Weather in the Tries: Trust me. You don’t want to visit right now. Wait until May. Unless, of course, you like single digit temperatures. 

Didja notice I didn’t up put a post last week? I figured you wanted a break as much as I did.

I had a marvelous Solstice. Received all sorts of goodies—wine, cookies (they were yummy), some jam, a bookmark, and five books. A friend has a homemade fruitcake for me but said it’s too bitterly cold out for me to fetch. She has it resting in her freezer waiting for me. Wanna know how cold the last week was? It didn’t get above freezing, and the wind chill took the temps down another ten to fifteen degrees.

Did you know that two thousand years ago, in the Mediterranean countries, the Solstice was on what became known as 25 December? Lo and behold! Thank you, History Channel.

There are many different traditions to ring in the New Year. I hope you took advantage of at least one. I had black eyed peas! Had planned on making my version of Hoppin’ John, but due to the ice outside, I didn’t go to the store for more black eyed peas which are not peas at all but are beans. I had some chili mix with black eyed peas in it, and made a mess of beans for New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, and a few more days, too. Fortunately, beans freeze well ;-).  Eating black eyed peas on the New Year is supposed to bring wealth and prosperity.

Speaking of wealth and prosperity, my short story, Fly Away Woman has been published by Quill & Parchment. I think I get just as excited when something of mine is deemed good enough by an editor to be published as I did the first time I sold a poem or a story. Rejection letters don’t hurt as much, though. I realize it’s my work being passed on, not me 😉 At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.

Mark your calendar! I am featured reader 12 Jan at Yakima Coffeehouse Poetry. This will be a zoom affair, and if you’d like to attend, please email or PM me a few days prior so I can get your name and email to the keeper of the Zoom Room. I’ll be reading about 15 minutes. It starts at 7 pm PST.

From the Mail Bag:

Okay, it’s not from a bag, it’s from my email. I received an email from ACME Termite Inspection Co. (I used to own a house) And as my eyes are old, and I was in a hurry, and you know how emails get truncated… I read “ACME Termites Welcome in 2022” Nope, that’s not what they said. On the second, and third, look I saw it correctly. (Wonder if the Road Runner is moonlighting???)

Photos of the Week: 

Took these a couple days ago. This one is the day before the ones following it. As you can tell, it was snowing. Note the horizontal white line off to the right of the island. Those are not round rocks–thats a squadron of white pelicans. The darks dots in the water are geese, ducks, coots, and or cormorants. If the egret was there, I couldn’t see her against the snow. Oh, a Great Blue Heron may be there, also.

Took this one about 5:30 the next morning. Don’t know if that’s dew that is freezing in the air, some sort of snow, or what. It was very fine, more drifting than falling and glittered like diamond dust.

Same basic view as first one, the fog is rising from the Columbia River. Pasco, the town on the far shore has “returned.” It was taken a few minutes after sun-up.

This is later in the day, and I’m petty sure that’s hoar frost on the trees and shrubs on the island. The Columbia is on the other side, the slack water on this side is frozen. This was taken about 4pm when the sun shined and the thermometer read 16F.

Books: Remember, if I finish a book, I review it at Rainy Day Reads

I read and reviewed 75 books last year, the last being State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny. Political Thrillers aren’t my genre of choice, but this was a hard-to-put-down read! I also re-read a book I’d read earlier, The Queen’s Weapons (Book 11 of the Dark Jewels) by Anne Bishop. I think I enjoyed it more the second time through because as I read, parts of it weren’t as “tense” as I’d remembered. The trouble with Anne Bishop’s books is I can’t read them slowly. Too much good stuff going on and I gotta read them and get to the end and be sure everyone I’m emotionally involved with is alright. 😉 If you’re curious, I have 584 books currently listed on my review blog. So, if you’re wondering what to read next, have a look. Complete with typos.

Speaking of books, do you have a published book you’d like to sell? I’ll gladly show it once here, then list it in the Bookstore (see tab above). Contact me for the information I will need.

TV:

Lord love a duck! I actually watched Christmas movies on Hallmark Mysteries and Movies. And read. Trust me, reading was better.

I went online to see if I could buy the K-Series, Navillera, and I could, so I did. I now own two of my favorite K-Dramas. Poetry (a movie) and Navillera (series). I need to get Departures, a delightful movie from Japan. I ordered it once and it came but was only compatible with Euro players. Now, I know someone who can tell me how to fix my player to play the others. But then, I didn’t, so I returned it. I just bought a used copy I found online. Including tax, still less that $15.00. I coulda bought a new one for $55 plus tax.

New Year’s Quotes compliments of brainyquote:

“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” —Oprah Winfrey

“What I like to drink most is wine that belongs to others.” —Diogenes

“I never worry about being driven to drink; I just worry about being driven home.” —W.C. Fields

The Brave Dog (and believe me, having to go out into the ice and snow to pay homage to the Grass Gods takes bravery when you’re a small dog with no body fat!) and I wish you all a marvelous New Year. Remember, as Walt Lee said via his Brother Sherman cartoon, “Thou shalt find joy in each new day, even if thou must search until sunset!”