January 2026

Is it just me or does it feel like this month has been really, really long? Perhaps it’s the weather or the heaviness of all that’s happening in our world right now, but it feels like January will never end.

After spending the last few days at home during and after the winter storm, I ventured out today. The sun was shining and temperatures in Indiana reached 20o. It felt like a heat wave after the frigid cold of the past week.

I did a return at one store and looked for a picture frame at another. On the way home, I stopped at Costco to stock up on important things like coffee and gas for my car. It felt good to be out in the world and around people. All three of the stores I visited were crowded and people were so incredibly nice and kind! I didn’t realize that I had cabin fever but I guess I did.

While out, I saw this interesting sign on the door at Hobby Lobby. What will happen without pennies? Will the stores round their prices up to the nearest nickel for people who still like to pay with cash?

At home during the cold snowy days, I’ve been working on some small revisions to my new story and Vicki is finishing up the illustrations. We hope to hand it all over to Crystal around the end of February or the beginning of March so she can do her layout magic. Depending on how quickly that goes and the availability of the printer, we should have our next book published sometime this summer. It’s been good working together again with two of my favorite people on the planet!

As with our previous books, all of the writing, the illustrations, the graphic design, editing and the printing will be done in this country. It’s important to me that the production of my books supports American workers, even though it might be cheaper for me to have them printed in another country.

Next week, Vicki and I will be doing a Webex presentation about our new book for a retired teacher’s group in Michigan. We’ve done lots of talks for groups, but this will be our first time with me in Indiana and her in Texas. It should be a fun new adventure for us!

Our last book, “Love Hearts” was published in 2023 and since that time, the three of us have been dealing with the deaths of loved ones, my cross-country move, and some medical issues. At one point, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to work with my two friends again. I’m so happy and thankful that we will create at least one more book together and I’m very excited about the prospect of sharing it with you this summer!