3 Books and a Poem

Being the teacher's daughter, I enjoy these little 'assignments'. Perhaps I like that it focuses my attention on 'favorites', 'passions', or whatever it may be. I think I like the chance to define myself more clearly. And I like remembering what makes me 'tick'. Those details can get lost in the laundry list of day to day life, and it's fun for me to reexamine something I enjoy, or have enjoyed at one point. And, us Virgos do enjoy making lists. I think my Virgo-ness presents itself in these sorts of lists.
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The first book that really enthralled and excited me was Africa Solo by Kevin Kertscher. It's a travel memoir, set in the early 90's, about a man that hitchhikes across Africa. From Morocco to Kenya. I first read it when I was 13. My parents were out of town, so I blared the African music on the speakers, and read this book about a person taking a wonderful leap of faith. The book struck me. It made me realize that anything really is possible, even on limited funds. Granted hitchhiking across Africa doesn't exactly sound appealing now, but at 13, it sounded like the ultimate adventure...and still kind of does. It opened my eyes to this big, beautiful world we live in. And that people, everywhere, are essentially the same. Also, the same year I read this book, I hunted down the author and sent him a letter describing how much his book meant to me; and come 2 days before Christmas that year, he replied to my letter. A lovely handwritten response to my young idealism. He encouraged my love of Africa, and all her hidden treasures. His letter is still one of my most cherished possessions. I've included my favorite excerpt from one of his first nights camping in the middle of the Sahara.

"Outside, a blanket of stars swept above my head. Some blended together into clouds of light, while others loomed so large and so bright that they seemed within reach. I felt I might be able to grab a handful to hold in my pocket, and at the same time, I felt as tiny as the grains of sand around me. I was far away from the crowded cities. With sand around me. With the cover of my tent off so that I could see the sky through the screened roof, I lay down to think, nestled in my warm sleeping bag and enveloped in an infinite cradle of sand and stars."
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The second book to top my list is A Movable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. For those of us rich with idealism (I've got it bad), I think this book sums up the traveler/writer/poet/cafe sitter lifestyle. For those of us that loved our 'blankies' as kids, this book is about as 'blankie' as a book can get for me. Other Hemingway books I really don't regard with much ooh and ahh, but this work, seems to go within his soul, and capture the true human being. I think the 'blankie' analogy pretty much sums up why I love this book...it just makes me feel good, really good. So, naturally, here's one of my favorite excerpts.

"You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you died each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintery light. But you knew there would always be the spring, as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen. When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person died for no reason."
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The third, and final book I will include in my 'favorites' is The Devil's Picnic by Taras Grescoe.
An incredibly witty and educated look in to the world of 'forbidden' foods. Be it poppy seeds in Singapore, Epoisses cheese in the metros of Paris, or Pentobarbital Sodium in Switzerland. It's a fascinating look into the simple but intricate cultures around the world, and the hypocrisies. Viewed through the eyes of a cynical, sarcastic, Canadian, foodie (my kind of person :) ), Taras gives incredibly interesting factoids pertaining to each forbidden item. I actually felt after walking away from this book, enlightened. And wanting to know more. What other seemingly 'wrong' and 'not dones' are actually just that way, because the majority of the world want you to view it so, or they themselves think so. This book also brought to the forefront of my mind how sanitized our world has become...and in many cases that is not such a good thing (to know more check out Guns, Germs, and Steel). But in the overall, it was just refreshing to see the world through the eyes of an enlightened human being, and someone that doesn't just 'eat' what the system has to feed him.
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And the poem bit... The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes. A beautiful poem that jumps of the tongue in lyrical prose. I always find myself reading it with a Scottish accent. It again, is a 'blankie' of a poem for me. Comforting and lovely. Granted, it's haunting and eerie, but also poignant.

I've also included a small bit from my favorite E.E. Cummings poem. Happy reading!

"here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)"

...and then there are the "others".

Hi guys...Gals... Maggie was here over the last couple of days and we got to talking about another fun "assignment" for the bookclub women. Remember, I am the old (as in used to be) teacher and it is my forte to think up little assignments for everyone! If you are busy, don't feel like you have to do any of these nutty things. But.... what about this???

Select your 3-5 favorite books that had an impact on your life. It might be just that they entertained you tremendously. It might be that they changed the way you look at a part of life. They may have given you a skill, or an idea for a career.... whatever. List your picks and write a little (3 sentences) jot about each one.

I think it will be really fun to read everyone's. Hope you guys have a good time doing it too. Linda

P.S. January l5 is already next week. I think it's fair to write comments about Suite Francais anytime after next Thursday! Onward and upward troops!

New Year...New Outlook

I am about halfway through Sweet Francais, and thought I would comment on The Sharper Your Knife now that I am finished with it. It was a fast read, and although I thought it was good, there was nothing great about it. I wasn't compelled to pick it up. In my opinion, it read more like a journal, and I would have liked to have seen more on her interpersonal relationships...something to keep the story interesting. I did like hearing her account of what went on at the school, it brought me back to my many years working in restaurants, and I could really relate to some of the interactions with dishwashers, chefs, assistants, etc., so that gave me a chuckle :) I would love to someday see the dogs with their owners in restaurants also! Too bad we have too many health regulations in the US :) As I appreciate her career change, I was baffled at her real reason on wanting to attend LCB as she never did become a chef; I would have liked to have seen more development in that area. Maybe it was simply her love her cooking, or maybe it was a badge to wear. I do, however, understand now how she was able to financially achieve her lifetime goal, after visiting her website I found out she was not selling puppets :), but was, in fact, the head of editorial for Microsoft in London. Now I get it. I enjoyed reading her description of Rungis, the giant food market, even if it was a little heartwrenching to picture the animals hanging upside down with heads still attached (poor guys). My favorite part was when her sister Sandy is visiting her and gets to the steps of Sarbonne.

"This was the life that could have been Sandy's. But if it had been, would be she be a different person? Would she have her daughter, or her happy twenty-five-year marriage? Where would she be now? 'Mama, what are you thinking?' asks Sarah. Sandy thinks for a moment. 'Maybe you can go here one day' is all she says. With that, we turn and leave the university behind."

It was as if she was facing her dream, but was living it at the same time. She had all she wanted and her life was full. Even if she didn't have the degree from Sarbonne.

Which leads me to my final thoughts: For 2009 it is my endeavor to do things that are critical to my happiness. So many of us 'search' for 'things' that make us happy....they are most often right in front of us; smiles, laughter, family, fellowship...love. I recently read an article that I have heard of in the past about filling your jar. A professor filled a jar of mayonnaise with rocks and asked his students if it was full. They answered yes. Then he filled it with sand, and it sifted down between the rocks, again the students saying the jar was full. Then he filled it with water. Everyday we get the choice of what to put in our jar; if we at first fill it with the small things (laundry, dishes, cleaning for me) there is no room for the big things (family time, creativity, etc. for me). We only get so many days, so what do they matter if we are not filling them with the big stuff?? Maybe you are thinking 'Great, I already do that,' but for me I have to put forth effort to make time for myself and things that are important to me. I guess it's just a neat way to think about things. Hope everyone had a most wonderful New Year and many blessing for 2009!

Above is Alivia helping make cookies. We love to bake! Now cooking, on the other hand, that is something that may be added to my New Year resolutions :) I need to venture out beyond my comfort (or maybe it's creativity?) zone. I am getting better though!

January... New Beginnings

Happy New Year, Everyone!!

This sure promises to be an interesting year! Hope you all have some new plans and new ideas for this new year. I have the next 2 book choices lined up, ready to mail out to everyone. I'm kinda thinking that maybe we should try to wrap up "Suite Francaise" by the middle of January. What do you guys think??? Kay is finished. Kay is always finished first. I am about halfway, but I haven't been reading anything for almost 2 weeks. (Lennie, have you even started the book???) I think I will plan on mailing out Annelle's choice (aka Lennie) around Jan. l5. She has selected Frances Mayes, "A Year in the World".

The next choice is mine and I have it ready to go also. And then I think it's Kay.... So.... Kay, you can begin thinking about your book choice. Hope you all have a good book, a coffee (even if it's not Starbucks) and a warm fire to sit and read by. Many happy returns of the new year!! Linda

December 31 - New Year's Eve

1817 - James T. Fields is born in Portsmouth, N.H. A partner in Ticknor & Fields, publishers, he will succeed James Russell Lowell as editor of the Atlantic Monthly. 1830 - Alexander Smith, Scottish poet and writer, is born at Kilmarnock. 1874 - Editor, poet, critic, essayist, and journalist Holbrook Jackson (The Anatomy of Bibliomania; The Fear of Books; The Printing of Books) is born in Liverpool. 1900 - Edward Everett Hale, 78, presides at a Boston civic ceremony welcoming in the new century.
--A Book of Days for the Literary Year

Happy New Year to you and yours! And, to start the New Year, a message from May Sarton, one of my favorite authors:

"Under the light of eternity,
things, the daily trivia,
the daily frustrations, fall
away. It is all a
matter of getting to the
center of the beam."

Happy New Year and one more passion

I hope 2008 has treated you all well. Our family has expanded this year and what fun that is! I am grateful for all of you, new family and old. So... eat, drink, be merry, and sleep in tomorrow!

I realized I forgot one of my more "simple" passions. Starbucks. Enough said. :)

A Different Kind of Book

So,

I'm a little behind on Suite Francaise...I will catch up!

But, I justed wanted to share what I have been reading lately. The weather down here, or over here has been quite blustery, and when the weather gets blustery, I think of one thing...SOUP!

One of my favorite cookbooks, and one of my favorite soup cookbooks is Maryana Vollstedt's Big Book of Soups. Whatever your ingredients you have, you can find a recipe. Usually quick, usually easy, I haven't yet found one to yuck at. I've been making the minestrone out of this book for as long as I can remember cooking.

So, I figured everyone but Toni (sitting beside a pool down south), is feeling the winter weather. And if you want something warm and yummy to warm you up while your reading a good book...take a look at this cookbook! I know my mom (Linda), has no idea who this Maryana Vollstedt person is, and will enjoy some 'good' recipes! :)

Oh, and I guess cooking soup is one of my passions. There is nothing so happy for me as standing over a hot pot, pitching things into it, and ending up with a nourishing and tasty pot of goodness. Perhaps it's a bit of witch in me...loving to stir a cauldron. :)

Happy Eating and Reading

My Passions

I have been putting off writing this blog because it has been REALLY hard for me to find things that I am truly passionate about. So I will probably stumble through this but here goes!

My first passion is my family. Some of my most pivotal developmental years were spent without a mother and my father and older brother worked very hard to make sure that that didn't negatively impact my life. I can't explain how thankful I am for this and how much love I feel for them. Now I also have a step-mother who fits in very well with the family and I feel blessed for this as well.
Also I found the love of my life very early in my life. Derek and I have been together since 2001 and our life together has been a whirlwind-very traumatic and dramatic things have happened in our lives! But we somehow always manage to come out on top! I am passionate about the person that he is and I feel like he makes me a better person. I could go on and on but....

Another passion I have is learning. Mostly learning about subjects in my field (mental health) but more and more I am trying to branch out and learn about other things that have not always interested me in the past (cooking, politics, the economy, etc).

I am also passionate about movies, music, and books! I am usually reading two or three books at a time and if not reading, I'm watching movies! Also I drive about 30 miles a day to work and 30 miles a day back and am always listening to music!

I feel like I am passionate about helping. Of course the field I am in allows me to help young ladies and, although I am often frustrated with the work I do, I also love being able to learn about these young ladies and hopefully help make their lives more healthy and positive in the future. Besides the type of work that I enjoy doing, I have a special place in my heart for animals. Just as Linda said I would not be able to work in this field-I cry at the commercials where they show all these poor animals and Sarah Mclaughlin is singing that horrifically sad song. But all animals have a special place in my heart!

This is just a brief look at a few of my passions. It actually come out easier than I thought and I could probably add several more things but will leave some to post later! I have enjoyed learning more about each of you and the things you love!

Suite Francaise

I just finished. Read every word, cover to cover. More later but for now, some images...The first is of residents fleeing Paris, and the second is of Irene Nemirovsky.

More Heretic's Daughter

I was organizing some book stacks this afternoon and ran across "The Heretic's Daughter". There are two pink "sticky notes" in the book. I had forgotten about them. Here is what they say:

#1 - "Uncle is redeemed in Sarah's eyes by his suicide by poison. Alexander's death was by poison. Alexander's horse was Bucephalus. Good writing here."

This is the passage from the book: "I thought more of the stories he had told us by the light of the hearth. Tales of rampant Indians and wandering spirits and the deaths of pagan kings. I thought of him proudly astride Bucephalus, named after the war steed belonging to Alexander. The ancient king so beloved by his men until he led them off the face of their circumscribed maps into the lands of specters and strange men. The king who was given the cup of poison so that his men could return to the known world. But Uncle had taken up the cup of poison with his own hand in the hopes of returning those he loved safely back from the land of monsters, and for that I wept long and hard for him."

#2 - "I held my breath to slow my heart..." and "My head throbbed and my eyes danced in their sockets..."

The sticky notes are destined for my writing notebook. One of the secrets of good writing is to "put it on the body" when describing emotions. This allows the reader to identify with the character's feelings in a personal way. The bit about Uncle and Alexander was just very well done, I thought.

Teaching Animals about The Ocean

I used to set up little desks in my bedroom and I made my cousin, Bee, and my brother, Jeff, be the students. I loved making up worksheets and all kinds of busy work for them. I was always "the teacher". I also loved putting on large, variety shows where we roped certain family members into performing year after year. I may have really loved being a theater director, but girls in l972 were not really encouraged to be anything other than nurses or teachers. I deviated and became a mental health worker (that was somewhat acceptable). But.... as it would be, I burnt out on the crazies and decided to go teach. I loved it from the beginning. I was absolutely passionate about it. I was at school from dawn to dusk just to set up one nutty, fun thing for "my kids" after another. I couldn't believe that they paid me to do it!!

I would say that my reigning passion throughout my life has been "to teach". I even like to teach the cats and the goats. They are really the only students I have in my grasp at the moment. (Be wary.... Alivia and Ducky!!) I have always thought that teaching was an honorable and extremely important profession. Not the way it's currently being done in our schools, though. (I will not rant on about that, but it's why I finally quit!)

My second passion would probably be my love of animals. I can't help myself. I will jump out in the middle of a freeway to rescue some poor stray without even pausing to think about danger. I have 20 cats at the moment. Only 3 are mine by choice. The rest have been sent to me by the spirit of Ed Unanian, a true animal lover who passed over to the other side about 5 years ago. ( That's what I tell Mike, anyway!) I could never work in this field, though. It would break my heart to really know what goes on with all the unwanted and neglected animals worldwide.

Third would be my passionate love of the ocean. I have wanted to live by it's side my whole life. I was lucky enough to have a house on Kauai for 10 years . It was so close to the Pacific that the surf actually flowed under the deck of the house at stormy high tides! As I sit and write this, the waves are breaking about 2 blocks from me. I hear them everyday and it always makes me feel "right". When I was young, and things went screwy in my life, I would get in my car and run to the coast. It always seemed to soothe the problems. My mom said, " You can't just always run off to the beach to solve your problems." She was wrong.

And now for some of the smaller passions..... books (of course.... they are piled everywhere in the house.... I hide them when guests come who don't already know about my bibliophiliac problems)
anything having to do with France and Paris, in particular.... Herbs..... I may even start a little medicinal herb business...... Decent Food.... I am a devoted grower's market shopper and try to teach everyone I know about the benefits of eating well..... Baking..... I bake every day. And last, but definately not least.... Jigsaw puzzles. ( I know, that's a sad one.)

So.... summing it all up.... if I could "teach" "animals" about the "ocean" or beside the "ocean", I would probably be a pretty happy person every day. Linda

Passions....

Hope everyone had a good Christmas! Carlin, can you share some of your snow with us?? I was hoping for a white Christmas......bummer.
My first and biggest passion is traveling. I haven't been out of the country yet, (besides Mexico) but I am looking forward to someday traveling to Europe (too many specific places to list) and there are a few states I would really like to see that I haven't yet....New York, New Mexico, Illinois. However, I love traveling even to the next town, familiar places, places of sentiment, and places I have never been. I am always down for packing up, even at the last minute, and going wherever the road may lead.

My next passion is photography. I love taking pictures! Be it artistic, or simply a family photo, I love everything about photography. The expression, the memory, the feeling, looking in the subject's eyes and wondering what there life is/was like. I took a class in college, and loved it, but I could use some brush up on technique and modern technology. I have looked into taking classes, but unfortunately, since I have a college degree it would go towards Graduate credits and has some pretty hefty tuition! Maybe someday I will find a mentor and pick their brain. I think I would also need a new camera, since I only have a cheap digital purse size that I can't get too artistic with.....This is something that will definitely be pursued in the years to come!

The next one is really corny, but I love getting mail. Any kind of mail, text, email, cards, letters, photos, voicemail, calls. I guess I just love acknowledging and keeping in touch with the people I love. I love giving Thank You cards when someone thinks of me, remembering special occaisions, getting sappy cards from Kevin, homemade cards, or simply a note in the mail to say hi. It simply brightens my day! (Linda I love this about you!! The stickers too!)

And finally, my family. My family means the world to me. My life revolves around my beautiful daughter whom I could not live without. Nothing is greater than spending the day with Kevin and Alivia....driving, hiking, drinking coffee, watching kiddo movies, baking sweets, or just sitting around. I am so blessed with them. I have wanted to be a mom for as long as I can remember, and it is everything I imagined it to be and more. I love living life as a child again, seeing the awe in Alivia's face as she learns something new and teaching her to be a polite and kind little girl.

I think a lot of people also think of your career when you think of your passions. I have never known what I wanted 'to be' when I 'grew up.' So I guess as far as a money earning career I have failed, but I am doing what I love. Being a mom. I am so thankful to have Kevin as the so called 'bread winner' making just enough for us to live on....even though we don't have a lot of money to do some of the things we would like to, we have each other, and we have our daughter being raised at home and don't have to leave her at daycare everyday. I love my job working part time at an insurance office, where I am blessed to have an amazing boss that pretty much lets me make up my schedule each week, and two other employees whom I look forward to a little 'adult conversation' with each week. It gives my brain some stimulation, my body some exercise, and a little extra money to help out at the end of the month.
For all these things I am thankful. Great idea Linda to add this to the blog!

Baby Goats...

Here's a picture of Linda and Mike's new baby goats.

Delia Deets, Wyatt, and Bill Cody.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas from the Phillips down in southern Oregon!!

Christmas Eve

1822 - Matthew Arnold, poet and critic, is born in Laleham, Middlesex. 1863 - William Makepeace Thackeray, 52, dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at his newly completed home in Palace Gardens, Bayswater. 1881 - Embarking for his celebrated American lecture tour, Oscar Wilde boards the Arizona, whose captain later swears: "I wish I had had that man lashed to the bowsprit on the windward side." 1912 - D.H. Lawrence writes a friend: "I always say, my motto is 'Art for my sake'." 1933 - In his diary Harold Nicolson describes his marriage to the novelist and poet Vita Sackville-West: "had I been a passionate man...we should now have separated, I living in Montevideo as H.M. Minister and she breeding Samoyeds in the Gobi desert."

--A Book of Days for the Literary Year

Holiday cheer

Greetings to all! I hope this post finds you all warm, well, and safe on this Christmas Eve. My husband just came in from starting his car (it's 12 degrees this morning) and informed me that it's snowing. Again. Another 2-5 inches expected by tomorrow morning. I sure love Montana! (Please note a mild sarcasm, which is sometimes lost in internet blogging)

I have been pondering Linda's proposal, about posting about things we're passionate about. Maggie, I'm glad that task wasn't a difficult one for you. I'm finding that the more I think about it, the harder it is to come up with things that I can truly say I'm passionate about. So, Maggie, good for you for knowing what those things are. I think that's a gift.

I know I am NOT passionate about my work. I think I used to be. That's changed. I am passionate about thinking about other things I could spend that time doing and still generate an income (Kerry and I want to open a book/yarn/coffee shop but are still waiting for that mysterious, rich uncle from Belize to pop in and spontaneously offer up a financial backing). Anyway, I digress. I don't want to talk about things I'm NOT passionate about. That's not the point.

I am passionate about my family. About watching my daughter grow (and stand!). I am passionate about teaching her how to be good people (she is already saying 'thank you') and to love herself. I am passionate about finding comfortable places with good reads, cozy slippers, and warm cups of coffee (or tea!). I guess there is one part of my work that I am passionate about: I am passionate about teaching these young women how to treat others as they would want to be treated (which usually includes not commiting crimes- the get so pissed when they've been wronged, why wrong others?- not abusing alcohol and drugs- being 'that' guy, anywhere, who gets drunk or high and does stupid stuff is NOT an admirable trait- and take care of themselves- they get so worried about the other people in their lives who make equally or worse decisions than they do, yet they can't seem to transfer that level of concern and commitment to their own stuff.). I AM passionate about that. And teaching them that using the word "gay" to say something is "stupid" is not acceptable. Is that a passion? I don't know.

I am passionate about knowing people. About meeting new people. My husband gets SOOO annoyed with me because almost any time we're out together (which is rare, now, with the wee one in our lives) and he's trying to be all romantic and woo-ey, I make BFFs with the person sitting at the table behind us. But I LOVE people!! I LOVE talking to people about things they do, where they go, and what they are passionate about.

I don't know if this is AT ALL what the proposal asked for. Then again, I know Linda also said something about this group not really having any rules or constraints, or something. I can't even remember what it was she said. Regardless. Those are things I feel passionate about.

So, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Kwanzaa, or whatever the "reason" for your season. My reason? Is family.... and hopefully some fudge.

Love,
Carlin

What Floats Your Boat

First, I want to thank Linda for suggesting we think about our passions, and then share them with the group. This "exercise", for me, has really been a good way to clear out the cobwebs and get down to the "bones" of what makes me tick.

So...the first grand passion of my life was and still is this place, western Oregon. I was born in the same town where I live, in a maternity home that is still there but now a private residence, kind of a shabby little house, but I love to drive by it anyway. I have never been happy living anywhere else and have instigated major upheavals and risk taking for my whole family so that I could be here. When dislocated from this place, I would just pine away, making everyone around me miserable. Every day, as I drive to work, I see the familiar landmarks (the river, the quarry with the goats, on a clear day the Three Sisters, Bear Mountain, the site of our old house now part of I-5, the glimpse of Eugene coming over 30th Avenue) and it warms my heart in a way nothing else does. There must be an imprint of 43.81 N/123.06 W in my DNA (Maggie is this possible?).

The other grand passion of my life is books. Not just the reading of, but the actual physical book in my hand, on the bedside table, filling bookcases, in piles on the floor. I spend grocery money on books. I cannot have too many books. It is impossible. My mother says I was reading the dictionary by age 3, but I do not know if this is really true. She says my Uncle Dave will attest to it. At one point, I was ready to "chuck it all" and open a used book shop. I did research, visited other booksellers, tried to think of a way to combine being a bookkeeper with running a book shop. But, at the time I was also the mother of two teenagers, working on my college degree (trying to finish it before my first child graduated from high school...and did!), working full-time in a dreary job (police/fire payroll for the City of Eugene), and so it was an "impossible" dream. This is the gut wrenching truth of the "weight of personal responsibility", as Annelle rightly says. Plus, I had no money.

I still have no money, and little time, but I will have more time in a few years. So, I am thinking about selling books online when I retire. I have a web domain name just waiting: cottagebookseller.com. It is never too late!

So, these are the two constant passions in my life. One since birth, the other since the age of 3, I guess! Constants, passions, touchstones - - they are REAL and they are powerful. Ignore them at your peril.

And Linda, although my haircut might give one the impression that I resemble Colette, a lot of good it has done as I am now walking off a cliff book in hand. It must be "Suite Francaise", a WONDERFUL book. Thank you Kerry!

December 22

1639 - Jean-Baptiste Racine, dramatic poet, is born at La Ferte-Milon in northern France. 1849 - Fyodor Dostoevsky is led out for execution, then pardoned at the last moment. 1869 - Poet Edwin Arlington Robinson, author of "Miniver Cheevy", is born in Head Tide, Maine. 1880 - After returning from a trip to the Continent and catching cold at a London concert, George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) dies at 61 in Chelsea. 1940 - Nathanael West, aged 37, and his wife, Eileen McKenney -- the heroine of Ruth McKenney's My Sister Eileen -- are killed in a car accident in El Centro, Calif.
--A Book of Days for the Literary Year

A Cottage Near the Sea...

OK,

Here are some of my passions, large and small, cheap, free, and expensive.

I'm going to list them numerically because I'm a Virgo that way. :)

1. A warm mug of tea in my hand. A cup or mug of tea represents to me, the beginning of something good. A good morning, a good evening, or a good endeavor. Tea feels like a magical entity. You can leave tea, brewed or loose leaves, in your garden as a welcoming gesture to garden faeries.

2. My husband Derek says I have a passion for interacting with people in a way that remembers etiquette and small details. Remembering birthdays, anniversaries, and etc. and acknowledging them. To me, those acknowledgments are one of the many threads of a gracious human being, and why not thrive for that! :)

3. I'm always wanting to know the ocean better. For the last few years, that way has been through scuba diving. There is nothing more profound than lying on the bottom of the ocean, looking up at the infinite mass of water, with the sunlight streaming through pristine blue.

4. The active pursuit of the 'perfect' day. Something movie worthy. :)

5. The acquisition and pursuit of music that moves me, and makes me feel alive.

6. Expressing myself through some form of art. Poetry. The writing of, and reading of poetry. And more currently, tattoos. Tattoos have become an integral part of my person. For me, having the certainty of mind, and wanting to express those certain thoughts on my body, is a beautiful thing. A road map of my life...on my body. Even now, when I look at my tattoos, I remember what was happening in my life when I got them. And I can see how I've changed and grown as a human being.

7. Food has always been a passion. Cooking, touching, learning about, tasting, and shopping for food. Food is a root of life, and to maintain and embrace a broad and adventurous relationship with it is a wonderful thing.

8. Books. There is no greater feeling than being surrounded by the books you love.

9. Driving. Very much my father's daughter in that regard. I love the feeling of driving anywhere, music on in the background. Someplace old, someplace new...I love hitting the pavement to find it! All my best thoughts come to me on the road.

10. Pursuing my dream to live in a cottage on the North Shore of Kauai for 6 months to a year. Right now, that dream looks farther away than near...but I keep it on the horizon. :) The picture above is my cottage.

11. Learning about people. The individuals. The details. The reason why. The history. The good. The bad. The beautiful, and the ugly. What makes people tick.

There you have it. Some of my passions. I think this is a great way to learn about the women in our book club! I look forward to reading your passions!

Snazzy New Look

Hey, I love the new Blog cover. Very classy! Thanks to Goonie for snapping up the cool photo and updating the booklist.

I am halfway through Suite Francaise. Without giving much away, I have one phrase for you guys..... City of Darkness, City of Light! I will expand on that when others are well into the book.

At the end of Annelle's post, I have a proposal.... wanted everyone to see it, so I am yammering about it out here. I know that this time of year is very busy, but we could all give it some thought and then when you have an extra 20 min., whip it out. If it doesn't suit you, don't worry. We are a losey goosey gang. Linda

December 19

More random information....

1732 - In Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin begins to publish Poor Richard's Almanack. 1776 - The American Crisis by Thomas Paine appears, with its famous opening: "These are the times that try men's souls...." 1832 - Poet Philip Freneau, aged 80, lost in a snowstorm while returning from a tavern, dies near his home in Middletown Point, N.J. 1848 - Emily Bronte dies of consumption at 30, in Haworth, three months after having taken cold at her brother Branwell's funeral. 1910 - Jean Genet -- the subject of Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialist biography, Saint Genet: Actor and Martyr -- is born in Paris.

--A Book of Days for the Literary Year