Carried Away

I don’t remember a time that I didn’t have a book on my bedside table. I love books. I come by this adoration honestly. My parents are both avid readers. My mom prefers fiction and my dad likes some fiction, but is able to devour non-fiction as well. Words have always had a huge impact on me. Written and spoken. It’s just the way I’m wired. I have so many books in my bedroom just waiting to be opened and enjoyed. I prefer fiction because, like movies, I view reading as a form of escapism - going to a different place, learning something new, gaining a new perspective, using my imagination. I have tried some non-fiction, but that John Adams book has been sitting on my pile for years now. The funny part is, I think it’s my dad’s book, but neither of us is sure whose it really is. I have a ton of respect for John Adams, George Washington and the conundrum Thomas Jefferson. The most I can do is watch the John Adams HBO mini-series (which is excellent by the way). Part of my problem is ti

Some friends came to visit and we played the kid version of "Would You Rather...?".  The adult version is called "Zabmondo", but it's the same premise, just more adult content.  It has a couple of different types of challenges.  An example might involve deciding if you would rather eat gum from the seat in a movie theater OR eat a partially eaten hamburger that was thrown in the garbage.  I'd have to think about that one.  My daughter was gracious enough to accept the dare of wearing black eye-liner glasses painted on her face the entire night.  She looked like a fanatical Harry Potter fan, but she accepted the challenge with glee and even had her picture taken smiling the entire time.  Ah, youth! I have been collecting some pictures from the countryside lately and I decided to pose to you a Would You Rather Challenge.  Would you rather - install and use a used free toilet that someone generously put on their lawn for sale? OR Would you rather have these

We were coming home from town at night with my parents, the trees in the woods just beyond our road were all lit up a vibrant red. They face to the west. I thought it would be a perfect element to have in a book. I said to myself,”Ooo, foreshadowing.” Then a few days later I was thinking about the Amish. That day we had been to the Amish settlement about 45 minutes from our house. We’ve been there many times in the last couple of years. It’s one of those places that a lot of people know about, but it’s only by word of mouth that you really find out about it. It’s not like they do a lot of advertising. Essentially, it’s one road that we drive on. We’ve been to a lot of the shops there and my husband thinks that the guys who built our barn are from this area (or nearby Dalton) and some of the wood used could’ve come from the rustic mill on the road. It’s Barry Road. Which I find slightly amusing because it always reminds me of Barry Manilow or some geeky guy. I knew a guy named Barry in

Once upon a time I had a dream of becoming a lounge singer. I love to sing and I thought that my voice was unusual enough and good enough to make a go of it. For now, let’s ignore the fact that I’m not the best at memorizing songs and the chances of me making a living at this were remote. Don’t ask me to explain why I think smokey Chicago blues bars are romantic. It seemed reasonable. This nugget of a notion must have started when I was in Treble Choir in High School. 2nd Soprano, sometimes the Alto – how come they rarely get the melody? I should have been turned off of singing altogether given the scaring that took place at our concerts. Imagine singing “Fame” and “Bye Bye Birdie” in a lemon polyester dress that was knee-length with a sweetheart neckline. When was that fashionable? Never. Nor was the set of lime-colored dresses that matched. Just in case you’re wondering, we did have dance moves. I’ll leave that up to your imagination. Our choir teacher was a little loopy and so wer

My husband had an aunt who died this year.  Her name was Aunt Pat.  She was in her 70's, sharp as a tack, liked to laugh, play dice, cards, sudoku, crosswords, swear a little and enjoyed her life even though it hadn't been easy.  She was married and had one son who eventually married and had a daughter, whom Pat loved to share her baking tips with.  Pat's husband had died in a tragic accident before her eyes.  In some ways it might have been the best as he wasn't the most kind husband to Pat.  And she was about the easiest person to be nice to that I've ever met.  My husband always had a special place in his heart for her as she helped him get a job - she would do anything for you if she could.  She's one of these people that has come into my life and I didn't need to know her life story - she and I had a connection.  She had such a great sense of humor - she was bawdy.  Anyone who knows me knows that this is right up my alley!  She had a sparkle in her eye

I was thinking about favorite songs. What are my favorite songs? What are other peoples’ favorite songs? You can tell a lot about a person. But it’s sort of like poetry for me – meanings are sometimes elusive. Claire de Lune This is my “if you were stranded on an island” song. If I had only one song that I had to listen to every day all day, this would be it. I discovered it when I saw the movie “Frankie and Johnny” with Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer. Great romantic comedy. Equally as great soundtrack. This song is complex, yet not too complex and beautiful, relaxing. I saw a pianist play it recently at a funeral of a friend of mine’s brother (he took his own life). It was beautiful to watch and bittersweet to listen to. Her brother loved music, this must have been one of his favorites too. Iris My jam! It’s by the Goo Goo Dolls. They were dubbed an 80’s punk band, but I don’t really consider this punk music. This song is so great – the lyrics are what I feel about 90% of the t