Where shall I start?  I've been gone over a year and a half.  I thought that, when my husband retired, things would slow down for me.  They have a little, but not much.  Since I last updated this we did go on two long vacations.  That explains five months.

There were quite a few months that I've been spending a lot of time with our pets.  Last year our cats went through some major episodes of bad health.  This year was a bad year for our dogs.  Rusty lost all use of his rear legs.  I got him a wheelchair so he could go on walks, but we had to take him outside at least every two hours.  He was a big boy and it was hard.

We had to put him down in May because he got some sort of gastrointestinal problem.  Then Moo Moo, our oldest dog, took a rapid downhill turn and we had to put him down in August.

Babe, our remaining dog, got skin cancer and just had some major surgery to remove most of it.  We don't want to get another dog right away because Babe has too many bad habits and we don't want her to teach them to anyone else.  I've been treating her wounds and spending extra time with her.

I got back on the Board of Directors of our Homeowner Association last year.  The Association was one step away from bankruptcy.  I was elected president but have been handling the majority of the secretary-type work.  The financial situation is much better and, thanks to pounding people with letters, we have gotten many of the past-due homeowners to catch up.  It has taken a lot of my time that I really did not want to have to spend.

There are a lot of other, personal, things that have been going on that have kept me from being here with you.  Almost every day I think about coming back, but I will not give you a Bible study that is not approved by God.  If I don't spend enough time with Him I cannot know for sure I have His approval.

Probably because of my minimal amount of time spent with Him I have been not doing well mentally.  It is probably depression.  I am on medication for depression and that has helped until recently.  My doctor just raised my dose and that seems to be helping.

I just finished writing a book, too.  The title is Clocks, Cameras, Computers, and Murder:  What Else Can Go Wrong?

I have sent it to some of my family and friends for proofreading before I contact a literary agent.  I put a lot of the things in there that have frustrated me during my life.  I'm hoping it will make enough money for me to pay back my husband and my sister-in-law for their donations to the lawsuits involving my mom's death.  I'll let you know when it goes to print.

Another thing that has been slowing me down is my age.  I am now 61 and everything just takes a lot more time to do. Since my husband retired he has been asking for my help with things off and on all day long.  I used to be able to get my things done while he was at work.  Now my schedule revolves around what he wants to do.  That has been very hard for me.

So, there are just some of my excuses.  They are not good enough to excuse me from doing the job that God gave me.  Why did I tell you, then?  I have felt like you are part of my church and a part of my family.  My intention is to pull myself out of this worldly muck that has grabbed hold of me and to dive back into the blessed Word of God.

I just made myself a new prayer closet in my office.  It was hard because I have my Web Design Business stuff in here, the Homeowner Association stuff in here, a giant cat tree in here for my babies, filing cabinets, my sewing table, etc. etc.  I also had to leave a path to the closet because my husband hangs his work shirts in there.