Thursday, March 29, 2012

On Slow Progress in a Busy Season...

     Spring is so very much here! Numerous hours have been spent in the sun either on the deck or in the garden. The early crops are planted and growing oh so fast. It never ceases to amaze me how seeds so small can produce such amazing beauty. A bit at a time, the raised beds are coming alive. Ever so slowly, the landscaping around the house is being repaired and planted. Being that once again time flew by so fast that a month has passed since my last blog, you can tell that things have been busy.
     The Culpeper Star Exponent interview made it to their front page. I was so excited. People I barely know were congratulating me on the novel and the history behind it. Apparently, the article also encouraged a few sales - as I just received an unexpected royalty check from Amazon for e-reader sales I didn't know occurred! Now to find time to promote up in Warrenton and get over to Winchester to follow up on those other offers. I'm also so very far behind with online promoting. Slow progress, but it is there at least.
     Book two is making slow progress. I'm about fifty pages into it right now and cannot wait until Spring Break so there are more hours to focus on it. Right now the writing is happening during random moments in Starbucks or those days I get a "planning" time at the high school. Once in awhile a page will get from my mind to the netbook right before bedtime, but those end up need a lot more editing later!
     Between the gardening, writing, household tasks, substituting near every day, various house projects, tutoring and mentoring my days are packed and come evening I'm exhausted physically and mentally. It is the hardest part of the day for me. I see so many things that should be worked on, but my physical limitations have hit the wall. All I seem to be able to do after dinner is some light work like laundry or animal care. I sit at this computer and talk to my wonderful online friends, play Star Trek Online (trekkie!) and catch up with my husband. Anything else hurts too much. Even during the day I notice that my steps are slower and the pain comes more than it should. The changes in my ability to speak quickly and precisely annoy me to no end. I've never had to sit and think for seconds at a time, looking for a word or phrase (those who haven't seen me in awhile, can you even imagine me speaking slowly...utter nonsense). I've never had so many words come out with poor pronunciation. The written word has come to mean more and more to me these last few months.
    Everything has to happen more slowly around here now. It is hard to accept. We are planning a two week trip this summer. It is a fine line to walk between pushing myself to get strong enough to hike or even handle something like a zoo or museum (possibly going back to the "I'm invincible" mindset) and limiting myself due to fear. Fear of another dislocation, another bad sprain, another setback. So, I am learning to go slowly and to push past the fear...but that is another blog for another time.

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