1. The VOA came to pick up all of our donated items.
2. I got overly sentimental about giving away Walter, the duck umbrella I’ve had since 4th grade, and J and I spent about 45 minutes going through all the packed up boxes to rescue him before the VOA truck came.



3. I had the little red mark on my nose removed with a laser that left a little red mark on my nose.
4. My car wouldn’t start and had to be towed and the tow truck guy told me he thought it was done for.
5. Thinking my car was done for made the big repair bill seem not-so-bad.
6. I got a review copy of STAY and spent about 80 gazillion hours staring at it. I still can’t believe it’s real.





7. I figured out the characters/storyline for a new book.
8. I went to a panel to see some absolutely amazing authors speak (I promise I’ll write more about that soon).
9. I pruned the shrubbery in the yard with in an inch of its life, put the garden to bed, cleaned the gutters, raked leaves, and mowed the lawn one last time all in one day.
10. I got completely and totally addicted to watching Friday Night Lights episodes on Netflix.
11. J & I chose and procured the materials for our bathroom remodel.
12. I rediscovered the joy of writing in pencil on paper.
13. I found a snakeskin the length of my arm in our tool shed.
14. I discovered that while I can open the door to the tool shed, my legs will no longer take me in there.
15. I somehow acquired the longest, most absurd list of things to do between now and Thanksgiving.

And, oh, yeah, I turned in my STAY pages for the very last time.

Goodbye, manuscript! I’ll miss you!