Dear Readers,
I just came in from a walk through the winter woods, and it's so nice to sit down on the couch with a
hot cup of coffee and the laptop, and dive into my work after being outside in the cold.
We're having a proper winter here in the Midwest, and I'm savoring it. I don't long for spring yet, and I wouldn't even want to ship off to warmer climes. It's not that winter is my favorite season--that would be
fall--but I love that I live in a part of the world where we have pronounced seasons. Each season has its merits, and so I try to enjoy what it has to offer. I used to have a summer list of activities that was supposed to ensure that, at the end of it, I "had a summer;" now I
have a bucket list for every season.
Spotted on my country ramblings: Summer and winter in one!
My
winter list has changed somewhat from when I first published it on my blog. I would still like to go sledding except that now I don't have little kids anymore who clamor for bobbing down the hill, and years ago my chiropractor warned that
sledding was just about the worst thing I could be doing for my back. Right after he told me that, I defied his advice and was speeding down a sand dune, not in a proper sled but in a plastic "sled" that halfway down spun around so that I was racing down hill butt first. One of my buttocks promptly slammed into a bump, resulting in a golf ball-size bruise. God's punishment was swift! Winter is a hazardous time that way, right? Fortunately, I so far have only sustained bruises from falling while skating, sledding or
walking. I guess that's what I get for being out and about in the snow and ice, but I love it. That's winter. I even love hanging out on my porch, see my Hot Chocolate Party in the Cold ritual. End of January I traveled to Minneapolis/St. Paul to participate in ModernWell's Literary Kick-Off Event. When I agreed to do this, I did wonder whether I really wanted to do Minnesota in the winter, but then I thought, might as well, let's go all out and do winter. And boy do they know how to do winter in Minnesota! A friend who grew up there tipped me off on the Ice Palace in St. Paul, and since I had time before I had to be at the event, I visited
the Ice Palace and indulged myself in some winter photography.
I hope you're not frozen out of your mind just looking at that photo? Despite the cold, or maybe because of dealing with that challenge, that trip was fun.
Come spring, I do have more events coming up outside of Chicagoland, and it would be great to meet you in person if you're in the area: - I'll be teaching a short version of my workshop "Shaping Family History into Compelling Stories" at the Festival of Faith & Writing in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It'll be either Thursday afternoon, April 12 or Friday morning, April 13. I'm still waiting to find out when my exact time slot will be.
- I will also teach two workshops at GrubStreet in Boston:
This trip to Boston will allow me to not only hang out with my daughter who's in college there, but also to finally experience the Public Garden in spring.
If you're in Chicagoland,
do check out my events, I'm adding new ones all the time!
To wrap this up, I have a favor to ask: Since you've been reading my newsletter and maybe my book, and perhaps you even know me personally, what three words would you
use to describe me? If you could send me an email with those three words, I'd really appreciate it! I'm working on fine tuning my messaging and blogging, and this would be helpful.
On that note I wish you a
fun rest of the winter; enjoy the cold if you can, but also the time inside to read and write! |
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