It's a Wrap

The year is winding down in a slightly different way than what I had planned. To this end, I'm going to take a bit of time for the more traditional pen to paper writing and work through a few items on my reading list. Best wishes to you for a happy, healthy end of year.  It's been fun reading with you in 2013.

See you in January!

Long Walk Through the Woods

I celebrate myself, and sing myself,

And what I assume you shall assume,

For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

- Walt Whitman, Song of Myself

Walls of Jericho
November 2013

All in the Cards

My week in a table:

1 month ago	60 stamps
1 week ago	1 photo
1 week ago	50 photos
Monday night	0 stamps
Tuesday am	Still can't find stamps
Tuesday noon	60 stamps
Tuesday night	Not enough photos
Wednesday morning	10 stamps
Projected Wed noon	40 photos
Projected Wed just after noon	40 stamps
Net:	10 stamps on hand
	60 lost stamps
	A lotta hand-written notes

A continual loop of a disproportionate stamps and cards, but a lot of fun.

P.S. If you get a mid-year note with gingerbread house stamps, don't ask any questions.

Anywhere, I Would Have Followed You

After pushing Saturday a bit to the limits, Sunday was a day to catch up on sleep, spend time with friends in a recovery lunch and cardio-offset a Christmas cigar.  I paired The Holiday with reading water and my rocket card writing by the light of candles and my red tree.  Quaint.  Content.

When I crawled into bed, I wanted the feel of a book rather than my tablet and went scrounging around the bookcase to see what was untouched.  I picked up Don't Go Where I Can't Follow because it was short and I knew it had good reviews.  I'd purchased this and two others by Nilsen in August.  The books sat on the counter for about a month before they were packed, moved, and unpacked during my autumn transition.

It sat waiting until I was ready.

This was a read that I both wanted to turn the page to see the next space and at the same time did not.  I knew where I was headed as a reader and I wasn't sure I was equipped for this peek into another's grief.  The book is a beautiful collection of postcards, a letter, photos and travel anecdotes fading into excepts of writing by Mr. Nilsen at Ms. Weaver's bedside. The end through drawings and words is particularly touching.  I don't think I stopped crying from page 73 onward.

It is such a beautiful thing when two people find each other, admit love, and take on the challenges of life as a unit.  They weather unexpected events, find laughter, and choose to stick it out to the end.  As GBC P@1ge has recently reminded me, all relationships end, one way or another.  Nilsen gives us a look at the other, and it reminds my heart to keep hope that deep connections are always possible, even if they are way too short to be fair.

11 Days of Christmas

We're into the tipping point of the rest of the year flying by in a series of:

• manic Amazon purchases which has ensured you will sign up for one more year of Prime
• crushed visits to your local bookstore where you end up buying things for yourself
• last minute Christmas cards and hoping that you don't repeat last year and send multiple cards to people (running count three).  You write personalized messages so you're left wondering if you repeated or contradicted yourself.  This is of course the downside to pairing writing with reading water.
• commitments to baking cookies that seemed like a really good idea at the beginning of the month
• desperate knitting which seemed like a great idea in November
• multiple holiday parties
• crazy road trips
• panicked purchases of pink lipstick to go with a crazy dress that you just had to have for the party*
• Starbucks visits where they start making your latte the moment you walk in because they know what kind of week you've had

culminating in some amazing visits with family friends and potentially one frozen blogger.

Happy holidays ahead! Hope you enjoy every second.

*You waited too long to find a dress.  You have limited options and tried on six.  This was the one the sales person recommended.  You agreed.

Love and Pictures

Tonight I stood outside at exactly 0C taking photos.  I dropped my lens cap, misplaced my keys and nearly met the front grill of a big red truck because I was paying more attention to angle than the fact I was standing in the middle of the road.  [Kids, don't try this at home.]

Twenty minutes later when I can feel my hands, I'm scanning through media feeds and discover "The Tutu Project".  You may have already heard about it the last two days, but in my current sleep deprived state was incredibly moved by the sentiment for his wife and some really beautiful photos.  Links to video and Ballerina, the Book here.

Portraits and Poems

I like Jane Austen...but probably not this much.  I think I would opt for the £10 note instead.

Perhaps something more in the realm of possibilities is The Gorgeous Nothings:  Emily Dickinson's Envelope Poetry published at the end of October by Jen Bervin. This NYT review has a nice overview of the book and its inception.

Plain Dreams of Trains

I've been reading John Dies at the End by David Wong which was published before This Book is Full of Spiders.  Since I've read them in reverse order, I'm using Star Wars logic and treating it as a prequel.  The books are quite suspenseful so I'm not disappointed I already know about John* because that's one less thing that will creep into my dreams.  [Side note:  I've also been reading about dream interpretations.]  It was really fascinating to learn about Amy in reverse.

Hope you've had a good weekend.  I'm off to finish a book with a side of reading water.  It's been a fun read.

*Author's note:  Titles aren't always revealing as the other book wasn't really full of spiders. Well, not really.

Tree-ting Yourself

I'm a little late for a Friday photo but long work days and reading water sometimes take precedence. After an early morning cardio session that will leave me unable to climb stairs the rest of the day, I'm finally feeling a bit motivated to bring the holidays indoor.  I might even open up the porcelain Peanuts Nativity Scene which has been boxed (and moved 4 times) since 2005.  Hopefully Snoopy is still in tact.

Happy December y'all.

Washington Square to Empire State
New York, December 2010

Better than All the Rest?

The "Best of 2013" lists are starting to emerge (with apologies to anyone who might accidentally publish in December).  The Guardian's list was fairly interesting as it contained a few titles which had escaped my attention over the last few months.  My Struggle:  Book Two (A Man in Love) by Karl Ove Knausgaard is (wait for it) the second in a series of six autobiographical tales which turned out to be fairly controversial as he included narratives about friends, neighbors and his ex-wife.  (Norway's not so large so I'm sure he had a few uncomfortable nights at the neighborhood bar.)  If you're assembling your end of year hide away in a cabin reading lists in the great snowy north, the first two Knausgaard books might be an interesting add.

Hope your week hasn't been too great a struggle.

Cut it Out

It was a combination of GBC K1m's snowflakes and my spending Thanksgiving evening with an eight year old and her book Can You See What I See? that has left me thinking about pop up books.  Robert Sabuda has a number of pop up books, cards and picture books to capture your fancy.  Look for him tomorrow on the Today show and consider adding one of his books to your wishlist.