Sunday, December 31, 2017

Looking Back at 2017

             Writing

How could I not be happy with 2017?  I finished and published the third book in Living the Tenets series, Pursuing Justice.  I finished writing the fourth book.  I am simply amazed by the progress.  At some point this year, I felt like I have actually become a "real" writer.  I can sit at the chair and write for longer periods of time and accomplish more words.  Of course, I will let my readers decide if I am a "good" writer.  The best part of the writing is I am having a blast. 

At the beginning of 2017, I set a goal of 200,000 fiction words.  September made me nervous.  I hadn't kept up with the writing.  I decided desperate measures were in order.  I challenged myself to write 100,000 words in three months.  After made the decision, a writer I follow offered up a challenge to join which matched mine.  I joined.  In the last three months I have written 120,904 words.  In my wildest dreams, I didn't think I could sustain such a feat.  This gave me a total of 229,780 for the year.  Outstanding!!!

I also hit two major milestones.  In my total fiction and non-fiction words, I reached 2,000,000 words.  I actually didn't notice I hit the goal for 7,000 words afterwards.  To date, I have 2,010,726.  The second target I hit was 1,000,000 fiction words.  This is exciting.  The experts say once you hit a million words, your career takes off.  Here's hoping.  The other count I am keeping is words published.  At this point, I have 428,085 fiction words published.  I think this will take me another three years.  I would love it to be sooner, but the reality is three, maybe even four.  But, I guarantee that I will reach it.  Yes, it has been a good year of writing.

Travel

For as long as I can remember, I have dreamed of traveling to Europe.  It took 48 years, but I finally made it.  I don't think a day goes by without thinking so something I saw on the trip.  In November, I built a calendar for 2018 to hang in my writing room.  Britain will be with me the entire year.  I can't wait to return in a few years. 

We had some fun in the northwestern United States.  We had a great time visiting the Bison Range.  I am hoping we make that a yearly occurrence.  Of course, I made a couple trips up north to Kootenai Country.  We went to Missoula, Bozeman, Great Falls, Billings, and Glendive.  I love traveling around the state and look forward to spring when I can travel more.  We also had a fun trip the the Oregon Coast.  I loved seeing the waterfalls along the Columbia Gorge, visiting a lighthouse, cheese factory, the Octopus Tree, and hanging out at the beach.  Oh, and I almost forgot we spent time in Everett, Washington.  Watch out highways, I am ready for 2018.

Family

For those who have followed my blog, you know my beautiful daughter has struggled with mental illness.  Spring was excruciating.  During the summer, we rested and healed.  The beginning of the school year was terrible for us in that we have had to toss out the traditional aspect of raising and educating her.  The struggle was deep enough that I didn't want to write about it.  We have settled into a new way of facing our challenges.  At some point, I think I will write about it, but for now, we are in a pretty good place.  We still have challenges, but hey, who doesn't.

I lost my dear aunt in the spring.  I was fortunate enough to have a lovely visit with her a couple weeks before she passed away.  She left me with a writing project that I am not sure if I will ever accomplish, only time will tell.  I do know it was quite the compliment that she believes I am up to the task.  I love you, Aunt Shirley.

During the year, we celebrated some birthday milestones.  My mom and mother-in-law turned 70.  You guys look great!!!  My baby sister turned 40.  We celebrated that in Whitby, England.  Outstanding.  Jerry, my dear husband, turned 50.  I don't know how that happened since I am like 39.  Opps, since I am older then my sister, I suppose I might have to be 41.  We had a big party for him. 

We inherited a kitten from my son.  Oh, is she ever a wild child.  My neighbor and I adopted a cat.  Someone dropped him off in our neighborhood.  She houses him in a warm little house and I feed him.  Both are excellent mousers, thank goodness.  Voles have moved into the area with abandon. 

The year was wonderful and I am excited for all the new adventures of 2018.  Happy New Year.

Thursday, December 28, 2017

AnnE with an E


This past week, I watched the new Netflix series AnnE with an E.  I didn't hear about the Anne of Green Gables books until adulthood and haven't picked them up.  I had hoped to share them with my daughter, but they are not her style in the slightest.  I would have loved them as a young girl.  I am still tempted to pick them up, but my list of yet to read is so large now that I figure the television drama will have to be enough at the moment.

Many moments of the drama held emotional scenes, but one I have been thinking about over the last couple of days.  Anne woke in the middle of the night with blood all over.  Not having been educated about growing into a young woman, she believed herself to be dying.  Her newly adopted mother helped her through the process and all turned out fine after she talked with her friends.  The poignant aspect had to do with her father figure, Matthew. 

With a mission in his heart, he rode his horse into town.  Selling his pocket watch, he awkwardly entered a dress shop and ordered a dress with puffed sleeves, Anne's desire.  Being quick to tears, I shed a few at the love being expressed between a father and daughter.  The episode took me back to my past.

I remember the day I became a woman.  My experience wasn't as tragic as Anne made hers out to be, but like all girls, I had some adjusting to do and didn't like it.  My Dad made the moment special.  He didn't buy me a dress.  Instead, he brought home a pair of earrings.  I still have them to this day.  They are in the image of M&Ms, cute and whimsical. 

The gift meant the world to me.  I don't know if my mom prompted him.  And that doesn't matter in the least.  At the time, he was the most important man in my life.  He showed me that I was becoming a young woman and the world wasn't coming to an end, just as Matthew did for Anne.  My prayer is that all girls would have such a father figure in their lives to help guide them into the world of adulthood.

Work

           First, I wanted to chat a little bit about my last post with Saint Joan of Arc’s quote before going on to the next quote.  I have...