Our Quiet House
After all our chaos, this has been a remarkably quiet week. My husband and older daughter are in Ontario, getting her settled for university in Ottawa (they flew to Toronto first to watch a Blue Jays game.) My younger daughter and I are rattling around the house, which suddenly feels much larger.
We’re putzing slowly, as she waits for university to start next week, and I get settled back into my large project that’s been pushed aside by editing and renos and packing and…. well, all that summer chaos. I’m starting by thinking about the things in the story that have been nagging me, that I know I need to pay more attention to. I’m sorting through notes, working out details for my story world, organizing myself so it’ll be easy to integrate these details into the manuscript.
I’ll be working on this story in Banff, in another week, so my goal until then is to organize all my bits and notes and nags, so I’ll be ready to launch into writing again.
Maureen
Still Living in Chaos
I would have thought that at some point the chaos at our house would abate. But no, it is not to be.
In addition to a head wound, (a planned minor procedure) that I’m currently claiming is the result of a swordfight, we had another blocked toilet.
There were only two items in the bathroom we weren’t going to replace: the toilet, which is now slated for replacement when the new flooring arrives, and the tub, which now has a wonking big chip that’ll have to be repaired.
The flooring arrived too short by 3 inches, the toilet continued to leak after being reset, and required an evening visit for a new wax seal, and the ••••• water leak behind the tub is baaaacccckkkk.
We decided the flooring mismeasurement was the result of a spatial anomaly, to go with the medicine cabinet that’s impossibly too big for the space it sits in, and the perennial water leak behind the tub tiles where there is no source of water.
Now I just need to figure out how to move the anomalies: more floor space in the kitchen, more closet space in the closets, and a steady seep of water in the garden so I can grow a few water-loving plants. Maybe there’s an app for that.
Maureen
Chaos Before Order
I’ve been world building. That sounds powerful, doesn’t it? Sometimes it feels rather small, as I’m aware of all the things I don’t yet know.
First up are the big decisions, followed by finer and finer details. Now I’m working on objects – possessions – design ideas – and finding holes in what I know.
I’m exploring weird and wonderful websites, letting images trigger ideas, floating in it all and seeing what emerges. It feels organic and strange and wonderful and a little lost, sometimes. I suspect this is a good thing, although it feels like I’ll never be able to actually find the story.
For now, I immerse myself and remember that writing will come later.
Maureen
Chaos Reigns
Chaos reigns as I try to get organized to leave town.
The dryer broke, so we have wet laundry draped around the bathroom and mudroom. One daughter has bleeding toes from ill-fitting shoes for a drama production, running three nights this week. The other needs help navigating a poorly created website to understand a training program she’s interested in (why does every program application have to be submitted while I’m away?)
Page proofs for Crow Boy arrived. I received an invite to participate in the Calgary Young Writer’s Conference; they need a workshop description and a bio before I leave. Plus, of course, I have to organize myself, and help my family get organized for while I’m gone. The calendar is filled with gigs and bingo nights, writing groups and classes and rehearsals. And, of course, Christmas is coming and requires attention.
Somehow, through all of this, I have to emerge rested and peaceful, ready for a 10–day meditation retreat. Argh!!!!
Maureen