A space apart,
the pause in a song –
We live in this moment,
this
gap
between breaths,
and walk in
the
stillness
between movements.
Somewhere between
a time and a turning,
fast-approaching
but
slow and unsteady,
we wait.
Author: Katie
On Caffeine, and Cutting It Out
I love coffee.
I also love tea, and I’m too fond for my own good of Diet Coke. As vices go, caffeine’s not so bad. Nonetheless, I haven’t had a drop since June 21st.
This is a change I’ve been thinking about making for a while. I was experiencing some really bad heartburn, and I’ve never been the best at sleeping. I figured cutting caffeine – especially coffee – would be helpful, and so I finally did it.
And, well…yeah.
I’m fine. Totally fine. Really, I’m completely good. Except…
I had no idea how essential caffeine was to my creative process!!
Y’all, I have had so much trouble writing anything good for the last month. Poems are a struggle, and I truly don’t know how I’m going to manage this month’s short story (which is coming this week, by the way!).
So, tell me, writer friends: How do you get yourself into a good writing headspace, especially if you’re also going without caffeine? I’ll take any advice. HELP. Please. And thank you!
(I’ve also cut out alcohol. But that’s been much easier. Which both surprises me and doesn’t surprise me at all.)
A Sure Sign of Summer
Look at this little guy!
I’ve written before about how I find bugs fascinating. Graham snapped a few pictures of this one – just molted – yesterday, and I just had to share.
Last year, we had a giant brood of cicadas in the region, and boy were they…annoying. And different from our usual set, too.
Neat to watch, and cool to think about, but generally loud, and ever-present. I caught one of them landing on me every ten seconds.
No brood this year, but one of the surest signs of summer around here is the gentle (and sometimes not so gentle) hum of the cicadas. Like fireflies in the evening and passing storms in the afternoon, it’s really just not summer without it.
(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Where I’m Not
But I’ll be there soon! And honestly, soon can’t get here soon enough. 😉
Happy Monday, Gatsby-cat!
Happy Monday, y’all! Here’s a picture of Gatsby, taken with Graham’s new camera earlier today.
I just had to share, and I hope his handsome face makes you smile.
Gatsby’s sixteen, and in addition to the eye issue he’s been dealing with, we know he has a heart murmur and kidney disease, which is not advanced, thankfully. He’s also had some digestion issues in the past couple of years, which seem to have settled for now.
I adopted him when he was a kitten and I was nineteen.
We’ve basically grown into adulthood together.
It’s funny, watching a beloved pet get older. I still look at him and see the scruffy little kitten he was, even though he’s going gray and he’s slowed down quite a bit. He used to play fetch. He used to play at all, for that matter. His days now are filled with naps in the sunshine and cuddles and snacks. It’s quite a life.
It’s been a quite a life.
I don’t know how much longer this sweet old man has, but I will treasure every second I get to spend with him.
Graham’s New Camera
Graham got a new camera! It’s a Fujifilm X-T30 II, and he’s really liking it so far. It’s lightweight, easy to carry, and takes pretty good pictures. He’s been snapping some random, quick shots around the house and garden to try it out, and explore its different modes and features.
And of course, our two favorite subjects. 😊
Gatsby’s been dealing with an eye issue, which we’ve finally gotten diagnosed and have some medicine for. Not that it’s easy to give him the medicine, but at least we’ve got it.
We’re planning to spend some time this weekend playing around a bit more with the new camera. Hopefully we get some good photos!
(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Dreaming of Adventure
Snowdonia, in Wales, from our trip in 2015, which seems like ages ago now. I’d go back in a heartbeat. And today, I’ve found myself just sitting and daydreaming about traveling and adventures, and wondering where we might go next.
If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be?
Groundhog Problems
Don’t be fooled. He might be cute, but he’s a nuisance.
Let me back up.
We’ve always had a groundhog on our property. They’re very common in Virginia. The year we moved in, he was living under one of our outbuildings, and we’d see him poking around the yard and eating grass and just generally doing groundhog things. We didn’t think much of it.
That, apparently, was a mistake.
Six years later, he’s invited his friends to move in. Now we have three groundhogs. And one of them can climb trees. Did you know groundhogs could climb trees? Because I didn’t.
I did some Googling to see just how urgent an issue this is, since I generally don’t like to intervene with nature when I don’t have to.
The good news: Groundhogs are typically not aggressive or violent.
The bad news: They can wreak havoc on a property, and they’ve been known to carry fleas, ticks, sometimes rabies, and various diseases, though they’re more likely to cause property damage than to make people sick.
So, I think we need to make some phone calls. I don’t know if the situation we have here warrants their removal or not – they’ve stayed away from the main house, and from us and our dog. But, I think we’ve reached our groundhog limit, and I know there are ways to remove them humanely, if that’s necessary.
After all, you know what they say: Three’s a crowd.
Am I a writer this week?
It’s been a week, y’all. Last week was a week, too. I don’t feel like I’ve been able to focus and spend time on the projects I care most about lately, including my writing. In fact, I don’t feel much like a writer this week at all.
It’s not a great feeling. And it’s also not true.
On weeks like this, when I’m tired and stressed and when my impostor syndrome gets the better of me, I remind myself that creating is fundamental to who I am. It’s part of me, just like my hair and my nails and my eyes and that weird little wrinkle I get in my forehead when I think too hard about math. It’s like breathing.
Every day, I’m thinking about a story, or an idea, or just some words that fit nicely together. Even if I can’t do anything with them RIGHT NOW. Unfortunately, we live in a world where RIGHT NOW is often table stakes, a requirement of any job and an expectation in any undertaking. There’s just not a lot of value placed on someday soon, or on letting your mind meander even when your hands are busy elsewhere. It seems, in many ways, we’ve lost the will or the way to appreciate the art of daydreaming.
So, I’ve not gotten much writing done this week. But I am a writer. I can’t turn it on and off like a faucet. I wouldn’t want to.
And if you’ve had a week like mine, this week or in the future, I hope you remember: You are a writer. Even when things get in the way, and even when it feels like you’ll never get back to your trusty old pen and paper (or laptop). YOU ARE A WRITER.
In conclusion, TL;DR – Yes, I am still a writer this week. And I wonder what next week will bring.
Two Inspiration Cuartetos
It’s time for another monthly poetry challenge from Rebecca over at Fake Flamenco! July’s challenge is to write a cuarteto about what inspires you to write. This one was a little tricky for me – I don’t focus on rhyming in my poetry, so it felt something like flexing a new muscle. I think I did okay, though. 😊
Raindrops pinging on the roof,
a cup of tea, and a cloudy day
make a happy writer, I would say.
And right here is the proof.
I like to write at night
when all is quiet and still,
to keep company with the moonlight
and share thoughts with just paper and quill.
I had a lot of fun with this one! If you want to participate, too, you’ve got until Sunday. I think you should! It’s always good to try new things, right?
A Virginia Writer's Diary 