I am proud to announce my book Flip Flap Try . . . A Cardinal’s Journey is now available in a less expensive soft cover format. It is more slender and slightly smaller. It’s cover is shiny and pretty sturdy for a soft cover book. Both books are for sale at my author website JanetKassalenAuthor.com. Just go to the buy now tab to purchase a signed copy. The soft cover price is $14.99 + tax + shipping & handling. The hard cover is $19.99 + tax + shipping and handling. I am sure you would enjoy either format, it just depends on your preference which one you decide to buy.

I am happy at how well received the story of Rainier is and to hear the ways it has helped children and adults alike. Did I mention how fabulous the illustrations are? A shout out to illustrator Laura Yoder. It was her first book also. I love the bright colors she used and the expressions on the characters faces.

Writing and promoting my book has been a rewarding experience. I am glad to be able to share it with you.

“Eventually all things fall into place. Until then, laugh at the confusion, live for the moment and know Everything happens for a reason.” — Albert Schweitzer. I recently got to play my banjo in a music recital. I had tried to play my instrument a couple of times in front of people previously, but had failed from being too nervous or not as familiar with playing banjo as I needed to be. I decided that the music recital consisting of students who were taking lessons at the music shop would be a good way for me to practice playing in front of strangers. I made the commitment to do so. I also decided that I would not back out of my commitment. I made practicing a priority. I paved out some practice time. I knew it was best to practice well before the recital in order to let the muscles in my fingers learn how to move. In order to learn a song well enough for a performance, where you just keep playing forward through the piece as best you can without stopping, you must practice. Though, sometimes starting over from the beginning is warranted. It’s natural to be nervous for a performance. It means you care. Well, I made it through my solo without too many mishaps. The positive comments I received afterwards helped to validate my feelings of happiness. Happy to have succeeded my goal of playing in front of strangers without getting too nervous. I had learned a hard lesson as a child about performing. One time I memorized my song for my first piano recital. When I sat down at the piano, to my surprise, I couldn’t remember how the song started. I think my teacher was more embarrassed than I was. I learned a hard lesson that day — always bring your music with you to a recital. The fact that I had disappointed my piano teacher affected me more than the embarrassment of forgetting how to play my song. I don’t recall ever playing that song again. To this day, I do not remember what song it was. No matter. I have a new song now — Grandfather’s Clock. And I suspect, this time, I won’t forget it till my heart’s last tick tock, tick tock, tick . . . tock . . . chime!

“You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” — Ansel Adams. Since writing my cardinal story, my love for cardinals has grown. My eyes became keen on noticing cardinal objects or artwork wherever I go. The picture of a cardinal at the beginning of this blog was one such item. I bought this cardinal artwork at a craft fair in Texas. The image on it is a photograph of a cardinal taken by photographer Edward Charles. He worked hard at creating such a beautiful image of a cardinal to share with others. I especially like how he framed it using a special photography technique of blurring the original photo. The blurred frame makes a nice contrast to the original photo. I appreciate the work he put into making it. Creative photographs just don’t happen by accident. (The same thing applies to stories in a book.) The photographer behind the camera sees/feels something special when taking a photograph (writing a book). Part of you enters into the picture. Knowing how to work the camera (learning writing techniques) helps, of course. It takes practice. I’ve heard it said, “You can tell the greatness of a photographer by the size of his wastebasket.” We can work on being more creative by being in tune with the creative side of ourselves. It helps to carve out blocks of quiet time and to take trips on vacations. Appreciating others creativeness can be learned and give us joy (and new ideas.) There is a lot of beauty in this world. I hope you can develop your creative mind to capture more and more of it. Then share it with others.

This morning, I had to hurry to finish packing for my trip to Texas. I rolled my suitcase to the backdoor of our house, making it ready for a quick exit. I was already about half an hour later than I planned to leave the house. Decided it would be prudent to glance over my ‘do not forget’ list once more. Sports jacket for Mike (my husband) was on the list. “Oh yes, he asked me to bring him one,” I thought. Funny, when we talked on the phone the other night, he said “Remember to bring a sports jacket.” I had forgotten he had asked me to bring one for himself. I though he was wanting me to bring one for myself. I’m glad I checked my ‘do not forget’ list once more & glad I had written it down as “sports jacket for Mike.” I sat at the airport waiting for my connecting flight feeling full from my meal at Friday’s, sipping my ‘to go’ unsweetened iced tea. People were passing by rolling their suitcases. I hear two dings from my cell phone, signaling a message. I check it. It was my husband messaging, “See you soon.”

I used to write letters home to my mom when sitting in the waiting room at car appointments. If I were to write a letter to Mom today (which happens to be the anniversary of her passing) what might I say? Perhaps something like this . . .“Things are keeping me busy. I was able to get tax information together, taken over and dropped off to our accountant yesterday. Hope I did OK with it. I didn’t have enough time to gather up all of my expenses. Trying to carve out more time to work on my second book. Recently decided to make some changes. I will have to work out some new details in the scenes . . .”

Albert Einstein once said that imagination is more important than knowledge. Having time to sit and reflect gives one time to organize their thoughts & think of new ideas. With writing, you may want to just start typing and see where it takes you. Time passes by quickly when you work on a writing project.

Still at the airport, I checked my watch. Time to catch my connecting flight. There was a gate change, of course. Luckily, I was able to walk quickly to the new gate location and make my flight.

When my husband & I got to the hotel room tonight, I unpacked my suitcase. Took Mike’s sports jacket from the front zipper pocket of the suitcase where I had hurriedly stuffed it this morning and handed it to him. He said, “Thanks. That’s the one I would have picked. Glad you brought it.”

Back to my letter . . . “Thank you helping me with so many things. Hope things are going well. Miss you.

Love,
Janet”

The start of a new year is a great time to start something new. Having a support group/person may help you keep going. I recently joined a gym and signed up for coaching there. The coach did an assessment of my current physical health including my known problems such as back pain. She tailors the exercise routines so as not to aggravate any problems I have. I started out slow, using light weights and have progressed to heavier weights. It takes a bit of commitment and pushing oneself at times. It is rewarding to see progress. I am working to make healthier food choices.  I believe all foods fit. I try to make healthier food choices more often and ask for small portions of some higher calorie foods. If I am full, I know I should stop eating. In college I had a roommate from Pakistan. She said that she was taught one should stop eating just before feeling full. Sounds like some good advice. Filling your plate with some lower calorie foods such as lettuce and carrots helps to curb overeating.

There are other areas for new beginnings. Toastmasters is a place where one can work on improving communication and speaking skills. One recent guest to the Wilmington Expressives club said he was surprised to learn that Wilmington had a toastmasters club. It is the best kept secret in town, someone told me, trying to point out that our club needs to advertise itself more. One can also find writing groups for improving writing skills. Just like Rainier, the main character in my book, tried new things till he found his fit in life, so could we. Explore new beginnings to find what works for you. May you have a happier, healthier and more rewarding new year.

I didn’t have time to set up our stored away in garage attic Christmas tree this year. Instead, I rediscovered some other Christmas decorations which I had stored in one of our bedroom closets. Actually, it was evidence of a mouse which prompted me to take everything out of the closet. It was nice to rediscover some older decorations I hadn’t used in years. I had fun finding places to display them for the holidays. Sometimes we stuff things away; sometimes our feelings. One day, a lady noticed me stuffing one of my used Kleenex in my purse. She told me I was a stuffer. She said I tended to hide my feelings. I was a bit hurt by her observation. Sometimes the truth hurts. I remember once telling someone I was fine when I was really pretending to be fine. I later found someone whom I could trust to tell everything was not fine. I asked for their help. Building friendships is so important in life. Having people you can trust. A good friend is one who can tell you when you are doing something wrong. They love you enough to tell you so. Reaching out for help from others is a good thing, as is reaching out to help someone. I had my book published, at least one of the reasons for doing so, to help people who might be struggling with their career. I wanted to give people hope they would find their dream job someday. I know my book Flip Flap Try has given some people hope from hearing feedback of those who have read it. I believe you never know when and who you might be able to help. You don’t have to write a book. Just having a conversation with someone may give them hope, point them in the right direction. Usually something sparks us to take action. For me this year it was a Christmas mouse . . . a personal coach, book coach, two marketing assistants, speech coach, writer’s group, shop owners, personal trainer, friends, kind neighbors and loving family.