It was pointed out to me today

It was pointed out to me today that I have been rather sporadic in my writing on this blog and it is true. I have had no difficulty achieving the majority of my goals or at least getting them well underway. However, that doesn't excuse not writing! I have been thinking about writing and working on some plot lines while swimming. I realize that just thinking isn't writing but I suppose it is a starting place. I should be writing every day, even if it's just a few hundred words here! I will try harder. Now, I'm off to bed!

And here I am again!

Wednesday Morning

As promised, I have returned. I also wrote this morning in the cooking blog about my madeleine making. Yum! No wonder the French are so addicted to having them with morning coffee (or tea, I suppose).

I had an interesting visit to the Staines library yesterday. The two librarians I talked with were lovely, though somewhat stereotypical in appearance. If all goes well, one of them will come to the school on August 23rd to hand out cards (already applied for) and to give information to those parents who haven't been able to apply before the day. I am hoping that we can get at least 50% of the families signed up.

The weather has turned cloudy and windy but still no rain forecast. This will give me a chance to do some heavy slog in the garden that I wouldn't want to do in the hot weather. I'm also thinking about starting the painting I want to do. I can just see the summer escaping from me and I still won't have painted the living room, nor finished the trim in the dining room. And then there are the purple walls in my bedroom! Dear me!

For the next day or so, I have given up adolescent novels. Instead, I'm reading a detective novel by Andrea Camilleri, The Wings of the Sphinx. As I may have mentioned before, I really enjoy reading detective fiction which was originally written in a language other than English. Camilleri is Italian and sets his novels in Sicily. Good plots, great characterization and wonderful local colour!

What I've been doing...other than writing

I may be back but I haven't been that regular at writing! I think in part that I have fallen out of the habit and so, just don't think about writing each day. That is a disaster considering that one of my goals for the holidays is to write regularly and continue with my novel!

What, in fact ,have I been doing since I started my holidays nearly 2 weeks ago! The weather has been glorious! Warm, sometimes hot! Sunny with little or no rain! So unlike a summer in England. It has been so wonderful that I haven't wanted to be in the house. I've done lots of work on my garden and it is finally starting to fall in to place. This week is the Hampton Court Flower Show and Emma and I are going on Saturday. It should be a perfect week for it, warm and sunny.

I have managed to get a lot of little jobs done, which have been waiting for me to attend for ages. The house is better organized; I have my new garden waste rubbish bin coming from the council; I have abandoned all hope of going to the local boot sale (rather like a garage sale) and taken everything to the Oxfam shop; and I'm in the process of reorganizing closets and the garden shed! I haven't mentioned the books I've read or the tennis matches I've watched, nor the daily visits to the pool. So, I have been busy but not with writing. I did re-read the first chapter and make some notes about changes but that's it!

Alas!

I've been cooking as well but I will discuss that on my other blog. However, I can say that I have finally made madeleines and several loaves of Pain de Campagne. Today or tomorrow, I am trying some new recipes for sponge cakes.

In half an hour I'm off to the Staines public library to talk with the librarian about signing my students and their families up for library cards. I can't believe how many of them have never been into their local library.

So you see, though I'm not writing, I am very busy and I do feel good about what I have accomplished so far.

More tomorrow, I promise!