Video Instructions: LIGHTS: Be sure lighting is taken into consideration. You don't want to be sitting in the dark with big shadows. CAMERA: For those recording on a cell phone, please be sure the camera is held horizontally. (Hamburger no Hotdog) This will give the audience the best view of each author. ACTION: Please be sure to record in a spot that has minimal sound. Speak slowly and clearly.

​Ideas: Hold the book up, show your smile (or scowl:) and be sure to tell us your name, the book title, where you live (town/city is fun, but county, region or state will do). Tell us about your book. It's great practice to see what you can fit into 60 seconds or less. The genre? Age of intended audience? Is it a debut novel or your fifth? Date of publication?
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ON: Wed, January 26th at 7:00pm: Join us for a virtual Meet & Greet where we will highlight recently published books by local authors and illustrators and enjoy creative community.

A little over two months ago I set out to create a blanket--for myself. I haven't done that since the '90s!
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Post-2000, my blankets have usually been for new or approaching babies. I made one for a cousin's birthday.

A few starts remain undone for one reason or another--like abandoned manuscripts tossed into a drawer. 

Shortly before the new year arrived, I tied the last knot in the blanket I started in October. It's warm. It's cheery. And, it's the perfect size for sitting on the couch, kicking up my feet and fully covering me from pointed toe to tucked chin. 

It's bitterly cold today. My thermometer reads 5 degrees. 
Hats, gloves, coats: ON.
Heat: UP. A constant purr in the background.

I hope you have something cozy to snuggle with today.
One stitch at a time may seem slow, but Cozy Rosy is proof that--
even the long, cold days
eventually come to an end.
Keep going.
One stitch at a time.
One day at a time.
One thought.
One word.
One -- soon equals five, then ten.
You'll have something to spread out and 
be grateful for when it's just you,
your creation, and
​old man Winter.

Truly, there is something about having a room of one's own.

Not in the same sense that my daughter wants a room of her own.
She does have her own corner in a room she shares.
And really, that is all I'm talking about here:
​a corner.

This room is not mine, though it feels like it is right now. It is a shared room where my aunt visiting from Mississippi was able to sleep this past summer, a family friend who plows in the winter can lay his head, and where my husband has worked daily since he was sent home from his office space back in March 2020. The cat often stretches out in here, too.

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But, recently this space became "available" three days a week. The only thing missing? A desk--or a table to write on. Yesterday I pulled a TV table up to a chair, but I needed something a bit more permanent and less chaotic.
​Something shoved into the corner would be out of the way and much more functional. 

​Not enough is said about the beauty of corners.
So snug.
Able to corral thoughts and papers together.
Concentration-friendly.
A shelter.

For fifty-eight dollars and tax, I found an adorable, functional desk that fit into the 36-ish inches of space I had available to work with. I didn't know most desks were 40+ inches, so there were not many options.
But, I love the one I snagged.

So now: a small space:
an in-house efficiency
in which to work,
to write,
to contemplate and
to create.
Might help make all the difference.
​We shall see.