The Slow-Cooked Sentence

Catch and release

Rachael Conlin Levy

Summer rushes in like river and I’m swept away from routines and rhythms. This new current carries me, my kids, the garden, late nights and sleepy mornings, county fairs, camp outs, juice popsicles and grilled hotdogs to a distant shore, far removed from this blog. But I returned to report on my progress on the Five Things to Finish this Summer:

    1. Complete a short story — My original idea was too broad and unfocused, so I set it aside for another. John Truby’s “The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller” has proven indispensable.
    2. Run a 5K with one of my kids — Sweating my way through a couch-to-5K program.  At the halfway mark!
    3. Paint the front of my writing desk — Thinking of painting the Giant Pacific Octopus, or maybe a jelly fish. Have yet to begin sketching.
    4. Sew my sashiko stitchery into a wall hanging — Finished stitchery and now designing how to incorporate it into a functional wall-hanging that will hold cell phones, Kindles, and iPods.
    5. Rip out roots and repair the rock wall in the front yard — Removed junipers and sought bids for rock wall repair. Stunned by the price tag and have made no progress since May. Ugh.

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3 responses to “Catch and release”

  1. Ah, grilled hotdogs. It’s been too long. Summer seems to be going your way. Excellent news. Carry on.

  2. Andrea says:

    Sometimes the release is the best part…good to know when to let go. Thanks for The Anatomy of a Story recommendation. So exciting to see a writing book that is (or appears to be, from the preview) actually practical!

  3. Beth says:

    Summer is such a busy time of year. Congratulations to you for accomplishing your goals- especially with kids under foot. I’d love to see how your writing desk turns out one day, the stitchery must be beautiful- please also share, and a 5k w/ kid? Way to go!
    PS. The book is in already in my cart at Amazon- thanks for sharing.

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