Garden as Muse

I have not written a word of fiction in about a week. Even at that, it's been little hiccups of ideas that I wanted to get down on paper before they disappeared entirely. I haven't written anything substantial since the end of last year.

Before I beat myself up too badly, it's true that I've moved in the past month and I'm looking for work and dealing with the after-effects of mold remediation on our new house, but STILL.

So yesterday I spent some time working out in the yard; moving planters around and filling them with flowers. I came back inside feeling revived (and this southern California sun doesn't hurt, either!). I'm getting ready to go back outside and do it again.

Avoidance, you ask? Creative procrastination? Thankfully no. When I procrastinate it's with more "practical" things like cleaning the house, paying the bills, or doing the laundry. There's a profound sense of satisfaction I get from feeling dirt on my hands and arranging flowers in festive patterns. If nothing else, it's a way to get me off my butt and breathing fresh (well, as fresh as L.A. gets) air, and escape those dark thoughts and/or doubts. Working outside is similar to the high I get when I'm able to take words and use them to accurately paint the image in my head or capture the voices whispering in my ear. All of my anxiety about when/whether the phone will ring with job offers means nothing. It's all about the act of creating something from nothing.

Just like writing.

So when I come back inside, dirty and sweaty and sun-baked, I will feel a sense of accomplishment. And for me, that always rolls over into sitting down at my computer and taking that creative confidence and channeling it into my writing.

Who knows what will bloom?..

Iron Stomach..or not

I'm usually a pretty healthy person, and when I do get sick, boredom and sheer will usually drive me out of bed and back into the real world. But this weekend I came down with food poisoning, and no amount of stubborness was able to convince me I was all right. I actually ended up calling 911 to get myself in the hands of professionals. It's three days later and I'm still feeling the effects.

Traveling through Santa Cruz, CA and craving Chinese food? Stay away from China Station on Mission Street. Too late (like, at the end of our meal), we saw bugs crawling across the floor in the dining area. I'm the only one of our group who got sick. Most likely it was the pork in the House Chow (not-so) Fun...