...Hello?

Good morning!

Happy 2009!

Um... Now what? I've got to admit, it feels kind of strange to be chatting with you after such a long absence. I hardly know what to say, which is strange for me. I'm usually one of those talkative types but how does one go about filling in a two-week gap?

With the truth, I suppose. An abbreviated version, because the play-by-play would probably scare the pants off you. We definitely had a Stephen King-ish December here...

My absence has been due to illness. Not mine, but Hubby's. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know how close my husband and I are. We practically breathe for each other, so when one of us is ill we both suffer.

Do you recall the ice storm we had here in early December? That weekend, Hubby hurt himself. We thought he'd pulled something, and that it would get better on its own. Apparently he hurt his back more than we'd thought, because his condition deteriorated and we ended up taking a middle-of-the-night, during-a-snowstorm ambulance ride. Very frightening experience, on so many levels.

The good news is that he's home again. Recovery may take a couple of months so I might not be around as often as I'd like to be but I hope you understand and bear with me. My focus has to be on helping Hubby back to his feet and the active lifestyle he enjoys. I have faith we will do that, but I know it will take time.

On a cheerier note, a couple of New Year's surprises for you...

First, one of my resolutions is to spend more time sharing one of my favorite things, cooking, with you. So beginning on the first, I'll post recipes on the From the Kitchen page every Monday and Thursday. I hope you'll try a few, and enjoy them.

And on the From the Pages page, I'll have author interviews on Tuesdays and Wednesdays! I'm very excited about this because I love getting to know the author behind a story. A lot of interesting folks have graciously agreed to be grilled--ahem, interviewed. I think the interviews will be a lot of fun. An added bonus is that many of the authors will be giving away prizes and the only thing anyone has to do to be eligible to win is leave a comment! What could be easier than that?

Fortunately I already had both the recipes and interviews in the works before Hubby became ill so both are set up for the next few months. I'm hopeful that by the time I need to upload more recipes or interviews, the man will be on his feet and much more self-sufficient. Until then, though, I hope you'll understand my hit-or-miss blogging, emailing and blog-hopping.

Right now we're practicing the "in sickness and in health" part of our marriage vows, and it's keeping us pretty busy!

Again, Happy New Year! I hope this year is a filled with love and laughter, health and happiness for you and yours.