Things I'm Looking Forward To

2009 was a long hard year full of travails I did not share on this blog. I think what has kept me from blogging was not wanting to whinge and complain on the internet. It wasn't a bad year as much as it was a hard and difficult one: a year that built character. But now I'm looking forward to a new one where I can take the character I've built and do something with it.

In 2010, I wish to . . .

Sew. When we moved into our new house, my beloved White Rotary from 1931 came out of storage. This is a machine I bought for $5 in 1973 to start a small home sewing business which lasted for about a year before I got so bored I couldn't stand it. This machine only goes forward (to backtack you have to turn the fabric around), but it goes forward better than any machine ever made. I adore this machine. I oiled her on Tuesday and she runs like the wind again. I am looking forward to making curtains and napkins and pajama pants and all number of things in the coming year.

Write. I am going to finish the book I'm working on and start another, or maybe even two. They are all part of a series, and yes I'm going to write them whether I contract with an agent or sell the first one. That goes against conventional wisdom, but I've never been much for that stuff anyway. Writing is more than a business and I've been over-focused on that aspect for too long. I like writing best when I feel like I'm playing and pretending and discovering, so that is what I shall do.

Cook. I'm actually going to be making dinners around here on a regular basis. (I can hear jaws dropping all across cyberspace.) Since I'm not a kitchen multi-tasker, I'm going to be relying on my New Orange Pot quite a bit. There's a nice spot near the kitchen overlooking the garden where Teaman toils away. I plan to write while stews, soups, pot roasts, and even bread are cooking (or baking) in my pot. And they will taste wonderful.

Knit. Yes, all those plastic containers are full of yarn. All of them.

All that yarn is waiting to be knit into something. All of it.

I already played the I'm not allowed to buy yarn until I finish projects game and failed at it miserably. That year I bought more yarn than ever. What would really help me use the yarn I've bought is to find a way of knitting that doesn't stress my neck. Maybe I can develop better posture, or use different glasses so I don't have to hold the needles where I do. Maybe I just need to get up more often and remember to drop my shoulders (all the time). There are many lovely and warm pieces of clothing I'd like to make, and one or two that are still due from Christmas.

Enjoy the Garden with the Pooh. I just had a conversation with College Boy about the Pooh that sent us to Google where we read that fifteen to seventeen is the average life span for a cat. Since the Pooh is fifteen, that makes him geriatric. One would never know it by watching him take possession of his very own garden for the first time in his life. He is an inspiration to me. He demands to be let out in the morning so he can make his First Daily Inspection. He not only patrols to see if there have been Intruders, but he also likes to keep an eye on what the Teaman has been planting and uprooting and digging. I would like to be as diligent in my life as he is in his. And I appreciate the Pooh showing me how age and vocation have nothing to do with each other. I love watching him bask in the sunlight under one of our new fruit trees and I love when he shows me what the tall palm tree is really for.

Walk on the Beach. I love to walk and I love to work out story issues while I walk. In the coming year I plan on taking many writing walks in my new neighborhood, but I also plan on getting to the beach at least once every couple of weeks. The beaches here are very deserted and peaceful. Often it's just Teaman, the birds, and me. Some of my favorite moments from last year were spent on a picnic blanket sharing some grapes with a seagull I named Henrietta. In the coming year, I'd love to do the same with some of her friends and relations.

Drink Tea. For Christmas I got this beautiful pot and cup combination from my niece. It's the perfect size that I can finally brew single cups from actual leaves. I'm looking forward to working up in my Ivory Tower while having a spot of chamomile, or spearmint, or darjeeling, then adding the leaves to the compost. One of these days I might even grow and dry my own. Mmmm.

It's not like I don't already drink lots of tea. It's just that a person can't ever drink too much.

Stay in Touch. I do plan to blog more often. Truly. I won't make promises, because I'd like my participation here to be more organic--like I'm trying to achieve in the rest of my life--but I do plan to be more present here, and maybe even over there.

My wish for you is to have a marvelous New Year, for the promises of the Eve to manifest in all sorts of good times and creative achievement.