Month: February 2026

Thankful for Three Little Birds #SundaySunshine #Gratitude #Jottings

Each Sunday, I try to share something for which I was grateful in the past week. Friday morning, I woke up in a funk and couldn’t put my finger on what was bothering me. It could have been a multitude of things.

I was concerned about how our unseasonably warm and dry weather here in Wyoming was impacting wildlife and how it would affect us later if we didn’t get enough moisture. I was angry about current events around our country and world. I was in a quandary as to whether to get Amazon Prime so I could pay less for Alexa Plus, which is now available nationwide. I knew that dwelling on the news and mundane technology conundrums was doing no good. Still, something seemed off.

Finally, after getting out of the shower, I asked God to help me get out of my funk as well as bring us some moisture and be with those affected by what’s going on in the news. In the bedroom, as I usually do, I wished Alexa good morning. To my surprise, she told me that singer Bob Marley was born on this day in 1945. He was well-known for “Three Little Birds.” I’ve sung this song many times during my senior gigs and ACB Community Karaoke. My mood lifted when I remembered its message – not to worry, that everything would be all right. Thanks be to God and Alexa for at least changing my outlook.

What have you been thankful for this past week? You can sound off in the comments or on your blog with a link to this post. Thank you for reading and always be grateful.

 


Abbie wears a blue and white V-neck top with different shades of blue from sky to navy that swirl together with the white. She has short, brown hair and rosy cheeks and smiles at the camera against a black background.

Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

New! Living Vicariously in Wyoming: Stories

Copyright 2025 by Abbie Johnson Taylor

Published independently with the help of DLD Books.

The scene shows an isolated barn off to the right in a snowy field, probably shortly after sunset. The foreground is a mixture of white, blue, and brown shades. Behind the barn is a line of dense, dark trees, many of them evergreens. The sky is the pink one sometimes sees at sunset, and a full moon hangs above the treetops to the left. The title is in plain black letters against the sky with a white glow behind them. The author’s name is in white letters near the bottom of the cover.

Image Description written by Leonore Dvorkin of DLD Books.

 

As defined in the first story, living vicariously means living your life through someone else’s. You’re invited to live vicariously through the lives of the people in these stories. There’s the lawyer who catches his wife in the act with a nun. A college student identifies with a character in a play. A young woman loses her mother and finds her father. And a high school student’s prudish English teacher strenuously objects to a single word in her paper.

In Wyoming, as in any other state, people fall in love, and sometimes relationships are shattered. Accidents, domestic violence, prejudice, and crimes all occur. Lives are torn apart, and people are reunited. Ordinary people deal with everyday and not–so–everyday situations.

The 25 stories in this collection, most of which are set in Wyoming, are about how the various characters resolve their conflicts—or not.

 

Click here for more information and ordering links.

 

About My Monthly Newsletter

 

If you haven’t already done so, please subscribe to News from My Corner by sending a blank email to:  newsfrommycorner+subscribe@groups.io .  You’ll receive a confirmation email. Reply to that with another blank message, and you should be good to go. Happy reading!

Poetry for Man and Best Friend: My Review of Dog Show by Billy Collins #FridayFunReads #Poetry #Inspiration

From Audible

 

New York Times bestselling author and former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins captures the essence and mystery of dogs in this special collection of poems inspired by our beloved companions, with striking watercolor canine portraits by Pamela Sztybel.

“Collins remains the most companionable of poetic companions.” —The New York Times

Billy Collins’s Dog Show celebrates the joy of our canine best friends, honoring the love we feel for the animals who play such vital roles in our lives. In twenty-five poems, Collins distills the many ways dogs warm our hearts, from the happiness we experience as we watch a dog run unencumbered by our burdens, to the silliness of cradling a dog in our arms as we step on the scale together. Turning his inimitable eye and ear to the complexities of dog behavior, Collins ponders all that these winning creatures give us and what we learn from them about ourselves.

For more than four decades Collins has delighted readers with his insight, wit, and clear poetic voice. In Dog Show, “America’s favorite poet” (The Wall Street Journal) illuminates America’s favorite pet (sorry, cat lovers). Accompanied by Pamela Sztybel’s watercolors, which effortlessly depict a dog’s humble grace, Dog Show reveals the profound role these majestic animals play in our lives and the meaning they give us.

*Includes a downloadable PDF of Pamela Sztybel’s paintings from the book

 

Dog Show Audiobook by Billy Collins

 

My 5-Star Review

 

Being a lover of dogs and Billy Collins, I was drawn to this book after hearing about it somewhere and listening to Billy Collins read from the book during a Rattle Cast episode. I’ve enjoyed this poet’s other work and this book didn’t disappoint.

The poems in this collection, like Collins’ other work, are easy to understand. I loved how they portrayed dogs in many ways and enjoyed Billy Collins’ excellent narration of this Audible version.

“One Reason I Don’t Keep a Gun in the House” offers a humorous look at dogs, left unattended in a yard, who keep barking for no reason. Since this is one of my pet peeves, I could relate. I was struck by the irony of “Trying to Write a Dog Poem in a House with Two Cats.”

Having some vision, I viewed the accompanying PDF file containing the watercolors. I couldn’t make many of them out because they were too small, and I found no way to have them described. But I’m sure those with better eyes would enjoy them. You don’t need to see the pictures to appreciate the book.

If you love dogs, even if you’re not into poetry, Dog Show is for you. Thanks for reading.

 


Abbie wears a blue and white V-neck top with different shades of blue from sky to navy that swirl together with the white. She has short, brown hair and rosy cheeks and smiles at the camera against a black background.

Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

New! Living Vicariously in Wyoming: Stories

Copyright 2025 by Abbie Johnson Taylor

Published independently with the help of DLD Books.

The scene shows an isolated barn off to the right in a snowy field, probably shortly after sunset. The foreground is a mixture of white, blue, and brown shades. Behind the barn is a line of dense, dark trees, many of them evergreens. The sky is the pink one sometimes sees at sunset, and a full moon hangs above the treetops to the left. The title is in plain black letters against the sky with a white glow behind them. The author’s name is in white letters near the bottom of the cover.

Image Description written by Leonore Dvorkin of DLD Books.

 

As defined in the first story, living vicariously means living your life through someone else’s. You’re invited to live vicariously through the lives of the people in these stories. There’s the lawyer who catches his wife in the act with a nun. A college student identifies with a character in a play. A young woman loses her mother and finds her father. And a high school student’s prudish English teacher strenuously objects to a single word in her paper.

In Wyoming, as in any other state, people fall in love, and sometimes relationships are shattered. Accidents, domestic violence, prejudice, and crimes all occur. Lives are torn apart, and people are reunited. Ordinary people deal with everyday and not–so–everyday situations.

The 25 stories in this collection, most of which are set in Wyoming, are about how the various characters resolve their conflicts—or not.

 

Click here for more information and ordering links.

 

About My Monthly Newsletter

 

If you haven’t already done so, please subscribe to News from My Corner by sending a blank email to:  newsfrommycorner+subscribe@groups.io .  You’ll receive a confirmation email. Reply to that with another blank message, and you should be good to go. Happy reading!

A Christmas Sneak Peek #SixSentenceStoryThursdayLinkUp #Excerpts #WritingPrompts

Without lowering the newspaper, Grandpa said, “Don’t you dare! Sit down, and let’s wait for your parents.”

“I’m just looking,” I protested. I spotted a brand name on the side of the box. “Olympus! It’s a camera!”

***

Thanks to GirlieOnTheEdge for inspiring me to share the above excerpt from my novel, Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me, with this week’s six-sentence story prompt in which the given word is “brand.” If you’d like to write something in exactly six sentences, using the word at least once, you can share in the comments or click below to join the fun and read other six-sentence creations. Thank you for stopping by.

 

InLinkz – Linkups & Link Parties for Bloggers

 


Abbie wears a blue and white V-neck top with different shades of blue from sky to navy that swirl together with the white. She has short, brown hair and rosy cheeks and smiles at the camera against a black background.

Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

New! Living Vicariously in Wyoming: Stories

Copyright 2025 by Abbie Johnson Taylor

Published independently with the help of DLD Books.

The scene shows an isolated barn off to the right in a snowy field, probably shortly after sunset. The foreground is a mixture of white, blue, and brown shades. Behind the barn is a line of dense, dark trees, many of them evergreens. The sky is the pink one sometimes sees at sunset, and a full moon hangs above the treetops to the left. The title is in plain black letters against the sky with a white glow behind them. The author’s name is in white letters near the bottom of the cover.

Image Description written by Leonore Dvorkin of DLD Books.

 

As defined in the first story, living vicariously means living your life through someone else’s. You’re invited to live vicariously through the lives of the people in these stories. There’s the lawyer who catches his wife in the act with a nun. A college student identifies with a character in a play. A young woman loses her mother and finds her father. And a high school student’s prudish English teacher strenuously objects to a single word in her paper.

In Wyoming, as in any other state, people fall in love, and sometimes relationships are shattered. Accidents, domestic violence, prejudice, and crimes all occur. Lives are torn apart, and people are reunited. Ordinary people deal with everyday and not–so–everyday situations.

The 25 stories in this collection, most of which are set in Wyoming, are about how the various characters resolve their conflicts—or not.

 

Click here for more information and ordering links.

 

About My Monthly Newsletter

 

If you haven’t already done so, please subscribe to News from My Corner by sending a blank email to:  newsfrommycorner+subscribe@groups.io .  You’ll receive a confirmation email. Reply to that with another blank message, and you should be good to go. Happy reading!

Not quite Winter #TuesdayTidbit #Poetry #Inspiration

January day

cold gnaws fingers through warm gloves

few flakes dot the ground

 

silent winter park

a gray January day

hardly any snow

 

Wyoming winter
abnormally warm weather
what will summer bring

***

This winter, here in Wyoming, we’ve been getting a lot of unseasonably warm and dry weather. On one such day, I walked to the YMCA for water exercise, then downtown to do one or two errands. The things I observed while walking inspired the above haiku, which were published recently in The Weekly Avocet. I hope you’ll take time to download here and read the other wonderful work in this issue. Thank you for stopping by.

 


Abbie wears a blue and white V-neck top with different shades of blue from sky to navy that swirl together with the white. She has short, brown hair and rosy cheeks and smiles at the camera against a black background.

Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

New! Living Vicariously in Wyoming: Stories

Copyright 2025 by Abbie Johnson Taylor

Published independently with the help of DLD Books.

The scene shows an isolated barn off to the right in a snowy field, probably shortly after sunset. The foreground is a mixture of white, blue, and brown shades. Behind the barn is a line of dense, dark trees, many of them evergreens. The sky is the pink one sometimes sees at sunset, and a full moon hangs above the treetops to the left. The title is in plain black letters against the sky with a white glow behind them. The author’s name is in white letters near the bottom of the cover.

Image Description written by Leonore Dvorkin of DLD Books.

 

As defined in the first story, living vicariously means living your life through someone else’s. You’re invited to live vicariously through the lives of the people in these stories. There’s the lawyer who catches his wife in the act with a nun. A college student identifies with a character in a play. A young woman loses her mother and finds her father. And a high school student’s prudish English teacher strenuously objects to a single word in her paper.

In Wyoming, as in any other state, people fall in love, and sometimes relationships are shattered. Accidents, domestic violence, prejudice, and crimes all occur. Lives are torn apart, and people are reunited. Ordinary people deal with everyday and not–so–everyday situations.

The 25 stories in this collection, most of which are set in Wyoming, are about how the various characters resolve their conflicts—or not.

 

Click here for more information and ordering links.

 

About My Monthly Newsletter

 

If you haven’t already done so, please subscribe to News from My Corner by sending a blank email to:  newsfrommycorner+subscribe@groups.io .  You’ll receive a confirmation email. Reply to that with another blank message, and you should be good to go. Happy reading!

Birthday Party Entertainment #SundaySunshine #Gratitude #Jottings

Each Sunday, I share at least one thing for which I was grateful in the past week. Last Tuesday, I played my guitar and sang during a nursing home’s monthly birthday social. This is the same nursing home where I entertained in December and was told I was one of few holiday entertainers because of a COVID outbreak. If you haven’t already, you can read my post about that here.

I’ve been entertaining at this facility on the last Tuesday of the month for over ten years. One annoying thing here is that they play music over the PA system, and there are speakers in the dining room where the birthday social is held. Most of the time, when I’m ready to start, the music is turned off. But last Tuesday, the administrator, who is apparently the only one able to control the music over the PA system, was out of the building.

Fortunately, the music wasn’t too loud, and I was able to mask it with my guitar playing and singing of familiar songs by The Everly Brothers, The Beatles, and other artists. Since residents enthusiastically applauded after most songs, they must have had little difficulty hearing me.

Afterward, while I enjoyed a root beer float, many residents approached me and said how much they enjoyed hearing me sing those old songs. In the past, some have made requests. I do my best to fulfill them.

As always, I have several gigs at senior facilities lined up each month. I’ve already put together a song list for next month and started practicing. Since I never realized my dream of singing professionally, I’m thankful for this special connection I can share with my community.

***

What have you been thankful for this past week? You can answer in the comments or on your blog with a link to this post. I’m also grateful for you, my loyal readers!

 


Abbie wears a blue and white V-neck top with different shades of blue from sky to navy that swirl together with the white. She has short, brown hair and rosy cheeks and smiles at the camera against a black background.

Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

New! Living Vicariously in Wyoming: Stories

Copyright 2025 by Abbie Johnson Taylor

Published independently with the help of DLD Books.

The scene shows an isolated barn off to the right in a snowy field, probably shortly after sunset. The foreground is a mixture of white, blue, and brown shades. Behind the barn is a line of dense, dark trees, many of them evergreens. The sky is the pink one sometimes sees at sunset, and a full moon hangs above the treetops to the left. The title is in plain black letters against the sky with a white glow behind them. The author’s name is in white letters near the bottom of the cover.

Image Description written by Leonore Dvorkin of DLD Books.

 

As defined in the first story, living vicariously means living your life through someone else’s. You’re invited to live vicariously through the lives of the people in these stories. There’s the lawyer who catches his wife in the act with a nun. A college student identifies with a character in a play. A young woman loses her mother and finds her father. And a high school student’s prudish English teacher strenuously objects to a single word in her paper.

In Wyoming, as in any other state, people fall in love, and sometimes relationships are shattered. Accidents, domestic violence, prejudice, and crimes all occur. Lives are torn apart, and people are reunited. Ordinary people deal with everyday and not–so–everyday situations.

The 25 stories in this collection, most of which are set in Wyoming, are about how the various characters resolve their conflicts—or not.

 

Click here for more information and ordering links.

 

About My Monthly Newsletter

 

If you haven’t already done so, please subscribe to News from My Corner by sending a blank email to:  newsfrommycorner+subscribe@groups.io .  You’ll receive a confirmation email. Reply to that with another blank message, and you should be good to go. Happy reading!