Waiting...

 March 25, 2025

Today was that inevitable day that arises every now and then. I’m sure many of you have had days just like them. That day when you understand that your routine is for the most part going to be ignored.

I’m okay with that, at least in theory. Especially if I have sufficient advance notice, and this time I did.

This morning we left early for my yearly checkup with my cardiologist. He’s in London, Ontario, so there’s a bit of a drive involved. Fortunately, my daughter took care of that part of things.

It’s a busy day including a couple of tests, but since he’s based in a major hospital, there was no real running around involved. Plus, I had my handy scooter so navigating my way around the place wasn’t nearly as tiring as trying to do so with my walker or my cane.

Two and a half hours after entering the hospital, I was ready for daughter to pick me up. And since it was also lunch time, we headed off to a Chinese food buffet restaurant—one in a chain that we’re lucky enough to go two a couple times a year.

Needless to say, there will be no supper made in the Ashbury household tonight.

David didn’t go with us, and I know he enjoyed having the day to himself. And since there is always a variety frozen entrees available, he won’t go hungry. But he has notified us that maybe next time, he’ll come, too. He’s not overly fond of Chinese food, but they’ve usually got some roast beef and potatoes to tease his palate.

My schedules are important to me, it’s just the way I’m wired. I’ve come to the conclusion that they’re the main glue holding my day-to-day life together. Today, my first thing in the morning agenda held—it just happened today a couple hours earlier, beginning at five-thirty a.m.

Hard to believe that I used to begin each day a little in advance of that time. Ah, the working life. Can’t say that I miss it all that much.

The snow and ice are finally gone, at least for the moment. Now we’re waiting for the temperatures to rise a little so that we can get things tidied up outside. There’s the yard to be raked and readied for those April showers to stimulate the grass. One of our wooden garden boxes is about to collapse. I believe our son is going to construct a new one to replace it. It just remains for us to clean out the one that’s done. Which we will, once the temperatures rise a bit.

Then, of course, we are waiting with bated breath to see what will be done with our front walkway. In the aftermath of the infrastructure work, as you know, our walkway was destroyed. What we don't know yet is the extent of the damage to the bulbed flower beds that were on either side of it. That’s not something that’s of immediate concern. We’ll know the answer to that question sometime before fall and decide then on how many and what kind of bulbs to plant to replace the missing.

In the meantime, while the weather spends the days playing with the wet and the chilly, I’m looking forward to those first few glorious days of warm sun and fresh, fragrant air. Days when it’s easy to believe that anything is possible, and that everything is going to be just fine.

 

Love,

Morgan

http://www.morganashbury.com

http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury

 

 

 

Beware...

 March 18, 2026

I do wish Mother Nature would make up her mind. Now, there is a part of me that absolutely identifies with her behavior. The way she teased us all just a few short days ago, giving us that taste of pleasantly warm temperatures and intoxicatingly fresh air? Seducing us to step out onto the porch without a jacket, to remember how sweet this new season can be? Genius. Simply genius.

Our human hearts went pitter pat as we felt our “hooray, it’s springtime” vibes begin to quiver awake. And yes, our little minds, tired of dealing with real life in the big city and this wretched cold winter began to go off in every possible direction, coming up with all the spring-like activities we could indulge in now that it was Spring!

I can’t claim I actually heard MN cackle with glee when, the very next day, our temperatures plunged. But I could imagine it. I also imagined seeing her rub her gnarled old hands together as snow began to fall—just a little at first, so that me, the poor human being snowed upon made the quavering assertion that it surely would all go away any minute now…

Instead, we awoke the day after that to a snowfall that, while not the deepest of the year was certainly the deepest in weeks. A snowfall compounded by a bit of rain, a bit of drizzle, more snow, then rain again so that the outside looked like a damned skating rink.

Personally, I don’t think MN is deliberately taunting us. No, I’m beginning to suspect the old girl is completely demented.

A few years back I purchased, one for my husband and one for myself, a pair of those “wearable blankets” that were quite popular at the time. They are soft, somewhat heavy, and can be worn—though if you are wearing it, you’re not walking around doing anything. The style that I got for us opened at the back, with Velcro at the neck to secure it closed, after a fashion. The sleeves are generous, there is a front pocket similar to a hoodie, and on the inside at the bottom is a cozy extra, a “pocket” to slip your feet into.

We wore them often that first year, because it was the weather being extra chilly that prompted the purchase. Come the spring, we set them away. This garment truly is the size of a blanket, and where to store them became a subject of some thought. David put his on top of his dresser. I put mine—after rolling it and then tying it up—atop the tall, large six-shelved cabinet taking up space in my office.

The thing came down at the beginning of the next winter but then sat there through a couple more, simply because it never got quite cold enough to wear it.

But the winter of 2025-2026 has been different. I shamelessly took advantage of my grandson, one day back in November, and had him retrieve it for me. He’s a long drink of water, that one, and didn’t even need a ladder to reach it.

I’ve worn my blanket-thingy a fair bit this winter, and had been considering stowing it away again, until this latest cold snap arrived. I may or may not wear it later today. Yesterday, the outside temperature didn’t rise above 16 degrees Fahrenheit, with a “feels like” of minus 6. It’s less cold (NOT warmer) today at 28 with a feel like of “16”. That, friends, is pretty darn cold!

So, I won’t stow the thing quite yet. MN is demented, remember, and I don’t want to encourage another sub-zero temperature dip. Because I have been paying attention for the last ten-plus years and what I know is this:

That recent little display from MN was just another reminder that when it comes to dealing with the elderly in this lifetime, it’s best to never drop your guard. You might think you understand all the nuances and all the subtleties connected to their words and their actions but trust me.

When it comes to those of us who used above a certain number of birthday candles on our last cake, we can be slyer—and crazier—than you could ever even imagine.

Ignore that truth at your own peril.

 

Love,
Morgan
http://www.morganashbury.com

http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury

The peace is within us...

 March 11, 2026

Rare are the moments of absolute silence. For those whose lives are busy, who are living days of constant balancing, trying to keep so many balls in the air at the same time, moments of pure silence can become their Holy Grail. Second best, if absolute silence is impossible, is a room wherein the only sound is a clock on the wall, ticking. Ah, yes.

I used to be that person. With three children under ten, with having animals about, always, and with trying to work at a day job and manage a home in the evening with equal efficiency, I can tell you there were times. Times when I would feel as if the next totally natural thing for me to do would be to pull out my hair, fists-full at a time.

Times when I would instead choose to slip out of the house, under the radar. I’d grab a coffee at the take-out window and then drive to some secluded spot—both within minutes of my house. There, I’d turn off my car, open the windows, and wait. It took a few moments for the engine of my car to stop its little ritual of ping-ping-pinging as it finished shutting down.

Head back, eyes closed, I’d take the time—never more than a few minutes were needed—to soak in the blessed silence, to find my center again. To breathe deeply and just be.

When those moments would come, those little times of escape, when I finally reached that point? Well, the irony was not lost on me, and I thought about that irony every single time.

Because way back in the beginning, when my first born was my only and we were newly returned to rural living, my escape came not through silence, but through music. Magnificent pieces of music which were never the same, as my heart and my soul have always had a lot of room for songs that touched me.

When we moved into my mother’s house, after her death, we had a lot of room. Bedrooms were upstairs but downstairs, in what would later, and after the next two children become our bedroom, was the den. The den contained a couple of comfy chairs to sit in, shelves of books to read, and our stereo system with a mountain of LPs.

A system that late at night would play Streisand or The Supremes or Neil Diamond or even a movie soundtrack—whichever flavor I craved in the moment, and always at glorious full blast.

Both husband and son back then slept like babes and never awakened—a reality I considered a gift from God. The blast of music took a bit longer to do its work than the later pounds of silence, but the music was it for the younger me. A half hour, minimum, and all would be well again.

So I have used both all-consuming music and total silence as healing balms during the course of my lifetime. Two extremes, bound together only by the use to which I put them.

Being more mature now, I no loner need the extremes. More and more I find that balance I need within myself. Moments of mindfulness, and moments of prayer have become the salve and the elixir when one is needed. And I’m pleased they’re needed less often than ever they were.

For me, absolute silence is no longer achievable. Actions always have consequences, you see, and music played at full blast has resulted in tinnitus being one of mine. But even that’s less than once it was, and I find it much easier these days, even with that constant buzz, to find contentment.

I’ve discovered, as I am sure most everyone does eventually, that contentment and peace are not commodities. They are states of being. They are not found in the world, they can never be found in the world, because that is not where they exist.

They live within us. They always have and forever will. And like just about every truly good thing in this life, having them are the result of a decision.

The world outside my office window reveals the change of seasons and thus the passage of time. But here, within my heart and within my soul, time slips away from the spotlight, and peace flourishes.

 

Love,
Morgan

http://www.morganashbury.com

http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury

 

Hang onto your sanity...

 March 4, 2026

I can finally report that most of the snow, and more importantly the ice that has been strewn about our yard is gone. Of course, we have a few of those usual places where shadows rule for most of the day. There small mounds remain, and if one didn’t see them in the corner, hovering, one would surely feel the cold they release into their immediate environs as one walks past them.

The forecast for the next week or so is promising spring-like temperatures. We will pick a time and put the cat into the basement (one of his favorite haunts) and close the door to keep him safely there for a little while. Once that has been accomplished, I plan to have both front and back door, as well as a few windows, open to the allure of what I hope will be sweet, fresh, spring air.

Our actual spring cleaning will have to wait another week, because daughter is working this weekend and trust me when I say that the kind of cleaning we need doesn’t happen without her.

I’m not completely useless when it comes to household chores, but it’s getting close. Last year I had a left arm strain that took a while to heal. Apparently, my right arm was jealous as I have been dealing with its version of the same injury for the last two and a half months. It’s getting better but still impedes the implementation of my activities list.

I’ve never been a person content to sit day after day and do nothing. I’ve had a few of those, however, during this latest little blip. I really don’t like it all that much. When it comes to the adjustments that one is forced to make as one ages, this has been the most difficult for me—and the most humbling.

 Fresh in my memory are the days when I would tackle my house like a zealot, cleaning, scouring, rearranging….well, you get the picture. I found great satisfaction in the doing, and the results. Even if in those days it was a numbers game with the odds stacked against me. The numbers? One human pro clean and tidy(me) vs. four others on the con side of the equation.

I used to joke that I could work like the dickens both Saturday and Sunday, then get up Monday and not be able to discern the hard work I’d done.

That’s not the case any longer of course. But now it takes me the lion’s share of the day to complete what I used to do in a few short hours.

Ah well, I can still cook, producing good meals and the inmates who live here with me make happy tummy sounds as they eat, so there’s that.

Here we are again, my friends, back to those words found in the book of Matthew about wars and rumors of wars. Over the course of the last two days, I have heard three separate explanations for actions taken in the middle east by three separate members of the same political administration. One claims it’s an offensive war that will only take a few weeks; one claims it’s a defensive war that may stretch a bit longer; and one says there is no war at all.

That’s a rather odd and disconcerting example of the saying, “something for everyone”.

In my corner of the world, I prefer to hold on to my sanity and my peace of mind with both hands. The Olympics are over, but certain other television shows are back, so there are diversions to be had. And since a couple of them involve music, well, that’s where I’ve chosen to place my focus.  I’m not ignoring reality. Trust me, I see what’s going on. I have just chosen to face this situation the same way as I’m facing my declining housekeeping abilities.

All I can do is all I can do and that just has to be enough. Anything else surely is the definition of madness, and I prefer to remain sane, thank you very much.

Because really, there are so damn few of us left around here anymore.

 

Love,

Morgan

http://www.morganashbury.com

http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury

 

Choose wisely.

 February 25, 2026

The snow had melted just enough to get a bit wet and sloppy, and then froze solid once more. The bottom of the stairs from our porch to the front yard is encased in thick ice. I just checked and according to the weather network, our temperature is above freezing, but “feels like” 23 degrees Fahrenheit—which is, of course, below freezing.

Apparently, the out-of-doors area our house is sitting in agrees with that “feels like” assessment as I see no signs of melting or dripping so far. This is the first “traditional” type of winter we’ve had for a long time.

On behalf of us all, I would like to thank Mother Nature for this amazing reminder of just what it is she has spared us from for the last few years. And I would, respectfully, of course, request that she allow that early spring that our two Canadian groundhogs predicted to now come forth.

The Winter Olympics of Milano-Cortina have been consigned to the record books but remain a good memory. For me, it’s not just about the medals earned—although I do take a kind of patriotic pride in the achievement of all of our Canadian teams. They did well and are to a one excellent examples of Canadian can-do spirit.

If it was just all about the hardware one would doubt the event would even take place. These games just completed hosted nearly three thousand athletes—and bestowed but 348 medals (349 if you count the honorary one given the dog who triggered the camera at the Nordic event). Those are some very long odds. If chasing a medal was the point, who would bother?

The point is the humanity. The point is the achievement. The dreaming, the striving. The thousand random acts of kindness and the myriad examples of heroism.  The point is giving it your all and not quitting even knowing you might not win.

We humans are by nature an adventurous lot. We never would have come out of the caves, otherwise. We want to see what’s over the next horizon. We want to know, could I do that? So we try, and when we succeed, we wonder, what else could I do if I just tried?

We were not created to live in caves—nor in isolation. We’re social beings, yearning to have a dream, chase a dream, and make that dream come true.

The best of times, as with the worst of times, never come to stay. They come to pass. Now it’s time to turn our sights fully back onto our own lives, our own paths. Some of us are refreshed, and yes, some of us are resigned. That’s one of the choices right now, isn’t it?

We’re surrounded by hundreds of choices each day, and some are more consequential than others. We don’t even understand, not fully, how special it is for us to be able to see the difference in the degree of choosing we do. Do I have oat cereal or corn cereal for breakfast? Do I wear this outfit or that one to work? Do I hit the drive-thru for a coffee along the way, or take one from home and practice a bit of frugality?

Do I let hate into my life and into my heart, or do I draw a hard line and keep it out?

For those who think that hate is just another thing we do, another random choice we make, I would point you toward the games just past and beg to differ. We saw not only grit and determination on our television screens night after night. We saw hands extended in friendship; we saw diversity, equity and inclusion at its finest. We saw that despite some differences there was more than bound us than that which divided us.

Hate is a choking vine, a crippling weight. Hate takes all the oxygen in the room and demands more. Hate forges shackles of iron around our hearts and our souls so that all we can do, in the end, is feed it.

Spring truly will be here before we know it. It’s time for us to decide what kind of world we want to live in. That sounds like a hard decision but it’s not. Because, you see, just as it is physically impossible for the human body to produce laughter and ulcers at the same time, it can’t grow hate and love simultaneously. 

This is a choice that each of us needs to make, and I believe it’s the most important choice any of us will ever make.

I know where I stand on this: I’ve chosen love. And I hope you do, too.

 

Love,

Morgan

http://www.morganashbury.com

http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury

 

It's not isolation....

 February 18, 2026

For the moment at least, and knock on wood, it would appear that our visit to the time of ice age-like temperatures has come to an end. As I take a moment to peer out my window, I see that clouds abound and it’s raining. No ordinary rain, that. It’s a freezing rain. The only thing you should be doing during a freezing rain is to shelter in place, and hope that place has warmth, coffee, and maybe a blankety to snuggle under.

I’m optimistic today because the winter of 25-26 is coming to a close. You’ll recall that I consider each winter to last from October to March, inclusive. Six months. We are drawing close to the end of month number five.

Anticipation awakens.

If anyone is interested, I was last out of my house (as in leaving the property and going somewhere—anywhere) on January 12^th. I had thought that if I ever ended up with more than thirty days in a row at home, I might be in danger of going stir-crazy. But I’m not, particularly, and I don’t know what to think about that.

It’s not like I’m living in isolation. Of course, I’m not. I have a lot of interaction with people who are not here in this physical space with me, as well as plenty with those who are. We’ve been purchasing and receiving supplies when needed, and we’ve a custom, lately, of ordering in Friday supper every two weeks.

There have been new and exciting things to watch on the television especially over the last week or so – I really am enjoying the Olympics. And there’s more than enough crazy happening outside to make me happy to stay home where, if there is crazy, it’s generally familiar crazy and I mostly can control it.

There is a certain level of inner peace to be had when one has no “social calendar” to follow.

I don’t tend to get bored. I’ve long ago given up on the idea that anyone or anything has responsibility over keeping my mind engaged. That’s my job and I do it quite well. Those things that I used to enjoy doing while out and about don’t hold appeal for me in the way they once did. This means, of course, that I don’t miss them.

But best of all, I have no interest in or desire to seek instant gratification. I am content to just relax and let things evolve as they will. I long ago discovered that if I had to depend upon others to have my needs or my wants met, I was going to be doing more than just bit of waiting. And waiting as a singular activity for its own sake truly is just a waste of time.

I can’t control the actions of others; I can only control how I react to those actions.

I think there was a short period of time in my younger years when I possessed a short temper. I can’t recall the details—a blessing, that—but I suspect it was related to some challenge we were facing. A short temper is not something that has ever been a major problem for me. In fact, I’ve had it pointed out to me by various friends and family members that they would have “blown their stacks” if they’d had to deal with some of the things that have crossed my path over the years.

I never really knew how to answer comments like that, then. Now I can say that anger has for the most part never been my first response. Hurt (as in hurt feelings) holds that position. It really is how I’m wired.

My 71^st title with my publisher has been out for a couple of weeks now, and I’m nearly ready to begin my 72^nd. This time I’m letting my process have its due course. I’m hoping my active choice to be patient will turn out to be the best decision ever.

Please wish me luck with that.

 

Love,

Morgan

http://www.morganashbury.com

http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury

The games have begun...

 February 11, 2026

The Winter Olympics have begun!

Now, you wouldn’t necessarily think that anyone in this household would have any joy at the prospect of seeing winter sports played on the world stage and shown on our television. We don’t care for winter, not one bit. We abhor the cold, the ice, and the never-ending struggle to stay warm. We cheer when Ground Hog Day finally arrives and pray for an early spring. All this is true and I will never deny it.

 But what also is true is that we enjoy watching more sports of the Winter Olympics than we do of the summer games.

The ski jumping, the snowboarding, especially the aerials, and the moguls hold endless fascination for both David and me. We’ve never truly aspired to be performers of any of those truly mind-boggling feats. But we are happy to bear witness, to cheer in support of successfully executed derring-do, or groan in commiseration of a wipe-out, as the case may be. Some of the tricks these amazing athletes pull are simply un-fricking-believable.

We’ve always enjoyed watching figure skating events. Now, here I must confess that from the nineteen-nineties to the early-aughts we were traumatized by the spills we witnessed on Olympic figure skating ice. You know you’re on shaky emotional ground when your field of vision is obscured by the splayed-fingers-in-the-fear-of-imminent-disaster. In the years post Albertville and Lillehammer, Salt Lake City and Turin, we drifted away some from watching those events.

And of course, while the fortunes of our own Canadian teams have always been nearest and dearest to our hearts, whatever the discipline, we are eager to watch and cheer greatness and grit regardless of the nationality of any performer with heart and/or talent.

The phrase “Jamaican bobsled team” still brings a smile to my face.

In fact, I think those gentlemen should be celebrated as the kings of the spirit of the Olympics. They had no hope in hell of ever winning, or even medaling, but they gave it their all, regardless.

We watch news casts each night that we’ve taped—mainly because we’re not ready to watch when they are actually airing. And then, because the winter Olympics have indeed begun, we turn to a Canadian network where we can be assured of discovering the results for most of the events of the day, regardless of the nationality of the medal winners.

In 1998, at the Nagano games, was the first year that curling became a medal event. And we discovered that sport as we sat and watched our Canadian Women’s team, skipped by the late Sandra Schmirler, play excellent ends on their march toward the gold medal. We’d never actually watched curling before, but we were hooked before that first game ended. Now it’s a must-see event for us—even in non-Olympic years.

We have nearly two weeks left to enjoy this wonderful change of pace programming each evening. The competition is fierce, especially from those who are not athletes nor, at this time, the focus of the world’s attention. Not an unexpected bit of noise amid the true-life drama of honest athletic competition. That’s all right. I’m a mother, a grandmother and a great-grandmother.

I know how to handle the tantrums/distractions of jealous toddlers.

And I am getting better, day by day, at living in the moment. I celebrate this moment, this day, for the joy, and for the heart and determination that is on display, the show itself a truly international achievement.

I’m reminded of the time back in 2000, I think it was when my eldest grandson was eight. His family visited during the Olympics, and I asked him if he’d seen one of our Canadian gymnasts performing in particular event I knew to be one of his favorites. He sighed and said, “yes, but he only came in fourth.” He made the word “fourth” sound like the most disappointing substance, ever.

I waited until he was looking at me, and I gave him another perspective. I said, “Wow, out of all the boys or men in the world who are gymnasts, he came in fourth! The fourth best in the world! That’s great!”

I recall that at the time, he went with it and immediately seemed to feel happier than he had. I have no idea if any of that change in perspective stayed with him, but I like to think that down deep, it has.

So, let the games continue—and let us all continue to keep hope alive!

 

Love,

Morgan

http://www.morganashbury.com

http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury

I can adapt...

 February 4, 2026

I don’t know about all y’all, but I am having very fond memories right about now of the January thaw that took place nearly a month ago. The last few winters sure as hell spoiled us, didn’t they? This season we are now in is more like what the ubiquitous “they” refer to as a “traditional winter” than what we’ve had in the past several years.

It’s very wise of them to call it a “traditional” rather than a “normal” winter, because honestly very little seems normal anymore.

Today marks the 23^rd straight day that I have not left my house. That is due almost but not entirely to the weather. It’s too damn cold for me outside, period. There’s too much snow and ice, as well, for me to navigate. That’s the weather.

Here is one more factor: Do you recall that I was delighted when the road construction crew, on their last day, put down some asphalt to connect what used to be my walkway (and which they had torn up all to hell) from my porch to the road? Well, I’m still grateful, although there is a teeny-tiny problem with it. Turned out, it’s not a nice, gentle slope. It’s a steepish slope with a big bump and dip at the end.

And with the ice and the snow, even after safety salt, I cannot navigate it alone. My daughter asked for and received my promise that I wouldn’t even try. I’m not an idiot. The first time she helped me from the base of my porch steps to the road, I knew that I would not be able to manage it without help.

Now, this isn’t a permanent problem. Come the spring there will be a landscaping crew here who will remove the asphalt and then reconstruct the walkway base that the crew had destroyed. Then there will be a new walkway, and we will install proper railing, and then all will be well.

I was able to navigate the journey from road to house quite well, year-round, before the disruption of this construction, and I will be able to do so again once it is complete.

In the meantime, you’re likely thinking how lucky I am that our daughter is here. She can fetch and carry what needs to be fetched and carried. And you’re more than half right, there. However, there is a limit to the number of items she can bring home on any given day. Oh, she manages that asphalt, but it’s not easy for her, either.

Bringing home a full grocery order is a lot easier done when she has her two pre-teen grandchildren there with her to lug and carry.

Of course, we don’t want to overtax them. And on other days she will bring what we need after work, but I don’t want to overtax her.

So just recently we’ve found, tried, and adopted another tool for our toolbox. We have a restaurant delivery service here in Canada called Skip the Dishes. And lately they’ve extended their services to include certain grocery stores and other places like pharmacies and even convenience stores. There are four places we shop for groceries on a regular basis, and another store where we shop occasionally, and Skip covers two of the five. Our main go-to for groceries uses a different service, and we now have an account with the company that covers that store as well.

Some members of my family might be surprised at the speed with which I’ve changed my routine and way of doing things. (The people closest to you never really see you clearly.) The truth is, I’ve never been against change.

I just don’t like change for change’s sake. But show me a solid, good reason to adapt, and I’m there.

That trait and my sense of humor haven’t saved my life. But they have saved my sanity.

 

P. S. My 71^st title for my publisher, which is also the 49^th title in the Lusty, Texas Collection is out today! You’ll find it at the second link below.

 

Love,

Morgan

http://www.morganashbury.com

http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury

 

 

On writing...

 January 28, 2026

Every author has their own process, their own style, and their own unique point of view. Each of us has very definite preferences when it comes to those things that are on the periphery of the production of our work: time of day for best results, type of music at play (if any), and perhaps even favorite talismans that must be present in the vicinity of “where the magic happens”, in order for the writing process to go smoothly.

 Seriously, the only dedicated group of practitioners that I’ve ever seen even more finicky than authors are avowed Bingo fanatics.

One can attempt to circumvent the “process”, but in my experience that never ends well. It causes, at the very least, a lot of re-thinking. But at most, trying to speed things up can sometimes result in epic slowdowns instead.

What rules there are when it comes to the art and/or craft of writing are almost always to do with syntax and punctuation. You do need some talent, but you don’t need truckloads of it. Because a lot of what one does when one writes is craft—and craft can be learned.

I’ve been a published author since 2007, and in the next week, my 71^st title will be available for release from my publisher, Bookstrand.com. Being an author is the career I dreamed of when I didn’t believe it could happen. That didn’t stop me from writing manuscripts. I wrote plenty, most of which will likely never see the light of day. They were mine in the way that a pianist may exercise her fingers over the keyboard, producing tunes that are in fact evidence of craft in motion.

I’m in the process right now of sketching out my 72^nd title. The last couple I rushed through the opening phases and I’m here to tell you I won’t do that again. I love what I do, every aspect of it. I’m not, I’m sad to say, fond of or even very good at promoting my work. I’m a writer because I love to write. I know now, as I never understood as a child, that love came to me through my genes.

My father was a writer at heart, a man who began as a teen to take pen to paper to produce poems and very short little stories. But when he was in his senior year of high school, his father died. This was in the 1930s, and in those days a young man, as he was, whose mother had been widowed, left school and found a job to support his mother and himself.

He died when I was a child and I have no idea how he truly felt about that. Except, being a young man who turned his back on what he loved in order to do his duty, I can only guess. By the time he was a husband himself, and a father, he would have made peace with how things had turned out. I don’t believe once he went to work that he ever truly picked up pen and pad again. I found remnants of his work from when he was a young man, still dreaming his own dreams. No later work was found. So perhaps he decided to just let that dream go.

My memories are of a loving and smiling man, a man who loved to pull pranks. This tells me now, with my adult understanding, that he made peace with his life, and lived to the best of his ability.

But I also know that while that might have been so, it wasn’t all. My mother told me, when I was old enough to understand, that he had made her promise that if anything happened to him, his son was not to be pulled out of school to go to work. It was my father’s wish that his son would have the freedom to choose his own future.

And so, when my brother was in his senior year of high school, and his father died, my mother insisted he finish his education. He attended Teacher’s College after high school and then, as he assumed the teacher’s role that he held until he retired, he also attended university courses every summer until first earning his B.A. and then his Master’s.

Our father would have been proud—and I believe with all my heart he would have been proud of us both.

 

Love,

Morgan

http://www.morganashbury.com

http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury

 

 

 

We're the ones!

 January 21, 2026

I’m not at all sure just exactly when it all changed. I would have thought that if that was going to happen, we’d notice it. I’d notice it, you’d notice it, everybody would notice it. Then somebody would blow a whistle, and some referee would step up, step out, and throw a flag on the play. Folks would be penalized on every side, then, situation fixed, play would resume. It would have been nipped in the bud.

It should have been nipped in the bud.

Growing up, working your way from the teenage years toward that coveted, holy grail of individual evolution—aka adulthood—there were several things you were careful about. You wanted to be liked but you also wanted to be respected. You wanted to make a good impression. Remember that? You were cognisant of the weight of certain moments. You knew enough to take your time, prepare, check yourself in the mirror. The introduction. The interview. A shot at having a job. Those moments, the closer you got to being “grown up”, mattered even more, and you were of sober mind going forward—even if you were nervous as hell.

And going forward there were a number of mistakes that you could make if you weren’t careful. Mistakes you knew existed and that you were already determined not to make. That you promised yourself you would avoid.

Number one on the list of what to absolutely avoid? Lying. You didn’t want to be known as a liar.

You wanted to be trustworthy, you wanted to be honest and have a good reputation, and being a liar would have been the biggest black mark of all black marks that you could earn.

When exactly did we, as a society, stop caring about honesty? It must have been one of those slippery slope things we were warned about growing up and somehow missed as we were sliding.

A damn shame, that. If you don’t believe me, just look around at what we’re living with in the wider world around us. Look at the characters that fill our news screens each night.

I have always believed in the power of accumulative personal action. I’ve written countless essays on the topic. I once mused on how busy our local grocery is almost every day, and I spoke of the existence in that store of a big empty box that awaits donations to the local food bank. I pointed out that sometimes we don’t give because we think the small amount of the donation we can afford won’t make a difference. And then I mused that there were likely more than a hundred people going into that store every day. And if every time someone going into the store chose one item and put it in that big ol’ empty box for the food bank, it wouldn’t be empty for long. In fact, I think it would be filled each day.

There’s a tragedy in another town, another state, or even another country. We could give 5 dollars, but who needs 5 dollars? That won’t make a difference. But what if you are one of a thousand such people in your state or your province? Why, your 5 dollars becomes 5 thousand dollars! Or what if there are one hundred thousand such people in your country – and there are! Holy crap, that’s half a million dollars! Not so small, really, is it?

We can hope for things to get better in the wider world, for folks to be more honest and to be kinder. To stop lying. To stop letting lying liars who lie get away with it. But we can do one more thing. We can, each of us, do our best to be the example that others can live by. We can be kind, and honest. And when we see someone who needs our help, we can reach out. We can show respect for the law by behaving lawfully, and our distain for abuse of power by speaking out when we see it in action.

Just as it is never the wrong time to do the right thing, it’s never too late to begin to do the right thing, either.

By the simple act of standing up and saying no, we encourage others to do the same thing. And before you know it, a movement has been born. The truth is the truth now, as it has always and ever been, and here it is:

We are the heroes that we have been waiting for.

 

Love,

Morgan

http://www.morganashbury.com

http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury

Routines and ice...

 January 14, 2026

The January thaw has come and gone—more or less. Once one understands that “normal” is a highly subjective word, one may relax and simply observe the days as they come and go, noting them in a journal, perhaps, if one is so inclined. But the need to clarify and to classify is no longer present.

We did have a few days that were wonderfully mild last week. You know the kind of days I’m talking about. Days in January when you step out your door in shirtsleeves and give yourself a small grin, because it feels like spring. Well, yes, that happened. For a few days. Sadly, we likely won’t see above forty-degree temperatures in these parts again until it really is spring. We’re not there yet. Hell, the official countdown hasn’t even begun yet. That starts on Groundhog Day, more than 15 days from now.

A great deal of the snow and ice that we had has melted, but certainly not all of it. Yes, there are bare patches on lawns and roads, and the large ridges of snow and ice that had fallen off the blades of the various plows that had been out since the first snowfall in early November have shrunken. But they didn’t go away entirely.

According to the weather forecast, we’re about to get some more snow, a steady downfall, but who can know exactly how much? In the meantime, between the snow and ice that was and that which is to come, the stores are out of safety salt. Again.

I’ve actually been out of the house once over the last few days. The day before yesterday my daughter and I ventured to a large store in our area to get a few things. Barely three bags worth of things, because we’re being thoughtful about how we shop. Not only because we are practicing frugality, but also because what one purchases must then be carried into the house.

At the moment, I am only capable of carrying myself. Because of the slope of the “walkway” from porch to road that we’ve got (a temporary situation, to be remedied come the spring), I need assistance from house to car and back again. Until it is spring and the other path my grandson built is absolutely ice free, I cannot make the trek alone. That is one boundary I am not willing to push.

That leaves the grocery lugging up to our daughter. She can manage, if she’s careful. Hence neither David nor I want to overload her. Our larger once a month supply runs will resume in the good weather.

Tomorrow, David goes in for cataract surgery on his left eye. So today the eye drop regimen began. It’s not as difficult, or as confusing, as I thought it would be. Of course, being anal, I had to read the instructions over and over again. I've organized this assignment, but that’s all I can do. The actual application of the drops is up to him. Then in about two weeks—on the twenty-eighth—he goes back for the same surgery on his right eye.

We had been warned that the wait to get the work done might be long, but we’ve lucked out. Between when he discovered he needed the surgery and today was a period of not quite three full months.

So for the next while at least, there is a new element to the daily routine here in the Ashbury household. And I’m sure once we’re into it, things will go smoothly and we can relax into the rhythm of life.

The truth is that while I’m far more anal than he is, he, too, prefers a routine that is established, and familiar, edging toward comfortable.

Which means, just by the reality of what life can be like, the times when we are in the open seas of smooth sailing are truly few and far between.

 

Love,

Morgan

http://www.morganashbury.com

http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury

 

January...

 January 7, 2026

For many of us, the holiday season has come to a close for another year. For some, this week of getting back into the routine of living is welcome relief. I know that everyone in this house is grateful for the “pieces of quiet” that are now ours—for the most part.

Of course, the dogs are still barking and the unplanned and inconvenient will still happen. Such is life. But if one is unused to large gatherings and lots of noise and activity, then one is grateful for the afterwards. The good thing is that the noisier and more chaotic those few days of celebrations were, the more calming seems this return to the “boring norm”.

It was a lively and fun season for us. We got to see all but three of our grandchildren – and when I use that word it includes our “in-law” grands—we have two granddaughters-in-law. One of our granddaughters and her wife are now in another province. This makes getting together en masse very challenging and thus rare. The one grandson we didn’t get to see, we’d hosted the month before for a few days. He couldn’t make it here during Yule and again, that’s just life.

So far, the winter of 25-26 appears to be what I would call a more traditional winter. This is the first year in a few that the snow that fell in early November has remained in place without melting. The cold has been pretty solid, too, not deviating much except to the degree of cold we get to enjoy—alternating between bone-chilling and bone-shattering.

I checked the weather for the next few days. To go along with the theme of “traditional winter” it appears that we are about to have a true January thaw. The temperature is slated to hit 50 on Friday. And because it has been pretty solidly cold since early November, I’m thinking that 50 is going to feel like a 70 in early spring.

In case y’all have forgotten what a “traditional winter” entails, after the January thaw there should be another deep dive into the world of sub-zero temperatures by next week. And it’s possible that this plunge will last the entire month of February.

This is the reason, I believe, that February is the shortest month. My father, I’ve been told, used to refer to the second month of the year with a prefix that was a hyphenated epithet. But I digress.

It’s generally in February that I go into semi-hibernation mode. I hunker down, because for me this time of year—when nature is getting ready to hold its nose and dive deep into the sub-zeroes—is a time of year to be survived, period.

I really don’t mind hunkering down. I have my writing, and there are always books to read. There can be nice, quiet afternoons spent in comfort heaven, with a heating pad, a warm blanket, and a much-loved recliner. Sometimes I put music on my television, as a just-able-to-hear background sound. Cap it all off with a nice cup of decaf, and I’m good.

I suppose that’s all part of the grand plan, when you think about it. Nature herself tends to have a period of dormancy, a time to rest, to prepare for the growing season to come. Many of her wild critters do the same.

So keep warm, my friends. And after the hustle and bustle of the last few weeks, make sure you take time for yourself. If you can’t hunker or hibernate, at lease schedule some quality self-care time. Pamper yourself.

You deserve it!

 

Love,

Morgan

http://www.morganashbury.com

http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury