Sustenance

Posted On July 23, 2020

I did a lot of editing work over the weekend. Why? One, I don’t have much on my list of “fun things to do”, even before the whole pandemic thing. Two, if I concentrate hard enough, I can accomplish some edits instead of paying attention to looping thoughts that aren’t productive. Three, I’m a few days shy of the halfway point of my chunk of time off before the paid gig is supposed (???) to start up again, so it’s like I have 6 Saturdays and 1 Sunday each week. Four, my “5 days disguised as Saturdays” tend to be taken up with other stuff (getting tires on the horse trailer, getting the horse trailer fixed, cleaning tack <OMG why do I never do this? My fingers will be so sore tomorrow!>, getting tires rotated on the car, going to the grocery store <used to be one of my favorite things, now, I’m as cautious as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs…not liking this a whole lot, just FYI>). Based on the timeline errors I’ve found and corrected so far (up to page 94 of 249), either my beta reader didn’t catch it or she had faith in my abilities to scowl at the Word doc, scroll up and down several times, then delete some sentences in order for the story to flow.

I’m toying with the idea of either making another loaf of beer bread (I have 1 bottle of Peach IPA that might be good) or switching from breads (I refuse to be embarrassed by the number/variety of loaves I’ve purchased and thoroughly enjoyed the last few months–it all goes so well with vegan butter <made from cashews> and vegan cheese <I’m told it’s an acquired taste>) to fruit smoothies in the blender. It could be that my elastic-waist shorts and all my sitting have something to do with my choices…

The last 3 recipes I tried turned out okay, but didn’t look much like the picture. On Saturday, I made a vegan veggie chili, and yay!, it turned out really well!! Making new meals is on my list of things to do while I’m on non-paid-work days. It’s also a chance for me to be a bit creative, to stop obsessive thinking, and it’s often “fun”. On occasion, I’ll stretch out on the couch and read a paperback book. It may not sound like much, but I don’t watch TV and the couch is uncomfortable to sit on, but works for lying down. This is now on my “fun things to do” list, which, of course, comes with a disclaimer stating: you shall not feel guilty about relaxing/taking time away from work/reading a book for leisure in the middle of the day. These things (along with cleaning tack) mean I can do 1 thing and be mindful, which allows my mind to slow down in the spitting out of (often unhelpful) thoughts.

The newsletter will be written/sent this week. Sign up if you haven’t already and want to know more about my writing. I’m still posting regularly on IG about my books, and on LI about writing. I won’t finish Da&Dr by the end of the month, but I’ll keep at it until it’s published 🙂

May you have a long list of fun things to do, meals that go above sustenance and excite you, and may you find those spaces between your thoughts so you can rest.

Written by Michele Venne

Writer of immersive and intriguing stories.

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