The Lists

I’m excited about a few projects underway. After 2.5 years of marriage my life is in order and I can think clearly again. Its time to indulge in some passions. I was so caught up in moving country, dealing with homesickness and building a life here and learning to be a housewife, I let a lot of the things I love to do be ignored. Unfortunately I engaged in some retail therapy. Not so much that I can’t pay it off soon. But more than I would like. After all, things don’t make us happy.

The Thinking about List: Here’s a list of what I have been thinking about.

A creative writing course. I’m yet to look this up to see if any course times fit in with my Wednesday off.

Sewing course. This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, but I’m struggling to find a class that fits in with my schedule. So this will have to wait for the time being.

The Regardless List: Things I can do regardless.

Daniel and I are buying a camcorder! I have always loved making movies/silly comedies. So I’m real excited about this. I was thinking of embarking on a project about Southern California. Going to my favourite spots, explaining different things about our lives here. It would be interesting for our friends back home in Oz, and my parents. We’re going to Florida soon, and I’d like to make movies about our travels in the US.

Guitar lessons. I’ve always wanted to learn guitar. I’m going for it. I was looking on Craigslist and there are a bunch of guitars being sold really inexpensively. Its time.

I want to learn another Sonata on piano. Its been a while since learning a new classical piece. Lately I’ve been learning a couple of songs from a Nat King Cole book. “Mona Lisa Smile” and “Smile”. I’ve been trying to jazz them up a little. But, I’m eager to work on a classical piece that is a little grittier.

I love my little plants on our balcony which currently consist of a miniature rose plant given to me by Anna and miniature cactus plants which are growing more steadily than I anticipated! So I want to get a big rectangle flower pot from Home Depot. We have a bunch of 40% off coupons from Michael’s so am going to do a mosaic on the flower pot. I thought that would be a nice way to celebrate my pot plants.

The regardless list is things I’m going to start doing in the next few weeks. The thinking about list will have to wait. There are only so many hours in a day. And only so much money in the pockets. Mosaics will be nice and inexpensive. There is this junk yard close by that has a bit batch of old tiles for next to nothing. If I scour junk yards, the only cost will be glue, the flower pot and eventually grout and sealer (once I get to that point).

Guitar lessons. Well. I’m not sure what to do there. Professional lessons will be best. I have a knowledge of music already (piano) which will hopefully help me. But I want to get technique down, instead of forming my own bad habits from the start.

All that aside, things are going nicely. I’m enjoying having a day off each week. Many weeks I’m busy in the mornings and in the afternoon I do some study and then ride my bike to the coffee shop to read the book of the moment (currently reading Breakfast at Tiffanys by Truman Capote). Then getting home and cooking dinner. Last weekend we went for a bikeride by this lake near a mountainous area. It was beautiful there. The bikeride was somewhat strenuous (no gears on my bmx!). We stopped by the lake for about an hour in between our ride to play a boardgame. My husband always brings a boardgame, just in case we get the opportunity to play a game, even on a dusty bikeride.