Good Morning, Friday, 21 August

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I know you probably thought you would never see me again. It's been a very busy month. Today I woke up on fire. My brain is ready to explode with everything that's busting to come out. But I thought I would let you in on what's happening. Especially if you wondered if I was still alive. Yes, alive and kicking. If you've followed me, you know I've been dealing with some bad back pain since April. On my birthday, I woke up totally pain free. It doesn't mean my back it better. It just means God gave me a wonderful pain free day. About my birthday. It was a calm quiet day. It was a Sunday, so I went to church, then messaged my son to find out if we would get together. The message came back that he wasn't home. At 7:30 that night he called and apologized. He had just realized why I asked if we were getting together, wished me a Happy Birthday and promised me we would do something that weekend. We did. He took me to Highcliff State Park. I did something that day that I haven't done since I got COVID at the beginning of the year - I walked a portion of the trail. Not the whole trail that would have been six miles, but almost two miles. Yes, I was exhausted when we got back to the car, but in a good way. I also climbed the observation tower and yes, I played on the playground equipment. I have pictures to prove it. We finished the day at a fish fry. It was a spectacular day. So, what else have I been doing? Writing. Of course, I'm writing. My brain never stops not even to sleep. My characters follow me to dreamland. I have eight books in progress right now and that doesn't include the new ones I have slated to start writing. So, here's what I'm working on: Wilderness Call New Horizons - Beginning A Heart Divided More Than a Conqueror Patriot Dreams Firestorm - editing Where Eagles Soar - Second edition Dear Diary - to publish next year My newest book - Storm I also have a few books waiting to start: Wilderness Courage New Horizons - Reunion Flight Forged in Fire - the sequel to A Heart Divided Fire & Smoke - a historical novel set in the early 20th century dealing with the aftermath of the Russian Revolution Last week I was very upset and angry. I needed to cause damage, a lot of damage. The only place I cause damage is in my books and I wasn't about to kill off a character. I started a new book - Storm. In eight days I've written over 24K words. That's not a usual pace for me. That's accelerated in a big way. Today, I start work on chapter 6. Yesterday for the first time since March, I went to rock painting. I started a new rock. I'll finish it in two weeks. It's been a rough several months. My severe back pain took me to a spine specialist and two MRIs, CT scans and a trip to the emergency room when I fell flat on my back and hit my head on the floor. I'm on a blood thinner so that meant a trip to the ER. My head is fine. That was the least of my problems. The first MRI my doctor ordered showed increased osteoporosis and the old spinal fractures. It also showed something that could be a problem. My spine specialist ordered a second MRI to confirm I had a broken non-displaced tailbone fracture. No pain with that one, praise God. This year has also been difficult with me spending more time at home on Sunday morning than in church with my back as bad as it was. I've been back in church since last month and I no longer need the walker. I had to use it for a few weeks while my back started to heal. I proved to her on a subsequent visit that I didn't need it. I DO NOT have balance issues. The reason I fell flat on my back was due to my orthopedic shoes and not my balance. I had just wiped out the bottom of my stove after cleaning it, and was walking backward to the sink. My shoes planted but I was still moving. Hence the trip to the ER and subsequent CT scans and MRI. Coming up: I have a 50+ Retreat from the 10th to 12th of September and the Untitled Town Author and Book Fair from September 25th to 27th. I just ordered new business cards - they arrived yesterday, and I need to order more books for the fair. I'll do that when I get paid. I also have a praise report - My son is going to church, not always with me as he visits other churches as God leads, but he is calling my church home his church home. I'm so happy and proud of him for the work God is doing in him. Today, I got a royalty announcement in my e-mails. It's not a lot, but I have an international royalty added to the one from the US. So that makes me very happy. Okay. I think I'm completely caught up now. I hope you are all doing well. I will try to check in again today to talk to you. But for now, I have a book to write. Have a wonderful and blessed day ahead. The picture belongs to me.