Sitting here waiting for two computers to finish updating and reading online stuff. Gwenn Seemel really hit it on the head in this post

I can’t help but thinking that, in art as in life, if you’re not enjoying yourself—not delighting in really experiencing touch, taste, smell, sound, and sight—you’re getting it wrong. Because if you don’t appreciate beauty, you’re probably bored, boring, and a big jerk.

I followed a link to a blog entry re travel tips from Paul Coelho, and instead found a treasure trove of video podcasts on writing and… wait for it… vampires!

Amazing stuff.

I had a weird day today – forgot my phone. Forgot that “Find my iPhone” was linked to a newer Apple ID. Finally remembered that and determined that yes, my iPhone was sitting in my house. Dealt with some mighty strange people at work. Dealt with some mighty strange people after work (specifically a truck driver who had parked so close to me that I couldn’t get into my car on the driver’s side!).

Now I’m trying to get a little sewing done amidst all these reports of extreme weather tomorrow. well you sort of know, deep in your heart, that if they’re opening the state emergency response office tomorrow afternoon ahead of the possible weather that it will probably amount to nothing… but still.

Finally, I did read almost to the end of the Grimm tales and at lunch tried my hand at generating a tiny essay re the purpose the Grimms writing these tales. No problem. A few short paragraphs and the word count was achieved and, I thought, the point made. Now to await further instructions. Meanwhile the discussions there are over the top ridiculously busy. A single topic might have a couple thousand views. And there are many topics with many, many responses. O.M.G.

Oh well. I’m keeping my nose to the book and am ready to start writing (and to start reading the Lewis Carroll stuff

Not quite technology-free today, but if you need to reach me, my iPhone apparently stayed home today, so try alternative routes.

I’ve lucked into being able to watch Essential Pepin on my local PBS station. I love this man. I sit at his feet. I laugh at his stories. I admire his devotion to the food traditions of his family. I learn things like the difference in motion used for beating egg whites vs that for beating cream (if you beat cream like egg whites you end up with butter!). He mentions his cooking buds like Julia and others. He’s very matter of fact and traditional and pretty purist in his cooking but sometimes he forgets to put something in and adds it at the end and says so. Or he explains why some people do things this way and he does them this other way. He just made a souffle in a rectangular dish, daringly throwing his egg yolks into the still hot white sauce (no problem) and ending up with a beautiful brown souffle which, he adds, he only makes for people he really loves. No bizarre ingredients but sometimes surprising amounts of olive oil. I long to be able to use a knife for chopping as he does. Oh Jacque Pepin, my current kitchen hero!

Theme, variation,
embroider, embellish:
the tints of love’s cheek.

Roll it in your hands
Watch the colors changing there
tinged with your passions.

I’m listening to Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles where I gleaned this great quote about halfway through the book, speaking of the first waves of earth men coming to Mars:

And they came from the cabbage tenements and subways, and they found much rest and vacation in the company of silent men from the tumbleweed states who knew how to use silences so they filled you up with peace after long years crushed in tubes, tins, and boxes in New York.

And among the second men were men who looked, by their eyes, as if they were on their way to God….

Just love that last line.