Bad Weather; Bad News

Well … here goes: My first two cords of wood arrive today, and the weather is not cooperating. Today, at this point (7:30 am) looks as though we’re doomed to a classic wet, cool and grey day. It's raining right now. However, the next two days should be completely dry so I hope to get all the wood stacked and tomorrow and Friday and then have the weekend to recover before the next two cords arrive.

My spirit has accepted this inevitability; six days of hard about yield a Fall/Winter/Spring of cozy fires so I’m heading into this hard work (after two seasons of lethargy) optimistically. As for my body: Well, I’ll see what happens. If my hands and elbow hurt too much, I’ll try to hire someone to help me.  

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I’ve accepted that crisis restrictions will likely last until summer—and then there’s the threat of a “second wave” in the Fall. That’s what I heard on the news last night. The thought of not being with friends for so long, of living alone, is not pleasant to contemplate.

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On my walk yesterday, my thoughts were pleasantly interrupted by a sweet, delicious sent that made me pay attention and seek out its source. It was a bush of Ocean Spray in full bloom; my huge bush of it is just beginning to show signs of tiny leaves. Ocean Spray is a plant I’d never heard of until I moved here. Its scent is as sweet as Jasmine. 

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I finished All the Light We Cannot See. I oved is despite some of its conceptual flaws. I did nothing but read yesterday to get it finished so that I could focus on wood stacking today. Next up is Where the Crawdads Sing.

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I have an idea for a book to write but I’m not certain I have the energy and drive to do it. Income, however, is a beguiling temptress. Why People Buy Art: That’s my working title and I have enough opinions and done enough research in my past to do it. But will I? I don’t know. But if I were to do it, and if it was as successful as Artist Survival Skills, I could live here forever without financial concerns.

Opus, the artists’ supply store that sold four thousand copies of Artist Survival Skills, is doing poorly and my book was its highest-earning SKU (item) ever, so I think they’d be keen to provide the same services as they did last time. This book, however, would be shorter and cheaper.