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Mobile Office Space…

Now that I’ve wrapped up The Ghost and the Medium (30th book in my Haunting Danielle series that comes out May 19th) I’ve moved my desk back into the living room from our bedroom. When writing a book I need to be alone. Except for my dogs, they are always welcome. Since I won’t be starting the next book, The Ghost and the New Neighbor, for a few weeks; I figured I would rather work out in the living room where I can be around people.

In the photo is my 94-year-old mother who is watching TV using a headset so only she can hear it. But it looks like she might be napping, not watching TV! Also napping is Petey, our son and daughter-in-law’s dog. He is curled up in a blanket on the other blue chair. We are pup sitting today. One of our pups is also in the picture, that’s Lily. Danny was standing next to me while I was taking the picture.

As many of you know, we lived in Havasu for about thirty years when we decided to move to Oregon, to be closer to our kids. I actually lived in Havasu longer, having moved there when I was thirteen and then moved after I graduated from college. My book Havasu Palms, a Hostile Takeover explains how I moved back with my husband and children, to help my parents after Dad got sick.

But now we are in Oregon. And while I love our new home, the house is considerably smaller than what we had in Havasu. One advantage, it doesn’t take long to clean! But I do miss my office, something I lost with the move.

Will I move the desk back into the bedroom when I start my next book in a couple weeks? I am hoping to take my laptop out to our family barn, now that it’s warming up, and write out there. But we’ll have to see. 

The sun is shining right now, and there is no rain. So, I really need to get off this computer and head outside! Have a wonderful weekend!

Back to everyday life.

I always feel such profound sadness when my kids go home after a visit. It was a wonderful week. Our son-in-law was a real sport for coming, in spite of his broken foot. Havasu in August with a cast is no fun, but he toughed it out.

I enjoyed my pool time with the grandkids and our daughter Elizabeth, and telling Addison and Evan stories at night. They don’t want me to read to them—they want me to make up adventure stories where they are the main characters. It is a bit of a challenge to come up with new stories each night where mermaids, giants, and dragons are all included in each story.

I loved seeing how Addison and Evan bond with their GG —my mom, their great-grandma. They both adore her, and each morning they would race out of their room and ask me if they could go see her. They didn’t want to wake her up if she was still sleeping.

This was the first trip where the grandkids stayed in the house with us, while their mom and dad stayed alone in the cottage.

Elizabeth and Joe took off for Phoenix over the weekend, so they could go to a Cubs game. The grandkids stayed with us. Elizabeth and Joe don’t get much adult time away from the kids. Wish we could help them out more.

But now we all go back to our regular lives. For me, it is wrapping up a book and starting a new one. For our daughter it is the busy life as mother, wife and graphic artist. Her plate is especially full at the moment as Joe is hopping around on one leg.

They left early this morning. I’ve put away the blow up bed I bought for Evan, stored the toys back in the closet, and returned our home to one that is strikingly adult–the only toys in sight are dog toys.

But when I came out to the cottage a few minutes ago, I was greeted with something cheerful–something my grandkids left behind. The water picture paintings they made when their folks were off to the baseball game.

The paintings are hanging on the cottage refrigerator, just a few feet from my desk. I think I will leave them there.