Storytime

oh God, I'm already bored. Yesterday I had Carpal Tunnel Release surgery ... on my right hand. And yes I'm right handed. This means a few weeks off work....a bit of this... And darling daughter and her hubby have given me a list of Netfix to watch. Some of this (and reading during the day time is a guilty pleasure)... And there will definitely be no gardening..sigh Very little housework - getting dressed practically killed me and took five times as long. I'm waiting for hubby to get home tonight to tape up the hand so I can shower. And frankly typing this snippet left handed has take way too much energy and time....so writing (unless haiku ) is out. Once again life strikes. The cat is ignoring me and so I've resorted to chatting to..  I'm hoping to do some planning and either very slow left handed typing or hope i can read my notes. Heres to a speedy recovery. Vicki

I do like to work to a schedule - or a plan. I like to be organised. Have an idea what I'm doing when. I work part time and for a long time my writing day was Wednesday, a day off. Simple. I would run a few errands in the morning, write the latest on this blog then spend the afternoon writing. Then it wasn't working. I found myself doing a bit of this.... I began to look after grandchildren more.  This, of course, is something  I LOVE ...but it does take away from free time writing. I also began to do this... Volunteering at Pakenham and District Toy Library. It's a great service, lovely bunch of families that come in...but once again it's chewing up the spare hours. Then there was this... Another grandchild, a grand son this time and of course we are so in LOVE with him. This meant (as with other grandchildren) lots of visits to ooh and ahhh and to offer a hand, shoulder, whatever is needed for the new parents. So my Wednesday's w...

A few weeks ago I was pottering around a nursery (surprise, surprise) when I heard two women talking. One was obviously a gardener, the other along for the ride. When the gardener was putting some plants in her trolley, her friend said 'Why are you bothering to do the garden? No one but you sees it. And what happens if you decide to move, someone will probably come in and tear it all down.' I was shocked and frankly didn't hear the gardener's response. But the idea that you wouldn't do something that you obviously love, or even like doing, because no one else would see it left me speechless. Unless we have a hobby that has turned into a source of income, we participate for the enjoyment. It's a passion or a joy. We get something out of it. To me a garden is a part of the gardener. No one else will put things together exactly as I do. It's a part of me. I want a rosemary hedge, so I've put in cuttings (that are doing great). I thought ...

This post was going to be about something totally different but thought I would write down what exactly is happening now. At the moment I can feel that I'm heading for a blue patch. Frankly I want to do nothing more than curl up into bed and pretend the whole world has disappeared. I don't want to get out and about...don't want to talk to people, don't want to see them. Simply want to hibernate. This doesn't happen a lot to me, but it does happen. By now I can see the signs, know it's coming, so I ready myself to ride it out. There is a lot of positive talking. I attempt mindfulness...which as a born pessimist is extremely difficult to do. And I know I have it damned good. I have a very very good life. Have a husband and family that love me...two grandchildren I love to the moon and back, another about to be born. I have a job I love ...doing something that I'm not only good at but that helps the community. I am now volunteering at a Toy Lib...

I am so good at starting things. So very damned good! Start clearing my desk, then distracted. Start cleaning the windows..half house done and ooops..distracted. Start a garden bed... and before I finish (and I so see it all in my mind how I want it)....distracted. Begin weeding a garden bed....distracted. Anyone else see a pattern emerging? I begin a poem...never finish. Begin a short story....it falters and stops. So whilst on our writing retreat a few weeks ago, one fellow scribbler suggested I write the end of the junior novel I've been working on. The interesting fact was that I could see it. Visualise the scene as though it were in a movie. So I wrote it. It's not a whole chapter, not even the entire scene...just that last image I had at the ending of this book. It's the first time I've worked like this. I am a plotser...a by the seats of my pants kind of writer. Planning to me is boring, is tedious. It takes time away from the fun! ...

to go away with your writing group. In no particular order.... 1. LIKE MINDED SOULS. It is just great to be with a group of people who get what you do. They know why you scribble down ideas on napkins, or listen to conversations. Understand when you sit silently in contemplation of a plot line. Why you struggle to find the exact words to describe something, stare mesmerised at the sea. They understand because they do it too.  2. BOOKS. It's always a chance to talk about books. What we are reading, what we heard was great, what we tried to get into and failed. Books are passed around. Are oohed and aahed over. Blurbs are read, storylines picked apart. We pass books on, borrow books, recommend books. There is always talk and chat about books.  3. WORKSHOPPING. It's a chance to get those pieces read and commented on. Chewed over, talked about some more. Time for some one-on-one chats, for group discussions. Over the years at these retreats we have seen m...

I've spent quite a lot of time this last week in the garden. Mostly because it really really needs it (it is so OVERGROWN). As I potted around I made some discoveries. Some plants I'd cut back were happily rejuvenating. Some were flowering. I dug over half the veg patch, adding manure, dug that through. I've put plastic on parts of the other half, (hoping to kill the oxalis that has decided that patch is home). This is one of those actions that will take a little while to deliver the goods. We also cut down the climbing roses on the side of the garage...well he got out the saw and zoom zoom, I merely came along and pruned what remained. Other half then got some wires on the wall so we can hopefully train the roses into some semblance of order. I also weeded and mulched the bed below with a couple of ideas of what I'd like to plant there. This is something that will look pretty average for quite a few months. Hopefully we'll get a bloom o...