Tag: Life

ONCE AGAIN THANKSGIVING HAS COME AND GONE

~ marilynm ~ 1 Comment

For years, I’ve been the one to do most of the cooking for Thanksgiving dinner, with others helping with some of the side-dishes.

Before the pandemic, our grandson, Nathan, invited us to his home in the foothills (about two and ½ hours away) to enjoy Thanksgiving. The cook was his father-in-law, a master chef. This year we’re invited there once again. My contribution is always a Honey Baked ham. We couldn’t go if it wasn’t for my daughter Lisa who drive us (and her hubby comes along too.)

Yummy appetizers awaited us to eat while we waited for the main course.

The day was glorious and most of the guests ate outside. (One year, tents were set up over the tables—a good thing because it poured.)

Besides eating the delicious food, we get to see a lot of relatives and others, and the one I looked forward to seeing the most was Scarlett who has just turned one. She is Nathan and Amanda’s youngest. Two other great grands were there, Nick and Crystal’s boys, Julius and Nathaniel  plus great granddaughter, Kay’Lee.  We many great conversations.

Thanksgiving always being back memories of past Thanksgivings—those my grandmother prepared, and later my mother, and then me. Believe me, at this stage in my life, I am quite happy to leave the cooking to someone else.

However, the next day I cooked a turkey breast which we ate with granddaughter Jessi’s  leftovers. (She stayed home because she wanted to cook Thanksgiving dinner for her family for the first time.).  

I have so much more to be thankful for: still having my husband of 70 years, four of my five children still living, many grandchildren, great-grands, and six great greats, with another expected early in 2022, to love and enjoy, the continuing ability to write and read, and so much more.

Here’s hoping you all had a great Thanksgiving, and best wishes for the coming Christmas season.

Marilyn

“STICK-TO-IT-IVENESS”

~ marilynm ~ 11 Comments

This has been something I’ve done all my life. When I start something, I have to finish, whether it’s a chore, a volunteer job, writing a book, or anything that comes up in life.

Yes, I’m old, so there has been a lot to finish along the way. Right now I have 20 books in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series in print and available for Kindle, 16 books in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series in print and on Kindle, 8 stand-alones, 2 short stories and one cookbook (which is always my best seller).

I’m working on a new as yet-unnamed Rocky Bluff P.D. and have had a lot of other things I’ve had to do, so it’s slow going.

However, my biggest accomplishment, one that isn’t finished yet, is the fact that my husband and I reached 70 years of marriage on October 24th. Believe me, it hasn’t been easy. We didn’t really know each other well, were just kids (18-21), came from two different coasts and very different families and cultures. Because hubby was a career Seabee, he was gone a lot during the time we had young children (five in all), not ideal. When he retired, life became better for all of us. Both of us worked various jobs. I went to college to get my AA Degree in Child Development.

When the kids were all grown and all on their own, but one, we moved from our near the beach home to the foothills of the Sierra and became the owners and operators of a residential care facility for six women with developmental disabilities. This was a great time for both of us, though lots of work, we loved it.

And yes, I wrote, published and promoted during this time. I also wrote articles for the local newspaper for several years. I did many other jobs related to the residential care business, teaching classes, publishing a newsletter for other providers, and putting together an organization for providers.

We also enjoyed many mystery conferences all over the country, saw interesting sites, made many wonderful writer and reader friends. We did other fun things, gave lots of parties, went on cruises, and traveled to meet with writing groups.

All that is behind us now, but they were good years.

We have a big family we love and enjoy and those who are close by give us much pleasure, and  needed support in what is called our “golden years.”

And yes, if I start a project or job of any kind, you can be sure I’ll stick to it until I’m finished.

Marilyn

The Good and Bad by Marilyn Meredith

~ patyjag ~ 4 Comments

Poppies by the dumpTraveling the road of life is never smooth. It seems just when everything is going well, a huge boulder crops up to make the way difficult.

First off, my post is late because when I was writing it on Sunday, the power went out and when it came back on I had to be somewhere else.

Health wise, I’d done really well, until I took too bad tumbles—one that required a trip to the ER, and another when I decided to stay home. After a couple of weeks I still have very sore knees and following the doc’s advice to use a cane. (Would be okay except I keep misplacing it.)

My writing career has also taken a tumble in that one of my publishers seems to have problems. Lack of communication and royalty payments has made me come to the sad decision to ask for my rights back. Which means I’ll be self-publishing one of my series, hopefully.

One of my great-granddaughters (17) had back surgery—scary, but she’s already walking and climbing stairs. (She’s a super active young woman, a mountain bike racer—that’s how she got injured, works part-time while going to school, heads up a couple of clubs, planning on college.)

One of the great-greats who lives with us (4 year-old Priscilla) has a new pet—a worm named Sylvia. How can you be upset with life, when such fun stuff is happening?

Plus after years of drought here in California we’ve had lots of rain, and now the hills are covered with wild flowers—yellow, white, and most wonderful of all, poppies and lupine are sprouting all over the hillsides.

Back to writing—I’m moving ahead with the latest book in my other series and in April I’ll be presenting at a wonderful writer’s conference in San Luis Obispo about settings and characters, and sitting on a panel about research. I’m also going to have my books for sale at a big book fair in Visalia.

Being around other writers and talking to readers about books is a great way to lift my spirits.

Happy spring everyone!

Marilyn