Thanks for the concern, Patrick. And thanks to everyone else who enquired.
What happened in real life can be summed up in three words and is not bad at all - in fact, it's a dream come true.
Bought. A. Farm.
So I haven't been writing much because my mind is filled with the million things I need to learn (how to tell when a cow is in season, how to eartag a lamb/calf, how to register a property (and then livestock) on the gov website, how to stop a calf biting her mother's teats, how to treat the injured teats, how to make yoghurt, how to train a Livestock Guardian Dog, how to make cheese, how to vaccinate young livestock, how to grow good pasture, how to know which minerals I should be offering cattle/sheep, how to stop bugs eating seedlings, how to rebuild a tumbledown chicken shed, how to construct a fox-proof fence, ...)
When I do actually sit down and open up my computer, I usually spend a long time searching for answers to the day's questions. And then I browse seed catalogues. Or search sites similar to Craig's List for animals and equipment. By the time I open up the fic, I'm too exhausted to think.
However, I had a major sticking point in the story, which I have resolved, so I know *how* to proceed, just not *when* I will be able to do so.
Number 1 son is getting married next Saturday, so I'll be at most of the pre-wedding festivities and between times, I'll be making the 6-hour round trip back to the farm to do what has to be done here.
Can't see a lot of writing getting done this week.
Then, it's Christmas, and all the kids (except for the one on his honeymoon) will be coming home.
After that ... maybe.
I am committed to finishing this story.
Gotta go. Mirren (my just-a-little-bit-aloof-and-occasionally-snippy-but-still-gorgeous-Jersey cow) is waiting for me to milk her.
Merry Christmas to you all. Thanks for your continuing interest and extraordinary patience.
Corrina.
