Well, here I am messing around with the template when I should be writing. It’s like a puzzle to be tackled and equally engrossing.

I’m trying to put some good information into this blog, yet still make it one for chatter. Not an easy task, but a lot of web sites are harder to design.

I bought two books yesterday:

• WordPress2, by Langer and Jordan, This book introduces me to WordPress who lets me write on their system
• Creating Web Sites Bible by Crowder and Bailey. I know (or used to know) a lot of HTML, but the world changes minute by minute. If you don’t keep up. . . . . . and I haven’t, you need to run to catch up. I want to refresh my knowledge and learn some new tricks.

Unfortunately, a lot of the new tricks won’t work on a blog, so I’ll eventually have a web site up (maybe two web sites). It should be fun. It’s cutting into my already limited free time, but I think it’s worth it. It intrigues me and makes me think. Both are good things when you’re facing down another birthday.

Marilynne

I feel at times that I’m just writing to the vapor. Even my words don’t seem real. They are there, or maybe they’re not. A blink on the internet and what I’m writing at the moment disappears into the vapor. If I want them to be, I have to key them in again. Sometimes on MySpace I have to key them in again and again.

I’m feeling creative tonight. I think I’ll change the looks of this blog. Let me know what you think.

Marilynne – Who finds life on the web to be confusing at times.

Have you seen The Bucket List yet? It is so very funny! The story line starts with two men being told they are dying of cancer. Once the shock is less, they decide to write a bucket list, that is, a list of things they’d like to do before they die.

I think everyone’s bucket list would be different. It depends on where you are in your life and where you’d like to be.

I’d love to hear from everyone what you’d put on your bucket list. I’ll start, but before I list things, I’d like to point out that I have achieved many goals in my life. My list might be shorter or longer than yours, but it doesn’t mean my life is less satisfying. It just means I might have already done what’s on your bucket list.

OK, here’s my bucket list:

1. I’d like to see my kids and grandkids more often.

2. I’d like to publish my current books, and go on book signings and be recognized as a great author.

3. I’d like to be able to square dance until they carry me out the door.

4. I think I’d like to see Paris. This is something I should have done earlier in my life, but I never seemed ready for it.

5. I’d like to own a vacation home by a lake in the woods. It would be small and rustic and very isolated – or at least my neighbors would leave me alone.

6. I’d like my own little red sports car. One where you can put the top down. The pickup is great for the things I do, but it kind of lacks bling.

7. I’d like to paint enough watercolors that I could cover a whole wall with my paintings.

8. I’d like to add to this list once I see what ideas other people have. I always was a great one to put other people’s ideas to good use.

  Marilynne

I just posted the following to Druanna, then decided to share it with everyone. It began by Druanna asking if I drew my profile picture.
Marilynne

To Druanna

I did draw my profile picture. It’s the head of a much larger painting that I copied because I loved it. Because it’s a copy, I don’t post the entire painting. (It would be easy to tell the different between my copy and the original.)

Painting is amazing, just like getting in the zone to write is amazing. I was in my 30’s and selling pretty regularly (articles and poetry) when I decided to study art. However, I wasn’t secure in my writing yet, and taking the art classes in addition to writing gave me terrific headaches. So, I put down my art and concentrated on writing.

I did well with my writing, becoming a technical writer and editor in the commercial field. I did that for 24 years and enjoyed most of it. It was there that I learned discipline in my writing as well as a lot of grammar. I enjoyed helping others get their work into print and learned a lot about the printing process. Later, while writing manuals on how to install a satellite telephone, I won awards for my work. So it was satisfying.

When I gave up art, I promised myself that when I retired I would learn to do watercolors. As soon as I could after I retired, I signed up for classes in watercolor. When I was sooo terrible while others advanced more quickly, I remembered that writing is not successful the first time you put the words down. You have to work at it. It hasn’t been hard to work at watercolor, because I love doing it. (It’s the same with writing.) I am very lucky to love doing both things. It gives a richness to my life.

So, I think I’ll post this as a blog today. Just remember not to give up your dreams. They may need to stand in line, but keep them in that line and work on accomplishing them. It’s worth the trouble.

Marilynne