November and  December have blown by in flash! It’s been a nice Autumn this year, full of new activities, family and friends…and some fun reading. I’ve gone missing again on my blog, so it’s time to check-in and let you know what I’ve been up to and what I am reading.

My first City Council presentation on the new Oregon ERPO law.

My focus and time commitments changed recently. This retired person has taken on some new volunteer responsibilities which require training, meetings, and events. Right after the Parkland shooting almost two years ago, I volunteered to work with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. I desperately needed to DO something about the gun violence epidemic in our country. So I went to monthly meetings, occasionally helped with events.  This Fall, however, I agreed to take on more responsibility and a leadership role in my local chapter. I am now the Community Education lead for our chapter, and I have trained to talk with local community groups about the new Red Flag Law in the state of Oregon. I have also just finished training so that I can present and introduce community groups to the Be SMART For Kids program which focuses on education and awareness about child gun deaths and responsible gun storage. I’m very proud of my work with this national organization, and am happy to be able to give some of my time each month to educating the public about these important issues.

My reading has continued, despite my new obligations. It’s my blogging that got hit the hardest while my focus has been on new learnings and new experiences. But I am finding a new balance of home and volunteerism, so I am planning on returning to more consistent posting as we start the new year.

My November and December reading…I have been captured by Deborah Crombie’s mystery series with lead characters Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James. I’m now on book #7 in the series, and I just don’t seem to be slowing down on reading one right after the other. What a pleasure to get caught up in a new-to-me series.

Books read in November and December (so far…still more December reading to come!):

• A Share in Death, by Deborah Crombie
• Fight Like a Mother, by Shannon Watts
• The Burglar’s Christmas, by Willa Cather
• All Shall Be Well, by Deborah Crombie
• Leave the Grave Green, by Deborah Crombie
• The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, by Agatha Christie
• Dreaming of the Bones, by Deborah Crombie
• Kissed a Sad Goodbye, by Deborah Crombie
• King of the Wind, by Maguerite Henry
• The Spirit of Christmas, by Nancy Tillman
• Christmas with Anne, and Other Holiday Stories, by L.M. Montgomery
• The Crowded Street, by Winifred Holtby

I do hope you have had an enjoyable Fall, too. Busy and full of books!