Robins bathed in a puddle and listened for worms in the front yard.
These yellow bellied birds with heads like Blue Jays (there were Blue Jays, too, only they did not pose for a photo) joined the robins for a bath. I don't know what these birds are; I couldn't find them in my Audubon guide.
The trees came to life with starlings; their raucous noise filled the air as they twittered and preened.
Their ranks filled the field across the driveway.
Friday, January 11, 2008
For the Birds
Thursday as the rains moved in, my house was suddenly inundated with birds. They were everywhere.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Books: Sights Unseen
Sights Unseen
By Kaye Gibbons
Copyright 1995
Abridged Audiobook
Read by the author
Mother is manic depressive. Daughter grows up in the 1960s with ill mother. Mother goes on a wild spree with vehicle, crashes into a woman. Mother is sent to Duke for electric shock treatments. Mother returns a changed woman. Daughter finally has a mother.
That pretty much sums up this book, which is a quiet and thoughtful reminiscence about how difficult it is to be a child when your parents can't be parents because of their own issues. Maggie Barnes is a mother suffering terribly, but the family suffers too, also terribly. As with most families, there are other players - Pearl, a helpful and loving maid who looks after the two children, Mr. Barnes, the father-in-law who is overbearing and plain mean, the father, who is madly in love with his wife despite her illness.
It was rather sad listening but the book moved me, in part because I identified with some of it.
3 stars
By Kaye Gibbons
Copyright 1995
Abridged Audiobook
Read by the author
Mother is manic depressive. Daughter grows up in the 1960s with ill mother. Mother goes on a wild spree with vehicle, crashes into a woman. Mother is sent to Duke for electric shock treatments. Mother returns a changed woman. Daughter finally has a mother.
That pretty much sums up this book, which is a quiet and thoughtful reminiscence about how difficult it is to be a child when your parents can't be parents because of their own issues. Maggie Barnes is a mother suffering terribly, but the family suffers too, also terribly. As with most families, there are other players - Pearl, a helpful and loving maid who looks after the two children, Mr. Barnes, the father-in-law who is overbearing and plain mean, the father, who is madly in love with his wife despite her illness.
It was rather sad listening but the book moved me, in part because I identified with some of it.
3 stars
Thursday Thirteen
Thursday Thirteen
Good things about the New Year (in no particular order)
1. It's a new year! A clean slate. You get to start all over.
2. Spring is around the corner (although with the weather this week you'd think it here already).
3. It could snow! And that will help with the drought.
4. It's a time for reflection on the past. Think about the good things.
5. It's a time for looking forward to the future. What do you expect? How will you make it happen?
6. You get to put a new date on your checks. No, not 1998...
7. Everything old is new again. What will be the fashion this year - retro 1968 ... or?
8. I have new clothes from Christmas to wear.
9. I have non-alcoholic cider in the refrigerator to drink still (left over from New Year's celebrating).
10 Hope for change in the political scene. A new face in the White House. New legislators.
11 I celebrate 25 years of marriage. A quarter century of being married to a wonderful man whom I love with everything I have.
12 I turn 45 this year! Almost a half-century of living. The things I have seen! The places I've been!
13 And the good things about this year for you????
Good things about the New Year (in no particular order)
1. It's a new year! A clean slate. You get to start all over.
2. Spring is around the corner (although with the weather this week you'd think it here already).
3. It could snow! And that will help with the drought.
4. It's a time for reflection on the past. Think about the good things.
5. It's a time for looking forward to the future. What do you expect? How will you make it happen?
6. You get to put a new date on your checks. No, not 1998...
7. Everything old is new again. What will be the fashion this year - retro 1968 ... or?
8. I have new clothes from Christmas to wear.
9. I have non-alcoholic cider in the refrigerator to drink still (left over from New Year's celebrating).
10 Hope for change in the political scene. A new face in the White House. New legislators.
11 I celebrate 25 years of marriage. A quarter century of being married to a wonderful man whom I love with everything I have.
12 I turn 45 this year! Almost a half-century of living. The things I have seen! The places I've been!
13 And the good things about this year for you????
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Sleepwalking
I have slept like it's spring for the last several days. Here we are in early January, delighting in days of 65 and 70 degree weather. The plants and trees must be wondering what is going on.
My nights have been filled with much tossing and turning. The bed clothes, still heavy for fear of winter, have been burdensome and warm. The air has been full of something akin to wonder and desperation; too humid for this time of year. I feel the wrongness of the season in my chest.
Last night I fell asleep early as I tried to rid myself of a raging headache. My dreams were vivid and grandiose - a friend murdered someone, and then covered up the crime as if it happened 500 years ago. She left clues in mortar and behind walls which I somehow tore down in a search for the truth. There was a foot race going on at the same time and I recall flashes of bright colors, neon green and orange and so on. I remember blinding distractions.
When I woke, I was not in my tangled bed, but in another room of the house. My feet were shod with Crocs, which I now use for house shoes because of my heel spur. How did I get here? I wondered. You've been sleepwalking, came the inner reply.
I have not moved about the house in my sleep for many years (or at least, not that I am aware of). This morning I wondered if it was the headache, or the lack of supper, or the wrong combination of vitamins on an empty stomach.
But I think it was none of that. I think instead it was the weather, this too-warm air that is making the forsythia bud two months ahead of its time. I think it was the force of a front moving in, this balance between hot and cold that brings the winds and forces clouds to race across the sky like the breath of God is chasing after them. I walked without awareness because the earth, so good and true and strong, trembled with change. I felt the pull, the itch, the urge, to reach up and move in anticipation of the difference, and in my sleep, with my conscience quieted, I simply got up to dance.
My nights have been filled with much tossing and turning. The bed clothes, still heavy for fear of winter, have been burdensome and warm. The air has been full of something akin to wonder and desperation; too humid for this time of year. I feel the wrongness of the season in my chest.
Last night I fell asleep early as I tried to rid myself of a raging headache. My dreams were vivid and grandiose - a friend murdered someone, and then covered up the crime as if it happened 500 years ago. She left clues in mortar and behind walls which I somehow tore down in a search for the truth. There was a foot race going on at the same time and I recall flashes of bright colors, neon green and orange and so on. I remember blinding distractions.
When I woke, I was not in my tangled bed, but in another room of the house. My feet were shod with Crocs, which I now use for house shoes because of my heel spur. How did I get here? I wondered. You've been sleepwalking, came the inner reply.
I have not moved about the house in my sleep for many years (or at least, not that I am aware of). This morning I wondered if it was the headache, or the lack of supper, or the wrong combination of vitamins on an empty stomach.
But I think it was none of that. I think instead it was the weather, this too-warm air that is making the forsythia bud two months ahead of its time. I think it was the force of a front moving in, this balance between hot and cold that brings the winds and forces clouds to race across the sky like the breath of God is chasing after them. I walked without awareness because the earth, so good and true and strong, trembled with change. I felt the pull, the itch, the urge, to reach up and move in anticipation of the difference, and in my sleep, with my conscience quieted, I simply got up to dance.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Son of the Shadows
Son of the Shadows
by Juliet Marillier
Copyright 2001
590 pages
This is the second book in the Sevenwaters Trilogy; the first I wrote about here.
In this second book we meet the daughter of Sorcha, the heroine of book one. Her name is Liadan and she is very much like her mother. However, she is a bit more selfish and passionate than Sorcha.
She lives at Sevenwaters with her parents, a twin brother, a sister, and an uncle. Her sister commits a mortal sin and is sent away to wed in a strategic alliance. Liadan is kidnapped and asked to heal a brigand. During her captivity she falls in love with the leader. When he learns who she is, he is repulsed because of some history. She returns home and is with child.
Unlike her sister, she is not ostracized and her demands, which are to remain unwed, are met. The Fairy Folk visit her and tell her to raise the child in the forest to fulfill a prophecy.
Bran, the child's father, learns he is a daddy. He is in love with Liadan but not ready to live a law-abiding life.
Eventually he is captured and Liadan saves him. They figure out their destiny.
Of course the book is much more complicated than that and the climax is very intriguing. The book probably stands on its own but I think is more poignant for the reader if the first book has also been read.
3.5 stars
by Juliet Marillier
Copyright 2001
590 pages
This is the second book in the Sevenwaters Trilogy; the first I wrote about here.
In this second book we meet the daughter of Sorcha, the heroine of book one. Her name is Liadan and she is very much like her mother. However, she is a bit more selfish and passionate than Sorcha.
She lives at Sevenwaters with her parents, a twin brother, a sister, and an uncle. Her sister commits a mortal sin and is sent away to wed in a strategic alliance. Liadan is kidnapped and asked to heal a brigand. During her captivity she falls in love with the leader. When he learns who she is, he is repulsed because of some history. She returns home and is with child.
Unlike her sister, she is not ostracized and her demands, which are to remain unwed, are met. The Fairy Folk visit her and tell her to raise the child in the forest to fulfill a prophecy.
Bran, the child's father, learns he is a daddy. He is in love with Liadan but not ready to live a law-abiding life.
Eventually he is captured and Liadan saves him. They figure out their destiny.
Of course the book is much more complicated than that and the climax is very intriguing. The book probably stands on its own but I think is more poignant for the reader if the first book has also been read.
3.5 stars
Monday, January 07, 2008
Books: Her Father's House
Her Father's House
by Belva Plain
Read by Karen White
10 1 1/2 hour tapes
Copyright 2002
I enjoy Belva Plain's work and have for many years. This book holds up to her high standards, although it took it a very long time to get to the heart of the story. There was more back story than anything, I suppose, so much so that what happened before became the real story.
Donald Wolfe, a hotshot lawyer, meets Lillian, a beauty. She is also a philander and shallow. Eventually they divorce, but not before Lillian is pregnant. She remarries almost immediately (always moving up the financial and fame ladder). Their child, Bettina (aka Tina, Cookie, and later, Laura), is cared for by a nurse, Maria, who reports to Donald that his ex is having affairs and neglecting their daughter. When she decides to leave her husband and join another man in France, Donald decides he doesn't want his daughter to go that far from him.
So he kidnaps her and flees. He changes his name to Jim Fuller and Bettina becomes Laura. He meets a family in Georgia and becomes a farm overseer. The farmer dies and he marries the wife and takes over the farm. This is all done in love and compassion, etc., it's not for money. Laura is raised with love and care and it's a good life.
She grows up alongside her stepbrother, Rick. After she goes to college, she meets Gil, a law student who later becomes a lawyer. He is acquainted with the story of Donald Wolfe - apparently not many great lawyers just run off and leave a career. Eventually he figures out who Jim/Donald is and spills the secret.
Laura then must deal with the truth and the aftermath, which could have dire consequences for her father and their relationship.
4 stars
by Belva Plain
Read by Karen White
10 1 1/2 hour tapes
Copyright 2002
I enjoy Belva Plain's work and have for many years. This book holds up to her high standards, although it took it a very long time to get to the heart of the story. There was more back story than anything, I suppose, so much so that what happened before became the real story.
Donald Wolfe, a hotshot lawyer, meets Lillian, a beauty. She is also a philander and shallow. Eventually they divorce, but not before Lillian is pregnant. She remarries almost immediately (always moving up the financial and fame ladder). Their child, Bettina (aka Tina, Cookie, and later, Laura), is cared for by a nurse, Maria, who reports to Donald that his ex is having affairs and neglecting their daughter. When she decides to leave her husband and join another man in France, Donald decides he doesn't want his daughter to go that far from him.
So he kidnaps her and flees. He changes his name to Jim Fuller and Bettina becomes Laura. He meets a family in Georgia and becomes a farm overseer. The farmer dies and he marries the wife and takes over the farm. This is all done in love and compassion, etc., it's not for money. Laura is raised with love and care and it's a good life.
She grows up alongside her stepbrother, Rick. After she goes to college, she meets Gil, a law student who later becomes a lawyer. He is acquainted with the story of Donald Wolfe - apparently not many great lawyers just run off and leave a career. Eventually he figures out who Jim/Donald is and spills the secret.
Laura then must deal with the truth and the aftermath, which could have dire consequences for her father and their relationship.
4 stars
Eat Carbs, Lose Weight
Eat Carbs, Lose Weight
By Denise Austin with Amy Campbell
Copyright 2005
I bought this and read it last fall and forgot to mention it.
It is a good book with exercises and a nice diet plan if you're not lactose and glucose intolerant (which I am). Also if you like to cook and try new recipes (I do not).
The exercises are good and I have always liked Austin's perky attitude about life. I will look this book over again for that reason. Unfortunately there are many items in the menu that I cannot (or do not) eat. When a diet is like that I generally can't stick with it.
This is much more sensible than many other diet books, I have to say. I wish I could follow it better.
By Denise Austin with Amy Campbell
Copyright 2005
I bought this and read it last fall and forgot to mention it.
It is a good book with exercises and a nice diet plan if you're not lactose and glucose intolerant (which I am). Also if you like to cook and try new recipes (I do not).
The exercises are good and I have always liked Austin's perky attitude about life. I will look this book over again for that reason. Unfortunately there are many items in the menu that I cannot (or do not) eat. When a diet is like that I generally can't stick with it.
This is much more sensible than many other diet books, I have to say. I wish I could follow it better.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
My Husband's Hands, Redux
It occurred to me that the essay I wrote yesterday about my husband's hands might make a nice poem.
Here is my effort at that:
My Husband's Hands
These large hands, worn with calluses
rough and scratchy,these hands I love.
A working man's hands, my husband's hands.
Scarred with cuts from barbed wire fence.
Smashed with hammers, trapped between tractor parts,aching with splinters from fence posts.
The nails are bruised, cut short because long nails
do not belong on the hands of a farmer.
Farmer and fireman.
His hands soothe calves and save lives.
His fingers touch so lightly
that it seems a feather passed by.
His gentle hands take a pulse and feel brows,
and grip a shovel with the strength of Hercules.
His strong hands built our home nail by nail
and planted trees now fully grown.
His hands take me places I never dreamed
when they touch and caress and love.
***
What do you think?
Here is my effort at that:
My Husband's Hands
These large hands, worn with calluses
rough and scratchy,these hands I love.
A working man's hands, my husband's hands.
Scarred with cuts from barbed wire fence.
Smashed with hammers, trapped between tractor parts,aching with splinters from fence posts.
The nails are bruised, cut short because long nails
do not belong on the hands of a farmer.
Farmer and fireman.
His hands soothe calves and save lives.
His fingers touch so lightly
that it seems a feather passed by.
His gentle hands take a pulse and feel brows,
and grip a shovel with the strength of Hercules.
His strong hands built our home nail by nail
and planted trees now fully grown.
His hands take me places I never dreamed
when they touch and caress and love.
***
What do you think?
Saturday, January 05, 2008
My Husband's Hands
These hands belong to my husband. They are very large and quite worn.
His hands are twice the size of mine. He requires gloves larger than XL - which are hard to find. I bought him three pair for Christmas and had to return them all because they were too small.
These are working man's hands. They are scarred, scraped, bruised, dry, and rough. They have dirt ground into them that doesn't come off with a shower. They have grit in them, and often splinters. The nails are generally bruised because he's hit his finger with a hammer or smashed it against something.
These hands also caress and are so gentle you wonder if you're being touched by a feather. They grip tightly in love and wonder. They give great massages and are the first part of a hug.
We hold hands every night while we watch TV. We hold hands in the mall and when we're on vacation.
My husband's hands are a wonder to me. They built our house, nail by nail. They work the farm and touch the soil. They mow grass and plant trees. They care for the cattle and build fence. They fix tractors.
They also help the sick when he's at work running emergency calls, because he is an EMT. These hands put out fires, save people's lives, rescue cats from trees and pull dogs from sewers.
These hands are a miracle. So is he.
Friday, January 04, 2008
The Sparrow
I’ve never seen a sparrow
fall from the sky
but I’ve seen them perch
shivering in early April rains,
feet grasping frail branches.
Do sparrows fear the air?
Do their hearts rise in tiny,
feathered throats as the ground
rises to great them?
fall from the sky
but I’ve seen them perch
shivering in early April rains,
feet grasping frail branches.
Do sparrows fear the air?
Do their hearts rise in tiny,
feathered throats as the ground
rises to great them?
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Thursday Thirteen
This is Thursday, a listing day
when thirteen is the number to play
To write 13 events or things
or maybe 13 songs to sing
But alas, my thinker's done
Tired from thinking the whole day gone
So here I am with no 13 list
no song or prayer or number kissed
Instead in couplets I write down words
knowing that this is quite absurd
But now I'm done, and I can tell
my lines really number ... twelve.
when thirteen is the number to play
To write 13 events or things
or maybe 13 songs to sing
But alas, my thinker's done
Tired from thinking the whole day gone
So here I am with no 13 list
no song or prayer or number kissed
Instead in couplets I write down words
knowing that this is quite absurd
But now I'm done, and I can tell
my lines really number ... twelve.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
2008 - Goals
Here, in no particular order, are a few things I'd like to do in the upcoming year:
Take a photography class. This could be a non-credit course or personalized instruction from someone who's more professional than I. Even though I am, by definition, a professional photographer because I get paid for my work, I think a refresher course, particularly one which focuses specifically on digital cameras, could be of benefit.
Lose weight. This is periennal and I failed at it last year. I will cross my fingers and close my lips.
Exercise. So long as the injuries stay away, I successfully exercise for at least a half hour on most days. I kept this up last year in spite of the pain. I am happy about that.
Organize. I think I am disorganized with my time. I get a lot done but there is more to do.
De-clutter. The older I get, the less stuff I want around me. Where does it all come from?
Plan and take a nice vacation. My husband and I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary this year. I would like to go somewhere with him.
Reevaluate. I will turn 45 this year. It seems like a good year to decide if I'm doing what I want to do with my career and if I am not, make a change. If I am, then I need to accept that and move on with it.
Now, let's see how that all works out in the next 365 days.
Take a photography class. This could be a non-credit course or personalized instruction from someone who's more professional than I. Even though I am, by definition, a professional photographer because I get paid for my work, I think a refresher course, particularly one which focuses specifically on digital cameras, could be of benefit.
Lose weight. This is periennal and I failed at it last year. I will cross my fingers and close my lips.
Exercise. So long as the injuries stay away, I successfully exercise for at least a half hour on most days. I kept this up last year in spite of the pain. I am happy about that.
Organize. I think I am disorganized with my time. I get a lot done but there is more to do.
De-clutter. The older I get, the less stuff I want around me. Where does it all come from?
Plan and take a nice vacation. My husband and I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary this year. I would like to go somewhere with him.
Reevaluate. I will turn 45 this year. It seems like a good year to decide if I'm doing what I want to do with my career and if I am not, make a change. If I am, then I need to accept that and move on with it.
Now, let's see how that all works out in the next 365 days.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Looking Ahead
So what does 2008 hold?
I want this year to be the year of embraced change - a new president of the country to replace the tired and mean one we have now, a new media that focuses on real issues and not fake celebrity news, universal health care for all so that this broken system can mend and doctors can become healers again, not moneychangers.
A girl can dream.
And I hope that in 2008 I dream a lot. I hope for many good nights of sleep, for songs, for sunshine with rain because we surely need the water, for rainbows and snow and green grass. Not necessarily all in one day, but wouldn't it be a cool day if it did all happen?
I pray that in 2008 that the suicide rate drops, that cars burn less fuel, that the poor raise their head and look up - I am pretty sure the reflection from that vast number of eyes would catch someone's attention. Maybe someone would move a mountain and make things better.
I believe it can be done.
For 2008 I wish good things for everyone, even folks I don't know, and those who have been unkind to me. I wish for open minds, for hugging hearts, and for cherished thoughts. I wish for joy and peace, and a new day each and every day. I want to jump up to the embrace of the light.
Let 2008 be the best New Year ever. Let freedom ring and democracy become true. May each and every soul know love.
May the New Year be blessed.
I want this year to be the year of embraced change - a new president of the country to replace the tired and mean one we have now, a new media that focuses on real issues and not fake celebrity news, universal health care for all so that this broken system can mend and doctors can become healers again, not moneychangers.
A girl can dream.
And I hope that in 2008 I dream a lot. I hope for many good nights of sleep, for songs, for sunshine with rain because we surely need the water, for rainbows and snow and green grass. Not necessarily all in one day, but wouldn't it be a cool day if it did all happen?
I pray that in 2008 that the suicide rate drops, that cars burn less fuel, that the poor raise their head and look up - I am pretty sure the reflection from that vast number of eyes would catch someone's attention. Maybe someone would move a mountain and make things better.
I believe it can be done.
For 2008 I wish good things for everyone, even folks I don't know, and those who have been unkind to me. I wish for open minds, for hugging hearts, and for cherished thoughts. I wish for joy and peace, and a new day each and every day. I want to jump up to the embrace of the light.
Let 2008 be the best New Year ever. Let freedom ring and democracy become true. May each and every soul know love.
May the New Year be blessed.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
The Fat Moon
I took this picture one morning last week. I think it was Christmas Eve but am not certain.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Looking Back at 2007
Before I launch into what I am hoping will happen next year, I thought I'd look back at what happened in 2007.
About this time a year ago, I wrote a blog entry about what I hoped might happen this year. How did I do with those plans?
1. We completed the renovations on the old house my mother left me. I say "we" but this was my husband's project. I was merely moral support.
2. I obtained one new client this past year.
3. I wrote no fiction. Or very little, anyway.
4. I did not return to college.
5. I stopped biting my nails! I'm not sure they look any better, because I keep them cut very short, and they are frail and brittle, but ... they are not bitten!
6. I set no career goals. At least, none that I remember.
7. The bathroom was repainted. This, again, was a husband chore.
8. I planted a larger garden. Not much larger, but bigger than the previous year.
9. My husband's website, Septic Tank Advisor, still languishes and is in need of content. It does have a couple of new pages but nothing to brag about.
10. I did not build a website for myself.
Those are things I thought about last year as I looked forward. Now I want to see what I actually accomplished.
Health
I did not lose weight. This has been a big disappointment. I also developed a heel spur, which interfered greatly with my exercise. To my credit, I did not let this stop my exercise routine. I continued to find ways to exercise during the hour I alot myself in the mornings. I was afraid I would break the habit. But I did not and I am still exercising every morning, almost every day, for at least 50 minutes.
Later in the year I developed a problem with my neck and back, but thankfully this is better. So I am hoping for better health in 2008, which would include continued exercise and weight loss.
My problem here? Chocolate - which I once did without for 10 years and am sorry I started eating again - and a 3 p.m. slump that sends me on a rampage almost daily in search of some kind of pick-me-up.
The Rest of My Life
Since I didn't write the great American novel, I wondered what I did with my time. This is what I did:
1. I wrote about 315 blog entries.
2. I read or listened to these books: Sacred Sins, Chopping Spree, The Gift, Agnes and the Hitman, Destiny, Rhapsody, Prophecy, Drop Dead Beautiful, Mad Dash, Sam's Letters to Jennifer, The Mists of Avalon, Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman, A Walk Through the Fire, Armageddon's Children, Listen to the Silence, Whiskey Sour, Can't Wait to Get to Heaven, Pieces of My Sister's Life, Daughter of the Forest, How I Write, Lean Mean Thirteen, Low Country, Family Acts, Cheap Diamonds, Sheer Abandon, The Wizard's Daughter, Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince, Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, The Dangerous Hour, The Shadow of the Wind, Shem Creek, The Secret, Magic Hour, The Quilter's Homecoming, Creatively Self-Employed,The Passions of Chelsea Kane, Trickster's Queen, Full Bloom, Trickster's Choice, Queen of Broken Hearts, Summer Reading, The Great Far Away, Kurt Vonnegut Audio Collection, Rococo, Tara Road, Milk Glass Moon, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Still Water Saints, The Same Sweet Girls, A Year of Wonders, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, and The Sugar Addict's Total Recovery Program.
I am a little surprised by the list. I counted 54 books. Is that right? I had no idea I read so much. That must be at least 220 hours just in reading (3 hours a book). Of course, many of those are audio books, heard in the car, so I am doing double duty there. And I read fast. But still. I wonder if I should read less....
3. I wrote 337 articles for various local newspapers, all of which published. I had 93 photos published in the same newspapers. I wrote 7 articles for a magazine, of which all but one published, and 12 book reviews (which I think all published but don't hold me to that). Obviously most of my efforts go into the newspaper work. I really enjoy writing for the newspaper but I do wonder if this is the best place to exert all of this effort.
I spent very little time on marketing myself, or looking for better writing markets. I think this is a place I am lacking, because it could bring in new work. So this is an area to focus on.
However, I am so busy doing all of this other writing that I don't really have time to focus on anything else. I think I've hit on the problem - I need to give something up. Maybe that's reading, or maybe it's something else, but it looks like something needs to go if I am to make way for other things.
On the other hand, perhaps I'm perfectly happy with things as they are?
There are 8,760 hours in a year. I estimate that I spent 220 hours (at least) reading books; let's add another 40 hours reading magazines. I probably spent another 320 hours writing/reading blog entries. I spent about 1,070 hours writing articles. I spent probably 300 hours answering e-mails.
That's 1,950 hours accounted for. Obviously I am not working 8 hours a day. But, a regular work week uses up about 2,080 hours and that's with coworkers, etc., which I don't have, so I am not far off a regular 40-hour work week.
If I slept 8 hours a night, that's another 2,920. Add another 1,095 for meals.
Now, if my math is right, we're up to 5,965 hours of the year gone, leaving the remaining 2,795 hours, or 53 hours a week, for things like cleaning the house, doing the laundry, kissing my husband, gardening, and grocery shopping. Also for doing my bookkeeping, filing, and all the other things that go along with running a business from home but what isn't writing.
Now that I have this information, what will I do with it? What will this do for me in 2008?
About this time a year ago, I wrote a blog entry about what I hoped might happen this year. How did I do with those plans?
1. We completed the renovations on the old house my mother left me. I say "we" but this was my husband's project. I was merely moral support.
2. I obtained one new client this past year.
3. I wrote no fiction. Or very little, anyway.
4. I did not return to college.
5. I stopped biting my nails! I'm not sure they look any better, because I keep them cut very short, and they are frail and brittle, but ... they are not bitten!
6. I set no career goals. At least, none that I remember.
7. The bathroom was repainted. This, again, was a husband chore.
8. I planted a larger garden. Not much larger, but bigger than the previous year.
9. My husband's website, Septic Tank Advisor, still languishes and is in need of content. It does have a couple of new pages but nothing to brag about.
10. I did not build a website for myself.
Those are things I thought about last year as I looked forward. Now I want to see what I actually accomplished.
Health
I did not lose weight. This has been a big disappointment. I also developed a heel spur, which interfered greatly with my exercise. To my credit, I did not let this stop my exercise routine. I continued to find ways to exercise during the hour I alot myself in the mornings. I was afraid I would break the habit. But I did not and I am still exercising every morning, almost every day, for at least 50 minutes.
Later in the year I developed a problem with my neck and back, but thankfully this is better. So I am hoping for better health in 2008, which would include continued exercise and weight loss.
My problem here? Chocolate - which I once did without for 10 years and am sorry I started eating again - and a 3 p.m. slump that sends me on a rampage almost daily in search of some kind of pick-me-up.
The Rest of My Life
Since I didn't write the great American novel, I wondered what I did with my time. This is what I did:
1. I wrote about 315 blog entries.
2. I read or listened to these books: Sacred Sins, Chopping Spree, The Gift, Agnes and the Hitman, Destiny, Rhapsody, Prophecy, Drop Dead Beautiful, Mad Dash, Sam's Letters to Jennifer, The Mists of Avalon, Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman, A Walk Through the Fire, Armageddon's Children, Listen to the Silence, Whiskey Sour, Can't Wait to Get to Heaven, Pieces of My Sister's Life, Daughter of the Forest, How I Write, Lean Mean Thirteen, Low Country, Family Acts, Cheap Diamonds, Sheer Abandon, The Wizard's Daughter, Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince, Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, The Dangerous Hour, The Shadow of the Wind, Shem Creek, The Secret, Magic Hour, The Quilter's Homecoming, Creatively Self-Employed,The Passions of Chelsea Kane, Trickster's Queen, Full Bloom, Trickster's Choice, Queen of Broken Hearts, Summer Reading, The Great Far Away, Kurt Vonnegut Audio Collection, Rococo, Tara Road, Milk Glass Moon, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Still Water Saints, The Same Sweet Girls, A Year of Wonders, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, and The Sugar Addict's Total Recovery Program.
I am a little surprised by the list. I counted 54 books. Is that right? I had no idea I read so much. That must be at least 220 hours just in reading (3 hours a book). Of course, many of those are audio books, heard in the car, so I am doing double duty there. And I read fast. But still. I wonder if I should read less....
3. I wrote 337 articles for various local newspapers, all of which published. I had 93 photos published in the same newspapers. I wrote 7 articles for a magazine, of which all but one published, and 12 book reviews (which I think all published but don't hold me to that). Obviously most of my efforts go into the newspaper work. I really enjoy writing for the newspaper but I do wonder if this is the best place to exert all of this effort.
I spent very little time on marketing myself, or looking for better writing markets. I think this is a place I am lacking, because it could bring in new work. So this is an area to focus on.
However, I am so busy doing all of this other writing that I don't really have time to focus on anything else. I think I've hit on the problem - I need to give something up. Maybe that's reading, or maybe it's something else, but it looks like something needs to go if I am to make way for other things.
On the other hand, perhaps I'm perfectly happy with things as they are?
There are 8,760 hours in a year. I estimate that I spent 220 hours (at least) reading books; let's add another 40 hours reading magazines. I probably spent another 320 hours writing/reading blog entries. I spent about 1,070 hours writing articles. I spent probably 300 hours answering e-mails.
That's 1,950 hours accounted for. Obviously I am not working 8 hours a day. But, a regular work week uses up about 2,080 hours and that's with coworkers, etc., which I don't have, so I am not far off a regular 40-hour work week.
If I slept 8 hours a night, that's another 2,920. Add another 1,095 for meals.
Now, if my math is right, we're up to 5,965 hours of the year gone, leaving the remaining 2,795 hours, or 53 hours a week, for things like cleaning the house, doing the laundry, kissing my husband, gardening, and grocery shopping. Also for doing my bookkeeping, filing, and all the other things that go along with running a business from home but what isn't writing.
Now that I have this information, what will I do with it? What will this do for me in 2008?
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Thursday Thirteen
While I was in the city today:
1. Boy, I thought, I sure hope I don't get this stuff my husband has, because he is still quite sick. I don't have time to be sick.
2. The traffic was not as bad as I expected.
3. Why isn't the file cabinet I want on sale? Everything else is! I wondered. I bought it anyway because I needed it.
4. Overheard while stuck in a return merchandise line at KMart:
Child: "I want a pony."
Lady: "You can't have a pony."
"But I want a pony now!"
Lady: "Santa's wallet is empty now, you can't have a pony."
Child: "I don't want a pony when Santa comes next year, I WANT IT NOW!"
5. I marveled at the ease with which I returned things to the new Sportsman's Warehouse. No line, no waiting, no questions. At least at the time today when I was there.
6. I looked longingly at Books-A-Million as I drove by, but alas, I didn't have time to stop.
7. In Fresh Market, I discovered on my second trip ever into the store that all they carry is food. I couldn't find any filters for the coffee maker there anywhere.
8. I did find rice crackers, which I have never had but which are gluten free, along with some non-alcoholic sparkling something or another for New Year's.
9. I also found a tiny little 82 percent cacao chocolate bar, which cost $1.99. I bought it anyway but I haven't yet eaten it.
10. My other purchases consisted of coat hangers for the new clothes my husband received (his clothes are heavy and require something sturdy) and a chicken for dinner. Neither came from Fresh Market. I could have bought the chicken there but I didn't have any way to ensure it wouldn't spoil before I could get home.
11. The new Art Museum, which I am sure will be filled with lots of delightful things to view, looks to me like a spaceship that has crash landed in the heart of downtown.
12. I thought the weather was quite warm for December 27 in the Mid-Atlantic. Isn't it supposed to be snowing or something this time of the year?
13. As I begin to turn into my driveway, the nut behind me nearly rear ends me. I drive 100+ miles and *this* is where I am terrified?
1. Boy, I thought, I sure hope I don't get this stuff my husband has, because he is still quite sick. I don't have time to be sick.
2. The traffic was not as bad as I expected.
3. Why isn't the file cabinet I want on sale? Everything else is! I wondered. I bought it anyway because I needed it.
4. Overheard while stuck in a return merchandise line at KMart:
Child: "I want a pony."
Lady: "You can't have a pony."
"But I want a pony now!"
Lady: "Santa's wallet is empty now, you can't have a pony."
Child: "I don't want a pony when Santa comes next year, I WANT IT NOW!"
5. I marveled at the ease with which I returned things to the new Sportsman's Warehouse. No line, no waiting, no questions. At least at the time today when I was there.
6. I looked longingly at Books-A-Million as I drove by, but alas, I didn't have time to stop.
7. In Fresh Market, I discovered on my second trip ever into the store that all they carry is food. I couldn't find any filters for the coffee maker there anywhere.
8. I did find rice crackers, which I have never had but which are gluten free, along with some non-alcoholic sparkling something or another for New Year's.
9. I also found a tiny little 82 percent cacao chocolate bar, which cost $1.99. I bought it anyway but I haven't yet eaten it.
10. My other purchases consisted of coat hangers for the new clothes my husband received (his clothes are heavy and require something sturdy) and a chicken for dinner. Neither came from Fresh Market. I could have bought the chicken there but I didn't have any way to ensure it wouldn't spoil before I could get home.
11. The new Art Museum, which I am sure will be filled with lots of delightful things to view, looks to me like a spaceship that has crash landed in the heart of downtown.
12. I thought the weather was quite warm for December 27 in the Mid-Atlantic. Isn't it supposed to be snowing or something this time of the year?
13. As I begin to turn into my driveway, the nut behind me nearly rear ends me. I drive 100+ miles and *this* is where I am terrified?
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Christmas 2007
Over and done, all that madness and build-up and fun and smiles. The packages are unwrapped, the food eaten.
Oh, the excitement! The anticipation. The quivering of joy!
Christmas Eve brought a touch of foreboding as my husband came home from work. "I don't feel well," he announced. I plied him with Zicam, vitamins, over-the-counter symptom relievers and Tylenol, to no avail. This morning he lies in the bed with a fever, which he developed Christmas morning.
I am trying to nurse him and stay away from him at the same time. I actually slept on the couch last night and left him the bed, though I got up several times to check on him. I am highly susceptible to things and an illness puts me under a long time. My immune system is not the best, and he is not the greatest at covering his mouth when he sneezes or otherwise keeping his germs to himself. I love him but I do not love his virus!
Aside from this bit of misfortune, we had a nice holiday. Christmas Eve was blessed with a visit from my great aunt, who is 87, my aunt (who brought my great aunt from the assisted living facility), my cousin, his wife, and their baby. Such a busy child! She was a sight to behold.
The rest of the day was relatively quiet. I tried to keep the husband full of liquids and resting, which is a little difficult at the moment because we have a sick calf in the barn. Someone has to feed it and that means it needs to be lifted up and forced to stand several times a day. Unfortunately I haven't the strength to lift it so this is not a job I can do.
As for presents, I received an ipod nano from my husband, my first ever music player like this. I spent some time putting my CDs on it, and it now has 165 songs I can listen to. From my other relatives I received clothing, wooden spoons as a result of my unfortunate incident with peanut brittle, and towels.
My brother gave me DVD of the first season of the Mod Squad, which when I was a child was must-see TV. A little bittersweet because he is one of only two people who would know such a thing, and I didn't see him this year even though he only lives six miles away. I did see his children in a Christmas play Sunday night.
We had a nice visit with the in-laws, and a good meal of meatballs and fried shrimp. The nephews, who are 13 and 16, almost 14 and 17, and both polite young men who are a credit to their parents. They showed me how to use the ipod.
But now the holiday is over - and it's all done until next year!
I hope the day was wonderful for everyone.
Oh, the excitement! The anticipation. The quivering of joy!
Christmas Eve brought a touch of foreboding as my husband came home from work. "I don't feel well," he announced. I plied him with Zicam, vitamins, over-the-counter symptom relievers and Tylenol, to no avail. This morning he lies in the bed with a fever, which he developed Christmas morning.
I am trying to nurse him and stay away from him at the same time. I actually slept on the couch last night and left him the bed, though I got up several times to check on him. I am highly susceptible to things and an illness puts me under a long time. My immune system is not the best, and he is not the greatest at covering his mouth when he sneezes or otherwise keeping his germs to himself. I love him but I do not love his virus!
Aside from this bit of misfortune, we had a nice holiday. Christmas Eve was blessed with a visit from my great aunt, who is 87, my aunt (who brought my great aunt from the assisted living facility), my cousin, his wife, and their baby. Such a busy child! She was a sight to behold.
The rest of the day was relatively quiet. I tried to keep the husband full of liquids and resting, which is a little difficult at the moment because we have a sick calf in the barn. Someone has to feed it and that means it needs to be lifted up and forced to stand several times a day. Unfortunately I haven't the strength to lift it so this is not a job I can do.
As for presents, I received an ipod nano from my husband, my first ever music player like this. I spent some time putting my CDs on it, and it now has 165 songs I can listen to. From my other relatives I received clothing, wooden spoons as a result of my unfortunate incident with peanut brittle, and towels.
My brother gave me DVD of the first season of the Mod Squad, which when I was a child was must-see TV. A little bittersweet because he is one of only two people who would know such a thing, and I didn't see him this year even though he only lives six miles away. I did see his children in a Christmas play Sunday night.
We had a nice visit with the in-laws, and a good meal of meatballs and fried shrimp. The nephews, who are 13 and 16, almost 14 and 17, and both polite young men who are a credit to their parents. They showed me how to use the ipod.
But now the holiday is over - and it's all done until next year!
I hope the day was wonderful for everyone.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)