HELLO FROM CATHERINE

Well, here we are again in the more private section where I can bore you to tears with irrelevant, non-writer stuff. Leaving Oregon was so hard! As we drove away, I watched my dogs in the side mirror, gazing after us from their fenced in yard, the place where we confine them when we are away from home. They have a doggie door so they can go inside where it's warm, but I still felt as if I were abandoning them. They knew we were going away for a longer period of time than a simple drive to town because of the suitcases, and they were so sad. It took me two days to get over the wrenching pain of leaving them even though I knew they'd be in the loving hands of Sarah, a wonderful young lady from our church.

So there you have it, my one dog story to be included in this letter, unless I count Talili licking the telephone when he heard Mom's voice coming all the way from New Zealand. Oh, and I can't forget that I discovered I'm sitting on a gold mine of Buddy Boop stories for children. Buddy is our other Auzzie, and he used to be our escape artist and adventurer. Friends of ours nicknamed him Houdini. My three-year-old grandson, Liam, loved the Buddy Boop adventure stories. Baby Buddy Escapes, Adventurous Buddy and Cautious William Meet the Porcupine, Buddy Boop and Cautious William Visit Ace Hardware (ten miles from our home), and Buddy Boop Visits the Sheriff's Department. That's only a few of the stories about Buddy, and Liam hung on every word.

No worries. I don't intend to abandon you, my readers, or my genre to do children's stories, but I'm certainly tempted to write those stories on the side.

Now, on to our visit to Lilyput Farm! It was so much fun. Even though we visited last year, I thoroughly enjoyed going again. Gulliver, the pig, was still lying in exactly the same spot, only now he weighs nearly three hundred pounds. He's a breed of white pig, but mostly he's pink and HUGE. All he seems to do is sleep in the shade, but nevertheless, he looks as if he has severe sunburn. Anyway, I was standing on the opposite side of the fence, studying him. He is a sight to behold, incredibly large, and he never seems to stir. Well, evidently, he didn't appreciate my staring at him. He suddenly snorted and lifted his head, frightening me half out of my wits. After I'd jumped back, he snorted again, as if satisfied that he'd gotten rid of me, and went back to sleep. I will never forget that pig, and he'll probably be sleeping in the same spot when I return next year. He is two-and-a-half years old and will grow until he's five. He will probably top out at nearly a thousand pounds. Caution signs warn visitors not to feed him. If he becomes too large, his feet will hurt from bearing his weight.

Well, hello, Gulliver is so lazy he can't be bothered with treats. He's too busy snoozing.

There were also these hairy little pigs. They have shaggy tufts all over their faces, and they are so homely they are cute. And they were pigs, chasing away the lambs and tiny baby pigs to hog all the goodies. And I must mention Thomas, the little horse, who stands at one corner of his pen, begging with big brown eyes for offerings. He is just a little plump. There were ducks, a goose that kept grabbing my pantleg for more treats, goats, emus, ostriches, rabbits, peacocks, roosters, hens, opossums, guinea pigs, parrots, deer, cats, and dogs. You name it! I was in animal heaven for half a day.

Jonas, our brand new grandson, is too adorable for words. He grins and laughs. I fell madly in love, and it was so hard to leave him even though I know he'll be visiting me this next summer in Oregon. Sigh. I'll miss six months of his babyhood. But I totally enjoyed myself while I was there, holding him and playing with him as much as I could. He had colic, and my daughter-in-law found the neatest cure. It's called a tummy tub. It's essentially a bell-shaped bucket. You fill it to the level of your baby's weight with warm water, and when inside, the baby is in a fetal position, encompassed by the warm water. Jonas instantly stopped crying in his tummy tub, and it seemed to relieve his tummy ache afterward. So if you have a baby in your family with colic, get on the Net and search for a tummy tub! They cost around $50, US, and after baby outgrows it, it is a great little tub for soaking pieces of laundry before washing.

Well, readers, I've bored you long enough. And it's time for me to be thinking about packing for our flight. So I'll say goodbye. If you haven't already gotten MORNING LIGHT, I'll thank you in advance for going to your nearest bookstore to purchase it. Please do so soon! Those initial sales help my books to rank nicely on the bestseller lists.

Until next month, big hugs and many fond wishes for a Happy New Year to all of you.

Catherine