HELLO FROM CATHERINE

Well, here we are again for the more personal news that has happened on Cinnamon Ridge. When last I wrote, I had a skunk under the house, if you'll recall. Well, Sir Skunk seems to have moved out without assistance. We have very smart furry friends up here on Cinnamon Ridge. He must have realized that his odoriferous presence was becoming just a little too noticeable and decided to do something less intrusive about his living arrangements. Big sigh of relief. I don't know how much it costs to move skunks to new locales, but I have a feeling it is horribly expensive.

Another spot of news is that Einstein, our little chipmunk, came back inside for a visit. This time he invaded my office gym. My son solved the problem quickly, though, by opening all the exterior doors for the day. Einstein obligingly let himself out. This little fellow--I'm assuming it was our original Einstein because squirrels live a goodly number of years--is pesky when he stays for a prolonged visit. You never know where you'll find evidence that he passed through--if you know what I mean. (For those of you who never read my original letters about Einstein, he is a darling little chipmunk who first visited us a couple of summers ago. My husband, napping in his recliner one afternoon, awakened to find Einstein sitting on his chest, watching him snore! There followed a comical and frustrating attempt on our parts to remove Einstein from our home by luring him into live traps so he would not be harmed. Well, this little chipmunk was far too smart to fall for such tricks, thus his name. We finally resorted to opening all the outside doors and leaving the house for several hours, hoping against hope that Einstein would leave and all his cousins wouldn't decide to move in. We have hundreds of chipmunks and squirrels on the ridge.)

Sadly, all but the silver gray squirrels hibernate during the winter, so we are presently without many furry friends in our woods. The deer have mostly moved to the dessert where the weather is less harsh. But we do have the beautiful silver grays, and this week we have had a herd of elk visit a couple of times.

As most of you know, I injured my back in July. I wish I could say I'm dancing around and feeling great, but I am quickly learning that back injuries don't go away over night and there is no easy fix. In the beginning, I believed that once they found the problem, they'd do surgery, end of story. But evidently the piece of bone pressing on the nerves is only causing the pain in my legs. The pain in my back is caused by other problems. I don't want to bore all of you with the details. Suffice it to say that I have a fabulous neurosurgeon, and he assures me that he will eventually get me "almost" pain free, at least to a point that it no longer interferes with my life. In the meantime, I have to be patient and learn to live with it. That has been a challenge.

Needless to say, our trip to see our son, daughter-in-law, and adorable little grandson in New Zealand has been postponed. We planned to be there for Christmas this year. Oh, how I looked forward to seeing them! But, oh, well. Maybe we can go over this summer or in the early autumn when I can truly enjoy the trip and play with the baby. For now I must stay focused on getting better and writing books.

As I mentioned on the front page, publication of SUNKISSED, Tucker Coulter's book, has been delayed until September 2006. My publisher, NAL, was wonderful about juggling the schedule to give me more time.

Well, my friends, I am still unable to sit for long stretches at a time to write, so I will close with a heartfelt wish that all of you have a wonderful new year.

Until next time,

Catherine