Back to Work

I've been playing around with my girl and reading and loving my new iPod. (Dragged, kicking and screaming into the iPod age, I guess, but how on earth did I ever live without it?)

Reading (cozy mysteries, some romance, a lot of history). Writing (not enough). Enjoying friends. Enjoying life. Everyone needs to do that. Tell me it's called filling the well.

But now it's time to ply nose to grindstone.

Focus.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing the best to all at the holidays. May we all have peace and joy, and may we find delight in each new day.

How the year's flying...

and I kind of hate it because these are my favorite months (cold weather--and the promise of more). I'm trying to live "in the day," and for the most part I am, but I've discovered a drawback. When you work outside an office and your beloved has retired and your daughter is home from school, living in the day means that no one knows tomorrow's date. Somehow, it's almost the holidays, and I'm way behind.

I've finished crocheting a scarf for a friend. (I made up the pattern. Pardon a prideful moment, but it's so pretty my girl wants one like it.) I still need to mail it. I've sent out a few cards. I've bought a few more gifts, and we have company coming and we sort of have a menu.

But I'm one of the few people I know who thrives on carols. I don't care how many times they're repeated--I love them. I love the calls of "Happy Holidays" and "Merry Christmas." I love walking my 2-miles per day at night by the shiny lights of the neighbors' decorations. We've finally plunged our rather tipsy-looking snowmen into the unseasonably warm sod along the sidewalk, and we put up our snowman firescreen in front of the fireplace. I'm really excited because I found the block o'glass light shaped to look like a gift our older girl gave us last year.

I'm just sad all the lights will go away so soon. I started my live-in-the-day philosophy because I tended to feel as if I were always waiting for something, instead of appreciating the here and now. All of a sudden, in a most uncharacteristic turn, I'm pushing tomorrow away. I don't want anyone to put my shiny lights back in the attic!

Late to the Post

I could not talk my sweet child into getting me off the hook, luncheon-wise, and I'm glad. It was good to see old friends and catch up. I won a candy dish at the giveaway, and now that I'm back in town, the girl and I are in the coffee shop. She's catching up on The Office, and I'm catching up on work. (And looking kind of crazy!)

I still have so much to do, but I'm happy!

Tuesday in a Rush

This is a terrible thing, but I'm wondering if I can persuade my daughter to take my place at a holiday lunch with her pop tomorrow. I love seeing the folks who'll be there, but they'd also love seeing her. College girls don't visit around the way they used to, and I feel as if I can't break away from my work.

People tell you--enjoy yourself--take some time off. But I've become too good at that. I need to stay in this story while it's talking to me.

So--I'm off to beg for a reprieve. :-)

Ooops--Waylaid!

With the Internet moving verrrrryyyy slowllllyyy again, I started to update all my electronic stuff, and opened a book to read in the wait times. Big mistake!

A few hours later, I find myself in love with The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain, and I'm oh so sorry to have reached the end. I had definite misgivings about this heroine. I don't want to cover any of the plot because talking about anything would give big parts of everything away, but oh--what engaging writing! And I ended up loving the heroine. I just spent several minutes gazing longingly at her next on eharlequin.com.

Sadly, I have my own work to do. But I bookmarked that page!

Writing with a Pen Again

I saw something at Target yesterday--a notepad in which you write with a pen, but the words can be transferred into a file. I love writing longhand, but I'm far too lazy to type the story in. I'd love to try this amazing, miraculous, whimsical piece of technology, but I also have a pen and paper fetish. What if the rather pricey configuration included a pen that wrote so smoothly I did not possess the moral fiber to resist?

It only works with Windows, but we have plenty of Windows systems around this house, and transferring a file from a Windows system to a Mac is a piece o'cake.

It's a quandary.

I love to write longhand.