Now that the dust has settled

Speaking of settling - I just looked out my office (work) window and saw that it is all pink and rosy above the hills above Little Lake but with one long thick strand of cloud that just goes between the hills like a pulled out piece of quilt batting. So odd and lovely.

Now - back to business at hand. I was totally caught up in my new manuscript - Crooked Knife - but had the last bit of revision to do on Bright Angel before it got sent back to my mentor. The Shiny-New-Thing dilemma is always a problem for me. Fortunately, my fella, who is some smart, nudged me. "Don't you have that revision to do?" He is ever so gentle but as he hardly ever nudges I pay attention when he does. So I finished it and sent it off. Whew!

I have no idea how long my mentor will have with it. He teaches a number of university courses, so has plenty to do - plus his own revision, and, well...life. But now that it is away I can totally throw any spare time I have at this new manuscript. Which is good - as it needs a lot. I don't have one draft done yet. Just 55 thousand words and a lot of them for tossing. But I'm engaged - I'm loving it and thinking about it all the time when I'm not working (or watching Longmire).

We leave for our road trip to Halifax in a week and I'm trying not to fall into holiday madness. Why? Because:

1. I'm a Buddhist so although I totally appreciate Jesus as a wisdom body - a teacher and holy person - I'm not a Christian.
2. Even if I were a Christian - I don't understand what buying more than I can afford has to do with true Christian love.
3. I don't like the feeling of guilt because I haven't organized my life around this event.

So what do I do in the holidays?

1. Try to spend real loving time with relatives and friends.
2. Cook good food.
3. Buy books for all the grandchildren - something I've done for fifteen years now.
4. Have a tree if possible because although I'm not a Christian - I do have pagan roots and as my birthday is on the solstice - well...I likes a tree. Don't you?
5. Support a charity in the name of my close relatives - some charity that is meaningful to all of us. It is usually to do with helping educate girls in various regions.
6. Make something by hand for Children's Day (a Buddhist holiday) for my special girl friends.

And that's it. 

Any spare time in there, I like to spend reading and lolling or going snowshoeing, or attending children's concerts. ha. love those.

Later, dudes and dudettes... oh and here is a photo of me and my sis a few years ago. heh heh.