Fat Chick Running (and Other Unlikely Events)

Well its been a shit of the last six months, so I shall deeply ignore most of what has gone before, except to say we've moved house, amongst other things...

I am emboldened by a very gloomy diary of a 16th Century Japanese noblewoman, who led a very closeted, constrained existence and who wrote something only when she felt something had happened worthy of being noted - consequently she wrote an entry on average every seven years or so. Its called "The Autumn Book of Tears" or something like that and is VERY depressing.

But, nevertheless I have been casting stuff out mostly - a house move is always a good excuse for another massive Chuckarama, and aided and abetted by two serious eclipses (the second one tomorrow) I have been chucking aspects of my life/personality which aren't working. Or which I am bored of.

My weight has been jumping around madly, but is on its way down again, so I have decided to take up barefoot running. In fact, I started yesterday by walking barefoot along the beach path at Watermans. Yes, I am still very overweight. Yes, I will be walking for many weeks before I can break into a jog. I've still ordered some invisible shoes http://www.invisibleshoe.com/ from the US (with red laces) so that I can avoid running on glass (not that there was much - although squished lizards - yurk). Hubula has been trying to get me to take more exercise (he's taken up fencing) so I said - "OK, I'll go for a walk tomorrow afternoon". He seemed a bit taken aback that I was so keen, but I really like walking and its SUCH a chore to do it with two or three small children, one of whom is constantly asking questions, one of whom eats things if not constantly watched and a last one who is going through a whiny phase. NO FUN. But a walk by myself ? At the end of the day ? Along a beautiful stretch of beach ? BLISS !!

Got some very funny looks paddling along in my feet - strange, when we emigrated out here 30 years ago, people went barefoot all the time - it wasn't unusual to see people doing their shopping barefoot and in a sarong. Perth has become a lot more conservative than it used to be.

Anyway, it was lovely - walked along two of the beaches, discovered a stream, found a pretty shell. The sea wind blew out all my stress and I came back a changed woman. Just Gorgeous.

The poetry is going well as well, and I have also taken up painting having had the shock of my life at my eldest's pre-primary. There was a note up on the noticeboard saying that one of his little classmate's mothers (who has 4 children) is having an exhibition of her poetry and painting in Freo. I almost choked on the spot. HOW DARE SHE !! THAT'S MY LIFE!!! Am spitting chips. Went out and got brushes, paint and attacked a canvas I have had sitting around for the last two years. Dragged out all my poems and glared at them. Fired up my Etsy shop - also sitting there for the last year untouched. Grrr. I'm going to go and have a stickybeak at her stuff, so as to get myself even more annoyed with myself for sitting on my bum making excuses, rather than doing something that I love....

I have decided to do a series of paintings to match my poems, emphasising the spiritual aspects of my work (when not spitting chips, obviously) and bloody well put on an exhibition myself dammit !!! Not sure how many paintings you need for an exhibition, but have set myself the goal of one painting and one new poem a week, for a year. I reckon 52 all up should make a decent exhibition, and then I can also cherry-pick the best if some aren't as good as others.

I am using this next Eclipse to drop everything that isn't pointed towards this new vision of me as Artist & Writer. I'll make a painting of all the things I am going to let go of, and then I'm going to burn it and eat the ashes at the exact full moon. I did a doozy of a ritual at the last Eclipse, setting my feet firmly upon this path; so between the two of them, I fully intend to wake up as someone else on Sunday :)






xxx Molly