Ten-Finger Exercises

Cast of Characters Coming Soon

*Last evening about 5:30 p.m.--In about an hour Bill will come barreling through the kitchen door with his arms much too full of things. (Very similar to the stuff I leave in my car to keep it cozily cluttered, I guess.) With luck, he won’t spill the leftover coffee from his travel mug as he rounds the corner (although I’ve wished sometimes for coffee colored floors!) or knock over his collection of assorted thing-ys piled near the door to remind him they need to go somewhere. If, heaven forbid, I’m still in the living room having a conversation with L.T. (the laptop,) he’ll hollar, “Honey, I’m home,” on his hurried way to his accustomed first stop.

He may ask me later about my day, the customary query. He will not inquire, as Rupert does, or even Bernard might, about the state of my mind. He did ask me last night, after I asked several times for him to please read my blog, if he was Bernard or Rupert. He isn’t really either, but he certainly isn’t Rupert.

“Do you still have your right mind today, Wren?” Rupert would ask. “I see you’re doing house-y things.”

“I think it’s around here somewhere,” Wren replies. “I saw it a little bit ago, but it might be hidden by the laundry I’ve been folding. It doesn’t take much of a mind for that, you know.”

“And have you done any more thinking about the lists that were troubling you, before you set it down?”

“Actually, I did get a start at it. I headed one column HEALTH, and one WEALTH, and one TRAVEL, and one HOME, and one ACTIVITIES. I might change that last one to DREAMS. Don’t you like that better?”

“Explain them to me a little more, if you would please.”

“Well, I’m still working them out, don’t you know. I’m trying to make a visual so I can see and remember what’s important and what all it affects. Maybe I’ll make rows then, and make tick marks on the things that intersect. No, that won’t work exactly, because I have sub-categories as well.”

And so we leave Wren, trying to figure out a priority list.


***(indicates a passage of time, in my lingo)
Aug. 3, 9:30a.m.


I think I need to make a Cast of Characters to begin my blog. Since many of you may not re-read the beginning, I'll print it here first.

Also, in trying to write a poem on "Borders" for "Spidey's Weekly Poetry Contest" , I decided I need to pay more attention to using them because I really am attracted to them.

"Yes, but, my petunia borders really suck this year since the irrigation went out in hothothot July. And what's a border with holes in it, irregularly spaced?" Wren bemoaned.

See, I am plug-full of 'yes-but's.'

It's a little late to do much about my floral border, or lack of. It's a statement of how disorderly/un-borderly my life feels right now. Maybe I can work on making a marquee for my cast of characters that would have a border.

One, or two, more comments about lists: I discovered I really had waited too long for one of the things on my DREAM list. Called Goddard College yesterday to enroll in the MA of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program and found out they began with a summer residency. Now I'll have to wait till February. Also found out it's a two year program with four two-week residencies, which was more than I expected. They are within a long day's drive, in Port Angeles, WA; but crossing the passes in February is iffy.

I find that if I don't commit to decisions fast, those awful but's crop up.

Those facts don't necessarily eliminate the idea from my mind. I will look into the National on-line school more now though. Do any of you know anything about either of them?

I have three motivations for this dream:
1. It could be fun.
2. Maybe I could teach at the local community college, even in my old age in my own time.
3. Maybe it would give a little legitimacy to my writing to Bill, my Mr. Three MA's.