Monthly archive

November 2009

Monday, November 30, 2009

In which I contemplate retreat

I love the idea of retreat, don't you? Particularly at this time of year when there is so much to do, to be, to make. The notion of simply withdrawing and being small and still and quiet is alluring. Don't get me wrong, I am very much in the holiday spirit this year, but sometimes that carousel of activity whirls a bit too fast for me and I long to jump off. And that's when I start looking up convents online. I've always liked the idea of nuns, dating to when I saw an episode of "The Bionic Woman" where Jaime went undercover at a convent and wore a habit. (I LOVED the habit. The flowing, austere black and white--no wonder Coco Chanel claimed to have been forever shaped as a designer by her early years in an orphanage. Probably not true, but a good story, no?)

Anyway, that episode set me on a career path until my mother sat me down and explained that if I became a nun I couldn't wear makeup, couldn't have any boyfriend besides God, and that--perhaps more to the point--we weren't Catholic. So I gave up my dream of taking the veil, which let's be honest, was really just about the VEIL itself.(Why did those go out of fashion? Veils are CHIC.) But even though I turned my ambitions elsewhere, I still remembered the cool silence, the long polished hallways, the lack of chatter at meals, and decided that convents would still be an excellent place to go and enjoy a bit of repose.

I keep imagining a peaceful place with a quiet room, a stack of books, and no interruptions, perhaps with a bit of plainsong in the background. Of course, this is a hopelessly outdated and naive picture of convent life. I have since toured the convent where the nuns at my daughter's school live and it's nothing at ALL like I pictured. There are no floor-sweeping black habits or herb knot gardens or vows of silence, and it occurs to me that I might like a pedicure or massage during my retreat so a spa is really the best place for me. I wonder if I could find one that enforces silence and pipes in a nice bit of medieval chant?
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Saturday, November 28, 2009

In which I am merely a link in the chain

Reader Ali--well aware of my love for all things "Bohemian Rhapsody"--was kind enough to pass this along to me the other day. My favorite part? Pepe. You?
Friday, November 27, 2009

In which the holidays cometh

And in the interest of being merry, I bring you once more the opportunity to Elf Yourself.
Thursday, November 26, 2009

In which it is Thanksgiving in the States

Today is our national celebration of Good Stuff--a day to remember what we are most grateful for. This is actually one of the things that makes me proudest to be from this country, the fact that at some point in our history we got together and said, "We need to set aside a whole day to come together, count our blessings, and eat ourselves senseless while we root for our favorite college football teams." Well, maybe that's not quite how it came about, but you take my meaning.

Personally, I am full UP with things to be grateful for, most of which y'all already know about. I have a family that brings nothing but the great and good into my life; I have friends who are so devoted and loyal that if I ever confessed to murder, their collective response would be, "We've got shovels"; and I get to do what I love for people who are so kind and so gracious in their appreciation it quite regularly takes my breath away. Thank you, readers, for your generosity, your enthusiasm, and for loving my characters as much as I do. It is a pleasure to write for you.

Now, I will leave you with a few words about gratitude from folks who were far more eloquent than I.

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.~Buddha

You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.~G.K. Chesterton

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice.~Meister Eckhart
Wednesday, November 25, 2009

In which I find this peculiar

According to Yahoo News, just over 50% of us will be buying our pets Christmas presents, and apparently that's up from 49% last year. I have always bought my pet a Christmas gift, but I didn't realize that until this year I was in the minority. Don't get me wrong, I don't throw birthday parties for them or buy them clothing--seriously, pets dressed as people is one of my biggest peeves, unless you live in a climate that demands you take steps to protect your animal, and even then an argyle sweater is really pushing it. But I assumed most people shared the holiday with their pets by buying a new toy or a box of liver snaps or a new bed. (It occurs to me now that I have once or twice actually WRAPPED the present, which probably puts me on a whole new level of odd. We won't speak of it--just pretend you didn't read that and we'll move on.)

I was also interested in the bit about pets and holiday decorations. We are actually forgoing a proper tree this year because of Deacon. I'm a firm believer in not letting a pet rule your life, but honestly, chasing and wrestling down a 60-pound puppy who thinks your Christmas tree is just a really boss chew toy is not on my holiday agenda. Last week he happily carted around a four-foot long branch that--with a bit of tinsel and some twinkling lights--could have passed for a Christmas tree. I shudder to think what he would do with something the same width, twice the height, and loaded with fragile ornaments. Oh, the carnage! So, we are opting instead for evergreen garlands over the doorways for some proper Christmas scent and a tabletop tree to decorate, and hopefully by next year he will be a very nicely behaved 21-month old who will behave with decorum. At least that's my Christmas wish...

And speaking of Christmas, I received my first holiday card last week, and actually watched someone buy a live Christmas tree two days ago. It begins!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009

In which I am revising

And goodness me, isn't this a turnabout? I used to loathe revising. It made me ill to have to go back and revisit something I had already written. But from experience I've learned to love revising. It's like the girl you met in school and were totally prepared to hate until you discovered you had eleventy million things in common and became BFFs. Revising is now my BFF. That doesn't mean I still don't have to talk myself down off the ledge every time I start, but it does mean I have come to appreciate how much SIMPLER it is to deliver a good scene when you have the bones in place and just have to tweak it as opposed to building a rocket ship from parts every time. And it's tremendously fulfilling to take the raw scene and shape it into something wonderful--it's like birth, only without the good drugs and messy bits.

Anyway, I am in the pleasant creative fog of revisions at present, and in my down time I'm baking, making holiday plans, and watching "Clatterford". I don't know how I didn't even realize this show existed, but it combines two of my favorite things, Britcoms and a Women's Institute type of organization called the Ladies' Guild. (I deeply lament the fact that I don't live in England for loads of reasons and the WI is one of them. I follow them on Twitter, and I have to say, it gave me NO END of delirium to find that a branch of the WI is following me back.)

The series chronicles the lives of the guild members, and a wonderfully dysfunctional group it is. If you are a fan of BBCAmerica, you will probably spend the first episode pointing at the television, hollering, "I know her!" because the cast is superb--Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, and a host of fabulously talented women. (I did sound as if I had some sort of neurological disorder because I kept calling out, "It's Father Ted's housekeeper!" "I know that guy--he ran off with Bridget Jones' mother!" "And there's Bridget's friend Shazzer!" Be warned.) And it is no spoiler to tell you that my absolute favorite bit is the shot of the pew cozies in the church.

If you have a favorite Britcom I might have missed, do holler!
Monday, November 23, 2009

In which I might have a new life philosophy

Recently I ran across a quote: "I live like I'm always on vacation." Now, the woman quoted was being profiled in a fashion magazine so the piece turned to how she dresses, but I admit I am far more interested in how she lives. I started pondering how I would live if I were always on vacation, and the picture is a seductive one.

1. I wouldn't sweat the small stuff. In my day-to-day life, the details are what bog me down. On vacations, I move airily through the slowdowns, the breakdowns, the little annoyances because I am on vacation, and to loose my poise would threaten the entire trip, a trip for which I have spent lots of money and raised lots of hope. Mindful of the cost to both my wallet and my peace of mind, I let the little things go and put on a happy face when I have to deal with glitches.

2. I would be nicer. Because I'm on vacation, I'm conscious of being less stressed, and in turn, I'm nicer to everybody, including myself. I release my perfectionism and go with the flow more.

3. I would read more for pleasure. I never take work on a vacation with me, aside from the tiny flash drive that contains my last four novels. And that's just a safety precaution; I never actually get it near a computer because I stay far, far away from computers when I'm on vacation and I never travel with a laptop. So vacations are my one opportunity to fill my bags with a combination of books I have loved and books I expect to love. (Somehow the Kindle hasn't changed this at all. Because I had the Kindle battery die on me quite unexpectedly once, I always take a stack of books, usually cozy English mysteries.)

4. I would take more chances. When I travel, I often adopt a more devil-may-care attitude about things. I try new foods, I ignore the voice that natters on in the back of my mind trying to keep me safe and sedate. (You know the voice. She sounds like a prim little spinster and harps at you about eating your vegetables and getting your eight and a half hours of sleep every night.)

5. I would take more pictures. Well, alright, I don't actually take pictures on vacation, but my husband does, and therefore vacations are documented. Everyday life should be documented too, slices of reality preserved in aspic. I have gotten better about this since I bought an iphone, but I could improve.

6. I would check my email, Twitter, and Facebook accounts less. On vacation I am completely focused on my family. I do not check my various social media accounts, nor do I attend to email. My family is my priority and my pleasure during vacations.

And I wonder, how would you live differently if you lived your life as if you were always on vacation?
Sunday, November 22, 2009

In which you should never feed pigeons

Like EVER.
Saturday, November 21, 2009

In which I have never been to Italy

but now I really, really must go. Not simply because of the art, the history, the culture, the cuisine. Because of the giant snails.

On a completely unrelated note, today is my daughter's fifteenth birthday, and I can't imagine a more fabulous 15-year old. Happy birthday, sweetheart! Being your mom is the best thing I've ever done.
Friday, November 20, 2009

In which you should always observe the signs





To wit: these two signs that I noticed when I was last in DC at the National Museum of Natural History. (I am devoted to the natural history museums in DC and in New York. I don't know why, precisely. I am not particularly scientific of mind. But they are enchanting and appeal strongly to my inner child who thinks everyone should own a vivarium.)