If we were having coffee today, November 22nd, I’d invite you to come in out of this dreary day. and welcome the company. Some days, all this time spent alone is a lot. Come sit and have some of this gingerbread I just made. It’s delicious.

I filled the weekend reading and watching The Crown. Have you seen it? It’s my latest addiction. As we settled in, I’d tell you how I went to Ireland and England with a friend right around the time of the wedding of Princess Diana and Charles. I still have the European newspapers in a box somewhere in the house. What a trip that was! Two teenage girls on their own, exploring foreign lands. London was the first place I ever had a sip of alcohol and let’s just say it was many, many sips and there was a bit of a scene at a Greek restaurant between me and some belly dancers. While in Ireland, my friend and I ran into the same group of boys everywhere we went. On one of these occasions, they had a tiny puppy with them. Long story short, I ended up taking the dog home to the States with me. I argued my way through Customs and Erin came home with me. She was a part of the family for years and was the smartest dog I ever had. I’d ask you about any pets you have and tell you I was that kid. I was always smuggling new creatures into the house. These days my children tell me two cats, a dog, and fish are enough. No more animals. We’ll see…

Work continues to be busy, so much so that my writing has slipped a bit. 2020 will go down as my worst year in productive writing. I hope that changes. I do miss it. I’m excited to say that I’ve been invited back to the Austin International Poetry Festival next April. I have to start working on new material for that. My husband and my sister and brother-in-law had so much fun when we went in 2017. We are waiting to see what the world looks like as far as the pandemic but are hoping to go. What about you? Have any of your plans been altered in this new world in which we live? Who would have thought that this would be the new normal?

Next week brings my birthday and Thanksgiving. Each will be low key, but I’m still looking forward to both. I purchased some new dishes and tableware for the occasion. We all need a little lift to the spirits and these little things seem to help. My mom’s birthday was last week. My sister and I went for a quick visit. We were careful but felt it was important to see her on her birthday. Again…the great balancing act. I’m glad we saw her.

How are you spending your time these days? Any special plans coming up? For those of you that write, how are you coping? My well is pretty dry at the moment but I’m going to work on filling it again. Thanks for stopping by. I do enjoy these visits!

Until next time…