Hey, July! You're not going to sneak away before I get one last quickie blogpost out there. But I'm tired and I have a little case of PVC (Post Vacation Crabby), so don't expect Profound Genius. Light, simple, and easy are my guideposts of the day.
As a matter of fact, I'm stealing this idea from Pretty Much Everyone. It's an Age Old Blog Meme.
Today, Nance Is
Wearing: Shorts and a breezy, gauzy tunic bought at H&M about twelve years ago. I keep clothes forever. It still looks great; two women at the grocery store complimented me on it this morning. Naturally, my Bobs shoes and my glasses matched my outfit perfectly. Some things I cannot give up.
Reading: The fact that I am able to answer this is still a source of Such Profound Joy to me! I just finished The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls and am about 50 pages into Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. Undoubtedly, all of you have already read these, but that's the great thing about books--they wait for you!
Working On: In the knitting realm, I am knitting a pair of boy and girl teddy bear handpuppets. I am also continuing work on a shawl for myself. In the more cerebral realm, I am always at work maintaining my Zen.
Hearing: Unfortunately, the air conditioner, still. While I am terribly grateful for it, I am tired of it. If it is on, it means it is too hot to be outdoors for very long, which makes me resentful. I also hear the absurdly loud clock in my office, the tick-tocking of which is laughably cliche enough to be a sound effect.
Making For Dinner: An enormous salad, to which will be added the strip steak marinating merrily away in its bath of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh garlic, and spices. Rick and I will share the glass and a half of red left in the bottle from the other night while we prep and grill, then open a fresh one with dinner.
Thinking About: How when I was a little girl, I had only a couple of dreams. I wanted to be a teacher and get married and have two children. I did realize my dreams; they both came true. As I got older, my dreams changed, of course. But being a pragmatic person, I didn't really do a lot of Big Dreaming. But I know the little girl I was would be astonished at where she ended up today.
Planning: Very little. It's Summertime.
Share your Today or just Chat about mine with us in Comments.
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Sometimes I believe that Profound Genius can be found in the simplest of thing such as this list. Therefore I dispute your assertion that this is not a profound blog post. It is and your dinner salad with steak and wine sounds delicious to me. Also, I'm sick of the AC as well. Too much hot makes me cranky.
ReplyDeleteAlly Bean--Well, thank you. Our dinner was perfect, actually. The Ontario pinot noir we opened was a fine complement to the salad, which was fresh and not heavy.
DeleteI don't want to wish summer away, but this heat and tropical humidity/dew points are making me cranky, too. I just want fresh air! It seems a small request.
I love your list. Reading blogs is fun because they give us a window into the lives of ordinary people's lives. Not that I'm calling you 'ordinary'. I mean that as opposed to a celebrities life.
ReplyDeleteAt least you can remember being a little girl. I have lots of gaps in my childhood memories.
Jean--Oh, remember the quote by documentarian Ken Burns: "There are no ordinary lives." Yours certainly isn't. I understand exactly what you mean. Why else would blogs exist? I vastly prefer them to fb (which I'm not on) because blogs are more thoughtful, usually, and the writing matters more.
DeleteI have huge gaps in my memories as well. My siblings are much better at recalling our past than I am. I had my head in a book for most of my early life.
Dee--I find the premise of it incredibly interesting, but the back-and-forth is a bit irritating. I got bugged by that in Cold Mountain, too, way back when. Just a personal thing.
ReplyDeleteI'm reminded of Faulkner, who really pisses me off. Faulkner makes me work so damnably hard (The Sound and the Fury) and then, when I finish the book, I am in this aura of "Wow. That was incredible. So good. How did he do that?"
(Wow--that last paragraph of my comment is vaguely sexual. Hm.)
Well, I like this meme and may be stealing it in the near future. :-)
ReplyDeleteI haven't read The Glass Castle, but Before We Were Yours is on my TBR list. I'll be curious to see what you think, as everyone I know read it and loved it. Sometimes that worries me, because I end up not agreeing.
Also - I am sorry to not respond to comments you post on my blog. I have been using the e-mail listed here, that I've used before, but for the last two or three weeks, it comes back as Undeliverable. I haven't yet figured out why, but I PROMISE I'm not ignoring you!
Bridget--Please use it whenever and however often you like! There are lots of variations on it, and I'm sure you'll make it your own.
DeleteI really liked The Glass Castle because of its honesty and the way the narrator's perspective developed and matured as she aged. It was not an easy story for her to tell, and she managed to do it so gracefully.
Before We Were Yours is a novelization of an actual occurrence. The writing is more fiction-styled. I read differently because I taught fiction and fiction-writing for years and years. I like it so far, but not as much as TGC.
As far as the email thing--so odd! Are you using deptofnanceATyahooDOTcom? I have not tinkered with any settings, so I have no idea what's going on. It's okay; my comments are showing up at your place, so I know you're seeing them.
Oh I like this meme! I've seen it on other blogs and, as someone above said, a glimpse into every day life is nice. (And, as you mention, so much better than FB - also [my opinion] better than IG which is just a tiny snippet at a time.) OK, that was sort of long winded.
ReplyDeleteI did not like The Glass Castle, but Before We Were Yours is on my TBR list. I'm reading The Dakota Winters which I am enjoying quite a bit (John & Yoko appearing in it every now and then as well as other Well Known folks even though it is a novel).
I woke up in the night and had to turn off the AC - I was so sick of the noise (we only have window AC units, no central air). Just give me open windows, please.
Vera--It's a nice, easy blogpost, and it's very customizable. I could even make a whole post, really, out of each item if I wanted to get chatty.
DeleteI really liked The Glass Castle. As I commented to Bridget, it was honest and gracefully written. The story was a difficult one, for sure, and at times, I felt the frustration and outrage that the narrator simply learned to accept or sublimate. But it was an incredible story.
I had not heard of The Dakota Winters. I'll take a look. I'm reading like a maniac now, making up for lost time.
We have central air, but there is still a background hum. And we have very close neighbors, so we hear their units as well. Sigh.
Oh I adore this prompt. Will follow it today on my own blog. Was just wondering WHAT I could post . Thanks! Like Vera I love open windows at night. We have a fan on in our room though to block noise.
ReplyDeletekathy b--I'm glad to help! I love open windows any time. Fresh air feels so good and doesn't make me feel like I'm a hostage in my home.
DeleteI like these list-style posts too - especially because some days I just don't have it in me to concentrate on any given topic for very long. I haven't been diagnosed with any sort of attention disorder - I think it might be a byproduct of not getting enough rest. Or a Sign of the Times (troubling).
ReplyDeleteYour salad sounds really good! I'm wishing I had some good greens in the house, but I used up the last of the spinach before Mike's surgery & I haven't been to the grocery store yet. But there will be salad in my near future for sure!
I'm SO GLAD your reading mojo has returned! I've never even heard of either of those books (they sound Serious, whereas I'm usually in the Detective or Murder genre). However, I'll check them out just in case. You never know - sometimes I do like higher forms of literature.
Bug--You've had a lot of Big Things happen in your life in a short timespan. Your brain and emotional wellbeing are still trying to balance it all out. Give yourself some time!
DeleteMy salad was very good and satisfying: fresh romaine, baby spinach, tomatoes, radishes, cucumbers, a bit of sweet onion, and the steak. I always make my own vinaigrette; so much nicer and fresher. Rick is a big help with prep and he loves to grill.
Oh, I'm over the moon with gladness that I'm reading again! I wouldn't call these books High Forms Of Literature--they're not Shakespeare or Victorian classics like the Bronte works! Mysteries and detective fiction just aren't my thing. I think I read so much of it as a teen and twentysomething that I wore it out. Same with Stephen King. Been there; done that. Time to move on.
Today, Catherine Is…
ReplyDeleteWearing: Jammies for the moment. Later I will slip into some glamorous leggings and a T-shirt.
Reading: Endless e-mails.
Working On: Orientation for 2 new teachers, 7 T.A.s, 20 course calendars + syllabi, my own courses for the fall, ordering textbooks...
Hearing: Mr. O. snoring. (It’s early.)
Making for Dinner: CATS = Catherine’s Awesome Taco Supper. Served with Modelo Especial beer. (I am more of a wine drinker, but beer goes quite well with this.)
Thinking About: How the hell I am going to learn Canvas (our new LMS) in time to program my courses for the fall. (We start in 17 days.)
Planning: Much of the above. Also, a nap in the afternoon as a reward for getting stuff done.
--- Thank you for posting this fun meme (even if my responses were mostly depressing, lol.) Doing this gave me a bit of respite from the grind (which is typical of this month of the year for me, although this summer has been The Summer From Hell... I found out a week ago I had to hire 2 new teachers and train them in a couple of weeks.)
Ortizzle/Catherine--All of this does certainly sound Hellish. And a meme and Taco Supper (however Awesome) do not provide nearly enough Play to prevent you from becoming a Dull Girl.
DeleteI'm a huge fan of your Glam Outfit, but it's too damn hot here, and I must go outdoors now and then. In cooler weather, I adopt all manner of comfy cozy athleisure. And then I laugh at my Earlier Self who wrote here saying she would never, ever do that.
Today, Carolyn is:
ReplyDeleteWEARING - a long-sleeved blouse under a long-sleeved tee shirt, sweat pants and wool socks. Because my dear husband (who is wearing shorts and a tee shirt) keeps the A/C slightly above freezing.
READING - "The Weight of Ink." Well written but a bit lengthy for a book club selection. (I don't think monthly selections should exceed 400 pages.) Also reading Susan Page's biography of Barbara Bush, as well as "Fragments of Isabella," a memoir of Auschwitz. Thank goodness you can read again. I was so saddened at the height of my chemotherapy when I could read only the simplest of novels since I could not follow complex character development and plots. Also, thank goodness books can wait. I have such a large to-be-read pile and still continue to buy books. I can't help it if my favorite authors continue to write new books. And I belong to two book clubs and it's easier to buy the book than try to get it from the library in our little town.
WORKING On - trying to get through an "Embedded" podcast five-part series on Mitch McConnell. He is more evil and mean-spirited than I thought. I can't take much at one time.
HEARING - Birdsong. I'm sitting on the deck.
MAKING FOR DINNER - Steak and baked potatoes with Caprese salad.
THINKING ABOUT - Dogs
PLANNING - Not a thing. It's a lovely summer Saturday. I'm all about enjoying today. I'll plan tomorrow.
Carolyn--I've been looking at "The Weight of Ink" myself. I just yesterday finished my book, and now I am bookless again. I buy books, too. I find it senseless to have to wait or give books back. Feels like a bad deal to me.
DeleteI know you have Dogs on your mind. In general and In Particular. The evolution of that Thought Process is so personal and instinctual. I know you'll take your time.
Stealing idea for Chez G.Thank you, and I truly enjoy each window into your life that you open. Yea for Ontario wine.
ReplyDeleteMary G--I'm glad to hear that you'll be posting again soon. And the wine we got on this trip was incredible. So lovely. Thank you for being a Constant Reader.
DeleteYay! A meme! I haven’t done one in ages. Your dinner sounds lovely. Ted is abstaining from red meat for awhile, for health reasons, and it sucks. Actually, I don’t care much or miss it really, but a nice salad with steak would be lovely.
ReplyDeleteI’m going to write down your books...I’m always looking for something good to read...
J@jj.com--Dinner was perfect. We had a lovely meritage with the steak salad--so good. We rarely eat beef here (I find that I don't do so well with it, digestively speaking), but 8oz of it in a big salad is just enough between the two of is.
DeleteOf the two of those books--and both are a little difficult as far as the frustration and sadness that children endure--I liked The Glass Castle better. It was a memoir, so its writing was less fiction-y and plotted. Before We Were Yours had a bit of the mystery to it, and I found the back-and-forth narrators (by chapter) annoying. But it was still a very good read. And it is based on a true event.
Forgive me if someone has already commented on this but have you read the prequel to The Glass Castle called Half Broke Horses. Its about her grandmother and it's just as good if not better than The Glass Castle.
ReplyDeleteJeanette--Hello and welcome to the Dept.
DeleteNo, I haven't read this, nor even heard of it. Thank you so much for the recommendation. I'll take a look at it now.