Sunny Sunday...

It's a sunny winter day here in Indiana...key words...winter and Indiana. Whereas the sunshine coming in the window is cheery and warm, I'm still wrapped up in my thick sweats, socks and a blanket as I sit here and write this week's blog.

So, many of you may already know this...but I have a dog who I have nicknamed Queen Kate of the Starving Dog Clan. She either has her mealtimes mixed up, or she just doesn't adhere to mealtimes. This morning, that mealtime came at 3:00 am EST when she started. It starts as a strong paw slap to my head in an attempt to wake me up, then moves on to a pitiful whine. When that doesn't get my attention, she goes into full-blown hound dog speech. Loud speech. Full well knowing that I don't want her to wake the rest of the house up, I traipse into the living room and fill her bowl with kibble. As well as the bowl of her smaller sidekick Ruby Booby the Frenchie. i go back to bed and back to sleep only to have a dream about being late for work and there not being any hot water in the shower. I wake up and grab my phone and notice the time. Shit. I was late for work. So, I rushed around to get ready for work...cursed at the dogs for being underfoot...and out the front door I go. And I notice my daughter's car is still in the drive. I check my phone and come to the realization that it's freaking SUNDAY and when I walk back inside, I am greeted with the knowledge that my daughter and granddaughter thought I'd lost my mind. Now, I will be the butt of the jokes for the day.

On to the rest of my day. I thought about going down to the shop and shampooing the chairs one of my partners bought off Facebook Marketplace, but I think I'm going to stay close to home and do some marketing for the shop and work on my own book. Probably make some sausage stuffed acorn squash for dinner and start sourdough starter. Might even take some time for myself and sink in a hot, steamy tub of bubbles and use my minty sugar scrub. After all, it IS Sunday. A day of rest.

Me and my awesome partners are pretty excited about our little bookstore adventure. We've bought a counter, bar stools for behind the counter, a chalkboard for out front, tables for free standing displays, a pair of chairs and table for the reading area, table and chairs for the littles, and we are having our first independent author meet up on January 24th in the shop. We will start accepting book shipments more toward the end of the month after we get the shelves and other things installed. All of this needs to happen before our soft opening day on February 13th. Not to mention the behind-the-scenes work.

I thought later this week, I might share a couple of excerpts out of the books I'm working on right now. Just so you know, I really am writing books still. Last year was a slow sort of year...but 2026 is going to be a good year for new releases! Be sure and stay tuned for a sneak peek into my current works in process!

Since I've regaled you enough today with stories from the farm, I'm going to sign off for this week and get busy on some of the other things needing my attention...other than Queen Kate of the Starving Dog Clan! Have a wonderful week and come back soon!!