HAPPY NEW YEAR!
It's 2020! WOW! I still can't believe it! Wasn't it only "yesterday" we were doing the "Y2K" thing and now it's TWENTY years later. We all have cell phones, computers, and every new gadget created in this new century. But, we still have our old anxieties lurking in the background and we drag them into each new year and decade. I say..."LET'S leave THEM in the PAST and start fresh. A new year and a new decade...Yay! What do you say? Agreed? You, bet!
First, the one thing I don't want to forget about is the wonderful people behind the IWSG! It's bigger and better than ever. Who would have ever imagined the success of this group thanks to the founder and our friend, Alex...here! here! This organization has catapulted into far more than any of us would have ever imagined.
For those of you who have not joined, please do by stopping by Alex's blog and signing up right away...we need you! We can ALL use good advice and we all have some to give to others who are in need. I know I am thrilled and honored to be apart of it.
I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday. For me, well, it was interesting, to say the least. I traveled for three days in a fifteen-foot truck from Florida to my new country home in Galena, IL. When I arrived the place was covered in construction dust... and to top that, my kitchen was completely ripped out and had NO WALLS. I FREAKED...of course... who wouldn't? So now I was faced with only three weeks until Christmas and would be living in barely livable space.
After my mini-breakdown, I dug in and started to clean. In four days, I managed to create a somewhat inhabitable place. Over the past five weeks, the house is now set, EXCEPT for the kitchen. I am staying here until it is done! Hopefully in a few more weeks. I finally have walls. LOL.
Writing took a back seat. I had planned to come to my new country haven and finish the remaining chapter of MK. HA! Talk about anxiety. I could barely breathe. Also, looming over me is the prospect of my basal cell removal surgery scheduled for tomorrow (just a small spot, pre-cancer, nothing to worry about...I hope and pray. That's what the doctor told me, anyway). On the plus side, I need to rest and not do anything strenuous to mar my face, SO, now I have two weeks of post-op to chain myself to my computer and FINISH my editing. I will certainly do my best to IGNORE the construction dust, the noise from the kitchen floor install, cabinet install, etc. This is going to be quite a task for me... I may need to be drugged. LOL. I would appreciate some good vibes and prayers at this time for keeping my sanity and for the surgery. I am hoping once I immerse back into my manuscript, I will block out the rest. One can hope.
I will also be visiting your blogs as much as possible after every few hours of work. Although I am editing, I also have to write about five more chapters... no, I still haven't written them yet, but now I will.
Thanks for all your support and friendship throughout the years. Even though many of us have cut down on our blogging to a bare minimum, I still know we all love to keep in touch with our blogger buddies and wish them the best in their writing journeys and in their personal lives. I may disappear for a while, but the community is always in my thoughts and prayers. And...I always return. LOL
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE, and may 2020 be a HAPPY AND HEALTHY year for all of us!
40 comments:
Michael! We'll pray everything goes well tomorrow and that's the end of it.
Sorry your kitchen is still undone. Hope they finish it soon.
After tomorrow, you are to rest and write - that's it!
A ripped out kitchen? That would not have been a good surprise. Good thing the walls are up now. I hope the rest goes smoothly.
Happy New Year!
Prayers and energy are on the way.
Ask your construction crew if they understand the word containment. It may keep the dust where it belongs. Around them rather than you. :-)
Anna from elements of emaginette
Michael, I'll add you to the prayer list for tomorrow. God has you covered, though.
I certainly would've freaked! I hope they finish it really soon.
I'll think about you during your surgery and recovery. No kitchen! Good excuse to go out for meals.
Happy New Year Michael. I was about to drop you an email to see if you were okay, but your post explains it. Freaky all right, but worth it in the end like all renovations! Can't wait to see the pics!
Hope and pray all goes well for the basal cell removal. I've had over 6 melanomas removed. It's not that bad! I'm sure you'll recover with all your face intact. Good that you mean to catch up on the writing during your recovery.
Hoping 2020 is an awesome year for all of us old friends! WEP is now 10 years old, so time has flown.
Way cool you have moved - again, lol. I moved into my new home too at Christmas. I had walls, but had to spend two days cleaning just enough to put furniture in there. Its much better now - but you know how it goes, hate all that unpacking and finding things. I'm sure you will have your new place looking astounding soon.
Good luck with the editing, and do stay quiet so you can heal. If you had a kitchen I'd tell you to bake something, I know that always makes you content.
I haven't posted for a while. Just stopped by to say "Hello!" and wish you positive vibes in your new digs.
'It will all be worth it in the end.' That's what I kept telling myself when my kitchen was gutted and renovated and it will be worth it in the end for you as well. Happy New Year.
Hope your surgery goes well today and that your home renovations are completed quickly. Happy New Year!
Wishing you the best on your surgery and your kitchen.
I agree with you about leaving certain things in the past...where they belong. Sending healing thoughts on your surgery and recovery.
Michael, it is always such a pleasure reading your posts. You always make me feel better. <3 I've got to tell you, I don't think I've ever known anyone who has gone through as many renovations as you have! LOL You have patience of steel. :) I'm hoping to blog more this year, so here's to seeing you in cyberspace soon....
Hi Michael - good luck, take care and I'm sure all will be well - and you'll have a kitchen to create in soon ... and then the year will be rocking on and you'll be writing too ... all the best for 2020 - cheers Hilary
I'm praying for you. You'll have a real kitchen soon, I hope. How do you like Galena?
Love,
Janie
Prayers, Michael. I know logically, basal cells are the good cancer, but we know there is no good cancer, so it's worrisome. If it helps. I know several people who have had these removed and they have all recovered and had no further problems.
Another renovation and move? I knew that before today, right? I have only moved once (besides dorms) and hardly ever renovate. I'm much more boring than you.
Gotta agree with Sheri, lol, I don't know how you do it. I despise moving! Sure hope you love your new place :)
Thanks Alex.... It was a tough surgery, but I am okay.
Thanks Chrys!
Thank you, Anna! I wish they could. No matter how hard the try to contain it, it "puffs" through every crack in the house.
Thanks L. Diane! The prayers are much appreciated. The surgery was more intense that I had expected, but I am SLOWLY healing. Thankfully they got all the cancer out.
Thanks Susan! But going out daily for six to eight weeks is like having two additional mortgage payments. It was fun at first, but now it is a financial burden and one that I shouldn't have to incur.
Thanks Denise. Sadly, my basal was large and deep. They had to cut out a good size. So I am swollen up like someone hit me in the face with a bat. hard to concentrate on writing at this point. The scarring shouldn't be too bad, but for what they told me it may take several months for all the swelling to go down and up to six months for complete healing. This feels and looks exactly like when my nose was broken and that took a year to heal. I just hope this is the LAST one on my face. I know have to be looked at every six months so see if any more are around. Not fun... but it was necessary. If I had waited longer, I would have lost a good part of my nose. Thankfully it was slightly on the side of my bridge, so the scar will run down my nose on side. Hopefully it will fade in time. The surgeon believes will be barely noticeable. I certainly hope so. Not the best place of have a scar...in the center of your face.
Time certainly has flown! TEN years ALREADY! WOW! Congrats! 2020 will be a good year! It is time for publication!!!!!
Wow...you, too, Donna! You've moved almost as many times as I have. The new house if wonderful, but needs so much work. I am hoping to have a kitchen by the end of the month. In the spring, the exterior gets a much needed facelift. But overall, I am thrilled with this home, it's exactly the kind of house I always hoped I'd own and live in until I pass on into my next life.
Good luck and much happiness in your new home, Donna!!!
Thanks Sally... I know it will be. I hope you THRILLED with your new kitchen!
Thanks Natalie... Taking it one day at a time...
Thank you, Liza!
Thank you so much, Diane!
Thanks, Sheri... I hope to be around more, too! Yes...lol...I have been through MANY renovations and I am truly hoping this will be the last!
Thanks so much, Hilary!
Hi Janie... LOVE Galena!! It is such a charming place.... Beautiful Main St. Quaint shops and restaurants. It's like living back in the '50s. People are friendly, no one locks their doors, little traffic, and picturesque homes from the turn of the twentieth century.
Thanks for the prayers!
Lol.. you are not boring AT ALL, Elizabeth. You've raised four amazing young men, wrote many books, and always seem to have a smile on your face! How do you do it?
Yes, you are right. I went into surgery thinking it would just be a skin scraping. Little did I know, they had to remove a good sized piece of my nose.Thankfully my surgeon is a cancer plastic surgeon, so the scaring will be minimal. She does incredible work. My cell was a lot deeper than expected, but she is confident that all will be well and I will heal beautifully. I look like someone hit me in the face with a baseball bat, and I am swollen up pretty badly, BUT, It is stating to come down and I can see that all should be okay in the end. Thankfully the scar is running down my nose and not across it.
Thank you, Patricia!
Hi Marci!!! I DO! I finally found my 'home'...it's located in a charming town and it's a lovely old Craftsman home with wonderful details. I have over 2200 sq. ft of living space not including the 1000sq ft. walk-up attic which in the future will become my Hogwarts Library and studio... I can't WAIT for that. But sadly, the kitchen and other renovations will have to come first. I am SICK of moving. I only have one more storage unit to clean out in Chicago, then I will have all my things in my two places. I still have my little condo in Orlando, which I will be going back to once the kitchen is complete...hopefully by the end of this month.
Man, that's one nasty surprise on moving! Hope it's all settled well, and that you are recovering well from the surgery. Wishing you all the best for the new year, even if I am a bit slow about it.
I hope you're recovering well from your surgery, which must have been done by now. Sending you good juju. The story of your move sounds awful, what is it about moving to a new place that invariably means more trouble than we could ever have dreamed of. Happy New Year and here's looking forward to reading more of your writing.
Thanks Kalpana! Healing slowly, but healing all the same. No kidding. This new/old house is definitely giving and taking me a run for my money. Thank you! It's always nice to have talented writers who appreciate my writing. All the best to you as well!
I hope you continue to heal well and that you have a four walled kitchen now!
Oh, wow. I envy you! Not the unfinished house part, but the living in the country haven part. Want a roommate? LOL
Best wishes on the surgery. Hope you are getting a lot of writing done.
Hope your surgery was a success! Sounds like you've been super busy with the house and cleaning. Maybe now your mind will be ready to write!
Hi Michael!
I hope your surgery went well and that you're getting enough rest.
Take care of yourself.
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