Note to self: You hate yard work. Remember that the next time someone suggests it may be a good time.
P.S.: Remember to buy oversized sunglasses so that the next time you have to mow lawn on a windy day, you won’t have to worry about grass and dirt getting in your eyes.
(c) 2020. All rights reserved.
When you have four kids and a job, life moves at a pretty fast tempo. That tempo usually looks a little something like this:
Picture, if you will, a bumblebee as you’re listening. Or even a hummingbird. Actually, a hummingbird might work better. Especially when I was in college and working and dealing with all the kids’ stuff, I kinda felt like this melody line. Even without the added pressure of college coursework, though, there are times where my life feels like I have to move at warp speed in order to keep up.
Or, you know, at ludicrous speed. Whatever.
I adore the flute. It’s my favorite instrument, and I fell in love with it at an early age. A high school girl who went to my church when I was growing up played a flute solo one Sunday, and that was it – I was hooked. I was determined that I would someday play the flute as well. So when instrument try-outs for the fifth grade band rolled around the spring semester of my fourth grade year and we were asked to list which instruments we wanted to play, I listed flute first. (It was followed by clarinet, which my mom had wanted me to play because she and my aunt had also played the clarinet, and then she wouldn’t have had to buy me an instrument.)
So I went out to mow the lawn this afternoon, and sweet baby Kahless was it ever windy. I had so much grass and dirt in my eyes that it was absolutely ridiculous. On the bright side, I had some great tunes to keep me company, thanks to Pandora. (Also, I really love my wireless earbuds.)
I’ve been listening to a lot of world music lately; I find it gets my creative juices flowing because it transports me to a completely different world, which helps me get in the proper mindset for writing a completely different world. In no particular order, some of the artists that accompanied me yesterday on my four-hour trip around the yard include:
There is so much amazing music out there that it’s hard for me to choose a favorite artist or song or genre or album without producing a ridiculously extensive list. How about you – what are some of your favorites?
(c) 2020. All rights reserved.
Today’s prompt is supposed to be about things that come in three parts. Since I’ve spent the past two days marathoning Voyager, the first thing that popped into my head was Captain Proton. It’s a very silly holodeck program that Tom Paris runs as part of a historical study on how ancient people thought about the future. The Captain Program features in three episodes: “Night,” as mentioned yesterday; “Bride of Chaotica!,” which I watched this afternoon and which is among my favorite episodes; and “Shattered,” which at this rate, I’ll be watching sometime in the next couple of weeks.
Captain Proton, Protector of Earth
Honestly, it’s been so long since I saw “Shattered” last that I only vaguely remember what it’s about, and even then…
Not much is new here, except that the news keeps getting worse, which is why I’ve been avoiding it. In the meantime, I’ve been continuing my rewatch of Star Trek: Voyager. I’d put it on for background noise when I was working from home, and it kept me awake through forty long hours of assembling my annual family photo album, and I had hoped it would have a somewhat comforting effect. This show got me through my particularly turbulent teen years, and given that this particular moment in time is nothing if not turbulent, I had hoped…
Everything is at a distance these days, isn’t it? I just finished watching a press conference from earlier this morning in which our governor cancelled in-person classes for the rest of the school year. For my older two, that means they’ll be continuing with their required distance learning through the end of next month. For my younger two, that means the optional schoolwork they’ve received from their teachers is going to be much more important.
I’m sure Cricket will love that.
Two days ago, he had a hissy fit about…
Slow. That’s what life has become: slow.
This week in particular has been slow; each minute of each day seems to drag on into eternity. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been very productive this week. Maybe it’s because I worked myself up into a right wicked migraine yesterday. The kids are sick of being at home. I’m sick of being at home.
Today I successfully digitized the musical from my senior year of high school. But of course, it recorded in separate clips, so I’ve had to merge them into a single file. It’s slow going. The file is an hour and forty-three minutes long, but I have a feeling it’s going to take that long, if not longer, to merge the clips. I’d been hoping to watch it tonight after supper, but at this rate, I don’t think it’ll happen.
At least I have Star Trek to keep me occupied in the meantime. How are you passing the time these days?
(c) 2020. All rights reserved.
You know what I miss? I miss the smell of fresh-cut grass. You don’t get that scent in the winter, and by my count, Iowa’s on at least its third winter.
I’m tired of winter. I want the grass to grow faster, I want it to be greener, and I want there to be flowers. I miss seeing flowers in the ditch on my way to work (I miss going to work, too, but that’s another post). I miss leaves on trees and the smell of rain in the air. I miss rain that doesn’t freeze when it hits the ground.
I miss the smell of barbecues, and the attendant guests.
I know I’ll experience all these sights and sounds and smells again in due time, but I’m not a patient person and I’m tired of waiting. I’m ready for the sun to shine again, both literally and figuratively. How about you?
(c) 2020. All rights reserved.
It’s no secret that I love books. I love reading them and I love writing them and I love reviewing them. I love thinking about them and how they relate to my life and the world around me. Books are my life.
And yet, I’m just not feeling super bookish lately.
Maybe it’s the quarantine getting me down. Maybe it’s refereeing one too many fights over inconsequential things between my boys. Maybe it’s having a to-do list a mile long and not really knowing where to start. I don’t know.
I had planned to read a bunch and write a bunch while I’m at home because this is the perfect time for catching up on such activities, but I’ve hardly done any writing or reading. I mostly feel like imitating a bump on a log. It’s not a very productive way to spend my days, but when they all blur together, what else is there to do?
I guess it all comes down to Yoda’s wise words:
Do, or do not. There is no try.
I need to keep my brain active, or it will atrophy. I can do that by reading books. And hopefully by reading more, I’ll be inspired to write more.
But after spending my day fighting with one of my kids, I think I’m going to veg out in front of the TV tonight and start in on the brain exercise tomorrow.
How are you handling the current need for social distancing and isolation? What are some of your favorite books?
(c) 2020. All rights reserved.
Suddenly they all died. The end. 