It's okay not to be perfect

Being a Virgo, I have tried all my life to be perfect! I have very high standards for every aspect of my life and it can lead to deep dissatisfaction if I don't achieve them.



The problem with being like this and a writer, is that I do not send out many of my pieces to competitions and publishers because they never feel good enough. Then I look at the winning entries and think that mine was better than that.



I have recently been reading some books by Elizabeth Chadwick and they have helped me enormously with this problem (I hope!). The first book she had published, "The Wild Hunt", was good but by the time she wrote "Shields of Pride" her writing had developed and I am now reading "Daughters of the Grail", which is in a different league entirely. the point I am making is that maybe I should allow my writing to progress, rather than expecting it to be perfect from day one. Incidentally, Elizabeth Chadwick has a very good website http://www.elizabethchadwick.com/.



My resolution, confirmed be posting it here, is to send out more of my work, rather than keep getting disillusioned with it. Otherwise Morton Gray will only discovered posthumously.



Right. Where are those envelopes and stamps?

Excuses for not Writing

It seems to be that I can find so many excuses for not writing:-

• Housework - ironing, washing, vacuuming, dusting, tidying, cleaning bathrooms, watering plants.
• Family Needs - ferrying, homework, finding things, mending things.
• Garden - weeding, planting, tidying.
• Paperwork - insurance, banking, letters.
• Catching up with friends, coffee with neighbours.
• The internet - Facebook, blogging, surfing.
• My body - headache, not feeling well, not in the mood.
• Shopping.
• Sleeping.

The list could go on and on. Maybe I need to see if I can write a similar list for excuses for writing. Mmm....that feels more difficult.

Perhaps I need to work on self belief....

Growing things

Our first foray into growing edible things has proved a great success. We haven't bought tomatoes or chillies since August. My husband seems to think it is easy - but then I guess he planted the seeds and has been harvesting - he seemed to miss the bit in the middle, transplanting, re-potting, feeding and watering.

The fridge has three different types of chilli chutney, we have chillies drying in the airing cupboard ready to be made into chilli flakes and the plants are still overflowing with produce. You should see the size of some of the chillies!

The romantic in me has thought of turning more of the garden into a planting zone, but then with my recent hernia is this a good idea? I'll only get upset if I have a weedy patch and can't dig it over. Also, do I really need any more distractions from my writing?

Why does everything fall on the floor when you can't bend down?

I have been pondering some of life's laws today. Having just had an operation, I realise that one of these universal laws is that everything falls onto the floor when you can't bend down to retrieve it.

One week after the operation and I can proficiently retrieve quite a few things from the floor with the end of a coat hanger. Having said that, my six year old had to pick up a tomato from the kitchen floor and help me get my pants from where they had fallen at the side of my dressing table this morning. I guess all the parents at school will now know that I wear big pants like Bridget Jones, as my little darling ran out of the room laughing about the size of them - cue red face in the playground, or maybe all will be forgotten by the time I can drive again.

As a first time blogger, I'm feeling a little unsure at this stage, but then I think I'll just go for it and see what happens.