Leap and the net will appear. ~ Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way Yesterday's Entries 2000: The Family Vacation TODAY's FOOD Breakfast: Special K CURRENTLY READING The Elegant Gathering TODAY ON TV Biography of J.K. Rollins
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AUSSIE NEWS 3 June 2004 Australians have been on my mind today. First of all, it was the day I had planned to drive up to Folsom to meet Anna of "Don’t Try This at Home," who is from Sydney. She’s here in California with her husband and daughter and after all these years of reading her (excellent) journal and corresponding with her, I was looking forward to meeting her. I met her husband several years ago. He’s American and was here in California on business, and visiting family. At the time, I was trying to figure out how to get some money to Peggy, who had purchased a coat for me in Australia. I discovered than that while you can convert American dollars into all sorts of currency from other countries, for some reason getting Australian dollars, or finding a way to send a money order that can be cashed in Australia was difficult. I don’t even remember why now. But I had this bright idea that maybe Anna’s husband could take the money to Australia for me. It worked out beautifully. It was kind of like a drug drop. We met in a dark parking lot on the UC Davis campus and I slipped him some American dollars, which he then used to pay expenses while he was here. When he went back to Sydney, he then sent Peggy a check. It wasn’t the easiest way to get it done, but it worked beautifully. But now Anna is here herself, just about an hour away, and we planned to get together for brunch today. Unfortunately, they only arrived yesterday, with Mae, who is not quite 2 and with the time difference and the long flight, Mae did not sleep well last night. So Anna called this morning and we rescheduled things for tomorrow. This left me with some free time today. I had a bit of transcription, but I could also take some lazy time (after cleaning the kitchen counters, of course!). I started another book for our altered book group. We’ve all enjoyed this project so much that we are going to start round two, on the topic of "nature and wildlife." I had an idea that I wanted to try, a new technique to use, and it worked beautifully. I had a lot of fun putting it together. I still have lots more to do with the book before I pass it along, but it was nice to take the time to smell the glue for a bit. (Wait a minute--let me rephrase that...!) Then the second Aussie popped up. I received a call from the SPCA saying that Appleberry was spayed today and that we could come and pick her up tonight (bypassing the home inspection and interview, I guess!). Since I’ll be gone tomorrow, going to meet Anna, I decided not to get the dog tonight, but instead to pick her up tomorrow night. It looks like we’re about to begin the bonding process with a new dog in our lives. It’s time to shake things up a bit. Someone wrote to me recently and said that she’d been reading my journal and she had the sense that I was "on the brink of something." I have that feeling too. I feel like I’ve kind of been treading water for awhile now--maybe since Paul died. But for a long time. It feels like new opportunities are presenting themselves and I’m not quite sure which direction I am headed, but I have a feeling that there is some elusive "something" out there. First there was joining the two writing groups. I don’t know where I’m going with either of them, but I’ve always wanted to participate in a writing group and I’m eager to pursue this activity. Then there is the additional work that I’ve been doing for the newspaper, again more opportunity to write. I’m feeling more comfortable writing reviews now. I don’t know that they are good. I don’t have the background. I can’t write the sort of review you’d see in a more mainstream newspaper, but I am definitely feeling more comfortable in the way that I write them, anyway. And finally, a friend asked if I’d like to do The Artist’s Way with her. Some years ago, my women’s group on CompuServe proposed doing The Artist’s Way, which is a kind of workshop to explore your own creativity. I never got involved in the project at that time, but this seems to be the right time for it. I don’t know much more about it since we are just starting it. But the exercises come out of a workbook, and we are going to do each exercise together and support each other. This also goes along with all the other writing I’m doing. So I’m standing on the brink of something...starting new writing projects, learning to fit a new dog into the household...and just...I don’t know. It just seems like the start of a new part of my life. My friend Joan also started a new project, which I told her I’d link to here. I’ve been encouraging her to get published. She’s a much better writer than I am and I recommended her at one time for a column at the newspaper, but they aren’t sure exactly what they want yet, so have not made her an offer. In the meantime, I suggested she start a journal so she can have some of her writing read. So she has done that. It’s called "From Where I Sit" and as of this writing there are only two entries up, but both are excellent and I expect great things to come from this journal. I urge you to check it out. Tomorrow I’ll have even closer contact with Aussies--meeting one, and adopting the other. (Now, I just have to remember which is which!) |
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Created 5/31/04
