Whew. April? Gone. Vanished. Vaporized into a cloud of productivity and (mildly itchy) yardwork.
Here’s a peek at what filled the days:
- Spent hours upon hours in online classes
- Revamped my website—consolidated, streamlined, and now everything’s in one place
- Took a staycation with my husband where we tackled house projects like champs (my father-in-law flew in to help with his mighty expertise)
House Projects Completed
o Took down old, starting-to-rot back deck to reveal nice brick steps underneath.
o Replaced four light fixtures and a ceiling fan inside the house
o We had an electrician add an outside outlet at the back of the house (strangely, we didn’t have one – it is an older house, though). He also added some GFL outlets in the kitchen and bathroom. We feel so much safer now!
o We installed a new range hood. So shiny, so nice.
o We added handrails to the steps at our side door and back door.
o Our neighbors let us cut down a dead tree in their yard that looked like it was going to fall over our fence. It was covered in all the vines: poison ivy, Virginia creeper, greenbriers. Thankfully, I only got a little poison ivy on my forearm! It’s still a bit itchy…
o Did some other landscaping and yard cleanup.
o Cleaned out the dryer vent.
o Had the AC maintenance guy do the annual service.
o Added an 8-ft vinyl fence panel in the space between our chainlink fence and the house (it was originally where the edge of the deck was and we needed to close it off so our dog woudn’t take his crusade against squirrels out into the neighborhood.
o Replaced an old toilet seat
o Installed a pull-up bar
We also picked strawberries at a local farm, played games, went out to some local shops, and enjoyed making and eating good food together.
But…
In the midst of all this growing and improvement, I lost some of the structures I had in place to keep various writing and art projects moving along. I’ve neglected posting anything for weeks.
I suppose sometimes life is like that.
A Seasonal Rhythm?
I had a thought over the past few weeks that it would be cool to mirror my life and workload to nature.
Over winter, I could write and work on creative projects with the intent of bringing them into the world during the spring.
I could shift to light creative projects in summer and fall with a focus on making sales and preparing for the upcoming winter.
I would also use the spring and summer to read and learn as much as possible because I love how that feeds my brain and creativity.
I’m not sure how feasible this idea is, but it might be worth exploring.
Back to the Writing
For now, I’m reviewing my project list and making a new plan for the rest of the year. I’m also getting back into the writing groove.
I have been working out some plot points the past couple of months for the “The AI Anomaly.” I have also been struggling with how I want to tell this story. I think it has to maintain some similarity to “The Resurrection Incident,” but mayhap there is enough wiggle room to shift the format in a way that makes it fun for me to write and, hopefully, for the reader to read.
I still love the story and am excited to get it out in the world. Time to make it happen.