The Fresh Start of a New Year

Whoa. January 7 already? A whole week of this brand spanking new year gone? Man - this time flying stuff is catching me off guard.

Not that the year hasn't started off in an interesting way nor that there aren't some major events up ahead. Some of them any day now. woo woo lucky TheQueen!

It's just that I don't feel the familiar verve to put word to paper - even virtual paper. I do feel a sort of nagging guilt to do so - because:
a. I like to blog
b. I have always talked to much anyway
c. I have a secret yen to be a writer - as in, ya' know, a real writer.

But even a real writer has to have something to say. And, perhaps, right now I am all about the experiencing, not the saying.

In an effort to stimulate my writer-self, I looked back over some previous January 1 posts here and in the original LikeTheQueen blog. At first it was hard because the past few Januaries have been full of missing Mama and while it was fun to see old photos of her - OUCH - there was also that pinch. Lawsie I miss that woman. The "missing" is sliding into the good pain zone - where the missing of Pop and Grandma lives - but it's still a little raw.

The older posts are all about knitting and not buying so much durn yarn and trying to lose weight and declutter and oh - be more cool. And all sorts of cryptic things about werk because - well - one does NOT blog about one's job. At least, not about the trials of it -even if it's the looming monster waiting to devour; the banshee outside your bedroom door (there is a story to that, btw).  I can promise there will be more cryptic posts in the future because - still werkin' ya' know.

So - nothing in the past prompted my creativity. And my present is all about the snow. As in - it's snowing today and we're promised 7 inches. That makes today just right for this




and this:

I could post about my New Year's Resolutions, but I think I'll let Calvin say it for me:

Perfect as I am, though - I think I shall make this commitment: I shall blog at least twice a month. And to help me find something to say I have bought a pretty little journal of writing prompts. I'm supposed to write in that but I know I won't. I already have enough pretty journals to hand write about the Life-0-TheQueen. These are "make your life better" journals and it doesn't matter if I mix up all the letters that are circles with tails in these. One is for cooking. One is for more personal stuff.

But to practice wrapping my thoughts up in beautiful words I'll be blogging about oh - you know - My Favorite Piece of Art and Why. (of course who could have a real favorite piece of art - do you love that hunky David more than the Boating Party? Yeah. I'd have a hard time picking too.

 

Still and all - I'm gonna give it a try. After 3 months I'll revisit this idea and decide if I want to continue. So. Stay tuned. (I used to think they were saying state tuned when the TV announcer said that - like whatever I was watching was specific to Virginia.) And stay warm. 

Write. Write Now - a Month of Letters

First Bossy Dogs' Mama C  drew my eye to this challenge. Then C from Knitter's Review pointed me to novelist Mary Robinette Kowal, the originator of it. When two writers, two women I deeply admire bring up the same topic I can not resist and so now I share it with you.

Her idea?

1. In the month of February, mail at least one item through the post every day it runs. Write a postcard, a letter, send a picture, or a cutting from a newspaper, or a fabric swatch.
2. Write back to everyone who writes to you. This can count as one of your mailed items.

Now - I am already doing my own little daily stuff - my 12 for 12  and I'm not really going to promise to write a letter every day of February ... though I might. But I do like the idea of writing more letters. Real, paper and pen, folded cards, sealed and stamped letters. I like to get them and I like to mail them. So if I am lucky enough to have your address - it may be that you will get a little missive from me this month. 

Speaking of my 12 for 12 - it's a new month - time for reflection and time to chose another item to focus on. The food journal was a true success - I never missed a day - although last weekend I came up against The Great Unknown of the Seafood Buffet  - pretty much ruined 3 weeks of careful weight management in a single night. But at least I knew, see? I knew where I went right - I knew where I slipped up. And the little bit paper that asks "uh Queenie - you're eating more than you need so are you really hungry?" often is enough to remind me that I can stop grazing. I even think that this little discipline might have helped me reflect with accuracy upon just why I fell so far off the wagon last weekend. 

So. Good habit. Keeping it up.

As for this month - I believe I shall choose prayer/meditation. It struck me that all the other habits I'll be concentrating on the rest of the year will be easier, more fun, more successfully integrated into my life if I'm open, contemplative, prayerful. Besides - I just feel like that's something missing in my daily routine.

But prayer means quiet time and in this little house, quiet time means early in the morning - so it also means I have to shave 30 minutes a day off my morning computer time. Thirty minutes that begin right now - so - Ta.