Farmer's Market Weekend

Yesterday, My Love and I got up at 5AM and took a spontaneous trip to NYC. We weren't planning to be there long. Just long enough to do a bit of shopping on Canal Street and walk through the Farmer's Market in Union Square.

We found a parking space a few blocks from Union Square and fed $1.00 into a meter to park for one hour--a bargain in the Big Apple. The weather was beautiful, and it was early enough that it hadn't gotten too hot. From a block away, we could see the white-tent stalls lining the perimeter of the park. We walked through the market and I bought a few of my favorites: two bunches of asparagus, a half-dozen apples, a half-gallon of apple cider, 6 maple sugar leaves, and one large tomato. There were flowers everywhere and a lot of great arts and crafts vendors, too.
This was the shopping I had come for, honestly. While I like me a little fashion shopping on occasion, I love to experience new markets. The people, the smells, the sounds, the variety, it all makes me smile with peace and memories. And the produce in NY is a little behind the produce down here, so while the asparagus is almost at season's end in Maryland, it's much earlier in it's life cycle up there. I would have gone nuts and bought much more than I did if we didn't have a three and a half hour drive ahead of us.

This morning, I got up bright and early, hoping to beat the rain to the farmer's market downtown to get the rest of my fresh necessities for the week. I stood in a line for 15 minutes for freshly shucked peas. I picked out two stalks of rhubarb for a rhubarb sauce experiment prompted by childhood memories. I got a half-peck of Fuji apples grown on trees in an orchard in Gettysburg. I also picked up some Swiss chard to try, some baby red potatoes, two bags of mixed greens for salads, and a bunch of spring onions.

I came home and promptly cooked up a breakfast fit for a queen. I sauteed three stalks of asparagus in olive oil, just until they turned bright green, along with left over mushrooms and two chopped green stalks from the spring onions. I chopped a small, left over red potato with a slice of red onion and microwaved them for 2 minutes. Then I sauteed them in olive oil, as well, until the potatoes were soft and crispy on the outside.

While the potatoes were cooking, I whipped up two eggs with a dollop of milk and started an omelet. I chopped up two basil leaves and a little bit of parsley, straight from my container herb garden.



When the omelet was done, I put the asparagus, mushrooms and onion on one side, sprinkled it with some shredded cheddar cheese, and topped it with the chopped basil and parsley. Then I folded the other half of the egg over the top and slid it onto my plate.



Mmmmm...an omelet and homefries made mostly from fresh vegetables and herbs. A farmer's market breakfast big and healthy enough to hold back the hunger for hours, not like the usual oatmeal and English muffin I eat. I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot more time in the market and a lot less time at Giant this summer.

Let It Go

The time has come to say goodbye to my Spaces version of this blog. I had some great times over there, like the week I was featured on What's Your Story. And I met some great blog friends over there, too (plus many more), a good number of whom have also skipped Spaces Town. But the trouble of posting an entry at Spaces these days far outweighs the benefits of being part of the Spaces community. Hopefully, my regular readers will just update their links and blogrolls and read me here at Blogger instead.

I plan to eventually transfer my favorite Weight of My World posts to this blog, but for now I'll be leaving WoMW up. So you can still peruse my archives there. I just can't continue to maintain both blogs. Not only was I unbelievably bad at keeping two blogs going (I mean, come on, I can barely come up with enough time and material for one!), but Spaces has gradually accumulated enough checks in the Cons column to force me to jump ship. It regularly takes me an hour or more to format, categorize and post an entry because it’s just not very user friendly. I can’t use Spaces in Firefox and even in Internet Explorer it often causes my computer to freeze up. It’s just plain difficult, while Blogger is so, so easy. With all that’s going on in my life right now, easy is good. It’s great. It’s necessary, really.

So, here I am. A Blogger girl for real.

Thursday Thirteen #1

I heard about the apparently famous Thursday Thirteen from Caffeinated Librarian a while back. I thought it might be fun to give it a go, despite my late arrival to the party (yet again). It might be just what I need to get my creative blogging juices flowing again. So without further ado...

Thirteen Childhood Memories

1. In the spring and summer, on days when my Grandmother would babysit my sister and I, we would walk to a nearby farmer's market and enjoy the sights and sounds. I still remember the smell of fresh baked bread; the piles of ripe, red tomatoes; the friendly faces of the vendors, who would slip a piece of candy or other treat my way while my Grandmother tested the firmness of some vegetable or another.

2. My sister once lost my favorite baby doll during the walk back to Grandma's house from the market. We retraced our steps for what seemed like hours, but never found my Yawny Baby.

3. When I was growing up, I owned the Barbie Dream House complete with an elevator on a pull string and little plastic furniture. It wasn't the super-expensive wooden Dream House; it was the one made of plastic with the cardboard backing that had room scenes printed on it. I didn't care, though. My sister and I played with it for hours at a time.

4. I had a pink, banana-seat bike that my mom won in a raffle. It was the coolest! It had white rubber handle covers with pink and white streamers hanging from them.

5. We got an above-ground pool one summer when I was in junior-high. That summer it rained endlessly.

6. When it wasn't raining, I would spend as much time as possible in the water, where I was finally weightless.

7. Hot summer night rainstorms were the perfect excuse to play in the rain and skip in the puddles in our crumbling sidewalk.

8. Feet of snow in the winter meant building "igloos" and caves in the drifts. Who says you have to put away your sand buckets in the winter?

9. On New Year's Eve, my sister and I (and whatever babysitter was watching us) would have a mini-party, complete with noise makers, cardboard tiarras sparkling with glitter and glue, and enough snacks and soda to make us sick. We'd stuff ourselves and hope we could keep our eyes open for the ball-drop at midnight.

10. We had bunnies for a while and they would always get out of their cages and fenced-in running (or rather hopping) area. We would chase them around like mad kids, trying to catch them before our cat did.

11. We bought our first VCR, a Beta, at BJs in the nearest big city, along with huge packages of toilet paper, paper plates, paper towels and the like. If I remember correctly, going to BJs was a major outing for our family. Very exciting stuff!

12. Reading a complete book in a single day was a regular occurrence. I miss those days.

13. My family's cat gave birth to a litter of kittens just weeks after we took her in. I remember watching those helpless little babies, rooting around for their Mama's milk, so tiny and soft and adorable. Having to give them all away was very hard for me. I didn't understand why we couldn't keep all 5 of them. It's not like they took up much room. They all fit in a little box.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

She's Alive!

I'm alive and kicking. Really.

I've been doing the following in my absence:

• visiting the Farmer's Market
• taking walks in the park
• learning to live a life of moderation and healthy choices
• mowing my lawn
• whacking the weeds
• trying to decide the best way to get rid of HUGE carpenter ants
• planting a container herb garden
• wishing my yard would landscape itself because my completely-the-opposite-of-green thumb and my lack of gardening knowledge have me wondering which plants in the previous owner's small garden are weeds and which are keepers
• spending time with my new neighbors
• working on that novel I keep talking about
• getting rejections in the mail for those essays I sent out
• collecting, formatting and writing content for my very own website
• watching movies including Deja Vu, Catch and Release, Little Miss Sunshine, Spider Man 3, Fracture, Disturbia, Flight Plan, American Dreamz, Shut Up & Sing, Next, Sherry Baby
• tightening my budget
• reading The Audacity of Hope and trying to whittle down the pile of magazines that has accumulated in my magazine basket over the last 6 months
• watching the last of this season's Lost and Heroes episodes
• plus the usual everyday stuff like work, cleaning, sleeping, eating...

Not too eventful, but very productive.

Book Meme

I apparently forgot to hit the publish button on this one almost a month ago, so you're getting two posts for the price of one today! Enjoy!


Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror?

Fantasy - This is Harry Potter's fault.

Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback?

Hardback or Trade - Mass Markets just seem so small in my hands.

Amazon or Brick and Mortar?

Brick and Mortar - Atmosphere is everything.

Barnes & Noble or Borders?

B&N, but only because it's more convenient for me. Plus, the Borders around here don't have cafes in them.

Hitchhiker or Discworld?

I guess since I have no idea what this is referring to, I'll have to say neither...

Bookmark or Dog-ear?

I'm a bookmark girl (although I used to dog-ear everything). I can't even count how many bookmarks I have laying around, and if I can't find a bookmark there's always a slip of paper or a magazine subscription card within reach.

Asimov’s Science Fiction or Fantasy & Science Fiction?

Asimov

Alphabetize by author, Alphabetize by title, or random?

Random - too much order freaks me out. Although I do tend to order them by size.

Keep, Throw Away or Sell?

Keep or give away. Never, EVER, throw away.

Keep dust-jacket or toss it?

Keep it! Who would toss it? Who?

Read with dustjacket or remove it?

With it, unless I'm traveling or carrying the book around in a bag.

Short story or novel?

Yes

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?

Harry

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?

At breaks, unless my eyes disagree and close on me.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time?”

Depends on my mood.

Buy or Borrow?

I buy more than I should and don't borrow enough.

Buying choice: Book Reviews, Recommendation or Browse?

Yes, yes, and yes.

Lewis or Tolkien?

How could I choose?

Collection (short stories by the same author) or Anthology (short stories by different authors)?

Usually collection, but sometimes anthology

Tidy ending or Cliffhanger?

Tie it up in a little bow, please.

Morning reading, Afternoon reading or Nighttime reading?

Morning on the weekends and nighttime during the week.

Standalone or Series?

I usually get bored with series before they're over and then don't finish them. I'll take standalones most of the time.

New or used?

As long as it's readable.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?

The Knight and the Dove by Lori Wick

Currently Reading?

The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama and The Best Life Diet by Bob Greene

Wacker of Weeds

I met my next door neighbor to my left when I got home from work today. She offered me the name and number of their lawn guy (now she offers, I thought). We chatted on our stoops for a few minutes and then I went inside to assemble my weed wacker.

You see, in my lawn care ignorance, I'd let my grass grow way too high before I finally found the reel mower I'd been looking for at Home Depot. A reel mower, if you're unfamiliar, is really only effective when your grass is less than 2 1/2" tall. Mine was well beyond this limit, and growing fast. And I couldn't seem to catch any of the neighborhood lawn-care specialists to get it under control so that the reel mower could take over. Thus the weed wacker purchase.

I never thought I'd be spending my hard-earned money on things like heavy-duty extension cords and 3.4 amp weed wackers. Until Wednesday, that is, when I decided my lawn (by which I mean postage-stamp sized patches of grass in the front and back of my house) was becoming a jungle in the city and took a trip to Sears. There, C.J. so kindly took me through the many weed wacking options and I decided on the low-end Craftsman model. It would get the job done, C.J. told me, well enough that my reel mower could handle the rest. And I could use it to get at those hard-to-reach places, too.

C.J. was right. Tonight, I took weed wacking into my own hands. And in about two hours, I successfully mowed my back yard. It's not as easy as you'd think. Wacking weeds is hard work, despite the motorized parts. My left arm is still partially paralyzed from the strain of directing the wacker. My right hand is cramping from sqeezing the power trigger. And I may not be able to lift my arms or walk tomorrow because my shoulders and lower back feeling tighter with every passing moment. I'll be picking grass and weed bits from my hair for days, but I'm extremely proud of my accomplishment.

My neighbors were, too.

B & B, a husband and wife that live across the alley, had been sitting on their back porch watching me work myself into paralysis. When I finished, Mrs. B came over to introduce herself and offer me her rake. It was the first neighborly gesture I've received since I moved in. So, after talking for a few moments, I raked the mowed grass into three big piles (yes, I said three piles).

As I was heading down the alley to return the rake, I ran into one of my neighbors from the house on the right. Mr. W introduced himself, and commented on what a great job I'd done with my lawn. I thanked him and we talked for a few minutes about how long he'd lived there and how well I was settling into the house. As we were talking, Mr. B came over to introduce himself. We all talked about the weather and my great mowing job, and then Mr. W climbed into his car to leave. Mr. B took his rake and headed back home, inviting me over any time. We waved to each other as I went inside to eat dinner, leaving the piles of grass for tomorrow.

It's amazing what nice weather and a weed wacker will bring. I'm finally starting to feel a sense of community in my new neighborhood. And I'm feeling pretty bad-ass for having taking on the jungle in my back yard. Next expedition: the front yard.

TBR #5 -- It's a Record!

It's the beginning of May - that's month number 5 - and I'm starting my sixth book in the TBR Challenge that I so bravely--and doubtfully--signed up for back in the fall. I haven't been very good at keeping up with reviews, but I've read five books in four months: On Writing Well, by William Zinsser; The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards; The Guy Not Taken, by Jennifer Weiner; How to Read Literature Like a Professor, by Thomas Foster; and The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. That's got to be my reading record for the last several years. I don't know when the last time I managed to put away more than a book every month or so was. Maybe early high school. I've always loved to read, and I've always made time to do it, but over the last couple of years I've been reading less and less. Until this year, that is. And whatever my yearly total is for 2007, I'm going to make it my personal challenge to better that by two books for 2008. Now, on to a mini review.

My fifth read for the TBR Challenge was The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri. I had high hopes for this book, because I'd heard nothing but good things about it. It wasn't action-packed or exciting, but it was a well-written narrative that kept me turning the pages. I found myself relating completely with the main character, Gogol, who spent most of his life rejecting the life his parents had lived and attempting to turn his back on his culture. Much of the story was centered around his attempts to become his own person and the internal struggle of finding a balance between his Indian heritage and his American upbringing. It was a powerful story about how the choices we make from the moment we are able to make them shape who we become. I think the most important point I took away from the book was that we often fight against the currents of our past, only to discover that we belong downstream after all. I'm looking forward to reading Interpreter of Maladies in the near future.

Everyday Surprises

Today was one of those days where simple things, things that I probably see and do pretty regularly, seemed particularly surprising.

There was my lunch-time walk with a co-worker in the warm sunshine, the light breeze blowing, the smell of flowers in the air and the sounds of ships drifting off the Bay. I was almost too enthralled in the beauty of the day to pay attention to the conversation we were having, except that certain observations about my boss were exceptionally funny in the moment.

There was a conversation with my Dad, in which I learned that while he was in the Navy he had been stationed in Brooklyn for a year and a half. It stunned me that in 31 years of life, I don't ever remember knowing details about my Dad's time in the Navy. I knew he had served, and the approximate time-frame of his enlistment, but I had no idea that he was a Sailor for 4 years, that he was also stationed in Florida and South Carolina, or that he'd traveled to England, France and other European countries. It was almost like I was meeting him for the first time.

There were the husband and wife Mallards, nuzzling in the park near my home. They were sitting in the tall grass, almost hidden from my sight, just a few feet from the curb. The man-Mallard, with his shining green feathers, sat beak-to-beak with his missus. In the middle of the city, two ducks fell in love.

There was the friendliness of strangers as I walked in the cooling evening through my new neighborhood. The woman walking her dog, who met my eyes and said hello. The couple spreading grass seed in their yard. The young man who cat-called from his porch and asked if I was out exercising. It seems the sun brings out the best in everyone.

So many wonderful surprises in one day. I hope that doesn't mean I've used up my surprising moments rations for the month.

Turnoff Try

My Great TV Turnoff started yesterday, and it went well overall. After a very long day at work, I ran some errands and headed home, looking forward to lounging on the couch in front of Friends reruns and then doing some cleaning up before Heroes. But by the time I got home I’d remembered that the TV is off limits (mostly) this week.

So, I cooked dinner and ate it in silence. Feeling exhausted, I abandoned ideas of a clean office and sparkling dishes for the couch and a good book. I lay down under my front windows, opened wide, and enjoyed the late evening breeze and the last bits of sunlight. When the sun had almost set, I found my way to the computer, did some blog-walking and checked my email. After an hour, I was so tired that sitting up seemed to be an effort. I shut down Windows, put my laptop back in its resting position and curled up on my bed with my book until 9:00.

I admit, my TV Turnoff commitments couldn’t overpower my desires to see the first new episode of Heroes since March 5th. But I turned it on at 9:00 sharp and turned it off as soon as next week’s previews were over. The only other TV I’ll be watching this week is Lost on Wednesday night. I figure two hours is much better than the several hours a week I usually have the television on, even if I’m not watching it. And just think, not only am I saving precious brain cells from atrophy, but I’m also going a bit greener by using less electricity.

The Real Thing

This afternoon I made my weekly trip the grocery store to buy fruits and veggies, some milk and bread. I can never stick to the perimeter of the store, like all the health magazines I read suggest. So as I wandered through the aisles, I passed an end-cap stacked high with cases of Coke products on sale. I glance their way and had almost passed them, when I stopped my cart (or buggy if you prefer) abruptly and backed up, almost running over a tiny lady with an armful of cereal boxes.

I apologized profusely and then turned my attention back to the item that had halted me. "Diet Coke *plus," the box said, the "plus" spelled out in pretty rainbow letters. Now, I'm a big Diet Coke fan, so I of course read on. It turns out that the newest Diet Coke incarnation contains vitamins B3, B6, and B12, plus zinc and magnesium. Does anyone else find this a bit confusing?

In the Diet Coke Plus press release, senior vice president of Coca-Cola North America, Katie Bayne, made this statement:

"Consumers, including Diet Coke drinkers, are increasingly looking for more beverage options, and we wanted to offer them the convenience of a calorie-free beverage that is a good source of several essential vitamins and minerals, and one that delivers on the great taste that they have come to expect from us."

By good source, Ms. Bayne means that an 8-oz. serving of Diet Coke Plus provides 15% of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of the B vitamins mentioned above, and 10% of the RDA of zinc and magnesium. I'm not impressed. Yes, most of us could stand to increase our vitamin and mineral intake. And yes, many soda drinkers have other unhealthy habits that keep them from getting the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of most vitamins and minerals. So why not help them out by adding some nutrition to their Diet Coke, right? But I'm not convinced that "fortifying" soda, which is otherwise nutrition-less, is a good idea.

I think that touting Diet Coke Plus as a "good source" of vitamins and minerals will give consumers a false sense of the health benefits of drinking the product. Yes, drinking several cans of Diet Coke Plus a day is probably better than drinking the same number of cans of regular Diet Coke or other diet soda, if you're not getting your vitamins from elsewhere. But honestly, I think it's just another poor imitation of nutritious. It's one thing to fortify our cereals, which tend to contain other healthy ingredients like fiber, but adding vitamins to soda? I just don't get it. Then again, a lot of people buy Vitamin Water, and that's the same thing--vitamins and minerals added to water, a basically nutrition-less beverage. But water doesn't start out with added colors, natural flavors, preservatives, and caffeine like many sodas, including Diet Coke. So, while I'll continue to drink the occasional Diet Coke, I doubt I'll be picking up a Diet Coke Plus anytime soon. I'd rather get my vitamins and minerals from the place nature intended – a good old-fashioned multi-vitamin.

Turning It Off Again

National TV Turnoff Week is coming up (April 23–29) and I'm actually looking forward to it this year, unlike last year's resistance. Since I committed to writing more each week, I've been watching less TV anyway. But I can always use an excuse to turn off the tube and hit the sheets a bit earlier. I might get a few more writing projects done, too, which would be an excellent side effect. Who knows? I might be so productive that I decide to leave the thing off. I'm not sure that's realistic, but I do have to wonder how much more writing, reading, cleaning, sleeping, and just plain living I'd do if I didn't own a television.

Cutting Up

Last weekend I was flipping channels and got caught up in an infomercial for these. I've seen it before. And everytime I watch I think, "Man, I could use those." I mean, it's a set of 11 stainless steel knives that can cut through leather, that can saw through dry wall, that don't dull or break. At least that's what they say in the infomercial. And they're only $30! That's a great deal, right? But alas, I couldn't bring myself to pick up the phone and call, because these days that $30 is better spent elsewhere. Like on groceries, or a gallon of paint. I'd just have to suffer it out with the knives I've been using for years, that can barely cut through warm butter, but do the job just the same.

Imagine my joy when my step-sister handed me two belated birthday boxes filled with not only the 11 Miracle Blade III knives, but also an extra set of the steak knives and the butcher block to display them all in, standing tall and proud and sharp and brand new on my countertop. I haven't tested them out on flying pineapples or leather shoes, but they sure worked well on potatoes and onions when I was making dinner tonight. I used the "Rock 'n Chop" to cut me some french fries and slice me some onions. And the steak knives worked wonders on fresh strawberries. No crushed, mushed berries, just even, round slices. I can't wait to use the "Chop 'n Scoop" on some fresh parsley, or the "Slicer" on a fresh loaf of bread. We'll see if these things are really as sharp and useful as the infomercial says they are. They're definitely going to get their workout from me, that's for sure. I might even buy a pineapple and have My Love throw it at me to see if the slicer can slide right through it or if that's just the magic of TV. Either way, they work much better than the my pre-Miracle collection.

And what about those old knives that are in my drawer right now? What should I do with them? I'd hate to give them to someone else knowing they're only good for sawing through cooked cabbage. I'm thinking they'd make a nice set of wind chimes, or a beautiful piece of industrial art.

Last-minute Visit

My mom called today and said, "I'm coming down tomorrow." I was a might-bit surprised, as it's a 6 1/2 hour drive, and a might-bit anxious, as I don't really have any room for guests (no bed in the guest room which has been taken over by all of the things I haven't found a place for yet). Turns out she's going to ride down with my step-sister, who's bringing my nephew down to visit his grandparents for Spring Break next week. So tomorrow morning, I'll be hanging out with my mom!

Despite the fact that I have "no room at the inn," I'm really excited to see her, my step-sister, and my nephew (although I won't really get to see much of any of them). This will be their first visits since I bought my house, so they'll get to see it (and the slow progress I'm making in decorating it). It will also be the first time I've seen them since Christmas. I'll get to spend all day Saturday with my mom, and we'll meet back up with my sister for dinner. They'll only be here for hours, really, but I'm sure we'll make the most of it. What a great weekend surprise!

Now, I've got some cleaning to do!

Burkhead's Baby

Dear Media Outlets, Reporters and Paparazzi,

Dannielynn's daddy is Larry Burkhead. There. Now we know. Can we please, oh puh-lease, stop hearing about the sorted details of Anna Nicole's life, death and addictions? I hope that poor little girl is able to overcome the legacy that her mother has left behind. And I hope that the people in her life do what's best by her. Now go away. Leave. Her. Alone.

Progress!!!

Time's short so I'm going with bulleted lists today.

On my writing goals:

• I've been steadily making progress on some projects I've had in the burner:

1. Remailed my first essay to a new set of Literary Journals, since everyone in the first set sent me such nice form rejections. I reworked my cover letter a bit and sent it on its way.
2. Mailed out two other essays, each to its own set of publications.
3. Did some basic character sketches for a story I've had floating around in my head.

• I've been doing well with my 5-hours-per-week writing goal. I didn't meet it last week because of wedding trip preparations and the weekend away, but I met it the first week, and I'm plugging away at it this week.
• My goal of getting a website up and running has jumped to the top of my list of priorities, so I'm spending some time gathering pieces for my portfolio and writing some general content.

On life in general:

• I'm feeling healthy, happy and focused.
• My Love's birthday was Tuesday and we're hoping to do something special this weekend--not sure what, we're going to be spontaneous.
• Things at work are going well, mostly because I do what needs to get done while I'm there and worry about what I need to do when I get home, when I get home. (What a concept, huh?) I realized that spending my whole day thinking about all the other things that I could, should or want to be doing is not the most efficient way to use my time. And it doesn't excatly make life at work pleasant.
• I've been thinking a lot about the importance of having a community of people in your life.

On my blogs:

• Because I'm so busy these days, and I find the thought of writing a blog post and then editing it and formatting it for two different blog environments and posting to two different sites almost unbearable, I've been a bit lazy on the blogging front. I'm trying to break through this.
  
• I'm considering making this a writing/life blog and making my Spaces blog a health/weight loss blog. I'm not sure how that would work out because so much of that stuff overlaps, but I figure it can't hurt to give it a try.
• There's still the chance, if all else fails, that I'll be moving to Blogger-only mode, but I'm going to continue posting on both blogs for now.

Thanks for sticking with me through this dry spell!

**Note: It just occurred to me that I didn't post my last entry at Spaces here. (See bullet point 1 under "On my blogs".) Check it out if you're interested.

Review: The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

Of all the goals I've made for 2007, reading a book a month for the TBR Challenge seems to by the one I've been most successful at pursuing so far. I finished On Writing, by William Zinsser, the first week in February. Then I devoured The Guy Not Taken, a collection of short stories by Jennifer Weiner, over the next several days. I don't have much time to read, so finishing each book before midnight on the last night of the month has been a pleasant surprise. Luckily, each book I've chosen has held my interest and been worth the hours I've put into them.

My March read was The Memory Keeper's Daughter, a story about a doctor whose wife unexpectedly gives birth to twins--a healthy boy and a girl with Down's sydrome--and the fateful choice the doctor makes to send the infant girl to an institution and tell his wife she died. The story started out a bit slow for me, but as soon as the secret of Dr. David Henry's daughter was introduced, I knew I'd love this book. I loved each of the characters, so deeply affected by a single event, by one decision made by a man trying to protect the woman he loved from a deep pain.

Before I started this book, I'd heard from several readers that it wasn't very good. I was afraid I'd be trudging through a bad story. But like everything else in this world, different people have different opinions about books, and I'm so glad I didn't let the bad reviews keep me from picking this story up and delving in. I liked everything about it (except the excessive details in the first few chapters). I loved the alternating points of view. I liked the characters, even when they weren't acting very likeable. I enjoyed the mistakes and imperfections of each of them, and I particularly enjoyed the pursuit of redemption, each character attempting to reconcile their choices and perspectives based on what they know and don't know is the truth.

I read a comment from another reader who said she had a hard time believing that someone would react the way Dr. Henry reacted in the story. But I know personally that in the time that Memory was set, raising a child with Down's syndrome wasn't easy, and doctors regularly encouraged families to put the child in an institution and forget about him or her. Keeping such a child at home just wasn't something you did in those days. Thankfully, there were parents who challenged this status quo and fought for the progress that so many benefit from today. Kim Edwards' story reminds me that there was a time when people with mental disabilities had little hope of living a productive and fulfilling life within our society and makes me thankful for those people (like my grandmothers) who refused to follow the pack and pushed for the rights their children deserved. It also reminded me of how far we have yet to go, of mothers who continue to fight for their childrens' rights to an education, to opportunities, to experiences, that so many of us take for granted.

If you haven't already read this book, I'd recommend it. You may or may not like it, but I think it's worth a try. And if you have read it, I'd love to know what you thought, good or bad.

Window of Opportunity

I'm supposed to be working on this week's article for Feed the Soul and clocking a few of those 5 hours per week of writing that I committed to.

But the banging downstairs won't stop. I should have known better. I went to work today bright and cheery, with the knowledge that I'd be leaving early and heading home for a rare afternoon of writing time. It never occurred to me that focus and concentration would be out of the question while the men downstairs installed my new triple-pane Preservation windows in the living room. I can work through just about anything, but it sounds like they're ripping out the entire wall, and all I can think about is the horror stories I've heard of construction and contracting gone wrong.

I'm trying to quell the anxiety by visualizing my beautiful, energy efficient new windows, but then I start picturing bits of duct tape holding the frames in place and nails sticking out of the wall. I'm actually afraid to go downstairs and see what's going on. What if they're making a mess that I'll have to clean up later? What if the measurements were wrong and the windows don't fit? What if I made a mistake?

Ah, paranoia...why do you keep coming around? I guess I'll go start a load of laundry. At least something productive will get done.

And I can catch a glimpse of whatever is going on downstairs on my way through...

---

UPDATE: Turns out I was worrying for nothing (of course). Soon after I posted this, the banging subsided and I got some serious writing done. Plus, the windows look fantastic! If only I'd had the $9000 to do all the windows in the house at once. Two down, six (plus the four basement windows) to go. I really am going to spend all of my spare cash on this house now, aren't I?

Disciplinary Action

So it turns out that to be a writer--to actually believe that you are one and to make other people believe it, too--you have to write something. I'm working on this part of begin a writer. I've go the "call-yourself-a-writer-and-you're-a-writer" thing down. And I've been sporatically publishing here and there. But it's the actual discipline of writing I'm having a bit of difficulty with. While I write regularly for Feed the Soul, and I just published the final article in my online series on home buying for Radiant Magazine, I'm not getting very far with my essay collection and that novel I keep thinking (and, to my dismay, telling people) about. I think I actually believe that if I keep talking about these things they'll materialize without any effort on my part. Clearly, I'm absolutely nuts.

The only good that can come out of this telling is that the pressure that it puts on me to perform, to not let all of these people down, is pushing me to get my arse in gear and write something. I know I keep saying this, but maybe if I keep talking about it I'll actually do it. In fact, I'm always the first person to point the finger at "talkers." You know people like this: they always have big plans, but never seem to see them through. They drive me crazy. And here I am, acting like a talker myself.

I don't want to be a talker. I want to be a doer. But how do I get from the talking to the doing?

I guess I just do.

Patresa recently posted about her realization that people treated her writing like a hobby because she treated it like a hobby, and that hit me as being true of myself, as well. So I'm going to start treating it like the job that it should be. Here's the plan. (Yes, I've made a plan, because "a goal without a plan is only a wish," and wishing never got me anywhere.) I'm committing to write at least 5 hours a week: 2 hours on either Tuesday or Thursday night, and three hours on Sundays. And this blogging thing, while I love it, does not count as my writing time. That means you may see less of me around here until I get into the grove of my new routine. I love you all, but I'll hate myself if I never really pursue this dream with all that I have.

I spent Sunday doing more market research and I'm sending my first essay out to more journals this week. The last five submissions were rejected, so it's on to the next group on my list. And I finished a second essay on Sunday, which I'm going to start submitting, too. I also started character sketches for my main characters for that novel I've been talking about. I'm going to be seeing an old friend in two weeks, and when I mentioned my goal to get a first draft finished this year, she told me she'd hold me to having at least a title page printed by the time we meet up. I want to have those character's fleshed out by then, instead. And I'm working through the Freelance Writer's Bible in the hopes that it will live up to it's promise and help me to develop a consistent writing practice and a lucrative freelance career.

Here's to living our dreams and making them happen!

Ahhh...No More Viruses

I can't believe how much of a difference a clean slate makes. My computer has been restored to its original state and is happily flying from website to website. Programs are opening in seconds instead of minutes, and I'm getting stuff done in record time. I'll be around to visit and I'll be back to writing regularly. Big thanks go out to my new favorite co-worker for taking care of my computer, a machine I've realized I'm very dependent on.

Now if I'd only thought to back up my music folder...I have to reload all my music on iTunes. Small price to pay for no more viruses, I suppose.

Update

Just a quick post to say I'm still alive, but my computer is only hanging on by a thread. I've been doing as little as possible on it over the last several days and trying to fix the problem on my own, but it's just not fixing. I'm leaving it with a co-worder tonight to work some magic on it, and hopefully I'll be back to posting regularly in no time.