Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you made it into 2022 unscathed by weather, viruses, or discomfort from overindulging in holiday goodies.
Well, maybe a bit of discomfort is okay. As the saying goes, “Everything in moderation, including moderation”. 😉
Hubby and I had a quiet Christmas and New Years for two, but we stuffed ourselves with turkey and trimmings like a pair of champs. And my pastry recipe makes enough for two pies; so I kinda had to make a pumpkin pie and a cherry pie. Two people = two pies, right?
Unlike the rest of the country, we haven’t been plunged into -30°C and -40°C weather, so we’re counting our blessings. But we have been blanketed by snow since mid-December, so don’t get me started about all the times we were told ‘it never snows here’. It’s beautiful, though!
My “holiday” time got a little messed up when my back demanded attention with a loud crack and some crazy nerve sensations. The ensuing trips to doctors and an MRI ate into my writing time as well as my ability to focus on anything other than ‘Why does my spine hate me?’, but I managed to make some progress on Book 17 nonetheless. I don’t know how the back issues will turn out; but for now I’m moving cautiously and not hurting, so I’ll take what I can get.
I hope you all had a happy holiday, and I wish you all the best in the new year!
Book 17 update: I’m on Chapter 9 and Aydan is flying across the country with a man she doesn’t quite trust, to meet another man she definitely doesn’t trust. Let the games begin…
Author Diane Henders 
Got to spend a week with my sister! Had a great time as always. Most of the rest of the break I spent fighting the worst case of bronchitis I’ve ever had. Win some, etc.
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Oh, no, bronchitis is brutal! I hope you’re on the mend now. But at least you had a great time with your sister. Happy New Year!
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My best to you on the back issue!! Ugh…so sorry to read that!! The picture is stunning….so beautiful!! Our holiday season was great being with our grandchildren made it even better!! Next year we will be up in Seattle with our other two daughters and their husbands along with at least one new grandchild due in June!!! We close on a house up there on February 7th! Still wrapping our heads around what that entails with moving, etc…..here’s to a great 2022!!!
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Oh, wow — that’s a big move! I hope it goes well for you. Moving is always a big upheaval, but it sounds like it’ll be a perfect place for you to be. Happy 2022!
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Happy New Year, Diane! May it bring lots of joyful writing (and other) moments and another book (#17) under your belt!
I’m sorry to read about the snow (it is pretty, indeed) and your back (maybe it’s pretty too?). I’m impressed you still made progress with your writing over the holidays. It occurred to me just now (something you have stated before), that our lifestyle would drive you nuts. You wouldn’t get anything done with all the distractions of being on the road, issues with the camper, and staying fed, cleaned, and exercised! It’s driving me crazy these weeks!
So, enjoy your peaceful home and comfortable work conditions! 🙂
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Thank you — I truly do enjoy both. Reading about your lifestyle just makes me all the more thankful for my “home base”!
And I can understand how disruptive it must be for you to have so many distractions on the road. Since my back decided to hate me, I’ve had a hard time getting into writing because I’m constantly distracted by having to shift positions. Stand up, sit down, stretch, sit, walk, sit, etc., etc. Grrr! Here’s hoping both our distractions diminish soon! 🙂
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Happy New Year!! Your snowy landscape is gorgeous. I’m so jealous. We got our second “dusting” today. A couple of inches that will be gone by tomorrow. Bummer.
So sorry about your back. And the cold just makes any pain worse doesn’t it? I hope you feel better soon.
I made Christmas cookies for the first time ever this year. I am most definitely NOT a baker so my aunt, who just moved here, decided I needed saving, lol! But we had so much fun and the cookies came out fabulous despite my involvement. We made an obscene amount of cookies. Nine dozen! I don’t want to see another cookie until next Christmas.
Book news is great news! Means my new year is looking up! Lol! Best wishes to all!
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Nine dozen cookies, woohoo! I don’t mind giant batches of cookies — I have a freezer, and I know how to use it. 😉 Nothing makes me happier than knowing I’ve got lots of goodies ready to grab.
We’re still swaddled in snow, but according to the weather forecast it’s supposed to warm up and rain for the next week. Hopefully that will melt the giant glacier that’s perched on our garage roof right now. After several weeks of freezing and thawing, it’s about 10 inches of solid ice. I’m half-expecting to find mastodon bones when it finally thaws…
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Sorry about your back. Hope the docs can crack you back into shape. Your front is pretty damn good, at least.
Our Dec 25th Christmas looked like yours with lots of snow. Jan 7th Christmas tomorrow sees us with virtually no snow, just mud and muck. Lucky is banished to his yard during daylight as he will dig in the mud if unsupervised in the house yard.
I’d kill for a mince pie. They do not seem to be popular any more. Didn’t even get any Christmas Cake this year.
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No Christmas cake? That’s so sad. I scored TWO Christmas cakes this year, hooray! Mince pie isn’t something I ever warmed up to, though. I hated it as a kid, but I should probably try it again now — my tastes have changed since then.
We just got another big dump of snow last night, and the weather forecast for warm weather keeps receding. Every day we check the forecast, and every day it says that in 3 – 4 days we’ll be up to +6. I guess if they keep predicting that, they’ll be right in a month or two. 😉
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We had a quite holiday here too and I think your math is correct the pie ratio is 1:1 – one person, one pie – two people, two pies …
Yes, that is the correct equation.
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Good, I’m glad I nailed it! I like it when math is easy. 😉
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Snow? Jealous thoughts. It is hot and humid here. My MS LOVES both. I do not.
I have finally finished the humungous bowl of fruit salad I made for Christmas. Excess fruit salad is never a bad thing. The New Year knows its way and made its way in without my assistance.
For an non-invasive medical procedure MRIs do my head in. I hope your back continues to heal and your don’t have to go down that noisy claustrophobic path again anytime soon.
And the snippet from your latest work caught my eye and incited my reading lust. Thank you. Drat you.
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LOL! Yours is my favourite type of comment from readers. Another of my favourites is, “I cried, and I laughed my ass off”. When I get comments like that, I know I’ve done something right. 🙂
The MRI actually didn’t bother me this time. The first one I ever had, a couple of decades ago, was a white-knuckle experience because it was a coffin-sized tube. I got through that procedure okay, but I definitely wasn’t happy. This MRI had a lot more space, so I was fine… except that while I was lying there with the thing buzzing and growling around me, all I could think of was, “What if I’ve somehow forgotten about something metallic somewhere in my body?” (Clearly I hadn’t — I got out unscathed.)
It doesn’t seem fair that your MS should thrive on nice summer weather — grrr! Sending cool and snowy thoughts your way…
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We survived the holidays as well. Xmas Eve with the kiddos was uneventful, and our Xmas Day dinner was simple as well, with the return of my vegetable gravy recipe from our smoked Thanksgiving turkey breast. Due to my better half’s dietary issues (and who am I kidding–mine as well), we’ve had to change things around, and we didn’t even bake our usual batches of holiday cookies this year. At least New Year’s Eve was memorable–I convinced the War Dept. (aka the better half) we needed to do an overnight trip to a small city two hours away, where we’d have dinner at the steakhouse and spend the night. Even though it was a short trip, it was good to finally travel after spending the past two years stuck at home. And the restaurant, especially, was fastidious about distancing, and sanitizing the tables and seating between visits.
We didn’t have any appreciable snow until just a few days ago, followed by a drop in temperature. Just enough to cover the ground and stick around for the week. We have gotten off easy with the winter weather in recent years, so I’m grateful for that. And not to jinx it, but we’re overdue for one of those large snowstorms we get every few years. This inch or two of snow was forecast as four to six inches (per usual), so we don’t put much weight in the forecasts anymore.
A year ago, I would have said we’d be back to normal. No go. I really want to say the same for this year. I have the trade show in mid April where it is looking more likely it will not happen for the third year in a row. As for summer travel, that’s also up in the air. And with our national parks now being so crowded (Arches National Park just announced a reservation system from April through October), it will be a challenge even if we can get out on the road. I’m also hoping to shift careers while I still can–I’m burnt out. We’ll see how it plays out!
Best wishes to you and hubby for 2022, and to all the fellow commenters here!
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Thanks, Rudy! Like you, I had previously thought, “Christmas 2021 will be back to normal”. Sigh. I’m hoping for Christmas 2022, too. I don’t really miss travelling, but I do miss going to restaurants. We’ve gotten takeout a few times, but we haven’t sat down and eaten in a restaurant for two years. Crazy times.
We restrained ourselves in the cookie department, too — only one batch of shortbread, and that was it. And most of the cherry pie went into the freezer, so we’ll get to enjoy it over the next few weeks.
A career change, wow! Do you have something in mind, or are you just at the stage of “it’s time for a change, let’s see what’s out there”? Regardless, I wish you all the best!
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