Blog Archives

Simply Write....'a little crazy, and a lot of fun' for February

31/1/2011

It's 31st January and I'm about to embark upon a 28 day writing scholarship (which has been generously awarded by me, to me).

They say the single best thing you can do to improve your writing is to write.

I've browsed a number of writing websites, but am using as my guide Chris Baty's No Plot, No Problem - A Low Stress, High Velocity Guide to Writing A Novel in 30 Days , mainly because I like his humour.

'I hope you'll find in these pages the friendly kick in the pants you need', he says, and tells me to embrace 'exuberant imperfection'.

So for the next month, if blogs are erratic, short, or even missing all together, I hope you'll be understanding and forgiving........and wish me luck!

Simply Write....your one word, and send it to me?

30/1/2011

Have you chosen your one word to set the tone for 2011?

So far people I know have chosen

.. FITTER .. CALM .. GRACE-FULL .. EASE .. STAMINA .. SIMPLER .. NOURISH ..

             .. FLY-THE-PLANE .. HOPE ..also .. LISTEN   .. REGENERATION .. and

CALM again .. and CHEERS!

                                                                           thanks Jill and Julie and Chris....any more?

(You have to read The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande to understand fly-the-plane!)

Will you share yours Jill, Julia, Eric, Chris, Judy, Liz, Andy, Miriam, Teresa, Laura, Doreen, Jacqui, Elizabeth, Sophie, Claire, Charlie, Ian and everyone?

Simply Organise...your time..

29/1/2011

The tasks do seem to take on their own personality as Lynne says (comments 25 Jan.)

I think I'm scared that 'tasks' will take up all of my time, and I'll have no time left for fun and for the things I really want to do. I don't seem to have much of what they call leisure time somehow, though I have a tendency to turn hobbies into work.

I'm reminded of those articles you read in magazines which say 'Just 10 minutes a day to transform your....' (fill in the blank), or 'In only half an hour a day you can learn a new ....' or 'By simply taking a daily 40 minute walk you will soon....' and when you add them all up plus your work hours it comes to more than 24!

Life is short and I've got a lot to fit in....31st Jan tax return deadline looms..

Simply Beautiful...I need colour. The back gate does it for me, every time!

28/1/2011

Simply Write...in special places

26/1/2011

Where are your special places? Finding special places is a way to have maximum fun with this novel writing lark.

So what's required of a special place to write in? Clean is required. Good coffee and pleasant service are required. A view of passers by through a (clean) window would be good. An unhurried ambience. Music if it's not too loud is fine. A fresh flower on the table is a welcome bonus. Or a candle on a dull day. Pretty basic things to ask of a cafe, wouldn't you say?

Mary Portas and Michel Roux would have their work cut out here, because sadly, on the whole, cafes in Scotland are embarassingly bad.

Do you have a favourite cafe? Recommendations needed please!

Simply Write....finding the ambience..

26/1/2011

I suspect if you have something to say you can probably write it anywhere, but I'm on a mission to find perfect places to write.

Here is one of my favourite cafes. Because it is good, it's often busy, and I couldn't comfortably write while people are waiting for a table, so I need to find the quiet times.

On chilly winter days, they put sheepskins and rugs on the seats outside. Love it! (Though I went inside....)

www.kemberandjones.co.uk

Simply Organise...still nagging, sorry!

25/1/2011

So why do tasks nag me?

Because I procrastinate, because I'm sometimes lazy and because I have other, interesting things to do usually!

I have a friend who once looked askance at the very notion of a nagging task. 'I just go to where it needs to be done, and do it.' she said. She now travels the world running her own multi million pound business. 'Do it. Do it now.' is a good motto.

So maybe if I stop groaning and just do it, with a lighter heart, I'll stop nagging myself. It isn't much fun after all.

Do you have any nagging tasks? Tips welcome!

I do notice that when I've completed one I tend to carry on and get a few out of the way. Feels good....

Simply Organise...baby steps

24/1/2011

Another get-it-done strategy for another nagging task. Break it down into baby steps.

Tax return (groan).Tonight get out all the paperwork and put it in the middle of the table. Easy.

In the morning read it and decide on the next action. Painless.

Later, do the next action - no problem, no stress.

Now sometimes I just go along in baby steps for half an hour here, 10 minutes there, over a weekend say, or even a week if I've got a lot more interesting things I want to be doing. But sometimes I realise there isn't really that much to it, and if I just focus for an hour or two, it could be done and off my mind for another whole year, so I just...do it.

Simply Organise those nagging tasks..

23/1/2011

Today I finally got so fed up carrying the mental burden of some nagging tasks that I just did them. You have to adopt a particular mindset, don't you, to do the things you have been putting off, and putting off...

My conversation with myself went something like this (it was about contacting someone) -

Why am I putting this off? I've put it off so long now it's going to cause me some embarassment to do it.

How long will the embarassment last? Minutes.

Will I actually die of embarassment? No.

How much will it hurt? Well, I'll squirm a bit.

How will I feel after this is done? Great. Relieved. Clear headed. Lighter. Happier.

How long will it actually take to do? Fifteen minutes max.

Can I come up with one really sound, intelligent reason not to do it? No.

Simply did it! (And of course it wasn't so bad and I wondered why I had put it off so long. Some things I just don't learn.....)

Now, the tax return..

Simply Write....and write, and write

22/1/2011

To write a 50,000 word novel in a month requires 1,667 words a day. And that's in a 30 day month. February has only 28 days this year!

I've just counted - my blog postings are about 200 words. Hmm.

Chris Baty in No Plot, No Problem talks of his own experience: '...the pleasure of learning by doing. Of taking risks, of making messes. Of following ideas just to see where they lead. The roar of adrenaline drowned out the self critical voices that tend to make creative play such work for adults.'

Writer Ray Bradbury in the same vein: 'Your intuition knows what it wants to write, so get out of the way.'

Baty says 'The zone - that place where you become a passive conduit to a story....makes life a little more enchanted.'
Nice word enchanted. Enchanted February - would that make a good title? Sounds familiar...

It all sounds a bit like a wing and a prayer to me! But it does sound like fun, and I will do it!

After all what's the alternative? Be a bit down in February like I usually am? Wish the whole month away waiting for Spring? Moan about how dank and muddy and depressing February is?

Nine days to go, in which time I have to come up with seven paintings for two galleries.

To the studio!

Simply Write.....Fabulous February

21/1/2011

I can hardly believe this, but I'm actually looking forward to February!

As you may remember I am planning to write a novel in February (see Simply Write 1 Nov). Am buying a dozen of my favourite pen, lovely brown paper notebooks from Paperchase, and am stocking up on printer cartridges.

Am thinking about where I will write. Virginia Woolf famously had a room of her own, Vera Brittain used to stay in country hotels or in her cottage in the New Forest (taking staff). Somerset Maugham had his villa in Cap Ferrat, T S Elliot his shelter on the front at Margate, now listed, and Roald Dahl his shed. Barbara Rapido says 'I used to run away from home to write'. I'm thinking the nicest libraries, study rooms in museums, cafes....unlike J K Rowling I won't have a baby in a pram thank heavens. (How did she do it?)

How will I keep up the blog? Expect very short postings in February!

All absolutely non essential chores will be cancelled - hurrah. Social life may be curtailed somewhat.

You can see that so far it's total fantasy, can't you. All the fun stuff - the utter indulgence of lots of time to myself - I can hear myself turning down requests for my time with 'Sorry, I'm writing my novel this month!'

I've thought of everything except.........a story!

I really don't know if I've got a story in me. Gulp..

Simply Live...under a blue, blue sky..

20/1/2011

I can get high on the blue of the sky !

Looking up yesterday. Took our coffee down to the shore for the warmth of the sun on our backs. Bliss...

Today? Thick mist and a hoar frost.

Here, for your delight, is Hans Rosling the 'possiblist', with Ikea boxes instead of digital wizardry -

www.ted.talks.com/hansrosling/globalpopulation

Trust me - it's worth typing this into Google if you can't get it here....sorry..

Live Simply.....the Amish..

19/1/2011

I'm enjoying reading Plain and Simple. A Woman's Journey to the Amish by Sue Bender. I love quilts and like the writer was thrilled when I first came across the old Amish quilts and wanted to know more about the women who made them. The picture is of an Amish quilt I own, though sadly I know nothing of its history.

The Amish people live very simply, eschewing modern technology, including cars and electricity.

What, I wonder, becomes of those Amish who are intellectually curious, restless, creative, competitive even? There is scope within their lives to be all these things - except perhaps competitive - but only within very limiting and very strictly enforced constraints. I imagine that we can't all find contentment in simple things. Even if we are told that it is right, and is the will of God. Some Amish leave, some are shunned.

But their belief in a simple life, their unhurried pace, their conviction that they are but custodians of the land they farm so sustainably, and the support that they give each other are very attractive.

'I who worked hard at being special fell in love with a people who valued being ordinary.' says Sue Bender. She writes with clarity and honesty, and hers is an unusual perspective. A book to be read, and reread....

Live Simply....where do I/where do you fit into all this?

18/1/2011

Well, I'm not advocating simplicity.

I am trying to espouse simplicity myself because it appeals to me, is attractive to me, and I'm lucky enough to have the freedom to choose. I am really enjoying exploring the possibilities and sharing my thoughts about it. It suits my temperament.

We're not all the same. We're not all wired to find contentment in simplicity. Some thrive on adventure, excitement, curiosity and challenge, change, competition and energetic activity (I love all these things myself... at times). Isn't it just as well that we're not all the same?

There isn't room for us all to go back to the 'simple life' and self sufficiency even if we were so inclined.

The world population is 6,894,285,725 today at noon, and growing (www.census.gov/worldclock). It's increased by 70 or so in the time it's taken you to read this!

Meanwhile, I'm reading about the Amish......

Live Simply.....sustainably?

17/1/2011

For another view of industrialisation take a look at american sustainability activist Annie Leonard - www.storyofstuff.com

Lively and energetic presentation, a bleaker view, and 20 minutes long, with a too short section on 'Another Way'.

(She has been criticised for 'raising the freak out level'!)

Live Simply....and be grateful I live in healthy and wealthy UK

16/1/2011

For a remarkable visualisation of some of the effects of industrialisation click here -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00cgkfk

Professor Hans Rosling is a medical doctor, statistician and professor of Global Health. His presentation is very entertaining and clever!

He says an amazing amount in only four minutes....

Simply Live...and let live..

15/1/2011

Here's a lovely story from Timeless Simplicity by John Lane (thank you Steve) The illustration from it is by Clifford Harper.-

The industrialist was horrified to find the fisherman lying beside his boat, smoking a pipe.

Why aren't you fishing? asked the industrialist.

Because I've caught enough fish for the day.

Why don't you catch some more?

What would I do with them?

Earn more money. Then you could have a motor fixed to your boat and go into deeper waters and catch more fish. That would bring you money to buy nylon nets, so more fish, more money. Soon you would have enough to buy two boats, even a fleet of boats, then you could be rich like me.

What would I do then?

Then you could sit back and enjoy life.

What do you think I'm doing now?

Thank goodness for fishermen............and for industrialists...

Simply Fitter and a bit of damage limitation...

14/1/2011

To motivate myself I also need to remember how it feels and looks when my skin looks good. It will never again have a youthful glow. This I know. But do I need to look so grey in winter?

I think if a fairy godmother, or something, granted me one wish about my appearance I'd choose perfect skin. Or perfect teeth. (Do you know I actually spend time thinking about which I would choose! How time wasting is that.....)

A friend once told me her elderly Highland crofter father had plump rosy cheeks because he rubbed them hard with the towel every time he dried his face. I can do this! It might work ...(awful vision suddenly of ruddy, broken veined face requiring green foundation to look normal! I do like to frighten myself out of doing anything!)

OK

I will try a gentle version of this. And protect my face from cold winds in winter and hot sunshine (blissful memory) in summer.

Simple.

Enough about fitter - next posting 'live and let live'. Don't forget 'Life In A Cottage Garden' is on BBC 2 tonight, if you are reading this in UK. Do you garden in USA Julia?

Simply Fitter....and The Fun Theory

13/1/2011

To motivate myself I also need to remember what fun it is to be lean and toned! How much nicer clothes look. How I might stop concentrating on clever disguise, and just enjoy wearing slim dresses, belts, fitted tops....and a swimsuit. (Help! I'll have to wear one soon! That swimming course I booked is coming up.)

That's a deadline. I'm always better with deadlines.

Anyone going to join me in getting fitter?

They say it's a lot easier with a buddy.....

Click here for the fun bit. Enjoy!

Simply Grow....and watch the wildlife

12/1/2011

'Feed me, feed me!'

We can't keep up - there's one on the back door handle too....

Simply Grow/Simply Listen

11/1/2011

I have to say I haven't given a thought to gardening for ages (ours is still under snow). I'd grown bored with television gardening programmes and the controversies over which presenter of Gardeners' World is best. They seemed cliched and inevitably repetetive, gardening being a fairly repetitive business really.

But Life In A Cottage Garden With Carol Klein is a gem. No hype, no clever clever stuff, little music - and what little there is is delicate and evocative of the winter season. Also, perhaps because she is on her home ground, Carol has toned it down a bit (sometimes on Gardeners' World her enthusiasm came across as just a little forced).

The editing of this programme is beautiful, and the sound editing superb. The crunch of the sharp knife through a snowdrop bulb, the sound of a mountainous heap of clematis hitting the ground from a great height as she flings it from the top of a very tall ladder. The rain. The chuckle in her voice. I felt I was there in the dimly lit shed....

This is the real thing. I watched it twice! Unheard of....and there are five more programmes to come. Hurrah.

BBC 2 Fri evenings.

Simply Grow - now....and then

10/1/2011

I needed reminding....isn't it amazing?

Carol Klein's new gardening programme inspired me to look at the summer photographs. I think the programme is excellent - she's the real thing!

Simply Live

9/1/2011

Snow inside and out!

Painting is my meditation

Need more heating in the studio

Request for paintings from gallery so extra socks and get in there

Love it, but maybe there's such a thing as too much snow

Never thought those words would pass my lips

Must be getting old..

Simply Fitter....

8/1/2011

To motivate myself I need to think about how I will feel when I am fitter.

I know that after even a few days walking further than the car in the drive, there comes a moment when I want to stride out, when my legs are just carrying me along, effortlessly. Getting into my stride. It's a really nice feeling. I'm not talking super-fit, athlete-fit here. Just fitter than I am now.

It's not hard to get to this simple level of fitness. I can do this!

Excuse me - short posting, long walk...

Simply Fitter/Simply Laugh....if you didn't you'd surely cry..

7/1/2011

'New Year New You' said the article (Times 2 Mon 3 and Tue 4 Jan).

New body - Ministry of Waxing, from£15. Laser hair removal, between £600 and £1000. Medical pedicure £75. Velashape £500 for six sessions. Coolsculpting £800. A fish pedicure - yes little live fish devour your hard skin! Only £45. Quadruple thighpass £115 per hour. Or a tension suspension massage £780 for ten treatments....and..

New Skin - Pigment balancing £800 for six sessions. Pelleve £600 per session. Tri Polar System at £225 per hour. Non surgical facelift for £140. Collagen boosting £125. O2 Intraceuticals facial - a wand that uses pressurised oxygen to propel brightening and anti-ageing serum deep into the skin. Ouch! From £125. 'The best thing is that the skin visibly improves for about five days, though the effect begins to wear off after seven'.....!

New Hair - Trichology session from £375 an hour. Cut for £125. Colour correction work £150 till the end of February, or, wait for it, Hair Botox! A mere £15.

Perfect teeth? £800 per tooth.

My fitness kit (three books and a DVD) came to £20.33. (The Leo Babatua book was a present from Maggie).

AM I OR AM I NOT LOW MAINTENANCE?

Sometimes I feel I'm a stranger in my own land.

A poor stranger...