May 19, 2006

10:41 a.m.

Good Stuff

Dear, Dear, Neglected But Not Forgotten Diary and Sparkly Diary Goddesses,

The thing I'm realizing about the Year of Manifestation is that you have to work your ass off to make things pop out, as if by effortless magic, into the world of form. That's what I've been doing, in an obsessed, waking-up-early-with-ideas sort of way. It is cutting into my sleep but I haven't had so much fun and drive in years.

There's no point in trying to be chronological about it all, so I'll just blurt out things as they surface in my brain. I will do this in a rather hurried, slapdash sort of way, knowing that in 45 minutes I have to be showered and dressed to go to the endodontist, the location of whose office is eluding me slightly, thereby necessitating taking five extra minutes to figure out where he is.

Things in random order: Rose came out east to hike with me on the state trails, and brought her hound. We had a spectacular hike AND met a guy who raises guinea hens and sells the eggs. Later, when we were back with the car, we returned and bought some of the eggs and they were splendid. We also got to feed the guinea fowl: organic sunflower seed. There are forty birds. They run around on lots of acres and eat juicy bugs and chase each other in a fierce display of pecking order. Then they go lay eggs. Must go back and get more.

Also in the food department, I've started making my own yogurt in a one-quart, Salton yogurt maker that I got on Amazon for about seventeen bucks. It's better than I ever dreamed.

The biggest news is that I seem to be going into the bookmaking business. Right now I'm developing handmade journals (generic and destination-specific travel journals; dream journals; healing the heart journals; goal journals; etc.) and half-size scrapbooks (the surprise birthday party; my dog/my cat {for a kid}; my garden; my best friend; and the usual anniversary, bar/bas mitzvah, special occasion, blah blah.) I'm still problem-solving but I've figured out how to make a really pretty hard cover with fabric, strong papers and illustration board, and these will all be bound with my trusty coil binder. I've had to get different size coils, and they never seem to come in lots of less than 1,000, so between the poetry books and these new books I have about 7,000 coils in my bedroom. It's a little ridiculous that I still don't feel I have the right colors to match my fabrics, but there has to be some outlay right now so I'm not panicking.

Meanwhile it's SO much fun, and I took two prototypes to the artisans' cooperative in town, where I was working yesterday, and she said they were very well done and I could certainly put them in the store. I have a few other places lined up to take them to, when I have stock. Next week will be a big production week; this week I had not as much time.

And I really have to go now and get ready for the dentist, so I'll fill in the rest of the story this afternoon. It's rainy and gloomy, a perfect day to hole up in my walk-in closet/office and write. I've missed y'all.