First Day

The new year is born in a day of dazzling sunshine and snow lingering on the hills.
I spent the morning working in the garden. Cutting back spent hollyhock and foxglove stems . . . Pushing aside the worn feverfew and poppy plants to see what new life will emerge in a month or two.

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There is so much anticipation in this year to come. My revisions should be done soon, and I'm working hard to finish up an intrinsic novel. At home, I will continue to enjoy the magic of my boys.

Exciting, healthy, delightful months ahead.

With writing, I want to work on the craft of imagery and detail. I will be returning to the lovely world of poetry to help me with this task. Who knows? I may get a few worthwhile poems out of the process.

Finally, I have a short phrase that has become my mantra or theme for the year to come. Some may find a little silly or peculiar, but those who know how darn serious I can get at times, may understand why I picked it.

Here it is my theme for the new year:

Lighten up!

What is yours?

Happy New Year everyone!

Blogging Anniversary!

“Don’t intentions count for anything?”

This question came from a grad school professor. We debated the strength of the main character in literary postmodern book (the title escapes me now). Most of the students and I complained we didn’t much like the main character because he didn’t do anything. Yes, we realized the postmodern novel could break the traditional plot and the quest and all those literary devices, but that didn’t mean we had to like it.

This is my first year anniversary of blogging. I’m still not sure what I am doing, but I will continue to do write. In this case, action replaces intention, even if the direction isn’t entirely clear yet.

The journey continues . . .

This summer I will be coming up on my sixth anniversary of living in the house I live in now. When we moved in, we faced a yard full of construction trash and blasted rock. I was determined to create a garden. With little time or finances, it has been a frustrating process, and my garden is still far from what I envision it to be one day. I read The Secret Garden enough times as a child to know what I want. So, over the past six years, I’ve moved and dug up many rocks, created flowerbeds, planted, and composted. Certain plants have been more successful than others, and certain areas have surprised me with gorgeous fecundity.

Now, in this glorious time of year, I steal outside and take a few minutes to enjoy. I wish I had a before picture (trust me, it was ugly), but here is the process so far. My work in progress.

Intentions are not enough. Maybe that’s why I forgot the name of that book.

Hollyhocks and Roses

My two favorite flowers are hollyhocks and roses. An added treat is when they bloom together. Over the past few years I've harvested quite a few hollyhock seeds from various places (including Victoria, B.C.).

I'm almost done with my first novel draft of my work in progress. As I get toward the end I find I have notes to add for places I want to develop and expand. The list grows longer! I will have a lot of revising ahead...

Perfect Weather

Ah, the sunny and breezy days. I love this weather. I suppose I would get tired of an entire year of this, but I cannot help but think I would love many, many days of balmy perfection.

The garden yields peas, garlic scrapes, cherries, and even a few raspberries.

I wanted to have more done on my draft by now, but I am making progress. Recently I found a voice for my protagonist, and I keep discovering more and more about her. This process of discover is worth the effort.

Sustenance

I am getting ready to harvest and enjoy fresh garden peas—something I love every late spring/early summer. Something I love every year like the rhubarb and the strawberries. Later, it will be the raspberries and the potatoes.

I suppose every meal cannot be amazing. Sometimes, dinner is simply a means to satiate hunger. Other times, planning is taken to make a meal extraordinary. Time is well spent and the results are worth every bite.

So what does this have to do with writing?

This evening I had a writing session that moved along with moments of discovery and surprising new directions. It flowed, perhaps not effortlessly, but pretty close to it. I know every time I sit down to write, it will not be perfect spring peas from the garden or some other feast, but, at the very least, it can provide sustenance in another page of my manuscript.