Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

seasons

Fall Leaves, Pastry and Nuts

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The beautiful foliage outside my backyard this week. Glorious!

I love this time of year when the leaves turn incredible colors and the golden light in the morning looks like honey. And we all run around like the squirrels in my backyard foraging for snacks and treats for the coming winter.

We have a slight heat wave in Oregon this week and we are dashing around outside like crazy people to soak up the last rays of sun. We all hope for rain and snow in the mountains this winter. We need it. Wacky times and weird weather.

I’ve just completed a major writing project, updating all fifteen eBooks in preparation to publish them wide across more platforms. Holy pumpkin pie that about drove me to inhale straight Cool Whip.

One reward for finishing, was a day trip to Packer’s Bakery in Hood River to gather fifteen huge Gala apples to store in the refrigerator and big cookies for the freezer. Harvest time includes cookies in my rulebook.

Then I made trips to several craft stores to buy things I don’t need for the holidays, but they were so stinking cute. Because if you don’t get the Christmas stuff now, it’s gone. Then hopefully, the rains will come and I have fabulous excuses to stay inside to write and craft. With plenty of cookies. Like a bear.

I relish the simple pleasures as we head into winter, because a writer can’t listen to all the crazy all the time. Freaks out my muse. To say nothing of the potential weight gain if I stress eat too much pastry.

Which reminds me, I joined a monthly craft group, and we meet at an international deli. With incredible PASTRY. I have to be nice and purchase a treat with a drink, of course. Right? Don’t want to be rude.

My goal is to still fit in my jeans by spring. It’s good to have aspirations. And a treadmill.

But I’ve also been shopping for an advent calendar. For years I’ve gotten a craft one, but they stopped making it, and I need a change. Sweet Santa’s Workshop! The advent calendar selection includes chocolate, crafts, mini-books, shortbread, toys, dark romantasy, jewelry and even Highland cows! To name a few. This will require control and careful consideration. I only need one!

While I watch the leaves turn to vibrant reds and my squirrel customers scamper about the backyard, one thing is for sure when it comes to fall and the coming winter.

The early squirrels get the filberts.

Happy Fall, y’all!

I ration my customers filberts each day. This is Mr. Fluffy Tail. It’s the snacking season!

Happy Wolf Moon Transition

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by Kimberly A. Cook

The 2018 brand new clean slate is here. It’s like putting on a new dress for the first time, all expectations and perfect fit. To top off the start of the new year, we had a full Wolf Moon last night and we get another one the end of this month, an official Blue Moon. A two-fer!

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Last night’s super Wolf Moon from my backyard. Since moons have transitions too, think Mother Nature is trying to tell us something with the moon, the seasons and our lives – we’re all related! 

The daylight is getting longer by a whopping seven minutes and I couldn’t be happier. Dreams of Fairy Rock Garden plans and lawn swing lazy days are just around the corner. Even for Pennsylvania. The daffodils will rise again. The crocuses are peaking their pointy heads out right now. At least in Oregon.

Resolutions are not my thing, I make goals. So when I transferred to my 2018 calendar I laughed when I noticed my 2017 goals would be my 2018 goals too. Not sure if that is efficient or unrealistic. Big goals? Get healthy, write and play. Then I have four smaller goals for the three big goals.

I worked on the smaller goals in 2017, but did not complete any. No matter what plans we make, life happens. So recycling 2017 goals is not a bad thing; it keeps me moving forward.

Reading the book “Transitions – Making Sense of Life’s Changes (Second Edition)” by William Bridges right now, recommended by a friend. Really enjoying it. Bridges talks about the three phases of transition:

  1. “an ending, followed by
  2. “a period of confusion and distress, leading to
  3. “a new beginning, for those who had come that far.”

I’ve always found that phase two confusion and distress period annoying. I liken it to that time right before I make a big decision; it feels like I’ve thrown chum into shark infested waters and I can’t figure out what to do while swimming with the frenzied sharks – very stressful.

Two questions Bridges asks at the end of Chapter Four really have me thinking.

  1. “What is it time to let go of in my own life right now?”
  2. “What is standing backstage, in the wings of my life, waiting to make an entrance?”

Great questions right? This book has been out for years and you can find it in the library, but I like to have my own reference copy. Pink highlighter is a way of life for me and they frown on that in library books.

So looking ahead to 2018, how will you answer questions one and two above? I like them because while we may not have figured out where we’re going, we can consider what to shed and what might be sitting next to us as options.

So when we feel like we’re floating around with feeding sharks, it’s nice to know other folks are out their bobbing along with us. Nobody has this all figured out.

Life evolves, whether we choose the transition or not. So, here’s to a great 2018 for all of us. Transitions Ho!