Into the Wild Wood and Home Again

Short note today. I got up, and now two loads of laundry are almost done and the dishes are running. Sometimes, you just have to take advantage of whatever scraps of time you have, right? 27 degrees. Sun trying hard to melt things. It looks to be another lovely mid-50s afternoon, too.  This evening, I will be at St. Rose, leading my poetry workshop-- I hope it goes well. If you are local, come on in. I'm sure there will be room. Although, honestly, I did see that a few folks have registered, so who knows? Hopefully, I won't scare everyone off. It'll be a challenge to strike the tone between teacher me and parishioner me. Either way, the focus is on poetry and reflective writing.  Take care, all. Really, take good care of yourself, others, the planet... it's up to us. The people in charge are ruining things.  C

I suspect the chill has settled in. It was 27 degrees this morning. We really need to clean off the deck and put away some things soon. And I hate to; it's over, is the message. The sitting outside in the sunshine part of the year is gone. And now, it's time to think about wool socks, heavy curtains, and being parsimonious about heating oil.  And it's not that I hate winter, but I find much of what it requires inconvenient. I found myself musing this morning what it would be like to retire. As in, I could get up and shuffle about, attend to house things, read, write, and not worry about boots and hats and heavy coats and scraping windshields and slippery roads and and and... I don't mind winter if I don't have to battle for my place in it. And it feels like a battle, much of the time. Yup, I'm getting old.  And I can't retire, probably not for at least seven years, so it's a suck it up, buttercup situation. Early retirement? The only thing that would o...

OK, guilty. I binged the whole 8 episodes of Season 4 of The Diplomat . Wow. And now... we have to wait to a/ see if there's a Season 5 (there had better be), and b/ when is it coming? Probably next year. Gluttony, that's what it was. But what a banger of a cliff hanger ending. I won't spoil it for you, but let's just say, it was pretty awesome.  I'm still watching a few other shows that are being doled out one episode a week, so I have things to look forward to. But gee whiz.  The weekend was busy, but good busy. G snipped herbs and pulled carrots for me, so I'll be working with those this afternoon after I get Holly from school. And there is always housework to do. But I got all my papers graded, watched football, and had a lovely Sunday dinner with G. There's so much pork tenderloin left, I will just work it into something a little different tonight for dinner. So, that daily question is off the table.  And we are, for all intents and purposes, moving on ...

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....