Post your plans for this week, and your check in for this week. And anything else you want to share.
Chapter Highlights according to Dallas:
Crazy makers
People who are basically destructive in their behavior, and foisting their problems on their friends, family and community. They are people who are trying to take power over our lives, to take from us to give to themselves.
Julia tells us to be aware and properly label those people we have in our lives who are crazy makers, and we are told to create boundaries to separate and protect ourselves.
And we are told that it's possible we might fear that we could become crazy makers ourselves as a scary result of using and doing our creativity and our artist selves.
2. Attention
To me, this seemed like what I'm used to calling presentness.
There are two stories told here:
a. Julia's grandmother who coped or dealt with a relationship with a crazy maker husband, by having a close relationship to giving attention to the observable world, sharing it with Julia in letters.
b. Julia's coping with her pain from divorce by taking a similar attention to the things in the neighborhood she lived in.
Tasks:
This week's tasks involve looking at where we spend our time, and what we would prefer to be spending our time on.
We are also supposed to read the "Basic Principles" list every morning and evening. (I'm going to print this out and put it next to my desk.)

Check In Week 3
I did only 4 of the 7 days of my morning pages. I diagnose it as being out of routine - still in the serious home remodel mode. But focussing on the positives - this is all great. And reading everyone's check ins is truly honestly inspiring. : )
Artist date - was great. It's a really nice gift to myself, live classical music (that I enjoy) is so so so pleasurable. And I tried to "be the artist" inside of myself. I sat in the front row (it was open seating at a church) They played the Samuel Barber string quartet that has the Elegy for Strings - I didn't know that the piece was originally the second movement of this string quartet, and it was so cool to hear live and in this original form. It makes me think of how we can repurpose our works and our ideas. And I think about that with Piazzolla and Galliano (some of my free reed heroes) who remake and reuse and reinterpret their compositions over the years.
The only significant issues for me this week is being unable to really pick up and play the accordion due to all of this other urgency to work on the house while Devin is here. This week I absolutely have to maek time for accordion becasue I ahve a performance in Madison WI coming up in a couple of weeks and I have to be warmed up for that!
I did my morning pages every day. I find myself writing about similar things every day. I guess I know what is nagging at me and it gives me something to work on. I also stuck to the schedule I planned out. I find schedules and check lists important to keeping things on track.
My artist's date was watching a concert on YouTube. I watched Itzhak Perlman: Brahms - Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77 I decided to watch this because several years ago, an orchestra I played in, played this. Our violin soloist was David Kim, concertmaster of the Philadelphia orchestra. The second movement included a beautiful oboe solo throughout the movement. I was the oboe player and I nailed it. It was probably the scariest for me, but also proved to me I could do it and even though it was a community orchestra we did an outstanding job. It was extremely rewarding when David Kim, acknowledged me and had me take a bow. This was a good piece for me to revisit because it makes me realize I am a good musician. I need to bring my oboe out again and accordion is really a big change. No wonder I find it so challenging!
As for crazy makers. I am not a crazy maker but I have had them in my life. The one that really stands out was a biggest challenge I ever had to deal with. I learned plenty from that experience. Perseverance comes to mind.
I did my morning pages every day. I had a breakthrough where I realized that I am my own crazy maker. Still, externalizing these thoughts on to paper has me recognizing how hopelessly worthless a lot of my anxiety is. As the week went on, I had less and less to say. I think this is good, because a lot of my anxiety has been getting better.
I did not go to Denny's. I'm jealous of everyone's artist's date. I guess that I will count my musette bath as a date. It is a mood changer for sure.
The main revelation was realizing that I am my own crazy maker. When I view it like this, it's easy to sort through what thoughts are useful and what thoughts are just very inventive worrying.
I did the writing every day. I went to the art exhibit but it was closed. Too cold to go anywhere (-3 this morning) so yesterday I went into the pottery studio and made some big milk pitchers while listening to accordion based Italian dance music. My artist date was actually artistic!
I made it to my artists date! This lovely string quartet in Palm Desert. The 4 voices are easier to hear as potential accordion ideas v. an orchestra - I think. This is great. I feel inspired.
I’m going to an art exhibit today for the artist date. I don’t have a schedule for the activities but plan to keep on the daily writing and do the tasks before Tuesday.
This week I made a plan for the tasks I'll try to do each day. And I found a concert I'm excited about to go to. I wish I could invite my friend who is here, but thems the rules.
Tasks and artists date:
Every day: morning pages and read Basic Principles
Wed - List 20 things I enjoy doing & two favorite things I've avoided that could be this week's goals
Thu - Life Pie
Fri - 10 tiny changes
Sat - 5 more imaginary lives to live
Sat - artist date to string quartet in palm desert
Sun - do one small item from the list of 20 things
Mon - Read week 1 affirmations