08/27/2008
We associate with the rich and famous. Our dear friend, David Wittrock (on the right side of the table behind Peg and Onnette--it's terrible how we blocked the face of the rich and famous!), is now the Morning Edition Host of Monterey's NPR Station KAZU.
You can click on the link above to listen live. The girls and I did this morning and enjoyed hearing Dave's voice from clear cross-country.
|
08/27/2008
I was listening to an interview between several UK writers on NPR on my drive from San Jose to Monterey, including Kate Mosse, writer of Labyrinth and Sepulchre (neither of which have I read).
One thing she said about writing and writers stuck with me. She suggested that how a writer develops a story speaks greatly about who they are. Some authors focus on characterization; others on the action and plot.
I pondered this on my drive and extended the idea to include those who focus primarily on a genre like fantasy or adventure and also those who focus on the thoughts and ideas of the characters most of all.
Deirdre dwells in the attributes of her characters. She is working on developing plots to take her characters on but the characters exist first.
I like to develop the thoughts and depths and ideas of writing. My job of the decade is to take these thoughts and ideas and embody them into a character.
I enjoyed thinking about the kinds of writers we are. Which, of course, makes sense as it is another disembodied thought/idea.
|
08/27/2008
My current favorite quote from the Book of Common Prayer is, "Deliver us from the presumption of coming to this Table for solace only, and not for strength; for pardon only and not for renewal. Let the Grace of this Holy Communion make us one body, one spirit in Christ that we may worthily serve the world in His name."
The trouble is that it is in Eucharistic Prayer C which is the one that I, in general, like least what with its great Star Trek Galactic space references.... so I forget where to find it. Now I have it documented. Page 372
|
08/27/2008
We interrupt this attempt to catch-up pictures on the blog to recommend The Woman Who is Always Tan and Has a Flat Stomach: and Other Annoying People by Lauren Allison and Lisa Perry.
I regret that this book of vignettes does not go anywhere beyond 2-3 page descriptions of people who would annoy anyone but themselves. Initially, I desired a plot, some connections, a bit of denouement. But really, it's like sitting next to some good coffee shop gossip without having to strain to hear them.
Plus, I met so many people I know caricatured within the pages. And I suspect some of you would meet caricatures of me.
Chapters include:
The Perfect Brownie Leader Who Uses Global Positioning Satellites on the Camping Trip to E-mail Photos to the Parents
The Nutrition Mom Who Needs to Be Resuscitated After Finding Out You Feed Her Child a Hot Dog
The Mom Who Made a Scrapbook So Large She Could Only Get It Downstairs by Hiring Professional Piano Movers
The Woman Who Can Plant 145 Petunias Without Referring to Them as "Those Little Bastards" by the Time She is Finished
The Conspiracy Among Men to Be Annoying Just Before You Have Company
The Mom Who Breaks Down and Confesses, "It's Just Like Drugs, But It's Yarn"
The Husband Who Has a Cold but Believes It's Malaria
The Mom Who Throws a Cinderella Birthday Party for Her Daughter by Installing a Drawbridge to the Front Door and Digging a Moat Around the House
|
08/27/2008
I love this picture. Rich and Tony have been best friends for 22 years. In that time, they have seen good times and hard times together. When they chips were down with women, family, work, school, these two men have always "had each other's back". I have never seen a single time when they have not been there for each other. The world may have given up on them but they did not give up on each other.
Rich and I have been together for 22 years as well. We all met in the spring before our freshman year at a college scholarship weekend. And while there is now nothing that could come between our commitment to each other, in our dating years it was not always that way. Sometimes we lacked a shared vision (I wanted to save the world one whale at a time, he wanted to save it one covert op at a time); sometimes our family was not too sure that we were a good fit (see lack of shared vision for one reason why they might have thought that). So we dated a while and then imploded a while and continued that through much of college. And then the summer of our Junior year we broke-up "for good" and went our own ways... for about 9 months until this time we finally got it together and started taking seriously this lifetime journey together.
Through all that time, Tony always supported Rich. He was always good to me as well. He is a good, loving, anchored man. I love this picture because it shows physically what I have seen emotionally for 22 years: trust in each other even in hard, vulnerable or scary times.
|
08/27/2008
Here's Christian and Patty at the crab boil.
I love how much I love Tony and Patty and their family. Every time we visit, we feel relaxed and comfortable. As close to at home as I feel away from home. There is a short list of people I try to model when it comes to hospitality and Patty is right there at the top of my short list. She thinks before we come and tries to come up with ideas of what we might like to do. She often cooks days ahead and has things frozen to cut down on stovetop prep time when we are all visiting. Yet, she remains so flexible when our needs require something different or someone has a spontaneous idea.
I admire Patty. It would be easy to admire her hospitality and be intimidated by it but it is so much a part of who she is that I don't feel catered to, I feel comforted and welcomed.
|
Back in Lafayette, Tony and Patty took us out to Richard's (that's a good Cajun Reeshard) Seafood Restaurant for a crab boil. All the girls initially were disgusted. When the crabs arrived, Aine cried because they looked so SCARY. I had to walk her around the restaurant in my arms showing her other people's plates of crabs and crawfish to get her used to the sight. The kind diners were alternately amused and delighted and in every case very warm to us.
I never learned how to peel a crab until this visit. That was what boyfriends were for back in high school. Today I was determined to become the liberated peel-her-own southern girl. So the teenage daughter of a friend who went out with us taught me the ins and outs of cracking and peeling.
The girls tried the crabmeat I peeled and liked it. Rhiannon decided to learn how to peel a crab pretty early on. She's good at it. Rhiannon, like me, learned that when we do things, they quickly become less gross than when we sit on the outside watching others do it.
Deirdre was unsure about the whole thing. I took several pictures of the girls big eyes and tight, disapproving lips. But then I saw a moment when disgust cleared for a moment and curiosity set in. I jumped at the moment. I told her today was the day she was going to learn to peel crabs. She winced. And then I prodded her and said that our family would not tolerate people living their whole life not knowing how to peel crabs (I had learned that day). She took the opportunity to learn a skill 27 years ahead of me and quickly mastered the skill as well.
When we got to Norfolk and found a homeschool co-op with an offering for Biology with dissections Deirdre initially shied away from it. Then, I saw that same shift in her expression from horror to curious and she said, "OK. I want to take that class. And if there are dissections, I will do them and learn from them."
|
08/27/2008
It's no live podcast but I am using my time flying cross-country today to update the blog!
(note: except that in the end, I did not have a connection so I am only now updating.)
First of all, why am I jet-setting?
Because our sweet kitty, Winter, is back in California waiting for us to find a home and get it set up so that she can join us in Virginia.
And this morning's thoughts on jet-setting from someone who has some flying and heights phobias: flying is not stressful, mothering is stressful. As I was checking in with TSA, laying down my electronics and my ½ ounce of liquid Bach's Rescue Remedy, lining up my shoes in a bin and going through security, I realized that this is not frightening. In fact, it is a liturgy that now that we have set it up and put it into motion has a rhythm and some comfort to it. It helps that I am flying out of a small airport with military and business passengers primarily (those who know the order of this liturgy and mostly follow it).
Mothering on the other hand has no similar liturgy. Or it does but the participants are less compliant than my co-travelers this morning. Kids break the liturgy all the time: they get sick without permission, they pull things down that clearly must be on a checklist somewhere for that which must not be pulled down, they think their own thoughts, have their opinions and the drummer they dance to is not always the one playing in my head.
Yet, mothering is my calling and my love. No wonder I feel stressed sometimes!
Still a quiet air terminal at 5AM with one very light bag as my only physical baggage is presenting great calm to me in contrast to the swells and waves of daily mothering.
|
08/27/2008
Winter is getting used to her new home and I think she likes it.
My weekend in California was great. I saw many of my old friends and had many quality conversations. Best of all since my mouth was running the whole time, I did not overeat but got to eat at some wonderful restaurants.
I worried that Winter was going to be furious with us for leaving her for so long. Or for leaving her in a setting where she was surrounded by other animals the whole time. I was shocked to return to see her in her kennel space surrounded by other cats but just as relaxed as she could be. She was VERY happy to see me and spent our night at Dick and Cynthia's practically on my chest purring loudly. She was a good passenger yesterday for which I am entirely grateful.
|
08/26/2008
When exactly on a 7 hour flight cross-country, when one has arrived diligently 2 hours ahead to ensure one has time to get through security with a cat, does one drug said cat to make them stop mewing when one has exactly one dose of sedative for her?
She's not horribly distressed right now but I wonder that now is smart when I can actually extract her to stuff the pill in.
On the other hand if in Dallas when we extended layover she gets terribly loud, I will have no drug left to give her.
Going to google the half life of kitty-sedatives...
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
I decided the time is. Now.
|
