Bye, bye 2019. Hello 2020.

Bye, bye 2019. Hello, 2020.
Happy New Year to all! I can't' believe it's 2020. Does anyone remember Y2K? What a big fuss about nada. Here we are twenty years later, alive and connected more than we probably should. I have so much and so many to be thankful for and to. This list is by no means complete but a start. Thanks to Wild Rose Press for bringing me into the garden. And it's from that Rose Garden I've met some amazing people. A special shout out to Elf my editor, Amber my second eyes. Rene the queen of commas. How about a hand for all the guests on Welcome to the Campfire. Week in and out you all amaze me. Then there are the family and friends who support and encourage. Judy, Deb, and Noemi you guys rock. My family especially my biggest cheerleader, Pete. You are the hubby extraordinaire. An not least of all my Creator and Sustainer, the Lord Jesus for all His mercies, which are new every morning.

This year has been filled with many ups and downs but mostly ups. Here are some of my personal highlights.

• January we were rescued by Hali with the help of Father John's Animal House. www.fatherjohns.org/ She is a black-mouthed cur breed dog. One of the sweetest I've ever met.
• February was an amazing month. It was when I came under contract with Wild Rose Press for Rock House Grill. The editing process has been grueling but so worth it.
• March found us on our first camping trip of the year. We stayed on Pine Island near Fort Myers. It was then we realized Hali made the perfect camping companion. 
• April had us celebrating my Father-in-Laws 92 birthday.  Spring brought out our garden and the flowers were stunning. 
• May is usually a busy month for me. On May 14th we celebrated our 25th anniversary by camping Upstate NY and visiting one of my favorite actor's hometowns. Jamestown NY is the birthplace of Lucille Ball. Then a weekend with my sister who also has an RV, at Camp Taylor. Shout out to the www.lakotawolf.com/  Unfortunately,  with the good comes the bad. My birthday falls on May 30th and it was the day I ended up in the hospital with acute respiratory failure. Obviously, I lived so hooray.  
• June my poor granddaughter and I were both in the hospital at the same time. At 6 years old she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Our thanks to both Lehigh Valley Hospital and Newton Medical Center for seeing us through. But not all bad. The week we got home we ended up in Honesdale KOA for a long weekend altogether.
• July rolled around and we spent a weekend at the Pocono KOA with friends one day and the Grands another. I was also feeling well enough by this time for a short hike at Tillman's Ravine www.njhiking.com/tillman-ravine/
• August in NJ is beautiful. Hot but beautiful. We ended up at the top of the state for a weekend at Pleasant Acres Campground with another set of friends. Then later in the month, we set off on a week's adventure to Hagerstown Maryland. Not far from there was the Antietam Battlefield. A somber yet beautiful place. We also spent a day at Harper's Ferry West Virginia where I got to dip my toes in the Potomac River. A stopover in Lancaster on the way home rounded out the trip. 
• September our wheels kept rolling first to the local Great Divide Campground with our niece and nephew, where we found the fork in the road. The NJ Firefighters convention is held in Wildwood NJ. We camped at the Cape May KOA where Hali found a deep and profound love of golf carts. Then it was off for a long weekend with friends near Weston Vermont. 
• October had one more camping trip for the year. Honesdale KOA is near the kids and holds a fall festival. Pumpkins, costumes, and trick or treating. Since my granddaughter is diabetic we visited the dollar store and played let's make a deal for her candy. She was happy. Her doctor was happy. Score one for grandma. We also toured the neighboring town and enjoyed their annual Scarecrow Contest.
• November showed up and brought about the winterizing of 2Hoots, our RV. It was a sad day. We do visit her and do "driveway" camping though. It's hard to go cold turkey. Speaking of turkey, Thanksgiving was quiet. Dear husband and son had to work. 
• December brings all things Christmas. My hubby was born on St. Nicholas day, December 6th. I think it may have something to do with his love of all things Christmas. All year he works building displays that get turned on the day after Thanksgiving.  Throughout the month we hosted friends and family for different events culminating in our annual Christmas morning brunch. Pete wields the frying pans and makes everyone omelets. 

Let New Year 2020 be a time of peace, love
and the implementation of the most secret dreams.

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