A look at 2013

I like to start the year with a look back at what I achieved in the previous one.

According to Goodreads, I read 30 books in 2013. Actually that means I took the time to review 30 books. There were a couple I didn't care to review and I'm sure a few I forgot or didn't have time to review.

I found a kitten. Bertie is doing really well now. Her broken leg has healed perfectly. She has put on enough weigh that I'm wondering if I should cut back a bit. She's playful and affectionate and seems to have gotten over being trapped in the crawlspace for days.

Went to France. Had a fabulous time.

I developed a genealogy addiction. My family tree has surpassed 1000 people. I have spent hours online going through photos of handwritten records of births, deaths and marriages in the 1800s. I also reached out to some long lost relatives and got some wonderful responses.

Through a relative I found a Hungarian in Budapest that has patiently done some translations for me. Thanks Gergo!

The garden suffered this year due to insane amounts of rain. 2013 was the wettest year ever. I think we got rain nearly every day, all summer. Regardless, we had an excellent blueberry crop. Just about the only thing that didn't struggle in the gray, soggy weather.

I built some raised beds in the spring and that was about all that saved the garden from becoming a mud pit.

My external drive died. I had some files on there without backups elsewhere. A BAD THING! So some things are gone and the scary part is, I'm not sure what they all might be.

I published Unintended Consequences, but the cover was one of the files I lost. Need to rebuild that.

I wrote about 40,000 words on a new story.

Got 2 rejections on a flash story that may now go into a small collection.

And I feel pretty good about it.