Offline Reflections

I have been feeling very inwardly focused these days. But in an outwardly way. That is, my attention has shifted away from communicating with the outside world via the internet, and focusing more on the practical matters of getting things done in my house and business.

The reason for this, (I am fairly sure), is because my health at home has become fairly manageable, to the point where I actually have energy and even feel better when I'm moving around than when I'm at the computer. I embarked on some serious physical therapy for my headaches this fall and it has been quite amazing. I went from every day painkillers, to maybe once a week. Computer work, as you might expect, is not the best for my neck, and a large portion of my computer time needs to get spent on completing "The Professor and the Siren"  (it is longer than "The Mermaid and the Unicorn" now) or marketing my etsy business. (Need a whimsical flour sack dishtowel?)

And it's wonderful. Having energy to LIVE. Sure, my limits are still pretty low, and leaving the house is hard, but I've still come such a long way from where I was two years ago when I could hardly leave my bed. I've been consistently writing all year, getting back into sewing (for fun, at least), and slowly knocking off various home projects.*

*our basement flooding has make actually organizing the house quite difficult. But we're getting there. The basement is actually repaired now, we just have to get the sheetrock back up...

I'll say this for chronic illness, it makes you really appreciate every moment when you have a little bit of low-pain energy.

So I'm not on the computer as much these days. I'm online, but largely on my phone, which results in more reading and less posting. Which is fine. Observation and knowledge gathering is important for writers.

It's snowing here. I love Minnesota for so many reasons, but cold short days are not on that list. Still, snow is beautiful. And snow, accented by Christmas lights, is the perfect background for a good writing session. I lack a fireplace, but considering that real wood burning fireplaces tend to cause allergies, I can deal... I've got a puppy, anyhow. And in between novel sessions, I'll keep plugging away at my correspondence. I know too many wonderful people all over the world to give up internet all together... ;)