I have a fever. And no, the only prescription is not more cowbell. It’s the first time I’ve been sick in nearly two years, which is pretty amazing. I had a COVID test yesterday and got a negative result. This appears to be a stupid cold. As Monday is my usual day off, I tried to get outside in my garden for a while today but didn’t last long. It’s amazing how quickly a little fever, cough, and congestion can wear you out. Or maybe I’m just a big ol baby. I’ve spent most of the day working on my script for a live webinar on fall bulbs that’s supposed to take place on Bates Nursery’s Facebook page Wednesday. I really don’t want to reschedule this thing. 

In case you missed my Instagram and Facebook posts a couple weeks ago, we FINALLY closed on our Mexican oceanfront condo! Now we’re putting together a shopping list of essential items I (and our future guests) will need to make it a home-away-from-home. Tim will be making a trip down there within the next few weeks to get the place ready for Winter Sabbatical 2022 which is only 82 DAYS AWAY!! Unless I go down a few days earlier, which I now have the option to do. Not that I’m counting down the days or anything…

You may have also heard that I’ve turned the final chapter of my book in to my editor; she’s working on it right now. We have a tentative layout, and I’ve put all of my essays into one big manuscript. I’ll be reading it during the next several days to determine whether I like the flow or whether we need to rearrange the sequence of essays. I have so many emotions. Elation that I’ve made it this far, anxiety about starting the agent hunt, dread over the backlash I will receive from a couple of people in my life when they read my book, and lost, because what do I do now? A friend’s response to that last sentiment was, “Start writing book #2!” She also suggested I write the next big country hit so I can buy everyone at work their own beach condos. I told her I’d take it into consideration. 

Well y’all, my fever has spiked, and my brain is in a fog, so I’m going to sign off, take a shot of Nyquil, and call it a night.