Is anyone else having a problem writing a Christmas letter this year? I’m determined not to write a sad letter, so I’d like to point out a conspiracy I’ve discovered. It’s called Holiday Smoke Screen. No, I’m not talking about how some of my relatives and friends lean out the windows of hotels and motels so you can smoke undetected by the management. One day, one of you will fall to your death, and I’ll have to reconcile the fact that at this very moment, I may have cursed you.
Read MoreMusings
Missing Hammerstein
“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…” These words were first penned by Oscar Hammerstein II. They were sung by Maria who wanted to calm the children in her care during a frightful thunderstorm. Later, they would have more than thunderstorms to worry about. Still, the thought of writing something to pull us out of the gloom, I know, appeals to every songwriter, novelist, essayist, and humorist out there. It’s just so hard to do.
I’m very fortunate to be surrounded by comedians, also known as my friends and family. Still, they are having a hard time too. What to do, what to do…?
My New Office
Here I am as promised with pictures of my office. I admit I will either be fussing around with book placement in the future, or I’ll just learn where I put things and move on. Yes, there is a bit of a madness to how I have the books on the shelves. Some are alphabetical, some are in collections, and others (from recently unearthed boxes) just fit.
Read MoreWhat a doll!
What is it with dolls? In Ghostly Attachments, I used a doll to aid PEEPs in dealing with the horrors of the nursery. The doll that gave me inspiration in the book is my husband’s doll, Hansel, bought for him when he was a baby in France. Hansel is really loveable, but maybe it’s because he obviously likes me best and we’ve become quite attached. The Red Pen, like Jesse Holden in CID, hates clown dolls.
Read MoreDear Diary
Have you ever looked backwards to see what you were doing on this day a few months or years ago? Facebook helps us out in relation to our time on FB, but what about the time before social media’s computers kept track of our every internet move? People had diaries, and I’m not just speaking about those little pink books with very easy to pick locks on them. I’m talking about journals. These books give us insights into the daily workings of households, and many also give us tidbits of gossip from which we learn so much about the social network of the era in which they are written.
Read MoreBeing Positive in a Negative World
It occurs to me that it’s extremely hard to hold on to a positive thought in this negative society. Regardless of our political, ethical, or ambitious leanings, we are faced with a barrage of negative actions, verbal and tangible, coming at us from all sides.
It’s destroying positivity. But how has this happened? Let’s say you see, hear, or read something that goes against your core beliefs. Instead of holding your anger in check, you unleashed it. Negativity thrives on hatred. Negative people attract other negative people, and before you know it, you not only don’t recognize these people with whom you associate, but you no longer recognize yourself.
This anger is brewing to a point of being explosive. It doesn’t matter who started it. It must stop, and we can stop it.
Read MoreUnexpected Visitors
I know quite a few of you have had an unexpected visitor, be it corporeal or paranormal. I guess I fall somewhere in between. I’d like to share with you my very recent paranormal experience. I’m still trying to decide if it was the unexpected visitor or was I? Here’s the background. My hubby and I decided to take a vacation, just the two of us. We didn’t plan on visiting anyone, so we were a bit quiet about where we were going. We decided to stay in the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan. Hubby registered in May for our few days in September to make sure we got the Mackinac Suite – it is one of the few with a balcony overlooking the island. At the time, I mentioned that the Grand Hotel is haunted, but to my knowledge, no one had reported any strange goings-on in the suite of rooms we reserved. Boy was I wrong.
Read MoreAnimal Casting for Peeps Character!
I couldn’t think of any great additions to the human casting for PEEPs characters, so I’ve cast animals instead. This is a very silly blog post. It lacks logic and any attempt at true research. Enjoy! ~ The Red Pen.
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