This is me the other day in my garden on the farm. Behind me is a cherry tomato that is over three metres high and it's still producing lots of fruit even in the middle of winter. A friend who's a well known photographer took the original photo, smoothed the skin, and made my eyes more sparkly (plus it now looks like I have lots of makeup on) - I don't look this good in real life. You'll find the original on my FB profile.
I'm trying to get Book 4 of The Dimity Horse Mysteries finished - I'm about half way through. I want to keep readers guessing until the last pages and provide lots of surprises - can I achieve this? I hope so. I need to keep motivated but sometimes it's difficult.
I turn 63 on Wednesday. You can see some grey hairs at my temples now - I don't like growing old, but it's a whole better than the alternative. I'm still running for a few kilometres most days because it's great for general health, and I want to get a few of the horses back in work. I was lucky enough to win a few national and state titles with them during my 50s, and I think I'd like to have a go at the nationals again in 2023, so I'd better start working towards that.
Next week, I have an MRI - I have them every few years to make sure a brain tumor that was removed over a decade ago hasn't regrown. If you haven't had one, they are noisy, and I'm glad I don't get claustrophobic once inside. The tumor was large but not malignant, and it was a good chance to reassess what is important in life. A lovely horse woman I knew had the same type of tumor discovered at the same time - unfortunately, she didn't come through. You never know what is around the corner, so say the things you want to say before it's too late. Love life because it is precious and you never know when it will unexpectedly stop. I'm saying the things I want to say in my books.
