I have decided to redo my blog today. It has been a few years since I have posted anything and there have been many changes in my life recently. We are now living on a farm in a a very small town in southwest Missouri. We have 110-120 acres of land, I can never quite remember just how much exactly. It is very peaceful and beautiful here, our view from the back porch includes fields of grass, cows, wooded sections of the land, rolling hills, an occasional bald eagle, deer, wild turkey, coyotes, a roadrunner, a great horned owl, rabbits, hawks, and many other creatures.

In the evening, I can sit on the back porch to watch the sun go down and listen to the frogs in the pond as well as all the insects singing. Fireflies flash and sparkle all across the fields, and the sky fills with so many stars (when we don't have clouds). There is almost no light pollution out here and the night skies fascinate me. It is so perfect out here after living for decades in cities. It is not quiet in the country, but there are no traffic sounds, no listening to fighting neighbors or crappy music blasted on car stereos. There are gunshots heard, and often, but it is usually either farmers protecting livestock, hunters, or simply gun enthusiasts practicing their skills.

We moved out here last year (2016) in between June and July to help with my boyfriend's father. I am now his caregiver. Lucky for me he is a very sweet and intelligent man who at this time can still do many things for himself. It leaves me with a lot of time to work on my writing and other crafts. I just need to be a bit more disciplined when it comes to my writing.

We have six cats (five are mine!) who are always distracting me, particularly my black cat, Bagheera. He is a beautiful short haired, big-boned boyo who is very much a typical cat. He is all attitude and and very spoiled. Bags, as we like to call him, enjoys his O.D.D. (oppositional defiance disorder), affluenza, and god-complex. He also likes to get on the desk and demand my attention and affections when the other cats are napping. He likes to head-but my chin, paw at my shirt, and lay down on my keyboard while I am trying to work on the computer.

Bags as a a pretty little girlfriend named Odin. She is grey tabby with only one eye. She was born with microcephaly and her left eye did not grow with the rest of her. We rescued her from a cruel woman who let Odin's eye socket go infected and who has clipped off the tip of her left ear. We rescued her back in March of 2016, got her to a vet, and she is now a fat and happy addition to our home. When we first rescued Odin, we thought she was male and felt she needed a strong name. By the time we learned her true gender, she had grown used to being Odin and so the name has stuck.

Odin is playful, kittenish, and very loving. She is getting more and more comfortable with us and her new environment, and even starting to show some sass. Thankfully the other cats like as well. Because she has just the one eye, Odin is strictly an indoor cat now, and she seems quite content with that. Having just one eye doesn't seem to hinder her much; she is quite a stealthy hunter of balls, strings, yarn, and even spiders. We have our hands full with all the fur babies and they like to be involved anytime I am crafting with paper or breads.

Odin and Bagheera (a.k.a. Bags)

As for my writing, I have not written any new poems in years. I have been participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)for the last five or six years (I lost count) and now have several partially completed novels underway. This year I will not be participating because I really need to finish up all the other novels I have started. So now, I am trying to focus on the first NaNo novel set in a medieval/fantasy world about a young girl caught up in war and politics. Once that is finished, I shall finish up last year's historic novel about the Lancashire Witch Trials of 1612. I have twelve chapters of the first book drafted out, still need to write the last few chapters then edit. So far, each chapter is between 7,000 and 8,000 words and I anticipate there being 17 chapters total in the first book. This means I have roughly 37,500 words to go.

Having participated in NaNoWriMo for several years now and having even won at least three times (to win you need to write a minimum of 50,000 words in 30 days --in the month of November), I am certain if I just make myself sit down and write, I will finish the first draft in less than a month. I will then have to set it aside for a few months to work on the next novel before I go back and edit. I edit better when I can look at things with a fresh mind. Once the editing is finished, I will have a select few folks read through it, seeking out any errors or dull portions, basically looking for anything that needs fixing, removed, or added. After that, I will see about publishing my novel, either as an e-book at smashwords.com or maybe even as a physical book.

Until next time, peace and be safe.