Settling in

I have a new home, I'm moved in, and I'm struggling to get a yard neglected by the prior owner cleaned up. The weather is often too hot and other times too wet to work outdoors, and once a week I have to stop the fun jobs to mow, which takes me two mornings. Last night we had one heck of a storm--people told me it's the worst in years--and so this morning I spent over two hours cleaning up after it. (And I was lucky. It could have been far, far worse for me.)

People in most of Arizona don't mow, as you may never have realized. There's no grass! My sister asks "what do they do with all their time?" and now I understand what she meant.

My tomato plants are huge and loaded with flowers and tiny fruit, and I have bok choi and chard, a sweet pepper and a yellow squash as well. I barely had time to get that much in before June 1. I'll plant cool season crop seeds in August. So far, the pests aren't awful, but I'm on the learning curve to understanding how to grow my own food in this climate...so I expect some disasters will occur. There are a lot of farmers selling chicken eggs from their homes near me and at farmer's markets, so not being able to have chickens ends up being okay for now. At least I can eat good eggs!

I am working on a new book, a stand-alone historical spy novel. I should be done with the first draft by the end of July. In August I need to proofread and send off to the pro proofreader my pen name book based on the childhood of my great-grandmother, who was sent to an orphanage when her mother couldn't afford her and then purchased as an indentured servant. I designed it as two short books and this is the first.

I can see that with all the work my house and yard demand, I'll be writing more from November through April than in the warmer months. I'm still thinking about Oil Apocalypse 5 and if I can bear to do to them what I had planned to do. I'll keep you updated.

my pic of a lily I inherited + hostas.