With all of you? I have been saving memes and I’m not sure if my favourite one is Bugs Bunny holding a snow globe and the caption says I feel like we’re stuck inside of a snow globe and some **shole keeps shaking it or an angel asking God What’s in the freezer? God’s reply being Canada. We were snowed in Friday which concerned me because I wasn’t sure exactly when the highway would reopen.

I’m playing around with some ideas for Benji & Blue for this year. I’ll share more when I have a few things finalized! I’m also trying to dabble a little bit with Book Four of my Mysteries of the Past series still. It will be the final book I think. It’s so far behind and it’s incredibly hard to keep up. I think I’ll stick to writing trilogies or, if I do attempt a series again, I’ll have everything laid out better. I think the challenge was that it almost prevented me from writing anything else. When you’re only able to put out a book a year, that means there’s a minimum of two years between the books which, by most of my favourite authors, like Kathy Reichs, it isn’t a stretch but it takes away from other projects so it’s almost something that needs to be decided. Am I a series writer? Or am I more of a single book writer? It’s easier to sell single books because people don’t have to take a chance.

Lastly, I found a couple of calendars that aren’t set for any particular month so I could do one every couple of days or once a week with them. Or I could change them up and stretch it all to a total of 60 days! I do miss sitting down in the evening and writing. I turn my laptop on then look at it wondering why I even bothered. Finger memory wants me to sit down and open a new blog post.

So today I’m going to try to venture into this Memories to Reflect calendar. Number One for today is A memory that always makes you smile… I think, because I’ve shared it so frequently, is about my grandmother. When she was still living in my parents’ basement and quite self-sufficient my parents had to go away for a weekend. So Sam and I had gone over Saturday evening to spend some time and there was an evening Blue Jays game on. They lost terribly, like 14-3 or something like that. So the next day, my parents got home and, of course being a Sunday afternoon, there was a game on. She comes up from the basement and says “they’re replaying that horrible game from last night.” I said, “no grandma, that’s today’s all new horrible game.” Of course she went into a short rant including they should be ashamed of themselves but it really always does put a smile on my face.

So that wasn’t so bad. The other calendar is Journaling About the Future and that’s interesting but I’ll see!

Okay, I’m off. Laundry is in, I’m writing and I have some reading to do for Book Club.

Of the year. Of 2025! It has been a year, hasn’t it? How has your year gone? For me, for the most part, I’m glad it’s over. Working on Performance Reviews, never a fun thing to do, but so far, they’re not so bad! I came home from work early because of the weather and I’m glad I did. Can’t see the highway staying open for much longer.

Tomorrow I will post, without the calendar prompts, because there will be a little Christmas story I want to share with you. My 2026 gift to you.

Let’s get to the prompts and then I can go make supper.

Gratitude for the Past Year for today is What you’re proud of from this year… When I look back just on my accomplishments in both jobs and as a writer. Opening a second assisted living unit and hiring the staff needed for it early in the year. Watching the team meld together as one and basically function as its own living force. Reaching out to the Goderich Sun to inquire about writing for them and getting a YES! Writing a trilogy and getting it published. And my three little bear books! Now, after three months, and working on performance reviews, I’m starting to see positive changes! I’m starting to see that team in the early stages of coming together a bit better and what has been a change in what the reviews would have been when I started there. Thankfully I didn’t have to do them then!

Year Gone, Achieved Nothing for today is Ways you were your best self this year… I feel like I alluded to that yesterday… looking at the other calendar, I did! So I’ll leave it at that.

Okay, well, tomorrow we turn over a new leaf! We start fresh! I turn my One Line a Day over again for its fourth year! I’m still not sure the book is going to stay in once piece for two more years but it’s not doing too badly.

Whatever you’re up to tonight, I wish you safe and fun celebrations. It will be the two of us here watching the ball drop. We’ll, well Larry, pop the cork and make a champagne toast to 2026!

Here’s my toast to you… May 2026 bring you health, joy, hope, love and peace!

See you next year!

In some ways I’m glad to have this fifth day but it’s a very blustery day and I have staffing to consider. I think that’s the worst part about all of this for me. I finished the book that I needed to read for Book Club and, hoping none of the residents have found their way to my blog yet, it was kind of a let-down! I won’t ruin it for you but it was kind of disappointing!

Anyway, seeing as I haven’t had breakfast yet (the chef is on a mini-vacation), I thought I’d sit and write to you. My entire day, for now, is free, so maybe I’ll dive back into some writing!

Gratitude for the Past Year for today is What about the year gives you hope going into next year… that it won’t be a repeat of events. That things will work out way better. And maybe I’ll get another Benji & Blue book AND another novel done.

Year Gone, Achieved Nothing for today is A beautiful moment in nature from this year… oh my, there were some pretty exceptional sunsets. I’d like to say Northern Lights but, unfortunately, I never, not once, managed to get out to see them despite the number of times it was announced they should be up. Sometimes I was in the city but the lights in the subdivision here are also too bright. The only good place is the trailer and the number of times I saw they were going to be up and then it was cloudy and rainy… well, let’s just say it got boring!

I just had a thought about my Mysteries of the Past series. I’m wondering if, even though I’d only be writing book four, if I should just wrap it up. Just give myself the closure on it. Move on to other projects. I also have to write again for the Sun since the deadline will be this Friday!

Okay, I’m going to go shower.

It’s hard to believe that it’s the end of September already. Can you believe that it’s three months to a New Year? And only 85 days until Christmas? Have you started your shopping yet? I have actually! I have the sale on November 1^st here in Goderich and need to, somehow, get more books delivered. The prices will be going up!

Work today was hard with little to no voice for most of the day. I also can’t believe that I asked staff to get WhatsApp and had someone say NO! Having a few struggles… so I will simply wait until I get to a staff meeting! There was a boutique that brought racks of clothing in and I went shopping!

Okay… how did you like the calendars starting tomorrow? Is anyone going to join me? I will decide tomorrow if I’m going to do one or both of them. We’ll see.

Today’s fill-in-the-blank is My favourite memory from this month was… It felt like a long month with lots of little things to remember. I want to say the campground Halloween but that was technically August. Last year I would have said my brother’s wedding but that was last year. I think on one hand it was the Blue Jays winning the Division which hasn’t happened in 10 years and there are high hopes for them going all the way. On a more personal note, I think it was finishing and publishing my trilogy! Of course I should have it in my hands by now! What a huge disappointment!

And the one word journal is Vision… This one could get me into trouble. Why? Because I have an entirely different vision for things. Having the summer off which allowed me to write and publish that trilogy was a huge turning point for my vision. How badly I want to turn things towards that… The writing and the photography. If I set it as a true vision, maybe it will slowly start happening? Of course things have been put on hold for a time due to decreasing finances and that doesn’t mean I’m going to drain the bank getting back to it but I really do hope that the tides start to turn that way.

Okay, well, new calendar flips tomorrow!