I talked with The Divine Ms M, Meredith, and here is what she told me:

Starting from September 1, the short answer is :

1. I was out of town the Labor Day weekend for a crafts fair in Morro Bay, followed by several days vacation. Got back and had 2 whole days to prepare for a big craft fair that next weekend. Both shows went well, which means back stock was lowish.

2. the usual September stuff -- Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, hubbo's birthday and our wedding anniversary (30 years! and still no corpses!!)

3. I was invited to give a 1-hour poetry talk -- which took days to prepare, plus 2 days out of town again -- at the annual convention of California Special Districts, of which Placentia Library is part. All expenses paid to Lake Tahoe, ~600 miles north of here:
http://www.squawcreek.com/fireplacesuite.php
I think this was my room, except my dining room table seated 8. Not too shabby, huh?

4. My biggest wholesale jewelry order ever, 125 pieces.

5. 3 weeks ago, I pulled my hip out while dancing. Wasn't even jumping up and down, moving fast or ANYTHING! !@##$%&(&*&%%$@#!@#&%
Still a lot of ambient pain, which affects my strength and energy levels a lot.

6. 4 days after I pulled out my hip, Les (hubbo) had a heart attack. I got him into emergency, where he had a coronary angioplasty with a stent put in. I spent 4 days hanging out in his hospital room. By the time I was done with him, I lost 2 more days of my own in the medical system dealing with my hip. Nothing broken, but my arthritis has basically gone to hell. Les is doing fine, but needs a 2nd same surgery scheduled November 9 -- provided his artery holds until then.

7. My sister is having a boutique this Friday. I sent her 90 pieces of jewelry. Tagged, described and inventoried. I really hope it sells after all that work.

8. a gallery where I regularly sell my jewelry in the gift shop, asked for 3 dozen more pieces for their latest opening and fall holiday sales.

9. November 3-4 is my biggest fall craft show -- and I have NO BACK STOCK, and really not enough of anything else either.

10. and then the usual migraines, where days at a time just... disappear.

So in conclusion -- I've been mega muy tres busy, and will be for at least 3 more weeks.


I knew you all would want to let her know you are praying for her speedy recovery with her hip, and Les to recover fully from his heart attack. He has more surgery Nov. 9th. If you want to write to her, please use the PM feature here, or just post here. She does send her regards and will be back as soon as she has some time.