This winter thing!

I have this love/hate relationship with winter.

I don’t like the fact that at most times my body is bordering on hypothermia. Spending twenty minutes to clothe myself with layer upon layer of winter woolies therefore restricting me to geriatric mobility is one more thing to put a frown on my brow. And with all this clothing on, taking it off in record time to go to the bathroom, after prolonging the inevitable contact of a cold loo seat, is nothing short of a humongous effort.

Then I love all those favorite comfort foods especially the soups, the guiltless hot pure chocolate drinks, snuggling under thick warm blankets, the log fire, basking in the sun with a cup of tea, boots (I’m a sucker for a pair of boots), the misty days with the foghorns in the distance, and those long hot soaks in a bathtub.

With a mind that feels as if it is hibernating I’ll be marking off the days till Spring.

Taking over the world one list at a time

If taking over the world depended on making to-do lists, grocery lists, maintenance lists, cleaning lists, gardening and plant lists, art supplies and try my hand at this list, when to do this and when not to do that list, what craft or soap supplies to find, what books to read, where to eat and all the other hundreds of lists I make, I’m afraid Pinky and Brain don’t stand a chance. At the least I will most certainly be their No 1 sidekick, handing them their “list” for the night’s adventure.

For me, having these lists is my figurative daily rudder. Without them I am I could say lost, but motionless is the more appropriate description. With my trusty list in my hand I’m a schooner racing to the finish line, the sails billowing in the wind, driving me forward and onward to ticking off each ‘do’ as ‘done’, each don’t as didn’t.

Now, for effectiveness, peace of mind, calm waters, smooth sailing (read as control issues), I have one ‘big kahuna’  list – the mast of my schooner, the one that raises the sails of all the other to-do’s and don’ts.

It’s a beautiful day here in Cape Town, just enough wind for a pleasant sail. Were I able to hoist my schooner’s sails, I sure would be cutting a mean picture on the blue waters. Sadly, I have wasted time looking for my misplaced ‘big kahuna’ list, and without my mast I figuratively more resemble The Titanic.

Good luck Pinky and Brain, I won’t make it tonight.

Just do it!

So this is my first blog post. On Thursday's, Lumka my charlady is here, which means it's the weekly "big cleaning day" and that relates to not being the best day in my eyes to start a blog. However, according to Penelope Trunk's blog post http://blog.penelopetrunk.com on How to Blog, her advice struck a chord. "Post, post, post," she says, "don't tell yourself you'll do it tomorrow, practice, no one is reading your blog, ignore that, sit down and post on a regular basis".

Having kept journals for most of my life means that writing, and writing on a regular basis comes quite easy, and having no readers is very much in line with journaling. So how difficult or different can this be?

After numerous hours spent educating myself on templates and backgrounds, weighing up the pros and con's of a 2 or 3 column layout, gadgets, colours, followers, RSS, SEO, HTML, choices of software and after many boo-hoo, a-ha and what happened now moments, this is my progress.

Journaling for me has a very distinct process to it. Its not only about putting your thoughts onto paper or expressing your emotions, it starts way before that. Many of my journals have been regular exercise books, covered and decorated; some were bought with beautiful images on them; handmade journals; those with collage covers and my favourite right now is the mixed media art covers. It's about the feeling the journal cover evokes in me, it's the tactile feel of the paper, the sound my pen makes as my thoughts become a living testimony to who I am. Many hours are spent creating the cover, sometimes even more than the amount of time it takes to journal.

On many levels, starting a blog hasn't been more difficult or different than journaling. Both are a creative process that I enjoy and find rewarding. Where blogging will take me is something I will have to wait out and see. So far it has been great. I have become more acquainted with a lot of "buzz words", and although I have seen many that I cannot for the life of me comprehend - I have my own blog!