Time for friends

mainly sunny, warm. temps 25

Lovely day - lots of sun. Spent the day on the screen porch doing the edits. It really is sublime. The Japanese tree lilac is out - filled with ivory blooms, and filling the garden with sweetness. For me, it smells like summer. Between that, the roses and the peony it really is amazing. Peaceful, calm, lovely.

Didn't have time to blog yesterday. Michael and I've re-instituted our 2 kilometer walks before breakfast, and yesterday on the walk Michael realized we needed to go into cowansville, to the bank and the paper place. So off we went for breakfast too...did errands until about noon, then home.

It was rainy and cold, so I lit a fire and sat there, editing - until 8:30 pm. The first chapters are the hardest, I realize, since I was really just tossing things onto the page. As the book progressed I picked up the most interesting threads. But all that crap is still there in the beginning.

Have decided to drop 2 characters too. One fairly major, the other not. But this gives the existing characters, and the other new ones, more space to grow. That's fun. But it does take a certain re-imagining.

Today I worked from 9 to just now - about 4pm. But it's getting easier. And what an amazing workplace! No complaints here.

On our walk this morning we ran into 2 sets of neighbors and had nice chats. As we were heading back a car pretended to run us down and out jumped Andrew and Lori. They're really wonderful people. You know how sometimes you're with people and come back just a little down? Sort of draggy? Well, Andrew and Lori do the opposite for us. They're just delightful. Full of enthusiasm, interests - and they're very warm people. I'm growing less and less patient with cynacism and sarcasm. I was like that for too many years. It's facile, and meaningless. to me. Others, clearly, delight in that sort of personality. I don't. So it was refreshing and fun to spend even a short amount of time with Lori and Andrew. Andrew's from New Zealand and his mother Helen has become a friend of ours as well. We saw her last year when we were there with the books.

Then - back to work. Still - other people have real jobs. This is self-directing and I put as much or as little pressure on myself as I choose.

Michael's been invited to Cambridge (UK) in September, so we're considering going. That should be loads of fun. But enjoying being home for now. Hoping to get together with Andrew and Lori before too long. And really looking forward to seeing Cheryl, Gary and Joan shortly too.

I find the only struggle in my life now is finding that balance between work and friends. I'm afraid the friends and the social life have suffered. Happily, some are holding on for dear life.

Having dinner with Cotton and a few others tonight, then off to Montreal tomorrow for early morning drs appointments Monday. Just check-ups.

Talk to you tomorrow.