Oh, puh-leeeeze take me out....

Minus 11- prodigious wind! Good day to stay inside

About to go outside...take Trudy for a walk. She comes over and starts nudging me and I keep hoping she just wants to play - so I get down on the floor and we roll around for a while - then I get up and five minutes later she'd nudging me again.

I think she wants to go out. Oh, here she comes again...pretend you're dead. Pretend you're...too late, she's seen signs of life. Took a photo...she does this thing with her stinky ball where she nudges us with it, then puts it on the seat and rests her heavy and disappointed head (leaden with sadness and unfulfilled needs) on it.

I'm doomed.

A very odd winter. Desperately cold, then rains and freezing rain yesterday - and overnight it all froze. Great for skating. Michael once fell and broke his wrist in weather exactly like this....so now both of us shuffle along as though our feet are attached to the ground. Do you remember the Carol Burnett show (fabulous) and that old man Tim Conway played who shuffled along an inch at a time? I laughed and laughed at that - and have now become him.

Invited to a wonderful soiree benefice which will be thrown by Blaise Renaud, of Renaud-Bray. They're a huge and influential bookstore chain in Quebec. He's assembling an evening with what's called 'coup de coeur' - in various field...literature, music, art, theatre etc, as a fund raiser. And he invited me (presumably not to make the dumplings). Unfortunately Michael and I will be in Jamaica. But it is an amazing feeling to be counted among the glitterati in Quebec - especially when for years so few Quebecois knew I, or the Gamache books, existed.

I called the very quiet resort and upgraded to a private cottage on the beach...steps to the ocean. I think I'm going to be sick with excitement! Which is most of the fun, of course.

Oh, the other photo is of one of the winners of the Maid of the Mist bright blue rain poncho. Michael and I gave ours away in the fall, in a draw on the newsletter, after we had a family reunion in Niagara Falls, and went on the boat that goes around the falls. Amazing fun!

One of the women who won is Linda (who is wearing the poncho) - and the other women are members of her book club - Kathy, Trish, Tina, Pam, Mary, and Moses (the dog) of The Most Righteous of the Righteous Babes book club. i'm not much of a joiner, but that's one book club I'd belong to!

Hope you're enjoying your day. Now it's time to take Trudy for a shuffle.

Bog people

minus 27 - no need to say anything else

Here's a photo - I tried to capture what minus 27 looks like....but it actually looks a lot like minus 2. I couldn't quite get the ice fog - when the air itself actually freezes - hanging over the mountain...bitterly cold days are actually slightly misty. But God, as a reward, are they ever beautiful. All shiny, and silver.

Thanks to our friend Nancy, Michael and I have discovered a new piece of winter wear...at least, new to us. They're called (for reasons I can't be bothered to understand) Bogs...and are boots. They look like rubber boots but seem to be made from the same material as thermal scuba suits. They're also very comfortable - soft and squishy underfoot (perhaps that's where 'bog' comes from). And - best of all - they're warm to minus 40. We didn't really believe that, but I can say for sure, after the walk this morning, they're good to minus 27. Absolutely perfectly comfortable - while the rest of me, bundled and thermalled up, still shivered. If they made a Bogs body suit I'd buy it for Michael and me. Then we would, indeed, all look like creatures from the Black lagoon. And loving it.

Kirk and Walter dropped by this morning - had a fun visit. We're having dinner with them in Knowlton later this week. And had dinner last night with Louise, before getting together with other friends.

And Michael and I have decided we need to get away. having finished the line edits on The Beautiful Mystery (which will almost certainly come out in early Sept) and doing other pieces of work, we realize we cannot be at home and completely unplug - we need to actually go away.

So we looked for last minute deals in the caribbean.... all the things people complained about in resorts, we take as positives. No nightlife, no live entertainment after 9pm, no children's programme, no big pool with different bars. No beach volleyball, no waterskiing.

That's for us!

All we want it to be warm, and private...to lie on a beach, sip fruit drinks and swim and read. We don't want to be entertained.

To everything there really is a season, and in this season of our lives we'd love to do next to nothing....and that includes cooking. So a self catering villa or condo was out.

We finally found what seems the perfect place. Will be leaving in a few weeks...yay! I've already been auditioning books....making a pile of the nominees....will choose three or four.

We are so lucky that we can do this. And part of the fun is in the anticipation. Bring on minus 27. Bring on the Bogs. The chapped lips, the hot water bottles in bed...because I have the caribbean in my head. You know, I do have to say, I wasn't raised with this sort of privilege....and no part of me ever expected to be living a life where we could make this choice. And so it just amazed and thrills me.

As long as we're not traveling...

OK, so right at this moment, there's a storm - but if I blink it might go away. Temps near freezing. snow and blowing snow- very dramatic. Tub filled with water in case we lose power...we're on a well, so if we lose power, we lose water. So when there's a particularly violent storm, we fill the tub.

Apparently whatever we're getting today will get worse tomorrow. Forecast is for mix of rain, snow, sleet and freezing rain.

The wonderful people at Harbor Sweets sent two boxes of chocolates, so we pretty much don't care what happens outside - though we do hope that those of you who have to go out in it are very, very careful. I know - it sounds silly to even say that, of course you'll be careful - but just wanted to underscore it. In canada, not much will blow our houses down - and not many people break into our homes. The threat is almost always outside. It's not unusual to hear Canadians say, 'I love snow storms - as long as I don't have to travel'. There is always that qualifier. And it's how I feel. I just adore snow storms - the more dramatic the better. Bring it on - as long as....

Lise has just been and gone - discussing getting permissions to use poetry, and tax forms for the foreign language editions. who knew there was so much bureaucracy with writing books. Of course, the writing isn't bureaucratic, it's the publishing.

I've come to realize I'm not a detail person....and yet, I thrive in order. Disorder, and certainly chaos, gets me nuts. I'm actually fairly organized - but I hate the details. Of course, we all have things about what we do that we dislike. But wow - if we don't stay on top of the paperwork, and files and details there is complete chaos very quickly. In just a matter of days we're swamped.

Enter Lise. My assistant. She showed up this morning - through the blizzard - carrying bags of books to be signed and mailed, permission forms, licorice all sorts and a fresh loaf of cinnamon bread she'd just baked. I, of course, was still in my PJs, and Michael had egg in his beard. We felt like neanderthals visited by an advanced species.

Lise sorts us, in the most gentle of ways, and when she leaves everyone and everything is smiling and shiny and ordered and happy. she's the literary Mary Poppins.

Am off now to put up pictures our good friend Cheryl painted and gave us as a house warming. I photographed them so you can see. She actually writes and illustrates children's books, but also illustrates publications on herbs and medicinal plants. And the bee is just for fun. I think they're all magnificent. We have another painting of hers in our living room. Impressive woman. I see now there's a weird reflection in the illustrations of the plants...couldn't figure out those lines (not sure if you can see them) then I realized it's the tongue-in-groove ceiling of our kitchen. We have a wood ceiling - very old fashioned, but we love it.

The hammer and nails call - and the storm continues. But inside, all is calm. How perfect.

Winter in the City

Snow squalls, but mild - and sun coming out now - temps 2 degrees

But, since this is Canada, our temperatures are in celsius - which means - our zero is 32 degrees in the United States. So our plus 2 is just above freezing. It's actually quite easy. Freezing is '0'...then everything else radiates from that....plus or minus. But like most things, it has taken a while to learn. I'm in the 'shoulder' generation. I was in my mid-20's when the switch from fahrenheit to celsius was made. So I grew up with hot being 80 and cold being 20. Freezing was 32 and zero was desperately cold.

We also switched speeds to kilometers from miles, and that has also taken a while to learn. Our speed limit on highways is 100 kilometers an hour....but when I learned to drive it was 65 miles an hour.

I still think in both. When the gas fireplace was put in the 'kids' (young men) who did it apologized for the temperature gage being in fahrenheit, and said they could come back and change it....we said, 'It's OK' - both Michael and I were secretly relieved. I think temperature in F still makes more sense to me. Whereas for anyone under 40 it is a completely foreign 'language'.

But I realize I now think in kilometers. When we travel to the states and I see something is 50 miles away, I think 'kilometers' and then am surprised when it takes so long. Our speed gage on Michael's car is only in kilometers, so we pretty much take a 'best guess' at what speed we should be going. (Michael's guess is lower than mine).

We are a dying breed...those who remember and still, sometimes, live in the 'old days'. Before TV remotes. Before cable even. When we still talked about HiFis and records, and cars needed to be 'broken in'. When I bought my first 45 (Summer in the City) and there was one telephone in the house, attached to the wall. We played outside and took the bus and subway without fear and kids sometimes still died of polio.

I sometimes wonder what those young men who installed our gas fireplace will have to adjust to, when they're in their mid-fifties.

I wanted (on a different note) to thank the Indie Literary Awards. This is the second year they've handed out these awards and the first year they've had a category for Mystery Novels. A Trick of the Light has been nominated! Also on the shortlist are:

Missing Daughter, Shattered Family by Liz Strange (MLR Press)
The Cut by George Pelecanos (Reagan Arthur/LIttle, Brown)
A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny (St. Martin’s Press)
The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes by Marcus Sakey (Dutton)
Fun & Games by Duane Swierczynski (Mulholland Books/Little, Brown)

Congratulations everyone - wonderful books!

The Indie Lit Awards are compiled in different categories by an association of internet literary bloggers....so the nominations come from all over the place. A panel of judges has been assembled and the winners will be announced in mid-March. I am thrilled to be on the shortlist! Thank you so much.

We're in Montreal now - drove in this morning. Am about to do an interview with the Journal de Quebec for the launch here of book 4 - Defense de tuer.

Tomorrow we have a few appointments (including dentist for me and accountant for Michael) then back home before the snow on Thursday. the line edited manuscript for The Beautiful Mystery has arrived. We will get to that on Thursday.

As you see - 'time off' is a flexible term.

Hope you're enjoying your week! Speak soon -

Saturday

freezing rain warning - temps 2 degrees - right now just spitting

I know we should probably be glad it's so mild, but on a walk this morning I ran into a neighbour and the first thing we both said was, 'weird weather'. then, being Canadian, we discussed it for ten minutes then parted. But we were of a mind. We'd rather have snow. We'd rather have minus 10.

I remember reading somewhere - actually, it was in a play, I believe it was called "A Walk in the Park" - in which history was described as 'geography spread over time'. I loved that. I understood it, and believe it to be true. Mountains, lakes, oceans, deserts protect us, or make us vulnerable....but I think they also help define our characters.

Canadians are used to cold in winter....if I wanted it otherwise I'd move south. Just like people in Florida want it warm. It's just what is natural. This feels unnatural. Now, having said all that, come April when it's snowy and blowy, we sure complain, like it's never happened before. I'll tell you, at least in this part of the world, April is always unpredictable and often snowy. And yet, every year it seems to come as a shock.

Had a bit of an active morning - but nicely spaced out (don't say it). Mike arrived to put up the mirror in the bathroom and fix some toe boards that weren't quite right. We made him a coffee and left. off to Knowlton. I needed to sign some Vive Gamache bookplates for Danny and Lucy, and some books, so we decided to have breakfast at Cafe Floral at the same time. Good decision! Started with decaf bowls of cafe au lait - then Michael had the waffle with fresh whipped cream, fruit and warm maple syrup and bacon. I had the eggs florentine. He won. My eggs were great, but really? No competition.

Then off to see Danny at Brome Lake Books. Then I drove Michael home, dropped him off and I headed to Vermont to do some mailing and get gas. We always gas up at the Pinnacle Peddler....partly because we just adore everyone there - partly because it's cheaper in the States, and partly as an ongoing protest against the gas station in Sutton for making their new building so tall it ruins the view on the main street of the mountains. The gas station, when we first arrived, was charming (if such things can be charming). A sort of throw-back. There was full service. Young men and women (teens with their first jobs) would fly out of the little enclosure and fill the tank and do the windshield. In the middle of winter it was a god-send. People would come from miles around for that....especially older people. but the new station fired all the kids, made it self-serve and despite huge protests by townspeople, built this huge convenience store. (we already had a small one in town just down rue Principale - so it was a shame to have a second - that competes and ruins the view).

Now, I have to say, when we have gone in the new gas station, the people have been very nice - but I think we'll continue to support the Pinnacle Peddler.

Off tonight to see friends - then home all tomorrow. Hoping, finally, to do nothing. but am beginning to feel like Charlie Brown and the football.

Hope you're having exactly the sort of weekend you were hoping for! Speak soon.

True nature

snow gently falling, temperatures have risen to minus 6

Now this is my idea of peace. sitting by the fire, cafe au lait, Michael, Trudy, a Michael Innes mystery (There Came Both Mist and Snow)....nothing on the agenda. Yes, we have no bananas. Nobody coming over. Nothing to be done. OK, some laundry - but that will wait. And I can just drift into the laundry room and do it at my leisure.

I realize what I want - and what I suspect most people want - is to set the agenda. Kind and wonderful friends are asking us out...and I said to Michael that it's not that I don't want to see them - but I'd love to do the asking. It must be a psychological thing, of regaining control over our lives.

And for now, solitude and quiet is the goal. I think it's because, at heart I'm a bit of a hermit. so strange and contradictory...I genuinely like people. And need people. And yearn to belong. Long for a sense of community. And yet, I also want my privacy and solitude.

I think, as amazing and wonderful as the last few years have been - and I wouldn't trade them for anything, they really are my dream - there is an element of losing control of my life. going with the flow became a river, then a rapid, then a cascade...of all great things. But I do feel I want to rest on the shore for a while, before plunging back in.

This is our shore.

Hope you're feeling peaceful and energized as you head into 2012. The photo above was taken by Gary last week, when he came to take new pictures. Not sure this will ever be chose as a shot for the dust jacket - put I like it!

Happy 2012!!

overcast, very mild, temps plus 2

Freezing rain overnight - treacherous to go out - sooooo - we aren't. We take this as a divine sign that we must stay inside this first day of 2012, drinking coffee and hot chocolate and reading by the fire. Or watching movies and football. Oh, God - when will the decisions end???

We hope you're having a great day too.

We went out for dinner and a meeting last night (friends of Bill) - the perfect way to end the year and begin the new one. We spent much of the evening talking with our friends about gratitude, and the power of perception. Home early - but relaxed and ended up staying up to midnight. 12:01, actually. Saw the ball drop in Times Square, then turned out the lights and were 'bagging Zs' as my brothers used to say.

And today? Well, as I say, just a whole lot of nothing. Have been working toward this for years. Two months of tranquility. No plane ticket in my purse (well, one to London in march, but that's a long way off). No place we need to go. only places we want to go and people we choose to see. for instance, breakfast tomorrow with my great friend Cheryl - who I miss so much, and now finally have relaxed time to spend together.

I know you know how wonderful this feels. I suspect most people yearn for this too - time for ourselves. What is the TV network that talks about ;'Time well Wasted.' That's what I hope January will be.

Starting....today!

But I do want to tell you that having you as company makes everything so much more fun. Thank you!!

I hope 2012 is all you hope for, and more. That is it filled with health and laughter, with joy and peace. Good company - and perhaps even, some good books. But mostly, I wish for you what you wish for yourself.

Michael sends warm embraces, as do I. Happy New Year!!!