As we get ready for Thanksgiving here in the U.S., I am thankful for many things in the year since last Thanksgiving, including but not limited to:
- my daughter
- my friends, who don’t mind that I’m not perfect
- our three critters, who are mostly wonderful and only occasionally obnoxious
- a decent place to live and good food to eat
- two new books published that I am pleased to have been able to put out in the world: Spinning in the Old Way and Arctic Lace (I can’t get any link in this post to "stick" on Arctic Lace back there, and I’ve tried to connect several different links multiple times, but I could get it to work in these parentheses . . . where there’s a will, there’s a way . . . the independent writer/publisher/artist’s mantra)
- a book proposal of my own that is circulating
- a couple of new essays of mine published
- being past the amazing lack of bookstore-sales income that extended through last fall and then the avalanche of damaged returns that made the spring and summer way too anxiety-provoking
- help that arrived from unexpected places with superb timing
- beginning to work in creativity coaching with Eric Maisel
- being able to attend the ASJA conference, PMA-U for independent publishers, BookExpo America (the major book-industry circus, er, trade show), and the Publishers Association of the West conference . . . and the hostels and other resources that made these trips possible
- winning a top Independent Publisher award for this book
- being able to spin a bit of qiviut, with a bit more available to enjoy as well in the coming year
- results that came back as "no problem of concern" after wearing a heart monitor for a month at the end of last year
- Pam, the acupuncturist who treats me without needles and keeps me balanced enough to keep up with the life I’m choosing to live
- the coaching clients I have worked with, who all have put their hearts into their writing this year and let me share in their growth as artists
- the trip back to Taos with my mother, who lived there with her family during the Depression
- the Mostlies and two plays at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, which I have not been able to attend in the previous several years
- the trip to Anchorage for YarnExpo III
- my new bike and places to ride it
Things I would like to be thankful for by the time we reach next Thanksgiving include revisiting as many of the items above as possible, plus:
- a significantly greater amount of peace in the world
- having come up with a good title that tells exactly what next fall’s book is about, in an interesting way, within the 29-character span that the electronic databases can accommodate
- having figured out a way to get the charts and photos for the revised and expanded version of a book by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts (the one that was originally published as Salish Indian Sweaters) into electronic formats that will make it possible to publish the new work, most likely titled something like Cowichan Sweaters, by early 2008
- really great illustrations for both those books, plus another that’s in the pipeline
- low freight costs for shipping books to where they need to be
- low costs for the recycled paper that I’m committed to using to manufacture the books I’m responsible for
- having sold a book of my own, and having completed the writing of the full manuscript thereof
- having figured out how to attend the Sitka Symposium on Human Values and the Written Word, which is one of my favorite events ever and it’s been too long since I’ve been able to participate
- having two more books ready to put into production (I know which ones they are: the authors need time out from earning a living to write them, and I need to do whatever works best to keep this enterprise healthy so I can publish them)
- continued good health and steady surroundings and friends
- finishing up the cardigan that’s been on the needles since . . . a while ago
- addendum: My daughter says she wouldn’t mind at all if, in addition to useful, interesting, and rewarding work to do and days that are occasionally frustrating but never boring, we also earned more income next year . . . she’s undoubtedly right . . . enough to keep doing the things we do, with less hyperventilation, would be mighty fine. . . .
I wish everyone reading this a fine year with much in it to be thankful for.
From the magnet on our fridge:
"Do the thing you think you cannot do." —Eleanor Roosevelt
