October ~ Pulled in All Directions

Dreamer at the Fountain (c.1860-70)
Camille Corot
source Wikiart

Well, perhaps the title of the post seems more dire than it actually is.  September saw many changes in my routine and to be honest, it's been difficult to get a handle on everything and find a smooth working routine that functions well.  I'll get there ...... it will just take some time, some thought and a little organization on my part.

Celebration Cake @ journeytothegarden.com
© Cleo @ Classical Carousel

First of all, with the start of our new food blog, Journey to the Garden, there has been a change of focus.  I feel that much of my time has been taken up with it, but if I'm honest, I usually cook and I enjoy it, I had already been working on the blog previously to be able to get it to a point to launch it, so realistically I'm not adding much more time to keep it running. So perhaps time isn't the issue but organization.  Taking photos, especially in my part of the world where it tends to rain alot, can be challenging.  At this time of the year, I have to take them earlier in the day and on days when it's sunny or at least hopefully bright.  So much mental energy has been devoted to figuring this all out, it makes it FEEL like lots of extra practical work when it actually isn't.  Otherwise, I've been making my way through a copious number of videos on how to make a food blog successful which, while so informative, is very time-consuming.  And then the "blog-inadequacy" slips in.  When I started this book blog I remember feeling a little trepidation, but I had started the blog for myself -- for my own enjoyment -- so I wasn't worried about prompting it.  With the food blog, I have a partner who is expecting certain things of me (although he's very easy to get along with and we think very much alike, so don't get me wrong, he's great!), and the purpose is different .... for enjoyment, yes, but the focus in on growth.  However, I need to keep reminding myself of this book blog where, when I first started, I could have no viewers at all during a day, to now where someone is looking at it at any moment of the day and I'm approaching a quarter of a million viewers overall.  Growth takes time and I have to keep reminding myself of that. So once I have more knowledge and figure out some of the challenges, I'm sure it will run more smoothly but so far I feel rather overworked and scattered.

© Cleo @ Classical Carousel

I am absolutely thrilled with my Greek class and am challenged and excited about it but it's so much work.  Without daily review, it's hard to keep up, so again I'm starting to feel like I'm running to catch up.

I did have a number of little side trips that took up time, as I travelled through B.C. and Alberta to Saskatchewan and back again, then I travelled to Calgary, Alberta and had a couple of trips to the island.

And lately I'm having a block with reading that I rarely have.  I WANT to read and I'm interested in the books I'm making my way through but when I sit down to do it, I end up doing something else much less rewarding, like watching DVDs (which I normally only do occasionally) or cleaning or daydreaming.  Not good, but perhaps a sign of an overloaded brain.

© Cleo @ Classical Carousel

And thus, my reading for the month has been rather pitiful. I've been slowing dragging through Augustine's, City of God (trying to like it), reading a few sentences of Plato's Republic (loving it; why don't I read it more often?), occasionally picking up The Iliad (this is one of my favourite books of all-time; why don't I pick it up more?), thinking about The Last Chronicle of Barset, and re-reading (ah! Finally!) The Man Who Was Thursday because a group on Goodreads is reading it and I thought it might get me motivated. One thing I believe is lacking lately in the Bookworld is read-alongs.  Either I'm not seeing them, or there are less of them than there used to be.  They focused you on detail, you had a responsibility to read (at least I approached them that way) and they seemed to give momentum for other reads.  I wonder if some of the fall-off is due to the inactivity of The Classics Club, which I found used to give inspiration to readers but now seems to be limping along.  I'm not sure ..... what do the rest of you think?

Mystery Squash
I did not plant this!
© Cleo @ Classical Carousel

As for October, what are my goals?  My hopes?  My dreams?  To keep plugging away on the food blog videos; they're interesting so at least I don't have to force myself to watch them.  To keep searching for a job that fits in with my life instead of picking the first thing that comes up.  To keep up with this blog and lastly, which I should have put first, READ!

I was happy with my most recent post, The Great Ideas ~ Opinion and Majority Rule, as it spurred wonderful conversation, so I hope to compile more posts like this one.  Plato has been too neglected, so I must push on with The Republic.  I've decided I'm going to read Italo Calvino's If On A Winter's Night A Traveller and get through it this time, no matter how weird it is.  And I desperately need to finish at least a couple of the books I'm reading, perhaps Dead Souls or The Last Chronicle of Barset. Do I sound really uncertain and unfocused?  That's because I am.  So hopefully October will bring a renewed sense of focus along with a reading extravaganza!  Happy October everyone!