We’re halfway through summer already, and it feels like I
haven’t gotten anything done. School, my very last few months of school, is
threateningly close (the last time, though. Ha!) and auditions are coming up.
Not only do I have to audition, but three of my siblings do, too. So they have
to be prepared.
What have I been doing all summer? Laundry, mostly. I’ve
moved mountains of it, trying to catch up by doing six or seven loads a day.
The wasps and I have a slight disagreement over the clothesline zone, so
hanging up the wash is a little dangerous. I’ve finally gotten the endless
stream from my brother’s room under control (oh, and something wet just flew up
against the window. I wonder what they’re doing with their spare time?).
I’ve also been making stuff to sell at the Farmer’s Market,
and playing violin at our table. I actually got my first “gig” there, as
somebody among the listeners asked me to play at an event in August.
The other day, one of my brothers managed to step on a rusty
nail and drive the thing right to his bone. After letting off a railway-style
shriek, he booked it for the house and got a nice trip to the ER. Funny how my
brothers can scream at a pitch higher than I. Needless to say, he got several
days off from chores and sat in the living-room like a little tyrant, ordering
his siblings around. One of his subjects rebelled and gave him a nice earful of
dishwater. I won’t say who, though it wasn’t me.
I’ve been trying to do a lot of writing this summer, but
haven’t really accomplished much. I’m still polishing up my Nano novel, Tempered,
which had to be renamed The Listeners because of major, unexpected plot developments.
When I finish up that, I’m going to start working on a story that I made up for
my siblings, called The Motley Four. It was inspired by Edith Nesbit’s The
Story of the Treasure Seekers and the sequels, The Wouldbegoods and The
New Treasure Seekers. Those books always had me shaking with laughter when
I was younger. Also in the works is a collection of short stories, only a few
of which I have mapped out. “Survival of the Fittest”, “The Glass Heart”, “Weaving
Words”, “The Paperback City”, and “The King’s Champion” are the only ones I’ve
got typed up. If anyone’s interested, I could stick some up one of these days. Most
of them are written for my siblings’ amusement.
I actually want to be reading a bit more this summer. It
seems like I haven’t gotten my hands on much, though I did read quite a few
classics earlier in the year. Wuthering Heights (which, I thought, was
kind of ridicules. All of the characters were downright nasty people, and there
was no redemption or character-reformation involved), Jane Eyre, The Adventures
of Sherlock Holmes, re-read Pride and Prejudice, The Cat of Bubastes,
all of the Anne of Green Gables books that I have, snagged a bit of
Shakespeare, and worked through everything that I have of Edith Nesbit’s, which
amounts to nine books. I also re-read The Hobbit because Jesse had
gotten it from the library and I caught it lying around. Also stole some of Dad’s
commentaries.
I suppose that the last few months haven’t really been
uneventful, but they felt quieter than they usually are. There’s been plenty of
time to play violin, read, think, and do housework. The garden is coming along
nicely, the cow is about ready to calf, and the stupid goats snapped one of our
apple tree saplings in half. I tried to tie it upright to a bar, so hopefully
it will just grow back together. I’ve heard of grafting branches, so maybe this
will work, too.
And now, I really need to get off this thing so I can finish
the day’s laundry.
Dia, mo chara
