Hey everyone!

Wow, it's been a long time since my last newsletter. Yes, I know, I told you I was going to slack off, but I miss you all anyway. I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are all looking forward to a spectacular 2012!

My Christmas was pretty awesome this year. Hubby and I got to share it with the family and I managed to get talked into doing not one, but two big dinners! OMG! I'm not sure how that happened, but I'll try not to let it happen again. Jeeze, time for the next generation to take over all those big chores. I'll hold down a comfy chair and balance a glass on my knee next time around.

So, I suppose you're all wondering how my writing is coming along. Well, sad to say, it's not. I've worked through a couple of edits, but even those I struggled with. But, I'm ever the optimist and have decided not to sweat it, for now. I've got a lot going on in my life right now, some of it stressing the hell out of me. It's not easy to concentrate when you're worried. So, I've decided to simply take a break and see what happens when my life settles down. I remember having nightmares about a future when I wasn't writing. Well, this seems to be it, for a time at least. Perhaps it'll pass. I hope so. The silence is so very, very quiet.

On to my animal friends. We've had a fairly mild winter so far this year, but snow is in the forecast and it's been REALLY cold for the last while. One of our bucks turned up with a lump on the side of his lower jaw, which got very big and ugly. It seems to have lanced itself and the buck is doing very well now. We're now keeping our eyes on one of last years fawns who's turned up lame. So far, the little dow (I think) is still eating well, although the limp is very pronounced. All we can do is cross our fingers and hope she's another miracle like the big buck was last year. He still comes around is one of the biggest of the bunch.

Oh, and the raccoons. We've still got our family. Momma did have 3 kits, but one went missing about a month ago. The other 2 are doing splendidly. Whoo hoo! For a family who started a little late, I figure these ones are doing A-Okay.

And that's all for my babbling this month. Read on and enjoy.