What a week!

The fire situation remained unstable last Tuesday, with the Santiago Canyon fire worsening and creeping closer to us. Meantime, my writing partner and her family (and adorable dog) came to stay with us because they had been evacuated from Poway.
All this seemed to make it the worst time possible to leave for the Poconos for a Highlights Foundation workshop on writing children's magazine fiction. Particularly troubling was this location's lack of either cell phone or internet access. My husband convinced me that everything would be fine; I packed an emergency bag in case they had to evacuate, and headed out early Wednesday. Ash fell on the car windshield at the airport, and the air quality was absolutely horrible. Fortunately, soon after I left I received word that my friend could return to her home, and that it had not burned.
I finally arrived at the charming Highlights cottage in the Poconos at 1 a.m., totally exhausted and stressed because my camera had been stolen at the airport. (Thus no pictures until I replace it.) The setting couldn't be more postcard-perfect, with the leaves at their peak, wild turkeys roaming nearby, and a lovely creek that we'd call a river in California.
I'll write more about the wonderful workshop later: the supportive group of fellow writers, the encouraging leaders, the food cooked by a Culinary Institute-trained chef. (Portobello mushrooms plucked fresh from her yard, and fresh pumpkin creme brulee were among favorites... ) But I soon realized that it was the right decision for me to come; my family was surviving fine without me and it was a terrific opportunity for growth for me. The retreat was the perfect place for me to write and I finished a brand new story that I like a lot.
Although I had created a minute-by-minute schedule for my husband of my daughter's various activities, it all had to be thrown out. Our school district wound up canceling all classes for Thursday and Friday, forcing my poor husband to take a couple of unscheduled vacation days since I was gone. I do think they enjoyed time together, though, and our daughter was very ready to get back to school this morning. And I'm ready to tackle a number of new writing projects for magazines as well as revise a couple of existing stories. I will miss the concentrated writing time, with no interruptions, experienced at the workshop!