While all my neighbors have beautifully decorated their homes with festive Christmas lights and wreaths, my house remains in darkness.  This is very uncharacteristic of me, since I am usually seen — precariously standing up on a ladder (with whimsical outdoor tree ornaments strewn everywhere)  — the day after Thanksgiving.  Not this year.  My neighbors have been glancing quizzically at me, wondering if something is terribly wrong.  They don’t know that I’m spending most of my time on my book —which I will  finish by the 21st.  So, if I need to look like Ebenezer Scrooge for a few weeks, so be it.

When the book is done, my neighbors will be stunned.  My house will be lit like the Las Vegas strip!  I will be singing the Hallelujah Chorus at the top of my lungs!  That is, if  I get my voice back.

Until then ….