mind map of this blog post

Been doing a lot of writing, but not a lot of blogging, which I guess is ok! I started again on my piece for our next anthology, though a lot of what was in the first go had been pulled back in. It has a weird structure, based around a recipe for laksa. I’m not sure if I’ll keep that in, or if it’s just there to help me get through to the end of the story. The scaffolding that can come down when I don’t need it any more.

Then again, I kind of like the idea of structuring your story around the elements of a recipe. Instructions like “bring the mixture to the boil” or “fry until the tomatoes begin to break down” are pretty dramatic, and maybe knowing that the ending of the recipe is likely to involve a whole lot of different elements coming together to make a harmonious whole, there’s some scope there?

Anyway.

A while back I wondered whether doing a mind map of my thoughts, before writing a blog post, would add anything to the experience and/or the final bit of writing. I guess if anything, I can look over at my notebook and see what else I was thinking about if I start to draw a blank. What I was hoping for though was a better way to draw connections, or tease out the point of what I was slowly working around to reaching. I’m not sure if anything will change though, as these do wind up being pretty meandering.

It’s definitely spring! Oh fuck, you wouldn’t believe the relief I’m feeling with that fact right now. It felt like a very slow, dark, wet winter, and finally, fucking FINALLY, we have birds cheeping in trees, and blossoms emerging, actual sun on the house, days when you can drive with the car windows down, days when you don’t have to wear a puffer jacket and the smelly polyprop you picked up off the floor. We can hang things on the outside line and they’ll dry. The star magnolia looks amazing. My great grandma’s orchids are OUT.

And we are going on holiday in three weeks! We have a lovely, wonderful, person coming to stay in our house while we’re away, and we can just throw a few things in a pack and take off! I’ve been hanging out to do this for the last ten years–more than ten years really, but we were all caught up in baby-love-land for quite a few years, and maybe Leila’s preteen vibes are getting us feeling like we want to stretch our legs and see new places.

We are going to see Beetlejuice tonight at the movies. I have a terrible confession to make: I actually thought this was the original movie, and I had no actual idea that there had been a remake until my daughter informed me this morning. What a dolt! Haha. I’m a little less enthusiastic about it now, though Leila’s excited now she’s discovered it’s got one of her favourite actors in it. So, ok. Oh well! I also discovered that a family pass (two adults and two kids) is cheaper than buying tickets for two adults and one child separately. So her friend is coming with us too.

The other node on my mind map is about work anxiety, but I think I’ll save that for another time.

Here’s a flower! A few, even!

some yellow daisies!