I got home yesterday after five and a half, jam-packed, fun-filled weeks away. Wow! Settling in and loving the North Island weather – sun for five minutes, rain for five minutes and repeat. I managed a quick walk out when the sun was shining and picked five small zucchini and three jalapeño peppers from the garden. You can’t knock a garden that is still producing in November.
My time away was a veritable cornucopia of experiences and impressions – everything from seeing my first grizzly bear in the wild (though I am a seasoned sighter of black bears, a grizzly is a different kind of thrill) to trick or treating with my granddaughters. Then of course there were the great people met and meals had. It will take me some time in the quiet of my lakeside home to let it all seep in.
On the way home, we stopped at Save-On Food in Campbell River and I checked out how Disappearing in Plain Sight and The Light Never Lies look on the bookshelf of a big store – pretty cool. Hope you agree.
disappearinginplainsight 
What a great time you have had. And a lovely finale seeing your books in the Big Store!
Always nice to get away and then good to get home again 🙂 And yes – quite the thrill to see my books on the shelves.
Glad to see your post in my inbox this morning, Fran. I’ve missed your blog (really)! Hoping to see more of you in the weeks to come. Five and a half weeks has hopefully left you feeling refreshed and ready to get back to drafting. Those books look pretty darn good on the shelf.
I took two full days to catch up on all things business and social media related (as well as pesky unpacking) and now I am back to writing and it feels so good! With two completely different sets of characters and situations calling my name and begging for my attention, I suspect I’ll be spending a lot of time typing. I won’t neglect the blog, though 🙂
Welcome home, Fran! Doesn’t it feel good? It’s always nice to travel, but as I get older, there’s something about home that just feels right.
You’ve been missed and we all hope you’ll be back to a regular blogging schedule to keep us up to date on your writing, the animals that pay you a visit and of course, your adorable granddaughters. By the way, the grizzly photo is spectacular!
Couldn’t agree more, Jill. The comforts of home – my own bed, cooking the types of food that we like, reunited with all my things – these things do seem to matter so much more as the years go by. Funny thing about that grizzly bear – I see black bears all the time, as I said in the post, but there was something really magical about that grizzly. And the one not-so-good thing about being home is missing those adorable granddaughters. Thanks for stopping by, Jill.
I hope you took the photo of the grizzly with a long lens. He looks powerful.
Congratulations on the sighting of your books.
We were actually safely tucked into our car with only the passenger window down snapping shots – some on zoom and some not. Powerful is the perfect word to describe this incredible animal. A creature to respect, for sure. Thanks for the congrats – it was a great feeling to see my books on the shelf of such a busy store.
You’ve been creating memories — that’s always worthwhile.
Yes, indeed. They say that creating those valuable memories is more important to happiness than a lot of the other things we seem bent on pursuing in this life.
Fran: It really sounds as though you and Bruce had a terrific time, and I love hearing all about your adventures and seeing the beauty that all of your photos convey! And, it’s always good to get home…:-)
Mark
Good to get home – is it ever 🙂 We’re into a bit of pre-winter mode this morning with heavy frost. High time to switch my mentality from cabin summer and early fall thinking to winter readiness. Keep the fire going, don’t let the water freeze etc. But isn’t a neat time of year – seeing everything slow right down. I look forward to many, long, writing days ahead.
Francis that must be an amazing experience seeing your book out there. I would love to see a bear, any kind of bear in the wild. We don’t have such animals here. Love the trick or treat captures too. Looks like you had the perfect holiday. Thanks for sharing it. Kath.
Hi Kath – thank you for taking the time to read and comment. Those kids were so darn cute on Halloween and they managed the whole trick or treating thing this year with no falls or tears. Quite an achievement for little ones. Reading your comment, I realize this post had a few themes going on – the holiday is put away in memory land now but it created some great ones – like that grizzly. And my book in a high traffic store – such a treat.
Great seeing one’s books full frontal rather than just the spine among a lot of others. Every time I see a pic of a bear (of any variety) I revisit the conflicting advice of what to do if confronted by one – play dead, even if it bites a chunk out of you, or run like fun 🙂 Fortunately I’ve yet to meet one in Jersey.