Feeling Fall-ish

It's been so long since I've blogged that I honestly forgot my access password (good thing for "Stickies" as I'd recorded it there).

This past year has been a flurry and now that fall is approaching––my favorite time in Kentucky––and the schedule is more organized, the weather is cooling, and I'm in the midst of fall cleaning, well, I just feel like blogging again a bit more often.

And can I just say here that I've been scouring local places for pumpkins-–since early August? It's the back-to-school thing: our boys went back to school on August 6th this year and it immediately propels me into a fall-mode of thinking. Bring on the pumpkin spice!

In my five years of job-searching, 2014 was the first push towards something. I had two interviews at a place in Lexington, which turned out to be not a good fit so it was just as well I was not tapped, and another more locally, from which I withdrew (and thankfully with good instincts -- ALWAYS trust your gut!).

In January, I got a call from the local county paper where I'd also applied months before (and had forgotten all about), and they wanted me to freelance for their newspaper on occasion and for their insert magazines. It's been a fun, part-time job and in the past eight months I've gotten to know much more about the place where we live. [I wish I could link directly to some of my articles but their website does not archive them.]

In June a lovely woman emailed me from Rethink:Rural, a startup blog on rural living that she is editing among other duties for a real estate corporation based in Florida. She wanted me to contribute every month or so, with my own photography, too. I am delighted with this arrangement (and yes, the income). Here are two recent posts:

• Mennonites & Me
• The Thousand Mile Journey to Start a Farm at Midlife

Last month I applied for a dream job in nonprofit world -- I pitched the idea as a telecommute with part-time on the ground. They were very interested but hired someone who could be there full time and I entirely understand. The good news is that they want to do some public relations consulting and that in 3-5 years time this could lead to something full-time. By that time our boys will both be in college. It is a job that combines all of my loves and vocational interests: writing, historic preservation, local heritage tourism, public relations, rural life, and perhaps the greatest American writer. Ever.

Life is always interesting. My advice in a nutshell is keep plugging, keep sending things out, applying, or pursuing your dreams. They will happen. Hard work + opportunity + luck all co-mingle at some point.

Or, as Thomas Jefferson said,

"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have."

In the meantime, life on the farm is always busy. I promise to blog more often.

You come back when you're ready!

Catherine