Mid July Check In

Well, Dead Reader, after a small lull in which normal life seemed tantalizingly close, I am back to checking the worldometers numbers each day for Spain. Fortunately for us right now here in Andalucia, most of the cases in Spain are up north, and we are relatively unscathed. But who knows how long that will last? It feels so similar to the feeling I had towards the end of February, watching what was going on in Italy, and wondering if and when it would hit Spain. Of course, now we have masks, and gloves, and everywhere we go there are buckets of hand sanitizers, so hopefully it won’t catch us by surprise again. Just in case, I’ve started building up a Winter Food Store so that if it gets bad again, and the flu hits at the same time, we can happily hibernate for a month or more. My goal is to have six weeks of supplies and food stored so we can avoid the worst of it.

I have stopped going for my morning walk through the countryside, mostly because of the heat. By 8am it’s too intense for me, and when we don’t go to bed until midnight (because it stays light until 11) I really can’t seem to wake up much earlier than 7. Also, there are regulations around wearing a mask now, even when exercising, and I just can’t see breathing heavily in a mask when it’s hot. So I’m working out at home.

I have backslid on many of my goals, including weight loss. But I remain committed, and today I am recommitting myself. That’s partly why I decided to start blogging again. Because I need to hold myself accountable. Time just slips by too quickly otherwise. A day of, “oh, I can cheat today and start again tomorrow,” becomes a week, and then two weeks, and before I know it another month has gone by. So I intend to check in regularly, even if it’s just to say, “today I did great,” or not.

We are spending the long days of summer in the pool, resting during the heat of the day, and generally being lazy. That’s what long summer days are for. We cancelled any plans to travel, and instead bought a lovely tent and air mattress, and have been camping out in the backyard.

I haven’t completely let my goals slip away from me, though. I’m still listening to Schubert at least once a week. My reading list is going well, though I have yet to add any Gertrude Stein to it, which was a goal. I’m up to 25 books for the year, but that’s largely thanks to the Rhys Bowen Royal Spyness mystery series I just finished (after having started it back in 2012 – there were a lot of books to catch up on!). They are an easy read that I can get through very quickly. I’ve got some tough nonfiction on my list now, as research for some work projects, so the pace will likely tame down a bit. Still hoping for at least 50 titles, though.

I also reached a personal/professional milestone when I was offered an advance for content. Professional writers receive advances, but I never thought the day would actually come when someone paid me in advance for work I would create, based solely on my reputation and following! It feels amazing, and I’m still pinching myself. It’s not a huge advance by any means, but an advance is still an advance, and I’m still thrilled about it.

So the midyear check in and recommitment is: things aren’t quite stagnant, and I’m trying to make the most of this year that has gone all haywire.