Mirkwood Cottage

I want to ride my bicycle...

I have come to the recent conclusion that I am my own worst enemy. Two weeks ago, I set out to start writing my novel (with the aim of completing it by the end of September). Since embarking on Attempt Number 2, however, my brain has conjured all sorts of amazing and fun things for me to do instead!

I've rearranged and organised my study, so it's pretty and workable. I've started knitting something that ISN'T a scarf (it's a bag). I've watched five of ten seasons of Stargate. Gone to the doctor about ailments that I like to pretend aren't there so as to avoid surgery. And then, in the midst of it all, I decided that I wanted a bicycle.

Not any bicycle, mind you. I wanted a vintage-styled bicycle, complete with a cool basket, nice wide handlebars, a comfortable seat and a smile like the girl in the picture.

My Dream Study...

I'm feeling very motivated today, and I think it's because I've discovered the secret to completing projects around my home! I'm a bit of a crime show addict, you see - so with my handy new laptop (which has very good speakers), I've found that if I throw on a DVD in the proximity of the project, then something magical happens! I Get Things Done!

This evening, I'm embarking on a project more than a year in the making: to get my study organised so that I can actually use it to help my writing along, versus its current allocation as "dumping ground for Erin's copious collections of Everything". (Seriously. I struggle to find ANYTHING that I don't collect!)

Now, my study won't look as pretty as the one pictured to the left (a Pottery Barn creation, I think); but the thought that I'll no longer have to climb and/or trip over boxes to get in the door and my desk will be cleared of jewellery and junk makes me very content indeed! The only thing that would make me more content? The Astrid Armchair from Anthropologie; preferably in the pear print, with a snuggly throw on its arm and with a tall Tiffany lamp overhead.

Best. Reading Chair. Ever.

Black Forest Cherry Explosion

You know you've got the cooking bug when, at 7.30pm on a "school night", you dig out your recipe book and start creating in the kitchen!

One of my passions - other than writing, of course - is to cook up a storm; and after reading the lovely Jane Brocket's 'Yarnstorm' blog this evening, featuring a sweet little cherry cake, my mouth started watering for a three-layer explosion of chocolate, cream, cherries and kirsch!

So, here I am, almost two hours later - with this tasty treat before me. Being as keen as I was to whip it up before bedtime, I'm afraid it's more leaning-tower-of-Pisa than edible masterpiece... but I tell you what: it tastes good regardless!

As a side note: I am seriously salivating for my very own copy of Jane's new book, Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer: A Golden Treasury of Classic Treats, which is a collection of traditional recipes (that she has written and/or tried and tested) for food that has featured on the pages of some of my favourite children's books! I can't wait until July 8 (plus a few days for it to travel from the UK to Australia) - when I'll don my favourite kitschy apron and bake up a storm! Did I mention that recipes are grouped into 'Midnight Feasts', 'High Tea Treats' and 'Seaside Picnics' (among others). Be still my beating heart! (Who's up for a midnight feast in the dorm??)

Given that Jane's the highly-regarded author of The Gentle Art of Domesticity (a wonderful, colourful, treat of a book), I have no doubt that her latest project will be even more fantastical and inspiring!

You know you're a word nerd when...

As we pulled up to the front of our house, I unbuckled my seatbelt at the same time David pulled on the handbrake and our elbows whacked together with a resounding "OUCH!"

"Why do you always hurt me?! It's just plain mean!" (said Erin in a persnickety tone...)

"It wasn't deliberate. It so never is," said David, who then promptly whacked his other elbow into the car door.

"Payback for elbowing you, I guess." (said he)

"Haha! CARma! Geddit?"

(And apparently it's those sorts of comments that make him love me so. Thank God I married a nerd!)

Tuesday Writer's Block

So, we'll pretend like I'm not overdue on last Tuesday's Writer's Block, thanks to a slew of 26 page medico-legal reports that require my attention, and get underway with today's!

This time, The Writer's Block Oracle says...

"Spark word: Prophecy"

[Image courtesy of a Nostradamus website...]

It's not me, it's you.

One of the things that I enjoy about being a psychologist, is that it offers room for a LOT of creative licence. In my writing, I love using metaphors - and in my line of work, I find that there's nothing like a metaphor to help someone see their current situation in a new light.

I've been working with a few people who really struggle with past traumas and woundings lately. I'm talking big-time stuff here. Things that have happened during their lives that have hurt deeply. Things that have felt, to them, like intensely personal attacks. I meet a lot of people who feel that they have no value unless they're doing something to earn it - be it earning cash, or the emotional equivalent of a fantastical juggling act (flaming knives, say), while balancing on a tightrope, just to get a little love from the crowd.

The sad thing about this is that every person - every human life - has intrinsic value. That is, value without an amount on it; without a behaviour attached; being loved 'just because' - not because you've done something pleasing or have had to grovel for affection.

The more I counsel, the more it becomes apparent that how we view the world as adults, how we live in it and see ourselves, has incredibly strong ties to the first 6-12 years of our life. It's incredible and devastating to see the hunger of a child yearning for a parent's unconditional love, only, in the eyes of an adult; and then to see how that has affected their sense of worth...

In any case, in discussions today along these lines, an interesting metaphor arose.

Tuesday's Writers' Block

Nifty little The Writer's Block, how do we love thee? Let us count the ways!

Today's challenge?

Write about a library or bookstore that has special significance to you...

Ready? Steady? Write!

[Image courtesy of Little Miao]

Runaway train never comin' back...

One of my clients went missing five days ago.

Feared suicide.

I can't get Runaway Train out of my head.

Thoughts and prayers for his family and his safe return appreciated.

Update (12 June 2008): Still no word. Sigh.

[Beautiful image by Stephen Forsyth]

Echoes of the past...

I always find it a little odd reading things I wrote long ago. For starters, 1997 is eleven years ago. ELEVEN! When on earth did that much time pass by?! But it's not really the passage of time that I find so strange, rather, the way the words pull at you, tugging you to the past. I don't know why I stopped writing poetry - perhaps it was more of an adolescent thing to do - but it's a little nice to remember how vividly one felt back then. And how gushingly saccharine...

Tuesday Writer's Block

It's Tuesday again! I was all alone in my attempts at breaking down the writers' block wall last week... I know Amber's swamped with work just now, so she's off the hook - but it'd be nice to know that there are a few warm bodies out there reading! So... join in! Please?

This week we're going to play with a Keyword straight out of The Writer's Block. So, ready your pens ladies and gents! This week's topic is:

Accident-prone

Don't forget to either pop your writing / blog link into a comment!