A Five Year Sentence!

[veggiechicken]

"A Five Year Sentence" is a novel about a woman who is about to retire from her job. She has no friends, no experience of the world, particularly men, and she decides that life will not be worth living when she retires - so intends to end her life that evening.
However, at her retirement do, she is given a 5 year diary and realises that she is now compelled to live another 5 years to complete the diary.

The point of this is, I also have a 5 year diary, one of those where you write a sentence a day - or as much as you can fit into 4 lines! I started writing in it in 2014 and didn't manage to get to February that year. Now, even if I managed to write in it every day, 4 lines wouldn't be enough to list all the seeds I sow some days, so I'd have to be selective - just record a flavour of the day, a happy moment maybe, something that made me smile.

My question is, does anyone keep one of these "Line a day" Diaries and what sort of things do you write? I have 2 days to decide whether to start it again!!

[PotteringAtPlot12]

I always get diaries with the intention of keeping up to them then, like you, they're left to gather dust after a month or so! Could you keep it as something to record any important events, inspirations, musings & happy memories as & when they happen rather than having the pressure of writing something in there everyday?

[MyWifesBrassicas]

I've never had a diary, I know I'd never complete it, or start it.
Now if I called it a scientific journal, that's a different story

[piskieinboots]

I've not heard of the 'line a day' but I do write every day. I started a good few years back after reading about the Morning Pages in The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron. I do love a good stationery stash.

I now need to source a Line a Day book quickly!

[piskieinboots]

Just found this:
Buy Used
£6.98
+ £2.80 delivery
Used: Good | Details

Used!

[Bren In Pots]

I've never had a diary either, the closest thing I have is my the loose leaf binder I jot down what I've sown, planted and what bed its in. I know I'd soon lose interest in anything more than that.

VC you could do a one line with the favourite thing you've eaten that day out of your garden.

[Babru]

Just found this:
Buy Used
£6.98
+ £2.80 delivery
Used: Good | Details

Used!

I think it just means it's not new....I'd be a bit peeved if it had someone else's daily doings already written in it!

I bought a 'used' RHS garden planner and I was relieved to find it was pristine

[Guest]

I am rubbish at diary's but I quite like the idea of one line a day - find that happy/ noteworthy thing

Edit: I bought a 'used' RHS diary and it had an inscription/dedication but that was it.

[veggiechicken]

Mine's a cheap one - a bit like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009L1Y5FK/ref=dp_cerb_2
You write the year in but the dates are the same throughout (what a surprise!)

[piskieinboots]

I think it just means it's not new....I'd be a bit peeved if it had someone else's daily doings already written in it!

Possibly not. Someone has left feedback with a picture showing previous writings

[veggiechicken]

I've had a couple of "used" diaries from charity shops and they are immensely cheering! It proves that other people are as weak as I am at filling in diaries.

https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...ers_99927.html

[greenishfing]

I really wish I had kept diaries when I was younger as I can no longer really trust my memory, but I never got to the end of January. (Either life was so humdrum and boring I had nothing interesting to write or it was exciting and I had no time to write about it or I was worried someone else might read it.)

[nickdub]

My sister-in-law kept a diary which she updated daily over about 30 years of her life. When she died about 2 years ago in her 80's her daughters had a look through for interesting bits to use in the commemoration service and as family mementoes. Each entry turned out to be a weather report followed by what the main meal of the day was which she had cooked, plus if details of whatever the family members will ill with at the time etc - possibly the odd bit about a church service or the WI

So the day of the Apollo moon landing went something like "quite pleasant weather, made steak and kidney pie for tea, think S____ may be coming down with chicken pox"

I think the diaries all ended up in the recycling.

[veggiechicken]

17 Month undated Organiser

It probably won't surprise you to hear that I never did start my 5 Year Sentence. I thought about it, especially on Jan 1st. I really did want to write something but the most exciting thing that happened that day was one of the chooks laid an egg. Yes, that's how exciting my life is.

Today, in Morries, I spotted a "17 Month Undated Organiser" with a shiny cover covered in unicorns and the words "Something magical". Its spiral bound, with an elastic strap to keep it closed and lots of pages. Better still, it was reduced to £1.

I'm going to use it for gardening records, somehow, but I'm puzzled about when to start it Do I back date it to January 1st, or start this week, or wait 'til March 1st. Even more puzzling is..........why 17 Months???

Any suggestions (keep it clean!).

[Chestnut]

That’s easy. It’s an ideal retirement gift for teachers and academics, to allow them to move from ‘academic year’ (Aug-Aug) diaries to normal ones (Jan-Jan) without wasting half a diary ;-)