Celebrate the small things

I've only had one work deadline this week, which was to write an article for the Christmas issue of  Smallholder magazine. Once that was done, I was able to catch up on a few bits and pieces that I had set aside 'for when I get a minute'. I am celebrating efficiency.

My online FutureLearn blues piano course is up and running. Despite the blurb saying we need a couple of hours a week for this, it's clear I need to work much harder than that if I'm to keep up. I've recorded and uploaded my first attempt at improvising for the comments of my fellow learners. They have been kind. This week's challenge has been to play 7th 10ths, which means putting my little finger on a C and stretching my thumb all the way up to the E that is ten notes away, while also putting a finger on the flattened 7th note, B-flat. Still with me? Let's just say it's a bit much for my small hands. I am celebrating determination.

Mr Thorley and I were invited out for a meal last Sunday with some Bahai friends to mark the bicentenary of the birth of their faith's founder, Baha'u'llah. I'm not a follower, but amongst its key teachings is 'The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens' and 'So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth.' Isn't that sensible? I am celebrating tolerance.

Image: morguefile.com

Have a good weekend, folks.

If you would like to join this bloghop, send your details to laura.6eg@gmail.com  and she will do the necessary.

Phew!

Let's give a big round of applause to the customer service team at Amazon who have managed to sort out my problem, sanitise my account (whatever that means) and put a stop to any potential damage. Access has been restored.

I thought it was fixed yesterday, but when I went to my Kindle account it was saying I didn't have anything published, which was a bit worrying. I've only got two things there, but even so... I had a long conversation with an operative, who was very patient and, well, I don't know what she did behind the scenes, but everything is now back as it should be.

It's a bit of an odd day today. I have stopped teaching yoga on a Monday morning and this is the first week when I didn't have to rise at the crack of dawn in order to eat and digest my breakfast before class. I still woke up very early, though, so I've already written an article for Smallholder, broken the back of a monthly subbing job for the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, and polished and posted a competition entry - and it's barely lunchtime. I may have peaked too soon.

Could you write a weekly column?

If you bought the current issue of The Lady (pictured, dated 17 February), you might have noticed a new column called 'The Tech Doctor' by Miles Waghorn. I'm delighted to see this, because Miles is the son of one of my friends and he's worked hard for his success. I didn't know he was a writer, but he certainly knows his technology, so I'm sure he'll have lots of useful information to pass on.

I just hope he realises what he's let himself in for, because a weekly column is a huge commitment. I used to do a fortnightly 'my life and welcome to it' piece for our local paper, and that was a big enough challenge, because sometimes I just wasn't in the mood. Now I write a monthly feature for Smallholder and it's amazing how quickly the time flies; and in the past I've had other regular writing commitments, including compiling crosswords. Still, there's nothing like a deadline hurtling towards you to alleviate writer's block!

What do you think: could you write to order every week - or even every day?

Celebrate the small things - back under control

I'm finally starting to feel as though things are coming back under control. My workload has eased off a bit, so I'm no longer running just to stand still. My mood was lifted considerably on Monday by a fabulous Indian head massage by Sarah of Rainbow Butterfly Wings. Bliss!

Still get a buzz out of seeing my name in print

Tuesday was super-busy, because I taught three yoga classes and somehow forgot to eat, so I was a bit wobbly towards the end of the day; but a good talking to by a friend put me right and I was back on an even keel on Wednesday. The rest of the week has gone pretty well. I've done lots of work, including another article for Smallholder, and set up a meeting with a chap to talk about my writing some copy for his website; and there's been plenty of editing and proofreading, too.

I don't know what the weekend will bring, but I hope to spend some time outside to clear away more cobwebs.


Celebrate the Small Things  is a blog hop. Visit Lexa's Blog for the rules, and then post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week. Originated by VikLit) and co-hosted by L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge and Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog.  

Last Friday celebrations of February

I like the last Friday of the month, because it's the day I send out my invoices. Here's what else I'm celebrating today.

There were a couple of no-shows at Monday's meditation evening, but it was, I think, broadly successful. One lady got in touch afterwards to say she thought she had detected a 'presence', which was an unexpected outcome!

I've finally received the copies of Smallholder magazine that feature my articles on llamas and alpacas, and I'm very pleased with the results.

Pic: www.homefieldgrangeretreat.co.uk

Elsewhere on the writing front, there was a bit of a hiccup when I realised I'd gone off in the wrong direction on some website copy for a new client, but a quick visit to his showroom got things sorted and I've  just sent off the revised version. Fingers crossed. I've also had an enquiry via the same contact about writing some copy for a recruitment website, and (lessons learned) I'm going over to see them next week. Oh, and I'm proofreading a dissertation about hip-hop, which is really interesting (and no, I'm not helping its author to cheat).

I'm planning a lazy day tomorrow, topped off with comedy night at Kettering Arts Centre featuring Rob Rouse. No, me neither, but I'm sure he'll be splendid.

Peace out.

Celebrate the Small Things  is a blog hop. Visit Lexa's Blog for the rules, and then post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week. Originated by VikLit) and co-hosted by L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge and Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog.   

Networks

My article on buying a woodburning stove is in the October issue of Smallholder. That's it on the cover: 'Winter warmers'. My journey into this publication was fairly straightforward. I was introduced to it by a fellow freelance who already contributes on a regular basis, so I approached the editor with a couple of ideas. Thanks to luck and a following wind - and, it must be said, a bit of badgering - there I am.

The route to another assignment has been rather more strange. I mentioned on Friday that a new job was in the offing. Well, I got it. I knew it was a good sign when the editor I was meeting suggested going to an independent coffee shop, where he bought me a fabulous pistachio-cream-filled pastry. It turns out that he had discovered my contact details in a rather odd way. He had Googled a few relevant keywords and was scrolling down looking for suitable links in the results, when he spotted a Kettering phone number. Following the link took him to my entry on - and I can't believe I'm typing this - the Sun Online! I can't begin to guess how I ended up there, but I did, and he found me, and I'm glad he did.

There is a warning there, I'm sure, about being aware that anything online is fair game. We can never be sure where what we write or post will end up. Conspiracy theories abound, and perhaps not without cause. A friend is in the process of helping her son with the legal ramifications of signing a new lease on what will be his first post-student flat. Needless to say the landlord wants a guarantor for the rent, since the son is in his first job. No problem, said my friend. Of course she will vouch for her son. The estate agent has now passed her details to a referencing agent who wants to check that she is 'good for it', as they say: to which end she has filled in a 10-page online document that would give any potential identity thief an easy journey to her life. Part of this process is for her to get a reference for herself, which is where I come in. I'm not sure why they think my say-so is any more reliable than my friend's. Perhaps they intend to ask someone to vouch for me. This one could run and run.