Tuesday, October 07, 2008

busy but good



Typing to you from the new keyboard, wrists resting on cool gel pads, mouse skating along on the gel mouse pad too, and screen raised to nearly eye level.

I still need the foot rest but the set-up is close enough and comfortable enough that I worked on the book for an hour this morning. A good thing - now the top of my head won't be blowing off.

The week is busy and I think my getting the cold, which is nearly gone now, was an in-advance response to all the things on my schedule.

We have trailer cleaning, fence repairing, shower head replacing, riding lessons, costume shopping, haircuts, acupuncture, cast check, clients, and I have a 3-day workshop this weekend, called For Whom Have I Journeyed? Spiritual Initiation in the Sandplay of Midlife Men.

I'm excited. This is the kind of workshop that does double duty: it's continuing education for my work, but it also feeds the writing.

Around the farm, we have a new barn cat in training. Mystic has decided that his calling is to join Dickens E. Wickens in the cowboy life. He is out there constantly, helping with stall mucking, learning how to drink from horse buckets and troughs, and lying in the pasture with the horses while they graze. I had a feeling he was destined to be a cowboy.


(photo credits to daughter)

A cowboy named Mystic. I think I might have a new book character forming.

8 comments:

Grey Horse Matters said...

That new keyboard set up sounds fantastic and comfortable. You certainly are busy, but that's the best way to be right? And of course the cats are adorable.

billie said...

Oh, Arlene, my ongoing goal is to be as un-busy as possible!

:)

I try hard to have at least 3 days/week with nothing on the schedule, and this one is blowing that out of the water.

Sometimes, though, when things get hectic, other good things pop up in between the activity. Last night, my daughter had a jump lesson here on Cody, and I knew the moment she was done we needed to get horses set up so we could go get haircuts in town.

Dinner had to happen in the midst of all that. I'm not sure how, but we managed to have amazing bacon and green olive and cheese calzones. It felt like serendipity when those things came out of the oven.

So being busy does have its rewards.

Mamie said...

Whew! I'm relieved about the non-head-blowing-off!

I don't want to mention this on my own blog, but thought you might find this interesting. Today I was taking food to a friend whose wife is living out her final days. As I prepared to turn on their street, there were two huge turkey buzzards in the street. When I left, I had my camera ready to take a photo, but they were nowhere to be found.

billie said...

Mamie, imagined how relieved my family members are! :)

I adore turkey buzzards.

Watch for a photo my husband took - I'll see if I can find it and put it up now.

Mamie said...

Billie, when I looked turkey buzzards up in Animal Speak, I was amazed at the message of hope they bring and the relevance of it to someone who is dying. I sent an email to my friend with some of the things I found and he is an Animal Speak fan too and loved the email! Thanks for turning me on to this fascinating book.

billie said...

Mamie, I was going to look it up for you and type it in, but my laptop is sitting on top of my Ted Andrews' books right now and I had the vet coming to do acupuncture on the pony - I'm glad you have the book and looked it up, AND that it meant something good to your friend.

It's pretty amazing that there were two of these birds right in the street by his house.

Thanks for sharing it here - I love reading these bird sighting stories.

Anonymous said...

The calzones were amazing. Thanks for getting that dinner all planned and ready for the family. It's the little touches like that you do that add so much to the texture of our lives on November Hill. I know the readers of this blog can also see that richness of life and creativity that comes across here week after week. . .

billie said...

That's very sweet, Matthew. Thank you.