If You Don't Use It--May as well Loose it.

Moving is one of the most stressful things you can do in your life. It's not just my opinion, that's a fact. First you have to find the 'place of your dreams' if you're lucky. Then you have to find enough moving boxes to pack up a lifetime of junk, and then you have to lug it all into a big van and move it, and unload it again... but you know what? In my opinion that's not the REAL stress in moving. The real stress is unpacking it all again. By the time you finally get it where you're going you're so tired from the whole ordeal you just want to get it over with as soon as possible and you hunt and peck for the necessary items leaving the rest for later. Why did I get on this rant? Because I had to go into my basement the other day to replace some fuses. I've lived here for 13 years, and I really hate the basement. Well, that side of it anyway. The one side is a nicely finished living area, but the 'fuse side' with the hot water heater, the furnace, the sub-pump, and all that gritty, grimey stuff is well, creepy. I don't venture in there often. Not without threat of disaster, or at least, a lack of electricity. It is also a huge storage area. Well, the other day I had to venture into the dark abyss of that windowless side of the basement, and guess what I had to stumble over and around to get to the fuse box---yep, you guessed it. Thirteen year old unpacked boxes of stuff that never made it upstairs. I think I'm going to have to force myself to go down there again and lug those boxes up and toss them in the trash on the next trash day. I mean really, if I haven't used any of that for the last thirteen years, chances are pretty good I didn't need that stuff in the first place.

Thinking Outside The Box

You know, I like to find unique ways of decorating. I've used big rope cable outside to lash together logs for a rustic hewn look, and even thought of using theater rope and posts to highlight areas inside. There are other uses for that stuff that is why I originally looked at it. When we go to shows it helps to cordon off our grooming area to keep people from getting to close to the goats grooming stands, or the horses cross ties. For sales like we go to the first Sunday of every month, they make nice section markers too. Sometimes you have to think outside the box to have a unique set up that looks cool, and is still functional.

A Party Around Every Corner

I've been getting all kinds of party invitations in the mail lately. One friend's daughter getting married, which means wedding and reception invitations, as well as bridal shower invitations, and another friend's daughter, plus several graduations. It seems as though as soon as the weather turns warm, parties pop up everywhere, for everything. One thing's for sure. With the nice warm weather, at least it's never dull. There's a party around every corner.

What Do You Know?

It's interesting the things you can learn online. I find it fun to investigate things like franchise options, and other businesses. It's the sort of thing you know are out there, and lots of people are doing--everything from convienience stores, to gas stations and more, but at least I in the past before the computer age had no idea of how they did it. There's so much like that. It all comes in handy when you're a writer because you can delve into professions, and business options for your characters that before the computer you wouldn't have a clue about. The old 'write what you know' gets a lot broader than it used to be.

Easy or Not

I'm trying very hard to lose weight. For the most part I've been doing really well. This week though I hit a snag and actually gained 3 pounds back. UGH. I think it's because I spent a lot of time, first, fixing a modem that got blown out, then writing. Writing has it's hazards. It's not a dangerous job, but sitting here for hours can really turn a body into mush. Of course, it didn't help that I ate some things that weren't exactly on my 'diet'... can we say 'fried chicken'? LOL. But even that I did manage to fit into my calories. It wasn't the best way to 'spend' the calories, but it wasn't over done. So it has to be the sitting here. When I get into exercising everyday it's like a drug, and I have to do it. But just let one or two days slip by and suddenly it's really easy to make excuses and let another go by, and another... until it's been a week. You know, Life is really unfair. It's so easy to gain weight, and so hard to lose it. It should be the other way around. LOL

Perfect Living

I've often thought that a great retirement home (and yes, we're getting to that point where we think about that) would be a sort of Hemmingwayesque type of place. Living on a farm in rural Illinois isn't quite it. There's something about the flatness, and open prairie type atmosphere that doesn't allow for the same kind of feel. Plus, anywhere in Northern Illinois, even rural areas, are impacted by the Chicago effect. We've looked at Branson homes for sale and my SIL lives in the area so we've visited it often enough, and that is what I would truely consider to be a Hemmingwayesque sort of existance. Yet, even with it's mountains, forests, and truly breath-taking splendor you have the city of Branson to give you the comfort of a real 'home-town' with all the entertainment benefits of any big city. It's the perfect place to retire.

All Writers Are Crazy

I was just talking to a friend who said she read an article somewhere that suggested all writers (actors, musicians, any creative people) have some form of personality disorder. I wonder if that's true. I mean we seriously live in other worlds at some times. I guess what I would argue is that we know the difference (I would hope) between our 'other world' and reality. The article was more or less talking about bi-polar type disorders though, rather than a lack of reality. Perhaps it might be said that of those suffering from such problems maybe a large majority of them are also creative people, but to say that all creative people have those disorders isn't the same thing, and I can't quite make myself think it's true. What do you think? Are all writers suffering from some form of personality disorder? I would kind of have to grudgingly agree that all writers are crazy though. LOL

The Joy of Grandchildren

When my kids grew up I thought I was done buying kids furniture. As my grandchildren appeared on the scene, though, I found myself over the years buying more of it than I ever had when my own kids were little.

Why is it that buying things for your grandchildren is more fun than buying the same types of things for your own kids? I haven't figured it out. When my kids were growing up I used to grumble about the constant need for new clothes long before anything they had was worn out. With the grandkids I find myself browsing through the children's section everytime I go to the store, and always picking up some item for them.

Spacify has awesome, fun kid's furniture at affordable prices. They have great grown up stuff too, so I can buy a cute whimsical bookcase for the grandkids to hold all those books Papa is always getting them, and at the same time, get something sharp for my office, or any room in the house too.

Whatever the reason behind it, having grandchildren is fantastic, and buying things for them is a great joy.

Acceptable Hiatus

Every time I run into someone I haven't seen in awhile they ask me if I've written any new books lately. I even get stopped in the line at grocery stores, and often at the local farm store because one of the cashier's there has been a loyal reader for several years. I feel guilty at times like these to say no, not lately. When I feel compelled to explain, as in the instance with the cashier who I know has read all of my books, I tell them about a quote from Stevie Wonder. Sometime last year, I read a little quote that he said after being asked why he hasn't released any new matieral lately. He replied, I'm a songWRITER. Sometimes I have to take the time to live life in order to write about it.

The same is true for any writer. Spending you days holed up in a little office surrounded by notes, and reams of paper is a glorious way to live for those of us who love to do it, BUT, if you don't get out and live your life when you're not elbow deep in story lines, you will soon run out of them... or at least, you're apt to run out of interesting ways to write about the events in your stories.

Write, have fun, be productive... but don't forget to LIVE too.