Someone left my boots out in the rain...

What?  Where has the rain come from?  I thought it was meant to be nice today!!  I left my boots out yesterday and when I went to walk Faithful Hound this morning I discovered them sitting there in soggy sadness.  Drat.  The spring in my step from yesterday became a squelchy one.  Squelchy - I quite like that word; think I will make it word for the day.

Song choice on my walk this morning was the soundtrack of the first Shrek movie (don't ask why).  I particularly enjoyed Smash Mouth's version of the Monkees "I'm a Believer".  All a bit random I know.

Diversion from writing tactics (in no particular order) included:

Doing the laundry
Going to pilates
Buying coffee in Starbucks and sizing up the cute guy in the window seat
Clearing out the drawer in the dresser
Driving Eldest Son to school at lunchtime to sit his A1 History mock
Looking at shopping outlets in Orlando where Absent Husband is

Book of the day:

"I'm With the Bears:  Short Stories from a Damaged Planet" published by Verso, with writers such as Margaret Attwood, T C Boyle and David Mitchell writing about environmental crisis.

Off to read what I wrote yesterday and then make a stew.

Vanessa x

Spring flowers, bees and a new stile

I have just enjoyed a wonderful Spring walk with Archie.  It is considerably warmer than this time last week and it is was heartening to see signs of Spring.  I got to thinking about the change of seasons and how much we rely on them to mark our way.  Seeing early spring flowers is warming to the heart, especially snowdrops.  There is something so fragile about them and despite the weather that is thrown at them they remain remarkably cheerful.  Here's a picture of some growing in my garden.



We now have crocus popping up everywhere and, remarkably, loads of bees busy pollinating. That's all a good sign and there was definitely a spring in my step as I walked Faithful Hound up into the woods and was confronted with a NEW STILE.  This was not there last week and is an unwelcome reminder that the farm nearby has put up serious fencing and clearly does not want to encourage walkers.  Still, Faithful Hound is not like Tigger for nothing and we made it over.

We are home now and he is in his basket.  I'm heading for my office.  Promise.

Day one in the laundry room

So. This is my first ever blog.  How exciting!  I got to thinking that it was about time I wrote one.  Why, you ask?  Who cares?  Well I guess I will find out soon enough. 

Today was in fact a classic example of my life and washing.  Put three loads on (luckily no socks involved) and then spent over an hour folding and putting away washing from the weekend.  My big questions is - where did it all come from?  I could  have sworn I spent Friday doing exactly the same thing and yet here I am again sorting through more washing.  Absent Husband is away (in Florida where washing can be dried instantly on the line), and there still seems to be as much washing as if there were five of us instead of four.

The trouble with being a writer is that you spend alot of time thinking about what you want to write but somehow end up being distracted from it all.  Not just with washing, but with life.  It is quite distressing to go to hear published authors speak and hear them telling us how they write all day non stop.  I wish!

I spent Saturday afternoon in London at the Red House Children's Book awards rubbing shoulders with the likes of Michael Morpurgo, Patrick Ness and Malorie Blackman.  (Yes - me - with Michael Morpurgo).  I felt like a mad rock chick stalking the authors as they left the podium and tried to make their escape.  There is something quite magnificent about seeing well known authors in the flesh and it does make you want to go home and lock yourself away for weeks on end whilst you churn out a best seller.  But the truth is as long as there is washing to do and socks to find, it might just take a little longer.

Vanessa xx

Chloe and Michael Morpurgo