rain, sun, rain, sun, rain...temps 16, 12, 16, 12, 16...
Oh, well. Could be worse. I could still be writing the first draft of Bury Your Dead and Michael could still be in the septic tank.
Lupins are blooming! Honeysuckle is out, roses and peony in tight bud. Asperagus harvested! Dock in, yesterday.
Ooops, said Tony, kneeling on the wooden island while Michael and I stood on the part fixed to land. Tony was drifting further out into the pond and the attachment could just barely be seen disappearing to the bottom.
Oh my.
Michael and I did what we do best. We stood and watched. Tony did what he does best - he did something. Grabbed the ladder, as yet unattached to the dock, and slung it across to us. We grabbed it, and no more oops. Except that the attachement was now on the bottom of the pond. Tony though looked into his plastic bag of 'stuff' and found, miraculously, another attachment. And within minutes the dock was whole and Tony was restored to dry land.
Nothing to it.
Our home is called 'Common Ground' because that's what we believe in finding. However we're thinking of re-naming it 'Ooops'.
Had breakfast with Joan this morning. What bliss to be able to re-connect with friends. Called Cheryl but we couldn't organize a time this weekend so I'll call when we return from our trip. Heading to Montreal tomorrow, then on to Toronto for the reading at the Toronto Reference Library Tuesday night. The amazing Wendy Mesley will be reading an excerpt from The Murder Stone. Then she and I will slip away for dinner. If you'd like to come it's going to be huge fun. Books for sale too, and other authors like Gail Bowen and Linwood Barclay. It starts at 7pm and is in the Beeton Auditorium - Toronto Reference Library - 789 Yonge St. Love to see you there.
Then heading to Ottawa Wednesdya morning...have a CBC interview live at 4:40 in studio in Ottawa. Then Thursday is the Arthur Ellis awards - The Murder Stone is up for Best Novel. And Bloody Words starts Friday. Denise Mina is the International Guest of Honour. Barbara Fradkin the local and I'm the Canadian Guest of Honour. So amazingly humbling to be honoured at home like this. I'm so moved. And thrilled.
But - have to say - it's hard to leave home when everything's so beautiful. There have been years when we've headed out at this time for several weeks and I've been in tears knowing i'd miss the peony and first flush of roses and the lupins. Such agony to leave.
It still is, but this time I know we'll be home in just over a week.
And I'm so looking forward to the events and seeing good friends.
Just finished exercising for the day. Great news - my pants are loose - and the ones I wore last summer are also loose...or at least not tight! I do ten minutes a day on the ellipical. Shouldn't really be working as well as it is, but perhaps my body is in shock. But Susan gave me a great tip...she does an elliptical too...she suggested doing some minutes with just the legs...so that's what I do...about half the time flat out - just legs. Almost kills me. But it works.
I'm exceptionally lazy and impatient, so a quick intense burst suits my personality. And, apparently, my body. Then i can relax.
Michael's finished the proof pages for The Brutal Telling - wonderful man. I have a manuscript I'm reading with a view to endorsing...want to finish before the end of the day today.
2 loads of laundry in.
A light day.
Will blog from the road - give you updates. Be well...and speak soon.
Showing posts with label lupins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lupins. Show all posts
Sunday, 31 May 2009
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
Peonies and people
Mainly sunny, cool, temps 18
We're home. And the blessed peonies waited for us (how's that for ego?) They're up and out. We arrived home about 5:30 yesterday afternoon and the first thing we did after unpacking was take the dogs for a walk around the pond, with clippers in hand. Out at the pond the lupins are in full flight - a bank of purple and blue thrusting flowers climbing up from the water and into the trees and field. We scattered the lupin seeds 9 years ago, and now they're really growing and spreading.
I'm not the most patient person, but I sure am learning it be. And the funniest thing is, I'm learning how much more amazing everything is when you have to wait for it.
I cut a few lupins, then we came back and strolled through the garden close to home, and cut some peonies and alliums and gas plant and made an arrangement that sits in a tall vase on the wooden kitchen island. I swear to God sometimes I wonder whether we weren't in a fatal crash on the highway and this is Heaven.
Happily it seems we've arrived in heaven without that particular mess.
Came down this morning to a kitchen perfumed by peony. Ate breakfast on the screen porch. Then Michael and I spent the day returning calls, making calls, doing email, doing snail-mail, doing laundry.
The clothes line is now sagging under the weight of 3 weeks worth of clothing.
Our Volvo won't work. It's always something, isn't it? Starts just fine, but won't move forward or back. We took Michael's car to the store, and when we returned Tony was repairing a rip in the screen porch and we asked him about it. He had me rock the car back and forth and diagnosed that break pad at the right rear wheel has seized up. Clever man.
He's off home now to get his tools to fix it.
This really is what makes this place Heaven. yes, the peony. But ultimately it's the people.
Had a very nice invitation today from Edmonton to go out next year and speak at a couple of libraries. This co-incides with an invitation from the Alberta Library Conference to speak at their annual gathering in Jasper next year in late April. We can almost certainly combine the two events.
The only problem is that I already have an event in late April, as well as committments in January, February and March. And I need to write the next book. Sound familiar? If you've been reading this blog for a while now you'll recognize the dilema. In fact, you've lived it with me for a while. Perhaps I should make it like the game show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and poll the readership of the blog.
Perhaps I should just make up my own mind, and try to be thoughtful about it. Hmm.
What I will do is something I'm trying to do in all aspects of my life and that's say, 'Thank you. I'll get back to you on that.'
And then think, instead of react.
I laid out on the grass by the pond this afternoon and watched the clouds overhead. Trudy came and lay beside me, after jumping first with both feet on my stomach. Maggie ran around the pond looking for frogs.
It was very peaceful.
Will speak to you tomorrow. Am starting the first edit on book 5, The Brutal Telling. This is The Brutal Editing. Afraid to see what the wordcount is.
We're home. And the blessed peonies waited for us (how's that for ego?) They're up and out. We arrived home about 5:30 yesterday afternoon and the first thing we did after unpacking was take the dogs for a walk around the pond, with clippers in hand. Out at the pond the lupins are in full flight - a bank of purple and blue thrusting flowers climbing up from the water and into the trees and field. We scattered the lupin seeds 9 years ago, and now they're really growing and spreading.
I'm not the most patient person, but I sure am learning it be. And the funniest thing is, I'm learning how much more amazing everything is when you have to wait for it.
I cut a few lupins, then we came back and strolled through the garden close to home, and cut some peonies and alliums and gas plant and made an arrangement that sits in a tall vase on the wooden kitchen island. I swear to God sometimes I wonder whether we weren't in a fatal crash on the highway and this is Heaven.
Happily it seems we've arrived in heaven without that particular mess.
Came down this morning to a kitchen perfumed by peony. Ate breakfast on the screen porch. Then Michael and I spent the day returning calls, making calls, doing email, doing snail-mail, doing laundry.
The clothes line is now sagging under the weight of 3 weeks worth of clothing.
Our Volvo won't work. It's always something, isn't it? Starts just fine, but won't move forward or back. We took Michael's car to the store, and when we returned Tony was repairing a rip in the screen porch and we asked him about it. He had me rock the car back and forth and diagnosed that break pad at the right rear wheel has seized up. Clever man.
He's off home now to get his tools to fix it.
This really is what makes this place Heaven. yes, the peony. But ultimately it's the people.
Had a very nice invitation today from Edmonton to go out next year and speak at a couple of libraries. This co-incides with an invitation from the Alberta Library Conference to speak at their annual gathering in Jasper next year in late April. We can almost certainly combine the two events.
The only problem is that I already have an event in late April, as well as committments in January, February and March. And I need to write the next book. Sound familiar? If you've been reading this blog for a while now you'll recognize the dilema. In fact, you've lived it with me for a while. Perhaps I should make it like the game show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and poll the readership of the blog.
Perhaps I should just make up my own mind, and try to be thoughtful about it. Hmm.
What I will do is something I'm trying to do in all aspects of my life and that's say, 'Thank you. I'll get back to you on that.'
And then think, instead of react.
I laid out on the grass by the pond this afternoon and watched the clouds overhead. Trudy came and lay beside me, after jumping first with both feet on my stomach. Maggie ran around the pond looking for frogs.
It was very peaceful.
Will speak to you tomorrow. Am starting the first edit on book 5, The Brutal Telling. This is The Brutal Editing. Afraid to see what the wordcount is.
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