PROCRASTINATION

Procrastination. That's what this is. I'm supposed to be writing, but here I sit fiddling around with blogs and surfing the net.

I've been catching up with friends over Christmas. Good friends. The genuine ones. The ELBs [remember those from the Anniversary?]are supposed to catch up with me some time before New Year. ELB1 rang me the other day to say "Merry Xmas". Yeah, yeah, we must get together. Sure! I'll believe that when I see it. I rang ELB2 to catch up with her. She also said she'd give me a ring before she goes back to work. Yeah, right!

So... I'll wait and see.

In the meantime, I do have plenty to get done. There's always the GST and accounts to do. Yuk. I think I'll put that off. I shouldn't, but I just can't face them yet. Give me a few days to get over Christmas.

My blood sugar levels have gone crazy. They're way over 12.0, which is ridiculous for me. All my life, I've operated at a level low enough to put most people in hospital - 2 to 3. Now they're up to about 12. That's crazy. I have been very careful about what I've been eating and drinking, so there's really no reason for the dramatic rise. I can't seem to get it to drop. Don't know why.

My blood pressure is also up a little. That's probably because I ran out of one lot of tablets. I have to go back to the doctor to get another prescription. I've been putting it off, but now I'll have to make the appointment. Now, at least, I have two things to complain about: sugar levels and blood pressure.

Man oh man! Must be getting old. What's next? The arthritis playing up...? Don't laugh. With the weather getting hot then cold, it really is playing up. Can't win, can you?

It's supposed to get to 41 degrees Celsius tomorrow. Yay! Bring it on. A nice, clear dry heat. I love it. Saturday is supposed to be a killer though: 39 degrees and stormy. The humidity will drown us.

Okay. Let's not procrastinate all day.

Back to writing. After all... Isn't that what I love doing best?

Yeah.

See ya!

Boxing Day

We survived Christmas!

I'm glad that's over for another year. I can sit back and relax now. Life can finally return to normal.

It should be a quiet day today. I'm hoping to get a chance to catch up with friends.

See you soon.

That Time of the Year

Well… here we are. It’s Christmas eve.

The shopping has been done, the tree is up, the presents are under it. Nothing to do now but wait. And worry that there’s something I’ve forgotten. It was too easy. Something has to have been forgotten…! Don’t you just hate that feeling?

At least this year the tree has balls. Well, you know what I mean. The decorations are on it. Last year the tree went up but ended up naked. I thought it didn’t look too bad — a nice fake green tree with presents under it. It was kind of nice. Natural. A back to nature kind of thing.

This year, I have nice new shiny gold and silver balls on it. Only… one whole packet of the gold ones didn’t come with string so I couldn’t hang them. Maybe next year, when I get time to put the string on.

I don’t know what happened to the tree lights. They’re in that cupboard. You know the one. The one where you put everything so you’ll know where it is when you want it. I know they’re in there. I just can’t find them. And I can’t be bothered looking. I know they’ll be there next year.

Never mind. The tree isn’t naked and there’s enough presents under it to make it look like Christmas again.

Have a good one, everybody!

Xmas Panic

Aaaaaargh!

Xmas is coming too fast. I'm not ready. The tree's not up, I can't find the lights, the cards are not sent, the food hasn't been bought, I have presents to get... Man oh man I hate this.

I love all the good will to men and all that stuff, but really... Give me a break here. I've got so much to do I'm not sure if I'm going to make it.

All I want to do is sit and write. Shadow Runners has been left up in the air at a crucial spot. Mark of the Condemned is also hanging out for a completion of a scene. I'm madly doing paintings for Xmas presents. I keep getting interrupted by unimportant things like: paying bills, answering phones, receiving visitors, preparing meals...

Life sure does get in the way of a good time, doesn't it.

I do have some exciting news about my 2 brothers and sister and I. Stay tuned for the next blog. Roughly translated, that means when I have a moment I'll write it all out.

Okay. There had to be one of me. Very sneaky of Roxie to take this with my own camera while I wasn't looking. December 10, NEWS Xmas dinner. And a great night was had by all. 

The North Eastern Writers Society. Gottcha that time! Our Xmas dinner at The Sydney Hotel, Wangaratta, on Saturday, December 10, 2005. 

The North Eastern Writers Society. A rare looking bunch of writers [some trying to hide] out for a dinner. 

Bastet. Acrylic on canvas. Sepia. 

My Other Artistic Pursuit

As you can see by the photos, I also paint.

I've just recently gotten back into painting mode. For a long time I only concentrated on my writing, but I think I missed fiddling around on canvas. I'm trying to put together enough paintings for an exhibition and possibly to sell some of my work. It will take a while to restock my work. It's been years. It also doesn't help that it is getting near to Xmas and four of my recent works, including the Bastet in this blog, are walking out the door as Xmas presents.

Never mind. Now that I am "newly inspired" I'll no doubt have many more to display and sell.

Today, though, is fish tank cleaning day. Oscar is currently enjoying the yabbies I gave him. He was supposed to eat one every day for the next week, but he's finished them all off in one go. Greedy little sod. At least he won't be trying to eat my hands while I'm up to my arm pits in his tank. Oscars don't have a rule about not biting the hand that feeds them. If it fits in their mouth, they'll eat it.

OK. I'd better get on with it. The sooner I do my duty, the sooner I can get back to my writing.

Catch you next time.

Fire Serpent. Acrylic on canvas. Sepia. Inspired by carvings on ruins in Mexico. 

Geoff with Tiger at 4 months old. Having a siesta on our verandah. 

Christmas Blues

It's getting on towards that time of the year again.

I know I said I hate Christmas, but generally, I do quite like it. It's the way some people carry on that really gets to me. Some people pick this time of the year to be extra difficult to get along with. Then, there's strain of trying to find something to give people when you don't have much money. I like to give people gifts, but I can't always find the extra money. Christmas is also the time of year when businesses all want their pound of flesh... or, I should say "pound of legal tender".

Ah well, it's up with the tree, on with the ornaments, fix that smile in place, organise the meals, greet the guests... You know how it goes.

I'd rather be writing, or painting, or just sitting around reading a good book.

There's always next year...!

Dream

I had a really strange dream last night about a black rabbit. I found a black rabbit with ears almost as long as a hare's ears wandering around our yard. It was obviously someone's pet but it tried to bite me when I picked it up. It didn't bite very hard and I was able to carry it around. After quite a bit of searching, I managed to find a cage to keep it in while I looked for the owner. I contacted the RSPCA and they said the rabbit had come from a home where there was terrible cruelty and all the animals had been removed from that property. They said that I should keep it.

In the meantime, I was busy cleaning the house from top to bottom, trying to get everything put away and looking nice because we were having visitors. One of my aunts who died some years ago was there helping me vaccuum the floor. I kept telling her she shouldn't be doing that because she was a guest. There were other aunts and uncles gathering around too.

How strange.

Seeing a black rabbit or hare in a dream often means problems with finances and is a warning to be careful with money or investments.

Aunts and Uncles in dreams fortell of family troubles and fights.

Well, it's coming up towards Xmas. That's the time of the year when we have no money, and this year is no different. All the bills have to be paid and we're always struggling to find nice little presents for everyone. So nothing different there.

Xmas is also the time of the year my [adopted] mother starts playing up and trying to stop me from spending time with any other family member except her. That's no different either. My father-in-law is the same. He goes into "controller" mode and makes life impossible for everyone around him.

Oh well. I suppose I can expect the usual Xmas gloom and doom. Jeez I hate Xmas. It's always a relief when it goes away. There's just so much pressure put on you by relatives that it takes all the fun out of it. I'd rather have a quiet time here with just ourselves and a few good friends having a simple meal and a few laughs.

Maybe one day...!