1/08/20: Back On Track

Today feels like the first day back to a regular schedule since the holidays jumped into high gear over a month ago. Since that time in early December we have marched through countless dinner parties and cocktail parties, several given by Herman and I, entertained long-term guests, performed countless chores to tie up loose ends from last year and kickoff this year, and worked constantly to complete our purge of unneeded stuff in our home. It has been a hectic and productive month, and I’m grateful to get back to my normal writing routine. 

Now the parties are over (ending last night with a dinner party for ten where I cooked my minestrone soup and also my new Junkyard Dog Chile recipe), the guests have flown back home, and the purge has turned into a remarkable success, also finishing yesterday when we gave away our canoe to Kevin and Phillip. I used to love slicing through the water in that canoe, but we have not used it in five or six years. We have moved beyond that time in our lives where we camped in tents beside a lake to spend our days fishing. As much as I loved those experiences, I’m not sorry to see them go. I only hope Kevin and Phillip get as much joy out of that boat as we did. 

We also gave away three more paintings to our dinner guests last night. We didn’t purge everything we could have, but we did manage to give away much more than I thought we could or would—clothes, furniture, carpets, a dozen paintings and prints, eight boxes of books, camping gear, and the canoe. We scrounged through every closet, cabinet, and drawer to give away everything we didn’t need moving forward. It is amazing how much stuff had been sitting there unused for years. Now it’s all in good hands. 

So now that I’m back to a normal schedule with no interruptions, I feel it’s time to get back to writing. I’ve missed my routine terribly. I see a lot of work ahead of me, and I’m joyful that I’m once again plowing into it. 

Insight of the Day: I feel most happy when I’m writing.