Posted Dec 11 2020 in About Jen, Books, Christmas, Family, Friendship, Music
Although I don’t usually start playing holiday music until December, 2020 has been such a grim year that I dug out my seasonal CDs and created a Spotify playlist in the middle of November. And from traditional carols to sacred music and popular festive tunes, now more than ever music, is giving me much-needed cheer. […]
Read More...Posted Oct 2 2020 in A Wish in Irish Falls, About Jen, Baking, Christmas, Community, Family, Small town life, The Cottage at Firefly Lake
As summer’s warmth becomes a distant memory, I’m doing more baking, a favourite pastime but one I haven’t had much time for in the last few years. To bake, though, I needed to sort through my overflowing kitchen cupboards and the boxes stacked at the foot of the basement stairs, a legacy of clearing out […]
Read More...Posted Dec 13 2019 in About Jen, Christmas, Family, Friendship, Holiday, The Wishing Tree in Irish Falls
With less than two weeks until Christmas 2019, the few presents I’ve bought are still in a drawer, unwrapped. My holiday cards remain in their packaging and apart from a vintage Santa candle and musical angel, my cherished Christmas decorations are still tucked away in boxes. I’ve seen plenty of holiday decorations and heard non-stop […]
Read More...Posted Nov 17 2017 in About Jen, Authors, Back Home at Firefly Lake, Books, Christmas, Firefly Lake, Reading
Confession time. To my husband’s dismay, and as the teetering pile of books on my nightstand attests, I’m the kind of person who reads multiple books at the same time, happily skipping from one to another as the mood takes me. I’m also the kind of person who reads multiple genres and historical periods, again […]
Read More...Posted Dec 16 2016 in About Jen, Christmas, Family, Friendship, Gratitude, Word for the year
The past year has been difficult for many of us, and my word of the year, “gratitude,” has taken on a poignancy I could never have anticipated when I chose it last January. In some ways, I’ll be grateful to see the end of 2016 for it’s been a year of turbulence and loss both […]
Read More...Posted Dec 18 2015 in About Jen, Christmas, Family, Friendship, Golden Heart® sisterhood
I used to write to you every year. I’d print a letter in crayon and ask my mom for an envelope which we’d address to you at the North Pole, H0H 0H0, Canada. I’d include a greeting for Mrs. Claus and the reindeer. I’d tell you what I wanted for Christmas, and ask if you’d […]
Read More...Posted Dec 19 2014 in About Jen, Christmas, Writing
There’s a sticky note on the wall facing my desk. On it I’ve written the five senses–smell, taste, see, hear and feel–as a reminder to include sensory details in the scenes I write. Christmas is perhaps the most sensory of Christian festivals. So in the spirit of the season, I give you the five senses […]
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