August 17, 2005 I was right. Yesterday was a wonderful day. As soon as the kids were on the bus, I showered and headed out for town. I'd already decided that I wouldn't have time for a movie with the errands I needed to run, so I treated myself to breakfast at the Diamond Springs Hotel (only a restaurant now, no rooms) of eggs, sausage, a big biscuit and country potatoes with a glass of fresh iced tea. I brought a book with me, Cakes and Ale For the Pagan Soul, which is our version of the "Chicken Soup" books. It was lovely to sit and relax with a meal and read. Although it's wonderful to have folks to do things with, I have long been a person who also enjoys relaxing and adventuring on my own.
After Lighthouse, I went to Office Max and found most of the things I needed, then off to the hospice thrift store. I didn't find much, but did pick up two really pretty votive holders, some taper candles and a lovely little Kuan Yin statue that jingles a bit. It's maybe 3-4" tall. Finding her in such an odd place was a real gift and reminded me that part of the energy of God (in the genderless enormity of God) is this lovely Goddess who is so selfless and devoted to drying tears and ending suffering. She refused to enter Heaven until all of her "children" were dry-eyed and in Heaven themselves. I am not that altruistic, but it is nice to feel an energy around me that is. After that, it was off to Wal-mart to pick up the last of the school supplies and make a stop at Regal Nails, also inside Wal-mart, for a pedicure. I haven't had one in a long time and fortunately, no one was in the place except me and four mani/pedicurists. I am normally not big on their pedicures because they tend to rush through and not give it a good dig in. I like an aggressive pedicure. A friend of mine (one of those who just *disappeared*) used to bark at the pedicurists, "BE CAREFUL! YOU'RE HURTING ME!" It was weird because she and I would be talking and having a normal conversation and all of a sudden she would turn this look of rage onto them and bite their heads off, then she'd go right back to talking to me normally again as though nothing happened. This time, the gal spent a good 45 minutes taking care of me and it was great. I did, for the first time in my life, finding myself wishing I could speak a foreign language. I have absolutely no talent for it at all, but it would have been nice to know what they were saying to one another as she was picking my feet. I'd love to hear them talking trash about my big ol' nasty Fred Flintstone Mountain Woman feet and just bust out some Vietnamese back to them. As it was, I could only sit there and helplessly listen to them conversing animatedly amongst themselves while she rubbed and picked and groomed my fat little sausage toes. I got home right at 2pm, plenty of time to clean house and rest a bit before kids got back. Eric came home in a great mood, grilled steaks and then we spent a lovely, romantic evening together and I went to sleep a happy, happy girl. Today feels good as well. It's all of 72 degrees in the house right now. I already went for my jog/walk and got my heart rate up (still just 20 minutes, even in the other direction). It's 10:15 and my day is going to be spent writing (now and later - hope to get to either the novel or a soap column that is brewing in my head) and working outside in the yard. I will be mowing, weeding, cleaning, raking and such. Better hit it now in case it gets warmer. Wish me luck! Meanwhile, a friend sent this to me and I enjoyed it so much, I wanted to pass it along to you. Also, a review of "The Skeleton Key" is forthcoming. It was wonderful. *sigh*
Living on Earth is expensive,
but it does include a free trip
around the sun every year.
Birthdays are good for you;
the more you have, the
longer you live.
August 16, 2005 What a wonderful day. It is only 7:45 and I can already feel that it's a great day. Delena took forever to get out of bed today (she's such a night owl and school schedule really messes with her), but still, the day is wonderful. Yesterday brought blessings galore. The kids had wonderful days at school. Nathan has the same teacher as last year (and will have the same next year). Dylan started into his new class with the teacher he will have for the next 3 years. Delena went into 8th grade and has four different teachers: one for science and math, one for English and social studies, one for PE (her favorite teacher from last year, in fact, which will help because she hates PE) and one for art. All came home in happy, accomplished moods with the obligatory War and Peace of forms to fill out and return. This is the first year we have not qualified for free/reduced lunches and transportation. I should be happy that we aren't quite as poor as we were, but we are in that bizarre crack where we don't qualify for anything, but can't afford anything. :) I laid out $99.99 for transportation fees for the trimester for all three totaled ($100 a year per kid) and put $20 in their lunch/breakfast kitties. At least our school district provides almost everything the kids use. Dylan had to have a binder and Nathan needed a homework folder. Other than that, the school kicks in for pencils, paper, crayons, etc. Delena has a small list of things she needs for art like markers, a compass, etc. In our old school district in Sacramento, I would easily have spent the transportation fee in getting things from Kleenex to paper towels to Purell to the usual school supplies. All of the kids wanted new back packs and lunch boxes, which they really didn't need, but who wants to start the school year using last year's crap? You gotta be all new and polished. They didn't break me at all on school clothes. The boys spent about $30 each and Delena about $60. She is a really good shopper and got 2 pairs of jeans, 2 pairs of cargo pants and 2 shirts for her money. Around 2pm yesterday, I was watering the plants and (this is great) when I went off to shut off the sprinkler, it didn't stop. ?! Our summers are so Godblessed dry that it took me several seconds to realize that it was raining! We were like the climax scene of the movie "leap of Faith," dancing in the rain and acting as though we'd never seen it before. We got a really good dousing and since then, it smells so wonderful out side and it is really cool, around 70 degrees. SUCH a relief! I was afraid I was going to get all the way to snow and not be able to smell my mountain. The sun has just scorched the life out of everything this year. I'm going to take a drive into town today, have some breakfast all by myself, get a pedicure, stop by Office Max and pick up a new flat desk calendar (late in the year, but mine ate a diet caffeine free pepsi yesterday) and hit the thrift shop. I also need to stop by Walmart and get Delena's art supplies. The house is in OK shape, not tip top like it was for a while there, but not horrible by any means. I can get it looking good in an hour tops. I have clothes to fold and put away and I'd like to hit the novel again today if I can. I got 31 pages done yesterday, which is an all time best. I have to keep reminding myself that this is a first draft and every punctuation and phrase does not have to be perfect. This is just about getting the story told and defining the structure of the book. I am so glad I went for a full rewrite. The book is much better now than it was before. I have a hard time not writing it all the time, just because I am eager to see what happens next. It's like channeling. I go to the keyboard with a basic idea of what's coming up, but inevitably, the characters will take over and just start doing and saying and revealing things I never knew. Yesterday was actually kind of hard to write because it was all about storytelling rather than any real interaction. I reached a major crux of the book where a big reveal had to happen before the story could progress on and there was only one real way I could find to do it, so I just waded through. Now that that's done, I can get on with the rest of the story. I wish I had a clue how long the average novel is when it's in typewritten, double-spaced form. I honestly just don't know, so I'm writing and seeing what comes out. Time to start getting boys ready for phase two of "bus," then the day is mine! I hope all of you have absolutely brilliant hours today and that life is being good to you.
Take care,
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