When Tyler and I were journaling every day, we had the process down to a science. While it was far from easy, at least it felt routine. Lately, our journalling efforts have been sporadic, and my writing muscles are weak from lack of consistent practice. This is my attempt to get the pump primed, so to speak. When all else fails, write a shitty first draft. This is mine for today.
This morning, I went to the gym. I've been going to the gym every day for a month now. It feels really, really good to be regaining some of the power, agility, and strength I felt when we were on the road. I'm making new friends (hi Jenny!), enjoying reliable hot showers, and appreciating the brief daily respite from living in our tiny camper.
After the gym, I got our propane tanks filled, and then I stopped at a bakery and brought home the best almond croissant I've had since this one. Then, I fielded a sea of emails about our website and my cookbook. This process is never-ending, but it's generally really rewarding. Hardly a week goes by that we don't receive some touching message that warms my heart.
The siding for our solar shed was delivered today! I originally wanted to use old barn boards, but finding them at a reasonable price was taking too long. So, after much research and trying to decide between board and batten, shiplap, clapboard, or channel rustic, I chose channel rustic siding. After Tyler and I unloaded it, I headed to the post office and mailed out a few copies of my cookbook.
This evening, I went through all of our journals from Mongolia and put them into a single word document. I've been toying with the idea of writing a travel adventure memoir ever since we got back from our big bicycle tour, but I've been feeling stuck on the beginning for awhile now. My memories of Mongolia are incredibly vivid, so I figured I could pick up the thread there. I just want to get something, anything written.
The entries I copied came in at 50,000 words. That's about half the size of a "regular" book! What I need to do next is pare everything down until I come up with a powerful thread that runs through the whole thing. Then, I'll craft it into a story. I've joined a writing group that meets Tuesday nights, with the hope it will give me the motivation needed to tackle this beast of a project.
Today, I studied toe-ups and pony walls for straw bale building, and worked on the materials list and timeline I'm creating for this spring/summer's house build. I cooked. I cleaned. I made a new shit bucket. Now, it's time for bed. We're supposed to get a foot of snow tomorrow! I'm about ready for winter to be over. I'm about ready for this crappy journal entry to be over, too. Good night!