Currently

storms brewing at apple canyon

This post was inspired by posts I did like this a very long time ago...

Loving 

Apple Canyon. It's our little getaway, three hours north, near Galena. I'll share a few photos soon. The photo above was taken at the campgrounds as a storm was nearing.

Thinking About 

School. 

The computer in the kitchen was my setup for the 2020 summer residency at PNCA. I was seriously heartbroken to not attend in Portland. With COVID and Dan, it just wasn't worth the risk for me to travel.

I participated in Zoom meetings/classes from noon to 8 or 9 pm everyday for ten days. Oh! And 1 day off. A day off for me to keep reading...

the setup for residency

a small stack of pages to read for the residency...

I can say that I 'survived' the residency because it was a major life-disrupting episode to conquer-sink or swim. I chose to swim but it was really difficult and I may not feel absolutley proud of my work but I am grateful I survived! 

Next up! A semester of reading 20 books, writing an obscene amount of new pages, blogging, transcribing old journals, and creating in 3-D or photography. I was able to set my own goals and I will be working with a mentor the whole time. I maybe set my goals too high? However my mentor preferred that to not trying hard enough. I'll let you know how my journey goes...! You can also follow me on Goodreads. I started with a bipolar memoir, Manic by Terri Cheney, after reading 4 other bipolar memoirs (can you tell what I'm sort of interested in writing about?) [Unquiet Mind, Marbles, Madness, and Fear As My Co-Pilot] Currently I'm reading Grief Is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter, a novella about moving on after death with a little magical realism involved. It is beautiful.

Anticipating

This Saturday is a chance to party it up with my family! We are celebrating Raine's and my dad's birthdays. Somehow I am trying to mix an 80th birthday with a 9 year old Fortnite party with a desire to have small animals on the cakes, so I have a Pinterest board of course. Mostly I'm just excited to celebrate and enjoy time with family at our house. This is the one time of year we get to do that. With COVID, there are maybe only 1-3 friends attending. I'm bummed but you have to adapt to the times, right...? No matter what, I just want the two of these dudes to feel special.

Listening To

Gustolv Holst's The Planets and Sigur Rós and Fiona Apple's Fetch the Bolt Cutters. Yaaaaaaaas. 

Eating

Beer. Does that count?

Wishing: 

Time would slow down. It's a cliché, I know, but my mentor taught me not to be afraid of the cliché. The toaster said to the potato, "I wish time would slow down."

I am wishing this because I know two years from now I will look back at my beginner MFA life and I will feel nostalgic. Raine will be turning 11 and I will feel nostalgic for 9. Dan and I will celebrate our 18th anniversary and I wonder, will we still have this anabashed time together every day? Lazy, naps, talking, sitting on the porch, quiet, reading, cooking, drinking, and trying his medical marijuana gummies... What happens two years from now? For once I am not rushing into it. I'm holding onto what is now.