Monday, January 23, 2006

Return of Wildcat


Yes, the Wildcat is back (both me and Frank). Even though my wife and I closed on our new house in December, we didn’t move in until this month. Despite being here almost two weeks, we’re still getting settled into the house. To say I’m exhausted doesn’t really cover it.



The actual moving day went well. The movers had estimated six to eight hours to move us (which met with more than one explicative from yours truly). I’m happy to say that they not only did the job in less than four hours, but the work crew turned out to be some really decent guys who even made the experience fun. To toot my own horn a bit (and isn’t that a lot of what blogging is about?), I cut down on the estimated time quite a bit by moving much of our furniture in our car. Say what you will about the environmental evils of the SUV, I managed to fit even our tall bookshelves into our not-so-little Trailblazer. Not being the brawniest-looking fellow, I enjoyed discovering just how much I could lift by myself. Didn’t do this all alone, of course. My wife, the Dragon Queen, did her fair share of heavy lifting, too. She’s one tough lady—among the many reasons I married her.

With the move behind us and the pile of cardboard boxes taking up less space day-by-day, I’m trying to get back into a normal routine. Frank’s dirty looks to get back to my blog have finally worn away my resistance. I’ve a lot of catching up to do, not only within my blog but in many of yours. With the number of new entry alerts in my mailbox threatening to break the hundred mark, I’ve missed quite a lot in the past few weeks. I can see I’ve let at least one of Jess’ “Writer's Weekly Questions” get by me, and as it’s quite a good one, I’ll have to do it even though I’m quite late with a reply. More than one comment has still made its way onto my neglected blog while I was MIA, so my thanks to those of you who’ve not forgotten me and the Lair in my absence.

I’m a bit behind on everything including my reading and writing, but I’ve not totally neglected them. My solo effort The Cold Shoulder got its first outing at the Ten Page Club, the writers group my wife and I attend monthly. I’ll post an update on that. You can also expect a post later this week about the James River Writers Conference, which my wife and I have attended for the past three years. This year, we’re going to be very involved in the conference, taking part in the planning for this fall’s two-day event.



As you can see, I’ve quite a bit to blog about now that I’ve returned, and I’m glad to be back! Looking forward to catching up with all of you.