I Have Too Many Clocks

When I got home from my weekend at The Clearing this afternoon it took me a good half hour to go around and change the time on all of my clocks--two in the living room, five in the kitchen, one in the bathroom, one in the guest room, and three in my bedroom. Oh, I almost forgot, one in the car. Like I said, too many clocks.

I had a fabulous time with writing friends new and old this weekend. There were just five of us and we had hours with nothing to do but write. It was luxurious. I know, I know, I live alone and am retired so I can write all day if I want to but there's something about being at The Clearing with a group of like-minded women that gets my creative juices flowing. These pages spread out on the bed are what I wrote over the last four days. Most of them are small scenes to insert in places in the larger manuscript, most a single page, but one is three pages. I feel good about it.

 

The other day when I was leaving my cabin I surprised a deer that was by the bird and squirrel seed but it ran off before I could take its picture. This morning I was sitting in the Lodge eating my breakfast and looked out to see one, two, three deer! It took me a minute to remember to try for a picture but I managed a couple shots before they tiptoed away. There are two in this picture, one on either side of the window frame.

 

I am the designated fire builder when we're at a retreat at The Clearing. The maintenance guy, BB, brought me a carton of kindling and we all carried split logs up the stairs to the fireplace. This was the first fire I built on Thursday afternoon. The Friday afternoon fire was a great one, the Saturday one never really got started. Oh well, can't win 'em all. I have to say I'm reluctant to put my last shirt down the chute to be washed. It smells faintly of wood smoke. I like it.

 

On Friday afternoon it was my turn to be critiqued. I'd printed out pages of the beginning of my next novel at home, read them aloud to them, and got comments. I haven't looked at the copies with the written comments on them yet. I'll do that one day this week. But they all said they liked it.

 

Friday morning I went over to the Jensen Center where the office and bookstore is and bought a pair of earrings (RED!) and a card of handmade buttons. When I saw the buttons I imagined them as the eyes of crocheted creatures. Couldn't pass them up.

 

At 11 o'clock this morning we got on Zoom along with nearly 20 other women who had been taught, coached, and encouraged by JB of Redbird Studios to tell her what an impact she's had on our writing lives. It was wonderful to see faces I haven't seen in years, hear their voices, and memories. 

It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day today. When I got home it was 60 degrees (SIXTY!) so I opened the windows to let real air into the house. There was a soft breeze moving the curtain here by my desk that made me so happy I had to take its picture. It's supposed to be even warmer tomorrow and then cool down into the mid-40s but two weeks ago I'd have killed for mid-40s so I'm not going to complain.

 

I figure that's enough about my wonderful weekend. I feel so lucky that I can do this and am invited to go along.

--Barbara