A full house - Donna Alward

Today is release day for my latest book, HIRED: THE ITALIAN'S BRIDE. To be honest, I nearly forgot the exact day. Things are a little busy at Chez Alward. Summer has arrived and with it weeds in the garden, lush grass that needs mowing twice a week, a pool to get up and running, and sunny days to enjoy.

There is not a day goes by that I am not thrilled to be living here. I miss people in Calgary, but I do not miss the city. I'm simply not a city girl. Right now I'm sitting in my office and I hear no traffic, no shouts, only the birds and the odd airplane as it takes off (with a husband in aviation, we always seem to live on flight paths, and I don't mind). I do tend to be awakened early in the morning as the crows and pheasants like to chat it up as the sun rises. But even then, I love it. It is much better than noisy neighbours arguing or coming home to party at 4 a.m. On any given day the only unwanted guests in our yard are bunnies, deer, and maybe the odd raccoon. The next few years promise to be fun as we have added apple trees, rhubarb, and a few strawberries to our garden. The blackberries and blueberries already run wild through the bush at the sides of our lot.

I am also blessed to have a bigger house. The last was a 1000 sq ft bungalow on a 9 metre by 30 metre lot (we now have an acre and a third, part of it treed). We had one bathroom for the four of us. When company came, the husband and I slept on a blow up mattress in the living room, which we'd have to move or deflate each morning. These days, sleeping arrangements are much more flexible.

My inlaws are currently here as my father in law is having surgery this week. They live three hours away, and I am glad that we are here so that my mother in law can stay with us for the week-plus that he will be in hospital. When we bought the house last year, we bought a good sofa bed for the sitting room. It has seen plenty visitors already.

My sister in law is also flying in tomorrow to stay for a few days and be with her mum and dad which is lovely. When we bought the house, we also bought a futon for my office. It is my reading spot and we bought a nice one which in my mind is as comfortable as any bed.

I'm not sure if any other family members are heading our way, but we also have a camper we can set up (to put this in perspective, if we set it up in Calgary, it took up our whole back yard, and it's just a small tent trailer). It can sleep five. And while our basement isn't finished, we do have a double bed that we could press into service if need be. The girls' rooms are large enough we can double them up and someone can have our eldest's bed.

This makes me happy.

So this week, while my book hits the shelves, I'm going to be doing something even more important - spending time with family. Not the best of occasions, but with my husband's families, laughs are always guaranteed.