Isabel Storey on whatever takes her fancy this day.

At last I am beginning to accept something about myself which can only be described by others as boasting or, in Australian parlance, skiting. Currently showing TV series about bright children has undone some restriction I had been placing on myself.  I have been saying it in poetry for years and time I listened to myself.

One measurement has had me labelled as ‘gifted’, another reported ‘genius’ – also commented as such by a mathematician on reading how I use an array of hexagons in the planning process for plotting a novel.

It is one thing to have someone else say it, another to accept it oneself.  The reason I am now without teeth is that I was busy grinding them from an early age. At least since age 7 that I can recall. My mother’s only known remedy was to dose me for ‘worms’ which was a common fallacy back then. Such underlying anxiety would, these days, be recognised as such, but back then, 70 years ago my mental state was hidden behind the request to be ‘a brave little girl’ when my mother had to leave me in charge while she was forced to deal with a traumatic event. When 55 years old, I woke in tears, sobbing my heart out as I no longer had to be a brave little girl. I still ground my teeth. And so very many people think one’s brains are so attached! 🙂

One novel under my belt and out there for the world to judge. I am now on the second during which I intend to do some judging myself! Have deactivated my Facebook account until the first draft is completed. I have lost/mislaid my Steemit password which cannot be recovered.  This disengagement allows my attention to writing, instead of just thinking about writing.

The plot for the next novel has been outlined and this morning I wrote the first 500+ words which I will take to the Wednesday Writers for critique tomorrow. This is a small group, but one I hold in great regard and whom I will be delighted to list and acknowledge their contribution to my work.

This blog will be my only outlet now. I will not know if you have read it unless you comment, so however briefly, please say ‘hello”.

Or, if you are in the area, visit Friendly Street Poets, first Monday of the month, or the poetry readings at Mama Jambo third Monday. My two outings.

 

Alive at last! So many days, weeks with no activity in here. All down to companies now requiring upgraded security on web-sites. Good thinking, but when it takes one unawares ……..!!!!!

Thankfully, I have Skype which enabled the long calls while GoDaddy guys poked around the system and finally have me up and running.

Back later for news. Just now I need a coffee and a deep breath and put my feet up in relief.

Lately I have been moving out of my comfort zones. Yes, that’s right – zone’S’.

I had to do something when I topped the bathroom scales at 102 kg. Loaded myfitnesspal.com to monitor every scrap of food and drink passing my lips. The only way I could eat that which I felt like eating required enough exercise to add to my daily allowance and still be on track for losing weight. I am now – after three weeks – at 98 kg this Sunday morning. I am tossing up whether to go for a walk or have a day of rest and modest meals. Meal planning has been a breeze. Into the supermarket and out with 14 frozen meals each fortnight (now into my second). It took one round to appreciate which are my favourite meals and on the second have eliminated the less enjoyable.

So that is one changed environment. The next is that I have started getting into the spoken word poetry scene here in Adelaide and there are many of those! I had been hesitant about going out and reading given that so many people find my lack of dentition off-putting, but it seems that I can read/recite with sufficient clarity for people to enjoy my work.  Not only am I out there reading, I also took park in a poetry workshop run by Jennifer Eades as poet in residence at the Adelaide City Library. Writing again now the novel is finished and handed to another properly prepare for Createspace. (Yes, I know I could do it myself, but I know me and there is always that one thing I forget to do.) She has done such a good job on  the cover. I think so.

 

How about you? Do you like it?

 

 

Out and about with my phone camera joining the fun of the Adelaide Fringe GooseChase. Capturing Street Art.

 

 

 

 

(Did wonders for my step count (Garmin) and distance and calories as measured in MapMyWalk.)

 

 

Next into another comfort zone. Until I joined and found myself contributing to steemit, I did not realise how little actual enjoyment I was getting out of Facebook . If you are looking for a more rewarding (in every sense) way of writing and sharing, then Google ‘steemit’ and follow links.

Within the steemit community I find myself able to write on a level I would never feel sufficiently free to do on Facebook. (Particularly after a sanctimonious comment made in reply to a post on domestic violence.) Within steemit I find the reward of bit coin tokens both receiving and giving to others far more motivating than anything ever on Facebook.

So, apart from updating calendar for poetry readings – and checking folk are alive and well – this is where you will find me in future.

 

Hopefully, 2018 will ind me a little more wise with my time and energy. For a while I had been running around like a headless chook (I will spare you a graphic) and not achieving much at all. Because as a person long retired who had allowed her retiring self to sink into doing as little as possible, I have only myself to blame. Now, I am on the verge of rewarding myself for some achievements.
First, finally attacking the weight gained while having Meals on Wheels delivered. Am on track, thanks to my fitness pal, to shedding slowly. Next, I started going out in evenings to poetry readings at bars and clubs. Open mikes. Well received. Discovered the price of beer which came as a bit of a shock! Manage to make one last the evening. Have been attending poetry workshops as the Adelaide City Library and finally getting back into writing poetry again. I have a bundle of books on the way from Createspace which is good as am being asked for copies!

Biggest step of all, is changing over to the  Steemit platform as a discipline to write more regularly within that community than I have been in that other place.