Apologies for the lateness of this post: my family has been hit with a case of the stomach bug, and I've been away from the computer for the past two days. Ugh.
And a Good Friday to you all.
A few fun things to share today before we head into the Easter Weekend:
1.) Here in Western North Carolina, we’re lucky to be plugged into a radio station called WNCW88.7: Listener-Powered Radio. I was introduced to this NPR-affiliate station by my husband (then just a maybe-boyfriend … our relationship was complicated) the summer after I graduated from college. We’d head into work together at a camp in the NC mountains, winding our way up to the camp entrance and listening to awesome little shows like “The Writer’s Alamanac” (hosted by Garrison Keillor, and my personal favorite) and “Star Date” (I took astronomy classes in college and to this day have a fascination with the stars).
WNCW hosts and plays some of the best music–old and new–to come out of the Southern Appalachians. Today, after dropping my daughter at preschool, I tuned in just in time to hear “The Fall” by The Black Lillies, a band out of Tennessee I’d not heard of before. The song made my morning–and it made me want to write a novel, set only to it.
Check out “The Fall” here at Paste Magazine.
2.) I don’t watch reality TV. (Yes, I know I’m a snob. Sorry. But I think it’s the work of the Devil.) However, one of my fellow Clemson Tigers, alumna Danni Allen, recently won the title of “The Biggest Loser.” She looks fabulous and glowing. And I can’t imagine the amount of work it took to make it happen. Congrats, Danni!
Check her out here.
3.) Fans of author Carl Hiassen (Double Whammy, Strip Tease, Skinny Dip) have got to check out the April/May 2013 issue of Garden & Gun magazine and the article “The Last Great Howler,” by Monte Burke. Burke joined a Florida fly fishing trip with Hiasson and guide Steve Huff, and was privy to all kinds of Hiassen witticisms and anecdotes. The photos are cool, too–and so is the rest of the issue.
4.) It’s time, folks. Time for the great Reese’s Easter Eggs to return to CVSs and Walgreens and grocery stores everywhere. Go ahead. Buy one, or two, or three. Just give in. It’s worth it.
In fact, I’m eating one now. Coffee and a Reese’s Egg are a perfectly acceptable mid-morning snack for a 34-weeks pregnant woman.
I hope you all have a wonderful Easter, full of Light and family!
1. You have to actually do something in order to make things happen.
(You know, write, walk, run, fast like a Hollywood ingenue before the Teen Choice Awards.)
2. You have to let go of the past.
(But in my old novel.... But in my old pants' size....)
3. You have to resist temptation.
(Why not another teen vampire novel? Why not another Reese's Peanut Butter Egg?)
4. You have to be a bit selfish with your time.
(Mama can't make Play-Doh cakes with you this afternoon because she'll be writing, dear heart. Mama can't visit the tadpoles in your classroom on Tuesday, sugar-roo, because if she doesn't get to the forest she'll look like Play-Doh. The white kind.)
5. You have to recognize that, for the most part, the process will sucketh mightily.
(I'm staring at my blank, dusty computer screen wishing I'd decided to join the Peace Corps. Or the circus. I'm staring at my muddy trail runners wishing I'd decided to take up water aerobics. With my elderly neighbor.)
6. Sometimes, you have to take a break.
(Step away from the computer, Quasimodo. Step away from that story line, because it's giving you hives. Drive directly past the trailhead and pull over, sit on the riverbank for a while. Or turn the car around and head to the gelato shop.)
Today, I'm taking a cue from Oprah and blogger "The Pioneer Woman" and sharing a list of the things I like. I love lists. I make them weekly, sometimes daily. They're usually brilliant and exciting, and look like this:
1. Write
2. Exercise
3. Wash clothes
4. Call Mom, Sister, Friend(s)
5. Take diapers to Daughter's preschool
6. Read for grad school
7. Grade papers
8. Drop off water bill
Wow. This is my life. I'm momentarily stunned.
Moving on. Usually, about three of these get accomplished. Yes, I know it's sad that I have to add calling my mother, sister, and assorted friends (on the real list I give them names). You'd think a grown-up woman could do this without reminders. But for me, it's necessary. I have a hate-hate relationship with the phone. It hates me back because I accidently leave it in my car for days and it dies. And then my father calls my husband to make sure I'm still alive.
So (and I may make this a new Wednesday blog habit) here's my list:
10 Things That Make Me Happy (Man, I'm a titling wordsmith)
1. Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina -- I hike here several times a week, usually just me and my dog. The creek gurgles over moss-covered rocks, the winter light carves out far-off ridgelines in stark relief, and my dog does belly flops in the mud, then shakes on me. It's. Awesome.
2. My friend Liddell -- she came to visit yesterday, and we hiked and talked and then ate burritos and talked some more. Liddell is utterly authentic, pretty much automatic fun, and lives the sort of adventurous and wide-open life most people dream of but never follow through on.
3. DVR -- we just had the DISH guy come out to fix a problem on Sunday, and Lo, we have DVR! Oh, heaven sent. Oh, joy! So THIS is what the fuss is all about.
4. Parenthood, the TV show -- While we're on the subject of DVR, it sure is great for recording those 10 p.m. shows I've been trying to catch online the next day, because I'm usually writing or doing schoolwork or pooped out in bed at 10 p.m. "Parenthood" on NBC is one of them: charactered by some of my favorite actors (Craig T. Nelson, Lauren Graham, Peter Kraus) and produced by Ron Howard, the writing is some of the best I've seen on television. That writing combined with pitch-perfect performances makes the show pure, lovely and true. And in the world of the Desperate Housewives of [Insert city name here], it's hopeful.
5. Thin Mints -- God Bless the Girl Scouts of America! A sleeve of Thin Mints in my freezer means that all is right with the world. Recently I ordered 6 boxes from my former boss's daughter. I have to literally drive up a mountain to get them, but I don't care. I wonder if they're in yet? I hope she didn't forget me. Maybe I should call.
6. My Shorter Oxford English Dictionary -- My parents gave these two beautiful, wonderful tombs for Christmas a couple of years ago. Yes, I asked for them. I love them. They tell me things like the fact that "satin" is an Old French word, originally Arab; that it pertains to the town of Zaytun. So cool. I'm immediately picturing eighteenth-century, high-waisted gowns, pale blue. And where is Zaytun? It's a fabulous mystery.
7. Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs -- They come out once a year, and they are just so daggum good. The perfect ratio of chocolate to peanut butter. So what if they're the same amount of points as a whole Weight Watcher's meal, they're worth it.
8. Manners -- Manners are underrated. Thank heavens I live in a place where people still use "ma'am," "sir," "excuse me," "please," and "thank you"... and mean it. It's civilized. It's nice. It separates us from the base and ordinary. (I swear I'm in my 30s, not my 80s. Still.)
9. Budding, but still winter-bare trees -- Right now I'm looking out the window beside my desk, and the still-gray hardwood in my front yard is budding, lace-like, into the lilac sky. In the mornings, as the sun rises, these trees emerge first from the dark, so friendly with the light behind them. They're a touchstone.
10. Coastal Living magazine -- My parents have given us a subscription for the past few years, and each issue--especially in winter--is a burst of color and warmth. The photos are spectacular, the writing tight, when I read it I still believe that I'll one day have a beach house.
Happy Wednesday, everyone.
