Sonja Danielson – Page 18

How’s Your Grammar?

I am a comma fiend. I love them and use them indiscriminately. So, why does my writing have such great grammar?

I use a grammar app called Grammarly.

Part of it is free and there is premium content as well. I paid for the premium since it works better for me and keeps my writing appropriate.

This isn’t an ad, I promise. Hey, see those commas. Totally appropriate!

I also have a grammar book that I kept from college writing classes and another one I bought several years ago. But I still can’t get a handle on commas. They are my Achilles’ Heel.

I know commas should be used like salt and sprinkled conservatively. But I love them and use them like sugar in a cookie. Lots of them and blended through everything!

I hope you have an app or two that help you. Sonja

What’s the best restaurant in your city? Tag it!

With most restaurants looking like this during the quarantine, it’s important to support your local businesses.

Most offer take out and delivery, so make sure your favorites are able to stay in business. Order a meal and go pick it up, or have it delivered.

Lots of people rely on tips to make ends meet, so be sure to take care of that as well.

Stay well! Sonja

Did You Get a Copy?

Use the links in the left margin of this website or search for ‘Sonja Danielson’ on Amazon.com

A couple of weekends ago I offered the ebook versions of these titles for free. So many downloads! I hope you were one of those who took advantage of the offer.

If not, you can order the ebook or the paperback using the direct links in the left margin of this website. You can also find my entire book catalog at Amazon.com. Just search for my name, ‘Sonja Danielson’, and all my titles will come up.

“The Voyage” is a true history of one of the founding families of the American Colonies. I happen to be a member of that family. Doing the research was fun and I learned so much about the patriarch who instigated the family’s move from England and Europe to the American colonies.

He didn’t live long enough to move to Plymouth Colony, but his wife and sons booked passage on a ship and arrived in Boston, along with his father-in-law and sister-in-law. The story of his father-in-law, Stephen Bachiler, is very interesting and I plan to research and write about it.

So many stories float through my head and I want to write them all!

Please leave a review on Amazon.com or Good Reads if you have read one of my books. I would love to see what you think! Sonja

Here’s the Thing-

I was on a hike yesterday with a good friend and her son and we came across this heart-shaped cactus. Isn’t it cute?

You can find love in the weirdest places.

I didn’t love spilling an entire pot of tea all over my writing desk just now. But things are dried and other things are in the washing machine, so all is good. Back to what I was talking about…

Love is everywhere, you just need to be open to it.

I’m taking an online course on mindfulness right now, and it is a good reminder to live in the present. I have so many things that try to pull me into the future-that increase my anxiety-and practicing mindfulness brings me back to the present. It isn’t healthy to sit in an anxious state and that’s what I do unless I work to live in the moment.

I want to enjoy the present, not worry about the future. And that’s what mindfulness encourages.

With all this time at home, I encourage you to take an online class in whatever sparks your particular interests.

Don’t let this time slip by. Sonja

A Little Inspiration For You

This quarantining related to COVID-19 is changing day-by-day and keeping us from roaming around the world. It’s hard to stay at home when you want to sit in a crowd and people watch.

I’ve participated in three Tough Mudders and really appreciated this paragraph in a recent email:

“This is a time that Tough Mudder values ring more true than ever – the only way to defeat this pandemic is by working together – and Mudders know how to do that better than anyone else. In this strange time, in many ways, we have an opportunity to be even more connected.”

I’ve noticed this connection when I am out walking Guinness the Therapy Dog. Neighbors wave at each other and say hello, which didn’t often happen before the quarantine.

I hope this neighborly feeling will extend to the grocery stores, etc. next. There are so many instances that make me feel afraid of what the ‘other guy’ is going to do.

Keep your head up and watch out for your neighbors! Sonja

This Week’s Question

Who is your favorite Disney character?

Can I just point out how fabulous this photo is???

Back to the question-

I like Sleeping Beauty because she seems sensible, likes the outdoors, and dances with Prince Philip–and Wall-E because, well, Wall-E.

Enjoy your day. Sonja

It’s the First Day of Spring!

Today is also called the vernal equinox. That means that the hours of sunlight equal the hours of nighttime.

The amount of sunlight increases consistently until the longest day of the year-Summer Solstice. Then the hours of daylight slowly decrease until they equal the night hours at the autumnal equinox.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the vernal equinox happens every year on March 20th or 21st. If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, it falls on September 22nd or 23rd.

Enjoy the run-up to summer! Sonja

Never Stop Playing

It’s the Day to Wear Green!

It’s because of massive emigration to the United States that the “wearing of the green”, dying drinks green, and shamrocks (the national plant of Ireland) became synonymous with all things Irish.

Prior to that, Saint Patrick was associated with the color blue. But Ireland has celebrated his date of death for more than one thousand years.

Saint Patrick was born in Britain under Roman rule. He was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave when he was sixteen years old. He escaped that situation but returned to Ireland in 432 AD to convert the masses to Christianity.

Saint Patrick died on March 17, 461 AD after establishing monasteries, churches, and schools.

In Ireland, March 17th is typically a day of morning church services and afternoon feasting. This day falls within the season of Lent, but the prohibition on meat is lifted and the traditional Irish meal of Irish bacon and cabbage usually grace the table.

Today, more than one hundred cities host parades in honor of Saint Patrick. In New York City, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade is watched by almost three million people. The parade typically takes more than five hours to travel the 1.5 miles. Chicago dyes its river green. Most of the population of the U.S. wears a bit of green, delivers pinches to those who don’t, and claim Irish descent-warranted or not.

Erin go Bragh-Éire go Brách-Ireland until the end of time! Sonja