Into the Wild Wood and Home Again

It's actually cold. Twenty degrees and dark out. ugh.  This week is supposed to get up into the 50s/60s, so we had better get the outdoor stuff done. Like, turn off the outside water spigot. (And would you believe I saw some post the other day from an erstwhile smart person spelling it spicket?) Anyhow, herbs and carrots when we get home from church and breakfast.  The writing workshop yesterday was an absolute delight. All the people I met were wonderful, I was not the youngest in the room (call it bottom third), and I wrote and wrote and laughed and thought and talked with new folks. I have a few drafts that show promise. I sold two books. And our presenter, Betsy Sholl, was an absolute spitfire! She's awesome. Yes, I was tired when I got home, but it was good day tired, writing tired. And we went to dinner at the Littleton Freehouse, and I got a lovely salmon dinner with a glass of pinot grigio. I came home, crawled under a blanket, and watched a few more episodes of The Di...

What a wild and woolly 24 hours, eh? Rain, gusts, bursts of weak sunlight, and then, all night, windy enough to make the house creak while slashing rain across the windows. And now, 39 degrees and dark. I'm up, of course, but I'm not hustling along just yet. That's the one great thing about most Saturdays-- I don't have to rush. I have the poetry class today in St. J, but it's not until 11:30. I'll give myself an hour or two to not "do"-- it's been a very busy week, and every week looks to be busy for the foreseeable future.  I looked yesterday and I have something every weekend until November 21. Luckily, most all of it is chosen and I can't complain. =)  My poetry class that I'm leading starts this week, too, at St. Rose, so I need to get that figured out. I have been copying poems to use, but until I know the folks who will be attending and how they approach reading, discussing, and responding to poetry, I'm sort of in the dark. I...

Mid-30s and raining. And dark. I am not amused.  Today, it's work, then home for lunch, then out to get groceries. Perhaps the rain will lessen, but it's predicted to be wet again all damn day. I will never get outside to clean off the deck, pull carrots, clip herbs at this rate.  Tomorrow, I have a class -- a real, in-person one-- in St. J with the poet Betsy Sholl. I am really looking forward to it. One, I know of her work, and two, she is a friend of my friend Dawn, and three, I get to write without distractions for a few hours. What a blessing. And I'm hopeful we can go out to dinner afterward, G and I. Perhaps the Leaf Peepers have all gone home.  Or maybe they haven't. I still see busloads of them disgorging onto Main St. on my way home from work every day. But this cold and wet will likely keep the casual Peepers away. Maybe. We are a Destination, and we'll only have a couple of weeks that we can fully enjoy our own restaurants and stores until skiers invade....

UP and it's a little less chilly, and sunshine is in the forecast. I sure hope so. There are outdoor things I want to get done, and let's be honest, we are about to grow gills.  Holly's birthday was good; she got lots of presents, had a great day at school with her friends, and we had dinner out at the diner. Her choice, of course. It was okay, but what was especially fun was a friend of ours who also works there brought out her bowl of mac and cheese with a lit candle in it. Too cute. It's one of the myriad reasons why living in a relatively small town is a good thing for everyone.  Today, the chores abound for after work. Nothing much changes.  Well, not exactly true: the leaves are still changing, despite the wet weather. It's the season of gold, russet, bronze, and copper. It's lovely, really. And hanging in there later than usual. I'm thinking of making a list of related nouns/adjectives and then embedding them in a poem. Hm... I hope your day is wonder...

Rainy and chilly again. Yes, people need the wells filled up. But gee whiz. It's been a pretty wet stretch of time. Today, all students in grades 9-11 take PSATs. I will be working with seniors on college app essays. Or resumes. Or both. Either way, I'll have about two hours of time with a small crew of kids who likely would rather be sleeping. As would I, honestly. But I'll bring a boo bucket of Dunkins munchkins, and we'll see what we can do.  That all said, TODAY IS HOLLY'S FIFTH BIRTHDAY! What a hoot! She's amazing. Meg got her a boo bucket of munchkins to share with her class at snack time. We'll convene at the diner for dinner (her choice, this kid loves diners), and head back home for cake. Somewhere in there will be presents. I didn't go overboard, much. Well, a little. She's my favorite human.  I'm sure she'll be wound up tight today-- who isn't when it's their birthday and they are five?-- but I hope we'll also extend a ...

Chilly, rainy, and Tuesday.  Holly and I had a great day yesterday, and I got almost everything done that was on my house cleaning list. I still have folding of laundry to accomplish, and it looks like there's at least one load to put in. I also have to wrap some b'day gifts for an almost-five-year-old! I sure hope her cold is better for tomorrow-- what a bummer to be sick on your birthday.  But I have today. Meg is home with possible pink-eye (ew, and ouch), so I likely will not be picking up Holly from school. I'll have to find out for sure, though. If I'm not, then I have a stretch of time this afternoon to finish the laundry stuff and the wrapping stuff. And I want to make an applesauce bread.  Who has time to work? I have some other small things I want to attend to, as well, such as getting out the fall kitchen linens. Minor, but these things matter to me. Call it a last stand against the chaos out there.  And there is chaos. And havoc. Sixes and Sevens. O, the ...