Sunday Salon: March sleeps / April Awakes

Happy Sunday!   The rain has finally stopped and spring has sprung.  It is beautiful and sunny and I can finally start sitting out on my patio and enjoy my beautiful garden again.  Plus Melvin's broken foot has healed and I can let him outside and leave the door open so the cats can do their in / out thing without driving me crazy being door keeper.  We just have to monitor his activity a bit for the next couple weeks, make sure he isn't doing any crazy tall tree climbing.  Supervising a cat in the outdoors... Fun!  He was so hyper yesterday because it was his first day out in nine weeks.  Can you say FREEDOM! in meow speak.  

This week I'm working on taxes, hopefully will get majority finished today.  Also working on my goals for the week, the month, the quarter.  Week 8 of the Artist's Way is all about goals.  Naming your dream and one concrete goal that will tell you - you have arrived.  Your true north!  The task is to figure out action steps - where do you want to be five years from now, what steps can you take this year, this month, this week, today.  My dreams: one - to be a published author and the other is to open my dream bookstore in a writers colony.  A gathering place of sorts for writers and bibliophiles.   There. I said it and sending it winging out into the atmosphere.  Make it so!

The second round of ROW80 starts tomorrow and I'm working out my goals for the 80 days.  No, I didn't finish Red Thief.  Life got in the way, plus the direction of the story changed slightly.   The characters revealed some interesting things and challenges, so I'm going with it for now to see where we are going and what happens.  Once I finish writing the first draft, the goal is to type it up. In typing it up, will be editing and figuring out timeline.

March was a slow reading month for me.  I usually read an average of 15 books a month.  However, since I've been writing a whole lot more and school started again, slowed way down.  I read, are you ready for this, drum roll please:   4 books.  Yep, that's right.   I finished:

The Incumbent - Alton Gansky  (e-book)
River Marked - Patricia Briggs
Angels Everywhere which includes 2 books -A Season of Angels  and Touched by Angels by Debbie Macomber (ebook)
Hush Money - Susan Bischoff  (ebook)

The key word is finished.  I've been reading more non fiction and in the middle of reading "A Thomas Jefferson Education," "Disconnected Kid's" by Dr. Robert Melillo, doing an inductive bible study by Kay Arthur and a couple ebooks about essays.  I've turned into a polygamous reader.  I discovered that by taking notes as I read, I retain more.

April is National Poetry month and to celebrate highlighted John Milton of Paradise Lost on Read 52 books in 52 weeks: M is for Milton.  Found some really interesting and educational websites so be sure to check it out.    Speaking of poetry, in honor of poetry month, I will leave you with a poem I wrote. The Artist's way is teaching me to flex my wings a bit and try new things and to quite censoring my creative side.   I probably broke a full rules, but really, who cares.

Unity

We are the branches.

He is the tree.

Stately, strong

All in unity.

One without the other

like dead branches fall

together, three in unity.

Roots stretch deep,

Anchored to the ground.

Branches reach high,

Seek the sky.

There are no bounds.

Flowers bud.

Fragile, but strong.

Green vine cling

tenacious and long.

Deep brown limbs

lift to the sky.

We are the branches.

He is the tree.

Stately, strong

All in unity.

I'm currently reading M.L. Malcolm's Heart of Deception and will be hosting her tour stop on Wednesday, April 6th.    Today is your last chance to enter to win a book of your choice from my 2010 book list from my blogoversary celebration.  Speak up or forever hold your peace.   Have a wonderful, relaxing, beautiful day.