the first day of december

Meyer lemons, originally uploaded by shaunaforce.

Here it is. The first day of December.

Yesterday was the last day of November, which makes it the last day of NaBloPoMo (or National Blog Posting Month, for those who remain uninitiated). That means that I posted something every day for a month. Actually, it wasn't nearly as hard as that might seem, as I had been posting daily since the middle of October. However, you would think that with my manuscript due soon, I would have been posting pithier and pithier pieces as the days of November dwindled. Strangely, the posts grew longer, with more recipes, as the month diminished. Why? Writing here has been a balm for me. When my head starts to throb at the thought of all the work still before me, I just type in little stories on this site. I have loved the daily contact, and all your comments. Six to eight hours of writing a day can grow a little lonely when it is just me, sitting in this room, on the blue exercise ball, in front of the computer. The Chef's frequent phone calls and all the emails from you lovely readers has kept me grounded in this sea of words.

Tomorrow, however, is December 2nd. That makes it one month to the day before my manuscript is due to the publishers. Oh. My. God. If I told you just how much work remains to be done between now and then, you could faint. (And I don't want to be responsible for that weirdly shaped bruise on your chin when your face hits the desk in front of you.) People, I am really up against it now. Wow.

(in a little whisper, i will say this: i work well against a deadline. i actually sort of like the big push that is required now. i know i can do it. i will.)

So, as much as I love writing these romantic, silly, sensory impressions and plenty of food posts every day, I have to slow down this month. I'll be here, writing. Send out a little hello, if you want. I may not write back until January, but I would sure love to hear from you.

I promise — there will still be words and photos here every day. But it might be a lot of photographs, and they may not all be of food. Maybe snippets of conversation, without any context. An occasional cookie recipe or two. Whereas this blog is normally Faulknerian-length prose, December will be the month of haikus.

Thank you all for reading. Wish me luck.

I will need it.