Insecure Writers Support Group meeting called to order

A 

Here it is - another meeting of the  IWSG! The goal of this blog hop is to be able to express any writerly concerns and to support those of our tribe.   Alex Cavanaugh is our brilliant ninja leader.  To read posts from other members, click here

Okay! This has been a whirlwind of a month and now I'm an hour late getting this post out! I'm going to take this opportunity to look back and try to make sense of it.

I started back to my job on Monday after four and a half months off due to my hip replacement surgery.

I feel physically terrific-  danced for three hours at my nephew's wedding without any issues!

By June I felt sufficiently recovered enough to take on quite a few tasks and I had an incredibly productive month. Not all of this was to do with writing - I'm involved in a particular intense spiritual practice right now that I did daily for an hour and a half.  I drew daily and I made a collection of art dolls (about fourteen).  In the writing world I decided to focus on submitting and I set a goal of 15 submissions for the month of June. Many of these were queries regarding my novel - Bright Angel  - but some were poetry submissions to literary journals.

July was a different kettle of fish. I could have gone back to work but had a wedding to attend in Ontario and family and friends to see in Nova Scotia so I made the decision to go on an unpaid leave for the month. My focus was on socializing however, the fella and I were unpleasantly surprised to find our home in Nova Scotia had been damaged badly by tenants and so that part of the trip turned into a work-cation. Gah!

This will be our last year in Labrador so everything has a rather dream-like feeling as we dismantle the mandala we have built here.

I'm attempting to organize my work life to be less 9 to 5 and more one with one week very intense and one much lighter. If I'm able to get this happening my plan is to spend the light week working on my unfinished novel set here in Labrador. I would also like to do a series of essays on life here in the subarctic. I have two finished (and submitted to a national contest) and have ideas for many more.

Managing my recovery turned my attention to an old passion of mine - actually as I write this I realize TWO old passions. One is doll making, which I've developed into another way to spin a narrative, but the one I wanted to mention here is my passion for organizational skills.  I've begun to bullet journal and am finding it a terrific way to keep my discipline in all areas of my life. I'm also passionate about decluttering right now. Finding our home in Nova Scotia so messed up and going through the items we kept in storage there made me realize how easy it is to be run by "stuff".

We will be selling this house in Labrador next year and as it was the home of my fella's parents and co-owned by the siblings it will be a big dismantling.  Every teacup will have to be discussed!  I want this started now so we aren't crazily doing it while packing to leave.

I know this has been a discursive ramble and I'm sorry but the truth is that my crazy writing life is not separate from my crazy life.

How are you doing midsummer my friends? Here is a photo of a toy I found at our Nova Scotia home that might be a self-portrait.