My Weekly Checkup (#27)

Last Thursday, I had decided to restore an old blog habit. With Sunday's post, I had made a promise to commit myself to this task. So, here I am, attempting to follow through with it.

Unfortunately, last night was rough, as in, I think I managed three full hours of sleep. Today was busy, as in lots of house cleaning and running of errands. This evening was long, as in an hour-and-a-half of driving, and two hours of reading and walking while waiting for my daughter to finish her dance classes.

Yet, somehow I found an hour to draft a long blog post. It began as a Weekly Checkup, but evolved into something more complex. I am keeping it for Sunday. Since I am running out of energy, but I still want to produce something, I came up with the link below.

So, here we go, another Weekly Checkup (future ones will be more extensive, I promise).

(I drew that!)

Revelations (Part 4)

Sigh. My apologies. Ignore the second sentence below. This ended up being a longer post than I intended. About half way through I decided I needed to wrap it up. However, my mind kept going, and my fingers kept typing. 

In the end, I accomplished three things. First, I made up for last Sunday. Second, I reinforced my writing habit. Third, I laid out my future goals for this blog. That last one is a good way to keep me accountable. It is like a public promise.

Let us see if I can keep it.

(This is NOT how I want my blog to develop. At this point, I might be the child crying on the floor. I have used this image before. Damn, I had forgotten I had written those words.  Rather apropos to tonight's post.)

   

My Weekly Checkup (#26)

When I began this series shortly after starting my blog, I was being ambitious. But I was exploring new directions for my writing, too.  My hope was to build my confidence, and eventually express my opinions on controversial topics. I thought I would start small, and list links to stuff I found interesting, intriguing, and inspiring. Eventually I gave up on both. The last time I posted a weekly checkup was just over two years ago. 

Last Sunday, after skipping my blog post, I decided to bring the weekly checkups back.

My writing has stalled. I have not written a page of fiction since last November. The quality of my blogging is inconsistent. Occasionally I skip it. In addition, the content has been provincial. My life is plain and ordinary, and I lack the writing to render it otherwise. Only twice have I shared my thoughts on contemporary events and infamous people. However, I am still not brave enough to provide it regularly. Describing my own failures comes easy for me; explaining my political views is nearly impossible.

By resurrecting my weekly checkups, I hope to improve my writing and build up my courage. They will contain links to articles I have found, books I have read, and topics I have discovered. And I will attach a short synopsis to each. Nothing elaborate or profound, just initial thoughts and emotions. A lot of questions, too. But they will consist of opinions.

Small, doable, but uncomfortable steps.

That is an effective way to improve.  

A Deep Breath (#12)

This year's garden has been a bit disappointing. My cucumber and summer squashes died off under the brutal heat waves. My Brussels sprouts, while tall and leafy, and pole beans, long and winding, will not produce anything before the first frost takes them. Poor planning and care caused these losses.

Yet, the tomatoes have survived, with the cherry ones even thriving. Below is a small sample of what I harvest. They were picked today. I think they might be the third or fourth round. And even more remain unripened on the vines. For now.

It demonstrates how unplanned and half-assed efforts can still bear fruit.

Of course, it is also a reminder that applying time and energy in an organized, deliberate way can produce better results. 

There is always next year. 

     

A Deep Breath (#11)

Yeah, another post about procrastination and writing. Some day I will get off this topic. Just not today. At least there is a post. That counts for something. I guess.

Sigh.

(In early summer, I planted these sunflowers. Right after sprouting, something ate them all. Then more flowers appeared. They, too, were consumed. Now, third time around, this one has not given up. Let's see if it lasts until the first frost. I would use this as an inspiring metaphor, except, my luck, this one ends up being devoured soon after I publish this post.)

A Deep Breath (#10)

Second round of tomatoes. I have been popping the grape ones like popcorn, all week long. With the larger one, I have made a few tomato and cucumber salads. And the ugly ones I sauteed with onions and garlic, a dash salt, some olive oil, then mixed it with toasted Panko crumbs, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, and stuffed it all into portobello mushrooms. Delicious.

While I am expecting a decent tomato harvest for the next few weeks, I am not hopeful for much else. Mostly because I failed to plant anything else. Except for pole beans and Brussels sprouts. But the former are young, and the later won't be ready until October, if they show up at all. No cucumbers this year. Which means no pickles. Such a shame. However, that's the price of not planning more carefully. 

(It has been several years since I made all those pickles: boy do I miss them!)     

On Dreaming (#16)

Last Sunday was the start of my vacation in Myrtle Beach. After spending the day on the beach, including time in the surf, and the night eating an extensive meal, I decided to skip my blog post. Part of me now regrets the decision. Yes, letting go of my weekly goal made my eight-thirty bedtime possible, something I needed after the twelve-hour drive from the day before. However, some times, doing something important, even when your exhausted, can be rewarding. It can strengthen your connection to that particular goal, and reinforce future commitment. 

And some times failure can be inspiring. It can help you to refocus. Remind you of what you are seeking to accomplish. More importantly, it can give you a writing prompt from which to launch a new post. 

I am not above cheap tricks to move things along.

Such as resorting to a post about dreams in order to get back on track.

Sorry.

On Dreaming (#15)

Three loads of laundry need folding, but I am putting them off in order to blog. The image below is a section of my garden. Those leafy plants are Brussels sprouts. Yes, the space is overcrowded. However, I am experimenting. Just behind them, barely visible, are tendrils from pole bean plants. For two weeks I have been putting off installing a support system--I could not settle on a design. What you see is a dirty compromise. It is ugly, but it will work. The idea came to me Saturday, after a nap. Ran out under the hot afternoon sun, and put them together. This part of my garden is a metaphor for parts of my life. 

Only time will tell if any of these efforts bear fruit.

A Deep Breath (#9)

I spent the last thirty minutes trying to explain this feeling of intellectual inadequacy that has plagued me since college. However, by the fourth paragraph, I realized this particular topic required more time. Once again procrastination undermined my blogging. But I am not allowing this bad habit to prevent me from writing my weekly post. Instead, I will share with you what triggered today's attempt to chronicle my struggles with my ignorance.

(I've shared Gustave Courbets' the Desperate Man before. And, again, it fits my reaction so well.)

A (Proto) Book Review (#0)

The deer may have stripped away my young sunflowers, but, so far, my tomato and Brussels sprout plants are thriving. In addition, at the start of last week, I finished setting up my grow bags. The cucumber seedlings have sprouted, and the summer squashes are working their way to the surface (the green tip of one was pushing up a piece of mulch). Finally, this past Friday, I planted the pole beans.

That just leaves the twelve peppers, which are sitting in converted thirty-two ounce yogurt containers. Since the beginning of June!  They need more space. However. I still have not built the raised beds for them. All this intense heat is making it difficult. There is still time to transplant, though. While their initial growth requires soil warmed by the heat of early summer, the cooler temperatures of September can speed up the ripening process. Yet, there is a point of no return, and it is arriving soon.

I may have to forgo the peppers this year. 

And I am okay with that.

(The Google newsfeed on my phone often sends me down rabbit holes of painful social media discourse; occasionally, the discussions serve up some delightful discoveries. The piece below, titled The Laundress, by Jean-Baptiste Greuze, is one such beautiful example of the latter. The reddit thread, which exposed me to this piece of art, was arguing the significance of her gaze. I have my own opinion about that look... and of her shoe--is it just me, or does it look too small for her foot?)