The good and the not so good:alberta’s week

Mixed week this week – bouncing between great ‘yays’ and sadness.  The beginning was creative and finally I managed to begin again on The Ancestors Tale after months of absence from the story.  A great relief and hope for the year. Then half way through the week my sister’s retired guide dog collapsed.

 Before Christmas we had been concerned that she was beginning kidney problems but at that time the levels of toxins building up were about average for an old dog. Her anorexia was a concern as the weight was falling off her, but her diet was changed and some dried liver added and she began to eat again, regain a little weight and then after Christmas her weight crashed again and it was seen the levels were creeping upwards.  They were surprised she was so well looking and not being sick.

 But then the night she collapsed she had been vomiting and was in one of her anorexic stages, we called the vet out who settled her and told us to take her to the surgery next day warning us it was now weeks not months.  My sister and I discussed it – the problem is my sister apart from not being able to see cannot hear well enough to follow all the vets say.  I explained as well as I could and told her what the vets were suggesting.  It is hard for her, these guide dogs are much, much, more than pets to their partners.  We have been there before, all owners of pets have to go through it but it is never easy.  The dog had to be put down the following day; to bring her home instead would have been an act for us not her.  To watch her becoming increasingly ill and disabled over days or a couple of weeks, in increasing distress as the poison inside built up  was not an option. So the end of the week we have done a dormouse act and stayed within our nest.

 The snow has helped our hibernation, as our tiny side street in the village becomes ice bound within a twinkle of an eye and we cannot venture far on our elderly pins:( As I cannot breathe in cold temperatures and it has remained relentlessly below freezing for a week now, fresh air is becoming a distant memory. I hate the snow, it makes me angry, it serves no useful purpose at all as far as I can see, but then I always have hated it. As a dyspraxic child – ‘clumsy is one’s middle name – I have always been able to trip over thin air so what snow and ice does for me has always been a hazard.  As a clumsy child and a slow learner to boot I was always a prime candidate for snowballs down the neck kind of ‘jokes’.  Nah, do not like snow.

 So ‘life’ is at it again at the beginning of the year, but ‘life’ in a natural form, I suppose.  Death is always with us after all.  Weather also. Many others have had worse weeks so this is not truly a complaint. Just a realization that good and not so good do always walk hand in hand.

 Okay how is my check in? ROW80

 Writing:

 I managed very respectable word counts the first half of the week, not just with the aid of the dragon either, I managed to use the keyboard for a good half so wrists behaving well:)

 The Ancestors Tale – 11,400

 And at long last 90,000 words in the story has its Chapter One – not just thought of but drafted, written yay, hay:)

 Blogs:

None – shame on me, but have three pencilled in and researched so next week should be good for them,

 Research:

 Yes on this front. When the dog died creativity fled for a while so this latter end I have finished (I hope) researching – War Crimes, Military Coups and Religion.

 Religion:  I was concentrating mainly on the Book of Job, although I have also been reading various Christian blogs to try to get the flavour of current debate and language.  Job was my focus as one of my ‘ancestors’ has to go through a difficult time in my trashed world and struggles to maintain (a newly found) faith through the disaster.  Although not the same as Job’s journey, and certainly without intervention by the devil, Job seemed to be a good place to start.  I confess I haven’t read the account since childhood and I don’t have enough fingers to count how many years ago that was! I read a modern version and turned before I was half way through to the King James Version, the rich words of my childhood.  Can the use of language be a comfort food?

Workshops:

Going well, Flash Fiction and Creating Tension.  The one on Memoirs begins in a couple of weeks in the meantime I have signed up for a Memoir one down here in the real world which runs over 6 weeks. 2 hours a week, so am thinking it would be good for me to travel to my writing:) (in my spare time of course:)

 Red Carpet

All those who requested Jan/Feb have confirmed. I will be sending dates out to those who have requested the future. Looking at triberr and the Red Carpets I have done since I joined the tribes- I am pleased to see the book spots and interviews have been sent out by 14/16 fellow tribe members – now I know not all their followers will see or even be interested – the twitter stream is fast and constant but the posts have been offered to thousands more eyes than I can offer from my blog.  So fingers crossed my guests have benefited.

 Others:

 Have managed – just – to keep up with networks – maybe I was late getting to comment Wed, Thurs, and Fri but have caught up.

 Have managed at least three hours every day when I just sit with feet up, relaxing with a book , I’m using this time, at the moment, to read e-books and Indies, or occasionally  watch TV.

 Next Week:

 Is another writing week. I’m not planning specifics just, as I promised myself, going with health’s flow but it will be WIP and blog orientated.

 I hope everyone’s week has been good and all the best for this coming week.