ABOUT

 

Welcome, I'm Carole West.

I offer a place to unwind, centered on encouraging goodness. 

But if we're going to be friends, I should begin by telling you a little about myself...

Home life is in the countryside of East Texas with my husband Robert and our dog Kramer.  We are empty nesters and our surroundings are the best because they inspire my writing, art and lifestyle.

For me writing began through journaling then one day I dove into blogging. I remember the first time I clicked publish, it was like a window of new opportunities.  

Then in 2014, I went into niche writing, launched the Garden Up Green blog and what a ride.  During that time, I started freelancing for several national magazines which led to book publishing. 

Things moved quick, maybe too quick because I found myself leading workshops for Texas Home and Garden.  The city really wasn't my place, so later I decided to bring those classes closer to home.  

It was a busy time and just when I thought things were quieting down, "Hometalk" flew me to New York City for one of their planning sessions.  I had never traveled to the east coast and it was an amazing experience.

I mention these details because I am a believer anything is possible.  I also know that you can accomplish great things if you don't waste time doing nothing.  

Then in the summer of 2020, I made a bold decision and shut everything down. In one click it was all over.  

My Next Chapter

There is a saying, when one door closes, another one opens. When I closed the door on Garden Up Green, I wasn't sure if that was the right decision.  

I presume it was God's way of preparing me for the next chapter because my husband and I ended up moving from NE Texas to East Texas.  Together we contracted our own home and I must say that was a challenge of a lifetime.  

As we approached the finish line, I began watercolor painting again and returned to writing books. Ground Raised Quail was published in 2022; this book is my complete journey on how to raise those wonderful birds in a natural environment. 

Shortly afterwards I decided to take my Garden Up Green blog and turn that material into a book.  This project has become a labor of love and will be available in 2025.  

During this period, I decided to return to blogging with a message to see the good.  I enjoy this style of writing and always have.  Later my message transformed into "be the good" where I have created a broader writing path that represents encouraging goodness in four categories.

• Good Art, my watercolor art inspired by nature.
• Good Notions, honest faith from the heart.
• Good Ideas, my garden activity, resources and projects.
• Good Food, my own recipes and some family favorites.

Gift Sharing

I have learned that life is about growing and I understand that sharing our God given talents is vital to a thriving society.  These gifts mold who we are in addition to telling our story so, I am honored you took the time to read about me. 

I am going to guess that finding a space to unwind sounds nice.  If that's true then welcome friends, my hope is you recharge when reading and implement the goodness I share. 

Be the Good,

Carole

I can be reached at cw@carolewest.net