101 Things in 1,001 Days : Huge Overhaul

For the last few years, I've been on the 101 Things in 1,001 Days track. (Click that link or the tab above to see the full list.) My second cycle is due to finish this coming March. 1,001 days seems like a very long time -- two and three quarter years. Or, it used to seem like a very long time, anyway. Now, at the end of 2020 and all the things that happened (and didn't happen!), it seems like just a hop and a skip.

For most of last year, I forgot about my 101 Things goals. There were so many more important things to think about. I didn't feel like doing most of the things on the list, and some of them I wasn't even able to anyway.

Recently things started to look brighter, and I looked at my list again. It hit me that the end date of 13th March 2021 is only a few months away. And I'd only completed about 15 of the 101 items! That's a bit drastic!

Things I did do: played board games!

I've seen people online refer to 2020 as "the year that time forgot" or a "leap year" -- not in the sense that we had an extra day in February, but that it felt like we collectively skipped a year in our lives. So I've decided to do the same with my 101 Things list! I extended the due date one year, to 13th March 2022.

Remember when the seasons used to change?

Then it was time to look at the actual things I'd wanted to achieve. Soon after the first lockdown started, I'd already gone through the list and marked some items with the label 'Compromised'. This meant anything that I couldn't really do at home, like going to a drawing class, or getting a beauty treatment, or going overseas. (Yeah, that last one was a big one!) I had trouble thinking of a good word for the label, and I ended up choosing 'compromised' because it was halfway between things being fine and things being actually cancelled. I'm really glad I did that in the past, as it helped me to overhaul my list and not get too overwhelmed with all the things I have to let go of.

We had an indoor picnic!

There were also some new things I'd started that I wanted to be included in the list, so I replaced some old items with them. Here are some of the things I changed:

❖ #8 - removed "make a gluten-free flour mix" and replaced with "keep a Morning Pages journal for 1 year"
I'm no longer eating bread at all (gluten-free or otherwise) so this goal is pretty pointless. I started writing daily Morning Pages last November and have been going steadily so far, so I thought I may as well make it a proper goal. A whole year seems like an intimidatingly long time, but I thought I may as well challenge myself.

❖ #82 - removed "re-read the Harry Potter series" and replaced with "complete 6 challenges on The StoryGraph"
While I'll always like Harry Potter, I'm really over JKR's recent activities, and I just need a rest from her creations. I was in a bad reading slump throughout most of 2020 anyway, until I discovered The StoryGraph. Their challenges are a lot of fun, so I added this one in.

❖ #56 - removed "go overseas" and replaced with "complete 3 writing challenges"
It was with a heavy heart that we had to cancel our trip overseas. We postponed it for 2 years to October 2022, which is too late to add into the current 101 Things list. It will hopefully be in the second one, though. I've been much more into writing again, so I replaced it with a writing goal. I've talked myself into and out of writing (properly) so many times, and I just want to do it! Or not do it! But either way, just make up my mind, haha.

I had a green-themed tea party in my backyard.

There were some things that I decided to reduce and/or modify, rather than replace, including:
❖ #44 - art/craft classes reduced from 6 to 5; also online classes count too
❖ #33 - finish current craft projects reduced from 12 to 10
❖ #74 - read biographies reduced from 10 to 8
❖ #49 - computer-free days reduced from 20 to 15

Example of unfinished craft project.

And there were a few things I was pleasantly surprised to find that I've completed! These were:

❖ #15 - "decide on something to collect and do it"
I decided a while back to collect tea pots and tea tins. I visited my Mum once I was allowed to again, and she let me have first pick of all the knickknacks she was getting rid of. I chose 4 teapots and lots of other teawares for my collection. Added to the 8 or so teapots I already have, I think that's probably enough ... for now!

❖ #77 - "read A Christmas Carol every Christmas"
I actually managed to do it before Christmas this year, too! I watched Townsend's reading at The Nutmeg Tavern on Youtube, and it was delightful. Technically now though, seeing as there's another Christmas to go before the new ending date, does that mean I still have one to go before I can tick this off? No, I think I'll give it to myself. We all deserve some self-kindness.

I'm still feeling hesitant to make any firm plans, and I think I'll review my list again in a few months. But just having done this much feels like a real achievement. Now I can get back to reading and writing and making art and crafts! And hopefully writing about it here more regularly. See you soon!

I've been doing a lot bit of drawing too.

My November, including End of NaNoWriMo 2018

November this year seemed to have a bittersweet taste. As Spring moved into Summer, everything heated up. Yet there were also quite a few thunderstorms, which I always enjoy. I've been busier as the holiday season is getting nearer, but my job is finishing just before Christmas, so I have some quiet time to look forward to. It's been hard to motivate myself to do anything that doesn't have a deadline -- anything just for myself. Maybe that's something I need to rediscover.


What I've been writing ...
My NaNoWriMo story was mostly finished before the 30th November deadline. That's a nice way of saying that I didn't finish it! I won't say that I failed though, because I'm close enough to see the finish line, and I think I'm able to and want to get it made. So I'm setting myself a deadline of end of December to finish the story, edit it, create a cover image and publish it. I haven't decided where I'll publish it yet, but iBooks and Smashwords look most promising. I'll be sure to post links to it when I do!

What I've been painting ...
I created a painting for NOIR gallery's Kris Kringle party exhibition, but I forgot to take a photo of it at any point before I handed it in for the exhibition yesterday, oops! I'll be back there in 2 weeks for the closing party and artwork swap, so you'll have to wait until then to see it on the blog. Or, if you're in Melbourne, I hope you'll check out the exhibition at NOIR Darkroom in Coburg.


What I've been dreaming of ...
A few months ago I posted about how my garden is a mess. Well, we're getting that sorted out! Below is a 'Before and After' of the passageway behind the house. The 'After' looks very barren right now, I admit, but we're planning on building some raised garden beds and hopefully growing some nice, lush things.

What I've been playing ...
Happy World Ocarina Day! I've taken up my ocarina practice again this month. Seeing other people online becoming enthusiastic about learning and playing live instruments has been inspiring. Plus, I enjoy learning Christmas carols because the tunes are so familiar, and this is the time of year for it!

NaNoWriMo : The Halfway Point

(Technically it's the three-quarter-way point now, but that doesn't fit so well into the title!)

A few posts ago, I told how I decided to participate in National Novel Writing Month this year, but with a twist. I'm writing a 5,000 word story instead of the usual 50,000 word novel. That works out to 167 words per day. For someone like me, with a lot of different projects happening at once, it's a more realistic goal. So how am I doing, halfway through?

I'm pleased to say that I've gotten further than I did in my last NaNoWriMo attempt. That is, I've actually started to write a story! For the first week or so, I was winning -- thanks to the three-quarters of a page I wrote before the month even started, I was ahead of the word count.

However, this turned out to be a bit of a double-edged sword. On a day when I was feeling tired, I felt like I could take a break. I was feeling a bit depressed due to some unrelated issues, and one day turned into five, until I was behind again. Strangely, this turned out to be a motivating factor for me to start writing again. I needed to get back to that place I was before. I needed to believe that I can do it. The voices in my head were still telling me it's a terrible story, but I thought to myself, a terrible story is better than no story!

In the beginning, I was reading through what I'd already written and noting down changes before I started writing anything new. As the story grew to a page and more, I realised this wasn't going to be feasible. It was taking too long and distracting me. Editing can wait until later! If there are any words or phrases I'm not completely happy with, I use the highlight function in Microsoft Word (or just circle them if I'm writing by hand) to mark them, and just keep on going.

In fact, after having listened to lots of podcasts and read even more articles, the best advice I've heard is just that. Just keep going! It's been presented in many forms by many people, but what it boils down to is: just keep writing! It doesn't matter how bad you think it is. You can always fix it later.

I also decided to write an outline, which helped me to get the story straight in my mind. It made me realise there are actually two intertwined plots, and that helped, though I'm still not sure in which order things are going to happen. Hopefully that will come together at some point.

And hopefully I'll have good news (i.e. a finished story) in a couple of weeks!

I'm Doing NaNoWriMo!

Sort of!

Yes, I'm giving National Novel Writing Month another go! With some modifications, however...

A whole 50,000-word novel is a bit much for me. I've never done well at any kind of 30-day challenges. I couldn't even write for 10 minutes a day when I tried it three years ago. During the week I rarely have the time or the energy to work on anything creative, leaving an ever-mounting backlog which means I never get past the first week -- or often the first 3 days!

So I'm modifying the challenge and decided to write a 5,000 word story. That's only 166 words a day. (I rounded it up to 170 for convenience's sake.) At the moment it's easy to tell my brain that's a very do-able goal.

Also, I have to admit, I cheated a little and wrote 500 words on 31st October, because I was so excited when I first decided to do the challenge. This has turned out to be a good thing, because I'm ahead of the count and feel a lot less pressured. Even when I'm ahead, I still aim to open up the document and add something to it every day.

I just have to point out: I never liked the "National" part of NaNoWriMo, as people from all over the world are taking up the challenge. Although, I was doing a bit of digging around today and just found this Melbourne-based Facebook group -- MelbNaNo. So that's nice.

I'm hoping to publish the story at the end of the month on Wattpad or something similar. If anyone knows of a more suitable platform for sharing an original cozy mystery story featuring coffee and cats, please let me know! I'd love to get some feedback on it and perhaps see if I can expand it into a series one day.

Good luck to everyone else doing NaNoWriMo 2018! Now I'd better get back to writing!

Recent Online Inspiration

I've been heavily inspired by three online sources in particular at the moment, which has led me to work on lots of drawing and writing projects:

1. FRIENDLY FACES
Journal Girl has released some of her older art-journalling courses free of charge, so I signed up for the Friendly Faces course to give me some practice. (You do need to be a member of the Art Journalling Ning group to access them, however.) The course covers the fundamentals in finding your personal style in drawing faces. Here's my effort at lesson one: drawing different types of eyes:

2. FIGMENT WRITING CHALLENGE
I only discovered Figment's 29 Day Writing Challenge a few days ago, unfortunately. In order to win the badge you need to write all 29 prompts and post them on the site before the end of the month. At this stage it would be impossible for me! I still want to participate though, and finished the first one today. I don't think I'll write a piece every day as I have other projects I want to concentrate on as well -- figuring out how to even post pieces to Figment for example, as my profile is still empty!

3. DRAWCEPTION
I discovered Drawception just today, and I wish I'd found it earlier! It's an incredibly fun game that works a bit like Pass the Message. When I was a kid we used to call it Chinese Whispers, but that's way too un-PC now! 12 or more players are involved. One draws a picture, the next has to describe it in a few words. The next has to draw a second picture from that description. The fourth player describes that picture, etc etc. Each turn is timed to 10 minutes, so speed-drawing is essential, and the subject matter could be anything under the sun, so it's challenging. There are some amazing artists on the site, and some not so good, like me! I have a graphics tablet, but unfortunately it's not compatible with my new laptop, so I can't use it. Until I can save up to buy a new one, I'm confined to using the mouse. I'm suddenly excited by digital drawing though, and I can't wait til I'm a few levels up so I can play more games.

NaNoWriMo -- An Almost Unmitigated Failure

Well, perhaps 'failure' is a bit harsh. I did write 4 pages, plus a few haiku. And a couple of blog posts, but I would have written those anyway. These days, not blogging seems as unthinkable as not eating.

In the last few days, as blog posts have popped up in my reader bringing news of NaNoWriMo successes, I've been genuinely happy for the winners, but became more and more depressed for myself. I wasn't going to post anything about my NaNoWriMo experience, my failure, but I haven't seen anyone else writing about it, so I thought it was important. (Though having said that, googling "I failed NaNoWriMo" comes up with quite a few hits and some good advice.)

During the month, I read back through some stories I wrote earlier in the year and thought, "I wish I could write more like that. I'm not able do that anymore, why is that?" It went downhill from there with darker thoughts that I won't elaborate on here. All this led to a downward spiral where I convinced myself that playing computer games was much easier and relaxing than writing, not to mention easier to concentrate on while the TV is on. Before I knew it, it was December and I had not written a single word in 3 weeks. Or drawn a single stroke, or crocheted a single stitch, for that matter.

An article I happened to come across during the month made me think. It was about a ceramics teacher who decided to do a little experiment with his students one semester. At the beginning of the first class, he divided the students into two groups. He told one group that they would be graded purely by the quantity of pots they produced: an A for 20kg or more, a B for 15 to 20kg, etc. He told the other group that they were only required to produce one pot -- the most aesthetically pleasing, perfect pot that they could possibly create.

Can you guess what happened?

The students in the first group churned out as many pots as they possibly could, and most of them achieved top marks. The students in the second group became so bogged down in research and philosophical questions about beauty and perfection, that many of them didn't have even one pot to submit at the end of the semester.

These are not the actual pots, just
random pretty pots from the internet. =)The other big surprise?
Many of the pots considered to be the most beautiful and innovative designs were created by the first group, those who spent the most time creating rather than those who created the most carefully.

So many books and articles have been written about how important it is to practice your art or craft every day, pointing out that even the great Renaissance artists practiced drawing every day of their lives. I've known that message for a long time, but for some reason it didn't really sink in for me until I read that story about the pots.

I titled this blog post an Almost Unmitigated Failure, because at the end of it all, I'm much more motivated to write now than when NaNoWriMo began. Now ... after my complete failure to write for just 10 minutes a day. My brain is a strange beast. A blog post I read yesterday mentioned Figment, and I signed up. It seems to be a lively writing community which may hopefully provide some inspiration. I feel an urge to write a grand closing statement about exciting new things coming up soon, but, eh, no promises.

NaNoWriMo -- The Halfway Point

I have a confession to make. I've been failing miserably at NaNoWriMo so far.

If you remember, I decided to do a variant where I spent some time writing outside each day. I was very motivated and did well in the first few days, however, I started to drop off, and not for the reason I thought I would. It wasn't lack of motivation that stopped me, it was the fact that the first week was very rainy, and any time I had some free time, it was pouring rain outside!

However, on the first Sunday it was a lovely day, and I ended up spending a whole hour writing some reflections on an art journalling course I'm doing at the moment. Since then, I've lost motivation completely. I'm not even in the mood to write blog posts. Yes, I'm writing one today, but I'm in that mood where every sentenced is forced and it just seems so mediocre.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm just not the kind of person that can write every day. When I get home from work, I'm tired and just want to relax with a project that's fun and easy. (My granny square blanket is the perfect candidate -- the stitches are easy and repetitive.) When I'm inspired though, I just can't stop myself. If I've had an interesting dream, I'll type it out into my ipod on the train in the morning. If I've seen an interesting person, I'll write a few words about them in my notebook as I'm heading back from my lunchbreak.

If I have anything to report at the end of NaNoWriMo, then I will. Don't expect the next Harry Potter series, though.

My "NaNoWriMo"

No. 32 on my 101 Things List is to do NaNoWriMo (or a variant of) every year. I say 'a variant' because I'm just not the novel-writing kind of person. I don't think I have it in me to write a full novel. I do plenty of writing though, in the form of journalling, blogging, essays and poems. I've heard of people changing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) to suit their own style -- writing a poem a day, or a blog post a day. (I think it would be a little unfair of me to suddenly go from one post a week to one a day, so don't worry, I'm not doing NaBloPoMo!)



I've hesitated in participating in NaNoWriMo before, for a couple of reasons. It seems like a very structured thing. There are rules, specifications, and word counts. The "Na" part is very Amero-centric. Also, November is a very busy month -- with the weather getting warmer, it's a busy time in the garden, there are birthdays, and the preparations for the festive season take up a lot of time as well. Yesterday I was thinking to myself, "why does it have to be in November?? It's so busy, and the weather's finally nice again. I don't want to be cooped up inside writing. I just want to be outside!"



At that thought, I had a lightbulb moment. Why don't I write outside? It doesn't matter what I write or how long I write for, as long as it's outdoors. At the risk of sounding pretentious, I'll call it: KaWriOutMo (Katie's Writing Outside Month). I'd better set some rules guidelines:



1. Must be out of doors.

2. Being on the train doesn't count as being outside!

3. Must be at least 10 minutes per day.

4. Can be any type or style of writing I choose.

5. Can use any tools to hand: notebook and pen, ipod, ipad, laptop, etc.

To be honest, I'm not hugely confident that I can do this successfully. Both finding the time and thinking of something to write about every single day are daunting prospects. Perhaps I'll give myself a big treat at the end if I do. I'm sure I'll think of something suitably enticing.

My September

Spring came early this year ... and then it went away again. At the end of August, the Spring wind began. It's the same every year: the breeze is just as biting as ever, but there's a different feeling to it -- a feeling of anticipation. The fruit trees feel it and begin to bud. The birds start to sing again. Just when you think it's too late to turn back, the weather turns and it's just as cold and rainy as it was in the middle of Winter. It wasn't until the last week of September that Spring began in earnest. September was the month for apricot blossoms, fruit tea and billowy scarves.

What I've been writing ... 
 

My main interest in the last month has been in writing posts for the blog. I have at least 6 unpublished posts in the pipeline on everything from dolls to food. I haven't written any stories or essays in a couple of months though, and sometimes I feel bad about it. Then I remember all the blogging and I tell myself that it's good practice.

What I've been  making ...  

I've developed a sudden interest in my Rainbow Loom again. Creating simpler ones using the Finger Loom is a good brainless craft for TV-watching time. I thought of making some necklaces too, but depending on the colours I want to use, I'll probably need to buy more supplies. There's just no other way!

What I've been  reading ...  

I finally finished Gertrude Stein's The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas. I put it down for a long time, and in the end it took me almost 2 years! Alice B. Toklas was the life-long companion of the modernist author Gertrude Stein. The "Autobiography" is written from Toklas' point of view, but is not only written by Gertrude Stein, but almost entirely about Gertrude Stein as well! Poor Alice comes across as merely wallpaper in her own biography.

As I've mentioned before, I found the first half quite slow-going, as it mostly consists of Gertrude's repetitive name-dropping of artists and writers she hung out with. Stein's stream of consciousness style of writing, while radical for its day, is quite passe now and at times, a little annoying. The stories of delivering supplies to the troops during World War I are much more engaging, as is the tale of her stormy friendship with Ernest Hemingway. I was also impressed by the time when Stein wrote a whole essay by the light of a streetlamp, sitting outside in the cold waiting for her car to be fixed. Now that's a true writer.

Alice, Gertrude and Basket the poodle.
It wasn't until I neared the end of the book that its implications occurred to me. Can an autobiography that isn't written by its own subject really show the truth? To what extent did any of these events really happen? Did Stein truly try to write from the point of view of her companion or was she experimenting with an alternative form of biography? What purpose did it serve to pretend to be someone else? Did writing with this buffer between her and her audience affect what she wrote? ... And what did Alice think of all this?

One last thing -- I read the book on my ebook reader and my epub conversion software did a very good job in converting all of the French names in the book, however at one point near the end, it converted 'Gertrude' to 'Germstrude'.

What else I've been doing ...  

My "reverse bucket list"....

became addicted to SpudBar ~ got the Epic Breeding Cave and a 3rd and 4th island in Dragon Vale ~ saw 2 plays including Antigone ~ decided not to re-subscribe to the theatre next year as there was only one play that interested me ~ finished reading 3 books ~ was assertive ~ ordered a new doll ~ was given my first pathtag, ordered several more and joined the pathtag club ~ made a Chan-Rio ~ started playing Tiny Tower again ~ picked some oranges from my tree ~ ordered more clothes for my Lammily doll ~ tidied my shoe area ~ joined Gaia Online ~ bought another new doll ~ went to Daiso ~ wrote a list of 101 Things in 1,001 Days ~ found and saved the LibraryThing Top 106 Unread Books list ~ Kondo-ed my email account ~ made Pasta Naporitan [blog post coming soon] ~ tidied my collage materials ~ went to 2 new restaurants ~ had a board games day ~ went clothes shopping ~ pre-ordered the new Lammily doll ~ put my Unseen Ninja phone-call-making skills to use ~ wrote a couple of haiku ~ got the souvenir Faire Dragon and Weather Station in Dragon Vale ~ got a massage

Fun with Poetry

I have to admit, I don't know much about poetry. Not Western poetry, anyway. I've enjoyed haiku and other Japanese forms for a long time, but poetry in the Western tradition always seemed very staid and overly formal to me. I never bothered to find out much about it. Until last week, when I found myself down a Wikipedia rabbit-hole, reading all about Romanticism, epic poetry and iambic pentameter. Yes, I finally know what iambic pentameter is! Though don't ask me to try and explain it to anyone else....

I realised something as well. I think the thing that bugs me about Western poetry is that it rhymes. To me, having grown up with Dr. Seuss, Roald Dahl and limericks, poetry that rhymes is funny, or at least doesn't take itself too seriously. On the few occasions that I've tried to read serious classic poems, my brain seems to rebel in a way that it doesn't with non-rhyming Japanese haiku and tanka. I think my Gen-Y short attention span might something to do with it as well!

Incidentally, I heard recently that the reason we as a society don't have such a widespread interest in poetry anymore is that in the last few centuries, our brains have been re-trained to read words instead of hearing them, and rhyming poetry is much better appreciated when heard aloud. I wish I could remember where I heard that, sorry. But it does explain why music (especially rapping) is so popular.

Yes, the pictures are very random today.
Other views are that we just don't have time, it's perceived as too high-brow, and that people are turned off because 90% of it is quite simply rubbish. I can attest to this after having downloaded a range of free collections of haiku from iBooks. (I think there was only one author whose other works I wanted to seek out.) Then again, 90% of novels, films and music are rubbish, too. In fact, 90% of everything is crap, according to Sturgeon's Law. That explains why I hardly ever watch commercial TV.

Anyway, after reading about the different genres of poetry, I came to humorous poems -- limericks, satires, doggerel and Clerihews. I'd never heard of Clerihews before, but they immediately became my favourite and I can't stop writing them! Clerihews are four-line poems written about famous people, in a style that's a deliberately a little bit wonky. When I tried to think of who to write my first one about, our esteemed first Prime Minister popped into my head. Here it is:

Sir Edmund Barton
Passed his time a-fartin'
In parliament house he was a drunkard notorious
However, his looks weren't too injurious.

Our esteemed leader.I wrote a second (double) one to help me remember the 'rules' of the form:

There was a Mr. Clerihew
Poetic lines: he paired a few --
Four, to be precise.
Sometimes, but not always concise.

He picked a person most famous
To whom to devote his poems most heinous --
And with rhymes most confusing
He made the subject's foibles amusing.

Then I went for it with Chinese philosophers:

Confucius
Thought a man shouldn't be useless
He should be polite and loyal
Even when tilling the soil.

Lao Tzu
At court he wouldn't say boo.
He wandered off one day
But not before stopping to say all he wanted to say.

And more political figures:

When it comes to Boris Johnson
I'd rather rhyme Boris than Johnson
But at least I didn't have to hear
Recordings of his voice attempting to keep everyone calm on public transport during Olympic year.

I don't know what's going to happen next!

Japanese Literature: The Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon

I've just finished a book that inspired me very much, and I'd like to share it today. I was given The Pillow Book as a gift, a lot longer ago than I'd like to admit. I'd been looking forward to reading it for a long time, and I finally got to it this year.

The Pillow Book was written during the Heian period in Japan, by a court lady called Sei Shōnagon. She began it in approximately 990 C.E. and it was finished sometime after 1002. The Heian period was a rare peaceful time in Japanese history, and it allowed art, poetry and culture to flourish. Being able to compose poetry spontaneously was a highly-prized ability, and that alone could elevate a person to a higher station in the court.

I think the book is a bit unfortunately-named. First impressions might be that it's a bit racy! But the story goes that it was so named because Shōnagon kept a sheaf of papers under her pillow that she would scribble on whenever she had a spare moment. It's possible that she never meant for anyone else to see it. The book seems to bear this out. It's a collection of over 250 separate passages, ranging from diary entries and stories of life at court, to observations on nature and lists of various things such as "mountains", "bridges", "things of beauty" and "distasteful things". Shōnagon writes of her pride in writing a poem that the Empress praises, funny misunderstandings, and her opinion on fellow courtiers. She can come across at times as both snobby and a little bit insecure.

The world of Heian Japan is in many ways completely alien to our own. Long-dead Buddhist rituals and festivals dictated every action. Women were referred to by, not their own given names, but the position that their father held at court. (Sei Shōnagon actually means "lesser councillor of the State of Sei".) Higher class women rarely went outside, and spent most of their time behind obscuring blinds. It was a world in which a courtly woman never showed her face to a man. The most anyone might see is a sleeve hanging down from under the blind of her carriage. The choice of material and colours, and how the sleeve was arranged, was the only way the lady could express her genteel refinement. And yet, affairs were common and perfectly acceptable. If a woman wished to take a lover, everyone knew about it as the walls were made of paper and all could be heard. Women would chat openly about it the next day and wonder when the lover's "morning-after poem" would arrive.

Despite living in such an alien world though, Sei Shōnagon is an entirely familiar figure. She looks forward to the more colourful festivals and bemoans the boring ones. She feels keenly that her poetry will be compared to her father's and found lacking. She worries that something that she has said might offend someone. She looks down on the lesser courtiers and idolises the Empress. She says disparaging things about her rival. This is what makes her such an endearing figure and made the book such a joy to read.

A Note on the translations: The book I have is the 2006 Meredith Kinney translation. The reviews I've read were all of the opinion that this translation most reflects the playful tone of the original and is perhaps the "best". Some earlier translations had re-ordered the passages so all of the same types (e.g. stories, lists) were grouped together, or even cut out the lists completely (horrid!), but this translation puts them all back together, and in their original order. I might read one of the other translations for comparison, but personally I think I prefer the book this way.

I have to admit something -- not long after I started the book, I began to think to myself, why can't I do something like this? For a long time, I've been writing little bits here and there, fragments of stories and, of course, lists. But I always thought -- I can't publish a book, not with this ragtag collection of bits and pieces! I don't have the time, patience -- or ideas! -- to write a full novel, and a book of short stories doesn't really appeal to me either. None of the stuff I've written has a coherent theme (as I've been told that anthologies should have). And I've always felt a strange kind of resistance when I read collections of short stories, I don't know why. Whenever I get to the end of a single story, whether long or short, there's a tension between stopping to savour that story, or ploughing on to the next one straight away. And having to stop halfway through a story? It's just about more than I can deal with!

Of course I don't want to publish something I expected others to read, but I wouldn't want to read myself. But what alternatives are there? On reading more about The Pillow Book, I saw that was the first of a genre of Japanese literature called zuihitsu. Apparently, it's a thing! And even if it weren't a thing, I'd be thinking the same thing: is this the genre for me?

The upshot of all this is that I've been inspired to write like I never have before. Not only that, but inspired to observe, to look at the world around me. The people and the places. The tiny little everyday events that I would never have thought to write about before. It'll be a while before I have enough to compile into a book, and I might never find the courage to actually publish it, but all I can say right now is, wait and see!

My May

The year just seems to be flying by so fast. Tomorrow it will be Winter!

What I've been painting ...
Dabbling a bit in art-journalling again. My attempts at drawing more a few months ago petered out very quickly. Every day turned into three times a week turned into once a week within a very short space of time. Resistance set in and I never achieved these resolutions. Perhaps I put too much pressure on myself in an area where I have little confidence. I seem to have unconsciously taken a step back for now, back into my comfort zone. Mixing paints together and spreading them out as backgrounds. Grabbing a texta and scribbling out a phrase that's been swirling through my mind. This makes me happy. This is not the time for uncomfortableness. Sometimes that's just the way it is.

Where I've been visiting ...
I went back to Cat Cafe Melbourne -- again! I didn't devote a whole blog post to it this time because the photos didn't turn out very well. ... And uh, I've already done three posts about my repeat visits! It's my blog and I can write what I like, but even still...
The Cat Cafe seems to be the perfect place for when I need something relaxing to do and something to look forward to.

What I've been working on ...
This is a page from my neographic workbook. I'm creating my own writing script. It's a project I've been working on (on and off) for about 20 years. The project stalled for over a year when I lost my notes, and again when I was going through a rough time, but now it's back on track. At the moment! I'll write a full post on what this is all about when it's nearer to completion.

What I've been writing ...
Still writing, little bits here and there. Some actual stories, though how to tell if they're any good is a completely different matter. No-one can read them because they might hurt my precious babies!!!. I mentioned to a friend the other day that I was doing a bit of writing, and she started to ask questions like, "Is it a novel? Do the stories have a theme? Do you do NaNoWriMo?" The answer to all of them was either "no' or "I don't know." My head started to spin and I thought, "I don't do any of that! I'm not a writer, I can't do that! Don't touch my beautiful babies!!!"
So, obviously, this is something that needs looking at before publishing can happen. I have a strong suspicion I'm not the only person that goes through this. Despite all of it though, I just can't seem to stop writing.

And finally ...
For the interested, here is my list of (in my opinion) iPod-worthy Eurovision Song Contest entries. Downloaded and being listened to as we speak! Though some I could probably bear to listen to more times than others. P.S. they're in random order of how iTunes schlurped them, not favourites or anything.

My April…

April this year has been like the old Aprils that I remember as a kid -- the memories that have made it my favourite month. I love the cold that settles into your bones early in the morning, that gives way to cool, clear hazy afternoons. There's enough rain to rejuvenate the plants in the garden, but not enough yet to dampen the spirits. At the start of the month, I made sure to spend time outside in the garden while I could, but now it's dark when I get home, and I have to wait until the weekend to go outside.

What I've been working on ...
I've been feeling a strong urge to write recently. It's strange because it's been such a long time since I did any writing except blogging, and the urge came on very suddenly just after I got home from my holiday. I've written stories, reflective pieces, reviews on all sorts of things ... expect to see lots of reviews on the blog soon!
Photos of writing are probably quite boring, so here's one of some mushrooms I found in my garden a few weeks ago. They had completely disappeared the next day.

What I've been dreaming of ...
A craft room of my own. We're making progress, bit by little bit. I'm trying to do one thing every day. Even if it's just something tiny, like hanging up one cardigan, or choosing one thing to donate to the op-shop. It might seem like something insignificantly small, but at least I can tell myself it's better than nothing at all.
A photo from Pinterest that shouldn't be to hard to aspire to in the early stages....

What I've been taking pictures of ...
This seems to be turning into a regular feature of my monthly update! I'm not taking quite as many pictures as I was last month, but I still have quite a few in reserve, so I may as well share some.