From Gaping Void, Hugh MacLeod's pieces began on the backs of business cards. Things are much bigger for him now...

Sometimes one of these really grab my attention. "Life is too short not to do something that matters." Yes.

iPhone snow shot, rural NC, Jan 30, 10

For today, I've decided the reasons have more to do with my DNA than anything external. I grew up hearing stories about my Uncle JT, Granddaddy's brother who had, last I heard, about 9 different wives before he stopped getting new ones during his self-titled "hobo" treks across the country. In these stories - family lore, really - he would periodically purchase old vans nobody else would think of driving around town in, and take them from the east coast to the west, then back again. Again and again he did this. Then there were the stories about his 2-year-long disappearance, after which he turned back up with tales about his stay in a Mexican prison...

I have yet to drive to the west coast, and am happy to report, too, that there have been no stints of incarceration, south or north of the border. The lure of sequential matrimonial turnover has yet to grab me, either. But sometimes when I'm driving back into town, or packing up after another house-sitting gig, or "visiting my things in storage," and get momentarily wistful for a more settled lifestyle, the idea of just picking a place and putting down roots kind of makes my stomach hurt.

My 90 year old Granddaddy has always recognized this kindred bent. Every time I see him, he says, "C'mon. Wanna' pack a suitcase and just get out of here?" God knows where the two of us would end up if I ever called his bluff. The glint in his eye tells me that like him, and his brother, and his daughter, and countless others in my family tree, the feeling of societally-accepted, settled patterns hold less appeal. And so I decide, with a fair amount of regularity, to just stay the course for now, packing and unpacking, packing and unpacking.

One of the fascinating discoveries in living this way - which most of you got out of your system in your mid-twenties - is how spectacularly my calendar falls into place. This pair of friends decide to travel to Egypt for a week or so and need somebody to cater to their kitties. Those friends are heading to New York for a stint and need a loving, familiar presence for their menagerie. (Now they tell me they're thinking of Greece in May, and do I yet know where I'll be?) Yet another takes a months-long teaching job in another state to cover a colleague's sabbatical... the list goes on, sequentially lining up in a way you couldn't plot it if you were writing it in your novel. In between these kinds of obligations, long-time friends call me up: "Could I please get on your list of people to visit? I never see you, and I miss you. I've got your bed waiting for you. We can work during the day and get out some guitars at night..." (Okay, fine. It's been a while since anybody offered singalongs with guitars, but I got wistful just now, and thought I'd throw it out there. Anybody? You'll get bumped to the top of the list, if you promise we can make our own live music!)

Which is how I came to be snowed in in the country while helping out a post-op friend. When I was 12, I had pins put in my hip, and so it's no stretch at all to imagine the kind of pain a partial knee replacement would be causing. I'm the perfect helper-chick to supplement the care of her husband when he's at work or otherwise occupied. So far, we've been lucky not to lose power during this "Blizzard of '10" and I've logged an insane amount of hours for my website clients. Only, instead of popping down to a local coffee shop to work, when I need a change of scenery, when I need to stretch my legs I just go let a dog in or another one out, and go trek around the property with my camera.

This past week, a woman I'd only met once before said to me, "And weren't you working out your housing situation?" which brought waves of laughter from others nearby. I was embarrassed by all this, and joked it off. I've been thinking of my reaction. Why is it, I wonder, that my atypical lifestyle makes me feel sometimes ashamed? The rapidly-shrinking population of people who refer to me as "young woman" surely has something to do with it. I mean, shouldn't I have grown out of this phase by now?

Actually I don't think that's quite it. If I had, in fact, stuck closer to my original plan to travel a lot - as opposed to occasionally - and were telling you here about my last great trip, instead of casually mentioning the travel fund that's slowly replenishing itself after a recent unexpected trip completely depleted the spare cash set aside for just such a purpose, I'm confident I wouldn't feel nearly so hesitant to mention the nomad choices that drive my rhythms. Take the Redpath family, for example. They sold everything, quit their jobs, and left LA to head to Europe for a year. Their website, From Here to Uncertainty, chronicles their semi-planned adventures in Serbia and Vienna and Poland and Scotland and Germany and who can really keep up anymore? To me their story couldn't be more compelling, and the thought of looking at a woman who says, "You're working out your housing situation, right?" and responding with, "Yea, after Paris, I'm thinking to spend a few days in London," as Bob and Brenna and Owen and Ella are about to do... well that just feels a lot more glamorous than my reality.

Life's not about glamour, though, is it? My reality is my reality. Peppered with regular bouts of complacency, my weeks often get filled up with the minutia of everyday living and I frequently forget there ever was A Master Plan in the first place. I put my things into storage so I could see the world. Or at least far more of it than I could see by hopping into my Toyota for an afternoon jaunt. I didn't save for a rainy day for half my life, like the Redpaths did, so I could take such a journey as theirs. And so my own life as "a wayfarin' vagabond," which is how my current rapidly-mending hostess refers to me, has its own charms. Charms which, while not peppered by the names of romantic European cities, still keep me from calling up a local guy I know who remodels old houses to rent, to see what he has available right now. Which I reconsider every month or two.

Instead, I keep working on that travel fund and check in with the Redpaths here and there, making sure I know where they're gonna' be this month or that. We have this idea that maybe I can meet them before they return to American soil. It's not completely out of the question that we will, either. The itch to really go somewhere further than my little car will carry me? It's stronger than ever before. (What's that you say? You've read that here before? Shut up.)

So for now? I'm gonna' open the blinds over there and look out over the acres of snow-covered fields that flank my friends' farmhouse, and fire up Photoshop to continue the magnificently-satisfying designs I worked on for most of the day yesterday. Because if I can focus for long enough stretches to design the numbers of websites I've lined up for myself, there just might be a plane ticket in my near future. To Scotland. Or Greece. Or Vancouver. Let's just wait and see, why don't we?

And for now, if you (Daddy, or others,) want to visit me? It'll be easier if you just call first...

Before I get started, here's a note to Dena Harris: Read this whole piece & watch the video please? Because I know it's not your thing, but I'm curious, see... curious as to whether you think they're fun, after all, or you still don't care. Thank you! (Plus, hey! Free link to show my thanks!)

Do you know Pomplamoose? Well, not know them, know them, but are you familiar with their music? No? You. Have. Got. To. Check. Out. This. Duo. No seriously. You must! And just because I've included the My Favorite Things video here doesn't mean that's the only style they perform. Oh no! How magnificent that musicians so talented not only write their own music but also cover such a range of performers as Beyonce and Michael Jackson The Chordettes and Simon and Garfunkle and Nat King Cole... I could go on. And they do it all with charm and humor and talent and extreme creativity and, oh, do I have to keep this up? Looking for ways to try to entice you to go check them out, when really I wish you would just stop reading already and go find out for yourself while these two are so special?

Since I first discovered Pomplamoose, any time I'm in need of a boost, I go watch one of their videos. It's impossible to be in a bad mood and watch Nataly Dawn and Jack Conte, the couple who make up this musical duo, perform. Okay. I won't give it away. Watch a few of their videos, read a bit from their bio, download their music... be in a happy mood with me!!!

PS: I shan't take credit for stumbling across Pomplamoose all by myself. Not that I couldn't have. But I didn't, so I'll tell you. My friend Nathan Daughtrey turned me on to them, which is no big surprise since a) Nathan is a musician, and b) he seems to discover all kinds of new musicians on a fairly regular basis. See. You should be friends with Nathan and you could discover interesting musicians, too. Or read his blog. Or read my blog, since maybe someday I'll tell you about somebody else great that Nathan turns me on to. But not today. Today's all about Pomplamoose. Go check 'em out, already!

This week, I've:

• Loved every second of my work (and those were a lot of seconds,)
• Enjoyed the company of some friends and family members, and talked to lots I didn't see,
• Had a happy birthday,
• Danced for no reason, when the music was extra-good,
• Gotten along with everyone I've encountered,
• Received a glorious, surprise gift, (I may tell you about it later, but I don't know yet if I can,)
• Cooked a couple of nice meals,
• Watched a cerebrally-unchallenging-but-entertaining-chick-flick,
• Been happy.

There just wasn't a lot of time for the blog, in between. And? As we all know, what makes for great, fun reading is lots of drama, angst, lessons, and even bitterness, at times. But I have little of any of these. I'm just happy.

Now. Wondering about that graphic up there at the top of this page? It's a slice of a graphic mockup I'm including in an array of samples for one of my clients. Possible design concept for her site I'm designing. And? If it's not right for her site that's fine. Although I may just have to steal it for myself. I'm kinda' into the look, see. Today, especially. It would be a huge change, of course, from my current design. And much as I might like a new facelift for melody watson dot com, the last thing I have time for is a redesign. Still, maybe it would be fun to have a soft, super-feminine look for a change. I think we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?

And that's that. Back to work for a while, then?

Hope your week has been happily Un Blog Worthy, too!

Wouldn't it be cool if this were a brand new, fresh photo? Perhaps one I took last night, even? Alas, not so much. A year ago today, I was so excited about an upcoming beach trip with some of my girlfriends. That trip turned out to be non-stop fun.

Today, in the midst of juggling an array of super-compelling work projects, I still can't help but remember that trip. And the evening we left our cozy little spot to head out for dinner. This shot was snapped as we wandered down a walkway connecting several different restaurants. Four hungry women with a mantra akin to "Good food would be nice, but a short wait is a must!"

Sigh.

Okay, back to work, then? Happy Monday!

I think this was Litchfield Beach. But it's possible we were in Pawley's Island when I snapped this one. Sadly, I don't know the area well and my memory just ain't what it used to be. Maybe somebody will see this and confirm. Regardless...

This child, who will be 4 in about a month, is well-acquainted with words like "naughty" and "nice."

After he'd tried to pick out the correct word several times in a row, I asked him, "So which one are you? Are you naughty...? Or are you nice?"

"NoNo!" His face grew serious. His eyes widened. He needed me to be very clear. "At home, I'm naughty. And at school, I'm nice."

Plain and simple.

Sis laughed along with me, then said, "I don't know if this should concern me, or make me feel relieved."

My sentiments exactly...

Is This All lyrics:

All things being equal, her beauty was not her fault,
And it was not her only advantage
Midst the feast and the novelty-the manliness of his charms...
So was it really such a shock, so much history in a kiss,
Besides they both knew it was over.
And what do they have to worry about, just privacy and pain
And the damage they've done

Is this all, can I go now, is this all
Is this all, can I go now, is this all?

So when you sleep do not dream, the dreams they weigh you down
When you carry them along with you
They will wrack your lovely body, report back to your soul
With all the sickening sweets of the afternoon
As we lose the last of innocence-like some romantic notion
Buried by the fashion of disdain.
You can make the world your apple-but take a bite before it sours-
Or you can make the world your charm or your chain

Is this all, can I go now, is this all
Is this all, can I go now, is this all?

No. We didn't break up. I just think this is such a gorgeous song. Sad and gorgeous. Pity about the background noise in the video. Still...

Jonathabrooke.com

Today, only one other person came, and he needed to leave early. Which means at this moment, I am surrounded by the most calm, inspiring, solitary, creatively-charged energy I know how to find. When my writer friend left today, I got up and put in an acoustic version of some of Seal's music to play in the background. And then I let myself sit and look at "my" painting as I sipped from my cup of coffee.

Stating that I have a painting is the most misleading sentence I'll write here, for a long time to come. There is an oil painting on the wall here at The Sanctuary, by Phyllis Sharpe, a local painter who works in this space sometimes. I have fallen in love with it. Completely and utterly in love. And? Regular readers of this blog will already know that I'm downsizing, rather than acquiring. New painting purchases for me are not allowed at this moment. Which is a pity, because I can't tell you what this painting does for me. In my mind, everything about it is perfect.

Before Christmas, when I discovered this piece for the first time, I fell so hard for it that I emailed a friend's mom and husband, who live in two other states, telling them all about it. Maybe they hadn't gotten around to finishing all their gift shopping for her and might like to buy this for my friend! Because I know she would love it as much as I do, and I figured if I can't have it for myself, I can at least go visit it sometime. No deal. So for now I get to visit Phyllis Sharpe's painting every week when I come here to write. (Pretty soon I'm going to have to introduce myself to Ms. Sharpe, whaddya' think?)

I considered not even telling you the artist's name, because pretty soon when the word gets out, this glorious piece is going to be grabbed up by some lucky, lucky art lover. But I couldn't bring myself to be quite so selfish. Notice, though, how I'm not telling you what it's called. No. You can see it, very small, in the photo I've included up there at the top of this page, and that is all. This scene is my vision while I sit here writing today.

So yea. About that writing. I have been... truly! It just seemed I needed to get all these rushing thoughts out. Now that I've done so, I'll return to fleshing out some recent discoveries about my novel. I was handling something wrong, and today I've been working on some changes I need to make, concerning one of my characters' reactions to a significant event in her life. The new angle is way more realistic.

Here's a wish for you - that you also have a space where you can regularly go, that recharges your creative and spiritual batteries. The Sanctuary has become such a space for me, and I realize how fortunate I am to be able to write here. I love the people I've met, along with the beauty and feeling that surrounds me here. Whether I'm in the company of others, or alone. If you're in the area and looking for classes and workshops, take a look... maybe you'll find something that interests you too!

Okay, who wants to try it? This TrekDesk sounds intriguing. Walking slowly on a treadmill while working at an elevated desk that lets you do everything you would otherwise do sitting down... all in a single location. I used to work standing up. And by "used to" I mean I set up a high workstation, stood while working a bit sometimes, got bored, bought a super tall chair, alternated between standing and sitting up high, and eventually got bored with the whole business and moved back to a more traditional workspace.

But what if I could actually do something active while standing there working? Maybe it would entertain me more than the stationary option.

Anybody wanna' check it out and report back? :)

Thanks to Daily Grommet for turning me on to this video. I get their notices delivered to my inbox daily, and love seeing what they'll promote next. Check 'em out!