Took walks. Saturday we got really wet, but we walked. Sunday the sun was shining. Ahhh. Took two walks on Sunday.

Watched movies. Casino Royale, which is now my favorite Bond movie, ever, and Daniel Craig is my new favorite Bond. And Bedazzled, because I love the tone, the humor, the message, the over-the-top look at the nature of “evil”. And hey, do you need a reason to watch Brandon Frasier?

Baked cookies. Chocolate chip. Yum.

Read through Lawrence Block’s writing books, which reminded me that when you grind to a halt, it’s usually because deep down you know there’s a problem. That “halt” signal is there to save you time and effort in rewriting.

Read Seven Steps on the Writer’s Path, which reminded me that feeling rotten is a stage in the creative process. No, really. If you’re content, you don’t want to change anything. A desire for something different will propel you forward. (I call this “divine discontent.”) I also saw that I’m not where I thought I was in the process, but that’s okay.

Played with kids. Read to kids. We’d taken them to the library on Friday so the toddler has new books to read. Enjoyed talking to kids and picking up the baby every time she held up her arms and said, “hold you” (which she says instead of “hold me”) because a year from now, she won’t do that anymore and we’ll miss it.

Rooted for the husband, who had a CounterStrike match. Yes, the husband is a gamer and his server is going pro. They started scrimming, then having actual ladder matches. The team who challenged them for last night forfeited, then they scrimmed with another team they’ll have to play for real soon and won.

I haven’t deliberately taken time off in, um, I don’t know how long. I’ve had involuntary non-writing days, but they weren’t planned or chosen. This was a deliberate rest break because a. my project wasn’t moving forward and b. it looked like gibberish every time I opened the file, which told me my mind needed a rest. So I gave it one, and it was the right decision.

I did the math and this book will be done by deadline if I continue my daily minimum set for the year of 5 pages a day. So if I don’t manage to Fast Draft it and get it done early, it’s not a big deal. It just won’t be done early. I’m staying with Fast Draft because I think now that I’ve identified the problem and taken a rest, I’ll shoot forward again. But it takes the pressure off to know if I just plod along I’ll be fine. I don’t have to push. (5 pages a day may not seem like plodding, but everybody has their own pace.)

And now that the rain’s stopped, the rivers are going back down and the water has drained away from our yard and we can walk outside without wading. Life is good. I’m ready for Monday now.