Summer Plans

During my sleepless nights - and after making some decisions about next steps - I have also thought a lot about what I want to do this summer, other than rest and gain strength.

Travel is one thing. We'll rent a place at the coast for a handful of nights. We might stay in a treehouse in southern Oregon. We will go visit my godparents in Omak in August. I may go to Bend to visit Beth sometime. Cathie from high school invited me up to visit her and her mom and stepdad in July. So, the summer seems to have become full of travel plans already.

I have also wanted to do things in my back yard for the past couple of years. I want to make that yard a bit of a haven - maybe a place to meditate and just sit outside and relax in the sunshine during summer. I have either not had money or the time or energy to devote to doing something about it. I want to take care of that issue this summer. Dad wants to create another raised bed. We may start laying out an area to make a deck. We also need to redo the front walk and put down weed control stuff. I also want to work on mosaics to put back there.

I also decided that I want to work on my cancer book - I've thought about it for the past year or more and a couple of friends have wondered. I spent a couple of hours last night thinking about the things I wanted to say.

Next year, while I'm on disability, I would work on my other book manuscript for which I have a contract with OSU Press. It's about King Island and I've already reworked a couple of chapters. I need to update them, though, and that means going to Alaska to interview people. That will be easier if I don't have to worry about my other job duties and after I gain some strength. So that's the chore next year. I mean, it's not a chore as I want to do it. But my head isn't there this summer.

So, there you have it. Seems like a pretty full summer, huh?