We just got back from visiting our daughter, son-in-law, and four year old granddaughter in the Washington, DC area. We had a great time! We’ve been fortunate to be able to use our Portal to “see and hear” them each week, but I have to say, there’s nothing like holding our granddaughter. My husband and I wish we could bottle that feeling!

We lived in the DC area years ago when my husband was in the Air Force. What a great area to live in. Now we’re “re”-enjoying Fall festivals, the Baltimore Aquarium, the Smithsonian, the parks all over the place, etc. with our granddaughter. It’s like having a déjà vu experience… sort of a bittersweet sensation — experiencing all of these fun activities with one of our children whom we visited these spots with when she was a four years old, as well as her own daughter who is now the same age!

We’re lucky to have our son who lives fifteen minutes away from our home in San Antonio. He’s so good about taking care of our eight year old “puppy” while we’re gone.

So, it’s good to be home – even though we miss our DC family!

This is my favorite time of year. I have mentioned many times that we live way down in San Antonio, Texas. Most of the year it is hot and extremely muggy. (We broke our “over 100 degree” days record this year!) It’s actually pretty hot down here at the beginning of October – but even so, once October arrives, I celebrate some cooler weather AND my Holiday Cozy Mystery books. I especially enjoy Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hannukah books set in cold weather, so I can “experience” a season we don’t have down here.

I know I asked this question years ago but here goes again:

Are you a stickler for reading your Cozy Mystery series in chronological order? (I am!)

Or, when a favorite series has a Holiday Cozy Mystery released way ahead of where you are, do you skip ahead?

As I stated above, I’m a stickler for chronological storylines, however, sometimes I just can’t wait and find myself skipping ahead in the series.

How about you? If you’re on book #6 in a Cozy Mystery series and the author releases a Christmas Cozy as her/his 13th book in the series, do you jump ahead and read it? (I do!)

 

My husband and I just got back from visiting our daughter, her husband, and their three and a half year old daughter.

We had a great time in the Washington, D.C. area. One of the excursion we always take when we’re out there is a visit to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. It’s a terrific zoo — and always reminds me of the days our daughter and son were itty-bitty little ones. (My husband was stationed in the D.C. area years ago.) We love that zoo!

While my husband and I had a great time during our ten day visit, AND while we miss the three of them, it will be a lot less hectic when the two of us settle back into our laid-back, familiar routine. And, it will be good to see our son (and our “puppy” Cocoa) again.

BUT — I already miss the hustle and bustle of having a three year old in the house. Thank goodness we have our weekly portal visits!