Sunshine Ahead

In less than one month my mother and I will board a plane and head to Phoenix. We'll spend a week in the Southwest.

We're hoping El Nino treats us well. Last year we drove toward Prescott in a raging snowstorm. After a brief visit with my friend Susie, we turned that car around and headed south to Tucson. I announced several times that I didn't fly to Arizona to see more snow. So, we're hoping for better weather this year.

We'll take in the Scottsdale Arabian Show for a couple of days, visit my cousin Barb, my uncle Don and then drive to Palm Springs to visit more friends. My daughter Annie from Seattle may go sun-chasing with us too.

The trip will be a welcome break from sitting here at my computer finishing deadline after deadline. I'm a "can't-say-no" person when offered a tantalizing writing assignment. Some earn me a respectable chunk of money; some, a bit more modest. It's the North Idaho way for freelancers.

When accepting these stories, I'm usually driven by the fascinating research-and-writing journey ahead. For example, this morning I finished a 2,600-word piece about the 60-year history of Harolds Super Foods, which, in essence, reflects a rich tapestry of Sandpoint's past. I'm emotionally drained from this story because of so many revisits to hilariously funny, painfully tragic, and deeply touching moments associated with the store and its colorful cast of characters.

Finishing the Harolds story was going to open up my schedule and allow me to concentrate on a year-long assignment for Keokee Publishing to chronicle a light history of white settlement around Lake Pend Oreille. Last January, my publisher gave me 3,000 words to do this.

I happily accepted those terms and then got started. Now, nearly a year later, I'm still wondering how I'll squeeze the stories of no fewer than a dozen lakeside communities into 3,000 words, especially since my initial and incomplete draft now amounts to about 7,000. That assignment, which will be included in a new Dennis Nicholls hiking guidebook, is due in two days; thankfully, they've given me a 10-day extension.

While wrapping up the Harolds story yesterday, an email from my editor at the Appaloosa Journal (www.appaloosa.com) appeared. Diane asked me write an 800-word piece on how the Appaloosa horse has brought together people, cultures and organizations, specifically the ApHC and the Nez Perce Trail Foundation. Due Feb. 15.

She admitted it would involve a LOT of research for 800 words but added, "I know you can do it." Shortly thereafter, an email popped up on Diane's computer, asking "How flexible ARE you with the deadline?" She said I could have until the 28th. I accepted the assignment.

Then, there's the next "Love Notes" column due Feb. 12. And, somewhere in between, I'd like to get my 300-page manuscript for my latest book in order to send to an editor. I promised her a copy by Feb. 1.

So many deadlines, so little time. Yup, that week of traveling Arizona highways is gonna be very welcome.