For years, in times of peril, I have been asking myself “What would Mrs. Hawkins do?” Dame Muriel Spark is one of my favourite authors of all time, and her 1988 novel “A Far Cry from Kensington,” one of my favourite books. Here, I pass on a small portion of the wit and wisdom of the story’s protagonist, Mrs. Hawkins. If you like what you read here, then I recommend you get your own stack of Muriel Spark novels, as they are easily and inexpensively available on-line from used booksellers. Then pour yourself a steaming mug of tea or chocolate, curl up with your favourite cat, and enjoy. “I offer this advice without fee; it is included in the price of this book.” Mrs.…
Archive for
The Good with the Bad … or What’s Rattling Around in My Head
Sandra Peterson Ramirez
Posted on April 28, 2011
Shot of the Inside of My Head This Morning
Stuff I woke up thinking about this morning:
1. Weight Watchers keeps sending me exorations to rejoin. Because they know. This week I did curls with 20 pound dumbbells. Two sets. Ten reps each. And I didn’t cry. Outloud. They may know some things, but they don’t know that at the gym this week I’m a Rock Star Dammit! (I’m not absolutely positive that exorations is a word or, if it is, that I’m using it right.)
2. My camera needs a new circuit-something-or-other so that the pictures will “stick” and my iPhone is refusing to talk to my computer so that I can transfer photos. I have a TON of photos on an external drive just waiting to be used, printed, somehow categorized and filed. OK, that one sounded more positive in my head. Now I’m just freaking out about what to do with all those digital ghosts of days past.
3. I’m pretty sure Bob Greene said I need Botox. I’m too chicken cheap sane to get it.
4. After reading a lovely and in inspiring post by Karen Walrond, I started regularly keeping a journal. I thought that I needed an artistic kick start and I was probably right. Even though that was months ago, I have yet to finish my novel, much less become a best-selling author. What more do the Muses want?
We have just enjoyed a long Easter weekend, followed by ANZAC Day here in Australia, so blogging has had to wait. This has worked out well, as it has given me a few days to sort out my ideas, and to take some photographs.
Before today, I had been struggling with what I wanted to say and to whom I wanted to say it. Realistically, this is a non-issue because, as far as I can tell, Sandra and I are the only people in the world currently reading our blog; nevertheless, it is available to the public so there is always a chance that strangers might come across it and we would want them to enjoy their stay.
But I cannot orient myself to writing for some hypothetical others that may eventually form our readership. So for now, I write these posts as letters to only one person and that is my best friend, Sandra, who started this blog back in 2008. Since she lives on the other side of the world from me, we cannot meet up at Starbucks for a chat and a cappuccino, but we can meet here, and share our lives with each other.
We are happy to have friendly visitors join us from anywhere in the Universe. So, for Sandra and any strangers or extraterrestrials out there who stumble across / crash into our blog here’s my Post-Easter Weekend Show & Tell …
One of several cute and friendly ducks who live at a nearby pond.
Chocolate Cupcakes recipe from Paris Cutler
with additional notes from Tina
I have a fantasy. It revolves around a cabin in the woods. On a mountain. Near the ocean. With lots of land. There’s a pie cooling in the open window and a clothesline hung with billowing linens. I can hear the wind in the trees instead of traffic on the freeway and lilting songbirds instead of grackles. On the porch there is a sleeping dog and in the yard are chickens. And on the rolling field are horses. Sometimes they are paints and sometimes palominos; occasionally they are Arabians tossing their heads, manes flowing.
Our Kombi parked at the edge of the Bunda Cliffs, June 2010.
I love a great adventure story. My fascination dates back to the sixth grade, when we began to learn about the basic themes in literature: man versus man; man versus nature; and man versus himself. Years later, as a therapist, I would spend a career exploring the themes “man versus man” and “man versus himself.” But I have never directly experienced “man versus nature” in any serious sense.
I get a lot of email; a LOT. And I’m not just talking about notes and cute kitten photos from friends. I get three or four quotes of the day (which I like), a short story of the day (which I love) and innumerable recipes of the day (which I can’t help checking out). I also get tips. LOTS of tips. Tips on how to dress, what to eat, who to date and what to do about stinky breath. There are also tips on how to beat the blues, how to lower your blood pressure and how to live with bipolar disorder. It’s my own fault. I give out my email address willy-nilly. I know I shouldn’t, but that’s beside the point.