Plus and Minuses

It's the time of year to think about the best of, the worst of, and the in-between.  Some are deeply personal, some more general.

1) The most profound moments: having my two Old Ladies, the last of the original six mutant poms, leave me together, in a space of a week. 

Miracle was special because she shouldn't even have survived her first week. She had trouble breathing because of fluid in her lungs, but I spent the whole night 14 years ago willing her to leave and telling her she didn't want me to see my first puppy leave me.  I think she took me to heart because 14 years later, she waited till I was in DC before she left me.  I was supposed to call the vet at 3:30pm to tell them what to do.  I was really, really upset, as you could imagine, but tried to be stoic about it. 

At 3:20, I picked up my phone, and while making a call to my sitter to tell her, the phone went dead.  It turned itself off.  Twice.  I realize that many would explain this away as coincidence, but I truly believe that was Miracle's way of saying goodbye.  Because, you see, when I did call the vet later, he told me Miracle's heart stopped around 3:22pm.

My other Old Lady, Temper, didn't always get along with her sister.  The love-hate relationship was all about sibling rivalry, but deep down, she loved Miracle, always grooming her and lying down beside her when she didn't feel well.

Temper was always the strong one.  Like her mom, I never knew when she was hurting because she always acted as if everything was fine with her.  So, when Mira left, she seemed normal, and then, a week later, she left me to join her and the rest of my mutant poms. 

I was left bereft, even though I was happy they had both lived long, good lives, mostly without pain.  And as you can see, 10 months later, I'm still processing this grief, even though I have the newest addition, Demon Dog, to make my life noisy again.

So, minus two beloved furpoms, plus one.

Demon Dog is a joy and a terror.  He is my first black pom; with a white bib, socks, and a small streak on his head, he looked like Pepe Le Pew, so I named him Pepe Le PomPom.  But really, he is Demon Dog--sweet but absolutely devilish. Big for a pom, he's a perfect mutant pom for me.

Plus -- re-roofing jobs.  Now that there aren't any new houses being built in my area, roofing jobs are hard to get.  Re-roofing takes a lot of time and energy.

Minus -- a toll on my writing.  Re-roofing takes getting used to and my old body and mind are protesting, but what to do? I have to pay the bills. So, I'm still struggling to balance the need to survive vs the happy writing that once was.  It's a challenge that I hope to win in 2011.

Plus -- I'm actually making progress cleaning the study and getting those fantasy shelves done! You just wait and see.

Minus -- I can't find a cheap bracket that is six inches instead of the standard eight wide.  Six is perfect for both mass market paperback as well as trade size; eight leaves room for double stacking or dust.

Plus -- I have two projects out on NY editors desk.

Minus -- I have received no YES to Diamond and T's story yet.  Yes, I know I can go ebook and self-pubbed but I wanted to try traditional ways with them first.  Yes, I know, I'm stubborn.

Plus -- I've cooked more Malaysian and Asian dishes because I've more time (when I was too tired to write but needed an outlet).

Minus -- I've put on pounds.  Lotsa pounds.

Plus --  Read more!  My favorite books this year are:

3) Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs
2) Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews
1) Last Night's Scandal by Loretta Chase (which is the surprise best book of the year for me)

Minus -- lost a few romantic suspense authors whose books/series have been dropped. Read fewer romantic suspense.

Plus -- making plans to find other income. Well, duh, economy....

Minus -- three jobs might truly take all my writing time.  We'll see.

Plus -- health was excellent through 2010.

Minus -- health insurance went up.  Bah.

Plus -- My readers still like me enough to email me ;-).

Minus -- I get nervous explaining to them why VOne isn't ready.

Plus -- I found many of my highschool and college friends from decades ago on FB.

Minus -- Argh.  That made me feel old.  Where did the time go?

Plus -- I saved enough money to get that new air-conditioner/heat system by end of year, like I'd promised myself.

Minus -- Almost had a heart attack writing that check, LOL.

Plus -- I learn how to take care of a baby squirrel.

Minus -- Well, there aren't any minuses to this, except that I've probably spent more money this Christmas on nuts and veges than I've planned!  I'm just thankful she survived the hawk, the cold, the dehydration, and my not-so-knowledgeable care.

So, these are my quickie end-of-year thoughts.  Do you have any plus or minus you want to share with me?  Maybe a best book or a disappointment?

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