writing – The Next 38

Stand in the place where you live.

March 13, 2026Posted in travelTagged life, writingLeave a comment

Now face west.

I am still here. Haven’t had much desire to write. I still remember when I used to write so much or think of so much to write about. These days, I don’t think of writing. I think more of gardens. And projects. And walking. And travel. I didn’t travel much for at least a year as I prepared for this return to California. Jobs, a home, moving-it was a big project.

Think about direction, wonder why you haven’t before.

We traded in our travel for being in one place. I thought it would be good to be close to the kids in these challenging times. Their adult lives are so very different from mine. I don’t know if I have any wisdom for these parts of their lives, other than I am here if you need me. The economy looks grim for young people. There is a lot of worry about finding and keeping jobs. 2 of them have already experienced layoffs previously. So I think it weighs more on their mind. Thankfully, they each have one for now. I was quite lucky to raise them with so much job security. But now we are only a few hours away from them instead of two states, and somehow that feels better.

If you are confused, check with the sun. Carry a compass to help you along.

So I work on my garden and try to plan what to grow and how to optimize water and sun. We recently got solar, which I am very happy with despite the expense. Next, I want to plan other energy and water-saving strategies. Things like using the washer water for the front yard. Drying clothes on a line in the summer. Changing our stove to electric. Window treatments that reduce direct summer sun. These things help me imagine that I am in control of aspects of our lives. But I realize that the last 6 years have taught us that some things are really out of our control.

Your feet are going to be on the ground.

New Year, New Me?? Probably not

February 14, 2025Posted in travelTagged art, creativity, writingLeave a comment

Ok, it’s not the new year. It’s February. mid-February specifically. And once again I’m trying to work on making some practices a regular habit. I’m not really trying to do a new year, new me thing complete with 10 goals to accomplish. Instead I’m continuing to add in more reading, writing, and being creative. I was actually very successful at making reading a habit the last few years. I ended 2024 with 45 books read, I think. Forty something for sure. This year I made a goal of 40, just to leave some leeway. And I am already on book 5 for the year.

Writing hasn’t exactly been a strong habit in quite a few years. But last fall I joined a group doing the Artist’s Way-which is kind of atypical for me. A group activity? No, I tend to spend more time doing things alone. The Artist’s Way, written by Julia Cameron, encourages practices to get back to creativity. In the book The Artist’s Way, the author encourages writing morning pages. It’s supposed to be first thing in the morning and about 3 pages in a stream of consciousness fashion. I started doing that, and with the exception of days I work, I have been pretty good at sticking to it. But doesn’t usually end up being 3 pages and often is a review of what I need to get done for the day. But it is a pretty regular writing habit.

Being creative is another aspect of the Artist’s Way. Every week, you’re supposed to make an artist’s date for yourself and do something creative. Maybe you go to a museum or paint or sew or take a dance class. That’s been an activity I really needed more of in my every day. Sometimes I make a little craft like a holiday wreath. I often make it an actual date between my husband and I where we go to an art centered thing.

2025 has begun in a kind of depressing whirlwind of events. It’s been a lot. And pretty overwhelming. I think it’s just the right time to reach for the tools that help me which just so happen to be things I mentioned here.

So here’s to blogging occasionally, reading a lot and trying to enjoy my inner creativity.

3500 words

July 10, 2024Posted in travelTagged writingLeave a comment

I’ve been plugging away at a story idea that I don’t think is very good. I don’t think it’s very bad, but I decided I wasn’t going to wait for the very good to try and write. I decided I would pick an idea and just get to it.

I’ve read quite a number of books this year. 36 to be exact. And in the last few years I’ve been reading a lot more. And some of the books I read were really good. And some were mediocre. And there were even some that were not good. And I am not saying I want to write bad, but I don’t feel like I need to wait until I write like Edith Wharton or Brandon Taylor before I begin. With that logic I will never begin.

So I stead I’ve started. For a long time I felt like I needed to write so much about my own life. But this time I’m really going back to what I enjoyed when I was young. In high school and middle school I wrote a lot of fantasy. So I’ve abandoned my memoir writing, my contemporary fiction ideas, and embraced writing about fantasy again. In some ways, it can be easier to leave the ideas of the real world behind and choose to focus on the magical and the fantastical.

Camp NaNoWriMo has begun

July 3, 2024Posted in travelTagged writingLeave a comment

It’s day 3 actually. And I have been writing everyday so far. I’m up to 2380 words which is almost an average of 800 words a day. I’m hoping to keep things going. My biggest challenge will be the two trips I have planned for July. Writing while traveling is hard because you have all of these things you want to do and people you want to see, so it’s easy to skip out on writing. But also, I can’t take my laptop 💻 with me on account of a small break in the screen.

In the bottom right corner my laptop screen has slightly come apart. I can’t figure out how to fix it. It happened one day when I opened it. It had been sticking when I opened it and this time the screen started to come apart. The screen still works though. But now I am afraid to close and open it again. So I have it open on my desk until I figure out a repair plan.

I feel like the whole disposable, obsolete tech in a few years pattern with computers is a problem. How many computers or laptops have you had? How often do you buy one? I would rather get it repaired than have to buy a new one. But I also need to find someone to do it.

Anywho, I’m headed to Canada for a bit and I guess I will have to make plan to write things on my 📱 phone until I get back. If I keep this up, I’ll have close to 25,000 words.