RHYS BOWEN : Over the last month I have been pretty much confined to the house. First I had Mohs surgery for skin cancer on my face, leaving a large hole in my cheek. Then I had reconstructive surgery to cover that hole. I was told I was not allowed to do anything after these: no bending, no lifting, no work, no exercise. Sleep propped up so nothing touched my face. Then just when this period was coming to an end, I came down with diverticulitis. Very painful AND I was on a clear liquid diet, again confining me to the house and making me feel very weak.
I put the time to good use, finishing my next Royal Spyness book. But apart from that I found myself with a lot of free time, when I’d normally be at the health club swimming, meeting friends or shopping. Luckily the weather in California at this time of year is the best: warm sunny days, cool nights. I’ve spent a lot of time sitting in the shade on my balcony just watching nature. We live on a hill and look out over the houses in the valley to the wooded hills beyond. There is plenty to see. I love watch the fog rolling in like a live entity over the distant mountains.
I love watching the sunrise when I'm up early:
We always have deer in the yard. I suppose it is mating season because a young buck has just shown up and is following the females. But because I’ve had more time to observe I have seen three foxes: such pretty creatures, not red all over like British foxes, but grey with orange trim. They must have been young siblings because they gamboled up my hillside.
The squirrels are so amusing, rushing up and down trees, leaping from one to the next.
One day a flock of at least 30 quail came down the hill. They were very skittish and when I went for the camera they fled beneath bushes. So all I got was a blur as they ran fast. Then there are the other birds: lots of goldfinches, providing flashes of color, as well as a pair of orioles. Humming birds hover and dart, blue jays screech and are aggressive—the school yard bullies.
And I’ve come to appreciate the value of just being. I don’t have to check my watch to think “I have half an hour before…” I can watch clouds. Listen to distant sounds. Close my eyes and let my thoughts roam and then, one day, find myself ready to think about the next book. It’s going to be set in Venice.
So Reds and writing friends: how do you clear your minds between books?
Sorry to hear that you’ve been having some health issues, Rhys . . . Hope you’re feeling better soon.
ReplyDeleteThere’s seldom a “between books” around here because there are always more books waiting for me on my teetering to-be-read pile. But when I’m not reading [or cooking, or working], I like to wander around the flower garden or sit at night and watch the stars . . . .
Between books? I finish my work day and drive home. I'm only slightly kidding. I don't really have much down time between the books I'm reading.
ReplyDeleteI need some downtime like you are describing in my life. That truly sounds heavenly right now. Not for the health reasons, but the time to sit and relax, just being.
Sorry to hear you've had some health issues. Hope you are on the mend for good now.
Thanks, Mark. Much better now
DeleteThis is a lovely post. Thank you for sharing the positive side of "just being" with us. I am impressed you used this time so productively you are ready to start the next book, instead of just lying around and watching tv. (Not that I know anyone who would do that. :-). Sending best wishes for your continuing recovery
ReplyDeleteGlad your well is refilled Rhys--you're such a busy, productive person that it took being told you must stay home! Love that you see all those animals and birds from your deck. there's another book right there...what she saw while she was healing...
ReplyDeleteRhys, glad to hear that your health is improving and that you have such a restful place in which to recuperate. I try to snatch those moments of just being during my days, admiring the changing colors of the leaves, watching a flock of grackles and blackbirds wheeling above the house, the sound of leaves underfoot as we walk on the park trails. Looking forward to your next book!
ReplyDeleteI hope you're on the mend from the diverticulitis - no fun! But thanks for the reminder to just be. I was watching clouds from my deck yesterday. Such a treat to just sit and look up. Today I'll take a gardening break. I suppose I should take a Clean-the-Damn-Office break...but I'll likely put that off to another day!
ReplyDeleteI think 'just being' is an art unto itself. How to just sit and look out at a landscape. We don't have to be busy working or reading or watching tv or on our cell phones every minute, and yet... We're all looking forward to seeing you in Dallas, Rhys! And VENICE! How superb.
ReplyDeleteSee you in Dallas!
DeleteRhys,
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to hear the you're getting better as each day passes. A positive attitude always helps, especially if one is not feeling well or in difficult situations. I have always found great solace in the wonders of nature that surround us. It nurtures the soul.
Keeping busy, as you have, also helps. I admire your industriousness and I'm delighted that your next book will be set in Venice. One of my most favorite cities. It's a world of watery enchantment. At the beginning of September, I returned from a trip where I had the pleasure of visiting that beautiful city again. Continue to indulge your senses and allow your creative mind to roam freely.
Best wishes for good health, Rhys.
ReplyDeleteMy husband rebuilt our deck last summer, so now I feel obligated to go out there as often as I can--for meals, to work, to tinker with the plants. For real relaxation, however, I hit the hammock. You can't do anything while lying in a hammock but look at the sky....
Hi, Rhys,
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your health problems but happy to hear you've found a way to use the downtime wisely.
Whenever I finish a book or a major project, I have to "process" (the term came from a professor friend who does it at the end of every semester) my work area. When I had the house, I could give the materials their own shelf. Here in the apartment, where I've yet to unpack (after two years; no clue where to put anything), things just go into a box of their own, and get added to the stack. Marie Kondo I ain't.
But if we get a tad of warmer weather in the next week or so (we've had an early cold-and-damp snap) I think I should take a page from your lifebook and sit out on my balcony. Alas, some a**hat has been smoking on one of the balconies beneath, so I have been avoiding sitting out there because it bothers my ex-smoker lungs. Maybe I will figure out a way to set up a periscope and figure out who it is-- and if I can't persuade them to take it inside, there is a never-ending pile of dog waste on the piddle pads at MY place (he's 18, and blind, and deaf-- he gets to do what he wants). There must be a way to deliver it to the appropriate balcony below. (And you wonder what kind of brain writes science fiction....)
I can just picture you dripping it down daintily! Smoke bothers me too. One of the reasons I'm glad we traded our condo for a house in Arizona. Our neighbors both smoked on the balcony
Delete2 years and not unpacked? I would be completely starkers!
DeleteI have boxes not unpacked in my apartment, Ellen and it's been two years for me too. Plus I have a storage unit across town that is full. We will get it done, someday.
DeleteLast year it was John's turn, this year I guess wit as yours. So now your family can simply be healthy, I hope. This is so like you, Rhys, to turn what could be a sad, boring time into a way to reboot your energy. I'm so happy to hear that you're feeling much better.
ReplyDeleteWe see both the red foxes and grey foxes here in the Midwest. There is actually a hunt club here in Cincinnati, and it wouldn't surprise me to know there were more in Kentucky, especially around Lexington, with their overload of horse culture there.
As for rejuvenation, while I've not written a book lately I have just finished a massive project, our new home. I'm overdue for some much-needed time at the farm, where I stand a good chance of seeing many of the same sights as you've seen on the other side of the country: courting deer, quails, foxes, many birds, fog rolling over the hills. Plus stars, if it's clear.
A hunt club? I always used to take hunting for granted in England. Now I think about the poor fox
DeleteYes. It's an awful sport. I'm not sure they allow the dogs to kill the fox any more, though. It's just an excuse to ride fast and show off their fancy pinks.
DeleteRhys, You are an inspiration. How beautiful of you to take this seeming sit back and turn it you are an inspiration. How beautiful of you to take this seeming set back and turn it into a thing of beauty. You are the thing of beauty! Cannot wait to see you in Dallas…
ReplyDeleteI'm working my way back to full strength for Dallas. So looking forward to it
DeleteSitting still and relaxing sounds so good. It is still too warm and humid to sit outdoors. I relax by reading and fortunately that can be done anywhere.
ReplyDeleteVery glad you are on the mend, and had the wisdom to follow through with the medical suggestions.
ReplyDeleteWe all know the cliche "it's human being not human doing". When I was working I needed to post that thought near my computer. Meditation which includes sitting and watching/being helped me so much. Your relaxing and contemplating is so close to zen. You sound like a person who practices.
I clear my mind (besides sitting) by doing something opposite of reading -- usually housework. Which is why the house is frequently inhabited by dust bunnies and spiders.. Reading is always at the top of the list. Keep on regaining your health, you are loved and valued.
Thank you! I do feel blessed to have so many friends
DeleteSo glad you’re on the mend, Rhys! And WOW, Venice, that’s a novel I can’t wait to read.
ReplyDeleteI am very good at doing nothing, being a champion daydreamer, and I do nothing whenever I can.
But life is busy, so when I can’t do nothing, I still do yoga, which reminds me to breathe. And do nothing.
Sorry to hear about the health issues, Rhys. Glad you're on the mend.
ReplyDeleteSometimes all you really need is to sit still and observe the nature around you.
A friend likes to remind us both that "we are human beings, not human doings." Hard to put that into in-action sometimes! Thanks for the reminder, and glad to hear you're recovering so well.
ReplyDeleteRhys, wishing you a speedy recovery. I am so sorry about the skin cancer and hope that has been resolved. Glad that you are on the mend.
ReplyDeleteDid your area have a power shut off by the power company? We were warned that we would have a power shut off in our area.
When I am between books, I either binge watch streaming tv on my computer or clean up. It is really nice that you do not have to be anywhere and that you can relax.
Look forward to reading your next book set in Venice. It is my favorite city in Italy because there are NO cars!
Diana
We escaped the shut off but our daughter and family came to us for two days plus ice chests for our freezer as they had no power
DeleteRhys, I loved this post. So glad you are resting and feeling better! I'm actually very good at doing nothing. Too good, maybe:-) I love just sitting and watching nature. And people. And isn't it interesting that "doing nothing" allows our minds to disengage, then tap into creative energy? Two weeks to Dallas, so keep resting up!! xx
ReplyDeleteHuman Be-ing is a good transition from human do-ing once one gets past the "I should be . . . " mindset. Heal well, my friend, and brava for appreciating the time of reflection. <3
ReplyDeleteRhys, I'm so sorry you've had to deal with the health issues, and I'm glad you're on the downhill side of it. It sounds like you have a perfect place to just be, looking out at all that wonderous nature. I need a place like that. It's lovely to see the squirrels and the birds and the rabbits and such in my yard, but I really want the deer, too. Or, I'd love to take a vacation, just me, to somewhere that I could just be, either the mountains or the beach.
ReplyDeleteAnd, I'm like so many others here that go from one book right to the next in reading. Not often is there downtime. However, if I've read a book that quite dark, I might cleanse my palate by reading a lighter cozy with some much needed humor.
Clearing the mind between books -- for a writer, that's one thing, and one I know nothing of. For a reader, I just spend a day in the garden, I'm in Portland (OR) working or observing the inhabitants: Stellar Jays, Finches, Thrushes, Juncos, Robins, Northern Flickers, both red and grey squirrels, Rufus and Anna's Hummingbirds, Chipmunks and a Cooper's Hawk that visits every few weeks. Also Crows, which are ubiquitous. Even the occasional Coyote. So there's plenty to see, and we have to keep the birdbaths filled every day. Then too are the trees, shrubs and plants, which have turned or are in the process of it. Once I'm finished in my thoughts about the book I've just read, I spend time deciding on the next one to read, and by the next day or two off I go on that one.
ReplyDeleteRhys, this post was really lovely. Not too sure I could relax and recharge with such grace. I'm sending best wishes for you to feel great again soon, especially before your big conference in Dallas.
ReplyDeleteI look out at my garden every day of the year but am kind of glad that I don't have much to do in it until spring. This year I had so many bees, butterflies, birds, earthworms, etc. Thank goodness being in the city, we don't have deer. My garden gets enough damage from the squirrels!
ReplyDeleteI go from one book to another so no real breaks but I watch TV, too. And sometimes do housework.
California quail hold a special place in my heart. Granddad used to feed a flock back by his old warehouse when we were growing up. It was always a great treat to help him spread the feed around sunset. And deer coming up from the creek to eat apples from his old tree, a nice but a rare surprise.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your surgeries have gone well. If you have to be "still" around here, Fall is definitely a good season to be still in. I haven't seen foxes around Sonoma county but I have less rural beauty where I live. Unfortunately I've had more than my fair share of skunks and those nasty, arrogant turkeys. Keep taking it easy.