My everyday life in a nutshell…

Like many authors I’d rather write stories about other people who have more exciting lives but since you’ve come to visit, I thought you might be a bit curious about me.

I live atop a hill overlooking some of the best scenery you can imagine, the majestic Rocky Mountains to the west, the open prairie to the east, and the downtown Denver skyline to the south.  On a clear day, I can look out my living room window and see Pikes Peak ninety miles away.  I never understood the appeal of living in one place forty or fifty years…until now.  It’s the house I never dreamed I wanted.  Full of character and life.

It cultivates my vision and creativity.

I’ve been happily married 31 years to the one and only blind date I ever agreed to–well, my boss at that time who set us up did strong-arm me.  I had planned a three-day fishing weekend in the mountains with my family and I really didn’t want to pack up my favorite pole and cut it short.  What can I say?  I love to fish!  Of course, my mother convinced me to drive back down the mountain.  She pointed out, as good mothers with unmarried daughters tend to do, that if I didn’t like the guy it was only an hour drive to get back to the campsite.  I could be back on the river by dawn.  Too bad she never saw me again.  At least, that’s her version.

He cultivates my belief in romance and a happily-ever-after.

I have three wonderful children who make me proud on a regular basis and, at last count, I’m the doting grandma of six beautiful grandchildren with another one on the way.  I revel in the noise and chaos that ensues when we’re all together at the dining room table or on the back lawn catching up and simply enjoying each other’s company.  Add two demanding dogs, one lonely canary, about twenty noisy zebra finches — silly things just won’t stand in a line and be counted! — you’ve captured my everyday life in a nutshell.

They remind me of what’s important in life.

I’ve been in the business world more than thirty years, the last twenty as my own boss.  I love to fish and camp, but I also live for reading, gardening, crafts and cooking.  I wrap all of this around my writing career, speaking engagements, and sharing of the craft of writing.

And this is where I live…in the world of complex characters that become as real to me as my friends and storylines that may contain more than a little bit of murder and mayhem.

21 thoughts on “My everyday life in a nutshell…”

  1. Karen – PIke’s Peak. I remember going up there to the Santa’s Village when I was a little kid. The drive back down the peak was the most terrifying fun an eight-year-old girl can have in the back of a minivan. 🙂

    Welcome to the blogging world!

  2. Wow, everyone! I’m overwhelmed by all of the warm welcomes. I’m just responding now because I wasn’t getting all of your wonderful comments in my email. Gonna fix that! 🙂

    Thanks so much for checking out my new blog and making such nice comments. I hope you’ll come back again so we can chat again! I’m going to respond to everyone individually here so that you all don’t have to wend your way through a wave of responses.

    @Karalee – I’m so grateful my finches aren’t cats! It’s hard enough to clean the canary cage and the finch aviary. The aviary isn’t huge, just a 5′ hexagon, but 20-some birds can make a huge mess. Thankfully, it’s a glass aviary so it’s like cleaning a shower stall. Hmmm, yeah, right! LOL

    @Cynthia W. – Thanks! Going as quickly as I can!

    @Dawn Marie – I’ve left my mountains behind couple of times but no more. I missed them terribly both times and we came back. Here to stay now. Yeah, that thin air can be a challenge.

    @Suzanne – I’ve got telephone lines everywhere too. That’s part of living in today’s society…so we can have these wonderful communication tools. I’ll try to share the view with you all occasionally so you can enjoy it, too. If you want view, check out my website photo page. Have a whole section on the color changes ijn the mtns. Nothing like it!

    @Colette – Thank you. I look forward to chatting with you too.

    @Liz C. – Thanks for the kind words about my introduction post. Wish I could figure out way to keep part of it up all the time so you all know what day I’ll be posting specific things. Just have to hope you all keep coming back, huh?!

    @Donnell – Aw, girlfriend. You’re so sweet. Have a hug for you next time I see you. This will be a great way for us to chat ocassionally since we don’t see each other as often as I’d like.

    @Jerrie – Thanks for the kind words about my launching post. All new to me so glad I did it right. Hope to chat with you often.

    @Vicki – I’m glad you liked my story about the love of my life. Hard to not believe in romance when something that wonderful shows up, huh?

    @Lo – I love the colors, too. Darkening skies are so suspenseful in tone. You don’t know what’s coming. 🙂 But, more than that, I love Colorado’s spectacular sunsets. The sunset I used in the background of my banner was taken by moi from the middle of the street in front of my house looking west. One of my favs.

    @Avery – What a wonderful childhood memory! Pike’s Peak is beautiful close up and from a distance. I love seeing it in the winter all covered with snow. Gorgeous!

    @ Viola – Thanks. I think it’s gorgeous, too. Thank goodness for my support team who helped my vision become a reality. I can visualize but the technical stuff makes me run home to mama! 🙂

    @ Misty – Thanks for checking out my blog and the nice welcome. I have friends in Loveland and I went to CSU in Ft. Collins eons ago. Beautiful towns.

    @ Linda – Thanks, friend. Style and grace? I like that. Means you’re too far away to hear all of the crying and screaming that went into the final product. And that was just from my husband! LOL

    @ Kathy – Thanks for checking me out! It’s good to know you didn’t have any navigation problems and enjoyed the overall look. We all go a little nuts worrying about whether we’ve done enough when we launch, don’t we? I hope you come back

    Thanks again, everyone. I feel all warm and fuzzy now. My next blog will be Friday with Friday Fixin’s. I’ll post a new recipe each week. Hope you find some you enjoy.

    Have a great day!

    Karen

  3. Enjoyed reading about your home, Karen. Made me want to jump on a plane and fly to Colorado. I would so love to see it again. I was born in Colorado Springs, you know, but haven’t been there since I was about 16. Been to Denver for conferences and a few years ago we visited the San Juans. But I want more. I envy you your home and it’s lovely setting.

  4. Hey Karen,
    website is lovely and the blog is great! Glad you’ve got it going! You are on the ball and moving along in your career path. Congrats on doing such a professional job!

  5. Hey, Charlene! Great to see you here. I love the Colorado Springs area. So pretty tucked into the foothills! I bet you miss it. We really need to get you to Denver one of these days so we can sit on the deck and chat!

    Talk to you soon!

    Karen

  6. Hi, Jessica. Thanks for your kind words. I had a lot of help from my webmaster with the technical stuff and she’s a whiz. I create themes and ideas in my head, pull together some bits and pieces and tell her what I want, she makes magic, and “poof” I’m a professional. I bow before her on a regular basis. LOL Good to see you here! Thanks again!

    Karen

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