Christmas Wishes

 The boys are ready for Santa!

Last week I missed the next installment of Dog Diaries. I had too much wrapping and Christmas prep to get done. I try to get everything done early so I can relax and enjoy the next few days leading to Christmas.

I have one more present to wrap and a trip to the grocery store to get apples for the pies my daughter and I make as well as a bag of potatoes. After that, I'm free and clear for the week. We did our annual Christmas visit to my brother's on the weekend. We usually stop by on Christmas Eve, but someone has to stay home with Rambler (I'll talk all about his separation anxiety in a January post). My husband stayed home with the boys, while my daughter and I (and her boyfriend) got to visit with my brother, sister in law, and my eldest nice. My youngest niece wasn't feeling well, but we dropped off her presents at her house and saw her for a few minutes. My family is small, but we're a crazy bunch. Lots of hugs and laughter. When we arrived back home, my husband's eldest brother was visiting, so we got to see him for a bit too.

After I hit 'publish' on this post, I will be done with computer work until after the holidays. I have lots of reading to catch up on, and I need to get myself out of the design slump I'm in. My artistic creativity has taken a backseat to dog exhaustion and holiday prep, so I'd like to get back into my art.

As for the new year, I don't make resolutions. I just want 2024 to be better health-wise than 2023. This past year hasn't been great for my health. Migraines, dizziness, hearing issues, and lots of pain in my neck, back, and arm have been worrisome. But as we enter January and I turn another year older, I'm hoping 2024 is much better physically and mentally. 

I've retired from writing novels. They take too much time to write and publish and I'm not a marketing specialist, which you need to be these days to get your book in front of readers. I'm pondering another writing avenue, but it's just a thought at this point. I'll keep blogging in the new year. As well as my own posts, which will include the continued journey of dog life and my art work, I have a few guests lined up to fill in the days I'm too exhausted. I'm hoping to have posts on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so watch for those.

In closing my last post for 2023, I want to thank everyone who follows my blog and to the ones who occasionally stop by. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Season Greetings, and a Happy New Year. May your holidays be filled with much happiness and love. Chat with you in 2024!

My favourite Christmas card I designed this year.

Weather Files#1

Just say no to snow!

Welcome back to my welcome back message I wrote on August 30. I said I had returned to blogging, but little did I know we'd be adopting a puppy and my life would be turned upside down. More about the new puppy in a post coming soon.

I want to talk about what happened yesterday. It snowed! We had about 10cm fall throughout the day and the temperature hovered around zero. It was cold and dreary. Some people say the first snowfall is so beautiful...well it is, if it's late December or early January. It's technically not even the winter season yet. It's still Fall. 

After a crappy Summer of high humidity, wild fires, and flooding, Fall was welcomed. And what a season it's been. Lots of sunshine and above normal temperatures. Fall is soon becoming my new favourite season.

Yesterday's snowfall was such a shock to the system after having sunshine and a temperature of 23C on Saturday. I hope it's not a sign of what's to come. I was hoping we'd have a mild winter. I have my fingers crossed that yesterday was just a little blip and that Mother Nature remembers it's still Fall.

Today is sunny, but quite chilly at 3C. Me and the dogs still went for our morning walk and after lunch we sat on the deck and enjoyed watching the sun melt the snow.

About those dogs...if you want to know more about them, be sure to check back as I'll be sharing pictures!

A New Journey

Where does the time go? The last time I posted on my blog was in March! That's over five months ago. But I have a good excuse. I've had some health concerns, which now limits time spent on the computer. This puts limitations on writing new stories. I'm not sure if I'll be able to write another book. Though I'm not saying I will never write again as Redford Falls still has more stories to come from that little town. I'm thinking maybe short novellas. I also have three books where the rights are due for my choice to renew or request back. I am leaning toward requesting my rights back and perhaps self-publish them. However, all of that is sitting on the backburner for rest of the year.

I have been busy letting my creative mind run free, and I'm enjoying every single minute of it. It's great when you rediscover something that brought you joy and still does...maybe even more. I am designing a line of greeting cards, invitations, and prints. This little guy started it all.

I saw a picture of a mushroom and decided to draw one of my own. Meet Merlin the Mushroom. He was so much fun to draw and bring to life in colour. Over the past few months, I've been designing new pieces as well as obtaining licenses of images to create my own art work. In a few days, I'll opened my online shop "Designs by Darlene Fredette" where you can purchase my greeting cards. I'm beyond excited for the grand opening!

If you've visited my blog before, you'll notice some changes. My blog will still focus on my writing, but it will spotlight a lot more of my art. I was going to create a new blog, but I opened "Finding The Write Words" back in 2013, so there's a lot of history here. I deleted a lot of older posts and kept a lot of my favourite posts, such as my book posts, book reviews I've done, and some art work I've shared. Everything else was deleted to give my blog a fresh start as a new journey begins.

Be sure to visit often because this is where you will get the first look at some of my art designs before anyone else. I'll also be doing giveaways which will only be held here.

It's good to be back!