Honestly, my brain is a roiling mess of thoughts and impressions and even the occasional formulated idea, at the moment, and I’ve got so many jottings toward so many unfinished posts that I despair of ever getting organised to write a single decent one. Sometimes, with so much else going on and with so many questions about the value of writing and posting here, I wonder if I could simply abandon ship. I know, though, that as soon as I ever decide to do that, there’ll be something I want to tell you, and I’ll have the lifeboat turned ’round and be yelling up the side of a tall cruise ship, begging for a lift back up. . . . (check out Kristin’s last two posts on her wonderfully writtenK-Line, and note that the penultimate was supposed to be the ultimate. So glad it’s not!)
Today’s solution? Shift to a different medium. Instead of being stuck at the laptop keyboard, I changed it up and wrote in my journal with a pen. Fragmentary is okay in a journal as it wouldn’t be in a blogpost, and Fragmentary ‘R’ Us these days. Plus the move from verbal to visual helps me feel fresh, engaged, as well. Even the accidental splash, which I tried unsuccessfully to mop up/erase, reflects as much about my life right now as would a well-crafted paragraph I’m not completely committed to.
And since I scribbled this down, photo’d it, organised a post around it, I’ve also executed one item on the list (made the physio appointments). Feels good, and now I’m off to a Flower Shop (endorphins guaranteed) with a stop at a hair salon along the way. Cross your fingers for me that they can find time to trim my greying locks sometime before Christmas — I had to cancel my trip back to my longtime stylist because of snow, so I’m three months since my last visit now, longer than I’ve gone between cuts in, oh, at least 20 years!
So. . . thoughts? feedback? wave hello?
Waving! I thought your hair looked nice long in the recent pics.
Thanks, Lucille — I'm hoping to keep the length but need some chopping on top so the curl doesn't flat into drab… 😉
Christmas=(frantic?) fragments. Here's to the solstice! And the New Year.
Yes! The fragments can get frantic! But the promise of plenitude also, solstice, New year. . . Ahhhhh. . .
Hope you are enjoying the Peter Robinson. Love your jottings and illustrations. I'll have to give it a go. Hope you get the socks finished 🙂 B x
I am enjoying it indeed, although why did all my library holds have to come in at the same time?!
Just a note to say good luck with your pre-holiday lists – I definitely need major luck to finish my own list, lol. I continue to love your Christmas window postings on Instagram and want to thank you so much for doing that! – Murphy
Thanks, Murphy, and you're very welcome. So nice to know the window postings are giving joy — I had such fun collecting them
Fragmentary'R'Me these days too … still haven't quite figured out the logistics of teaching until the 23rd and out-of-town family arriving for Christmas within a couple of hours of school being dismissed. (And a few other non-school-non-Christmas demands on my time …)
I enjoyed a peek at your journal and the sense of connection in recently having finished the book that you are currently reading. Thank you for giving us little glimpses of your daily life.
Denise L.
The teaching gig is so tough pre-Christmas — very difficult to pull that switch and change energies. I hope you can find a smidgen of time for some self-care.
And you're welcome — and thanks for taking the time to let me know my posts connect, they have meaning…
Love your fragments! I'm in the midst of a pile of grading wondering if it is the next to last pile for me. No tree this year for the first time since have to take Christmas to older son and wife since she can't get off work. Younger son is coming too but without significant other whose father is sick. I wonder why I thought that getting older would be easier?? Simpler?? Blessings to you and your family.
I still miss so much about my academic life, but pre-Christmas grading, nuh-uh, not at all.
We're not doing a tree this year either, but we've gone that route a few times in the past, so I'm okay with it. I can imagine it might feel weird for you, but I rather like that transition period when the young adults begin to share in the hosting. Tough though on your younger son. And I wonder the same thing about this ageing gig — don't have the heart to tell the kids! 😉 Blessings to you and yours also.
I too love your fragments. There are so many ways to communicate! What this about "…so many questions about the value of writing and posting here…?" I hope I haven't missed an explanatory post or two.
Thanks Leslie in O. No, I don't think you've missed a post, but this question has threaded through the back of many activities in my last couple of years, and the blog is an easy one to question in that mood. So far, I seem to be pretty committed 😉
I love seeing your journal entries. Have you read about the new book on Emily Dickinson's poetry written on envelopes. There's an article in The New Yorker about it. Seeing your post reminds me that I need to do some journaling also–so thanks for the inspiration! I'm bogged down with trying to figure out gifts for certain friends. I feel uninspired–alas. Stay warm and dry. We're having a big rain today (forcasted) in No California.
Thanks for the encouragement! And I'm going to check out that article, perhaps put the book on my want list. Inspiration — as you note — is often lacking, always welcome.
Dry seems to be surprisingly easy here at the moment, but staying warm takes more effort than usual. I hope you have a lovely rain, soaking the earth without causing any damage…
love the way you are using and sharing your journal
And thank you once again — the gift that keeps on giving!
Your journal/daybook entries are SO much prettier than mine. I'm always happy to read your entries–typed, scribbled, or sketched. Happy Holidays from brutally frigid Chicago.
I find they all look better through the camera lens — that distance helps. And we're generally the harshest viewers. Speaking of harsh, our current thermometer's dips a few degrees below freezing (6 below, Celsius, last night) are frigid enough for me. Cuddle up! Brrrrr!
When I read the words "roiling mess" I thought, oh, it's time to hit the sketchbook. So glad you did. I've got lots of roiling going on right now too so I'd best take action here as well. Glad you're getting things done. If I ever see you in your life raft, hop into raft and we'll head to the cruise ship (buffet) together; rowing is much easier with two at the helm. Heh.
We should paddle along to a glass of wine together one of these days, no?
Love your jottings. Everyday poetry? Wouldn't it be cool to be able to do that right on your computer> Then again…paper is better. I find myself talking to my blog as I go about my life. Almost like when I was still teaching and something interesting or weird or funny would happen and I would mentally store it away to share with one of my classes. Or at lunch with friends.
And speaking of stories and conversations…I'm going to go look for the article that Sally mentions above. Wasn't there something written somewhere that Robert Frost once used his shoe to write a bit of poetry down?
There are some great programs that would accommodate that mix of text and sketching — I've even downloaded some software and I have a friend who uses another app to good advantage. But there's something reassuring about the physical materials and also the kinaesthetic moves we've made since childhood.
Oh yes, I talk to my blog, store up images and anecdotes.
Hadn't heard that about Frost — now I'm wondering if it was on the sole or the upper (the tongue could work, right?)
(Life happens. My hair hasn't been cut since August. I think it will be next year before I get that organised)
Yes, life intervenes. . .
I got an appointment for NYEve — hope you don't have to wait too long for yours. 😉
In truth, I never thought it would be the ultimate 🙂 but I really didn't know when I would return (or how often). As it happens, it's very hard not to write when you love to write. But I think it's fair to post less or to take a break or to keep on posting as you have been while continuing to consider how it works in the context of your life. Having been all philosophical, this is a great blog to read so, please, continue as long as it works for you! Thanks for the shout out. xo
It's true — it's hard not to write, and this is a good venue in many ways, although a demanding and occasionally frustrating one in others. I'm happy to see you finding ways to keep yours alive although completely understand why it might get a big push to a back burner turned way down low… for a while…