Looking back on 2018, I’m amazed at all the changes in my life, starting in January when my niece Patty and I adopted a darling little puppy.

My new love, Miss Callie.

The pup, all 4 1/2 pounds of her, filled up the holes in my heart and drove me crazy at the same time. She’s about 13 months old now and still a little scamp at 16-17 pounds. This is what she looks like fully grown. Her coat is darker and I still don’t know where the long legs came from. Her mother was tiny.

Callie, my rescue pup, all grown up

In June I started a new book set in Montana and made good progress until late August/September when a plumbing problem set off the spark that led to a whole house remodel. Oy! It’s difficult to write in the midst of chaos, and after a while I gave up trying. We are now down to the dining room and kitchen. Unfortunately the latter is the most complicated room.

I’m especially excited about my new office. Surely I can write in such a lovely spot. I love my big cherry wood desk.

In September I also had a chance to travel to Montana on a 13-day trip through the western third of the state. I got a much better idea of what Montana looks like and picked up a lot of historical tidbits to make the story more authentic. One of the highlights was a visit to the Grant Kohrs historic ranch.

One of the highlights was a day in Glacier National Park and it’s a memorable one. We had rain, fog, hail and snow. Now I need to go back to get a better look at the glaciers, as visibility was limited, esp. early in the day. But what an adventure! Here I am posing by the 1937 White bus we were traveling in that day, the one with a leaky convertible top. I haven’t gained twenty pounds; I was wearing four layers of clothing.

The Montana trip was fun, and this year I’m looking forward to a Cherry Blossom tour of Washington, D.C. in April and a trip to Iceland and New York City at the end of August.

Wishing everyone a wonderful 2019.

Linda