Clear, bitterly cold, temp. minus 31.
Dear Lord. Minus 31. Can't even imagine how quickly flesh freezes in that. fortunately there's no wind. If there was no one would venture outside. Except Tony, who helps around the place and pretty much keeps us running. Around Christmas he looks like Santa. Bushy white beard. Quite a mountain man. But as the season progresses he looks more and more like a Yeti.
God bless Tony!
Quite a busy day. Writing this morning. Have learned to shut out all distractions - phone, email, visitors etc. I have to, otherwise I'd still be writing A FATAL GRACE/DEAD COLD. do you remember Get Smart? I loved that show as a kid. Would you believe I had a tiny crush on Maxwell Smart? But when I write it's as though I bring down my own 'cone of silence' - with results similar to the show. It doesn't always work. Missed it by that much.
Cotton just called. We were supposed to go to dinner with her tonight but she's (not surprisingly) caught a cold so has cancelled. We have a small gift of home-made (not by us but by Manoir Hovey) granola. This granola is like heroine. We've hooked our friends, and now dole it out sparingly when they start 'jonesing'. It gives us power over everyone around us, which we like.
Pat just called - to thank us for the dose of granola we gave her! Lovely woman.
Am off for lunch with Cheryl - the one that was truncated a couple of weeks ago after a call from my agent. Have granola for her too.
Wish I could give you all some - perhaps it's time to introduce it to the bistro in Three Pines. I think I will. Will be writing a scene there today. Ha, that's fun. Granola on the menu now. With a nice hot cafe au lait. Yum.
Stay warm. Thanks for the company.
2 comments:
It's equally cold here in Ottawa this morning. The car made grumpy noises when I started it up to take my almost 16-year-old to school--only a 15 minute walk but too cold, especially the bit past the "mile circle" where the breeze blows straight off the Gatineau hills and over the Ottawa river. Your comments about blocking out distractions while writing echo those of Stephanie McPhee yesterday on her blog (see Yarn Harlot). It seems that she has had to retreat to a cabin in the woods to escape from her husband and three teenage daughters. Recommended reading for a good laugh. Finished "The Cruellest Month" yesterday. Felt so wrung out afterward that I almost needed to lie down. Marvelous, especially the scene between Gamache and Beauvoir by the side of the road. It's my favourite book in the series. Just one comment regarding the second book... I found the choice of Tchaikovsky's violin concerto strained the believability for me. Not that fiction needs to or should be totally believable. But believablity shouldn't be pushed too far. The Tchaikovsky concerto is so technically demanding that Leopold Auer, the virtuoso and pedagogue to whom it was dedicated, pronounced it to be unplayable. He did eventually perform it later in his life and with some changes. Even for today's professionals, it remains part of the virtuoso repertoire. I would rather have seen David fixated with something like the "Mediation" from "Thais" or Dvorak's "Romance" or Bach's E major concerto, the latter being a wonderfully bright and exhuberent piece that is played and enjoyed by both professionals and amateurs.
Dear Elizabeth,
What a great Mom you are - and I know that feeling of having teh wind right in your face - it's what I imagine being skinned might feel like.
it's interesting, but you're the second person to mention the unlikelihood of David performing Tchaikovsky's 2nd violin concerto. I actually chose it for two reasons - it's one of my favorites - and there's a Quebec music competition, for violin - and one year when I covered it for the CBC that was their selection for the students. magnificent. So while a genuine challenge, I thought it wasn't totally unlikely.
But you've also given me other music to look up - I personally adore Bach and went through a period where I would listen to nothing but.
has it warmed up chez vous? Very nice here.
And thrilled to hear you enjoyed The Cruellest Month, and thought it was the best. Between us? so do I.
Take care and stay warm,
Louise
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