Going into the 9th week of 2008

After six days of rain the sun came out this morning and we're told that this is the way it will be for a while.

Last night I reread Julia Cameron's chapter on walking in THE WRITING DIET and decided to take Beulie for a short stroll in our neighborhood. It was only 30 minutes, but I've already lost the first three pounds with my Clean Eating and I have so much more energy. Already there is change! My goal is to walk more days than not, even if it is for so brief a time.

In one of Hannah Hinchman's books she writes of the importance of walking and suggests that we bring something home that can be incorporated into a sketchbook. So this afternoon I grabbed a bunch of wildflowers and added a page with the wild calendula that has fascinated me all winter.

If you can't draw, just tessellate

In Julia Cameron's book, THE WRITING DIET, she has this line, "Very often you will find that you are eating instead of taking a creative action." And she goes on to define "creative action" as just about anything that isn't eating. Vacuuming the living room rug could be a creative action if that's what needs to be done. Today is my 4th day on this diet project of mine and hers so I'm trying extra hard to do things rather than eat them.

Today I took two creative actions. The first was to plan ahead for the Thursday afternoon Arts and Crafts boys at Juvenile Hall. I've always wanted to learn how to make tessellating objects and found a simple idea to work from in the USBORNE BOOKS OF ART SKILLS. I plan to make this a two week project. First I'll teach the boys how to cut the square into the shape of a bird and how to map it out on bristol paper. Next time we'll add the paint. Here's my prototype to show them where we're going with this -- but they can choose their own colors (as long as they're not gang related.... a reality I must work around).



My second creative action was to complete a short assignment for my online autobiographical writing class. The task was to briefly write about a love-hate moment. I chose this one that happened about 25 years ago and epitomized my relationship with my son, who I have always adored. Here it is:

I never have been one to keep up with household chores, but every now and then I’m reminded that I really should. When my kids were in their teens I filled the ironing basket until we were all threatened with nudity and then gave up, hauled out the old squeaky board and turned the iron on to heat.

On this particular day I was standing there, looking at the mound of wrinkles waiting for me and dreading every heated moment. I rescued a few hangers from the coat closet, ransacked our bedroom for a bunch more. Not nearly enough.

Now I had a dilemma to face. Having always respected my kids’ increasing need for privacy, I never went through their belongings. But faced with this heap of laundry and too few hangers, I went to my daughters’ room and gathered up the empties. Neatniks they, their unused hangers were tidely set to the side of the hanging bar.

I ironed forever, watched the pile diminish and thrilling myself with the growing row of neatly smoothed pants, blouses and shirts. I was on the proverbial roll.

But that naggy, not-enough-hangers problem eventually re-emerged so I went to my son’s room to find some more. I nearly twisted my ankle just walking through his debris. Every time I asked him to clean his room he would do it -- and then just let it do its thing until the next request.

I made it to his closet door and pulled it open. YIKES and ohmygod! The ceiling light was burning -- and apparently had been for several weeks. Reaching out to greet me was a six-foot marijuana plant, its five-fingered hands leaning out to shake mine.

I’ll spare you the words exchanged at the dinner table that evening. Let’s just say that the problem was solved -- and I won. And we all had freshly ironed clothes the next morning.

All this wildlife

It's raining today and will be for another day or two more. And it's Saturday, so who cares? We're all snug, nobody has much of a schedule to keep and it's the weekend. So I focused on the wildlife within my domain. The American goldfinches were feeding in a backyard tree.

Belle the cat was dozing in the most uncomfortable chair in the house until I disturbed her with my camera flash.



I gave beautiful Beulie a Saturday morning bath so she can go with me to church tomorrow morning and to chemotherapy on Tuesday. There's nothing like a spotless dog (no offense to dalmatians, I mean, as in dirt spots).

Today is the 3rd day of my Julia Cameron diet program. I've walked the treadmill three days in a row for 30 minutes so my body is in shock. I made yesterday's Chinese lunch entree last for today's lunch too instead of scarfing it all in one sitting. I've been faithfully maintaining my food journal and rereading parts of THE WRITING DIET and I'm eating more fruit whenever I have the munchies (which is often). I've lost the first two pounds, YES!, and am truly motivated. That's my biggest problem, maintaining the motivation, which is why I'm gladly doing all this in worldwide public so that my addictions to sugar, fat, carbs and everything else that's edible will be fully documented and I'll be nudged into action. You don't have to read it, it's just that I have to write it!

Yes I can!

Whenever I look through someone else's travel sketchbook there always seems to be a page of airport sketches. Bored passengers are shown reading their newspapers, checking the flight schedules, drinking soda, sleeping, working their crossword puzzles and trying to be patient.

I've never been able to draw these people, but I want to because it certainly is part of the whole travel experience. So this afternoon I took Beulie with me to Starbucks. She fell asleep under the table while I nursed my latté and drew a guy sitting across the room. Two-thirds through my very first attempt he suddenly folded up his newspaper, stood up and walked out. Well! What's a mother to do? I gathered up the stuff on my table, woke up my dog, stood up and walked out too! But I'll be back... and on nice days I'll go to a park and try again. I really want to learn how to draw people doing their peopley things so the next time I travel I can include that page too.

We woke up to sunshine today but it wasn't long before the clouds blew in. Rain is forecast for the next three days, at least. I worked several hours today and didn't get home until after 9:00 tonight but the rest of the week will be lighter. Good. I can watch the rain. I don't know how to draw rain either.

Last night I finished reading Julia Cameron's latest book, THE WRITING DIET. It's a self-help book on .... writing yourself thin. Will it work? I need to lose weight. I am one of Julia Cameron's most faithful followers. When THE ARTIST'S WAY came out in 1992 I was there, reading each week's portion and working the program. I repeated the 12-weeks. I started several Artist's Way groups and walked others through the chapters. We all succeeded. One woman opened a business, others turned to the arts. I enrolled in graduate school and began a new career. Julia Cameron was not the only influence in that time of my life but she was a major player.

So it feels as though she and I go back a long way. And therefore I am inclined to trust that if I continue writing my three pages every morning (I have stacks and stacks of old journals now) and follow her probing prompts and keep a food journal, it's likely I will lose weight. This from someone who ate pizza for supper and pumpkin pie for dessert (it's a veggie serving). Uh.... it will be a challenge.