Slugs for a Day (NOT!)

By slight design, all members of the Core Four had Friday off work, presumbably to rest since we were working Ye Olde May Fest all weekend.

We mostly did not rest.

And that's not because we weren't tired - or because we got busy with housework. (we swore off most housework for the day).

Trust me, we were not busy with housework at all. No, it's all still waiting for us.

But you know how it goes. One thing and then another and then another and just one more thing popped up until the day ended.

Now, Friday was definitely a low-pressure day. No one was moving at top speed. We just had "stuff" to do here and there.

Still, I'm conflicted. The day off didn't happen. And now we've got all this work in the house to do.

At least half of us are working next weekend, too.

I often say that life is an adventure. Maybe the quest for a sluggish day is, too.

And life - and maybe rest, too - happens only in the moment.

You can take an entire day off from life until life is no more and all the days are gone.

This photo of two of my grandsons is six years old. The location is no longer part of our lives and one boy just graduated from high school last week.

Friday was not a sluggish day. But it wasn't a bad day. It was a productively relaxed day.

So thankful I didn't miss it.

Happy Monday!

Guess Who was Caught Doing Nothing?

 Me!

I finally had the opportunity yesterday to try out the beauiful patio furniture Jasmine left at my back door on Mother's Day.

Timothy caught me and snapped a couple pictures for posterity.

By the way, I was drinking a very nice dark roast from a mug that was also a gift from Jasmine a couple of years ago.

I have no firm plans for today except to have only one firm plan.

And that's to take a moment of silence at 3 p.m. today.

Three Ways to be Happy for Five Minutes

Lots of people are having a great day today.

And, most likely, lots of people are not.

The reasons can be circumstantial, health issues of any kind, or simply being in a state of unhappiness that defies explanations.

There's a lot of talk these days about about "being mindful" and "being in the moment," but some moments aren't that terrific, honestly.

But if you're not feeling well or if you are feeling stressed or otherwise not on top of the world today, take five minutes and apply a slogan that old people like me were taught in the old days in regards to crossing railway tracks.

Stop.

Look.

Listen.

I'm really not being silly. Just do it.

Now maybe when you stop and look and listen, you don't like what you see and here. Let's say, for instance, you see a messy house and hear the kids bickering. 

But could it also mean noticing you have a home with plenty of possessions that need straightening and cleaning (many people don't any possessions or a home) and a house full of life (even though living on an island "sounds" like a good idea right now).

Every coin has two sides, even if the second side is blank. 

On Sunday morning, after treating myself to sleeping in, I settled at the computer to get some work (on deadline) done, only to find that, for the second day in a row, I've had to restart the computer. 

I had no choice but to stop. So I figured, instead of getting annoyed, I could look and listen.

Well, my desk is FULL of paperwork that needs sorting, a water bottle, reheated coffee from yesterday, and my cell phone.

The paperwork shows I have plenty of stories to write. I have the financial means of buying water bottles as well as a nice working refrigerator/freezer to keep the bottles frosty cold (the way I like them).

Drinking yesterday's coffee means I have people who love me so much that they brought me a nice Americano late yesterday before I could drink it all.

And they bought it from a place that makes coffee so well, the texture and flavor doesn't break down in the microwave (and I have a working microwave that, within seconds, heats coffee to the temperature I prefer).

My phones are handpicked by Timothy because he understands my job duties and selects phones to match. The last phone I bought with my own money was twenty years ago. If my phone malfuctions, Timothy calls the insurance company, Timothy gets the new phone in, Timothy transfers all my data and pictures at a time that is conveniennt to me, too. 

He does all this voluntarily.

If the computer doens't boot up (it eventually did, which is how I'm writing this blog), I have a laptop, my daughter has a laptop, my two sons each have a laptop, and my daughter also has a desktop. So it's not the end of the world (or my job) if the computer I WANT to use in this moment doesn't boot up).

Note: I finally did have to call on Rebekah for help.

The sun is shining through my window, the birds are tweeting up a storm, and a cat is sleeping on my bed. So even as I'm working, I'm surrounding by good weather and life.

I'm really not trying to be all pollyanish here.

Taking five minutes won't change the fact that the house still has to be cleaned, the kids still have to be discplined, and the cat hair will still have to be brushed away. If you have a migraine, that's probably still there, and if you have knee paiin, that probably hasn't gone away.

Stories don't write themselves (I wish!), and if I want to keep myself in water bottles and dark roast coffee, well, I have to write the stories, even in those moments when I'm tired or uninspired or distracted or too busy, or...well, fill in the blanks.

But by taking five minutes to stop and look and listen, you hit "pause" on the stress and mentally refresh yourself to tackle those challenges.

And, for just five minutes, perhaps you can feel a twinge of happiness, however fleeting and transient.

And, perhaps, in those moments, you feel a whisper of hope to help pull you through the rest.

Have a most blessed day.

Halfway Point (Yes, a Retreat Update and Encouraging Words for All)

Today is Wednesday, and it's usually the day I become grouchy and fed-up with the entire process.

I actually kind of hit that Monday through yesterday, in pieces. I think I'm over it.

What helped?

Last night I was working on a chapter I'd started one night because it was a good chapter for writing at night, you know, mood and all.

But to get back into it, I had to re-read parts of it. And some of it was actually pretty good. That was extremely encouraging.

So if you need encouragement today, here's my suggestion. Step back from the trees a moment and look at the forest. Review what's gone right and what you've done well.

It sounds simple, right? So simple, we often don't do it.

Lose your temper today? Remind yourself where you kept it.

Missed an opportunity to be kind? Remind yourself when you didn't.

Bathroom won't pass CDC inspections? Yes, but all the laundry is done. (OK, some of the laundry. Or at least you've bought laundry detergent).

Burned the chicken? But the mashed potatoes are wonderfully fluffy.

Your writing sucks? So does mine. But apparently not all of it.

You fell off the diet? But you've also spent weeks increasing your portions of fresh vegetables.

Build on the comments at the right. Root out the other ones, the weeds in your goals.

Keep planting your dreams and celebrating your harvest.


All the even chapters of The Phoenix or fifteen chapters. I can't tell if I'm slightly behind or slightly ahead. I'm looking at two partial chapters today and one complete one. So right on track?

Finish formatting Lycanthropic Summer. Since I want to release it by October 1, this is important

Finish the last two chapters of Cornell Dyer and the Old Folks Home and copy edit it. My goal is three books a year. I'm just on the first one. So I'm way behind.

Finish formatting WriteOn Joliet's fourth anthology. This is even more first and foremost than The Phoenix.

Get the content Rebekah needs for a new website. Can't move forward without this. Better make it a priority.

Get Rebekah the photos she needs for the new Bertrand book. The goal is three a year. We released one last year. Again, way behind.

So far:

Nearly two chapter drafts of The Phoenix each day, and that's it.

Slightly behind, but yesterday was a day of intermittent interruptions and one health emergency for my oldest son.

But at this rate, I'll have all of the chapters of The Phoenix drafted by Saturday morning.

And I'll still have the weekend to finish the plan.

That is the plan from a Wednesday morning point of view.

Illustration by Christopher Gleason for "Staked!"

White Space

According to Merriam-Webster: the areas of a page without print or pictures.

Essential to art to see the work.

Essential to writing to hear the words.

Essential for creativity and clearing the mind.

Essential to life.

Where Did I Go?

Nowhere, really. But I had my first real time off all year and actually accomplished (most) of what I wished to accomplish.

Quick recap, expounding in posts over the next few days.

Wednesday: A funeral. A somber way to start the week, but the looking back and connecting was good. Plus, I went with my oldest son Christopher, so we spent the day hanging out. He introduced me to the Brewed Awakenings in Morris, which has awesome coffee (dark roast and darker roast), and we had lunch at the Morris in Aurelios, which my second oldest son Joshua manages. I got a bit of novel-writing done later in the day. So it was, overall, a good day.

Thursday: Spent the entire day working on Before the Blood. This is where social media fell off for me, and I let it fall. My birthday present to myself was extended uninterrupted time working on this prequel to the BryonySeries, so I went for extended AND uninterrupted. It was a great day.

Friday: Hung out with a friend for a couple hours in the morning who's tried (unsuccessfully) for a year to hang out, one of those necessary things when one wants to have and keep friends. Then it was back to the novel until dinner: a gourmet feast prepared by another son Timothy and his girlfriend Kristyn (more of this - with photos - in another post).

Saturday: My actual birthday and a total family day. It was also the first day my body adjusted to the whole "Hey, let's sleep in!" Joshua's third child Riley Marie shares my birthday and my middle name, so we celebrated her first birthday with siblings, offspring, and cousins picnic-style at a Morris park (more on this in a later post, with photos). On the way in, I bought a darker roast from Brewed Awakenings, and on the way out, Christopher told me to stop in at Verizon (next door), where he works as tech supports so he could buy me another. I also visited Frances at Gypsy Soul and Hope at her current Morris residence, so I decided to take photos with all my cats as a fun birthday twist (more on this in a later post, with photos). Later that night, back to the novel!

Sunday: We overslept for church, so I worked on the novel in the morning, worked a bit in the afternoon (email is out of control), ran a couple of errands, and got to bed early, for I had to be up early for...

Monday: Art camp! Dottie's Art Studio in Plainfield invited me to read from my books at all three age groups of her art camps while the kids and teens drew what I read. Then they shared what they drew and why. Then I gave the books away. For me as an author, it was an extremely gratifying twist to ordinary "reading" events, and it helped raise some money for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties. (It was a paying gig, but I defer all payments to BBBS). More of this later (with tons of photos).

Quick mention about my "writing retreat;" I spent less time writing than I anticipated, but write the amount I wanted to write. How's that for a plot twist?