So what do you do when your “Best Girl Ever” and your “Bravest Girl Ever” turn three years old? Well, after you have given them all of their favorite treats including freshly-dug worms, you come up with a way for them to celebrate even more by doing what they love to do…giving gifts!

On their Hatchday last weekend, we very quietly started a new website titled “Gracie And Friends.”

For them, it will be an opportunity to share more free stuff with you, particularly games with a higher “ready-to-publish” quality. Along with Gracie and Bessie, I want to give my best too.

For me, it will be a chance to make more happy and colorful drawings of everyone when they were just little chicks. That was before the boys started crowing and had to move out into the country and before the girls started laying eggs. That was when they were all at their cutest and loved exploring all of the goodness the world has to give.

Right now we could all use some happiness and some goodness, don’t you think?

Just because you follow “My Life With Gracie” doesn’t mean you will want to follow “Gracie And Friends.” And the other way around is true too. While “My Life With Gracie” is more about my journey as a writer and illustrator, “Gracie And Friends” will have much shorter posts and focus on items to download and enjoy.

Just like in real life, Gracie and all of her friends give. Eggs. Stories. Drawings. Soft downy feathers for wild birds to use when they are building their nests. Games for other chickens and children to play for entertainment and to pass the time.

Giving is what we do. We don’t expect anything in return. Sometimes we may receive a gift and sometimes we may not. Either way, we are still happy. That’s just the way it is for Gracie and her friends, including me.

So moms, dads, kids, teachers, good dogs, good cats, and all chickens, we hope you will print, read, play, and have fun!

Click Here To Visit “Gracie And Friends” Where You Can Download A New Version Of “Worms And Hay Bales!”


Each post shares a glimpse into my journey as a writer and illustrator. Every “Like,” “Follow,” and “Comment” is truly appreciated!

I really did enjoy putting together “Gracie And Friends” along with a more polished version of “Worms And Hay Bales!” and hope you will enjoy them too.

Please feel free to share with others, particularly those with young children…or chickens! Maybe “Gracie And Friends” can help some people through COVID-19 by providing things to do and a big dose of happiness.

I’m also looking forward to including my boy, Lefty, on “Gracie And Friends.” He will give some balance, and I will be able to draw power tools and hammers which always fascinated him. (So not everything will have flowers, but of course, there will still be plenty of worms!)

We are currently working on a new card game that we will probably call “Scratch And Peck!” Watch for it!

24 thoughts on “My Life With Gracie…So What Do You Do?”

      2. I sure hope so. And if you have any suggestions for improvement, please share them. I printed but not in color. I do wonder about things like font size because things can look quite different on the screen and when printed. Anyway, I truly hope you will enjoy!

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    1. I think I understand. I don’t imagine it will necessarily be a blog that people would be checking on regularly to see what’s new. It’s not like “My Life With Gracie” where there are regular posts about what’s going on with me and my stories and drawings.

      “Gracie And Friends” is mostly and mainly about giving things away. A couple of people signed up by email which I think is probably best. That way they get an email when there is something new to checkout and download.

      As far as who would be the readers online, that would be moms, dads, teachers. (I’m not too keen on young children reading WordPress blogs because some of the content on other sites is just too much.)

      The downloads themselves would be intended more for elementary school children, likely grades 1 to 3 the way the U.S. does schooling.

      My thinking is that the downloads are the “main content” while the blog is just a vehicle to get to them. I want to make the downloads as close to “print-ready” quality as I can just in case they were ever compiled into an actual print book.

      Does that make sense? I do like questions like this that really make me think. Thanks!

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      1. So true John! The last time I played with my 8 year old grandson we made puppets out of paper bags. I wanted to share that with you because it made me think that little “chick” or “chicken” puppets are something you could do; like the little pieces that get glued to the paper bag. Just a wild thought that came to me for some reason. Maybe when I see him again we can make a prototype. 🙂 Happy Sunday!!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. That is a brilliant idea and sounds like a really fun and easy thing to do. The girls and I will have to add that to our list of ideas to share with readers. Super! Thanks, Janet!

        Liked by 1 person

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