Deepish Thoughts from the Summer
Yes, I'm aware that it's already October--we're not even in the FIRST days of autumn anymore. However, the weather is very summer-like (and too dry!), so summer's experiences have been on my mind.
Also, September was a full month. Besides extending the summer "I want to be outdoors" feeling as long as possible, I had a couple of events.
Early-ish in the month, I shared a book signing with David Giuliano, Marathon-based author of The Undertaking of Billy Buffone (Latitude 46), at Indigo Thunder Bay. It was fun to see friends and spend time in the local branch of the national chain.
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| I'm on the left |
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| Rod signing copies of Ruff |
Between and among those events and the regular Activities of Daily Living, I've been remembering insights I had earlier this summer.
Here are a few.
Always take a BEFORE photo. I usually forget and when I forget, I regret it. But when you're pruning lower branches from a birch and taking out soon-to-be-dead balsam firs, it's hard to see your progress unless you know what used to be there. (I guess this would work for revising, especially if you're pruning a draft.)
The answer to "Do we need more olives?" is always yes (unless it's "oh, yeah, no, for sure, yeah" or "hell yes"). The situation of "more olives" is always better than a situation of "not enough olives," and who's to say what "enough" means?
A head of cabbage is a commitment. This wisdom was shared by my sister, who loves to cook but lives alone and finds herself weary of some food purchases before they're gone. It was fun to be able to share a cabbage casserole and slaw at various meals and feel virtuous for finishing an entire head of green cabbage.
Always take a shower, even if it feels like a lot of trouble. Perhaps especially when it feels like a lot of trouble. This advice of course depends on the state of the well, which in this dry year we've been topping liberally from the lake, so showers are always possible. And so worth it, after a day of play or work outdoors.
You know that *dusts hands* gesture, which conveys a "well, that task is done" feeling? It makes a lot of actual physical sense when you've done something like move the garden hose without wearing gloves and a towel isn't handy.
I've been trying to notice signs of natural changes that don't involve external cultural pressures (like the reappearance of coffee drinks or pumpkins in stores). For me this year, of the real signs that summer was over was when I began to drink water from the "cold water" flasks in the fridge and didn't refill them and put them back in the fridge. (I don't drink refrigerated water during the cooler months, when the house is cool enough.)
Actually, I've done it a couple of times--I started clearing out the cold water early in September and then had to refill them when the warm weather lingered. I took out the last one just a few days ago. September has been a warm month.
That's what I've got for now. Late in this month (October 27), my husband (Roy Blomstrom, author of three novels) and I will appear with Thunder Bay's book and theatre critic, Michael Sobota, at Entershine Bookshop for a Q&A. We're looking forward to talking about Roy's newest novel, The Devil's Violin: Myllysilta's History, and our publishing efforts, and probably my novel too, and what it's like to be a two-writer household. If you're in the area, please come!