Well, it’s almost Christmas, and I think I promised a catch-up back in September. That just means I haven’t changed, right?
Bryan arrived today, having finished his finals and a long work week. We have two weeks until he goes back. Fun time! Christmas will be at the Peters’, some Irish friends here, and then we’re going to have a jolly time with Bryan’s big present. Don’t know if he gets on here or not, so I’ll tell that secret after Christmas!
It’s been a crazy fall here, lots of writing. I’m the Genealogy Feature Writer for Suite101 now, so I have a weekly genealogy article to write. Takes a lot more time than the Writing Fiction articles! I got my kid’s time-travel novel completely re-done and sent off to a contest, but didn’t place. Drat. I’ll start sending it out after the new year. And I did NaNo again, and finished – 51,600 words! A grown-up women’s novel this time, for a Mormon audience. Still have a long way to go to even finish a rough draft, but it’s fun to work on.
I’ve been doing a bunch of music stuff, too. My piano students somehow morphed from two kids and a mom last year, to six kids this year. I’m not thrilled with two afternoons committed (Blaik says “awww”), but they’re fun. And a couple who are really a joy to teach. I’m also the branch music chairman, which means I do the choir for Christmas and organize the Christmas music fireside. Being a choir director was quite an experience last year – lots of people who sing, but no men who know how to sing parts. I was more prepared this year, so we’ve been practicing since the beginning of October. The small groups and choir were awesome that night, but we had pianist problems and I ended up playing for a lot more than I expected! Playing on the spur of the moment for Relief Society has made me pretty good at dropping unnecessary notes, and that came in handy. <g>
OK, that’s about it for now, catch up on such exciting things as Tim’s mission and floods in Cork coming soon. At least sooner than six months from now! Cheers!