A new year, a fresh start

 Well, we did move -- there was a week of chaos before and after the move. Our closing date kept shifting, we'd already sold our old house so weren't sure if we'd have to go into temporary  housing, then the movers showed up and we didn't have the keys yet -- and got the code for the garage and the movers moved us in and then we got the keys.

And then one of our cats suddenly and unexpectedly collapsed. She was one of the young cats and the most active, so we had no idea what was going on. I had a frantic drive to the new emergency vet (across town) 12 hours after we moved in. Tests were run and the vets were bewildered by the results. There was no way to tell what was happening; the only solution was surgery, but they didn't think she'd survive it.

So we had to have her euthanized while we held her in our arms. Here I am, 10 days later, and I'm still stunned by the suddenness, the loss, the shock. She was our most vibrant cat; I could easily visualize her in spots in this new house, exploring and having fun. But now she's gone. It will be a long time before I manage to put her death behind me. 

It reminds me that life is so ephemeral and we have no guarantees. 

A new year and a fresh start, but I'll carry the grief with me for the first few months at least.

Moving? not moving?

 I put a copy of my recent newsletter in my Newsletter area -- in which I discuss an upcoming move ... I hope. The pandemic once again rears its ugly head and puts everything into chaos.

It's NaNo time in the city

 Yes, it's National Novel Writing Month and despite all that's happening, I am "doing" NaNo again.

We're slated to buy our new home in 3 weeks and sell our current home in 3 weeks+1 day. So I'm a bit busy, getting stuff packed, weeding out, organizing. I'm also getting ready to retire (again). As you may remember, I retired in 2018 only to take up a new type of job 2 months after I retired from the old one.

Well, now I'm going to retire -- for good, this time. We move in early December then at the end of the year I retire and start a whole new life.

But until then, it's NaNo. I'm going to write a novel this month. It's my Sleeping Beauty story. I'm making slow progress, but I'm making progress nonetheless. Which explains why I'm not around much--I'm busy!

My latest newsletter has landed

 I posted my latest newsletter amongst the others. In this one, I talk about the hurricane that hit Iowa, a book released, a book sold, a house sold, a house bought, and other incidentals of my life during the last two months.

Crazy times

 As you may have heard, Iowa was hit by a derecho in early August.

You didn't hear? Oh, what a surprise (she said sarcastically). The town where I live lost 60% of its trees in 45 minutes -- snapped, pulled out of the ground, or toppled.

It's a long, horrible story about recovery. There is still storm debris everywhere -- massive piles of trees and brush lining streets and sitting in yards.

We came through it but we took a HUGE hit. We had 2 trees on the house, 4 trees down in the driveway -- 50 trees total. Yes, you read that right. 50. We have what's known as a woodland acreage, and we lost at least half of our trees.

This means re-landscaping everything. And I'm not sure I have another landscaping of that scale in me. I've done major landscape projects at 4 houses, including this one, which we finished right before the storm hit.

So we've tidied up the landscape and put the house on the market. We bought a new place somewhat south of here with a much small footprint and yard. We'll move in December and hopefully have this place sold by then.

I also turned in my notice at my job. As you know, I 'retired' in 2018 from my high-tech job and took a job as Master Gardener Coordinator in my county. I decided it's time to turn the reins over to someone else, so my last day is Dec 31.

This means I've been crazy busy between finding a new house, getting this house ready for sale, having house showings (because no Open Houses because of Covid), and working on wrapping up my work. But I've also been busy on the publishing front. A new book will be out next year (Beached, the Little Mermaid tale) and I'm working on Heir, which will be the Rapunzel book.

Wish me luck in the next few months -- it's going to get hectic!

A new book -- brand new!

 A new Remembered Classics romance is here -- Mazed is my Beauty and the Beast story, but it's hard to tell who's a beauty and who's a beast in this one. There's a labyrinth, a rose, a hero, a heroine, and a villain - and deadly secrets all around!