December 2009 certainly wasn’t one of the better months of the past year.  After a long illness, my sister lost her husband, Paul, on the evening of the 1st of the month.  He was a wonderful man, a true family man and one of the most sincere and faithful individuals I have ever met.  

The next day, I walked into my home being burglarized.  The creeps were not too neat as they left the place in an absolute mess with drawers and closets emptied and the contents strewn all over the floor.  My bedroom looked like a war zone with the mattress pitched off the bed, my bookcase tipped over and clothes all over the place.  I immediately noticed that my brandnew laptop, accessories and case were gone.  My new TV had been pulled away from the wall and unplugged from the wall socket, the DVD and VCR and was ready to be taken out the back door.  The creeps had even moved all my patio furniture aside to make room for them to move everything out.  They took some of my favorite and most sentimental pieces of family jewelry, but I must have come home too early because in the long run…I was very lucky and amazed by what they didn’t take. 

I left for the Great White North on the 19th to spend Christmas in Canada with my sister and her family.  We had a wonderful 4 days up in northern Ontario in Muskoka — all 18 of us — at my neice and her husband’s fabulous lakeside “cottage.”  (If you can equate the word “cottage” with a fabulous timber-framed lodge with huge bedrooms and guest suites – you’ve got the idea.)  With pristine snow (about 2.5 to 3 feet of it), reflections from the Christmas lights decorating the tall pines around the house glistening on the snow and some fun-filled time at night out on the porch in the hot tub, hours snuggled beside the fireplace, delicious food, laughter and making heart-felt memories — it was a wonderful and yet poignant Christmas.

Flying home was an experience with TSA running double security checks due to the Christmas Day episode on the Detroit-bound plane because some idiot decided to achieve Nirvana wearing explosive underwear. 

So…I’m starting 2010 with another brand new laptop, I’m wading through Microsoft 07, and I’m still working diligently on finishing a couple of my projects.  RT Book Reviews magazine (used to be Romantic Times) included some update information on me in an article in their February issue and my wonderful, supportive and encouraging agent is sending my proposals out. 

I’m hoping 2010 will have some great reasons to celebrate!!!!