The daily prompt :Burnt, lamenting the things you couldn’t save

Tags

fires, mementos, nostalgia, postaday2013, saving, sentimental value, value

The daily prompters have been on a negative bend lately. Their latest is to write about the items that you couldn’t save from your “burning home” and to tell them how it makes you feel. It’s difficult typing from the couch which is what these prompts have been making me think of, sessions on the therapists couch, but these are really sad, hang on while I grab myself a box of Kleenex.

The baby boy drew this veloceraptor at the tender age of 5

the baby girls entrance into the art gallery at the fair when she was four

 

the baby boy’s self portrait when he was 14

the baby girl’s first oil painting when she was 10

These are the art works that I would have been crying my eyes out as the “flames” were engulfing my home. Both of my children absolutely loved coloring, drawing, painting and everything else to do with hands on artistic expression. It was wonderful and each year; my mother-in-law proudly entered both of their masterpieces in the Blandford Art fair. However for some reason, once they both entered adolescence, their fascination and interest in art  went away completely. That is why these pieces, we have more, are so precious. They are irreplaceable since they both refuse to pick up a crayon, a piece of charcoal or a paintbrush. I know the talent is there in both of them, but they aren’t interested in pursuing it so I have to hang onto my precious masterpieces, because I will never get another piece of art work out of either one of them again. Sniff, sniff.

 

 

 

 

Resolution solution

Which New Year's resolution haven't you kept? Why? How will you redouble your efforts to achieve your goal?

Enough with the New Year's resolutions. Plinky is becoming a nag, this is their second or third prompt about resolutions. We get the hint, perhaps it's reverse psychology on the prompters part; they haven't kept true to their resolutions so they are nagging the rest of us about ours. I am being cranky I know; probably because my resolution, finishing my novel, is not an easy task.

I have been working on my book, reading on the history of New York City during prohibition. I don't mind talking about my progress regarding my novel; I have written about the difficulties I have with writing fiction; I can write about my daily life and my political views without breaking a sweat but for some reason when I have to put my characters' inner emotions, anxieties and dreams onto paper, it feels as if I am pulling the words out of my head like my dentist pulling my wisdom tooth from my mandible. On the other hand whenever my character is eating or talking about future eating prospects, the scribe can't stop writing. Love food. I am whittling away at my book, it will get finished. I promised myself that I will do this and it will be done. It just feels like such an exposure of my inner person and I don't know why. Nevertheless I will persevere.

There is hope for us yet

Tags

active, climate, climate change, our part, passive, postaday2013

I spend each and every morning reading my political journals and environmental newsletters to make sure that I am in the loop. There are days that make me very anxious for our children’s future and then there are days, such as today, that I think that there is hope for us yet. My hubby came home today, he surprised me with Chinese food, he got me Moo Shoo pork, my favorite, and after we had dinner, my hubby put on David Letterman. Former Vice-President Al Gore was his guest and to hear Al Gore knowledgeably challenge all the common misconceptions that David Letterman was lobbing at him was a gift. It’s so nice to be properly entertained, given hopeful information and realize that not all is lost when the excellent David letterman applies his power for good.

Al Gore and David Letterman spent their whole interview period speaking to the evils of fracking, oil and gas exploitation and the benefits of solar, wind, the new generation of batteries, geothermal energy and other alternative sources. It was a breath of fresh air to hear studied discussion between two civic minded gentlemen. It made me so happy and hopeful to think that the size of David Letterman’s audience could have an impact in changing perceptions and attitudes. Each person’s actions can make a difference. We could if we all applied ourselves do something meaningful for our global environment.

Very superstitious

Superstitions: Do you have any? Or do you think they’re silly?

I remember when I was a little girl, there was a nursery rhyme "Don't step on the crack or you'll break your mother's back" we used to try to go up and down the sidewalk without stepping on any cracks. Whenever I accidentally stepped on a crack, I used to feel a twinge of guilt because I wasn't careful enough. The breaking of the mirrors and the seven years of bad luck was another one that we were mindful of, I suppose it wasn't so much that we believed it, but that we weren't in any hurry to try out the consequences if any.

Nowadays, I wouldn't say that I pay any mind to any superstitions but that doesn't mean that I'll be putting any shoes on the table or opening any umbrellas indoors anytime soon.

Reading and research

Tags

bootlegging, New York City, postaday2013, prohibition, Reading, research

I am now at the point in my book where my two characters have crossed the Atlantic and enter prohibition era New York City, specifically the year is 1926. I am getting ready to switch gears because New York City of any era is different than Paris and I want to try to be faithful to the New York City flavor and also try to describe it through the eyes of a newcomer. I think that I have my work cut out for me but I have already taken steps to try to make it easier to recreate what life was like back then in New York. My local library here in Blandford did me the wonderful service of ordering me a few books all related to New York during the prohibition era. One is a beautiful pictography called “New York Then and Now” and it shows gorgeous pictures of all the great neighborhoods way back in the late 1800’s and how they look now. It is so fascinating to see how industrious the early New Yorkers were, it definitely has always been the city that never sleeps.
One book in particular that has me very excited is “Dry NewYork” I have already gotten into a few chapters and it is a fascinating look into the sociological, economic and political dynamic of prohibition in New York and every single impact that you can think of throughout the fabric of its society. There are two others, “Taxi cabs and its Culture” and “Criminology of the Prohibition Era”, these two will surely be helpful in giving me insight into what universe my character Madeleine will be walking into with her lover Jack who she will come to see is knee deep in the criminal activity of prohibition.

I have my research in front of me and the only thing that is worrying me is that once I start writing, I’ll be involved in another book before I am done. Which by the way is all good and fine, but I am kind of chomping at the bit to get this book finished and out into the world of rejection. Joking. This book will be done when it is done. I vaguely remember the legendary actor Orson Welles shilling for an American wine maker Paul Mason and he used to say “No good wine shall be opened before its time” or something to that effect; I am merely extending the sentiment to my book, no good book shall be finished before its time.

That unexpected phone call

Tags

communication, loss, parents, phone, postaday2013

You receive a call from someone you don’t expect. Who is it, and what is the conversation about?

The one person this question brings to mind would be my father. It will be 10 years this February 25 that my father was killed and if the phone rang and his voice was on the other end, it would definitely be an unexpected yet welcome phone call.

My father comes to mind because he, unlike me, loved the phone. When he would be at home in the morning, he would take a break from his morning chores and start dialing, I would usually be the first call on his list and he and I would talk about everything under the sun and he called everyday. He especially loved to hear about the latest antics that either the baby boy or the baby girl would be pulling off. We talked endlessly about food, recipes and future concoctions. Politics was probably our favorite subject because politics encompasses everything; sociology, psychology, economics and history. We would spend at least an hour every day talking. It took me a long time to wean myself away from the huge void left in my life and my heart when my father was taken from me.

I can now honestly say that whenever I think of him and it is all the time, the sides of my eyes crinkle upwards, because it's a memory of someone that I loved unconditionally and I keep that alive in my heart. I think that it's true what they say about love, since it's energy, it can never die. I am grateful for that.

Staving off winter’s doldrums

Tags

cold snow, long winters, postaday2013, weary, winter

It snowed again today and Jack begrudgingly allowed me to put his sweater on so that we could do our mile walk twice today. He was not happy the first time out because it was snowing pretty hard but the second time he was leaping in the snow like a little gazelle, that’s an exaggeration, more like Max the Grinch’s dog in the animated How the Grinch Stole Christmas. He was positively adorable. Thank goodness for him because I was asked twice today on our way home about Rex and I miss him so. I honestly don’t know what we would do without our little Jack, he is a ray of sunshine in our lives.

I find that it definitely helps to have a hubby who makes sure to replenish the wood supply so that the fireplace does what it is supposed to do during winter nights, blazon with roaring fires. Fires always cheer me up, they are calming, soothing and not to mention warming, a perfect winter’s pick me up.

Last but not least, a nice bowl of my hubby’s chili to warm chilled bones and the evening’s mood couldn’t be any better. I don’t know if the picture does it justice. My hubby uses all sorts of beans, bell peppers, different meats, tomatoes, black olives and a varied array of spices and so much more. How to describe the taste? It is subtle, flavorful, a hint of smokiness, some nuttiness, definitely warmth developing into a balanced spiciness. It is such a well balanced flavor palette. I told my hubby that it was magnificent. I didn’t know how else to describe it, simply delicious isn’t enough.

So between our adorable Jack, pretty snow, a roaring fire in my fireplace and a hot bowl of magnificent chili I have successfully staved off the winter doldrums for another day. This winter feels as if it has taken up permanent residence in these hills. Spring please come soon.

Five-minute presentation

You’ve been asked to do a five-minute presentation to a group of schoolchildren on anything of your choice. What would you present?

This brings me back to the seven years that I taught French to pre-school, kindergarten, second, third and fourth grade children. I found that the key for me was to speak to the children as if French were as normal for them as it was for me. They accepted it as part of the Madame Nichols time in class and we had fun.

During my time with pre-school we all sat together for snack and I spoke in French giving them simple vocabulary words such as the colors of what they were eating. Orange for carrots and carotte for carrots, that was all that they needed, simple words and they had fun with it.

Kindergarten gave me more opportunities because they had more of an attention span. There we recited the days of the week, the months of the year and the weather was another subject that we talked about and had fun with in French. I also baked for them one day a week and we would use French vocabulary to describe the various tartes and gateaux that they would be eating. Moreover, each year I did a different play with them in French and we performed it in front of the whole school in the auditorium, complete with sets and costumes. We had performed The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and Little Red Riding Hood. The children received standing ovations each and every time.

What I loved the most was getting to see all of the children throughout the seven years. The ones that I had started with in pre-school, I got to see all the way to fourth grade and the fact that they remembered the things that I had taught them was so gratifying to me. I absolutely loved it and the children.

In the upper grades, I not only used vocabulary to interest them but I also did math exercises to keep them amused. The children impressed me when they remembered how to count in French and then go on to do simple multiplication exercises in French.The carotte at the end of the stick was the funny story at the end of the lesson that I would tell them of all of my G rated adventures when I was younger.

Those seven years were fantastic and it gave me the healthiest respect for teachers everywhere, they are the true heroes of our society, going in everyday and engaging children of all different backgrounds. They are worthy of our full support and admiration.

Putting Sunday to bed, a little sadly

Tags

postaday2013, relationships, Sunday night, weekdays, weekends

It’s this time again, as it happens every week, Sunday evening, the bittersweet ending of another nice weekend. My hubby and I love Sunday evenings because it always means very good t.v that we enjoy watching together, but we dislike Sunday evenings just as strongly because it means that we are going to be apart for the rest of the week. Actually for the past month, my hubby has been great about coming home during the week so that it breaks our separation up quite nicely; just two nights apart instead of the full four nights.

Our marriage has operated this way for a very long time; the babies and I home in the mountains and my hubby on the road either in New York or in Boston. Back then when they were little, I was too busy with the babies to really miss my hubby. But now, that it is only Jack and I, I find myself missing my hubby much more which I think is something to be appreciated because it would be horrible if I didn’t miss him. I read the women’s magazines every once in a while and those true stories where after twenty years of marriage and children gone from the roost, you see the wife get up one morning and decide that she is done. I’m happy that I am not in that group. I am not criticizing those ladies, if anyone isn’t happy in their marriage it is up to them to do what is right for themselves, however I am very thankful that I love my hubby and will be in love with him for the rest of my life and our marriage.

Gone

A place from your past or childhood, one that you’re fond of, is destroyed. How do you feel?

Change, I think, makes everyone a little sad especially when it touches a part of our childhood past, that for some reason, many of us would like for it to remain sacrosanct. I remember when, as I got older and my Ton-ton would take away the swing set and renovate the old cellar, a part of me would mourn all the memories and the adventures that my cousin, my sister and I had shared together in all those spots. Memories are easier to keep living when you have concrete things and places to adorn them with; when you are left only the mental images they start to get wispy and ephemeral; hard to keep as vividly as before. That is the real issue, keeping something of our young self alive because time is going by so quickly and who wants to forget their youth? I don't, those memories are wonderful ones when we were in search of adventure in the old cellar or swinging away as high as we could without being afraid of breaking something because the floor wasn't that far away, the way it is now. And as always, it was a simpler time when we were younger and having our "monuments" torn down makes us miss those "simpler" times.