Finally Friday - Your Inner Writing Soul 2026

2026  Fresh Start:

 Here's a good book for writers, dear blog friends - Writing Creativity and Soul by Sue Monk Kidd

She wrote The Secret Life of Bees, The Book of Longings, and more. 

Now she imparts a part memoir, part philosophical investigation, part advice to aspiring writers, and touchstone for the spirit.   "If you encounter writing infused with soul, you know it".  "It feeds you somewhere inside...our internal revolutions, our reach for our true selves, our struggle to write unsayable things with brave voices".  cover blurb. 

If you love Sue Monk Kidd's writing, then you need to enjoy this book. She writes about her struggles to become the writer she knew she could be, while she was a mother raising kids. She writes about her doubts, her fears, and the time it took to truly acknowledge herself as a writer.  She imparts some writerly wisdom, but it's really just common sense.  You - if you truly wish to be a  writer- must do the work.  Think, sit, write, research, read and repeat.  And repeat.  And repeat.  It's hard work.

Sue Monk Kidd said she has to work from an outline.  She has to really know her characters - what do they want?  Where shall the story end?  

She bares her writerly soul in this book and as you read this, it is as if you are hanging at a kitchen table and just talking.  I really enjoyed this memoir and it has inspired me  to take up the pen again.  We'll see what happens in 2026. 

Happy Writing, my friends. 

Whatever Wednesday - Happy New Year's Eve and then 2026

Greetings all on New Year's Eve Day.  I've been a good  girl this holiday season with workouts at the YMCA.  However, I've been naughty in the volume of cookies eaten.  'Tis the season. 

I hope you've stayed healthy, enjoyed family, and had some rest and  relaxation too.  

And here's Snoopy to greet you on Thursday with a Happy New Year!

All the best to my blog friends.  2025 has been a roller coaster.  Will 2026 be a tilt-o-Whirl?

Good luck everybody.   Cheers
 

Monday Moments - JFK

 ' Nuff said

It's the Kennedy Center

Finally Friday - Christmas Season Filler - Enjoy

Friday after Christmas filler.   Here's  Myles invading Blue the cat's space in South Carolina.  So far, Blue tolerates Myles - 8 months old.  But, I'm sure he's hoping this kid leaves at some point. 
 

Some beach town in SC had a Christmas tree and there's Myles.  Thank goodness, Santa was not around. No tears.

Here's a super Texas oldie pic - this Santa is no longer  around and we do  NOT expect  a white Christmas. 

A very fun oldie Christmas morning with Dakota.  She is now eight years old.  Can't say what she's getting this year.  A car?  A phone?   Meanwhile,  this was sheer joy. 

Hope everyone is enjoying the post Christmas hangover...yea, for family time....are they gone yet?

Our YMCA is open, so we are back at water aerobics (me), and Pickleball (Ray). 

Cheers everyone - hope it's a super post Christmas weekend. 

Whatever Wednesday - Merry Christmas Eve

 Merry Christmas Eve, one and all

Here's a pic of my Nana Crowther and a snowman she crocheted a zillion years ago. 

and that's Christmas.   Family, memories. crafts, and love

Peace on Earth, Goodwill....

tis the season and I wish all my blog friends the best. Cheers my friends. 

Joanne

Monday Moments - The Eights by Joanna Miller

 The Eights by Joanna Miller is an excellent piece of historical fiction.  Well written with engaging characters, this book takes us back to 1920 Oxford. For the first time in over a one thousand year history, females are admitted, and they are eager to forge a path. 

Now, don't get too excited. This is a tough new world.

 Four women, Beatrice, Dora, Marianne, and Otto are in  Corridor Eight. They come from all walks of life, each have secrets, and they are driven for different reasons.  They also find that there are still  many restrictions for  women.  

cover blurb: The shadow of the Great War still looms providing a turbulent world to  navigate.  Misogyny is rife, influenza threatens, and the ghosts of war don't always remain dead. 

The author obviously did plenty of research. She  alternates with back stories for each young lady, and then gives us their  daily lives at  university. The history,  traditions, and  now the  new  paths  being forged are presented well.

I enjoyed this book and were proud of these ladies.  When you really  think about that time period, these young ladies were quite bold and brave. This was my grandmother's  era, back in  the day in the U.S., and apparently she participated in suffragette parades. It's hard to picture, but The Eights brings the time period  to life in  England.  Well done!  

Finally Friday - The Widow by John Grisham

 John Grisham churns out reliable, entertaining books. His latest, The Widow, does not disappoint. 

Simon Latch, a small town lawyer in Virginia, is struggling. He's doing the usual boring paperwork for folks, which isn't big income. He's on the cusp of divorce, so that price tag is hanging over his head. And he has a small gambling problem. 

A widow, Eleanor Barnett, walks in and needs a new will. Her late husband was frugal but invested in Coca-Cola stock (he worked for them), and Wal-Mart. Otherwise, house is paid for and she lives a quiet life. Simon is filled with  glee at this good luck.  He does proper paperwork and counts on continued income for him when it's time to process it.  She has no contact with her stepsons, and plans to give money to charity. 

cover blurb - When she is hospitalized after a bad car accident, Simon realizes that nothing is as it seems. He finds himself on trial for a crime he swears he did not commit: murder. 

I can't tell you more, but there are plenty of twists and turns in Simon's life. The Widow is a page turner. 

Plenty of  surprises abound.  Enjoy!