Another decadent decade

I have a birthday coming up, and it's a BIG ONE. It's hard to even say the number because it SOUNDS SO OLD. It's the beginning of the decade that includes words like 'Social Security' and 'pension' (on the plus side, it also includes words like 'retirement' and 'senior discount').

down a local lane

So, yeah, there's that.

I first moved to the UK when I was 39, and I had my 40th birthday at an old pub with my friend Tim, who has the same birthday. I'm being a very bad blogger because I'm not going out to the garage to dig through a box of old photos so I can scan a picture for you. Sorry. Instead, here's one of me in Liverpool a couple of weeks ago.

in Liverpool with the Fab (and huge) Four

We moved back to the States when I was 49, so my 50th was spent in Oregon. Ah, yes, I remember it well. It was Friday the 13th. I wore black. Sadly, I have lost or deleted all pictures from that birthday weekend, which included wearing a big wooden fish head at a local restaurant. It was a thing they did.

in Shrewsbury

So now we've moved back to the UK and I'm about to have another big birthday. I have no major plans for this birthday other than a nice dinner and catching up with some friends on the weekend. And then applying for my BUS PASS!

another local lane

Rather than go on about ageing (British spelling) and various aches and pains, I thought I'd mention all the positives in my new life, and share some more photos.

our view with a room

First of all, the neighbours are all really nice here. Our little close has a mix of people ranging in age from late-8os to three weeks, and (almost) everyone gets along. There is some tension between a couple of families, but that only gives the rest of us something to gossip about.

in Montgomery

Also, I've met some outgoing women who meet to speak Welsh and also have organised folk dancing and craft get-togethers. Again, they're all so nice! And since we're in a village, although spread out we run into people we know pretty regularly now.

If you live in a place without blackberries, what a shame!

And I'm going to a yoga class. I've been wanting to do yoga for years, but it was never convenient. Well, now it is, and although it is a challenge (jeez, some of it is damn hard!) it is also blissful.

Lake Vyrnwy

I'm restarting my proofreading/editing business, and I've been making paper products with the thought of selling them, possibly on Etsy, possibly in a local shop where I've already met the very friendly owner.

Oh, and I've been doing a lot more driving, so I'm not so anxious about that anymore.

Liverpool - a city of contrasts

So life is good! Okay, enough about me. After all, I'm just a boring old bat.

Val

The Cliche of Chaos

I wanted to write about chaos, but couldn't think of anything original to say. I wrote about the origins of the word "chaos" on my Wordcraft editing blog. But when it came to writing about actual chaos in any meaningful way, everything I wrote seemed so . . . predictable. The world is in chaos - it certainly is. Learning to live amidst chaos - yeah, we've all been there. Embrace the chaos - cliche monitor going ding, ding, ding!

Why chaos? I like the word, it's rhythmic with a nice pivot, and it's a sneaky way to show you my latest creations. I've been making brooches in a chaotic fashion, and it's fun! Much like nature, the colors and wires create their own order and their own beauty. But since my verbal imagination didn't seem up to par, I decided to use quotes from other people in this post.

If you want to see more of these brooches - they are for sale - pop over to my Muse Marketplace page.

 We live in a rainbow of chaos. Paul Cezanne

 

red, white and blue

Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos. Stephen Sondheim

autumn

Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit. Henry Adams

frog pond

 We adore chaos because we love to produce order. M. C. Escher

 

just - chaos

This last one is sort of honey-colored, so I'm linking it up with the TAG Gallery blog - Anne has set up a link-up around the color of honey. Check it out!

Val

Creeping up the stairs, carrying my shoes

I'm sorry, I haven't been around much. You see, I've been working late. Yes, every night - you can call my (home) office if you want to. No, that's not lipstick on my collar.

I'm trying to build up my editing business, and that seems to include a whole lotta blog-reading - other kinds of blogs, for publishers, self publishers, editors, marketing, blah blah. And I, um, I've been, um, cruising around on forums and Google groups. Afterwards I'm just spent and don't feel like computering any more, so I haven't been visiting your blogs.

And - boy this is really hard - I may have started up another blog.

I'm sorry, I wasn't planning it! I was drunk, and it just happened. Please forgive me. In fact, if it's not too weird, maybe we can all do something together. Is that too kinky?

from my VOGOFF shoot

Here's the thing - building the business is going slow, so if you or anyone you know is self-publishing, or works for a book publisher, and in need of a copy editor, please think of me! My new blog is here where there's more info about my other life. If you're not into this kind of thing, that's okay - no one's pressuring you.

Let me make it up to you - let's go out and have a good time.



Dexter Lake Club, Sunday Jam with their house band and a roster of drop-in musicians. Let me tell you, the house band and the musicians who come to play here are smokin' hot!

The owner (not in this photo) plays guitar like a rock god, and the other regular guitarist (to the left in this pic) is just as awesome - I may have moaned a little when they started out. The Dexter Lake Club was used in the movie Animal House - the zebra wallpaper is still there!

Well, that was fun! But listen, I need a little space right now. We'll still be friends, but I just need to find out who I am (and earn some money). Then I'll be back - we'll always be together.

Val