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Gracie Lee’s Instagram Party!

December 2, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

Gracie Lre's Instagram Party!

To celebrate December, Gracie Lee is hosting an Instagram party. Of course when Gracie Lee was a kid in the early 1970s, Instagram existed in it’s purest form—as a bulletin board on the bedroom wall. Or a photo album filled with carefully arranged Polaroids.

Christmas was one of her favorite times of the year. From the day the Sears Christmas Catalog arrived in the mail to New Year’s Day, she tried to hold on to the magic of Christmas. It was the one time of year Daddy didn’t seem so grumpy and everyone breathed a little easier.

Plus school was out for three whole weeks.

And sometimes there was snow.Continue Reading

Dear December,

December 1, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

Dear December,

Dear December,

You’re here!? You slipped in the back door while I was struggling to wrap my brain around the way autumn suddenly became buried in wet and cold. Did we skip September? Does anyone remember anything about October other than the massive amounts of Halloween candy we accidentally ate?

Summer is a complete blur.

But now you’re here, December, and you bring all the emotions. All the memories.Continue Reading

easing out of Thanksgiving

November 29, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

easing out of Thanksgiving...

There’s no easing out of Thanksgiving these days. As John and I walk the dogs in the misty, chilly, day-after-Thanksgiving afternoon, I’m impressed to see so many houses on our street already decorated for Christmas. Tree lights flicker in windows. Garland adorns porch railings, and festive red plaid pillows perch in porch swings. I wonder where my neighbor found those cute red pillows, and I wonder where she stores them during non-Christmastime because storing extra pillows takes a lot of space, but mostly I wonder when she found the time to decorate.

Why isn’t everyone piled on the couch watching football?Continue Reading

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Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (2022)

THE THIRD ACT OF THEO GRUENE (coming 2025)

Recent Ramblings:

  • Sunday Letter: 03.29.26
  • Sunday Letter: February 22, 2026
  • Our Garden Mission Statement
  • Goodbye, 2025. Hello, 2026.
  • Sunday Letter: 11.23.25

Novels:

Coloring Books:

Fiction-Themed Coloring Books

Backyard Phenology:

Children’s Nature Book:

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