Drained

I am feeling pretty drained right about now. I spent the day with my daughter and her little one. The dogs (three) bark and fight and play and generally destroy the house with their goings-on. Pippin loves these playdates, but I find them grueling. At last, the dogs settle down and we three girls giggle about all sorts of things.

I tell them the tale of the turkey. My daughter is aghast, as well she should be, but we end up howling about it and remembering other 'turkey' events from the past.

Here's the tale: I called a dear friend and we got Chinese and returned to my house. She brought along her turkey carcass so I could make soup. The dog was pulling his leash, I was carrying the turkey on a platter, and holding on to a bag of groceries and, of course, the dog pulled on the leash, my arm went flying, the turkey slid off the platter and onto the sidewalk. I stood still, stunned, until I began to laugh. Life is too short to not laugh at such a wondrous 'Laurel and Hardy' moment. My friend gasped and recovered. Thankfully, she didn't drop our Chinese take-out.

We took the turkey inside, keeping the dog away from it, and washed it. I put it in a big kettle on the stove, hoping to boil away any germs or whatever. I can't believe I did that, but a good turkey carcass should not be wasted. I'll let you know if I die when I eat it.

The evening, filled with laughter and camaraderie, ended with watching the movie, Howl's Moving Castle. It's one of my most favoritest. Sometimes I'm afraid to share something as personal as 'Howl' is to me. My friend loved it. It is a gorgeous movie, full of wisdom and joy, and a good ending.

After another giggle, I came home and entered the last of the paperwork data on a spreadsheet. The papers are now in the 'file' folder. I don't know if I'll even bother filing them. They are out of the way and they are easily accessible.

I didn't know what to work on tonight. I was going to pull out 'Blue' and edit the next couple of chapters, but I felt the Muse calling me towards 'The Other Side.' Besides, my editor had called a week or so ago and begged me to continue writing it. My goodness! I am so grateful I listened.

Do you ever have those moments where you read something you've written and are stunned by its beauty or whatever? Well, that's what I had. 'The Other Side' is really scary. I had goosebumps as I read it. I was so overtaken by its passion and intensity that I can't begin to write the next part. I stopped reading at the end of Chapter Ten. Too intense. I'll read the rest of it (only a couple chapters left) and then start writing the next chapter, Chapter Twelve. I am beyond enthused. I am stunned and astounded at how good it is. I know I quit because there were a couple problems with the main character, but those, I think, can be easily solved. I'm so glad I started work on this one.

Tonight, I think, I will find it hard to sleep for 'Other' will definitely haunt me. But that's fun, too. I'm sure the Muse will speak to me as I lie in bed.

Life is haunting.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0347149/  (Howl's)

PS - the turkey story is as good as the one from 'A Christmas Story' and only appropriate to use as this is the 30th anniversary and I live in the place where it was filmed.
http://www.achristmasstoryhouse.com/