got word about an hour ago that my uncle died this morning.
he had cancer.
he had had a mild heart attack in june area? and that was when they discovered he had a couple spots on his lung. and then they found it in his lungs, his kidneys, his liver, his brain, his spine and in his bones.
So from diagnosis to death - three months. with no symptoms of cancer.
he is the first of my father's siblings to pass away. he was younger than my father... he would have been 56 this year, if he wasn't already depending on his birthdate.
am probably cancelling classes on friday, and leaving class early today. just want to go and hug my daughter.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
back to the grind
Fall has settled upon us after a fickle summer, and the season finds me back at the grind, teaching.
That adage about how those Who don't, Teach, always scares me. I teach writing. so somewhere in the back of my mind I wonder, can I really not teach?
This summer has been spent in a blur of days, every day with our daughter. Every day writing, polishing the manuscript, sending out queries. I had hoped to have had it agented by now. Everything tells me not to give up, when it is the easiest thing to do right now. This book, this novel I have written, I have been sitting with it for so long that I wonder if anyone else in the world will read it.
It needs a life of its own. It has been too long in the nursery. It's time to push it out of the nest and let it fly on its own.
And I have begun to write again. I write in our daughter's naptimes. When she is asleep, i curl up in our bed, with my notebook next to me. I write for about twenty minutes and then when i can no longer escape the cobwebs, I close the book up and sleep.
So, even though I may not have time to write, I am writing. I never stop. I've drunk the kool-aid so to speak. And that's all there is for me.
Have hope for me.
In other options: As this blog is kind of about what else we do (or i do) when i'm not writing, aka running or attempting to run a household.... on almost no money.
I have once again discovered the joys of QuietBooks.
to those not familiar with Quiet books, quiet books are almost always home made. Out fabric. Every page is something to do, some sort of activity. Educational somehow. Martha Stewart did an article on them in one of her issues, and it was awful. way too minimalistic, way toos imple. If you want to find a good Quiet Book, find a Mormon Mother. odds are she will either know of them, or have some of her own, either passed down, or ones she's made.
so for the baby, we have been making quietbooks. My mother is tackeling the Book Of Mormon quietbook. I tackled the little hymnal with pictographs for I Am a Child of God; Teach Me to Walk in the Light; Joseph Smith's First Prayer; and I Love to See the Temple.
My mother is an artist, so it's taking a little bit longer than I would like, but the quiet book will be fantastic. So in the mean time, she loaned me the quietbooks I had as a child. The ones my brother and sister had. We all shared them. And you konw what, they're still pretty cool. Full of great ideas.
I am reading like crazy, but having a hard time finding a book I love.
But here's the recent list:
Three cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson (AWESOME book. Go read it.)
Atonement - Ian McEwan. I actually put it down. I skipped sixty pages and didn't miss anything. not that great.
I'm reading The Kite Runner - still not impressed with it.
Mutiny on the Bouty- Nordhoff and Hall. great book.
Tess of the D'Ubervilles - I forget who. Hardy? beautifully written. but can life get any worse for this poor woman?
The Alchemyst - I dont kow who. Not the huge amazing one. the child/YA book. Ok book. not amazing...
What else have I been reading? I can't remember. But I've been reading a lot. That was one thing I pushed to do this summer. Read.
The baby and I are almost through Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets.
And I have almost fnished knitting my first sock. it's for the baby....
Made lots of pajama bottoms for her and a pair for her cousin for christmas. knitted a set of baby blocks for the new baby (not me, my sister)
Trying to set up daily lessons for the baby, so play time is also learning time..
And trying to figure out what is going on in my life...
That adage about how those Who don't, Teach, always scares me. I teach writing. so somewhere in the back of my mind I wonder, can I really not teach?
This summer has been spent in a blur of days, every day with our daughter. Every day writing, polishing the manuscript, sending out queries. I had hoped to have had it agented by now. Everything tells me not to give up, when it is the easiest thing to do right now. This book, this novel I have written, I have been sitting with it for so long that I wonder if anyone else in the world will read it.
It needs a life of its own. It has been too long in the nursery. It's time to push it out of the nest and let it fly on its own.
And I have begun to write again. I write in our daughter's naptimes. When she is asleep, i curl up in our bed, with my notebook next to me. I write for about twenty minutes and then when i can no longer escape the cobwebs, I close the book up and sleep.
So, even though I may not have time to write, I am writing. I never stop. I've drunk the kool-aid so to speak. And that's all there is for me.
Have hope for me.
In other options: As this blog is kind of about what else we do (or i do) when i'm not writing, aka running or attempting to run a household.... on almost no money.
I have once again discovered the joys of QuietBooks.
to those not familiar with Quiet books, quiet books are almost always home made. Out fabric. Every page is something to do, some sort of activity. Educational somehow. Martha Stewart did an article on them in one of her issues, and it was awful. way too minimalistic, way toos imple. If you want to find a good Quiet Book, find a Mormon Mother. odds are she will either know of them, or have some of her own, either passed down, or ones she's made.
so for the baby, we have been making quietbooks. My mother is tackeling the Book Of Mormon quietbook. I tackled the little hymnal with pictographs for I Am a Child of God; Teach Me to Walk in the Light; Joseph Smith's First Prayer; and I Love to See the Temple.
My mother is an artist, so it's taking a little bit longer than I would like, but the quiet book will be fantastic. So in the mean time, she loaned me the quietbooks I had as a child. The ones my brother and sister had. We all shared them. And you konw what, they're still pretty cool. Full of great ideas.
I am reading like crazy, but having a hard time finding a book I love.
But here's the recent list:
Three cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson (AWESOME book. Go read it.)
Atonement - Ian McEwan. I actually put it down. I skipped sixty pages and didn't miss anything. not that great.
I'm reading The Kite Runner - still not impressed with it.
Mutiny on the Bouty- Nordhoff and Hall. great book.
Tess of the D'Ubervilles - I forget who. Hardy? beautifully written. but can life get any worse for this poor woman?
The Alchemyst - I dont kow who. Not the huge amazing one. the child/YA book. Ok book. not amazing...
What else have I been reading? I can't remember. But I've been reading a lot. That was one thing I pushed to do this summer. Read.
The baby and I are almost through Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets.
And I have almost fnished knitting my first sock. it's for the baby....
Made lots of pajama bottoms for her and a pair for her cousin for christmas. knitted a set of baby blocks for the new baby (not me, my sister)
Trying to set up daily lessons for the baby, so play time is also learning time..
And trying to figure out what is going on in my life...
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