It will be December in two days. 2020 has been a truly unprecedented year, in so many ways. For many, it’s been extra-challenging, and for some just different. I’ll be honest and say I’m looking forward to 2021 and a shiny new year. I often look forward to the new year, for lots of reasons, but this year, it seems like saying goodbye to 2020 will feel really good. I am working on my writing goals for 2021, so that is giving me additional motivation to be ready: I have big pla

It’s been a crazy sort of year, hasn’t it? Thanksgiving is just a few days away here in the U.S., and it’s normal for me to think about the things, people and events from the previous eleven months that I’m thankful for. This year, it seems like the list is short, but filled out with really important things. Some years, it’s small things we find to be grateful for, and other years, there are big things along the way. A few people I know have big things they’re thankful for, a

I’m not actually complaining with that blog title, just making an observation. We have two more days of insane-busy at the day-job to start the week, and then it will settle for a week or two, until after Thanksgiving. My teammates and I are discussing taking a day or two off once we get through mid-week (mostly because all four of us still have PTO we have to use before the end of the year), and then I have my annual almost-vacation that starts the day before Thanksgiving-mo

I know, some of you are saying, no, it’s too early! But this is on my goal list for this month, to work on them. I’ll fine-tune and finalize them next month, but I need to at least have a starting point. My goals list for this year went to hell early in the year, but I think that happened to a lot of people this year. I had intended to have Medusa stories back out in the world, not just my Common Elements Romance Project story. That won’t happen now until next year unfortunat

I know, some of you are saying, no, it’s too early! But this is on my goal list for this month, to work on them. I’ll fine-tune and finalize them next month, but I need to at least have a starting point. My goals list for this year went to hell early in the year, but I think that happened to a lot of people this year. I had intended to have Medusa stories back out in the world, not just my Common Elements Romance Project story. That won’t happen now until next year unfortunat

It’s the beginning of November, and here in the U.S., that means Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away. It’s nice to have a day to be thankful for everything that’s happened in the past year, but I feel like we should be grateful all the time. I try to be, anyway. There is almost always something I can be thankful for, even in a really crappy week, like a mug full of my favorite tea or hot chocolate. ( Depositphotos.com ) I’ve noticed in recent years that a lot of people, at

It’s the beginning of November, and here in the U.S., that means Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away. It’s nice to have a day to be thankful for everything that’s happened in the past year, but I feel like we should be grateful all the time. I try to be, anyway. There is almost always something I can be thankful for, even in a really crappy week, like a mug full of my favorite tea or hot chocolate. ( Depositphotos.com ) I’ve noticed in recent years that a lot of people, at

My to-do list isn’t quite as bad as the poor woman above, but it feels like it some days. I’m winding down a mini-vacation right now, and I feel like I haven’t accomplished nearly enough for as many days as I’ve been home. To be fair, my time off was over the Thanksgiving weekend, so I spent the day before and the day of in the kitchen for a large chunk of the day, and washing dishes for days. I did wrap up a small project yesterday that I started a couple weeks ago. Today, I

My to-do list isn’t quite as bad as the poor woman above, but it feels like it some days. I’m winding down a mini-vacation right now, and I feel like I haven’t accomplished nearly enough for as many days as I’ve been home. To be fair, my time off was over the Thanksgiving weekend, so I spent the day before and the day of in the kitchen for a large chunk of the day, and washing dishes for days. I did wrap up a small project yesterday that I started a couple weeks ago. Today, I

My to-do list isn’t quite as bad as the poor woman above, but it feels like it some days. I’m winding down a mini-vacation right now, and I feel like I haven’t accomplished nearly enough for as many days as I’ve been home. To be fair, my time off was over the Thanksgiving weekend, so I spent the day before and the day of in the kitchen for a large chunk of the day, and washing dishes for days. I did wrap up a small project yesterday that I started a couple weeks ago. Today, I

My to-do list isn’t quite as bad as the poor woman above, but it feels like it some days. I’m winding down a mini-vacation right now, and I feel like I haven’t accomplished nearly enough for as many days as I’ve been home. To be fair, my time off was over the Thanksgiving weekend, so I spent the day before and the day of in the kitchen for a large chunk of the day, and washing dishes for days. I did wrap up a small project yesterday that I started a couple weeks ago. Today, I

My to-do list isn’t quite as bad as the poor woman above, but it feels like it some days. I’m winding down a mini-vacation right now, and I feel like I haven’t accomplished nearly enough for as many days as I’ve been home. To be fair, my time off was over the Thanksgiving weekend, so I spent the day before and the day of in the kitchen for a large chunk of the day, and washing dishes for days. I did wrap up a small project yesterday that I started a couple weeks ago. Today, I

It’s Thanksgiving week here in the U.S. I’ve spent some of the past two days in the kitchen–my final loaf of sage and onion bread is baking in my bread machine right now for the stuffing we’ll eat on Thursday and the house smells so good right now. I almost hate to wait four days to sample the bread. But I will, and I’ll be grateful for it on Thanksgiving. We don’t always think about the good things in our lives, the things we have that others envy because they don’t have the

It’s Thanksgiving week here in the U.S. I’ve spent some of the past two days in the kitchen–my final loaf of sage and onion bread is baking in my bread machine right now for the stuffing we’ll eat on Thursday and the house smells so good right now. I almost hate to wait four days to sample the bread. But I will, and I’ll be grateful for it on Thanksgiving. We don’t always think about the good things in our lives, the things we have that others envy because they don’t have the

It’s Thanksgiving week here in the U.S. I’ve spent some of the past two days in the kitchen–my final loaf of sage and onion bread is baking in my bread machine right now for the stuffing we’ll eat on Thursday and the house smells so good right now. I almost hate to wait four days to sample the bread. But I will, and I’ll be grateful for it on Thanksgiving. We don’t always think about the good things in our lives, the things we have that others envy because they don’t have the

It’s Thanksgiving week here in the U.S. I’ve spent some of the past two days in the kitchen–my final loaf of sage and onion bread is baking in my bread machine right now for the stuffing we’ll eat on Thursday and the house smells so good right now. I almost hate to wait four days to sample the bread. But I will, and I’ll be grateful for it on Thanksgiving. We don’t always think about the good things in our lives, the things we have that others envy because they don’t have the

It’s Thanksgiving week here in the U.S. I’ve spent some of the past two days in the kitchen–my final loaf of sage and onion bread is baking in my bread machine right now for the stuffing we’ll eat on Thursday and the house smells so good right now. I almost hate to wait four days to sample the bread. But I will, and I’ll be grateful for it on Thanksgiving. We don’t always think about the good things in our lives, the things we have that others envy because they don’t have the

( reading book by fireplace – Depositphotos ) It’s November, and it finally feels like fall here. We had a couple nights in a row now with temps around freezing. I was happy to set the clocks back last night, not just for regaining the hour we lost in the spring, but because it wasn’t dark when I got up this morning. I love fall, but I absolutely hate getting up in the dark. I know other people hate that it’s dark earlier in the evening, but I don’t care about that. I find it

( reading book by fireplace – Depositphotos ) It’s November, and it finally feels like fall here. We had a couple nights in a row now with temps around freezing. I was happy to set the clocks back last night, not just for regaining the hour we lost in the spring, but because it wasn’t dark when I got up this morning. I love fall, but I absolutely hate getting up in the dark. I know other people hate that it’s dark earlier in the evening, but I don’t care about that. I find it

( reading book by fireplace – Depositphotos ) It’s November, and it finally feels like fall here. We had a couple nights in a row now with temps around freezing. I was happy to set the clocks back last night, not just for regaining the hour we lost in the spring, but because it wasn’t dark when I got up this morning. I love fall, but I absolutely hate getting up in the dark. I know other people hate that it’s dark earlier in the evening, but I don’t care about that. I find it