Attended the Space Coast Writer's Conference this past couple days and met some really neat folk. Sat in on some really great workshops and bought books by author's I've never had before so I'm excited to get my hammock out and settle in for a good read. A special thanks to Mark Mynheir, T. Davis Bunn, Aimee & David Thurlo and Lois Winston for some great ideas, encouragement and inspiration.

Some folk like to turn back their odometers but not me! I want everyone to know why I look like this! I've traveled a lot miles and some of those roads were unpaved!

I know, I live in Florida now so I should be rooting for the home teams, but some habits die hard and rooting for the New England Patriots is one of them. So, I turn the game on eager to see them roust the Jets, only it doesn't work that way.  Belichick and his offensive coaches should have been reviewing the tapes and finding out how all those holes were happening and plug them. For a quarterback who doesn't get sacked all that often five times in one game is outrageous. Only the first should have been a surprise. The second should have been a wake-up call loud enough to be heard all the way down here. Alas, the Pats were too cocky by half and they got what they deserved. So, how about them Celtics? Oh, wait! That was the Orlando Magic they just beat, wasn't it? Maybe I should just shut up before some local boys come calling.

I have a lot to be thankful for. At the moment, it's that I live here in St Augustine. According to the news last night Florida is the ONLY state in the union, including Hawaii, without snow. And today the northeast and most of my family are getting pounded again with another blizzard. I have a friend in Australia who hasn't yet responded to my queries about his safety with all the flooding there. So, when I find myself whining about the temps being a bit chillier than I'd like, I'll give myself a kick in the you know what and thank God for my blessings!

We had what everyone sings about: A white Christmas, filled with laughter, love and joy, and the whole family together in one place, lots of wonderful gifts, a visit from Santa and great food. I headed north to New England via Long Island to attend a birthday party for my youngest grand daughter and arrived a week early to help my daughter-in-law get ready for the arrival of the rest of the family (I have 4 kids and a step-son- all married, and 11 grandchildren so it's a big, boisterous, happy crowd when we are all in one place.)

Here's 6 of the 11 (teenagers always seem to be somewhere else!)

Lucky for me, the first snow didn't arrive until after I got there, but it was enough for my dog Duffy and grand daughter Natalie to have a grand time playing in and to make it a white Christmas. The day after Christmas, we got another 18 inches! The newest member of the family, Jack born last month, is a snuggler so I got lots of time rocking with him cuddled against me. The girls were full of fun, the youngest two gave us a dance recital to the Nutcracker Suite, the oldest two played their violins for me and my grandson, Kit played a few numbers on his trumpet. One night the men in the family got a fierce game of Risk going while us girls played cards. All in all, it was another grand family gathering and I brought home another collection of wonderful memories to cherish until next time.