In Shadows

It’s been far too long since I’ve posted here!

My left ear is healing up fairly well (despite one set back a couple of weeks ago.)  As there was still some packing inside the ear, we decided not to do a hearing test at my post-op appointment.  I’ll go back at the end of January to see how much has been taken care of.

To tell the truth, I think I’m hearing better now than I have in over ten years.  The bass level is outrageously loud!  Treble is good enough for me to pick up ’ss’, ‘ch’, ‘kk’ sounds.  In fact, if I don’t wear the hearing aid in my right ear, I can still carry on a conversation better than when I had both hearing aids on full volume!  WOOT!

(I realize that eventually my noisy neighbors, the complex stairs right next to our living room, and my wife’s snoring will be annyoing as hel.  But right now, I still get a ‘SQUEE’ moment when I identify a new sound.)

On the writing front … HAH!  Writing?  What’s THAT?

Now that the holiday party season is over, things will mellow out at work again.  Part of my problem over the year has been my own ‘writer’s block.’  I think I’ve just been more interested in doing anything else BUT write in some cases.  Plus what I’ve said before about working organically rather than from an outline …

As it is, I’ve got nine days off of work (of which I’ve already wasted two.)  Then I go in to prep payroll for next week.  After that, I have three more days off, work two, then two days off.

So On Azrael’s Wings is open on my iBook, and I just finished editing the new scenes for chapter fifteen.  I’ve deleted one new scene I was scheduled to write because I couldn’t find any relevance for it to the rest of the novel.  In fact, I might delete the last scene I wrote for the same reason in the end.

That leaves me six new scenes to complete and fourteen chapters to edit before I can submit the novel anywhere.  The edits will be fast and furious, I can guarantee that.  I just have to slog through the new scenes …

Yule was last Thursday.  It was fun.  Spent time with my wife, going over photo albums, remembering good times, talking about family and friends who are no longer with us.  Then we opened presents, watched the Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man’s Chest, and held the vigil with our Solstice candle.

Tomorrow begins the majority of the feast prep work.  We’ve already received several RSVPs from friends in the area to join us.  It’ll be interesting this year.  I can’t turn off my hearing aids when they bug me too much!  LOL!