Ice, ice, baby!

Oh, my goodness!

Much has happened since my last newsletter. Life has been quite the adventure! I suppose that’s the way it’s meant to be, and adventure keeps us young, right?

Before I go into all the details, some of you have told me that it was hard to find my subscribe button on my site. It’s currently on my home page, but you have to read all about me before you reach the button. And, I confess, I was pretty wordy talking about my writing journey. (grin)

So, if you’re new to my newsletter and want to subscribe to my website to get every blog post and newsletter sent directly to your email account, just click here:

Now, all about my adventure–and you can be sure that some of this will make it into a future book.

Early in January, I flew to Seattle to meet up with my sister. She and I drove to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho to finalize our mom’s move to Tennessee. Yep! My mom is now living with my husband and me at our home in Springfield. We didn’t want Mom to be alone anymore, and I’m so glad that she was agreeable to come here. She lived in Idaho almost all of her life, and this is a huge change for her. Us, too! But it’s a good one. I told her that I’m excited to have her get to know me as an older woman, not the thirty-year-old girl that left Idaho to pursue her dreams so many years ago.

The adventure began with the movers and getting Mom’s things ready to be shipped over 2,000 miles. Looking back, that part was easy! Mom didn’t want to fly, and we felt that driving such a distance in questionable weather wasn’t wise, so we ended up booking passage on an Amtrak train. I should have had the agent I spoke to be more specific about our accommodations. We booked a roomette and were told that the chairs converted into beds. I ASSUMED (not wise), that the beds would be side by side in our little room, but they were bunkbeds.

If only I was as spry as I used to be, then maybe I could have managed to get myself into that top bunk. Instead, all we managed were a lot of laughs. We came to realize that neither of us could sleep on the upper bunk, so Mom said we’d just have to share the lower bunk. Imagine two, full-grown women trying to get comfortable on a bed that was maybe three feet wide. Needless to say, we got very little sleep on the three-day trip.

On the bright side, the dining car was wonderful and the food, excellent! We also got great service from our room attendant and the dining-car server. We saw some beautiful scenery, especially going through Glacier Park in Montana. Even though we were completely worn out by the time we reached Tennessee and were more than ready to get off the train, we do have some good memories from the ride. This photo is a bit blurry, but we were moving pretty fast!

The adventure did not stop there. Who would have thought that soon after we got home, this area would have a horrible ice storm?! Mom thought she was moving into a warmer climate, only to discover a kind of cold she’d never experienced in Idaho. Ice like this isn’t something Idahoans see. Snow, yes, but not ice that clings to everything and breaks powerlines. To our good fortune, we never lost power. We live in a subdivision with underground lines, so as long as the main lines hold that lead into our community, we’re fine.

We’ve been pretty much stuck inside for a week now, but the truck carrying Mom’s things managed to make it through, so she’s been busy getting her room put together and settling in. I’ve been helping her, and I’ve also been working on my latest book. It’s a special project that I was asked to write, but at this point, I can’t say much more! You’ll have to remain in suspense.

Don’t worry, Kindhearted Kate will still be written, but not until this current project is completed.

As for in-person events, well… the weather has put a hold on the one I had coming up next weekend, so at this time, I don’t have any events to report. Still, if you ever want to purchase signed copies of my books, just email me, and I can arrange to ship them to you. Easy as pie! I try to keep an inventory of all my titles on hand.

Some people haven’t been as fortunate as we have during this storm, and many people are still without power. Please pray for our community. Nashville got hit really hard!

If any of you have had similar experiences on a train, please leave a comment! I’d love to hear about it. Or chime in on anything that’s on your mind.

Have you already had a 2026 adventure?

Love you all!

Jeanne