Monday 18 February 2013

Birthday (continued)

Well, it's happened. This morning, I found I could still get out of bed, run donwstairs (carefully), make breakfast, walk into town...I had wondered whether all this would change, but I seem much the same as I was yesterday. Phew. Perhaps it's not quite as bad as I thought it would be. Wonderful daughter came with cake and snowdrops and presents, and John is cooking steak for dinner.

But. I need to make better use of time. I'm going to make a kind of bucket list/list of resolutions. Some of them are as follows:

Waste less time. Very difficult.
Do less blogging.  "         "
Finish the novel. After all, my agent likes it, and while she says there are no guarantees in the current climate (I know  that!) I shouldn't waste 36,000 words, should I?
Write more short stories. I've just sold three, so that should be an incentive, but it doesn't always work like that.
Do some volutary work. It used to be Relate couselling (whch was mainly unpaid), but now I need to find something else. Apart, that is, from writing to my death row prisoner.
Have singing lessons. I've sung in a choir for years, and want to learn to make the most of the minimal ability I've got.
Take at least one item a week to the Oxfam shop. That means pruning books : (
Do one grotty job a week (clear out the larder, ditto the courtyard, clean the disgusting utility-area-cum-shed at the back of the house, scrub the moss off the doorstep...you get the idea).
Clean the car more than once every three years. Moss on the windows is not a good look.
Get back the nerve I lost when I had three horse accidents last year. I've become something of a wimp since then, and need to pull myself together. (And teach Fairfax that he's not the boss.)

Looks impressive, doesn't  it?

Hmmm.

21 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday, Frances - from scruffy blogger 109 x

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  2. Cake and snowdrops - how wonderful :-) I see you're planning to take things easy! I do think you're being hard on yourself though with the books, grotty jobs and the car cleaning. I bet that last one on your list is probably the one you want most (and you are the most un-wimp like person I know - you're an inspiration, Frances!) x

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    1. You're quite right about the last one, Teresa, and I AM a wimp (now) although I try to keep it well-hidden!

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  3. Frances, only just caught up with the last week's worth of blogs this evening - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Here's to the future - may it be full and fulfilling, xx

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  4. Frances, how do you get involved in writing to a death row prisoner? I love writing letters - is there a way to get involved?

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    1. Fran, how have you maanged to avoid my death row posts?! I tend to bang on about it, especially in order to recruit new writers. It's tremendously worthwhile, as for some prisoners we are literally the only people who make any contact at all. I write through an organisation called Lifelines (website www.lifelines-uk.org.uk). They are very supportive if you have problems and keep members wel informed. I asked for a prisoner in Texas (the worst conditions - do Google Texas Death Row, or Polunsky Unit for more details), as I wanted to find out more about it. My prisoner is an amazingly interesting intelligent man, but he thinks his date is coming up soon, and I'm going to find that really hard. Do join, Fran. It's so worthwhile, and they desperately need more correspondents. And please let me know how you get on!

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    2. Ps if you'd like to talk about this, email me, and I'll give you my number (not that I'm being pushy or anything...).

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  5. I like your bucket list, especially the last one, oh, and of course, anything to do with writing.

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  6. While I can't really comment on any of the other things on your list, I am definitely very much opposing the 2nd one!!!

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    1. I shan't give it up entirely, Meike, but I do spend too much time on it. It's largely putting off the proper writing...

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  7. I'm so glad you enjoyed your birthday, Frances, and I love your list. I would like to try tackling one household/garden job every week. Everything has piled up since I started writing all the time. I have paid one daughter to wash my car at long last, but she didn't remove the long grass growing out of the radiator...

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    1. Grass in the radiator. Hmmm. I think it's carwash time, Joanna (I hate the carwash. All those lethal brushes, all that water... the last time, I thought the car was going into a crusher).

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  8. Belated Happy Birthday. Best plan would be to concentrate on your writing and pay someone else to do the jobs you don't like.

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    1. I'm afraid I already do, but not enough hours for mossy cars, and there are some things I couldn't ask anyone else to do!

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  9. Time is only wasted if you believe it is wasted Frances. Let's face it by one criteria or another most of our time is wasted. I have a friend who thinks the amount of time I spend playing croquet is wasted. I don't. I think it's good physical and mental exercise but it can hardly be said to contribute anything to the good of humanity. When we reach a Certain Age should we not relax and enjoy ourselves?

    Another of my pompous posts - not to make them should be my resolution. Perhaps when I'm 70....!

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    1. That last was a bit below the belt, GB!

      But I'm now tottering out to try to tame the bloody horse...

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  10. Sorry I missed it - hope you had a good day!

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