A new year, a new blog

Whew! That was a year - 2011 was.

I retired from one job, started another, finished renovations on a home, kept it in tip-top shape while anticipating potential buyers dropping in with little notice, and welcomed a new grandchild to the fold.

I thought I'd blog here a little.

Wrong!

Still loving the new job

I absolutely, positively LOVE my new job as co-editor of Ragan Communications' Health Care Communication News, but it took me a bit of time to get in the groove. Working from home has a gazillion advantages. (Gee, I should write a blog post on them someday.)

But it also has one drawback. You tend to just keep working. There's no "If you don't leave by such-and-such-a-time, the lights go out." There's no one locking the door. So, if you love what you're doing, you just keep doing it. I did (love it). I also often did keep working.

And that, perhaps, is another reason why I neglected Lincoln Buff 2 blog. I guess you could say I felt unworthy to write about Lincoln once the Civil War Sesquicentennial and the sesquicentennial of the White House years started. My areas of knowledge, passion and expertise are Lincoln's early years, his time in Illinois, the allure and inspiration of the popular Lincoln. Those things were easy to share during the Bicentennial years. I loved finding and sharing information about events and books so that I could inspire others to learn about Lincoln.

Here's the funny thing. I do essentially the same thing as a health care co-editor as I did during the Bicentennial. I find information people need, I write articles about it, I share. It's just what I loved when I was doing this blog every day. In a way, it's another reason why this blog is in a resting period. Research takes time. Doing it for two efforts? Takes more effort than I can give, I think. The job took priority and this blog lay dormant.

What I miss

I don't feel badly about not writing about aspects of Lincoln that I don't fully understand. That wouldn't be fair to my readers. I do feel badly about letting down the readers who enjoyed my Lincoln-related posts and who may have been inspired to learn a little more about him because of my enthusiasm.

And, I miss my readers. Some of them have become such wonderful friends and mentors over the past three years.

So, I'm back. I'm not laying Lincoln Buff 2 to rest. It's still my first blog, the one that helped me remember how much I love to write, that connected me with wonderful Lincoln enthusiasts worldwide and even helped create a few new ones. It will still be here for you to read, and I'll still do a post once in a blue moon, but I'd love it if you'd come follow me to my new blog.

Where you can find me

I just gave birth to my new blog yesterday. It's where I'll share my thoughts on all sorts of other things in my life. (Bet you didn't know that I do think about things besides Lincoln.)

I do have other passions. In the coming weeks I'll share some of them on the new blog.

I've envisioned a venue such as this for more than a dozen years -- a place where I could share the things I ponder, the things I write that are not Lincoln- or health care-related. And, believe me, these wheels are always ticking and, many days, these fingers are the conduit through which 1,000 words or more pour onto a page. Many go toward book manuscripts, some go into personal correspondence and some are just begging to be shared.

Those beggers -- you'll find them in my new blog, Musings on Route 66.

Come along for the ride.

Oh, and that house? It's still on the market. That new grandbaby? She still likes to be rocked. Her cousins? They like to go fishing or play board games with Grandma from time to time, too, so please forgive me if, once in a while, I step away from the keyboard to just be.

For it's in being that we often find fodder for musings. Isn't it a wonderful thing?