From The Bookshelf Of...

I usually have about a dozen library books piled on my dresser, most of which never get read because I just don't have that much time. This last week, however, I was on holidays and you'd think that would be the perfect time to lose myself in a few books. But no. I had one library book out. One. And I just couldn't get into it.
Now this doesn't necessarily mean I didn't have anything to read. I have many books on my shelves at home that are unread. The problem being, I thought, that they are by and large non-fiction, which just doesn't captivate (usually) as well as fiction.
The first book I picked up was one I had started awhile back and had only read a couple pages.
It was fantastic.
Fabulous.
Wonderful.
It was sweet and delicious and real, with an unexpected heartbreak at the end that squeezes you just so until you can't breathe and have to put it down before finishing.
The book was "A Thousand Days in Tuscany" by Marlena De Blasi. A book about the life and people of rural Tuscany and the food that brings them together. At the end of each chapter was a recipe from within the stories Marlena had just told. It is about love and simplicity; about a way of life that seems foreign and exotic and rich all at once.
It is a book I would recommend to anyone, but particularly those that like to live their books - to smell and feel and care about what's going on.

My second pick was from the rathy skimpy fiction shelf. A long time ago I'd bought and started to read "Velocity" by Dean Koontz. I'm not a Koontz fan, but the premise of this book intrigued me. A man gets a note under the windshield of his car one night...
"If you don't take this note to the police...I will kill a lovely blond schoolteacher...If you do...I will instead kill an elderly woman active in charity work. You have six hours to decide. The choice is yours."
I thought it would be an interesting book about moral choices, but instead it was filled with macabre deaths and no sunlight. It was one of my least favorite books in a long time.

Today I picked out another non-fiction work which is turning out to be a real gem. It is "Banvard's Folly" by Paul Collins. It is about thirteen people who didn't change the world. Famous and some infamous in their time, they are nevertheless people that you've probably never heard about before. John Banvard leads off the selection as the richest artist in the world in his time. He spent 2 years in the mid 1800's sailing down the Mississippi River, sketching it as he went. Upon his return home he painted a fantastic 3 mile long panorama of it, which he then presented at shows (the first style of "moving picture") in the United States and Europe. He eventually lost his great fortune when he attempted to compete with P.T. Barnum in the museum business.
I am on the fourth story in the book and am greatly entertained and enthralled by these fantastic stories that I've never heard before.
It's one thing to read a biography about someone you're somewhat familiar with, and quite another to read about the amazing things done by someone completely unknown to you.
I would recommend this book to anyone with a curious mind.

Droplets

The Quote's For You

"Whatever it was, I knew it would be all right, or it wouldn't be all right, but it would be part of the same unbroken line we were all walking in, which is, of course, the real lesson...And we danced too wild, and we sang too long, and we hugged too hard, and kissed too sweet...because by now we were all old enough to know that what looks like crazy on an ordinary day looks a lot like love if you catch it in the moonlight."

-What Looks Like Crazy On An Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage

---

"I believe God is a librarian. I believe that literature is holy...it is that best part of our souls that we break off and give each other, and God has a special dispensation for it, angels to guard its making and its preservation."

- Chasing Shakespeares by Sarah Smith (pg 136)

Happy/Sad

I am so excited about my new camera! I lost my digital camera about 2 1/2 months ago (I think), and have been looking forward to getting a new one. It was either that or a new bike, and since I do have a bike that works, I thought I'd spurge on a new camera. (And in the tradition of some friends who name their bikes, I now christen mine "Old Faithful." I think she's earned it!)
The camera is a Panasonic LZ7, and I love it! It's black and small, but not so small that I'll lose it (!) and has 6x optical zoom, which was the major selling feature for me. Now I'll have to sit down one night and work my way through the instruction manual and see what this baby can do!

On a different note, I was sad to read today that Jason Lawlor passed away. I went to school with him for a few years, around grades 5-8 or so. I remember him as a happy, athletic, cocky kid, and was sad to hear a little while ago that he had cancer. His friends set up a Facebook group for him and provided updates about how he was doing. Today they sent out a notice to everyone letting them know of Jason's passing. He will be greatly missed.

Observations on a Wednesday Evening

If I was a cashier at a grocery store, I would always wonder about the things people buy. Especially close to closing time. And especially when they only buy one item. They came all the way to the store, for one thing. So you gotta think that it's pretty important. The guy in front of me tonight had only dishwasher detergent. Not all that interesting, but still, you know he's going home to run the dishwasher. Tonight. Maybe he has important company coming over tomorrow morning and the dishes have to be done tonight.
And then there's me with my honeydew melon, all natural yogurt, and apples.
Oh yeah, and a huge bag of ripple chips and dip! Because you can't be healthy all the time.

I helped to weed at the church tonight for 2 1/2 hours.
I feel strangely ambivalent about it. I didn't hate it. Didn't love it.
It's strange to feel completely neutral about something.
Hmmm...not much to talk about there.

Well I had a bunch of thoughts in my head before I sat down, but they seem to have disappeared on me. Oh well. Better get back to my chips and dip.

A New Favorite

I just finished watching "The Holiday."
I think it is my new favorite. Charming, funny, moving, happy, it was perfect. It's one of those movies that leaves you feeling good about life. And perhaps wanting to go on a holiday and fall in love with a handsome stranger!

It was the perfect end to a great day. I biked and walked for about 2 1/2 hours this afternoon,and then came home and had a nap. I love afternoon naps.

Now I should go and apply some more aloe vera to my lobster-like shoulders, and hope that this burn doesn't blister.

Summer Musings

I was reminded by a friend the other day that it's been awhile since I've written anything, so here goes.

Today, I am happy.

I am so looking forward to this summer. I have a few plans that I am excited about, but mostly I'm looking forward to lots of walking, running, riding my bike, and hanging out with friends. I am on holidays soon and have been looking for the perfect book to read during my week off. I think I found it today. It is The Sword of Shannara Trilogy, 25th Anniversary Edition, hardcover. I think this book is hefty enough to be called a tome. It is actually 3 books bound in one (hence "trilogy"), and I would have preferred to read the paperback versions but, alas, they were out. It weighs in at 1191 pages and approximately 5 pounds. It feels like the kind of book a person could easily lose themselves in for a week, which is what I plan to do. Although I'm certain I will not finish it in one week!

I'm not usually a huge fan of country music, but when summertime rolls around it seems like my genre of choice. When the temperature hits double digits and the sun is hot in the sky, I love to listen to either Keith Urban or Brad Paisley in the car. I think my song of the day today would be "I Could Fly" by Keith Urban.

I Can Walk a Kilometre

Tomorrow I will be walking my first-ever half marathon. That's 21.1 km. Nicole and I drove the route tonight to get a feel for it.
It's far.
Really far.
I'm excited for the race, but I also can't wait until it's over.
Now I must get to bed.

Another Place to Visit

The month of April was a good reading month for me. It was an all non-fiction month, and all four books would make my top 10 for this year.
I read:
Revenge of the Paste Eaters by Cheryl Peck
Back From the Dead by Joan M. Cheever
What Remains by Carole Radziwill
On a Street Called Easy, In a Cottage Called Joy by Gregory White Smith and Steven Naifeh.

A memoir, stories of men freed from their death sentences, another (very moving and at times incredibly emotional) memoir, and a comedy about renovating a house (if you can call 20,000 square feet simply a house).

And now I find myself in the midst of another book that I don't want to end. It's called Inside the Postal Bus: My Ride with Lance Armstrong and the U.S. Postal Cycling Team by Michael Barry. I didn't know much at all about cycling before picking up this book, but would now consider myself a fan of the sport. I love learning about new things, and can now add another place to my list of "places I want to see because I've read about them" - I would love to go to France to see the Tour de France. (Perhaps I can work this in when I go to Venice, Italy.)

One of the things that amazes me about cycling is the degree of selflessness it takes. Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France 6 times, but only because he had such an amazing team around him. There are 9 riders on a tour team, and each is selected for the strengths he possesses.

"The team that was formed around Lance was the strongest unit in the race. There were riders within the team with the ability to race for stage victories or a top place in the final overall classification, but they dedicated all of their energy to helping Lance get to Paris in the yellow jersey at the end of July. The most important factor in selecting the Tour team is that each member has a sole objective: help Lance win the Tour. Nobody has personal ambitions, and the mentality is all for one." [Italics mine]

That blows me away. It's pretty rare in professional sports to see top notch athletes willing to give it all they've got so that someone else can get all the glory. I think that's what has given me such a new found respect for the sport.

Disappointment

I went to see the new Spiderman movie last night. Unfortunately.
Total cheeseball. I believe the word I am looking for is "fromage."
The acting was almost painful to watch at some points, it was so second-rate. Even the special effects could not save it, as the action sequences were often blurry and the camera jumped around enough to make you dizzy.
If I had to recommend it, I would say it's definitely a renter and not a $10-a-ticket theatre quality movie.

The Day the Universe Changed

I listened to my first book-on-tape today during my 18km walk. I knew I was going to need something to take my mind off of the pain that was sure to set in somewhere around the halfway point of my walk, and thought a history book-on-tape would do the trick.
Sure enough, it worked like a charm.
I listened to The Day the Universe Changed, by James Burke. It's amazing how much you can learn in a little over 2 hours. (I didn't listen to the whole 3 hours.) The subtitle to the book is "Pivotal Moments in Time That Radically Altered the Course of Human History" which I think sums up quite handily the gist of the book. Burke moves flawlessly through time, weaving a narrative that ties everything together, from science, religion, and politics to art, architecture and music. I never realized how cohesive history is. I tend to think in terms of individual, defining moments, but have never quite seen the big picture - how we got to where we are.
I would definitely recommend this book-on-tape to anyone with even a bit of interest in history.

Spring Has Sprung

It's official. Two sunburns, my first barbecued smokie-on-a-bun, and a lunch hour spent reading in the park confirms it. Spring is here, and it almost feels like Summer.

Aahhh...home sweet home

The wind is fierce, the air is damp. The city lays under thick cloudcover.

I love coming home on days like today. Walking into my warm home, greeted at the door by my cat. Knowing that I don't have to leave again until tomorrow. Changing into comfy clothes and deciding to make something simple for supper. Thinking that maybe I'll eat my chocolate cake and ice cream first, and start that new book that's been sitting by my bed.
I couldn't be happier.

Little Hands

We talk lately about how big they're getting, how old they seem. My nephew can read so well and my niece is an amazing little artist.
But when I grasped their hands to say say grace at supper the other night, I was struck by how small they were. These little hands, so soft and full of the essence of childhood.
Little hands clenching a pencil to draw a picture - a picture that can be anything you want it to be, because when you're 5 there are no rules yet. You are only limited by your imagination, and if you want to sign your name backwards, now is the time.
Little hands that follow along the page as you learn to read and your vocabulary grows by leaps and bounds.
Little hands that fidget when you're nervous and gesture animatedly when you tell stories.

When it seems like they're growing so fast and getting bigger every time I see them, I have only to take their little hands in mine to put things back into perspective.

Getting Old

There's a scene in the movie The Guardian (that I recently watched) that I just love, that speaks about getting older. The (older female) bartender is talking to the (older male) coastguard instructor and has this to say:

"Hell, I've always been old, Ben. You know what though? I don't mind.
I mean, if my muscles ache it's cause I've used 'em. It's hard for me to walk up them steps now cause I walked up 'em every night to lay next to a man who loved me.
I got a few wrinkles here and there, but I've laid under a thousand skies
on sunny days.
I look and feel this way, well, cause I drank and I smoked, I lived and I loved, danced, sang, sweat and screwed my way through a pretty damn good life.
Gettin old ain't bad man; getting old - that's earned."

I love the sentiment behind those words. These days nobody wants to get old, or to look like they're getting older. They want to be young eternally, instead of celebrating a life well lived. Maybe I think this way because I'm still (relatively) young, but I hope I can always embrace whatever season of life I'm in, and be proud of what's come before and hopeful for what lays ahead.

walking

I had a "refocusing" moment the other day when I was walking. It was a 4 km day, (in my half marathon training) and I was kind of dragging my butt. I really didn't feel like walking; my hip was very sore, my hands were freezing, and my glasses kept fogging up. I was looking forward to being done this stupid half marathon and not having to walk on assigned days anymore. I was over halfway done when I turned the corner to head west.
And came face to face with a beautiful pink sunset. It was quite cloudy, which served to give texture and weight to the light. It was so wonderful I had to stop and watch for awhile.
I absolutely love the sky, and upon seeing this brushstroke of beauty at the end of the day, I realized how long it's been since I've sat and gazed at the sky.
All of a sudden I remembered why I like walking - because it's a different way of seeing the world. Walking is about exploration and taking your time.

It's about strolling, meandering, wandering, rambling, and in general not being in a rush.
It's about having time to think, or as is more common with myself, having not to think. [Aside: I found myself many times this winter listening to the sounds of my boots crunching on snow, and my darth vader-like breathing (trying to suck air through both my buff and balaclava). Try as I might to make "good use" of this time, I nearly always ended up with a mind clear of everything. Which, now that I'm thinking about it, was maybe the best use of that time. Every other minute of my day seems crammed with so many sporadic, disjointed thoughts, perhaps a calm, focused mind is what I need the most.]

With the sunset came the renewal of my desire to walk; a renewal of my desire to wander, and to see things I might otherwise miss.

Thank you, God, for that ethereal art in the sky.

Me, Myself, and I

Musings..

Thinking about my "inner" person. Not my inner child or my spiritual self, but just how I see myself but don't necessarily express myself. I've realized that my inner sense of fashion and being is somewhat bohemian hippie. I don't dress to that effect, nor do I act in that manner, but I suppose if I had to pick a visualization for what I want to embody, that is it. I'm not the fashion conscious girl to whom the words stylish, sophisticated or glamorous apply. I'm cute, funny, and a little bit quirky, and should I ever get married, it will be to someone who recognizes those qualities in me. I would rather be the recycling, earth conscious, natural fiber, "granola" type than the resident fashionista. I'm the girl who goes to the library every day on my lunch break because I love to read that much. And because the people there don't care much that I come in wearing my old style, slightly dorky-looking earmuffs.

The definition I like best for bohemian is "a nonconformist writer or artist who lives an unconventional life."

And this is the hippie I imagine: "someone who rejects the established culture."

There are other definitions for these words but I found they did not apply to what I see as myself. Not that these definitions particular define who I am at the moment, but perhaps who I want to be.
The definition of hippie reminds me of passage from "Tuesdays with Morrie."

"You have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn't work, don't buy it. Create your own." I like that, and I think I've probably quoted it before.

My second musing is actually just a quote I like from a book I just finished reading. The book is "Rebuilt: How Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human" by Michael Chorost, and I like what it says about life:

"Depending on your interests, you can go this way or that way, and if you choose to go that way, you will never find out what you might have discovered had you gone this way. Whichever way you choose, you will leave huge areas of the cave forever unexplored and unlit."

walking

In summer, walking is exercise. In winter, walking is an experience.
In summer, you throw on some shorts, socks and a t-shirt, a pair of runners and you're ready to go.
In winter, it goes like this...
leggings, tucked into socks
fleece pants over leggings
long sleeve t-shirt
short sleeve t-shirt
tech pants (sort of like ski pants)
t-shirt tucked into tech pants
sweatshirt
buff
balaclava
jacket with hood
runners
mittens.
And then you're ready to go.

Am I looking forward to Spring, warm weather, and clear sidewalks?
You betcha.
I figure if I can walk 7 kms in -30 degrees, bundled up like I'm walking to the North Pole, trying not to slip on the ice or be hit by a car, vainly trying to see through the one spot on my glasses that hasn't frozen over, walking 21 kms in May should not pose a problem.

The Three R's

I read an article in the paper this last week about resolutions and the 3 Rs - reduce, reuse, and recycle. Most people I know do pretty well with the recycle part, but the article encouraged increased participation in the other 2 as well. It was an affirmation of one of my resolutions for this new year - to be less of a consumer, and to reuse as much as I can.
As far as consumerism goes, I want to try to buy only those things that I need and specifically set out to buy - and not all the other junk I sometimes come home with; to spend less money on impulse purchases. This is for two reasons. One, I want to try and get back on a budget, which automatically means spending less, and two, I've just grown tired of having so much "stuff" in my house. I'm somewhat disorganized and am frequently frustrated at not being able to find things because they are buried somewhere under all that "stuff." I know if I just put things away I would be able to find them easier next time, but also I get tired of all the piles of stuff there is to put away.
As for reusing things, I'm trying to do this in small ways, like washing the disposable cutlery I use at work instead of throwing it out after one use. The article also suggested giving old magazines to places that could use them in their waiting rooms, instead of recycling them as soon as we're done with them. Also, it's time to go through my clothes and bring a bag to the Salvation Army. I also want to try shopping there more this year, in part to reuse clothing, and also to save some money. (And because my mom and sister always seem to find awesome stuff there for a fraction of the retail cost!)

So, having been challenged myself, I'll pass it along to you - reduce, reuse, and recycle in 2007!

Snow Day

What a blizzard. Icy roads blanketed in thick snow, white-out conditions, frozen up windshield. The drive home from work today was the most stressful driving experience of my life. Perhaps even one of the most stressful experiences I've had, period. I almost cried when I finally pulled into my parking spot, an hour and a half after leaving work (normally a 15-20 min drive). I was quite shaky and just had to sit there for a minute before getting out. I helped push someone into the parking lot shortly after I got home, and witnessed several other people helping to free stuck vehicles as well. It's nice to see people come together and help others when the going gets tough (or in this case, when the going gets cold and slippery).
I was also able to locate my shovel, which was buried deep in the snow in the backyard. I have a feeling I may need it tomorrow.
I'm feeling very thankful for a safe drive home and that I have a home to come to.