IWSG: Farewell to 2017

Can it really be the last IWSG post of 2017? The year flew by. Thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh for starting this awesome group. Join in if you want. You can sign up here and visit lots of other participating blogs.

The optional question this month:
As you look back on 2017, with all its successes and failures, if you could backtrack, what would you do differently?

I guess I would spend more time on my fantasy writing and less on the romance side of my career. I felt like I didn't get much writing done, but looking back, I did complete three new novels. One less than I wanted but still not too bad.

My local writers' group held our group Christmas party last Saturday. We also went to a retirement party for the mayor of the town closest to us on Friday evening. On Sunday, I made Mac-n-Cheese for the kiddies after we decorated the Christmas tree. Needless to say, I'm watching the calories this week. I'm not a person who usually gains weight over the holidays, but it was a tempting three days of goodies. Still, it was wonderful to have all the children together to decorate the tree plus the new granddaughter. It's a time when I really see how much my kids love each other as they argue over placement of ornaments.

Christmas... is not an external event at all, but a piece of one's home that one carries in one's heart.
Freya Stark

Between now and the start of the new year, I'm going to organize my projects and my promotional plans and ideas. And of course, I can't wait to break out that brand new Old Farmer's Almanac Planner. I already have things written in it. In the meantime, I need lots of coffee for rewrites and outlining for what's up next.

TV land is drying up over the holiday season as usual. The Gifted has continued to keep me interested. The Good Doctor hasn't disappointed me yet. I like a medical show where everything doesn't always work out. More realistic when the patient isn't always saved. Looks like a lot of Netflix happening at my house for the next few weeks.

Last week also was a time of giving at our county libraries. They collected foodstuffs and took donations. It was also a great time to donate to the library itself. Perhaps even to gift a book in the name of a beloved teacher.

The news is awash with all kinds of accusations about sexual misconduct by people in power. It's all sickening and not at all surprising. Will it ever stop? As parents, we need to educate our children, boys and girls, about respectful behavior. I hope I've taught my daughter to take no s**t. 

We're expecting a bit of snow this coming weekend. Traffic in all the places I have to shop is already bad. PA has terrible roads and there's also still some summer roadwork that is messing things up.

Would you change something you did in the past year in terms of your writing? Suffering from holiday TV hiatus time? What good causes do you donate to at this time of year? Did you get the LotR reference?