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I can’t seem to get started with my grand meticulous plan for Blogging Again (with a capital “B”). So I’m just going to start with no freakin’ plan whatsoever and see where that takes me. I’m revving up for another go at National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in November, so I am starting off with a smaller writing goal: 1,000 words/day for at least six days a week. Starting in the morning.

My plan:

• Work at the 1,000-words-daily pace through October on a smallish project.
• Work at a 2,000-words-daily pace for all of November on the first draft of a new novel.
• Blog at LEAST once a week. No matter what. No matter if it’s utter dreck, just like the NaNoWriMo draft will undoubtedly be.

I’m going to look on this month as one of those wonderful character-building experiences. A pinhole leak in our old house’s upstairs plumbing — again — collapsed a hunk of the kitchen ceiling before we noticed it. Our home insurance was recently cancelled because of a series of similar claims over the past eight years, but we were FORTUNATE that this happened and the claim was reported just before our coverage expired.

And my poor mom, who has dementia and is in a nice little nursing home about 45 minutes away (the closest one that has the security necessary to keep her from wandering) — well, she found the old checkbook of hers that I normally keep in my purse for her and which I accidentally left behind on last week’s visit. And she promptly wrote a $200 check to a stranger in another room who she thought was a needy cousin. We were FORTUNATE that some honest soul in the nursing home found it and turned it in.

The retractable cord on my work ID lanyard broke this weekend. And I was dreading the hassle of having to order another new work ID as well as get another new military ID (I work as a contractor on a Navy base). But I was FORTUNATE that the ID happened to fall off in our car.

And did I mention that the a/c in my new-to-me Pontiac Vibe just pooped out? We are FORTUNATE to be living in a time period when there are forums online and parts that can be ordered for do-it-yourselfers. (Still to be ordered, but soon.)

Yeah, and the kicker is that our dining room chandelier also ripped loose from the ceiling. (Gimme a break, it’s an old house.) Our rickety repair job with picture wire is holding it in place for now. We were scrambling to find funds for the unexpected cost of replacement, but we were FORTUNATE that my husband found an unexpected and overlooked refund check among some old mail he was sorting. Now if I could just pick a chandelier …

My point is that we’ve narrowly skirted bad luck pretty often lately. I wish I believed in guardian angels, because I’d be hugging mine right now.

How have YOU been lucky?