Delving into new things ... and pursuing old ones too

This year is racing along in leaps and bounds. So much has been happening, re-evaluations, new goals and plans, making new friends, and even worrying about others. Hubby and I plod along. We may not be fast but we are getting things done.

He's been registered with the VA a couple of years now, and they are taking care of much of his healthcare bills and prescriptions, which is a godsend. That alone is one less thing to worry about as we head towards his retirement. He's been working part-time since May and that gave him chance to schedule his medical appointments on his off days, and not have to rush to try to schedule everything on one day off each week. On his "off" days, he's been catching up doing yard work and stuff around the house,

I've been continuing to declutter (albeit slowly) and last week Miracle Hill got another box of clothes and things I no longer use/need. We got another closet for me and popped a mini chest of drawers in one side, so now my overflowing assortment of clothes is neatly divided between the 2 cabinets.

I met up with a lovely young lady and now have a collaborator on "Mister McAfferty's Cat", as she has a talent for drawing. I'm excited to be able to see how this turns out. My previous attempt to get an illustrator had me working with a company, but they weren't able to put my vision into what I was looking for, so we parted company. I'm hoping Jocy and I will have an awesome relationship.

I decided to try to make my own fondant creams since the flavours that I like - rose, lilac and lavender - aren't easily available at confectioners here. I melted Dairy Milk and Ghirardelli chips for the coating. I have a lot of honing to do, that's for sure. They taste pretty good, the rose ones especially, but my coating them is pretty messy. Like I said, a lot of honing to do.

I finally published both the paperback, and hardback, versions of "In The Ocean". The hardback was more difficult. I had to make endless revisions of the cover, I wasn't even sure what I was doing wrong. One of my girlfriends also tried, using the template they provided for it, and that was rejected as well. She does hers all the time, so even she wasn't sure what was going on, but finally it all came together and is now on Amazon, with all the rest of my books.

I'm still working on "Phoenix" and "Rose's Rhymes For Children", and waiting to hear from Poetry magazine about my submission "The Boy And His Horse". It'd be lovely to get published in a magazine here, like I used to regularly in England, many years ago.

All in all, I'm quite satisfied with where I'm at right now.