Bucket List

I’ve been quiet  and not blogged for a while. Someone very close to me died, which happened extremely suddenly and was a massive, massive shock, and then I was on deadline for May,  needing to get the edits for my novel done. Yes, a novel! I’ll write about it tomorrow.I’ve been wary about blogging about it up until this point because I’ve been very superstitious about things and didn’t want to jinx anything.

Anyway, because of everything that’s happened recently, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about quite big stuff. Things including what I want from life, and what I want to achieve, and I’ve learned the harsh lesson that you never really know what’s waiting for you around the corner. Cheery, no? But I’ve realised you shouldn’t keep putting things off, in case the chance to do them never comes.

So over the last few weeks I have been thinking about my Bucket List. The things I want to do before I die. And I thought if I write them down on my website, they won’t get lost, like all the other lists that float around my house then end up in the recycling, with me tearing my hair out two weeks later because I’ve lost a vitally important email address, or mobile number, or note to myself to do something that I’ve now forgotten. So now there’s now a new page on my site, where you can check out the things I want to do. It’ll probably keep being added to, but this is for starters. I’m kicking off with looking for a uke tutor, although Twitter so far has not been very helpful.

Check out my list, you’ll find it under the ‘Bucket List’ tab at the top of the page. Those are my things – what’s on yours? (Warning: I may shamelessly steal any I like the look of).

How Many Pancakes Is Too Many Pancakes?

This week was Shrove Tuesday, aka Pancake Day. I’ve been gluten-free for over a decade, and have never before managed to master the art of gluten-free pancakes, which has given me great sadness. My efforts turned into a grey, doughy ball in the pan, and tasted revolting. I missed pancakes. A lot. But then I found this amazing recipe on the Dove’s Farm website:

http://www.dovesfarm.co.uk/recipes/gluten-free-pancakes

And oh, deep joy, it worked. Pancakes. That taste like real pancakes! So I ate a load on Tuesday. Then some more on Wednesday. And then last night I was sitting on my sofa, watching Grey’s Anatomy, and fancied more pancakes. So I made some batter and ate another load. And I plan to have more tonight. Don’t judge me. I’ve years of pancake absinence to make up for.

(I hope Dove’s Farm didn’t mind me borrowing their image)

Procrastination.

Image via Kilork

Why do writers procrastinate so much?

Right now, at this very moment in time, I know I have a lot of editing to do. I know I  have a limited amount of time to do it in, while Tornado Toddler is at nursery. And yet…I’m not doing it. Well, I am. In bits. But first I have to check Facebook. Then Twitter. Then cruise around a few other websites before I settle down to work. And then after a short while, the whole cycle starts again. And repeat, all morning long. Now I’m even writing this flipping blog post about procrastination, to avoid it a little longer. What’s that all about?!

I know it’s not just me, as I see lots of posts from my writer friends talking about the things they do to avoid getting down to the nitty gritty of writing. Making cups of tea features highly. Or staring out of the window. Or cleaning the house. Why do we do this? It’s amazing any books get written at all. There are blogs dedicated solely to procrastination, and hints and tips on how to stop it.

Right. Back to it. And maybe it’s time to pull out the network cable so I can’t go online, even if I really want to.

What do you do to avoid working? Tell all, and make me feel better. Plus, I can check in on the comments and procastinate a little more…

Books Rock. End Of.

ImageAs long as I can remember, I’ve always loved books, and reading.  I wanted to pass this love onto Tornado Toddler, and I’m pretty sure I’ve succeeded. At sixteen months, he can now often be found pursuing me through the house, wildly bashing a book at my legs and won’t quit until I sit down to share it with him. He is obsessed (and I mean, obsessed) with animals and currently his favourite stories are Mog’s Christmas (he’s not bothered it’s not entirely seasonal), Muddle Farm (I have magnets all over my dishwasher, the bin, the radiator), Spot, Hugless Douglas, and his Usborne Children’s Bible, which is beautifully illustrated with animals of all kinds. As well as Jesus.

It’s fantastic to see, because I think to be given the gift of loving books is an amazing thing. I don’t understand people who say they don’t read. I cannot compute. What? Why ever not? It makes no sense to my befuddled brain. These people miss out on so much. You can experience so much through a book. Meet new people. Travel different places. Do interesting things. Books are an adventure, right there, at the tips of your fingers. What’s not to like? (Anyway, I don’t entirely believe people who say they don’t like reading. I just think they haven’t found the right book yet.)

Enid Blyton was my favourite author when I was younger. I loved The Famous Five, The Magic Faraway Tree, Mallory Towers and The Twins at St Clare’s. Even now I’m still stunned by how many books she published (It was hundreds. Read all about it on her Wiki page:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enid_blyton).

Thinking about how much she wrote, and the amount of storylines she came up with, completely blows my mind. 10,000 words a day? Good grief, woman, you were a writing machine. But I remember so clearly the excitement I felt when I got a new Blyton to read, knowing I was preparing to go on an adventure on a deserted island, or into a boarding school, or to live on a farm, or go up a magical tree. Enid helped create that magic in my childhood which made me love books so much now as an adult. So thanks, for that, Enid. You rock. (And thanks Mum and Dad for getting the books for me. It pays to have parents who run the book stall at the village fete. You rock, too.)

What about you? Which books did you most enjoy from your childhood?

 

Libraries – Do You Use Them?

Today is PLR day. A terribly exciting day for authors everywhere, as we find out how much PLR we’ve earned. PLR (public lending rights) is the money an author gets whenever you take one of their books out of the library. It’s a few pence for each borrow, but obviously if you’ve got a lot of books out there, and a lot of people borrowing them, it can add up and you get a nice income boost to brighten up gloomy January.

It was my first PLR day after the release of Baby Badger’s Wonderful Night last spring, and I made the princely sum of £13.65. Oh yes. And that’s BEFORE tax, people. I’m rich! Or, er, not. But anyway, I posted about this on my Facebook page and it started an interesting debate about libraries, and whether or not they’re still relevant – and even used – anymore.

I love libraries. Mainly because I love books. Especially FREE books. But I probably don’t use my local library as much as I should, although I plan to now, as Tornado Toddler adores reading, and the library will offer him a lot of reading material, and cost me nowt. I’ve visited sporadically over the past year, doing the singing events when Tornado Toddler was a baby and borrowing the odd book here and there. I’m trying to cut down on the amount of stuff in my house, so am borrowing the books I’ll only read once, rather than buying them. But still, I don’t go as much as I once did. And with the increasing popularity of Kindles, and nobody really needing reference books anymore what with Google right at our finger tips,  I can see why people think libraries aren’t really needed.

I think libraries still have a lot to offer the community, and I’d be really sad to see mine go. Why not pay your local library a visit this week – you might be surprised by what you find.

What about you – do you use yours?