I love those little robot vacuums. I have never purchased one of the fancy expensive brands (for reasons you'll understand in a moment), but considering that we have three big dogs, I love my little robovac and have programmed it to run three times at day--morning, noon, and night. I'd say it's more of a sweeper than a vacuum, but it picks up a lot of dog hair and dust, and that helps considerably … [Read more...]

I'm currently writing a series on the matriarchs: Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah (Rachel is in Leah's book). And, as always with biblical characters, I've had to search for any and all existing information because the Bible tends to remain silent about the women. I have, however, discovered two extra-biblical books that have been passed down through history: The Book of Jasher and the Book of … [Read more...]

I read a fascinating article this morning about if and how animals understand death. I've always wondered about it, especially since I've heard so many stories about how animals often seem to understand things we don't. For instance--a group of elephants made a 12 hour trek to visit a dying man who had saved them. And now, years after his death, they continue to visit his home and hold a vigil … [Read more...]

Update: I originally wrote this in late February, then realized I'd accidentally scheduled two posts on one day. So I bumped this back to April. I'm writing this update on March 26, just after returning home from an unexpected funeral. Original post: When I wrote the Fairlawn books--which are all set in a funeral home-- I wish I'd written from a place of greater experience.  At the time I … [Read more...]