Back into the swing of things

Two viruses in a row, back-to-back is an awful way to be sick. Just as I was recovering from one, including my sleep, I had the second to contend with. Now, that's passing by, at last. On a good note, I'll have immunity for those illnesses at least through the winter. I'm glad to get those out of the way now, because winter is always very busy for me.

Writing

And this winter, I expect to publish Book 18 and write Book 21 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds, so I want to be able to get that done. I have just a few hundred words left of Book 20 to finish a scene, although I could add another if I want, but I'm not sure if that's needed. It will end up right around 41,000 words, at least in the first draft.

I also have the reading project of my previous books in this series.

Gardening

And now that fall is here, we're coming to the end of the growing season. Since I've been feeling better, it's been time to catch up on a few items. One of those was the rhubarb. It was getting out of control again. It's been 4-5 weeks since I last harvested. The stalks were pretty thick, but there were still a lot of them. I left a good 1/4-1/3 on the plants to keep them viable through winter. We're not expecting a hard freeze this week, but the lows are getting close to that first freeze or frost of the season. Below is the final harvest of rhubarb cleaned and drying on the kitchen counter. This is about the amount I end up harvesting each time from the two plants. It should fill 4 or 5 gallon freezer bags (left as stalks) about 2/3-3/4 full each. That's about the right amount for a good rhubarb crisp. Since I'm the only one in my house who likes rhubarb, some of this will go to friends.

I don't have pics of the peppers and cucumbers. Those have been pretty steady for the last month and plenty of them. Hubby's been putting them away, at least the bell peppers. He's kept some of the chilis but he has so many serranos that we're giving those to friends too. And there's lots more to come before they freeze off for the season. To extend that, we have some plant blankets, so on the cold nights, we'll cover those and the tomato plant.

I also had one final little handful of strawberries from my growing strawberry patch. The garden spider has moved off, thankfully. (I almost ended up with him on my arm a few weeks ago before I noticed him there.) The strawberry patch has been growing and producing all summer. I just have to keep the birds away with a fence. It's going to be bigger next year as they spread out even more; and I haven't seen any bugs eating on the plants, although I found a caterpillar on them this afternoon. I've provided plenty of room for expansion so I can get a good strawberry patch in that section of the garden. And they're super sweet. 😋 Once I start getting enough, I'll be able to make strawberry-rhubarb deserts. There's a method to this madness. 😉

Last of all, the grapes are done. The birds took some of those, but we had a good amount of grapes this year from the one plant and were able to enjoy our fair share. Since the newer plant grew eight feet this year, I expect it to produce plenty next year, so double the grapes. Both plants reached the top of the trellis and I look forward to them reaching over it next year; the newer plant already is somewhat. With all the leaves, they're a pretty decoration even without fruit.

Back to the rest of life

Soon, I'll get back to my horse. It's been a month, because I've been too sick to get out. Today was a gardening day, however. There's only so much one can get done in a day. And it's a warm day with lots of boxelder bugs and wasps around buildings, so not sure I want to contend with that at the barn.

At least I could get back to church this morning. That was much-needed. And I wasn't the only one recovering from being sick. A few Saturday mass-goers were clearing throats and coughing once in a while like me. I was worried about standing out, but I fit right in.

This crud is making its way through the local community. When my daughter said all her friends were sick and she probably got it from them, I had thought she meant the cough that hubby and I started out with, not the crud she actually gave to the rest of us (with a fever, fatigue, and sinus congestion) after we were recovering from the cough. At least that's all done now.

Anyway, it's good to get back my health and into the swing of things again. I get cabin fever too easily and don't like TV anymore. There's only so much I can tolerate.

Now, time to get back to work on the stories. I have been writing, but now that I'm finishing Book 20 this weekend, it'll be time for editing.

Thanks for reading!