It seems that just when I think I’m finally over this flu-bug, it “flats” me again–“flats” being a term we used around here, back in the day, to describe the way Bernice, the Yorkie, used to just press one of the kitties to the floor, for no apparent reason. Evidently, it was some kind of dominance thing–amusing, since it never harmed the kits or even seemed to bother them much, and Bernice was so blase about it. 🙂
I’m writing again–so close, so close to finishing!–but it has been a rocky road. Much as I love this book and it’s characters, I’ll be glad to see the back of it, and move on to my holiday story, “Christmas in Mustang Creek.” It’s time for a change of pace–and time to feel better, too. I’m not only getting bored, I’m getting lonesome–Jenni comes and goes, and of course the barn work proceeds as usual, but Mary Ann has to stay away, lest she catch the plague.
Does anybody remember the Betty MacDonald books? (Last name may be misspelled. Mom, is this right? 🙂 Betty lived over in Western Washington and penned, among other tales, “The Egg and I”, a comical account of her adventures on a chicken farm, and, “The Plague and I”, in which she described her experience with tuberculosis. Now, thank heaven, I don’t have T.B.–but these days I’m feeling as though I could definitely have written my own version of “The Plague and I”. 🙂
It’s the weirdest thing–as stated in the first paragraph of this blog entry, I start feeling pretty good and even somewhat ambitious and–BAM! (As they say in the comic books)… I’m flat on my back again, wondering what the heck just hit me. I was supposed to go to Dallas last Friday for a lovely event put on by the folks at Fresh Fiction, and thinking, in a fit of optimism, that I was well enough make the trip–until about four o’clock Thursday afternoon, when I realized it just wasn’t going to happen. I was SO disappointed but, hey, not only was I likely to wind up in the hospital if I dared make the journey, how could I have justified exposing so many other people to the plague??
By the way, I did get the contest announcements all botched up, and I apologize. LAST WEEK’S winners are: Eileen Tallach and Emma–both notified via private email by Super-Jen. Congratulations! (According to Jen, I should have said that contests end on Fridays and BEGIN on Mondays. Yikes. I’ve been getting a lot of things mixed up lately.) Among its other charms, the plague is confusing. 🙂
God is taking care of me, so please don’t worry. I suspect He let me catch whatever this is (i.e. flatted me, Bernice-style) just so I would get a little more rest than I usually do. In my experience, it’s always better to listen to the still, small voice from the beginning–before it gets not-so-still and BIG. 🙂 Which, of course, does not mean I practice what I’m preaching. I depend on His Grace.
How about you?
About Linda
The daughter of a town marshal, Linda Lael Miller is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than 100 historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West.
Raised in Northport, Washington, Linda pursued her wanderlust, living in London and Arizona and traveling the world before returning to the state of her birth to settle down on a horse property outside Spokane.
