Welcome to my blog titled ‘Five Things’ where you can expect just that–five random musings or reflections from the previous month. I’ll also share a quote I find meaningful as a point of focus. For photos of my books, kids, pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.

So here are this month’s five things, starting with the quote…

"Not voting is not a protest. It is a surrender." - Keith Ellison
Now that I am only writing this newsletter once per month, it’s fun to look back on my calendar and remember what I’ve been up to. Halloween season is always a favorite in our house. It’s the anniversary of our first date and the anniversary of the day we got engaged. We totally would have planned our wedding on Halloween, but it just didn’t work out. When we lived in Rhode Island, we threw some rocking parties for the adults and the kids, and our neighborhood was always decked out for the season. It was like an unspoken contest to see whose house decor was the most elaborate. Now, in our new condo, in our new town, we’re figuring out the good stuff. Descanso gardens does a gorgeous light show at night, the Michael Myers Halloween house is about five minutes away, and the local amusement parks deliver Hollywood quality production value in their haunted houses. I also bought a set of really cool witch dishes! All in all, the season was a fun one.
For our first concert at the Hollywood Bowl, we got to see Aerosmith! Whenever an iconic band comes to town, we really try to see them live. I’d always wanted to see Prince perform, and then it was too late, so I’m pretty committed to saying yes to whatever comes around. A dozen or so other outstanding musicians got on the stage and performed cover tunes, then Aerosmith themselves finished out the night with their biggest hits. It was a great night and a great memory.
Since graduating and settling here, I’ve joined two book clubs. The first is virtual with my grad school cohort. It’s a good way for us all to stay connected and to try books outside our normal genres. This month, we’re reading The River Muse, by Laura Resau, one of the professors from our program! The writing is beautiful, and the story has a fairytale quality to it, while still dealing with some darker themes. My neighbor and I started another book club, and we’re actively recruiting everyone we know to join us (for me, that isn’t too many people so far, lol). This month, they insisted on reading my book Horizon, which makes me excited and slightly uncomfortable at the same time!
In my writing life, my alter ego Maggie Clare is finishing the seventh and final novel in a romantic suspense series. If the steamy stuff is your jam, you can check out the series HERE. I really want the draft finished before the New Year, so I can start working on some new projects in 2027. Stay tuned!

Welcome to my blog titled ‘Five Things’ where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can also follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.

So here are this week’s five things…

The Petrified Forest was amazing! Every time we visit a National Park, we are in awe, and this one did not disappoint. Allow me to geek out for a moment… The land that is now the desert containing the Petrified Forest in Arizona was once wet and lush. Then, over two hundred million years ago, the wood from this forest washed into an ancient river system and was buried by a massive amount of sediment. Over time, the organic material broke down and was replaced with minerals like silica. The tree trunks are no longer wood, but gorgeous quartz in an stunning array of colors. If you ever have the chance, it’s worth a visit!
We are now in our winter home at an RV resort in Indio, California, just south of Palm Springs. Our site has great outdoor living amenities like a full kitchen, dining area, and sitting room, with screens to block out the wind, sun, and occasional rain as needed. We wanted to do a little bit of work on it, like put on a new roof with heat lamps, fans, and recessed lighting, and have it painted, so it’s a little bit of a construction zone at the moment. I can walk across the street to one of the pool areas, however, so that’s where I’ll be doing my homework until things are finished here. Not too much of a hardship!
Before we arrived here, we made a week long stop in Orange to see our boys and their significant others. It’s so nice to be close by! Even here in the desert, it’s only a ninety minute drive, and when we really miss them, we can take our house and pets with us and head out for a visit.
Ray and I spent Halloween in Disneyland. Although I really wanted to dress up as Dorothy so Daisy could play Toto, this wasn’t the year for costumes. Instead, we went on our favorite rides, had an ice cream cone on Main Street, and reminisced about our favorite Disney trips with the kids over the years. It was a much needed fun ‘date’ day!
“Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country, and this world.” – Sharon Salzberg