Kirjahaku

It's been nearly ten years since we retired. I'm still in the office Duane and the boys created for me. The seven quilts I promised to make have been completed. A few books. He has new knees and new guitars. We've had grief and loss in these years, occasional discontent, times of being alone even when we were together. We've also had a blessed amount of fun. Of music and laughter and family. Of the other side of being alone that comes of knowing we never really are.Much has changed in those nine years and change, and much has stayed the same. At first, it seemed as if this book was a vanity thing. Or a thing for the grandkids to look at and think Okay, Nana, what do you want me to do with this? But in the end, like most other things in life that are worthwhile, it is a labor of love. A gathering of thoughts and dreams and memories.Thanks for joining me on the journey.

In 2020, I released the first collection of Window Over the Sink columns. It was for my family, really, and to give my own ego a boost. (Any writer who says she doesn't need that now and then is lying, by the way.) It was so much fun. Which is why I decided to open the Window Over the Desk. My view out this particular window is a favorite-even today, when I'm drying...things...on the clothesline. Also today, the hay bales in the field that have given me pleasure for several weeks have been gathered and stored for the long winter. I hope the essays in this book give you some pleasant reading time over that winter. I hope they make you remember things, laugh sometimes, and refill your cup and sit down and read "just one more." As I mention way more often than is necessary, I'm kind of old. The years have dimmed some reflections through the window, brightened others, and changed a whole bunch of them. What a trip it's been. Thanks-again-for joining me on the journey.

Tell knew the moment he saw her that she was the one. He offered Rags eternal love, children and a seat in his hammock. It was a match made in heaven. How could she say no? Even though things should have been perfect, each took wrong turns. Rags and Tell found themselves on a one-way street traveling the wrong direction. Their marriage collapsed in a sea of accusations and disappointment. Years later, they meet again, their memories as fresh as if it were yesterday. Instant physical attraction and emotional connection blindside them, leading them back to that perfect place.And then there's Joe.

In THE DARK HORSE, widowed Chloe Brewton has made a life for herself in Christmas Town, Maine, teaching literature and being the drama coach at the high school. Although she'd loved her husband and their life in the army, she doesn't really want to start over with someone else, but when she meets Major Row Welcome, in Christmas Town to spend the holiday month with relatives and decide about his future, she feels stirrings of old wishes for happily-ever-after. The attraction is mutual, although the last thing Row wants is to try marriage again, plus he's about as interested in having a family as...well, he isn't. But then there's Connor Michaud and his three younger siblings. Oh, no. What now in Christmas Town?