Managing Time

by Rain Trueax

obviously that's not me. It is one of my created images for inspiration on the books, 

such images often provide an idea for a scene. Can't you just see that that young woman, 

at that waterfall as she contemplates what she wants in her life! 
Contemplation is an important part of writing and life at all ages.

Besides writing, editing, and working with images, I have a few other things in my life, although less than I had at one time. When I was at the busiest in raising the kids and being involved in the community out here, I had a philosophy regarding what I would accept in the way of projects.

Enjoy or not enjoy, my firm standard was only two, outside, time consumers, at a time. There are things, you cannot manage in terms of time-- raising kids, with all the variables that go with that, is a big one. Sometimes, at the height of their years of being involved and before they drove, that could mean three trips a day, into where they went to school. At 20 miles each way, that meant I was driving 120 miles some days. Since I have not ever been fond of driving (it is a necessity), that was a lot of hours in the vehicle-- and that didn't count what I might've done for myself in another town. Those were years of not as much money; so it sometimes meant breaking down on the road and having to walk-- before the years of cellphones. Sometimes when I think back on that, like accepting a ride into town with a stranger, I really do see that life as from another lifetime.

Nowadays, I might only get to town once a week if that. It gives me lots of time for writing, doing art on the computer, reading newspapers, and some involvement in social media. I don't have the same problem with deciding what to take on from someone's request-- now it's what I might myself take on in terms of writing or marketing. As with all writers, I have to evaluate opportunities regarding writing oriented events (which I should be doing but so far have not for assorted reasons.

Shopping is another of those things I do no more than I must. When I hit a store, I buy multiples so I don't have to do it again soon. There is a small grocery store not far from the farm. It's more expensive than town, of course. It also doesn't have everything.

A big change for our home came after Ranch Boss retired and became less active away from the home. He runs a consulting business out of here. Something neither of us expected is that he now does most of the cooking. It's something I did for probably nearly 50 years of our marriage but now it's down to him as the chef. We both like that setup as he enjoys finding recipes to try-- and I enjoy sampling his creative output.

Another thing I used to do more of was being on the phone. Now, I am a receptionist for Ranch Boss, with answering, when he's gone, for his clients. For myself, I only talk to the kids and that's not often. Most of those I used to chat with have either died or gone onto other interests.

Photography and working with images is one of my time consumers. It is what I do now when I used to paint or sculpt. I enjoy using filters to alter photos to make them look like paintings. I am using one for my profile, where it had to be cropped to a square but here is the full image that the filter created.

At the moment, other than for research, I read very little. For a few months, I haven't had the time and after working on my books, my eyes don't want to read anything on an eReader, paper, or most especially not on the computer. Research is always, of course, ongoing even for contemporary books. I may take a month this summer to read some of the books on my Kindle. I keep buying those that look interesting and have accumulated a lot for any mood.

For television, I watch some news. This winter, I discovered for the first time channels that show home remodeling or buying a home on an island, lake, etc.. I find those shows relaxing, as they change a home into something special or someone finds a dream place. Finding a home is also something I did years ago, but that one could come back into my life, as living 20+ miles from town is not as easy when a person gets old.

Not sure if this has been boring, but I thought since I do write a lot about the writing process, my books, their covers, etc., I should put something up once in awhile about what my own life is about-- writing, conversations with Ranch Boss, managing cat activities, some social media (Twitter, blogs, Facebook, and a few email friends), looking for images, creating images that work for books/book trailers or blogs, writing, and that's about it.

It doesn't sound like a particularly exciting life. Other than my husband, it's a solitary life. I've sometimes worried that I've let it get too solitary, but as an introvert, it's the one I am choosing for now.

Another image I created using one of our photos and a filter. I don't know if it'll ever show up in a book trailer, but I like Navajo land, a place I only drive past for the most part but find exceptionally beautiful in the way that some places attract me for reasons I can't explain. I like the hogans and small houses tucked into redrock country. 

Whether I can use these images ever, I don't consider them time wasters but rather inspiration. Yes, I live a life in the flesh-- but in my imagination, I live many other places.