I Hereby Resolve to Take a Deep Breath

What is your New Year's resolution? Lose weight? Quit smoking? Cut out white bread and chocolate and Japanese rice candy?

Okay, maybe you're fine on that count, but no doubt there is room for improvement somewhere. In my case I'll work on changing my mindset, as so much of my angst revolves around writing: what has sold and what has not, and if it hasn't, what the hell is my problem?

I let all that worry get in the way of some nice successes this year, dismissing the things I'd done right, throwing myself a pity party and believing, for a time, there wasn't a chance I'd make it. I spent three months waffling -- write a third novel, let it go, write a third novel, let it go -- until a friend mentioned she rarely worries about such things, but allows the notion to arrive at will, accepting stories the way they come, rather than forcing them to fit some role.

The timing must have been just right, because I actually heard her -- listened to what she was saying.

I know acceptance will take practice, but here is how I'll begin: inhale and hold my breath, then count to three and concentrate, just let the anxiety go.

Foggy Day in Folsom Towne

Great egret hunkered in the fog. Baby, it's cold outside!

El Coyote

Steve took this photo yesterday near Sailor Bar on the American River. He had his camera out in the hope of shooting a red-breasted sapsucker, when he stumbled upon this fellow, resplendent in his winter coat and woolly tail. Click on the pic for a glimpse of his yellow-green eyes.

Ahhhh, Christmas

It was a great Christmas, filled with the goodies a writer/music-lover/reader/gardener appreciates most: gift cards from Starbucks, Borders, iTunes and Capital Nursery. And, yes! Massages too! And from the parents of my son-in-law, a 2-lb. box of See's candy, which Erich and I promptly dove into (and swam around in) shortly before breakfast. In true "Christmas Story" fashion, the four of us (Steve, Maya, Erich, me) finished off the first layer before the evening sky turned "purple and soft."

I also received a small bronze statuette from my mom of a girl reading; she looks like Tinkerbell, and has alighted on my desk, just to the left of my laptop. She's too young to be reading THE COLLECTOR by John Fowles (one of my very early favorites) and too old for the LITTLE HOUSE series. Maybe she's reading GREAT EXPECTATIONS, since it opens on Christmas Eve. I think she will serve as my muse.

Rounding out a great holiday was time spent with my own parents and in-laws; calls from Jena/Jeremy and Pops; and a nap on the floor with Country (Maya and Erich's black Lab puppy), his warm nose buried in my neck. Ahhhh, Christmas.

Merry Christmas, Friends

Sandhill cranes carrying Christmas love from our house to yours.
May your holidays be merry and bright.
Love, Steve and Renee Thompson

Philandering Former Plastic Surgeon

Mary McNamara, television critic for the L.A. Times, picked "House" as one of TV's best shows for 2008. Shown here is Peter Jacobson, the actor who plays the "philandering former plastic surgeon" Dr. Chris Taub.

McNamara calls Jacobson "human, life-tempered, and increasingly indispensable." This is especially fun as Jacobson is the son of my friend Lynn Straus (one degree of separation -- woo-woo!).

(Fox photo)