It’s underway, I’ve started! My novel’s first 2000 words have been strung together, sometimes sliding into one another like a ten year old on a sheet of wet plastic slides into the muddy, barren streak of lawn that was murdered by the likes of a Slip-N-Slide, and other times hopping together, like little wet toads along a wooded trail.

No matter, the words are coming and so far, they are coming without too much pain or nail biting, or other forms of misery. I am creating my first two (three, if you count the dog, and maybe you should) characters, making them up out of, well, nowhere. It’s pure invention, and I’m enjoying the novelty of it (if you’ll please pardon the pun.)

If I am to make it to my goal of writing 50,000 words by the end of the month, I’ll need to plunk down an average of 1666 words per day. So today, a quiet Saturday, I’m hoping that maybe I can ride the excitement of Beginning to Write and really go with it. Momentum, baby, momentum!

And now, a completely unrelated photograph of Annie (the black cat) with her friends on Halloween. (The tall witch next to her is NOT Carla. She’s another cute blonde girl that even I sometimes mistake for my own daughter.)

Me, a little devilish, with Mary Poppins!

Labor Day. September 1. Hard to fathom, but here we are. Not that the summer is technically over, as in, the fall season hasn’t really begun yet, but… well, I cannot deny that in just a few days (and we are counting them down!) school will finally begin again. Thursday.

But before we are launched into that most busy season of the year, of learning once again how to get up early, and be organized, and packing lunches each night before bed, and of homework and working and planning and all that… I’d like to take a little time to reflect on this summer. I’ll punctuate my usual b1tching and complaining with photographic evidence of all that was wonderful this summer.

The summer started for me as no other summer has ever done: with two solid weeks of mayhem, running a summer camp. I’d never run a summer camp before, but I would like to think that it went over as a success. Nobody got (seriously) hurt; no child was lost on a field trip. I don’t even think anyone threw up! In fact, one parent told me this week that when they asked their child what they favorite summer experience was this year, they said it was going to my summer camp program. That’s pretty high praise, really!

Just this week I managed to negotiate not only an increase in pay for camp for next summer, but also retroactive pay for having done camp this summer. This was better than I’d hoped for, really, as the school is pretty strapped for cash, they were not inclined to pay me anything extra for camp at all. I am really proud that I stood up for myself, that I was assertive about what I wanted. I used the word “exploitative” with a straight face.

Really.

July was packed with trips to the O/T, and the happy result of all the shlepping is Annie has mastered using a tripod grasp on pens, pencils, markers, paintbrushes, you name it! She still has some difficulty with opening doorknobs, but then again, our house has some old, sticky and stubborn doorknobs. I think it’s the inconsistency that gets her, too. Sometimes our bedroom door won’t stay shut, and the cats have no trouble at all barging in. Other times, even Carla has trouble getting the door open. “Put your butt into it!” I’m known to holler.

Carla’s big summer accomplishment was banishing her fear of the water and learning how to swim. Now that she knows how, she LOVES it, and has entered the “Watch me!!!!” phase of childhood. I remember this well from my own childhood. It was as though my parents just HAD TO SEE how INCREDIBLE each jump into the pool was, each somersault in the water, each handstand, dive, loop, belly flop, back float, etc., was. Because each trick was incredibly clever and daring and I knew they just HAD TO SEE IT. I don’t grudge her desire to show off her new set of skills. I actually am impressed, and I marvel that she can finally do this. I’ve been trying to convince her for years that it’s really fun to go underwater. But like all of her accomplishments, she did this on her own terms, when she was ready, and in her own way. This is one kid who just won’t be pushed along.

Which is why we didn’t quite get there with my other goal for her: learning to ride a two-wheeler bike. I got her a new bike (shiny! purple! butterflies!) for her eighth birthday, and a new helmet to go with it. She was game to try to learn for a few go-rounds, but after nearly crashing into a picnic table, and falling off a few times, she asked for a break. Then she didn’t want to try again. We’d been practicing this at our swim club: there are big grassy fields where she preferred to learn, and very little traffic. So, of course, once swimming was on the agenda, any thought of wasting time falling to the ground was certainly off the table. So to speak.

As for our other big summer catastrophes, they are all working out in their own ways. Our car was approved to be repaired rather than totalled (YAY!) and will go into the shop tomorrow. It is such a close call that our adjuster suggested we hold off on getting a rental car until we’re sure the body shop will agree to stick to the estimate. Otherwise the costs of a rental might just make this claim go over the edge into the realm of total loss. Yeah, I know, what a pain. But hey, at least no one got hurt (except, of course, the poor deer.)

Being sued by the city was super fun, too. We wriggled out of the (two!) lawsuits, paying a mere $82 per lawsuit, and springing for a certified accountant and company to help us though it. The lawsuits were settled, and our back taxes are filed. I am not sure, however, if all the back taxes are paid at this point or not. We are truely chastened for our flakiness and I sincerely hope that we will be able to file the rest of our taxes in accordance with the normal schedule like anyone else.

Finally, there was the annoying thing of me hurting my ankles. First, I stupidly clonked my left ankle with a hammer while trying to pry up a tent stake, leading to a trip to the ER. I was impressed by how mellow things were at the ER, and it was good to know that my ankle was not in fact broken. A month and half later, I stupidly jumped off a dock into too-shallow water, bruising my left foot while simultaneously badly spraining my right ankle. In spite of my apparent attempts to cripple myself, I can now walk (almost) normally. My left ankle sports a tiny scar where the hammer’s claw scratched it, and my right ankle is only slightly wider than my left. But the main this is: it mostly doesn’t hurt to walk even though going down stairs can sometimes twinge.

This summer was beautiful in many ways. It was wonderful having so much time with my children. They each grew quite a bit, and entertained one another and myself endlessly. They created endless “experiments” by stuffing old socks, string and googly eyes, and drawing their other facial features. These not-sock-puppets are then “charged” by placing them in a slinky, after which time they become basically alive.

I did a fair amount of gardening, but need to remember some important things for next year, if I do in fact try to garden next year. I don’t think I’ll even try for pumpkins next year. The vine borer insects were brutal– and I just don’t think I can avoid them. However, a bit more care on my eggplants might be good: the colorado potato beetles can be controlled if I’d be a little less wimpy about squishing these guys. Better staking will keep my tomatoes high enough that the dumb ground hog can’t chew them. I will put down some kind of animal repellent — it is worth a try, at least! I need to space my plants a little more carefully, too — my basil might be a good companion to my tomatoes, but I shouldn’t squish them so close that the basil doesn’t get sun. I need to add more compost and composted manure to the soil. I don’t think the soil was amended enough this year, nor did I mulch it sufficiently. I think a layer of newspaper would have helped keep the moisture in. A bucket of compost tea would be a good idea, as well. And, finally, I need to remember to start my tomatoes, and watermelon, and any other plants earlier in the season, at home, so I have something good and feisty to set in the ground early on.

This year’s garden, which was twice the size of last years, was ironically much less prolific in its output. I think we’ll go with just one plot next year, unless the kids want to garden again. Poor Annie — her patch produced nothing except one nasturtium blossom! She tried a leaf of nasturtium, and pronounced it good, but too spicy for her tastes. And Carla’s patch did produce a continually leafy lettuce snack… which the bunnies enjoyed tremendously, I’m sure. Her sunflowers were short, but pretty, having been stunted by rapacious japanese beetles that ate all the foliage, while her purple greenbeans were also merely rabbit food. Frustrating gardening this year– enough to give us all second thoughts about doing all that work again next year.

But I will. In fact, I agreed to be the coordinator of the community garden next year. While our co-operatively run swim club is in bad financial straits, we are optimistic that there will be at least one more year for the club to exist. It’s extremely sad that this wonderful place could really be in danger of going out of business after 40+ years. So if having a garden coordinator is helpful at all, maybe that can be my small contribution to the club’s future.

This summer was also a trial period for a new anti-depressant for me, setraline (brand name is Zoloft). It took a while to adjust to it, but for now I think it’s working well. I am not noticing any side effects, and I haven’t felt too down, and not at all suicidal all summer. I’ve been a little lazy, but not to the point of missing appointments or being late (like to OT, for example).

So with a fond adieu, I release the summer. I am letting go of this wonderful period of time, still savoring its flavors, the fresh fruits and veggies, the scent of a crackling campfire, the time spent in lakes and with mountains around me, the wonder of a glimpse of a bald eagle, heron, or a paddling of ducks. I will remember all the happy dunkings that I gave to Carla, and received in return. I will keep these thoughts warm in my heart, even as the weather cools and the darkness claims my evenings.

Onward to the fall, and lunchboxes, and after school activities. Here’s to life, and all its mysteries and mayhem.

Oh yea, right, wowser, sure. Forgot to mention that my NIECES are coming to visit me. In about, say, an hour! They were supposed to be dropped off tomorrow but that plan was changed (WITHOUT consulting poor, exhausted me).

Ok, so I have to deal.

I will.

On another topic. Cammy gave me a really cute dress! I was just reading somewhere about how having a nice new dress can make you feel so good.  It’s true!

Here’s me in the dress.  I wore it when D and I went out to see a play last night.

Me, I’m tired. I’m not making much sense … and I have some websites to update tonight. Not happy about this, but I will just have to deal.

I will. Somehow .

OH yeah, and yesterday I was offered the After School Director job for next year. Yay! I’m currently trying to negotiate the terms of it a little bit. I think the whole camp thing is fun, but it’s a full time job, albeit a very short term full time job. I do not feel it’s reasonable to require a part time employee to work full time for two weeks each year, without any additional compensation. I kind of doubt my negotiation will be successful. These folks are a) stubborn and b) broke. The school really doesn’t have much to throw around.

Ever since Harley first joined our household, there has a been a lot more hissing and arching of backs than we’d had previously. But I am really pleased to say that today, for the first time, all three cats have deigned to hang out with me on my bed at once.

Thus, I am now able to try to accomplish one of my favorite activities: the Three Cat Nap.

Wish my camera were working at the moment (batteries dead!) so I could get a photo of this historic event.

I did use my laptop to get Harley and Moonlight. Harley’s the one with white ears.

I have a “spare room” which means it has been the dumping ground for a LOT of stuff. Unfortunately, part of the reason this room became a “spare room” rather than my art studio (what it once was) was that it had a huge flood of water. Actually two or three floods. Since then, we’ve had our roof and our pipes fixed (knock on wood this cold snap won’t cause any… um, wait, I won’t say it, don’t want to jinx myself.)

Alas, the spare room, formerly my studio, has been pretty bleak for oh, say, 3 years. In fact, it was so bleak that we decided to put a sign up on the door in order to warn any unsuspecting visitors that they should not enter the room.

This is the room where Cammy, our soon-to-be-nanny (wow, I feel so fancy saying that!) will be staying. So, three weeks ago, when we hatched a plan for Cammy to come and nann for the kiddos, I realized I’d better get my butt in gear and clear that room out.

For fun, I decided to take some before and after pictures. It is really hard to photograph a smallish room, but at least you get the idea.

Ah, lovely clutter in the hallway leading up to the room. (Actually, the hallway is still quite cluttered, but it will be empty by tomorrow.)

An aerial view. Notice the awful white plaster dust over everything. That’s from when the ceiling was replaced.

And that’s the lovely hole in the ceiling before the ceiling fan and light was installed.

Here’s the closet where it’s super cluttered.

Here’s the same room now! New rug. New curtains. New paint on the walls!

Here’s the bed. Notice new striped stained glass light on wall. I installed it myself!

Wow, cool! A ceiling fan and light!

All in all, I am really thrilled about how the room turned out. I emptied half the closet (sorry, Cammy, just could not get the whole thing empty!) but it’s a pretty big closet, so hopefully it will be enough room. The shelving / cabinet (pictured above) is empty and ready for Cammy’s stuff.

In fact, this room is SO nice now, it is basically the nicest room in the house. Now, which room should I renovate next?

It’s easy to forget that therapy is important, too, if you’re someone taking an effective anti-depressant for your depression.

I just realized that I got out of the habit of seeing my therapist… well, much too long ago… and now I am starting to feel the long term drawbacks of treating the symptoms of depression without also getting therapeutic support.

Taking an anti-depressant is a very helpful thing in my life.  I am honestly much better able to cope with life, be effective, and live happily. But the fact remains that I have a fair amount of emotional issues from Way Back that are still there. These issues, or hangups, or whatever you want to call them do NOT go away just because you blog about them. They don’t go away just because you pop a pill each night.

A word to the wise. If you suffer from depression, don’t stop taking your meds just because you are feeling good, and don’t stop seeing a therapist.  Each of these things would be easy to do, but each is equally a bad mistake.

Ok, speech over. Calling my therapist now and making appointment.

I’ll return now to your regularly scheduled blog-o-rama.  Here’s a picture that brings back great nostalgia for me… Here’s me, nursing my toddler. She’s about 3 years old in this picture. I just came across this photo while I was trying to do some work. I got distracted and thought, hey, I should post this photo on my blog. Stacie would like it.