A Doggone Week

The dogs have been gone a week today. Ads came out in the Lost section of the two local newspapers yesterday. It's getting more difficult to be upbeat. Coincidentally, when checking that our notice was in the Star saw an ad for three male whippet puppies, $250 each. We have decided not to get another dog if Radar and Jamaica don't return.

After getting the computer up after the crash I downloaded yWriter again. Have a couple of projects in mind. One of which is to tell the story of the cats I have known. That idea came after reading about Norton, the Scottish Fold that turned a cat hating man into a felinophile. Unfortunately, as usual, the name of the book and author are forgotten. Gave the book to someone else. Anyway, some amazing cat characters have shared my life since I was literally in the cot. They deserve to be recorded, if only for my benefit. The other idea is an article for yoga magazine about cats and yoga but I'm not so keen on that. Then discovered that yWriter wouldn't work. Don't know why. The cursor is there fluttering away but nothing writes. Went to the instruction page, can't see what I'm doing wrong.

So here I am finally hot to trot and haven't the means to start writing. Of course I could use the office software but it just isn't the same. Did a search for free writing software and found WriteMonkey. It's the zen writing software, very little in the way of bells and whistles and when you write, it's full screen so it's just you and your thoughts. A nice lime green script on a black background. So I've started writing.

I hope that because I'm writing about cats for me that I won't get bogged down in the writing itself. I sabotage myself to the point of catatonia because something I'm working on isn't perfect (or as near as I can make it). It's a sad trait to have for rather than do something that isn't good, I'll reserve my high opinion of myself and do nothing at all.

Speaking of which, the latest drawing project is crap. Started with this amazing dream image and wound up with something that is so far removed from it in scope and detail as to be laughable. Want to draw something because I feel good when I'm drawing but I want it to be from my imagination, not copying photos from a book. I know that's crap too as anything worked on will teach me something but it's a quirk I kind of cherish. I have copied things from books, have quite a nice drawing of a hyacinth parrot that I copied from a parrot magazine - but it's still someone else's idea and work that I'm drawing (?) from. Sometimes when I'm drawing I can clearly see the image in my mind and so the drawing itself comes along. Other times I need a model, it's there but it's not there.

Up early this morning, now it's light enough to feed the birds and do the chores. It's rained a little overnight and another light shower just passed over. With every turn of the weather I think of the dogs. Jamaica feels the cold and hates the rain. Radar is a bit more rugged. I hope they are okay. I wish they'd come home.