News & Updates

Bucket Lists Did you know that the idea of creating a bucket list first came out in the 1990s? I don’t recall exactly how I knew the term but I did some research and learned that there was a 1993 National Labor Relations Board report that referred to putting agenda items to be postponed in …

Playing Dress Up I never really liked having to wear a costume for Halloween when I was a youngster. Maybe it was having to be the same old witch several years in a row while my younger sister got to be the cute black cat. That’s what happens when you grow too tall for the …

🦃 Goodbye, November! 🍂 Thanksgiving dinner growing up was usually at my grandmother’s house in the city. About a dozen of us (ten family members plus a guest or two) gathered around her table (which was designed for eight people) and enjoyed the traditional turkey and dressing with all the trimmings. There was always home-baked …

🍂 October is here! 🍁 The neighbors celebrate every holiday and season with pizazz! As soon as the huge blow-up witches and goblins are gone, they put up turkeys and pilgrims, soon to be followed by all things Christmas. Others have put up the twelve-foot-tall skeletons that remind me of the walking dead. While I …

So Many Great Things Coming! Indian Summer (I hope it’s still politically okay to say that) is an (almost) annual occurrence here. The days are often sunny, though may be cool until noon and cool off quickly once the sun nears setting time. It’s great weather for putting my yard to rest for the rainy …

Summer is almost gone. It’s been a glorious summer here in the Pacific Northwest! My “Sunglow” cherry tomato bush is bursting with golden globes—so many that I made tomato jam a few days ago. One of my fellow authors posted on Facebook that she had made some so I tried it. Delicious! I really don’t …

Harvesting Has Begun! Twelve quart Ziploc bags in my freezer full of home-grown blueberries—that’s this year’s bounty. Last fall I fertilized my berry bushes for the first time—the three oldest are about 15 years old—and they loved that extra care. I also pruned them in February after watching a YouTube video on how to do …

Thank You for Reading Christie’s Flower Shoppe! Thanks to readers everywhere, Killer Flowers and Killer Wedding are having a moment. I’m enjoying this new set of characters and hard at work on the third book in the series. I’m even trying something new this time around—following an outline! One of my fellow authors writes such …

More Travels! Summer is for vacations, even for us retired people. Well, technically, I now write books (and market them) as a job, but I’m referring to my first life and career as a physician. I’m trying to find time on the calendar for a 10-14 day driving trip to some of the national parks …

Summer Fun It feels like our Pacific Northwest weather is jumping from a wet winter-like spring to a hotter-than-normal June just like that! And my plants are thriving because of it—yellow begonias which are planted next to the pond with common goldfish (some are 7 inches long) and a waterfall; pink and purple and coral …

Elbow Deep in Yard Work The Japanese Maple trees in my front and back yards leafed out to the max while I was gone. I love the delicate, lacy leaves but a little pruning is in order. Waiting for a weather window to grab the pruning shears and cut out the excess baby branches to …

Big Things Are Happening! After two weeks in France it’s time to get back to the business of books and getting a new audiobook ready for release. If all goes as planned, “Killer Flowers” will be available for the audiobook fans of the world by mid-May. There were some challenges with getting the narration completed, …

Greetings From France! The goldfish are more active, the goldfinches are flocking to the feeder, and all the shrubs and trees are fully leafed out (spell-check doesn’t like that spelling—but I’m using it anyway). There’s nothing prettier than a lace-leaf maple with its delicate, intricate leaves and arching branches. Well, the Pieris Japonica bushes are pretty …

From Texas to France One more Texas family wedding over and done! That was number four in a short span of two years. It was fun and we were able to visit friends and family in the Houston area. The only hairy part was driving from the hotel in Pearland (that’s Pear-land, not Pearl-and, by …

Spring Has Sprung! It’s Spring! The birds are fighting over the worms and bugs in the grass, the blueberry bushes are budding out (finally pruned them this year for the first time after watching a YouTube video) and the daffodils are proudly showing off their yellow flowers along the driveway, with the tulips on deck …

The Flowers Are Almost Here! March proverbially blows in with wind and rain while we wait for the sunshine and flowers of spring. My daffodils are already poking their narrow leaves out of the ground as I write this, testing whether or not it’s too early to start the next season. Tulips are smarter—they wait …

Spring is Coming… The shrubs are daring to push new leaf buds out while the daffodils and tulips get ready to do their spring flower shows. We had a major ice storm last month that damaged some usually hardy plants. I’m waiting for a couple of them to decide if they’re dead or alive before …

To Making New Friends! Ah! February with Valentine’s Day and Presidents’ Day and a few warmer-than-usual days that hint at spring, at least here in the Pacific Northwest. Having spent a couple of weeks in Kihei (Maui) in January, I am eager for those warmer days. My feet prefer to wear sandals instead of boots. …

Resolutions & Goals Less than a month into 2024 and I’ve already broken whatever resolution I made. Or at least I probably have because I don’t remember what I finally decided to go with! I do know that I promised myself I would write/release two books this year, if not more. I’m eager to see …