I have been missing in action for over a month.

Maybe some of you have noticed. I certainly did.  I kept thinking I would finally get time to get back to my blog and touch base with everyone – and it just didn’t happen.

My apologies. I will try to do better.  Honest.

George’s book came and went in UK and environs while I was MIA.  I deeply apologize to George and Sophy for not doing better by their book.

It was one of my faves and as it’s still available online – and will be out in the US and Canada in late January or early February –I will try to do something for them on the blog so you know them better.

George was such fun to write.  I’ve never had a physicist for a hero before.  He made things fresh.  And it was the book in which Gunnar, our dear departed flatcoat retriever, had a major role.  Gunnar played George’s dog, coincidentally named Gunnar, in the book – and a fine job he did, too.

George is leaning over my shoulder as I write this, muttering about letting him write his own blog piece. If I’d had a moment to think, I would have done so this past month.  Yes, I know  Demetrios did. And Sebastian.  And yes, you’ll get to, too.

What are you doing over Thanksgiving weekend, George?  Want to blog then?

Anyway, to catch up, let’s see – what’s been happening?

Well, Nick and Edie left without fanfare for England to visit my editor. They came back a couple of weeks ago for revisions which I am doing now.  Hoping to get a lot of them finished before Thanksgiving which we will be spending with a couple of sons’ families. 

Seeing the littlest grandkids will be a treat. Seeing the oldest play in the state football tournament this past week was a treat, too.  His team is going to the finals this weekend.  This is something these boys have been aiming for since kindergarten, it seems. And it’s exciting to see that they have made it all the way to the championship game.  I’ve got my fingers crossed.

Unfortunately, while we did get to go this past weekend to the game, we won’t be going to next weekend’s.  Sigh. But we will be there in spirit, believe me.

I said I would do NaNoWriMo with a friend to “pace” her while she wrote. I don’t know what she’s doing, but I have written 500 words all month on the new book. I am, however, spending most of my time on Nick and Edie (and a thousand other non-writing related things).

I’ve been teaching a genealogy course which has been a lot of fun, but time-consuming.  Still, it has given me several ideas (as in, ‘where do your ideas come from?’) so it’s writing related, too.

I mentioned back in Sept that Micah had been bitten by a F.L.E.A. (as Sid the cat would say). That turned into a nightmare – because he got sick from the meds and couldn’t take them and so developed a secondary infection on his skin and he gave new meaning to the words “flea-bitten” until about a week and a half ago, when we finally got a med that worked. So now he is both looking and feeling better.

We never saw another F.L.E.A. – and I hope I never do.

Those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, what plans do you have? Good recipes to share? 

I’m really looking forward to it. It’s my favorite holiday because it’s the least commercial of all of them – and celebrates values of community and family and sharing and gratitude, all things I think are really important.