Sunday, November 18, 2007

Take the good with the bad

My NaNoWriMo novel has been giving me a lot of agida, and I keep having to remind myself that I started the damn thing to have fun. Now it's feeling burdensome. What was supposed to have been a mad-cap adventure in writing has turned into one more failure of 2007: The Year that Nearly Killed Me.

Perspective
Lately I've been thinking it's all a matter of perspective. I mean, the NaNoWriMo thing forced me to get many words down on paper (on hard-drive, that is) and even if I don't complete the 50,000 words, who cares, right? It's a start, and, as any writer knows, it's actually sitting down and starting that's the hardest part. And, in 2007 a lot of really lame things happened, and a lot of really great things happened too. I guess that's just how life goes. (Yes, many Life Lessons are coming to me late in life, I know.) Like, my grandpa dies just a few months before my first nephew is born. We buy a house, but I'm sick and have back pain all year. You gotta take the good with the bad.

Did somebody say crrrrafting?
Here are a couple of things I've made recently. This was made specifically to deal with the aforementioned stress and muscle aches - it's filled with whole buckwheat (you can buy it in bulk at Whole Foods) and a bit of lavender. Very simple, just a long tube of cotton and the stuffing. Put it in the microwave for about two minutes, apply to sore muscles and relax.

I made this reversible apron for my young 2 year old friend. The neck strap is adjustable (so hopefully she'll be able to wear it for more than 6 months) - there are buttons on both sides of the bib bit. This was the first time I've made button holes and it went so well I want to sew buttons on everything I make now.

4 comments:

kbmulder said...

Oh, I just love the reversible apron!! Did you use a pattern or invent it yourself? E is one lucky little girl.

Good for you! for putting everything in perspective. It's not always easy to do. Hopefully your list of things to be thankful for is longer that the bad things this year. You got started on a book and that is an accomplishment in itself!

KHM said...

Cute! I dug out my own apron project last night---those damn things were nearly finished when I put them away! Yee-haw! Not much work left at all!

Congrats on the button-holes, too! Does your machine have an attachment or does it do that automatically? I recently tried to use the bh attachment for my Mom's machine and finally just did the elastic loop cop out thing....it was not pleasant.

I'm writing a similar story:
2000 - 2004: the years that killed my sister

2005 - 2007: The years that nearly killed the rest of us


I dunno---do you think its too bitter/self-indulgent? I mean James Frey's book did OK and THAT was fiction!

Anonymous said...

Erin's apron is sweet and she will be adorable puttering about in it with a big spoon or something to bang with.
You HAVE had a HARD year and do deserve to whine a little or even a lot now and then. I am glad you see the blessings - I for one am always so very grateful for Mike.

kathy, I could write 1985 - 1998 the years that nearly killed a mother Penny

KHM said...

Penny, K, I guess my challenges of the last...too many years have helped me understand what it really means to be a survivor. There's really not always that much heroic about it but it is indeed about enduring hardship and struggle... I don't think anyone can really understand from the outside.