After A Longer Break Between Posts...

I've been trying to cobble a short story together for our writers' group Winter Snap Competition.  The theme is mystery/supernatural/Gothic, etc.  You get the picture.

We're limited to three entries each and I've already sent one in which came together seamlessly and with no problem whatsoever.  However, the second entry is giving me a real headache.  I've tweaked and retweaked it and it's still eluding me.  Maybe I'm being too picky or OCD or something...

However, as entries close at the end of this month, I suppose I'd better make the choice to either send it in as is or leave it to languish in a file on my computer.

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I've been taking an online course in Italian, a language I've always wanted to learn.  It's going quite well and at Christmas time I met an Italian who actually understood me when I spoke to him in his native language!  However, while learning online is very good, I wanted to be able to converse fluently.  To that end, I've enrolled in an Italian class through U3A.  

My first attendance was today and my head was spinning at the end of the hour and a half lesson.  While I understood a lot...it's totally different actually talking to someone.  Being a secondary language, I don't think fluently in Italian so conversation  is very hesitant on my part.  It didn't help when I asked our teacher a question and he couldn't understand me.  I had phrased the question back to front...

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I have taken to retirement like a duck to water.  Why didn't I do this five years ago?  I wasn't ready; I still enjoyed working and I think I needed to ease into the idea of not working.  However, since retiring I've gained a new lease on life.  

There's a whole new life out there after work.  I now go linedancing, I can go to lunch when I have an invitation to (but I'm not Lady Lunchalot...yet), I can give more time to my writing and of course, there's now the Italian class to add to the mix.  Aaah, it's a great life, especially as the days are lengthening and becoming warmer.  Soon it'll be early morning walks along the beach...bliss. 

Well, that's it until the next post.  I will try to make it a bit sooner than this one!

Isn't this bougainvillea magnificent?  It's some where in the Outback in the Northern Territory in a small place consisting of the usual pub/post office/convenience store, a police station and this shed which the bougainvillea was doing its best to conceal.