As #SnickerLittleGirl explores a cardboard box in my studio as her new hiding place, I wanted to swing by here and wish you all a joyful and happy new year!
I posted this on my Facebook wall yesterday–none of this would have been as much fun without your continued support.
“I typically have my focus on the day and what is coming next, but some reflection on 2019 before it ends seems appropriate. I launched Book Four of the #BlindSeries, Cloaked and began researching and writing book five. I was teaching a painting and drawing class through August and miss my students and folks at the Middletown Arts Center. Applied for, was accepted, and presented at my first academic conference, TRAC. My paper was entitled “Imagination and Creativity–A Cognizant Balance?” (The presentation was attended by some awesome creatives including Roger Dean (google him), who said this was the one talk he wanted to make sure he caught!) The TRAC conference provided an awesome trip to California, and a stellar drive up the Pacific Coast Highway and wine tastings at Tablas Creek where we met our new friends–wait for it-Linda and Tom! 
🙂 When we returned we cycled the Ohio Bike paths, where I further conquered my PTSD–now little thought is given to Tom’s tragic accident two years ago. We miss the Ohio bike trails. In March, we traveled to Asheville (to get the kitties used to us not being home and their caretaker before the big California trip), where we started to fall in love with our new home all over again. In May, June, and July, we started our search for our new home. Traveling I-75 usually meant we were electronically signing offers on homes or negotiating the sale of our home in Middletown while traveling to or from M-town or Asheville. May-June started the purging of things in the old home and prepping it for sale. July found us accepting a contract on our old home and winning the contract on our new home. August found us moving with October, November and December spent settling into our new home here in Asheville. We spent Thanksgiving with Tom’s sister Jean here and explored the Biltmore with her (our second big adventure there). We were joined at our Thanksgiving celebration by Jean and two lovely young ladies who were a joy to meet and get to know better. The last quarter of the year has been spent investing in friendships here in Asheville, finding joy and commonalities with those around us. I have finished painting a commission during these hectic months and managed to go live painting a few times. Book five continues to be worked on and we managed to squeeze in a ride yesterday–with more to come in the time ahead. All in all, a wonderful year. Our lives have been enriched by prior and new friends and family. We have had some visitors (Jean, my brother Terry, John and Alice, Brian G., Ann and Chris) and have visits planned in the new year as well. While we miss the bike trails and friends, we know the hectic pace in the last half of the year was worth our move here. We are settled and we look forward to our times here. It was a whirlwind of a year, but well worth it. Happy New Year to you all (who made it to the end!)!!”
And now it is January 1, 2020. (Think of how many times we’ll write 2019 over the next week!) But alas, it is time to look ahead. I’m still hoping to reach that $100 a month goal so that we can start chatting live. I need to enroll Tom into taking some videos for some new lessons I want to record. I plan on painting live on Facebook or some other platform in the near future. In terms of health, I have a goal to tackle some mountains on my bike–and after the holiday drop those pounds I gained. I also hope to organize some workshops in the future. I’ll be recording some podcast in the near future as well. Did I mention book five? I want to launch that this spring as well.
I think that’s enough for next year.
All the best,
Linda
Linda Riesenberg Fisler 