Happy Thanksgiving

A very happy Thanksgiving to all my friends, followers, and fans who celebrate. And to my family--Thanksgiving just isn't the same without you. *waves at Mom and Dad*

I am so grateful for all of you.

So big love to y'all from me and the Furball Gang.

Thanksgiving at Casa Deb & Black Friday at The Artisans' Guild

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving (except those of you who don't live in the US and therefore don't celebrate...in which case I hope you had a nice Thursday).

Mine was quiet. I had a nice meal (I roasted a small piece of lamb with some root veggies from my garden, and made my friend Robin's wonderful creamed spinach recipe) with a glass of prosecco. Yum. And lots of leftovers so I wouldn't have to cook on Friday and Saturday, when I worked longer than usual hours at the store.

But mostly I spent the day doing this:

 That's the end result of playing with all these supplies...

And no, you can't see my living room for the beads...why do you ask?

But it was worth it, since the big turquoise necklace sold an hour after I opened the doors on Friday :-)

Besides, my supervisor yells at me if I slack off just because it is a holiday.

I'm happy to say that not everyone spent Black Friday at the mall, since we had a busy and successful day at The Artisans' Guild. I get kind of a kick out of having the store filled with happy shoppers and browsers...

Definitely looking forward to having the day off tomorrow, though. If by day off, you mean "make more jewelry and work on edits."

It's a fun life :-)

So, how was your Thanksgiving? And what did you do this weekend?

Giving Thanks

I try to give thanks every day, but on this day--Thanksgiving--I thought I'd share a few of the things I'm grateful for...

I'm grateful for my wonderful family (all of whom, alas, live too far away for me to spend the day with them), my amazing friends (who keep putting up with me, year after year) and my beloved cats--Magic, Mystic, Minerva, Angus and Samhain (who was kind to me today and sat very still for her fluids, even after I stuck her twice with the first, dull, needle).

I am grateful especially for the ladies of Blue Moon Circle, who make my life extra magical, and to the fabu Lisa DiDio, Queen of the Critique Partners, who has brought more to my life than I can ever put into words, much of it having nothing whatsoever to do with writing. Thanks for everything, including bringing out the Uggs when I need my butt kicked :-)

I am grateful for the writers who stir the cauldron with me at Creativity Cauldron--thanks for liking my online classes so much that you never wanted them to end. You make me feel very special.

Thanks too, to the Betties at LucyMarch.com for all the FGBV's, the bacon, the sex, and OMG, the Old Spice Guy. [For everyone not a Betty, and currently confused, well, all I can say is, it makes sense if you're in on the joke.] And I am uber-grateful to Lucy herself, for the community, and for the personal support. You rock, Lucy! (And your little bald Betty, too. And Jenny, whose writing inspires me.)

I am thankful for home, and health, and a job I like (mostly)--in fact, in these days, I'm thankful to have a job at all. Thankful for the food on my table, and those who work and sacrifice to put it there.

Thankful for the creativity that allows me to follow my dreams.

And REALLY, REALLY thankful for my agent, Elaine Spencer of The Knight Agency. Together, we're going places.

I hope that whether or not you celebrate Thanksgiving, you will take a moment out to say thank you for whatever good things you have in your life. And know that I am thankful for you--my readers, fans, friends, and followers. You people rock, big time.

Here's wishing you a lovely, relaxing day.