Happy New Year and a look back at 2014

 

I know I'm a bit late in wishing my blog readers a Very Happy New Year, but I'm like a horse's tail - all behind. Hope you all had a lovely Christmas, and that I manage to do better in 2014!

I thought I'd have a brief pictorial look back at my own personal 2013:

It started off with some snow in February - after missing giving us a white Christmas, but the horses didn't mind.  They just stood waiting for us to come with their dinners! They have their rugs and an  open  shelter so they were snug and warm

Then spring came, bringing with it some sunshine and walks through a

 bluebell wood near where we live

                       
Then in May the village next to ours held the first ever literary festival which I was lucky enough to be able to take part in

                                                                                                                                                                                                            Later in the summer we visited several steam rallies, just love these old steam engines...

Not to mention the heavy horse displays

The highlight of the year however, has to be my holiday with hubby in beautiful Pittsburgh and Ohio...

where we met our dear friend, the late Sharon Donovan's lovely sister, Mary Beth and went on a river cruise with her, as well as being treated to a lovely lunch at her parents home...

and my sweet friend and Author Roast sister hostess, Mary Ricksen, pictured here at the 'spaceship' at Mars

Mary, hubby Dave and I then moved on to the Dreamhouse  Guesthouse in Ohio, belonging to Cat and Allan Kaulback, where we had a wonderful time in the lovely countryside, seeing the sights and spending time with them and their lovely horses

Mary me and Cat at Smolen-Gulf Bridge, the longest covered bridge in Ohio

 Then in November, I attended the third Festival of Romance in Bedford, and had a great time, meeting old and new Twriter friends and the conference on Sunday was really interesting with some great talks by editors and agents.

The year didn't end on such a good note, as at the end of October, our little rescue, Bouncer the  Jack Russell terrier, fell ill and was diagnosed with a brain tumour.  He was badly treated before we had him and has gone blind in the last year, so it doesn't seem fair that he should have this as well.  However, he's on medication and seems quite happy and comfortable, and is back to his normal self at the moment, so we're making the most of whatever time we have left with him and hope that we'll be able to enjoy his affectionate and cheeky little ways for a long time to come.

I hope that 2004 will bring you everything you wish yourself

The Fort Pitt Museum

What a place to get inspiration for an historical romance novel! I loved the little tableaus of people and events.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

The Blockhouse at Fort Pitt Museum

 What a fascinating place this was! I love museums, especially ones like this that bring history to life!

Who would expect to find a waterfall in the middle of the city?

I can't believe it's three weeks since I was on holiday in the US with my hubby and dear friend and Author Roast co-hostess Mary.  It was great to meet up with Mary again, and also with Mary Beth, Sharon Donovan's lovely sister, who took us for lunch with Sharon's parents, who are such a special couple.

We had a fantastic time and below is a short video clip I took while we were in Pittsburgh. What a beautiful city, so many trees and fountains. I am a country lover but have to admit I certainly fell in love with Pittsburgh. We had a riverboat barbecue cruise starting on the Mon, and then going up the Ohio and Allegheny rivers, and visited the Pitt Museum among other things, before meeting up with Mary to travel on to Ohio and the Dreamhorse Guesthouse where we stayed last year. Cat and Allan treated us like family and it is such a lovely place, in the heart of Amish country, with four beautiful horses and a real character of a cat, called Woofie.

I'll try and put some more pictures up in the next week or so. We made wonderful memories and renewed friendships. Who could ask for more

The view from our hotel room

We walked to the fountain we could see from our hotel room

Me, Mary Beth and Dave about to take a triip on the three  rivers