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I don't where the last month and a bit went. Actually, I kind of do. Christmas happened and, as anyone with responsibilties knows, this is the time of year when it doesn't matter what you do, nothing is ever as ready as you would like it to be.

I must also admit that my other blog, the aspie-girl one, took over somewhat. It's a more complicated beast than this one, full of deep thought and some sillies too. With everything esle that happened, that blog won in the attention stakes and this one went into hibernation.

I've done very little writing over Christmas too, something which has brought out the grumpies. But, while I was doing some very reluctant de-cluttering, I found a full course programme for a creative writing business-related course, as well as a set of new exercises for workshops, so that was a bonus. I had already been thinking of doing some more creative writing workshops and finding those was the spur I needed.

So, on top of what I normally do (or try to do!), I'll also be running new creative writing classes and workshops. I'm also doing talks and discussions on aspergers, based around the other blog. Hmm, does this sound busy to you or is it just me??

Anyway, this is the last day before the teens go back to college and we're down to the last of the biscuits too. I'm not feeling very happy about the end of the holidays but there are lots of new things on the horizon, so I should stop with the grumps (and the biscuits) and go do something useful instead.

Happy New Year everyone!

BFN

Oh dear, I do love winter but wish I was more organised so I could enjoy it properly! I like cold, crisp days but don't like realising I haven't washed my trousers and end up having to choose between a skirt or cropped jeans. I look like a well-wrapped wombat in the cropped jeans, with my little legs stuck out the bottom, then my fluffy winter boots on the end. I know I like to cheer people up, but not just by walking along the street! 

So, not having suitable clothing or even a winter coat in the car, we decided to go to Muncaster for the afternoon - cue snow on the hills, a cold wind and very, very cold little legs in the cropped jeans. Luckily, there was tea and cake to be had in their cafe and despite other customers leaving the door open half the time, we did manage to thaw out and have a nice time there. The door situation was resolved once IT teen got up to close it for the third time and did so with feeling (nothing like a teen for closing a door with feeling). No one left it open after that. 

We had a short wander in the grounds, not going too far as my fluffy boots threatened to sink into the grass, then wandered home again. Not the height of excitement but it removed me from the guilt and grump of not being able to write the next chapter of The Ghost Killer while building work goes on next door. I'm hoping to carry on with that later tonight. I've reached the end of the first third of the book and need to see where we're going from here.

The aspergers blog is taking time every day and has become a creature in its own right. Sooner or later I'm going to have to see if the blog posts I've done so far can be turned into a sensible type of book, as they cover so much ground that I may have to split them up into two books!

So, it's all very creative at the moment, which means I'm still not sleeping well! Frustrating as I seem to carry on creating after my eyes are closed, then wake up a few times a night to mull it all over. Perhaps I should just turn into a cyclic sleeper and have a nap every few hours, then write in between? How would that work, I wonder?

No, on second thoughts, I don't want to write The Ghost Killer in the middle of the night. Some of the things in there are taken from real life experiences and the last thing I want to do is sit there, in the gloom of my bedroom, the computer screen the only light as I re-live some of the most eery moments of my life.

I'll stick to writing it in the light of day, or at least at a time when other people are about and I don't have to worry about the creak behind the door.

Keep your eyes peeled, as I'm quite close to posting the preview chapter on here. Once I'm halfway through, up it goes!

BFN! 

Okay, so I sat down yesterday and decided I wanted to write something new. I have about three books on the boil at the moment and just wanted to put them all to one side and try something else.

Within the hour, I had written the first chapter of a new book, which sprang to life as I went along. The working title is 'The Ghost Killer'. It's turning into a creepy tale which will probably be the first of a series. The hero is fully-formed, as are his friends and cohorts, which is great to start with. So much better when they come to you as living, breathing things - or not, in the case of some in this book!

I'm looking forward to helping the rest of the story out and into the world, but it is delaying all the other jobs I have to do. Putting aside silly things like eating and feeding everyone else who needs to eat, I also have to write this blog and the Crazy Girl blog too. The aspergers blog was delayed by sunshine and socialising yesterday, then today, having written four chapters of the new book, the blog came out in story form too! A nice change and really good fun.

So, tomorrow the trick is to carry on in the same vein without forgetting to eat, feed the cats, let dogs out for tiddles, pick up boys from college and the other thing I'm sure I was meant to do tomorrow but have completely forgotten. I hope it doesn't come to me in 24 hours, when it's too late.

Add to all that, the insomnia kicked in last night. It hasn't shown its face for a long time, but if I'm writing something I'm very attached to, I either sleep and have terrfying dreams, or I don't sleep. We'll see what happens tonight. Given the subject matter of the new book, insomnia may be preferable, just this once.

I have to admit, despite forgetting to have lunch and almost not doing tea either, I did manage to rediscover the bar of chocolate in the freezer. It's surprising how that doesn't get left behind for very long. It must be the cosmic make up of sugary foods. The universe can only brush past them so often before they give off a quantum glow and either must be eaten or duplicate their existence across all the universes.

I helped out there, so no danger of a universal flux coming from my fridge anytime soon.

BFN!

It's one of those mornings when it still feels like morning in mid-afternoon. It's still only 11.50am but I just know I'm not going to liven up.

I blame my ability to feel awake after 4 hours sleep. Obviously, if I got up then, I'd be good for nothing later on but when I'm lying there, thinking about breakfast, Christmas, younger son's project (don't mention it) and whatever else comes into my head, I feel awake enough to last all day.

It does remind me of how I used to feel when the aforementioned son was small. He needed very little sleep and was extraordinarily cheerful in the middle of the night. It's very hard to try any of these much-vaunted sleeping routines if the child isn't crying or causing a fuss. He just used to wake up and giggle and talk to himself. Loud enough to wake me up but not being naughty.

It got to the point that, if it was a really bad night and we were going to get less than 5 hours sleep, I would dismantle his cot and take the whole thing downstairs to the living room. There it would be regrouped, complete with giggling child, in the corner of the living room furthest from my bedroom. That way he could giggle away to himself and not disturb anybody.

In the morning, I'd come down to this happy child who was still cheerful after being awake half the night. It was never helped by his brother sleeping the full night and waking up at 6am.

One morning I got a real shock, though. I came downstairs to discover happy child + cot in the living room and I had no memory of bringing him down. Wow. That was scary. It was terrifying, in fact, to think I could have dismantled the whole thing (it was big, old, heavy and a beggar to take to pieces) and brought it down without remembering in the morning.

No harm done as child and me were both still in one piece, but it's amazing what you can do on auto-pilot, and also what the human brain needs in terms of sleep for you not to turn into the living dead.

So, these days when I get too little sleep, I always compare it to the average of 6 hours I managed when smaller son was tiny. Then, those 6 hours were only a total compiled of an hour here, an hour and a half there. I very rarely had the full 6 all together.

When I'm tired now, after 'only' 6 hours sleep, I remind myself that I haven't been up in the night, moving a cot or settling a sweet-natured child, I've only been lying awake in my bed, feeling grumpy about it.

Of course it's all relative. I was younger then and had more energy to put into sleep-deprivation. I tell you, though, if I become one of those old women who only need 4 hours sleep, I shall go round to younger son's house and wake him every other hour some nights, just to keep myself alert and entertained.

I think that's only fair, don't you?

BFN!

PS As younger son won't want me to post a picture of him on this blog, I'm including one of his recent pony pictures instead!