Day 1: Yesterday, I did take that shower, and I read two stories for the magazine. Josh and I washed and changed our star sheets--fresh sheets are always a treat. I even remembered to put on Rose Water and Ivy lotion.
My Conklin Endura abalone gunmetal pen, a gorgeous piece, clogged with Herbin violet-scented ink. I had to flush it. I'd never known scented inks to clog pens, but this pen must be fragile. I'll only use standard Levenger ink in it from now on. My parents first bought me Levenger ink when I was a teenager. I still have the original bottle of Amethyst. Today, I'm writing with Diamine Happy Holidays ink, which arrived yesterday. I'm disappointed; it's really just navy ink with no sheen and a little gold shimmer. I've wanted all the Diamine Inkvent inks, but a lot of them are unremarkable blues. Still, the next ink I buy will be Diamine Inkvent Blue Peppermint, which is a refreshing turquoise.
I'm drinking a homemade Shirley Temple in a DPAC cup with a rainbow metal straw. Josh cleans a lot of reusable straws for me. I just read three poems from David Lehman's (yes, the Best American Poetry series editor!) The Daily Mirror, a journal in poetry. I was thinking about how I'd like to write a poem each day and how surely some of them would be good. I'd end up with a lot more good poems than I have now anyway. And so I wrote a poem called "Scrub." It has a line that Josh said would be a good book title. Maybe I'll write a collection around that line.
I got a little depressed last night and didn't do much reading. I've decided to let Fire go; I'm not in the mood for it, and I can check out the E-book again when I have more bookspace in my life. I guess I'd call it a young adult book, so it will go with spring. This morning, I read chapter 7 of Swiftly Tilting Planet to the boys while Josh lifted weights on his green yoga mat in the living room. It was a shorter chapter, so I may start chapter 8 today. Reading L'Engle aloud is getting easier. I loved her four memoirs (The Crosswicks Journals) starting with Circle of Quiet. That book and Wintering by Katherine May are deeply comforting books.
I sent Circle of Quiet and Wintering to a dear relative who is going through a rough season. I hope the books comfort her as they have comforted me. I also sent My Heart Is a Chainsaw to my brother--not at all comforting but very good. My DREAM boards usually include sending a gift to someone. Last month, I bought a two-year Bella Grace Field Guide to Everyday Magic subscription for another relative who needs a treat, but that won't start arriving until April. In the meantime, I'll write letters.
My Amazon points arrived! I got three Diamine inks: that Inkvent Blue Peppermint (turquoise green with silver shimmer), Mystique (deep plum with gold shimmer), and Pink Glitz (hot pink with gold shimmer). Next month, I'll get that Paperblanks grande journal. Amazon points let me have a little fun each month according to my rules. I'll take those inks off my NoBuy2022 List, which still includes a lot of books I'm going to try to get from the library. I just did a purchase request for Anatomy: A Love Story, a YA novel by Dana Schwartz.
I made a lot of fried rice with broccoli, green beans (not very authentic, but I didn't have much on hand), and edamame (with shrimp for me). That should feed us for a couple of days. It's one of the few meals I know how to make, and I still take shortcuts (boil-in-a-bag brown rice, steamer bag vegetables), but I feel pretty domestic. Hopefully, Josh will like it. So I did that instead of walking while Josh took Oliver to the park. It was a bit of an arm workout though.
My mood is good today. I've been able to read some of The Paper Palace. I started some more laundry. I put away two loads yesterday...trying not to let clothes take over our bedroom as they sometimes do. Josh has been cleaning. He never complains about chores, and he's ever beating back the dust.
I'm so thankful that I've kept a detailed journal for so long. I was having a lot of anxiety, and I was able to fact check something in my journal. I found it easily, almost 100 journals back. I trust my journal more than my memory.
My tiny fairy lights arrived! Josh and I strung them around the window. A tiny remote changes the color--white, yellow, red, green, light blue, dark blue, multi. I think I'll turn on the light blue tonight. They won't light up our room like the Christmas tree did--just a glistening. I look forward to looking at the lights from bed. Maybe Oliver won't demand that we turn them off if he wakes up (as he did with the tree). He slept through the night again last night and didn't even wet the bed.
Day 2: Oliver slept through the night again! Now, he's asleep again in our room. He allowed the fairy lights to stay on though he looked at them with great suspicion.
This morning, I'm writing with Van Dieman's Night Twilight Mist ink. This is the ink of which I ended up with two bottles. I don't mind--it's lovely, deep violet with pink shimmer. It's now my current favorite ink.
I wrote a poem! It's not a particularly good one, but it's called "Chafing." I'm going to try to write a poem every day. I'll type this one up even though it's mediocre. Josh liked it. I'm thinking about that new collection I'm building. Maybe I'll have it written by the end of the year. If I write a poem every day, I should be able to write and revise enough good ones. My first poetry collection was some sixteen years in the making. It shouldn't take me that long.
I hope to get a kitten someday. We're not allowed pets at this house, and not having pets has some advantages. I'd like a black kitten; I'd name her Specter. Just one cat. Maybe Oliver would bond with her.
At the moment, Josh is out on a 20-mile run, and Oliver is still sleeping. The house is silent but for the sigh of the heat. I'm under my heated throw, polishing off a Dr. Pepper. I've been reading poems from The Daily Mirror. Lehman doesn't use punctuation, so I tried using less in today's poem--it works with the urgent tone.
I've written five letters today, two of them thank-you cards for generous gifts my step-family sent to help with Oliver's expenses. I also replaced all the empty Wallflowers in the house--Holiday, Sweet Pea, Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin, Fresh Fallen Snow. I never tire of cinnamon. I don't know if my Wallflower stock will last through the year. I'll be sure to save some candles for the holiday season.
When she visited early this week, my mom brought me a Wendy doll. It was accidentally especially appropriate because my poem "Wendy" has just been published. The doll has frosty lips, auburn curls, and a glittery nightgown.
I finished The Paper Palace! So that's one book for the month and 13 for the year. I'm still on track. It was a good book but pretty rough in content. Next up, Mexican Gothic. I read The Beautiful Ones recently, and I'll probably read more Silvia Moreno Garcia. I looked at the blurbs from other authors and added several books to my list. I attended a Gothic fiction seminar and considered taking a class. I would like to try to write Gothic fiction. My only Gothic-ish story is "Her Pearl-Handled Knife."
Day 3: Oliver is back at school and happy about it. I'm writing with my pink marble Moonman fountain pen with a bent nib, using Herbin rose-scented ink. Lovely.
Josh and I spent the morning together. He napped while I scribbled, and we cuddled. I ate Ramen with green beans and boiled egg--pretty good. Josh is at work now, 12-8. I'll miss him. Oliver and I will be on our own. Josh and I aren't often apart for that long.
I just filled one of my TWSBI Ecos with Aurora Australis ink from Van Dieman's Night collection, a shimmering grape juice purple with a hint of green sheen.
Day 4: I'm writing with Van Dieman's Night Shooting Star ink, blue with red sheen and gold shimmer. I've decided I'm not in love with sheening ink--it's not very impressive. I prefer shimmer.
Josh and I spent another morning together. He will start testing again on Thursday afternoons. I wrote a poem called "Lodged." It's nothing amazing, but it is a poem! I also caught up on reading for the magazine.
Day 5: Josh and I took Oliver to school together and got groceries this morning. I bought frozen chicken and whole wheat pasta. I got ranch dressing, cheese Alfredo sauce, seasoned salt, and cinnamon. I have three servings of chicken thawing in the fridge. I'll bake them tomorrow.
Josh and I had more time together, and I'm so grateful for that. We had Caesar salad for lunch before he went to work. I had an episode of high blood pressure with a headache and dizziness. This is the second afternoon that's happened. I don't know why, but I'm better now.
I'm still in a reading slump though I have been reading to the boys (we're on chapter 9 of 12 in Swiftly Tilting Planet) and reading a few poems each day. I did not realize how much Madeleine L'Engle wrote! I've only read A Wrinkle in Time, Wind in the Door, The Joys of Love, and the four Crosswick Journals. I may try to read her other series and her poetry. I have a book of her short stories, which I bought at a little bookstore in Southern Pines.
A lot of books are due tomorrow, and I will not be taking them back. I have a lot of catching up to do. I did write a poem called "Cash," which about what I bought in New York City. Again, it's not special, but this is my fourth day of writing a daily poem!
Oliver slept through the night again, and he may actually attend school for a full week! Masks are becoming optional in public schools soon, so we may see a surge of COVID again. Josh is home now and writing to me in a letter journal we share.
Today, I wore pastels--lavender, pale pink, and glacial green with a matching necklace I've had for years. I like rediscovering fun jewelry I bought back when I was teaching. Tomorrow, I may start that 40 Day Dress Challenge, mostly just to see if I can do it. I'll miss my jeans. But Josh likes my wearing dresses. Maybe he won't really notice that it's the same dress every day.
I like this photo of the shoes I left in the living room yesterday:
(Keds, New Balance, and Irregular Choice)
I also wrote today with Diamine Magical Forest ink, which is green with great shimmer that looks multi-colored.
Day 6: I've been deep in Mexican Gothic today. I came out of it long enough to bake chicken and make whole wheat pasta with spinach and broccoli. So I have a few mealies ready for Josh and myself.
"...but then she tended toward opulence. Besides, she wanted to defy the gloom around her."
~Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Mexican Gothic 37
I love this--defying the gloom. That's the motivation with which I started this blog eleven years ago--to defy the gloom in the world, in my family, and especially in myself. I finished the book just before I got ready to go pick up Oliver from school. Tonight, I'll go see Bruce and Corey. We might finish this season of American Horror Story. I'd like to start the second season of Locke & Key next week. I also have so many movies I want to watch.
No spoilers here, but a bit close to the end of MG sums up what I've been trying to do most of my life:
"She must practice, she thought. It was all practice. She'd learn to live without worry, without fears, without any darkness chasing after her."
~Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Mexican Gothic 298
I continue to practice.
I'm writing today with Diamine's shimmer Cobalt Jazz.
Day 7: I'm racing to finish another book on which someone has placed a hold. I try not to keep books late if someone is waiting. This one is due tomorrow: Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears, an anthology of adult fantasy, mostly contemporary fairy tales. So I have two days to read twenty-one tales. I'd like to get to know current fantasy writers; some of these authors were in the Once upon a Time anthology I read last year. But these tales actually aren't so current--they're from the 1990s, which, alas, was a long time ago. I've gotten to see some of my poetry in fantasy magazines Sounds of the Night (sensual stuff) and Illumen (speculative poetry) as well as Cover of Darkness (horror). I'd like to write more fairy tales.
I forgot to write a poem yesterday, but I did read poems. I'll get back on track today. I finished my Papier journal and started a new Punch Studio journal also suited to February.
I've been writing with my new Diamine Inkvent shimmer ink in Blue Peppermint, which is now one of my favorite inks. It's a lovely turquoise with blue shimmer.
I'm now dressed in stone blue pajama shorts and top, ready for the weekend with my boys.
No comments:
Post a Comment