Give Me the Simple Life

By Nancy Jill Thames

For years, I spent hours upon hours of precious time gardening and tending to our white Maltese, Chloe. She had to be rinsed off after tracking in grass and dirt from every  potty break in our back yard. This happened at least five times a day. That, coupled with all the time spent preparing fresh, healthy meals for the little sweet thing, and finding suitable care while traveling with my husband, I finally reached my wits end. A decision was made (much to my husband's chagrin - he loved the dog) to take Chloe with us on a flight to visit our grandchildren in California and leave her there. Quite equitable, really - they needed a dog and I needed freedom. Voila! Funny thing is, now they have me fly out to baby-sit the grand kids and the dog! But at least I'm not rinsing off paws five times a day!

The other major decision made to simplify my life was to get rid of every houseplant and outdoor potted plant we owned (except for one, the geranium pictured in the photo). Living in California, gardening was a pleasurable past time - in Texas, the heat and humidity curtails any such enthusiasm, so only native plants and hardy variety of roses live in our yard. The loveliest thing about having a simple life? More time to spend what I love doing - writing cozy mysteries!

Now that I've dealt with simplifying pets and gardening, I only need to figure out how to simplify housework, laundry, and cooking. Fear not, I'm working on it. 

How do you deal with simplifying your life? 

Nancy Jill Thames is the author of "Jillian Bradley Mysteries," Christian fiction based on travel adventures with her husband. The stories reflect Nancy Jill's love of art and serving afternoon tea, which has earned her the title of “Queen of Afternoon Tea.” She is listed numerous times on the Author Watch Bestseller's List and won awards for her blogs. Nancy Jill is a Texas Longhorn, with a fine arts degree from University of Texas in Austin, where she resides with her husband. The author donates 10% of book sales to the Central Texas SPCA-a no kill animal shelter.

Nancy Jill is busy working on book 6 Waiting for Santa, a murder mystery taking place on Christmas Eve near Jillian Bradley’s home in Clover Hills.  

Member of the Leander Writers Guild.

To check out her books, Murder in Half Moon Bay, The Ghost Orchid Murder, From the Clutches of Evil, The Mark of Eden, and Pacific Beach, please visit the Cozy Book Store and her blogs: 

Cozy Mystery Author, Nancy Jill Thames

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