Pointy Pal Reunion

View from the Intercontinental, San Francisco, March 2011, a photo by suzipaw on Flickr.

After a long, busy, but productive week at a conference in San Francisco, I'm at the Applebox with writer pals Julia and Rebecca. It's been months since we've gotten together, so of course we didn't pull out our laptops to start writing for a few hours--we've been busy catching up. We did discuss some writing goals for the rest of the year. I committed to six poems (two down! and another one started!) and blogging three times a week, twice publicly and once just for myself. We'll see how that goes. When I was in San Antonio, Dad very kindly asked me how my novel was coming along and so I've been thinking a lot since then about it. I admit to not feeling very motivated to do long fiction. Maybe I just don't have a compelling story in me right now. The characters don't haunt me like I hear they're supposed to. Except for the house--the house I envisioned for the characters to remodel and thereby fall in love--that is still with me, for some reason. Maybe it's because I still feel a little restless with the house I currently inhabit.

It felt like the seasons changed while I was gone. I took most of the day off yesterday and cleaned up the backyard a little, loving the feel of sunshine and sight of blue sky. The peach trees are still blooming; tulips and daffodils I planted in pots are unfolding. It was quite warm, a preview of summer. I actually donned shorts and sat on the back deck for a while, til the neighbor's crappy music and other neighbor's lawnmower drove me back indoors. I like the air but not the noise open windows let in. I guess I could've blasted NPR in return, but all I really wanted was to listen to the birds (hawk, hummingbird, mockingbird, punctuated by woodpecker) and the sound of browned oak leaves crashing their way through the new green ones to the overgrown green grass below. The yards are still very wet, but M is supposed to mow today, so it may look very different when I get home. And smell heavenly.

I unfortunately caught something while I was away and a sore throat is setting in. Maybe just a hint that I need to take it easy this weekend.

P.S. I've sent a message to the Flickr people asking them if they have any idea why my photos are displaying so hugely. I hope they reply soon.