fairy

And So We Dance…

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Sometimes you notice that after you’ve made strides forward, you find yourself repeating old mistakes. Eric Northman, for all he’s a thousand years and counting is not immune. Good thing he has Pam.

All my best, and thank you, in particular, to my friend and editor, the amazing Ms. Buffy.

Chapter 31 – Allemande

High Cotton

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It’s an odd saying, meaning one is doing well or is successful. I remember reading it first in Gone With the Wind, and somehow, it seemed appropriate. The Northmans have ‘arrived.’ They are accepted at Summits, their advice sought. People talk about them and eyes naturally move in their direction. Are their lives settled? Far from it, (and when will they ever be?), but for now, things do seem to be going their way.

All my best and best wishes for a prosperous and blessed 2019.

I hope to see Harlow Layne books grace my bookshelves and Amazon feeds. I wish Ms Buffy a wonderful, healthy year filled with happy tales of family and friends.

I hope you each find your own best happiness in the year that is to come.

Chapter 30 – High Cotton

Coming Around…

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Good morning from dreary, rainy New England. We’ve hit that second mud season. The premiere mud season is April, but December has evolved into a close second. The persistent rain keeps me from forest paths. While the lure of dragging a solid inch of mud on my boots is tempting, the truth is that walking soggy trails is bad for the forest. Like April, the ‘big mud’ is a time of renewal. Trails fill in, leaves and dirt washing into the more rutted areas, so disturbing the natural healing of things is bad.

Which is terrible timing.

This is also the season of cookies and candy, big meals and drinking wassail. So, without further ado, I’m getting my sorry self dressed and off to the gym.

My best to you all, and my special thanks to Ms Buffy. Stay dry!

 Chapter 28 – Coming Around

And how the Grow…

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Chapter 26, Grown, is posted, and if you notice the narrative flows more easily, there’s a good reason. Ms Buffy is back in the house! Her darling partner in crime helped with an early Christmas present, and now, she’s back in business. I, for one, am most grateful.

In the United States, Thanksgiving, which is celebrated at the end of November, is akin to ringing the bell. From this point forward, the weeks rush by, pell-mell, head-over-heels, tumbling toward the holidays. In my house, it’s presents to purchase, cards to send. Cookies to bake, house to decorate.

Me? I celebrate Christmas. Rather than shop the weekend of Thanksgiving, I try to finish my preparations so I can sit back and enjoy the spirit of the thing rather than miss the beauty of it in my rushing. There was a time I took pride in waiting until Christmas Eve to prepare. I was younger and thrived on adrenaline, the anxiety adding that extra sense of satisfaction when I finished just ahead of stores closing. Those days are gone.

I rarely visit stores now. For those on my gift list, I frequent craft shows and artisans. I try to give gifts that I’ve made or which have an element of handcrafting. Perhaps it’s my own conceit, but these feel more personal to me, somehow closer to the heart.

So, I sit at my writing table, watching my woods from my large glass window on the world, enjoying the twinkling lights and boughs of holly, and wish you all your best of season. I hope you take time in these weeks leading up to whatever holiday you celebrate enjoying the beauty of this time: the lights on lawns and the red berries that shine on the bare bushes, the smiles of children and the simple joy of seasonal music.

Chapter 26 – Grown

Real Life

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Certainly not a good excuse, but the one I have. Real life has intruded on my writing time, nibbling at first, and more recently, taking great, greedy bites of that time I consider my own. Each job, each side of my life, which I maintain in their balanced boxes: work, scouting, condo leadership, writing, brewing, family, hiking, exercise, each playing in harmony… until recently.

Great things require sacrifice. I accept that as a maxim, and yet, now that I find myself in that place where several parts are dwarfing the others, I find I resent it. I want it all, like any screaming child.

But, balance will find its way to me, again. For now, enjoy this chapter, and I will use the holiday to write, bringing that lovely part of my life back into the forefront.

I wish my talented, amazing Ms Buffy and her family all the best at this holiday season. I apologize for not sending this chapter to you first. All mistakes are my own.

Best of holidays to you all.

Chapter 24 – Crows Come Home

Winter roars…

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Unlike years past with their lingering warm weather, this year winter has come. There’s been no tip-toeing or dilly-dallying about it. One day it was warm and the next there was a blast of rain and wind that as much as said, “Fun’s Over! Bundle up!”

Now, the trees are all but bare and the wind blows cold, sending whirlwinds of leaves that scrape and skitter across the paved surfaces, chattering against each other.

My best to all, and especially to Ms Buffy. Bundle up, my friend, and protest those hands!

Happy Sunday…

Chapter 23 – Prodigal’s Passage