Tuesday 14 October 2008

Bitting and Bobbing

I don't feel as if I've achieved very much recently. I've decided I must have one of those 'butterfly minds' Jane Wenham-Jones talks about. Did I mention I met Jane at the Warwick Words Literary Festival a couple of weeks ago? We had a great time catching up. She's busy writing another novel and doing the literary festival circuit (she's interviewing Richard Madeley about his new book at the Guildford Literary Festival this week!). Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, flitting from one thing to another. I'm good at that.

I've been reading some of the 115 stories entered in the first Yellow Room Short Story Competition. The magazine is at the printers and there have been a few details to address there. I should be taking delivery of the first issue on Monday. Isn't it exciting? I've also been busy organising Megan's birthday party (ten pin bowling with fifteen 7-year-olds on Saturday!), and sorting out a costume for her history day at school today (I bought the material, her Nan made it and Megan looked lovely!). I've been dabbling with short stories again, as the novel is just too big a project to face at the moment. I've also been trying to get my head together generally. Oh yes, and I've been reading novels! Did I mention ironing, shopping, vacuuming, helping with homework, cooking, finding new recipes, reading blogs, emailing friends, writing letters, going for long hikes with friends, going to the gym, keeping up with Strictly Come Dancing and It Takes Two, taking my mother-in-law to the airport....? Makes me sound busy, doesn't it? However, I've felt like a lazy slob the past month or so.

Anyway, the iron is switched on as I write. I did two shirts, then took a break to write this. See what I mean about bitting and bobbing? I'll probably iron two more; switch it off; go to gym; then switch it back on this afternoon! I've stopped telling myself I must focus. I just can't do it!

4 comments:

Sally Zigmond said...

Call it multi-tasking, Jo (of which women are supreme practitioners) and it sounds so much better!

And lazy? No. No. No. Just reading your post made me want to lie down!

Penny A said...

Jo - have just been researching and remembering the old flat-irons which had to be laboriously heated beside the fire. Rejoice in your electric iron :-)

Seriously, I NEVER do ironing unless strictly necessary..if desperate, the male of the species will do own shirts...and it's amazing how much can be 'smoothed' into shape meantime. Not sure how I've got away with it, really..

Kath McGurl said...

Glad to hear the magazine's nearly ready - I was wondering what had happened to it.

As for ironing - I gave that up when I had my first child, and no one has ever noticed.

lifemodel said...

Likewise, ironing is something that happens very rarely in this household. My mother ironed EVERYTHING - handkerchiefs, underwear, jeans - but then, she said she enjoyed it. I enjoy washing up - the one task I'll happily do every day and never harass the kids about. But the laundry goes through the machine (everything at 40 degrees), gets shaken and hung out or draped over radiators. That's it. Then roughly folded and put back in drawers. Why make more work?