Maybe it's because spring is near ...

We're on the lookout for a puppy. Hamish the labradoodle has been such a delight that we're ready to have another one. But a poodle this time.

It feels a bit like choosing to have a second child. Except of course we'll keep reminding ourselves that this is not a child but a dog... and how difficult that is when they are a tiny ball of fluff.

There are other obvious differences between choosing to have a child and a puppy but no need to state the obvious.

Speaking of which I was once given the Basil Fawlty award for stating the bleeding obvious when I worked for a big college that will remain nameless. Not one of my finer moments ....

Tis the season to be tired ...

I'm tired and have a strong desire to hibernate. Almost everyone I know says the same thing. I think this season of jollity evolved as a way of getting working people through the dark winter months. Sadly we've turned it into something else. But I won't do the usual rant about consumerism and debt. It's all been said before.

I'll just say that I'm seriously considering ways of doing it differently ... watch this space next year.

When is enough enough?

It's one of life's universal truths that most of us spend what we earn. Our spending just floats upwards to meet our income when we are doing well and somehow it mostly manages to reduce when we're earning less. When my kids were little and we were on a low income I used to budget very very carefully. It was hard and sometimes worrying but we were well fed and properly dressed.

Now we have stuff - loads and loads of stuff.

I feel an increasing urge to simplify.

I wonder if I can do it.

Back to reality

We have just returned from a week in the Taize community in Burgundy, France.

Coming home is a bit of a culture shock.

Living in the community means accepting a very simple life. Prayers, which consist of a few simple words said in a range of languages, the classic Taize chants and a lengthy period of silence punctuate the day at 8.30 a.m., Noon and 8.30 p.m.

Simple meals are also served three times a day and are perhaps a little reminiscent of meals in prison. You stand in line and are given a tray, two plastic bowls (one for food and one for drink) and a spoon. A nourishing but basic meal is served to you by other pilgrims and you eat it sitting on benches or folding chairs in the company of hundreds of other pilgrims. There is a steady hum of conversation in a number of different languages punctuated by bursts of laughter.

Perhaps the analogy with meals served in prison is inappropriate as the overwhelming sense everywhere in Taize is peace and freedom. No-one demands that you do anything. On arrival you agree to do about half an hour's work each day and then you are free to simply go with the daily flow of life in the community.

This must be my ninth visit and I've yet to hear anyone in the community insist on anything. It all seems to work in a spirit of co-operation and mutual respect.

But now I'm home and faced with all the complexities of normal daily life.

It took me more than an hour this morning to attempt to organise my diary for the next six weeks and I failed because I'm dependent on other people organising theirs.

It all leaves me with some serious questions about what is really important in life.

Priscilla

Wow! Priscilla Queen of the Desert was wonderful.

It had just about everything you could hope for in a show:

• great music
• fabulous costumes
• laughter and tears (mostly tears of laughter)
• camp as all get out
• a message

I defy anyone to watch that show and not be glad to be gay - whatever that might mean for you.

Too much of a good thing

I've been thinking how thin the line is between good things and too many good things.

We've just been away to Yorkshire with family and it was great. We're going tomorrow to London for the weekend and it will be great. But the two are too close together so it feels not so great.

It's a bit like a lovely meal. I've started to think that I would enjoy a special meal better if I could have the main course one day and the dessert a few days later.

Same idea.

We need the familiar routine of work and home with special treats spread judiciously across the year. However we're planning to enjoy London and Priscilla Queen of the Desert (the show).

And we'll soon be back to normal. Whatever that is ...

Keep writing

If you want to earn your living, or even part of your living as a writer here's what you need to know:

1. Accept that you write what other people want. Most of us can't make money only writing what we feel like writing. We depend on commissions. Some of them are boring.
2. Self starting and self monitoring are essential skills. If you can't work from home and actually get stuff done on time you probably won't make it as a writer.
3. Meet your deadlines and people come back to you - as long as the work is good of course.
4. Be warm, approachable and honest with your clients. They like you for it and ... they come back.
5. If you really love writing do some for fun. Start that novel; write articles for magazines that pay peanuts; jot down your thoughts and observations in a note book. Who knows, one day you might be the kind of writer who writes what you really want to write. That's until the editor gets hold of it of course.