Lynn Austin's Blog, page 10

Balancing Act

I haven’t always done well in the balancing act between work and play. I’ve learned over the years that when I work too hard, my creativity shrivels up and the work I love becomes a chore. When I play too much when I should discipline myself to work, I end up at my computer bleary-eyed, late into night. Neither option is a good one. When my children were small, the words of Psalm 90 inspired me to never stop searching for that balance. It’s a prayer of Moses—who certainly had a LOT on his plate! After commenting on the brevity of life, his prayer is: “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” And over the years, God has been helping me find that balance.

My newest novel, “Legacy of Mercy” launched October 2. With help from my social media assistant and good friend Christine Bierma, and a wonderful launch team (thanks everyone!) the book is off to a great start. After several speaking events and interviews, I felt a nudge that it was time for some play. So, my husband and I joined friends Becky and Tim for two days of hiking and biking in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park in northern Michigan. The leaves were changing, the salmon were swimming upstream to spawn, and the Lake Michigan scenery was breathtaking. Here are some of the highlights.

I’m home again, refreshed and renewed and eager to jump back into my work-in-progress. I’ve been reminded that “a thousand years in God’s sight are like a day that has just gone by.” And I’ll continue to pray that He will teach me to number my days aright.

Launch Day

There are two days I look forward to the most in my writing life—the day I turn in the finished manuscript of my novel, and the day the novel is finally released to the public. Tomorrow is launch day for my newest book, “Legacy of Mercy.”

The novel is a sequel to “Waves of Mercy” and features the same main characters. Geesje DeJonge is a 67-year-old widow who told her story of immigrating from the Netherlands in 1847 in the first book. Anna Nicholson is a wealthy 23-year-old woman from Chicago who is engaged to a wealthy banker, and is just beginning her walk of faith under Geesje’s guidance.

I never planned to write this sequel. Aside from my biblical fiction, my books have all been stand-alone novels. But since Anna is only 23, readers of the first book begged me to write about what happens next in her life. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to find out what happens next, too.

As part of my book launch, I have several fun events planned. If you’re in the area, I would love to meet you at one of them and sign a brand-new copy of my book for you.

• On October 2, I’ll be speaking at Christ Memorial Church in Holland, Michigan at 7:00 pm about my writing process and the inspiration for both books.

• On October 4, I’ll be speaking on those same topics at Baker Book House in Grand Rapids, Michigan at 7:00 pm.

• I’ll be at the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Holland on Saturday, October 6 from noon until 2.

• And I’ll be at Georgetown Township Public Library in Jenison, Michigan at 7:00 pm on October 9.

• Last but not least, we’re planning another luncheon and bus tour to visit some of the sites around Holland that are mentioned in my books. (Contact Tam Velderman for more information about the tour at tamvelderman@yahoo.com)

So, how do I entice you to want to read “Legacy of Mercy” without giving away the plot? Well, there’s a mystery that Anna will be trying to solve with a little help from the Pinkerton detectives—a real agency founded in 1850. You may enjoy solving it along with her.

The story takes place in the Gilded Age when society women wore beautiful gowns like these and the one shown on the book cover.

The Gibson Girl hairstyle was a popular look.

And wealthy Chicagoans were building over-the-top mansions to replace the homes destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire.

And staffing them with servants at their back and call.

Every good novel needs a love story, and I hope readers will enjoy the one I’ve created in “Legacy.” Sorry, I can’t tell you who the lucky lovers are, but I hope you’ll be surprised.

I doubt if many of us share Anna’s extravagant lifestyle, but many of us have shared her journey to find God’s purpose for our lives. It’s a theme that’s very dear to me because it also took me a long time to discover my purpose. I love to share my story whenever I’m invited to speak at events because it’s the story of God’s faithfulness. I don’t have the time or space to share it here, but I hope that Anna’s journey will inspire readers who are still seeking.

Finally, I’m giving away two free copies of “Legacy of Mercy” to help celebrate launch day. One winner will be randomly selected from among my newsletter subscribers (go to www.lynnaustin.org to subscribe.) The other winner will be chosen from those who leave a comment below. Good luck! And I hope you enjoy “Legacy of Mercy.”

Hidden Treasure

Two of my favorite hobbies when I’m not writing are bicycling and hiking in the woods with my husband. Now we’ve added something new to these adventures—geocaching.

It’s a treasure hunt, of sorts. Avid fans of this sport hide thousands (if not millions!) of “caches” all around the world in out-of-the way places, then give GPS coordinates and clever hints for how to find them. We searched for some while vacationing in Florida, when visiting our son in California, and when we traveled to Germany. I found a few while hiking in New York State with my sister last week. They are everywhere!

A geocaching app on our phones locates them using GPS coordinates. The compass then takes us within a few feet of where it’s hidden. After that we use the hints that are provided and our powers of observation to find the hidden container. Some are hidden right along the trail; others require bush-whacking through underbrush or reaching into holes—not my favorite things to do.

Large caches are the size of a shoebox.

Medium ones the size of a sandwich container.

Small ones, a medicine bottle.

Micro caches are even tinier.

I’m pretty good at the larger ones. The micro-sized ones often defeat me. Some caches offer little trinkets inside as a reward. I found a dollar bill in one. All of them have some sort of log book to sign. But for me, the reward is in the pleasure of the hunt and the thrill of discovery.

Recently, I’ve been trying to apply my new treasure-hunting skills to my spiritual walk. Our pastor has been preaching about the Imago Dei—the image of God—which resides in every person on earth. The Bible says we were made in God’s image, so that spark is hidden there, whether we see it in someone or not. The key to loving our neighbor as Jesus taught, is to remember that even the most unlovable people are made in His image, although we may need to search hard to find it.

Sometimes I meet strangers and feel an instant connection—and discover that they have a huge cache of faith and love of Christ in their hearts. Their treasures are easy to find. Then there are people who rub me the wrong way, or whose outward behavior is offensive, or who don’t seem to have any redeeming qualities at all. Those are the ones I want to turn away from and give up on without even bothering to search. It seems as difficult as finding a micro-cache in a forest. But they have been made in God’s image too, and deserve to be shown His love. Weren’t we all “lost” at one time?

Jesus was amazing at finding that spark of the Divine image in unlikely people such as tax collectors, prostitutes, and demoniacs. And I’m supposed to become more and more like Him, aren’t I? He taught us to “love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you,” but I never quite understood how to do it. Maybe the key is to search for that hidden treasure of God’s image. Jesus also tells us why we should bother to look: “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous.” He doesn’t want anyone to remain lost—and so I shouldn’t, either.

I often wish I had a handy app to make it easier, but I do have the Word of God to guide me. If I’m faithful to follow it, that should be more than enough.

Once in a Lifetime

The August day, forty-eight years ago, was hot and sticky. I curled my long hair before leaving home but the humidity uncurled it by the time I reached the church. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except that I was about to marry my best friend.

It was a simple wedding. Ken was starting graduate studies at Yale so we didn’t have a lot of money. My sister Bonnie, my maid of honor, sewed my wedding gown and all of my bridesmaids’ dresses. My sister Peggy and girlfriend Ann were my bridesmaids. Ken’s fraternity brothers were his groomsmen.

My parents prayed for me before the ceremony began, and Mom nearly brought me to tears as she thanked God for “loaning” me to her for the past twenty years. Dad was teary-eyed and very nervous about giving me away. I was the first of his three daughters to marry, so this was new to him. But I saw Ken waiting for me at the end of the aisle and I couldn’t stop smiling.

It wasn’t a “picture-perfect” wedding by any means. The heel of Dad’s shoe got hooked on my veil, and as he walked back to his pew after kissing me goodbye, my veil went with him. I scrambled backwards down the aisle to keep it from tearing off my head, whispering, “Dad! Dad, stop!” He thought I was changing my mind.

Ken and I gazed at each other, holding hands, as we spoke our vows—the wonderful old-fashioned ones that promise “For better for worse, in sickness and in health, until death we part.” Then the pastor dropped Ken’s wedding ring and it made a lovely, pinging sound as it bounced down the three wooden steps from the altar to the aisle. Our best man chased after it.

We knelt down and the pastor laid his hands on our heads as he prayed for us. But my headpiece had real roses in it, and I could feel the thorns digging into my scalp as his hands pressed down. I envisioned trails of blood coursing down my brow, and wondered why on earth the florist had left the thorns in! But I remember what he said as he prayed for us—that God would bless our marriage and make it endure as an example of what a strong marriage in Christ can be. Forty-eight years later, I think his prayers have been answered—in spite of the thorns.

Our guests tossed rice as we left the church. My apologies to the environmentalists but that’s what we did in the 70s. The friend who drove us around town in his car, honking the horn, wasn’t familiar with the city and got hopelessly lost. We had to stop and ask some guy who was mowing his lawn for directions back to the church.

Our reception was in the church basement. My sisters and I had decorated the hall the night before with crepe paper streamers. Mom made the food, nothing fancy, just salads and buns and cold cuts. A woman we knew baked the wedding cake. I thought everything was perfect.

We were about to spend the next three years as poor, starving graduate students, so when Ken found a really great bargain package for our honeymoon, he decided to splurge. We soon learned why he had scored such a great deal when we landed in the Bahamas. No one goes there in August because it’s much too hot! We didn’t care. We had a nice room in a nice hotel and we were husband and wife at last! We also didn’t mind that Ken had cashed all our wedding gift checks to pay for it. Never mind that we couldn’t afford a toaster or a coffeemaker for a few more years.

We don’t have many photos of our wedding. The photographer we’d hired had a heart attack a few days before the wedding, and we called everyone in the phone book before finding a replacement. The man left town soon after giving us our photo proofs, and it was little wonder why. Most of the photos were horribly out of focus. It didn’t matter. The memories of that day are engraved on my heart.

When I see the time and effort and money that go into weddings nowadays, our simple little affair seems laughable. But it was all we could afford and we were thrilled with it. Ken and I had dated for two years in college before we married, and every night when we kissed goodnight outside my dormitory we would say, “We’re another day closer!” And on August 29, 1970, we had finally reached that day!

So, Happy 48th Anniversary, to us! If I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing! (Except maybe the thorns.)

Fiction Tips From My Granddaughter

Last week our family welcomed a new grandbaby into the world. Mama and baby are both fine, thank the Lord. And I had the pleasure of taking care of Lyla, who is two and a half, while mama and papa were in the hospital. I thought I would be taking time off from writing, but it so happened that I learned a few lessons from my granddaughter about what makes a good story.

Lyla currently has two favorites—Moana and The Trolls. I became very familiar with them after reading the books over and over and watching the movie versions of both stories. So I asked myself, what makes the Trolls and Moana so compelling?

The trolls are tiny creatures with a big enemy—the Bergens. When a group of trolls is captured, their leader, Poppy, lays aside her fears and goes to the Bergens’ town to rescue her friends. It’s a story of friendship and courage against great odds that has a happy ending.

Moana is a young girl from a tropical island who also learns to set aside her fears and overcome great odds. Her people and her island are in trouble, so she crosses the vast ocean to try to help restore the balance of nature. Along the way, she befriends Maui and, in the end, discovers who she is really meant to be.

So, here’s what I learned about great fiction. Both stories feature villains, and my granddaughter took great delight in being scared half to death by lava monsters and fiendish Bergens, knowing it would all turn out okay in the end. Every great story needs an antagonist who the main characters have to overcome—even if it’s something intangible like hatred or unforgiveness. Like the trolls, when we struggle to overcome our difficulties, we become better people. And being a little scared is fun too, isn’t it?

Second, both stories have lessons on the importance of friendship, and the value of not trying to do everything alone. Relationships are very important, whether it’s a friendship, a marriage, or a family that’s featured. Moana and Poppy are both strong, courageous women but neither could have accomplished what she did without her friends.

A third theme of these stories is the need for courage to overcome our fears as we attempt to do what others say is impossible. Of course, God isn’t mentioned in Moana or The Trolls but good Christian fiction will always highlight what can be accomplished through faith. God is the source of our strength and courage. Someday my granddaughters will learn that He is the One who provides the courage to face impossible odds.

These are all great elements of good fiction but best of all, both stories provided a picture of redemption. In The Trolls, the power of love transforms the Bergens from enemies into friends. And in Moana, the lava monster is transformed into a beautiful, fruitful island by Moana’s act of courage. Enemies and people who seem unlovable may turn out to be good friends if we give them a chance. Redemption is at the heart of every great story, from Les Miserables to The Cat in the Hat (another of Lyla’s favorites). I hope I never tire of telling the redemption story in a dozen different ways in my novels.

And speaking of redemption, I now have a new chapter to add to the story of my daughter’s cat, Dexter. In earlier blogs, I told how Dexter, a wild, unlikeable, homeless cat from the streets of Chicago, was transformed into a loveable family pet through my daughter’s perseverance and love. He has watched over Lyla from the day she was born, bringing her little toys whenever she is upset. While I was alone with her, Lyla woke up in the night, crying for her mama and papa. I tried without success to calm her and get her back to sleep. Then Dexter came to the rescue, jumping onto her bed and curling up beside her, purring like a furry motorboat. Lyla settled down as she petted him, then curled up beside him and fell asleep, hugging him like a Teddy bear. If I hadn’t witnessed it, I would never have believed it!

That’s the power of redemptive love. It worked in Dexter’s life—and for Moana and the trolls, too. No wonder Jesus commanded us to love our enemies.

A Labor of Love and Friendship

I had no idea! When I asked my dear friend, Jacki Kleinheksel, to record the audio version of my novel, Fly Away, I had no idea how much work would go into making it. Fly Away has been out-of-print for several years but I recently made it available again in print and e-book formats. Many of my readers also enjoy listening to recordings of my stories, so I wanted to make an audio version especially for them. With Jacki’s extensive background in drama and musical theater, I figured she would be the perfect person to record Fly Away—and I was right!

Jacki has been active in musicals and community theater productions nearly all her life. Her debut, she told me, began in third grade when she walked down the aisle at church in her bathrobe for a Christmas program, portraying one the three kings. She was hooked! Her early career involved starring in talent and variety shows in junior high where she always volunteered to sing a song. Starstruck by Hollywood, Jacki’s love of theater was launched when she won the leading role in Guys and Dolls in high school.

What followed were years of fun and hard work, performing in plays and musicals as part of community theater groups. Her favorite role? Performing Anna’s soliloquy from The King and I. “I loved that role!” Jacki told me. She especially loved performing characters who were multi-faceted. “There is such joy in working in a theater production with a good script and an excellent director who brings out the best in you. And I love the teamwork of performing with others.” Jacki has also done a one-woman show portraying blind hymn-writer, Fanny Crosby. She performed the play 24 times— “With my eyes closed, since Fanny was blind.”

Fly Away was Jacki’s first audio book. “I loved the challenge of being able to emote 27 different characters.” (I wrote the book and I had no idea there were that many!) She read through the book three times in preparation; first for the pleasure of the story. The second time to make notes and a list of all the characters. The third time she read it aloud, rehearsing all of the characters’ voices. Once she had a sense of them, she divided the book into 4 parts so she could record one part each day. The night before each recording session, she would practice reading that section again. The first studio session took 4 ½ hours. The longest day took 8 hours. At the end of each day, she would go home and review the next portion. “It was exhilarating and exhausting at the same time!”

“The biggest surprise was how still I had to sit. Every sound showed up, including turning the pages. It was like a play without costumes or scenery or makeup—and I was the whole show!” There were do-overs if she made a mistake, something you don’t get in live theater. Her only audience? Her husband Paul and the sound engineer. Would she do another recording? “Absolutely!”

I’ve listened to recorded versions of some of my other novels and I haven’t always been happy with the way the actresses portray my characters. But Jacki’s narration was spot-on perfect! She put so much emotion into the ending that she made me cry—and I wrote the book! I am so thankful for all her hard work and professionalism, and I’m thrilled to announce that readers can now purchase the audio version of Fly Away. I know you’re going to love it!

Boats, Bikes, Beaches and Books

Wow, it’s hard to stay focused on my writing this time of the year! The weather has been beautiful—perfect for going to the beach, riding my bike, and watching the boats sail on Lake Michigan. Perfect for everything, it seems, except writing a novel. The only solution I’ve found is to plan carefully and not let myself get distracted. To get up early and get to work so I can play later on.

Yesterday we rode our bikes into town to visit the library for research, then rode home again after stopping at the lake. Eighteen miles later, I was so tired that it wasn’t hard to sit down and write. Tonight, we’re having a potluck supper on the beach with a group of our neighbors. Sometimes we ride our bikes to The General Store in the afternoon when I need a little break and have an ice cream cone. Or we’ll pack a lunch to eat as we watch the boats sail past the lighthouse. Or enjoy a corn dog at Dune Dogs. Little treats like these give me something to look forward to and help keep me at my desk.

If I need to do some reading research, I often take my books, my I-pad, and a folding chair to the beach and do it there. (And the lake is handy when I need to cool off.) Having family and friends visit actually helps, believe it or not. I’m able to concentrate and work extra hard beforehand, knowing that I’ll soon be relaxing with friends as my reward.

This part of Michigan has long been a favorite summer vacation destination. Anna’s story in my novel “Waves of Mercy” takes place at the Hotel Ottawa Resort, a large hotel that once stood near Ottawa Beach State Park. Boats carried wealthy passengers from Chicago and other cities across Lake Michigan to vacation here in the late 1800s. A fire destroyed the hotel in 1923, and all that remains is the brick pump house that once supplied electricity to the hotel and area beach cottages.

Today, the pump house is a small museum—where I’ll be a guest speaker on July 19 at 7:00 pm. New exhibits include one of the original hotel guest books from the 1890s. If you’re in the area this Thursday, please come join me! Afterwards, you can buy ice cream at the General Store and watch the sunset over the lake. This time of year, it doesn’t set until almost 9:30.

I’ve heard people say they admire writers and other artists because we’re so disciplined. But any worthwhile work we do requires discipline, especially if it’s what God called us to do. How can we do anything less than our best or give anything less than our all for Him? But God also gave us the much-needed rhythm of work balanced with rest. The Sabbath is God’s gift to us, a day to stop working and enjoy His creation—including bikes, beaches and boats.

It’s always a challenge to balance work with rest. What are some of the ways you’ve found to do it?

Home Again!

What a wonderful, whirlwind three-week adventure I had in Europe! It would take a month of blogs to describe all of the amazing people I met, the beautiful sights I saw, and the way that the Holy Spirit was present in my travels and talks. Many of you told me how much you enjoyed being an armchair traveler with me through my Facebook and Instagram posts. Thanks for coming along. (Oh, and did I mention the delicious food?)

I was so blessed to travel with my husband, Ken, and with fellow historical fiction author Elizabeth Camden. They made the trip even more fun and memorable.

Congratulations to the winners of my souvenir packages—one each from The Netherlands, London, Germany and Switzerland. They’ll also receive a copy of my novel “Where We Belong” featuring the travel-loving sisters Rebecca and Flora Hawes. To choose the four contest winners from my newsletter subscription list, I used a website to randomize the selection of names.

Europe is a paradise for a history-lover like me. Things that seem “old” in the United States are brand-new compared to places like the chapter house in Westminster Abbey from 1250 AD.

Or this house in Germany that was built in 1272 AD:

Or the castle in Marburg, Germany dating to 1000 AD:

One interesting highlight for me was meeting a Dutch reader who had a real-life connection to my novel “Waves of Mercy.” In my book, I told the true story of the steamship “Phoenix,” which caught fire and sank off the coast of Wisconsin in 1847, causing the deaths of more than 200 Dutch immigrants to America. This reader lived in the Netherlands town where most of the immigrants had come from. She showed me this photo of a memorial commemorating the loss, including some of her family’s ancestors who had died in the tragedy. It made the sinking of the Phoenix very real.

While in the Netherlands, I visited Camp Westerbork, a concentration camp used by the Nazis during World War II. Anne Frank and her family were briefly detained there after their hiding place in Amsterdam was discovered. While photographing one of the railroad cars used for transporting Jews to the death camps, my husband captured this haunting picture.

Memorials for Holland’s Jewish families now cover the camp square where prisoners were once required to assemble for roll call every day.

One more memory sticks with me because it spoke so powerfully to me of redemption. My final talk on the three-week tour was in the city of Detmold, Germany. The auditorium was part of a complex of buildings built by the Nazis as army barracks. Today the buildings house a thriving Christian school of more than 1,000 students. A place of darkness and hatred is now filled to overflowing with the light of Christ.

That’s our mission as Christians, isn’t it? To be Christ’s ambassadors, pushing back the darkness as we spread His love and light throughout the world. I came home with a renewed passion to fulfill that very mission.

“In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).

On Stage

While we were in California visiting our son Benjamin in April, my husband and I asked him to get tickets to watch a TV show being filmed. He was able to get seats at Universal Studios to watch the taping of two episodes of “Family Feud” with host Steve Harvey. We sat in the second row, front and center, and had a ball!

The young man doing the warm-up act got the audience all fired up with his antics and contests. That was a terrific show all by itself. Then Steve Harvey came out and he had us laughing until our sides ached. A lot more goes on during the taping than ever ends up on the show—and that man is funny! He remained on stage during the commercial breaks and treated us to a comedy routine. He also answered questions from the audience that had been submitted earlier. We weren’t treated like a living “laugh-track” but as an audience that he was eager to entertain.

During the final commercial break, Steve asked us to stay seated after the taping ended because he wanted to send us away with a word of encouragement. We did, and he walked out to the edge of the stage and gave us his testimony of how God had worked in his life. He told his own story, from his heart, and said, “This is what God did in my life, and He can do the same for you. God loves you. He wants a relationship with you.”

We were people of all ages, races, and backgrounds—and in California, no less—yet no one uttered a sound as we listened. He had won our respect with his humor, his genuine warmth, and his honesty during the show, and now we listened. “You know there’s a God,” he said with a smile. “You know there is. He’s reaching out to you because He loves you.”

Steve Harvey entertained me that afternoon, and then he taught me something. He showed me how powerful it can be to simply tell others what God has done in my life. I don’t need to memorize verses or have a theology degree but simply tell my story and remind people that God loves them. I was also amazed that a man of his stature in the entertainment world was courageous enough to use the platform God had given him to speak so forthrightly.

Not only did the audience hear his testimony, but the cameramen, technicians, producers and stagehands did, too—people Steve works with every day. I was reminded that God gives each of us an “audience” to reach out to, whether at work or at school, at home or in the marketplace. He made me wonder—am I taking advantage of the places God takes me and the people He puts in my path to bring Him glory? Do I take time to offer a word of encouragement like Steve Harvey did? I thought of the scripture verse that says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15).

Hats off to you, Steve Harvey, for a great show and a memorable lesson.

Hint! Hint!

Greetings from Europe! I have now finished my book tour in the Netherlands and I’m off to speak and sign books in Germany tomorrow. If you’ve been following along with me on Facebook and Instagram, I hope you’ve enjoyed the pictures I’ve sent of all the wonderful places I’ve been and the people I’ve met. Here are just a few:

The “parking lot” at the book store. We just can’t get over all the bicycles.

Speaking at a bookstore in Katwijk.

Oh the cheese! Here we are in Gouda, NL

A mixture of old and new, isn’t that amazing?

A beautiful castle in the country.

Houseboats on the canals.

Life and death. This butterfly landed on the lock to a railroad car like the ones that transported Jews.

In between my tours to those two countries I decided to use my free days off to do some research for my next book. Not the one that will be released this coming October. That one is called “Legacy of Mercy” and has already been written and edited and is in production. For readers who enjoyed “Waves of Mercy” you’ll be happy to know that this is the sequel. You’ll get to find out what happens next when Anna returns to Chicago to marry William, and Geesje settles back to her life in Holland. Here’s the cover:

As soon as I finished writing “Legacy of Mercy” I started writing my next book—after treating myself to a short vacation, of course. I’ve already decided where and when that novel will take place and I’ve done a lot of the research. I’ve created my characters and have begun to write their stories. But for me, one of the best things about being a writer is the chance to travel and do on-site research. It helps bring the story to life if I can get a feel for the colors and smells and sounds (and tastes!) in the novel’s setting. That’s what I’ve just finished doing this week. I don’t want to give away too much—it’s too soon for that. But here are a handful of pictures that may offer a hint or two of where my next novel will take place:

Anyone care to guess where I will take readers in my future book?

Don’t forget to enter my contest! I’m shopping for souvenirs and I’d love to send you one of them. Be sure to join my mailing list and like me on Facebook and Instagram to enter. This contest closes when I get home in two weeks. This contest is limited to US residents only.

Tot Ziens!(See you soon.)