Life, simply by the numbers.

I have been working on putting together a new project for the coming year. I really enjoyed my 2009 simplifying project, and I have been feeling the loss of creativity the past year or two (or three....) So, I have decided that 2011 is going to be my year of internal, creative and spiritual exploration.

Thanks to the inspiration of my wondrously creative friend Lynnie (how is it we haven't known each other forever??), I have decided to do a daily, weekly and monthly series of explorations. I am beginning the dailies (the 365s) on December 1, the weeklies (the 52s) on January 1, and the monthlies (the 12s) on February 1. I was originally going to start them all on the first of the year, but I am not good at keeping resolutions, and that's not really what this is all about. I am not looking to change myself, but learn about myself; so I am spreading them out over the next three months to begin. (plus, I am still working on the final details of the 12s....)

The project is going to be an internal exploration more than anything else. I really want to learn about me, discover who I am and what I believe. Thus, the project will be mainly writing and reading and thinking. And blogging. I figure if you are reading this, either you already know me (maybe better than I know myself these days) or you are interested in learning who I am. So, we shall explore together.

I shall have three tasks for each, which will be unveiled as the time for the beginning each project nears. As next week is December 1, I figured I should put my thoughts for the 365 daily projects together: haiku, thank you, journal jar.

~*~ First, I will write an haiku every day. I have been doing Haiku Monday for a while now, and I love that so many of my friends have picked up on it and have been writing them, as well (especially my best girlfriend Merlyn, who took over and ran with it so gloriously when I faltered. I love you huge!).

~*~ Second, I will thank someone for something every day. Maybe at home, maybe at work, maybe at play; maybe something huge, maybe something small, maybe something that is everything. I have a billion blessings in my life, and rather than just count them, I think it's time I start thanking people for them.

~*~ Third, I shall use my journal jar. I have a wonderfully simple, square glass jar with a glass lid that has bunches of slips of paper with journal prompts, collected over the years and never used. Every day, I shall draw a prompt from the jar and journal. I shall continue to add to the jar as I discover prompts I like or that intrigue me, and my journal will be posted here; so if you have a prompt you like, or a question you want answered, or a thought you want pondered, I am open to suggestions. Make a comment, pop me on FB, or send an email....

Well, that's it for the 365 daily projects; I shall start on Wednesday, December 1. When we get closer to the end of the year, I shall post about the 52 weekly tasks I am setting for myself.

As always, thanks for listening.

Why I love what I do

I truly love my job. It may not always seem it, and I may need reminding of that fact every now and then. But I LOVE my job.

My work day started with my monthly visit to a local preschool. As I entered the room, a chorus of 4 and 5 year old voices was raised, all saying,"She's here! She's here! She's really here!" They were so excited to see me, and they wanted me to stay and read the books all over again when I had finished. They were attentive, interested and excited. There's nothing like a class of 22 adoring kids to make a person smile inside.

The day finished with a 2 hour long, intense and emotional discussion of Gone With The Wind with a group of people whom I consider friends. I started my Connect With the Classics group over 3 years ago, and we have grown and developed into a literary family. Tonight was a fabulous discussion and I left work with the same wonderful feeling I had started the day with.

I truly love my job. And you know what? I am damn good at it. :)

And now, a couple of haiku:

This one was written last night in a fit of insomnia while looking out the window:

Haze over moonlight
obscures all but fiercest dreams;
starlight brings the frost.

And this one was written this morning after hearing the news:

Snow in the forecast~
blustery, windy and cold.
It's snuggle season!

Enjoy your Tuesday night!
Thanks for listening.

And so begins a new week.

A busy week ahead. Book discussions, midnight movies, and pajama parties. Time with family, time for friends, a little play and lots of work. A good week ahead.

And it's Haiku Monday!

Quiet Monday morn,
shaking off hazy dream swirls.
Time to start the week.

Well, it's several hours later now, the sleep has been shaken off. And I was inspired to write one more:

Mischief on my mind;
mundane worries miss the mark.
Merry, not maudlin.

More later, maybe. :)

Thoughts askew

I have been thinking about this post for several hours. It's very important for me to set a routine and stick to for a while so the writing starts to flow naturally again. Parts of that have been easy. I love my haiku writing, and I have very much enjoyed getting back to Haiku Monday again. I even wrote one today, although it's not Monday.

Thoughts all jumbled up,

like fall leaves in a whirlwind.

Too much to ponder.

It's just been that kind of day. I have been thinking on what to write, and the thoughts are battling with each other for the forefront. Each wants to be the important one, the topic of a blog or a poem or a story. This is new, sort of like the anti- writer's block. And I am finding it no less frustrating than when my mind was a blank slate, ready for the thoughts to flow and they never came forth.

So, I suppose the thing to do is just to write. And so, here I am. Writing.

It's a gorgeous fall day, warm and yet a bit crisp, sunny and golden. I have the housework done, the soup is defrosting for tonight (I just couldn't get motivated to cook today), Bailey is brushed and frisky, the windows are open to the fresh air, sweaters are being washed for the soon visiting cold weather, and it's Veteran's Day. That's a lot to pack into one sunny Thursday. It's probably a good thing I have tomorrow off, too.

I have a million things I want to do, and at least a thousand that I should do. There are projects I want to start, projects I have started to which I should return, books to be read, movies to be watched, pictures to be sorted, music to be organized, and a spare room that need to be gutted and reorganized.

And yet, all I can do is sit and think. About life, love, friendships, family, winter, steps to take and when to take them, pestering and not giving up, playing and being serious, awkward moments, unexpected delights, chocolate cake, loneliness and recipes. That's a lot of thinking to pack into one sunny Thursday. Again, it's probably a good thing I have tomorrow off.

Falling out

Ahhh, November. Autumn has always been my favourite of all the seasons. It is the reason I put up with the snow and ice and cold and hibernation that I know will soon follow. Spring is gentle and bright and welcoming, and summer is my playground. But fall is like a comfortable love, a passionate embrace of warmth and chill and surprise and plans and glory.

November is a strange bedfellow, though. The world isn't sure if it should be golden or grey. Leaves have mostly fallen and while the trees are bare and barren, there are still piles and sweeps and miles of brilliant color around. We know the snow is just a breath away, but we hold out hope for that last warm afternoon (did you hear? it's supposed to be in the 60's this week....). We scrape and defrost and shiver every bright morning and drive home in the dark every night.

The time change is the one part of the fall I don't like. It changes the boundaries of night and day at a time when we are already trying to adjust to the change in temperature and preparing for the coming winter. It depresses the soul, even as it allows one precious hour more for one lousy day. I'd much rather leave things as they are. Let the school kids wait in the misty dawn; we've earned the sunshine, we should keep it as long as possible.

Fall has always been a time of preparation. The slow cookers come out, along with the quilts, the sweaters, the woolies, the footballs and the snuggle urges. It is a time of rest, of readiness for the holiday daze (note, I said preparation. I still believe in holding the yule and christmas and solstice celebrations until their due time), of unpacking and repacking, of reflection and rejuvenation as we ready ourselves for the long darkness.

The autumn brings a certain longing. For comfort foods and comfort clothes and comforting friendships. And I count my blessings every day that I have the friendships that comfort my soul and my heart.

This November I wish for you all the joys of the autumn. I am feeling the longing for connection, for comfort and for my friends and I count my blessings, each and every one of you, at every day's dawn.

Blessed November wishes to you all.

Thanks for listening.

Starting over

It has come to my attention that this poor little blog has sat here, unattended and unloved, for far too long. I have been writing a little more lately, and it is time to get back to being organized. I am working on new projects for next year (which actually starts sooner than it seems possible). More on those later.

For now, I will try to post some of my haiku, some of my thoughts, and some of my ideas here.

And, as it is Haiku Monday, here's one for today, and the few before that, as well. Enjoy!

This one really expresses how I have been feeling these past days:

Sunshine in my eyes~

A bright beginning energized.

Life makes me aware.

And here's one from last Monday, November 1:

Frost is in the air.

The time for sweaters is here.

Darkness approaches.

That shall do it for this Monday night.

As always, thanks for listening.