Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Christmas, Greenhouses and Life

by Janis Patterson

Am I the only one losing it this Christmas? We’re doing less, but everything takes more time - and a lot more money. Of course, The Husband’s Physical Therapy for his injured shoulder takes a lot of my time, since he isn’t supposed to drive, so I have to take him and wait. There is truth to the old saw that every cloud has a silver lining. His sessions aren’t long enough to justify taking my travel computer and working (besides it would be terribly inconvenient, as the waiting room is small and not well equipped) so I take my phone and read, something I never have time to do. I’ve read more in the last eight weeks than I have the entire rest of the year.

We still have no refrigerator - 100+ days from ordering and nothing. I still can’t get over the fact a simple white refrigerator is a special order, especially when they seem determined that you should be happy with a stainless or black one! You’ll forgive my glee when I heard a couple of days ago that style maven Martha Stewart has declared both stainless and black kitchen appliances to be horribly dated and no stylish kitchen will have them. It probably shows the smallness of my soul that in my secret I heartily wish both Lowes and GE be stuck with hundreds of them!

We have a small greenhouse-type thing I constructed in sheer desperation one freezing night years ago from PVC pipe, sheet plastic, spring clamps and a heat lamp, and it has kept plants alive through the winter for years. However, this summer The Husband has started raising hot pepper plants in big pots and now that the cold weather is on the way our little greenhouse is woefully inadequate. So we simply got more pipe, more plastic, and have been trying to adapt the design. It’s almost finished (REALLY cold weather is coming in tomorrow) and I think it’s going to work. I hope so... I’m also hoping the plants keep producing, because I’m accustomed to having a continual supply of yummy fresh hot peppers!

Now I know this blog is to be about things writerly, but let’s face it - life is writerly. Life is where we get our ideas. Life is where we do our research. Life is everything... especially this wonderful, crazy, overstressed time of year! 

And life is what gets in the way of us writing. I’m not proud of it, as I’m a hard-working professional writer, but I’ll admit I haven’t written a word for three weeks. Life - and the holidays - just got in the way. So - I’m just going to do what I have to, and enjoy my family and the season, and get back to writing after the first of the new year. 

I hope that each and every one of you has the happiest holiday season and the best of New Years... and I’ll see you in January, with a talk about something writerly!


5 comments:

Maureen said...

Happy Holidays!

Jacqueline Seewald said...

Real life does inspire our fiction writing. You're so right about that! And real life does get in the way our fiction writing as well.

I hope you get your refrigerator soon! In any case, have a happy, healthy holiday.

Morgan Mandel said...

We've had our yellow refrigerator for years. I don't know if they carry them anymore. Anyway, they don't make things the way they used to. Sometimes it's hard to find something you really like. I had a favorite type of toothbrush that now they've decided not to carry anymore anywhere.
About having time to write. Something always gets in the way. I bought a Windows 11 computer and had to get all my stuff on it and also learn a few new things along the way. Now there's getting the house ready for Christmas. I'm hoping after the holidays I can make time.

Alina K. Field said...

We remodeled our kitchen in March 2021. What a mess finding appliances, because I wanted white also. (I dislike stainless steel.) I had to wait as well. The only thing stainless is the range and range hood, but incredibly enough it works.

Mary Hagen Author said...

Happy Holidays. Hope you get your white refrigerator in 2023.