I usually do some "Best Of" posts about the previous year when we hit January. But I don't think I've ever tried to choose the best events. Probably I should have, but it was hard to limit myself to 10. I know... what an arbitrary rule! Nevertheless, from a list of 15 standouts, I narrowed it to 10 outstanding events of 2018. Here they are in chronological order.
And when a person has to struggle to pick only 10 great events of the year, it was a VERY good year!
Retirement
April- Actually, all this did was phase me from one job back to being self-employed as a full-time author. But it was a much-anticipated transition.
One More Shift
Hocking Hills with Marie
April/May- This includes the North Country Trail/Buckeye Trail Celebration, and an extra few days with just Marie. Spending time with the friends who care the most about the trail I love the best. Hiking. Seeing plants and rocks. Finding a newly emerged luna moth. Best Friend time.
Finding a Yellow Red Trillium
April- This is a rare color variant, and I correctly identified it despite being the wrong color. In Ohio
Red Trillium Color Variant
Visiting Alabama with Loretta
May- This trip included seeing Ester and celebrating joint birthdays, of course time with Loretta, lots of new plants, visiting a wildlife refuge, hikes, birds, great friends, selling books, parties. Just wow.
Author Event, Florence, Alabama
Michigan Outdoor Writers Association Award
June- One of my Get Off the Couch Columns took 3rd place for the James H. Hall award
Mystery Writers Intensive Workshop
June- I spent five days at Interlochen improving my writing skills and interacting with other authors. We had to write group stories about this murder mock-up. Just outstanding. Took a few walks too.
Interlochen Mystery Writers Intensive
Impossibles Reunion
July- The 50-year reunion of the Impossibles Bible Quiz Team.
50 Years of Impossibilities
Hiking the Midland to Mackinac Trail
Sept/Oct- Hiking this 210-mile trail.
Finding a Picture of Great-Uncle Ben
October- for some reason, this just brings me a great deal of joy. Not really able to explain it fully.
Writing Six Books!
December- I actually wrote six books this year. I'm sort of in shock myself. The four children's mysteries: The Secret Cellar, The Hitchhiker, The ABZ Affair, and The Bigg Boss. Then I wrote the Midland to Mackinac Hiking Trail Guide. Finished the year with Dead Mule Swamp Mistletoe.
All others at Smashwords or Amazon.
Conclusions about the Midland to Mackinac Trail
Thanks to SO many of you who participated in making this a great year!
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You had an excellent year. I hope that 2019 brings at least as many good times if not more
ReplyDeleteYou appear to have had a very fine year. It was April 1 (not last year) that I retired and that was the day Sylvia's mother died. That took my joy over retirement, because my mother-in-law was an amazing and loving woman.
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