame ones, too, but there are some that still make me laugh.

We’ve all known people who consider themselves to be funny. As a teacher, I often had to deal with the class clown. In a lot of cases, those kids acted out to hide their insecurities, thinking no one would realize that there was a whole lot going on under their goofy behavior. Sometimes, it was tolerable. At others it came far too close to bullying to be funny.

What I don’t like are mean jokes, those made at the expense of others. Those cutting remarks that hurt. It doesn’t matter who you are, you do not have the right to belittle someone for laughs. Those jokes are right up there with so-called practical jokes. There’s nothing practical about them. Nine out of ten times, someone suffers because of those.

I’ll leave you with one more funny meme.

Just a reminder that Unforgettable Revenge will be free on April 12, 2025. This is your chance to score 7 full-length novels for free. The Amazon link is https://mybook.to/uRevenge

UNFORGETTABLE REVENGE:
A Thrilling Romantic Suspense Collection

Passion. Danger. Justice. Revenge.

Seven New York Times, USA Today, and International Bestselling Authors unite to bring you a powerhouse collection of Romantic Suspense stories that will leave you breathless.

Brace yourself for heart-pounding thrills, edge-of-your-seat twists, and unexpected love in the most perilous situations.

From Fearless Law Enforcers to Everyday Heroes, these captivating tales feature Bold Heroines and the Irresistible Men who risk everything to protect them. But when the past resurfaces and deadly secrets come to light, love and survival become the ultimate stakes.

Mimi Barbour – Special Agent Hunter
A ruthless killer resurfaces, taunting Special Agent Hunter for a final deadly showdown. Can he outmaneuver the twisted game before time runs out?

Angela Stevens – The Devil’s Own: Bowker Street
A priest. A devilishly seductive woman. A confession that changes everything. Not all sins can be forgiven… or resisted.

Taylor Lee – Topaz: Ladies of the Night
A dark past ties Topaz to a high-ranking cartel leader. Now, she must face the demons she buried—before they bury her.

Susanne Matthews – Fire Angel
When a serial killer strikes again, the past and present collide in a terrifying hunt for justice. She won’t stop until the flames of vengeance are extinguished.

Callie Bardot – Looks Like Trouble to Me
He’s running from trouble. She is trouble. Sparks fly when their worlds collide in a fiery clash of desire and danger.

Jennifer St. Giles – Kaylee’s Justice
She sees the truth… and it could cost her everything. A dangerous enemy will stop at nothing to silence her forever.

Susan Jean Ricci – Turning Up the Heat
Wedding bells are ringing—until a scheming adversary threatens to destroy everything. Will love conquer all, or will old enemies win?

When the stakes are high and the risks are deadly, love becomes the most powerful weapon of all.

Grab your copy of UNFORGETTABLE REVENGE today! https://mybook.to/uRevenge

Here’s today’s song.

Come back tomorrow for my response to the letter K. For now, check out other bloggers here. MASTER LIST https://tinyurl.com/tauke86z

April 10, 2025. I’m sitting here sipping my coffee and taking a writing break to do the blog post for today and plotting the next scene in my book. I’m almost finished with my romantic comedy. It’s another of my Cocktails For You series. That series was born during COVID when everything seemed as bad as bad could get. I wanted to create something that would make people laugh a bit and sigh when the happily ever after happened.

Many of those books recount my own adventures, so for the most part, they were easy to write. For example, I went to Los Cabos, Mexico and used what I saw for Tequila Sunrise. I’ve been to New York City several times, for Make Mine a Manhattan. We took the Rocky Mountaineer for our 50th anniversary and I even put myself into the story as a minor character in Emerald Glow, and finally, I spent a few days in St. Andrews By the Sea, the setting for Sea Breeze. This book is titled, From Paris With Love. No, it isn’t set in Paris, France, or even Paris, Ontario. Paris is the name of my heroine. Friends of mine have five children, four girls and a boy. Guess which is the youngest? If you said the boy, you’d be right. One of the girls is named Paris. I thought it the perfect name for my story, especially after I found her cocktail.

From Paris With Love, How to Make a Classic Boulevardier Cocktail

While the boulevardier (pronounced bool-ah-vard-ee-a) might be less known than the Negroni it’s derived from, it’s a drink that deserves a place in everyone’s wheelhouse. Having a bourbon base, this drink is a great introduction to bitter or aperitif-style cocktails. Step outside of the typical vodka box with this Jazz Age recipe.

Ingredients:

1½ ounces whiskey

1 ounce Campari

1 ounce sweet vermouth

Ice and king cube

Orange peel for garnish

Instructions

In a mixing glass, add ice, whiskey, Campari, and sweet vermouth.

Stir rapidly to chill.

Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice or king cube.

Garnish with an orange peel.

And thus, From Paris With Love was born. Since today’s letter is I, it seems the perfect time to talk about the importance of imagination to a writer. While a title is critical to the way my mind creates a story, it also needs a plot and an outstanding cover. I went digging into the depths of my brain to find a plot that was original, but that would be easy to write about, and my cover artist outdid herself again. Here’s what we created.

Book Description:

When Paris Galanis’s novella, Captive Hearts, written under a pseudonym, wins a writing contest, the hair salon owner is both elated and terrified. While all she’d expected was feedback on her entry, what should be a dream come true becomes a nightmare.

The publisher’s decision to serialize her novella on their website sends her into panic mode. The last thing she wanted was for the people of Timberton to read her story and recognize themselves, especially the town’s most popular bachelor.

While all the single ladies in town view Russ Templeton, the owner of Hunter’s Haven, the town’s only bar and grill, as a ruggedly, handsome, dream catch, Paris sees him as an obnoxious, self-centered jerk with commitment issues that date back to high school when he nicknamed her PG, the Greek geek girl, and made her life miserable. When someone leaves a copy of a particularly steamy chapter of the serialized story on the bar, he’s more than a little curious about the local author who writes with such passion and is determined to find out all he can about Sahara Winters. Who better to ask for help and advice than Paris? After all, eventually, every woman in town sits in one of her chairs.

When she seems unable to find the mysterious author, he decides to offer a reward to the person who reveals the identity of the writer. When the town’s resident gossips and matchmakers decide to get in on the action, keeping her secret will be harder than ever. Opposites attract, and when they connect, anything can happen.

Just a case of letting my imagination run wild!

The book will be realeased in mid-May as part of a multi-book box set. Visit the blog next month to learn more. I found this cute meme that describes imagination well. What most adults lack today is the innocence and imagination they had as children.

Before I leave you this morning, I have a great deal to pass along. The Unforgettable Revenge box set featuring my novel, Fire Angel, will be free –that’s right. Here’s your chance to pick up seven full-length novels written by NYT bestselling authors free on April 12, 2025. Mark your calendars. If you want to see how wild my imagination can get, check it out. https://mybook.to/uRevenge

So, here’s my song for the day.

Cme back tomorrow for the letter J. Find other bloggers here: MASTER LIST https://tinyurl.com/tauke86z