Tuesday, January 26, 2010
I cannot believe how long it has been since I have written anything here! But I have very good reasons for my absence. Right after Labor Day, my mother fell and broke her hip. She's 78, but active and independent. In fact, she broke it at midnight during a thunderstorm whenn she hydroplaned on the wet driveway in her flip flops taking out the garbage! The break required surgery and a month of rehab. Between teaching in NYC once a week, writing deadlines, family tending and Mom care, I had a pretty busy, pretty stressful autumn.
Then my niece had her first baby--Mom's first great grandchild! Delila Dot's arrival seemed to speed Mom's recovery. Then, two weeks after she started driving again and resuming her life, Delila Dot came for a visit and relatives showed up in droves to meet her. While Mom cooked dinner, furniture got rearranged to accommodate everyone. Mom came from the kitchen into the dining room and tripped over a foot stool that had been brought in. Afraid to hurt her just healed hip, she grabbed a folding chair to keep her from falling. The folding chair collapsed. Mom got propelled forward right into the sidebar and she broke her sternum!
A whole new round of hospitalization and rehab. By Christmas, she was almost back to her old self. But what a toll it has taken on her. On all of us.
The day after Christmas, Lorne, Sam, Annabelle, Ariane and I embarked on a journey back to China to show Annabelle her amazing roots! You can hopefully read about that trip soon in Good Housekeeping!
After just a day back from that three week odyssey, I went to St. Petersburg, Florida to teach at the Writers in Paradise writers conference, run by the outstanding writer and guy, Dennis Lehane. Laura Lippman, Stewart O'Nan, Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennely and I had an amazing week with each other and our fabulous students.
It is good to be home again for a nice stretch of time though. I was heartbroken that my favorite knitting store in NYC, The Point, closed this fall. But I found a new one, Lion Yarn Studio, on West 17th Street. I got luscious colored yarn there to make fingerless gloves so my writer friends can type and keep their hands warm!
Please watch my EVENTS section here for all the updates on my upcoming book tour for my new novel, THE RED THREAD. It will be published on May 3!
Then my niece had her first baby--Mom's first great grandchild! Delila Dot's arrival seemed to speed Mom's recovery. Then, two weeks after she started driving again and resuming her life, Delila Dot came for a visit and relatives showed up in droves to meet her. While Mom cooked dinner, furniture got rearranged to accommodate everyone. Mom came from the kitchen into the dining room and tripped over a foot stool that had been brought in. Afraid to hurt her just healed hip, she grabbed a folding chair to keep her from falling. The folding chair collapsed. Mom got propelled forward right into the sidebar and she broke her sternum!
A whole new round of hospitalization and rehab. By Christmas, she was almost back to her old self. But what a toll it has taken on her. On all of us.
The day after Christmas, Lorne, Sam, Annabelle, Ariane and I embarked on a journey back to China to show Annabelle her amazing roots! You can hopefully read about that trip soon in Good Housekeeping!
After just a day back from that three week odyssey, I went to St. Petersburg, Florida to teach at the Writers in Paradise writers conference, run by the outstanding writer and guy, Dennis Lehane. Laura Lippman, Stewart O'Nan, Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennely and I had an amazing week with each other and our fabulous students.
It is good to be home again for a nice stretch of time though. I was heartbroken that my favorite knitting store in NYC, The Point, closed this fall. But I found a new one, Lion Yarn Studio, on West 17th Street. I got luscious colored yarn there to make fingerless gloves so my writer friends can type and keep their hands warm!
Please watch my EVENTS section here for all the updates on my upcoming book tour for my new novel, THE RED THREAD. It will be published on May 3!