The year has held its ups and downs for me; I'm sure it has for you, too. I'm counting on the year ending on a note of joy (and gingerbread!) and look forward to a new year brimming with promise and peace.

I am the richest person alive (or at least one of!) because I get to do what I love as a career.

It's the company, not the cooking, that makes a meal.

[Rejection] made me quit writing once. For six months. I started up again when my then seven-year-old son asked me to start writing again because I was too grumpy when I wasn't writing.

The worst thing of all is standing by when folks are doing something wrong.

Isn't it fascinating how long a few minutes seem when you are completely alone with not a familiar face in sight?

Why couldn't I be more like other girls my age? Take Mrs. Brown's niece. She spent every waking hour sizing up this beau or that, stitching tea towels and petticoats and putting aside a little each month for a set of Spode Buttercup dishes.