Beginning Anew

My last post for my original blog, Writing n Riding was in January 2013. A lot has happened since then. I purchased my first home, a condominium. Two weeks after my mother and I moved in she had a heart attack (she survived heart disease far longer than the doctors anticipated). I had to quickly empty the house we were moving out of for a quick sale (no leisurely sorting of belongings or estate sale). And I had to unpack to settle into the condo. Just when I thought I was in the clear, my horse colicked on Halloween of last year and had successful surgery at the OSU vet school.

2013 was a bitch.

Now 2014 is winding down and I think I'm about ready to get back to blogging.

Phantom is doing excellent following his surgery for the removal of a lipoma that had wound around his gut. Thanks to the folks at the barn, vet, and staff at the vet school he was tended too in a timely manner, which made all the difference. We don't do much more than ride around in the indoor arena (he's too looky outside for a calm & enjoyable stroll). I'm not taking lessons and lack the interest and finances for showing. I've been using a dressage saddle but want to return to a close contact saddle to just do hunter hack. Not much to report about the riding part of my life. The picture above was taken just before Phantom blasted off for a game of Keep Away. Fun for him, not so much for me.

Indy is my roommate and walking buddy. We enjoy the large park across the street from the condo (above) and stroll through the neighborhood. He's sweet, funny, and likes to run in large circles to round up imaginary sheep. Indy helps me keep life in perspective.

My New Year's Resolution for 2014 was to join the local library's writers group and so far I haven't missed any of the meetings. I'm enjoying getting together with fellow writers and we've begun critiquing our projects. I got excellent feedback on my first submittal, so I continue to plow ahead with my project.

I must have finally put in my 10,000 hours of writing. Earlier this year I dropped the YA novel in progress (it was to be my NaNoWriMo project but Phantom interrupted that), went back to an earlier project, fleshed out the characters and plot, built a world, and started writing. So far so good.

So that's where things are today. I won't have much to report about barn life. I may post pictures taken during walks with Indy. I'll likely blog about reading and writing. And scribble my observations about life.