I’m going to call this prior week the “hard-won week.”

Adventures didn’t go well and it seemed like a struggle to get my daily words in. Each day I barely eked in the words. Life itself was trying to kick me and keep me down. Even getting my daily exercise in seemed to be a challenge. It was definitely strange.

The Jerome Craft and Gift Show over the weekend did go well. I met lots of cool new people. Got some great coffee and continued my own holiday shopping. I think it surprises people to discover that there is a prolific writer and artist living in their very town. Some people do know my kids, but I’m sure there’s a good number of people that think that I’m a recluse. Truth: I’m busy working full-time and building my writing and art on the side. I don’t have the extra time I wish I did to get out into the community. I do hope that changes someday. So, it’s a shock when they realize that someone with so many books lives in Jerome. Also truth: there are several writers in the area who have written and published multiple books.

One of my paintings, the lotus painting, got a tear in the canvas. I told you it wasn’t a very good week. Adrian was carrying it out after the show and slipped on the ice. He dropped what he was carrying and a box went right through the canvas. It’s a clean tear, so I think it’ll be easy to repair. Adrian wasn’t hurt, he just slid and didn’t fall. It is the second canvas that he’s injured though. Yes, I’m counting. *grin* Oh well. I’ve been looking at the painting over the last year and thinking about how I wanted to retouch a few things. This is now my opportunity. What am I going to do? Ruin it?

Oh, it’s not ruined. It’s merely a tear and I’ve fixed a couple canvases as well as had the chance to study a tear repaired on a canvas that is over 100 years old. That one is a jagged scar running across the surface and because it was an oil, the paint is flaking away. Still, it was repaired well enough that someone has to look very closely at the painting to see it — I’ve had to point it out to a couple people. I see it clearly because I know it’s there. The first painting I repaired was sold and I hope it’s holding together.

It certainly does relieve anxiety about  making the painting any worse, so now I can attempt the changes I wanted without fear.

It probably ought to be my signature — a simple L cut tear in a painting. *grin*

I came home from the show with a bit of a sore throat. I was pretty sure that it was from the stress of talking all day, but I took my Wellness Formula and my doTerra On Guard anyway. I still woke up Sunday feeling not quite right. I had hoped to record on Sunday afternoon. More Wellness Formula, On Guard, several glasses of orange juice, and some doTerra Breathe stick helped, but I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to record or not. I spent the day resting. I didn’t want to sound vocally off, especially starting a new story, so I decided that if I didn’t feel like recording, I wouldn’t. After a short nap and some more On Guard, I decided I was up to it. I got the prologue and chapter 1 recorded on Manifest the Magic. Then I went back to resting, just to be sure.

I also have more bookkeeping to do now. That’s show business.

I guess that after having a week of getting a lot done, I have to have a balance.

This next week I need to have another productive time. Adrian has a play this week, so it might be a challenge. Hopefully I’m not also getting sick on top of it. *hiss!* Yeah, that doesn’t need to happen, especially since I was just telling people the other day about the Wellness Formula. I trust in my Wellness Formula like I trust in the process!

I merely need a quiet day.

Sounds like a good day to be reading.

Let’s get to it, shall we?

Fiction words written last week:  5,091 words.

Blogs/Newsletter articles/non-fiction written:  873 words.

Daily word goal reached for 114 days! Weekly word goal reached for 19 weeks.

Writing month to date total:  29,280 words for November, 1,748 for December

Writing year to date total: 311,573 words

Drawing/painting last week: I did get some painting done, but no completed paintings. Just working slowly on them, letting layers dry.

Audio: I spent 4 and a half hours recording and editing audio. I’m about halfway through Fall’s Confession and and have just started Manifest the Magic.