Monday Mood – Page 14 – beckycochrane.com

Mood: Monday

I’m hoping to GET SHIT DONE today. I got up and let the dogs out while I mopped the library. Half the library, anyway. I did today’s Lord Cuttlebone post on Instagram. I’ve also paid bills and…

This is embarrassing, but I’ll share it anyway.

The last TJB novel was published in 2007. There was a TJB email account where readers could contact us. When you’re not publishing, those emails dwindle to nothing. In 2013, Timothy and I became involved with an animal rescue organization that kept us busy, and from that time forward, the TJB email didn’t get checked. This morning, I logged into it for the first time in… well, eight years. There were almost 700 emails, most of which could be deleted, some of which were business-related and needed to be filed, and then there was, yes, reader email that spanned five years.

I answered those without knowing if any of those people still have those email addresses. Or if they remember TJB or those novels. Or if they care. Or if they’re even alive (I HOPE THAT THEY ARE ALL ALIVE AND THRIVING!).

I then did the same for a pseudonymous account under which I’ve written short fiction. It had about half as many emails, only business and junk, no reader emails. So at least THAT author behaved better.

I think any email for the Cochrane Lambert novels (2004 and 2005) went through our gmail. accounts, which are still active. Maybe. I can’t remember. They’re from so long ago that I doubt any reader has tried to reach us.

I’m going to take a shower and then spend the day writing novels that will likely have few readers, hopefully NEVER neglected ones.

Eep!

Mood: Monday

My mother loved cleaning house.I did not get that gene.

Mood: Monday

I’m in an extremely pensive mood currently; let’s just skip to the post.

Pictures from Pacific Ocean Blue, later used also for the release that included remastered and completed tracks from the unfinished Bambu album, are variously attributed to Dean Torrance and Ed Roach. I believe both men were at those sessions; I’m not sure who took what. This is the photo shoot that comes to mind as having some of my favorite photos of Dennis.

September 27 — Favorite photo shoot

Much of Dennis’s work was recorded and produced at/by Caribou Ranch, and that’s his Caribou Ranch sweater he’s wearing in the photos.

Mood: Monday

This is a photo from 2007 when people still smoked at The Compound, but damn if I know who smoked Marlboro Lights (ETA: Steve C). I’m using it to show that I’m in a creative mood.

I have a friend Sharon (I know her in real life, not only online) who in addition to being a dog rescuer/foster/adopter and an all-round great human, also collects tiny Blythe dolls. She stages them in engaging photo shoots with clothes and accessories she’s made herself, in dioramas she decorates with all matter of things she makes or buys. She’s one of my most fun Instagram follows at this account, if you’d like to see her creative dolls and animals and objects on such a tiny scale that I’m in awe.

I’ve sewn for dolls at 1:6 scale for years, and right now, I want to sew clothes for the child dolls who are part of my Neverending Saga families. They’re so small that I’m not sure I’m up to the challenge or the amount of time it may take when I have so much writing to do. However, I also do creative things like coloring or painting when I want to think about what I’m writing, so maybe sewing clothes for these little ones will help inspire me to write the lives of their parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

I’ve never believed there are people who have no creative urge. Even busy people or people whose circumstances don’t lend themselves to creating have that spark. But they are afraid or think they have no talent or have been conditioned to believe that art is only as worthy as its utility (e.g., do other people like it? does anyone want to read/see/hear/taste/enjoy it? does it make money?).

What if creating is for YOU ONLY? What if it makes you feel happy for a while? What if it nourishes you in any way at all? Is that not enough? Seriously, are you not enough?

I think you are.

This is a conversation I have with myself often, because I can access a lifetime of negative and hurtful comments about my creative endeavors. It’s just something I have to shut down. One way I know I was fortunate is that I was ALWAYS encouraged to be creative, by my parents, a few teachers, some friends, and my wonderful Uncle Gerald. If you were never encouraged that way, IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO CREATE. What is that thing you wish for? That secret yearning to learn an instrument, sketch something you love in nature, write a poem, learn to needlepoint, carve a piece of wood, master a culinary creation… It’s time to start and it’s MORE than okay to do it only for you, only for your own enjoyment, and if anyone else likes/loves/appreciates/praises it, that’s a bonus.

The Beach Boys began because two young brothers liked to sing together and they made their more boisterous brother join in because they wanted his voice for their harmonies. They had a father who was a frustrated songwriter and a mother who came from a musical family. When they formed a band and came up with a sound, success came early. Maybe too early for their own good, considering their losses, challenges, and tragedies. But those three brothers, including the one who had to be dragged along, had creativity that couldn’t be denied. What began so simply became a gift to the world. Even if they aren’t a band to your taste, millions of people still love their music, still follow their careers, still marvel at them, still consider their story with joy and heartache.

It all began with a working class family of five who loved music.

September 20 — With family © unknown
Back row: Brian with parents Audree and Murry
Front row: Carl and Dennis

Mood: Monday

Yep, another rainy day Monday. This is not the same weather we’ll be getting later when Tropical Storm Nicholas promises to dump significant water on us. We’re watching the property to make sure everything’s draining, so when the heavier rains come, they have a quicker path to the bayou. Instead of the bayou finding a quick path back to us. If that seems likely, we start moving things upward from floor level inside the house.

How can I improve my Monday mood? Simple.

If you ever saw him or the band perform, if there were no drumsticks in his hands, or his hands weren’t busy on a keyboard, and a mic was in front of him, the hand against the ear is one of the most familiar sights of your memories. The hair length and color might change. The beard might come and go. The clothes changed over the decades. But the hand on the ear: That was forever.

Labor Day and Mood: Monday

Today’s mood is gratitude to everyone who works or who has worked to keep things going for all of us through the years, especially in 2020 and 2021. For those looking for work, I hope you find it. For those retired or unable to work, you contribute in more ways than you may realize. For those whose labor is unpaid or disrespected, I hope you know people who recognize your value. I’ve been in all of those categories at one time or another; I know it’s hard sometimes to keep on keeping on, yet you do it. Salute!

Continuing the 30 Days Idol Challenge.

Mood: Monday

Feelin’ it.

Mood: Monday

I have not had enough sleep and I am in a mood. Saw the below list from a Twitter account I follow and decided to remind myself I’ve done a few things. The purple checks are because I have walked in the surf though I didn’t swim in the Pacific, and I went on a gambling cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico overnight so… cruise?

I learned to drive on a stick and can drive both a stick on the floor and the steering column.

Not on the list, but I’ve had nine novels and several short stories published.

My characters have been in Italy, Ireland, Australia, France, Canada, England, and probably lots of other places I don’t know about. Okay, I know that doesn’t count. =)