relocating – Mystery Deb

It’s been a couple of weeks since my last post and I can’t believe it’s mid-June already. We are still discovering delights among the plant life at our new home. As you’ll see from the photos, roses have bloomed up everywhere. My mom’s memorial rosebush has gained a new lease on life. It loves the Ladner sunshine, as do I.

We’ve done a fair bit of walking in our new neighborhood and were invited to a big block party last week. We also wandered through the season’s first Ladner’s Farmer’s Market, which was huge and lots of fun. I came across vendors from other markets I’ve sold books at, which was a bonus. This is such a friendly environment and I’m grateful to be here.

The post-surgery healing goes well. I diligently applied the cream I was given to stop an infection and it worked. I have one more follow-up test next month but that’ll be a breeze compared to the surgery.

Our Port Moody home has officially been sold to the family who wanted it right after they saw it at our open house back on April 22 and 23^rd. To make it work financially, they had to sell their home and a buyer stepped up right away. Subjects were removed on all contracts, the final documents signed and now we just have to finish selling and/or donating a few pieces of old furniture. Housecleaning will come after that, then a lawyer’s appointment as we prepare to hand over keys in July.

As my weeks are still somewhat unpredictable, I don’t have a solid writing routine yet. I’m eager to focus on projects I’ve shelved for months, but moving-related tasks are swallowing up time. Also, my daughter was sick on Monday, which meant more babysitting for me. Once July 11^th passes, the rest of the summer should be far more relaxing. Well, one can hope, right?

Moving day is three weeks away and preparations continue steadily. We’ve met with a plumber and an electrician to fix a few things, and even made time for furniture shopping. Shopping’s not my favorite activity but, as exhausting as it was, we accomplished a lot in the 3-1/2 hour, two-store adventure in decision making.

These past few weeks have been a balancing act between moving tasks, family needs, and writing-related tasks. We’re celebrating Easter at my daughter’s house this weekend, and I’ll help with the cooking and child-minding, which will be great fun.

We’re also spending time with my sister who was diagnosed with grade one breast cancer last month and will have her procedure on April 13^th. From the hospital, we’ll be driving her to my daughter’s, so she can recover there. Having been through this before, albeit 29 years ago and under a more dire circumstance, she’s feeling positive. There’s nothing like a cancer diagnosis to put things into perspective, is there? To hold family close and keep doing the things you love.

For the sake of normalcy and to maintain a sense of calm, I’m still writing and promoting. Casey Holland mystery series, #4 The Deep End, is on sale for $.99 through BookFunnel’s Mayhem & Motives promotion. For mystery fans, this is a great opportunity to browse through over 160 mystery titles, which you can find HERE, or find on Amazon, Kobo, Apple, or Barnes & Noble.

The Deep End is drawn from my volunteer experience inside a youth detention center years ago. I met all kinds of residents, some serving a sentence, others awaiting trial. The youngest was twelve years old, the oldest seventeen, and included a boy who’d stabbed his mother over 40 times. I also met two members of a family of criminals. The older brother was in adult prison, while the two younger siblings were at the center where I worked. The girl, a fourteen-year-old, was in detention for attempting to push an elderly woman off a cliff.

I’ve come to realize that all the years of book plotting and strategizing have helped me organize this move better than anticipated. Planning well ahead and list-making are second nature to me. Have you found your creative life assisting you with real-life challenges?

Tag: relocating

Everything’s Coming Up Roses, Mostly