Whaaa? You mean I get PAID to write?

SO I get the mail today, and there is a standard envelope in the pile posted from "EIRE" (Ireland). I wasn't really expecting anything. It had a little window and almost looked like someone was sending me a bill from Cork. I was perplexed to say the least. Once I opened it up, I was almost positive that the Cork Evening Echo was sending me a bill for publishing the story about Jerome in the Holly Bough, I thought I owed THEM money by the look of the invoice, until the check slipped out! Whew! That was close! But....... HEY! What's this? Money? For me? In Euros? Woaaaaaah. I was really perplexed. I didn't know the paper paid for stories. So this was a very nice little Merry~Christmas~to~me present, early, no doubt.

A special "shout out" to John Dolan of the Cork Evening Echo for letting us submit Jerome's story, he totally rocks.


Also, a HUGE "Thank You!" to Tom MacSweeney with RTE Radio 1 Seascapes Programme in Cork for believing in my story and helping to bring Jerome back to the heart of Cork.

Uh oh. I wondered right away if Ronnie got a check too. He was, infact, co-author. He emailed back right away denying any payment, surprised just as I was, and bluntly stated that I take the money and buy something nice with it. Of course, guilt sets in, I can't keep it, only 1/2. I insist he take his hard earned 1/2. Ronnie writes back again, stating that I keep the money. Good gosh, does anyone out there realize how hard it is to get an Irishman to agree to anything? Are they all politely and humbly stubborn? Finally, after one more email, he takes the money, says he'll use it on a night out with his wife. Finally!

IN THE MEANTIME....... Christmas is right around the corner, and I've backed off on my research. I've got years under my belt already, so I'm taking a much needed breather on researching Jerome and looking in every nook and cranny for info. I've got cookies to bake, cards to send (that will probably arrive late anyway), packages to mail, even some potica going over to Cork to Ronnie that he's taken a liking to. I almost feel bad for taking a break, especially since Ronnie is working his little butt off over in Cork running around from one historical place to the next, finding items and news bits that will be used for our book. Then again, he's the one that needs to catch up to me, soooooooo, I guess I don't feel that bad after all!

Ronnie and I decided that we'll be using Skype to talk over the internet while we do this book. It's free since we're both signed up, and did I mention it's free? We haven't tried it out yet, I still have to locate my mike; we have boxes that need to be unpacked and sorted through from moving into our new home that we built this summer. Between selling our old house, moving to an apartment, and building our new home and moving into it, and trying to keep up with my research, AND be a full~time mommy, well this year has been a huge challenge. HUGE. Did I mention HUGE?

Considering this past year, and the many obstacles I had to overcome, it's putting my next year into perspective and I'm starting to seriously think about my New Year's Resolutions. No one ever really sticks to them, and you don't ever really expect anyone to either. But I'll be making them, and posting them on this blog for everyone to see. Stay tuned for that.