Sunday, April 18, 2021

My Latest Writing Desk

I’ve written a post about my writing desk before, but that was three years ago, and I have moved since then. (Am I running out of blogging ideas? Never! Yes, actually I am. Send help!) Not only that, but I actually bought a new desk, this one with plenty of shelves for books plants. The plants are taking over!


 


Laptop

Where all the writing happens! Well… most of it. Sometimes I use my phone or scraps of paper when I’m on break at work.

Once upon a time, I owned the world’s worst laptop that would crash every time I used it. Not so with my latest one! I did a ton of research and got a touch screen with a detachable keyboard, so it also acts as a tablet when I feel like having watching a movie online with friends.

Not to mention, it has a high-definition screen for when I’m working on things like drawing (I’m not so good at this bit, but I’m learning!), internal book art, and cover designs.



The Essentials: Hydration, Light, and Pens

Sure, I have an overhead light in the sunroom, aka my study. But I like the lamp for the aesthetic. That and I used to keep Thorin in this room, so when their lamp went out, I didn’t want to wake them up, so I used a lamp. Even after I moved the tank for Xephyr, I never moved the lamp.

As for the pens, 50% of them may be decorative, but they’re fun!

 

Plants

Even writers need oxygen, and it if can be aesthetically pleasing too, why not? ALL THE PLANTS!!! With spring in the air, gardening season has picked up again, so of course, I’m excited!


 


Shelves for Books, Projects, and MORE Plants

First, I have my TBR shelf (above), which is made up of some books I own and some from the library. My latest reads have been novels in verse for poetry month! I’ve already read Like Water on Stone, Clap When You Land, and Planet Middle School. Next up: Long Way Down and The Crossover.




Then there’s books on writing, poetry, and those random astronomy books that don’t fit anywhere else.



Last but not least is the latest addition of shelves, which is why it looks so bare. Featuring my books, a couple shade-loving succulents and flowers, and Xephyr’s feeding tank. Cleaning is sooo much easier when I keep all the bugs in a separate tank from his living space.



The View

Over the winter, I brought my ferns inside and hung them in the windows, and they shed leaves everywhere. Never again. Not in my workspace anyway.

Since spring has hit, I have enjoyed watching everything green up. We don’t trim our lawn very often to allow the wildflowers to grow. Right now, the daisies are blooming, and the bees are happy. There’s even a strip of fields across the river that is blossoming with yellow.

 

Let’s chat! Spring is an inspirational time for me. How about you? What does your writing space look like? What’s on your TBR shelf?

 

***

 

Similar posts: “Would You Rather?” Writer Tag, Recommended Reading: Novels in Verse, and My Current Writing Desk

Sunday, April 11, 2021

Poem: Blue

Many people don’t like the idea of “jumping out of a perfectly good airplane.” But, as my dad once said in reference to his paratrooper days, “There’s no such thing as a perfectly good airplane.”

Personally, I have a fear of heights, but I’m also a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I enjoy high ropes courses and rock climbing, and I’ve even been parasailing and paragliding. Perhaps one day, I’ll get the chance to go skydiving. But it is not this day!

Once again, I borrowed this prompt from Julia Garcia’s blog Drops of Inspira. This time, I borrowed the prompt “the color blue” from February.

 


Blue

I’d almost forgotten
the sky was that color
                        once

back when I was a child
somersaulting in the grass
wondering what it would be like
                        to fall up

until I couldn’t take the thought anymore
and wandered to where
a servicemember stood
                        in his uniform

Do you know which one
is my dad?

I asked, watching the parachutes
drift down
                        like helicopter seeds

Kid, I wear glasses,
not binoculars.                

He had a point.
I shuffled back to the
bleachers and sat by Mom
until the last of the parachutes
                        deflated

now I wonder
if we’ll ever get a break
from this popcorn ceiling of gray
and what it must be like
                        to touch the blue

one day, perhaps,
I’ll find a clear day
to strap on a chute and board
a plane with the sole purpose
                        to find out

 

***

 

Let’s chat! What did you think of the poem? If you had the chance to go skydiving, would you?


Similar poems: GoldPine Trees, and Goodbye Again