As I’m preparing for my trip to Austin to research Erle Stanley Gardner, I’ve learned that a number of boxes are restricted, that is that there’s an open no earlier than date on them. As a biographer I’m fascinated by what could be in these boxes. Are they personal secrets about his life and history? [...]

Sorry. For those of you who follow closely, I’ve been a bit erratic in my blogs here. It’s been a month to say the least.
I’ve become a major wimp about the allergies lately. I’ve been doing so well with my diet and new found freedom from medication that when I got a sinus infection, [...]

Well, only 11 more days of school and shortly after school’s finish, I’ll be heading to Austin to work on the biography. I was awarded the fellowship to travel to Austin in June. I can’t wait. I have my flights and accommodations already, so now we’re down to car rentals and an appropriate research wardrobe. [...]

Wow, another week has buzzed by. The days are quickly winding down for the end of school, and I have to say that I’m probably more excited to be done this year than the kids. I just booked my reservations for my research trip to Austin in June. I’ll be spending two weeks there, combing [...]

Well, the move is official. I’m sitting in my new office, which has a lovely view of trees and bushes, and writing this blog. I’m not sure if that will be a good thing in the long run. The old office looked out at my garage, which gave me practically nothing to look at. The [...]

Today we get the keys for the new house. I can’t believe it’s here already. Just a few short weeks ago, I was complaining about how hard waiting was, and now we’re getting the keys to the new place.
We’re meeting the sellers at 6:30pm and taking over 2 loads of stuff tonight as well. [...]

Well, today is the day we close on both the condo and the house. It’s set for 2pm EDT. I have to leave school early for this. Obviously, it’s a stressful day here. But one that has long been waited for. I’ll be glad to have this behind me and be writing peacefully from the [...]

Wow, it’s been a busy week again here. First, we have a new puppy. We drove up to Felicity last Friday and picked up the latest addition to our family, Tuppence. She’s a beautiful little Scottie, and she’s fitting right into the mix here. Scooter is doing well with her, much more patient than I [...]

Well, things are going smoothly at the moment. I’m actually off to pick up the new puppy today. Yikes, and we still have not picked a name — It’s a black girl Scottie and we’re down to Lily (as in Rowan), Tuppence (Beresford) and Trixie (as in Belden). I figure we’ll see her and know [...]

Well, now that we’ve sold our condo and bought a house, things are crazy here. We’re getting a new dog, packing everything we own, and trying to maintain our sanity.
Usually one of my greatest helps in keeping my balance is writing, but it’s difficult for me to focus for long periods of time on [...]