It’s been awhile since my last posting. I’ve been quite busy these past few months. Two wonderful trips abroad and a bout of COVID distracted me. However, I am still writing! I’ve been writing a memoir, revising two young adult books, and have returned to working on my women’s fiction about an Irish immigrant girl.

My trips abroad included a river cruise on the Rhine which included tours of Koblenz, Speyer, Cologne, Rudesheim, Breisach in Germany,  Strasbourg in France, Basel in Switzerland, and Kinderdijik in the Netherlands.  We visited the Cathedral of Speyer, the Cathedral of Cologne, a Medieval Village, Marskburg Castle, and an operational windmill in Kinderdijik. The Rhine Valley of Germany is an enchanting place with its pine clad hills, vineyards, Medieval castles, timber-framed houses, and Gothic styled churches. 

My second major trip abroad included one for the “bucket list”: Egypt with an add-on of Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Egypt with its many ancient and historical monuments, pyramids, temples, and museums provided so much insight into ancient life, and an exotic journey into the past. I learned so much from this trip as well, enjoyed a ride on a hot air balloon over the Valley of the Queens and saw the sunrise over the Nile from hundreds of feet above it, and even rode a camel along the desert. 

The tour of Jerusalem included a visit to the Wailing Wall, walking the Way of the Cross along Via Dolorosa, the famed Old City with its combination of churches, synagogues, and mosques, the Church of St. Anne, birthplace of Our Blessed Mother Mary, as well as the modern center. In Bethlehem, we visited the birthplace of Jesus. This provided a deeply moving and spiritual experience.

Well, now it’s back to the writing business.

With the year almost at its end, I am grateful for much –

family, good friends, ability to travel and do much after retirement from teaching, and better health. 

Happy Holiday!

May there be Peace in the World.