BryonySeries: New Calendar Features

We typically feature a recipe from Sue's Diner on Wednesday's BryonySeries blog.

But since many people couldn't access the recipe due to severe storms and power outages, I'm leaving last week's recipe up another week for you to prepare and enjoy.

Instead, I'm encouraging you to check out the new calendar page on the BryonySeries website, which now looks different than this old calendar screenshot.

Timothy recently updated it to include at-a-glance BryonySeries-related events (top calendar) and our usual listings of BryonySeries-related daily activities (now called Mini Activities), all hidden behind little doors reminiscent of the Advent calendars.

These activities may include games, crafts, music, activities, science experiments, and  recipes that pick up themes to one or more of our books.

Happy exploring!

A Better You in 31 Days

For many of us, 2025 was a challenging year - and we might be approaching 2026 with more trepidation and less hope.

But hope, even a very tiny, flickering hope, can inspire us in lifechanging ways.

And whether times are favorable or not, we can still choose how our past and present circumstances can mold the person we become in the future.

So here's an opportunity for becoming a better you.

This January, the BryonySeries calendar is offering thirty-one suggestions for positive change in the new year.

Simply visit the BryonySeries calendar, pick a date (any date or the current date), read the prompt, and follow the instructions.

Yes, each activity does link back to a BryonySeries book. But that's only for context. You don't need to click the link at all (unless you're curious).

Even one of these activities is a priceless gift you can give to yourself in 2026.

Let's begin today!

Free Gifts You Can Give This Holiday Season

For many of us, 2025 has been a tough financial year - and for those of us who like to Christmas shop, we've either trimmed that list in terms of people and/or things.

But the best gifts very often cost nothing than our time - and sometimes even very little of our time.

Here's an opportunity for you for you to give thirty-one unique gifts this month.

Simply visit the BryonySeries calendar, pick a date (any date or the current date), read the giving prompt, and follow the instructions.

Yes, each activity does link back to a BryonySeries book. But that's only for context. You don't need to click the link at all (unless you're curious).

Even one of these activities is a priceless gift you can give to the right person on your Chirstmas gift-giving list.

And these gifts are the types of gifts that really underscore the adage, "It's more blessed to give than to receive."

If you've had recent challenges - or are experiencing challenges (I certainly have) - the reflections are a wonderful way to remind you of the blessings you've experienced - now and in thet past - and give hope of the blessings that await you in the future.

Now, if you do have a few dollars to spend, and if you'd like to give a gift of lasting value, here's a way to give children the gift of reading this year.

Happy Tuesday!

Explore "Fear" This Month

Very few of us can say we've never been afraid.

Many of us are also afraid to explore those fears.

And perhaps many of us never consider the fears we've addressed.

It's true people don't share the same fears.

But I also believe we also share many of the same fears, since they are part of the human experience.

So this month, with tie-ins from various BryonySeries books, I invite you to explore fear.

Simply visit the BryonySeries calendar, pick a date (any date), read the prompt, and follow the instructions.

You may be suprised on how many times you relate to one or more of these common fears.

Or maybe not.

One Month of Gratitude

Each month, the calendar on the BryonySeries website lists our events and offers ideas for games, crafts, music, activities, science experiments, and  recipes that pick up themes to one or more of our books.

This month, most of the thirty squares are filled with reasons to be thankful and suggestions for expressing that thankfulness.

Because the calendar is a  BryonySeries calendar, each suggestion is linked to the book that inspired it, but that just for context.

Visit the calendar each day for the next idea, as you would use an advent calendar.

Or browse through the dates and pick a couple of activities that work for you.

We hope that just even one suggestion will increase your thankfulness this year and - if you celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday - make your Thanksgiving Day all the more richer.

Visit bryonyseries.com/copy-of-calendar-of-events.

BryonySeries Calendar, Activities, Events

Most author websites have calendars of some sort.

However, the BryonySeries calendar is more than a list of upcoming events,

Rather, Timothy designed this calendar years ago in the style of the advent calendars he enjoyed as a child.

Behind every virtual window are games, crafts, music, activities, science experiments, and  recipes that pick up themes to one or more BryonySeries books (the link to the appropriate book is behind each window).

Every activity requires items you either have on hand or are readily available. And every activity is designed for just about anyone of any age to tackle it. No particular and highly advanced skill set is required. Activities are designed to be fun, reflective, kind, or spark creativity.

I was a little late updating September's calendar since the time to update came around the same time I was finishing "House on Top of the Hill" during my second at-home writing retreat of 2024.

However, the great thing about the BryonySeries calendar is that most of the windows are not date-specific.

Meaning, unless an actual event is happening on that day, most of the windows are relevant for the entire month.

So visit bryonyseries.com/calendar-of-events.

And happy exploring!