HAPPY
HOLIDAYS, 2015
Holiday Greetings to friends and
relatives! The year 2015 has been a mixed blessing for me. It started out with
a serious case of the flu, contracted right after last Christmas, that I was
fighting for a month or so, after which I was fighting the after-effects of the
medications prescribed by my pulmonologist. I
was sicker than I have been since being laid up in the hospital with
pneumonia in my very early teens. Luckily I was able to sleep a lot, so I
managed to meet social and church obligations and writing deadlines. I finally
started feeling better in May, partly because I weaned myself off of most
prescription medications.
This year I didn’t travel anywhere.
I do plan a Christmas visit to a friend and former student, Susan Reynolds, a
practicing physician in Hartsville, SC, who is serving as medical consultant on
a book I’ve been working on for five years—with the help of some fellow writers
and other friends. I think it’s about finished, and I want to submit it this
coming year to agents and/or to small publishing houses. The title of the book
hasn’t yet been settled. Initially, it was "Caring
for your Body from the Outside In," then it was some version of "The Perplexed Patient’s Guide to Whole Body
Health," and the most recent title is "Body
Wisdom, Body Care." I’d be happy for any feedback on which title grabs you the most.
Sales of my two published books
have flat-lined, partly because I haven’t been promoting them—partly because
I’ve been so otherwise occupied, and partly because promotion just isn’t my
thing. If you’re interested, you can find them on my Amazon site, which will be
linked at the bottom of this letter. I have been writing, but nothing else is
finished or published yet.
And I’m still organizing (yawn,
yawn), and I’ve managed to sell two of the four properties I owned and have been renting. The other two properties will hopefully sell next year. That has been an enormous
chore. Thankfully, I’ve had help from a wonderful real-estate agent and friend,
Karen Abrams. Indeed, my friends have sustained me through this difficult year.
Hopefully next year will be more fun and fruitful and I’ll be able to move
ahead with some projects that have stalled. Everything
takes longer than you think. That gets scary as one gets older.
My two daughter, Elisabeth and
Briana—and their families—came to Charleston during the year, in August and
November respectively. I posted some photos on Facebook. Briana made a fabulous
dinner over Thanksgiving, and I’m still eating the leftovers! It was wonderful
to see the children and grandchildren, however briefly. Without the RV, I’m
just not traveling much these days, so now folks can come to visit me! I’m certainly grateful for the internet!
Here’s wishing you all a wonderful,
and prosperous, and productive, and fun year in 2016!
Jo Anne
Photos and Events, 2015
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| UU friends, Nelsons' anniversary, February |
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| Rally after Emmanuel massacre, June |
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| Elisabeth and family visited, August |
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| Milking a goat, cheese-making party, November |
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| Saw “Suffragette” with friends, November |
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| Briana cooking Thanksgiving dinner, November |
