(no subject)

[essayel]

Firstly, I haven't meant to ignore you. Honest. It's because random amounts of my LJ notifications have been ending up in my spam box and I've been emptying it without looking at it.

Secondly - meme from britalone:

Outside my window... everything is sort of hazy and broken up into little circles because I haven't taken down the bubble wrap I put up as secondary glazing in the winter. This is partly due to 'why the fuck bother' and partly because it cuts down the horrible draft from the Crittall window.
I am physically feeling... squishy. I've reached the stage were I settle in folds like the Michelin man. It's not a comfortable feeling.
I am emotionally feeling...disappointed in myself. I could be writing something now, I've got masses of ideas, but I'm fiddling round with a meme instead. If you don't try you can't fail! Sheesh.
I am thankful for... being out of work this week. I probably won't do much but it's nice to not HAVE to do stuff.
I am happy about... the Keladra story which continues to grow by small but steady amounts.
I am totally enjoying... Nameless by Sam Starbuck.
I am wondering... if getting up at the crack of dawn to walk the dog justifies having a Mars Bar for elevenses.
I just learned... how incredibly resilient butterflies are. Even after being grabbed by Tabi, flattened, played with, spat out, pawed and almost squashed during the rescue mission, that peacock butterfly shrugged its wings, twitched its antennae and fluttered away into the buddleia almost a good as new.
I wish... I could buckle down and get something - anything - finished.
I dreamed...about the sea
I am hurt by... nothing external at the moment.
I am worried about... my kids, especially Jen.
The art I'm playing with is... trying to produce one sketch or small painting every day. I used to have some small talent. Like everything else it was eaten by RP. I need to get back into practice, especially if, next spring I need to be doing 'after' Wyeth or Pyle paintings.
I'm currently obsessing on... an 8 novella m/m thriller series based on MM and intended to be written with celticangel76 should we ever finish any of the things we are already working on. Obsessing is a bit strong, though. I spend far more time wondering what Jen did with the Kitkats.
My favorite food today is... I don't know yet. All I've had is bran flakes and though they are pretty cool and I wouldn't want to be without them they are more routine than favourite.
Something new is ... I have a brand new note book - A5 with an elastic loop that hols it closed. The cover is grey with a little white scrolly pattern and just part of the pattern large in black. The paper is plain. It feels good in the hand. So far it contains sketches of a male head and shoulders and a grazing cob in ink, pencil drawings of an apple and a mug of soup with a spoon in it and a water colour painting of the apple. There's also a pencilled male nude only I'm not happy with his head.
I am wearing... grey tunic top, black leggings, black crocs, jolly red wristwatch, rainbow bead earrings, purple specs, big grin.
Today I will go out to... walk the dog again. I might go to Waitrose and buy some root ginger. We have SO MANY courgettes, one of which we didn't notice until it was 2 feet long and about 7 inches in diameter. Marrow and ginger jam! Yum.
I need to..... hang more washing out.
I am reading... Empyrion by Stephen Lawhead. I'm enjoying it a lot less than Nameless.
I am hoping that... I get some decent words down today.
On my desk is... it's a table not a desk and there's - coffee mug [half full], SD card, Wacom tablet, 3 notebooks, several pens, 2 piles of ironing [one done one to do], clothes peg, tissue, my purse, pencil, comb, upside down black cat.
Around the house...utter chaos. I'm trying to tidy, I really am, but Hell I just HAVE to do this meme first don't I?
One of my favorite things today is... having a Mars Bar to look forward to. This may seem a bit of a contradiction given my earlier comments about squishiness but in the grip of full blown chocolate lust it's hard to connect the two things. Anyhow, I had bad knees, back, hips, and feet when I was a reasonably [given my age, 2 kids, sendentary job etc] svelte 145 lbs. The extra 40 lbs I'm carrying now is partially courtesy of having been aggressively fit when I was younger which generally fucked my body up.
A photo I want to show today is ... erm - hang on while I go and take one.



That's the garden path down to the shed where himself is listening to the Archers and making a chest of drawers. Our dog is wondering why I've told him to stand there but is quite happy to comply. The exuberant 'lived in' mess in the garden is only slightly tidier than inside the house.


Oh, Chicago. Anyone know of any areas where there might be mom and pop shops, book shops etc within walking distance of an art house cinema? Especially the type of buildings where one could live above the shops? Or even if such things exist? Or if they exist ANYWHERE else in the States?

Awwww in the time it took me to type that, husband declared intention to go out, shut dog inside, dog flung himself on floor in attitude of utter despair, husband changed mind and came back, dog was all happy happy joy joy, and now they have pranced outside to water the green house. I think I'd better go do something useful.

Comments

[britalone.livejournal.com]

Your first answer cracked me up!! I needed that laugh!

Your dog is gorgeous and the bit of garden I can see is lovely. More photos of your garden would be nice.

[essayel.livejournal.com]

He is a lovely dog but that's about it for the garden. On a good day I could spit across it. Here (http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/Essayel/1stcupofcoffee.jpg) it is looking in the other direction from the window of what was supposed to be going to be my studio until it got filled with wood.

Bubble wrap has many uses ;)

[britalone.livejournal.com]

I love that your garden is full and busy. Mine is quite large, but most of it is lawn!

[traboule.livejournal.com]

Re. Chicago - I used to live in Hyde Park, which is a neighbourhood south of downtown and chock full of mildly deranged and hopelessly eccentric university students. There's a second-run cinema called Doc attached to the University that shows art movies during the week and (second-run) commercial films on weekends, and you'll find several bookshops and shops that, if they aren't mom-and-pop also aren't annoyingly corporate along 55th St where it crosses Lake Park (give or take a few blocks).

It sounds like what you might be looking for, though there is a similar feel up by Fullerton and DePaul (not to mention the best tea shop in all of Chicago). I miss it. If you can't tell ;)

[essayel.livejournal.com]

Bless you! That's very useful information. I started writing a story with a friend and we decided [what were we thinking!]to set it in Chicago basically because of the vibe about the place we got from copperbadge's posts. I'll have a 'stroll around' that area courtesy of Google Maps street level and see if I can find a place that looks right. These days, even with the fluffiest romance, you have to be 100% spot on with all ones geography well.

Thank you VERY much.