Game Six for the Sox – Lordy, Lordy, pants on fire!
Well, it’s a big night in Boston! As I go through the day, awaiting the start of the game, I find myself muttering an expression that I’ve used for years, though I have no idea how I came by it. The expression is, “Lordy, Lordy, pants on fire!” I’m thinking maybe I made it up, and it was probably inspired by the heightened sense of excitement and calamity when a cartoon character’s pants caught fire!
This expression is heard in my voice in my head or muttered out loud whenever I’m in a tense situation. It might come to mind as I hurry to an appointment and suddenly come upon a traffic jam that threatens to delay me. Or perhaps an unexpected and large bill shows up in the mail (generally those pesky quarterly bills). Or rain falls on the un-raked leaves…. These are “Lordy, Lordy, pants on fire!” circumstances. The anticipation of tonight’s game has me saying it all day long.
I think part of my tension about this series is that I like the Cardinals. Not so much that I want them to take the series, mind you. But have you ever seen such a civil group of ball players as the Sox and the Cardinals are this year? Maybe it’s the guru-like presence of David Ortiz (thank you, Papi!) that keeps the series a real show of the sport, and not of sports egos, as is more typical in all sports now-a-days.
Anyway, good luck, Sox.
Welcome, Cardinals and Cardinals fans. It will be nice to have a bit of the St. Louis spirit in town.
Lordy, Lordy, pants on fire!
Gluten Free Porridge from Earth’s Supergrains – by Monday’s Maven
From Whole Foods it costs a whopping $9.99 – though there are just over 8 servings per bag which breaks down to about $1.25 per serving. Not so bad considering that it’s gluten free and packed with protein! Or order directly from Earth’s Supergrains, where a 3lb bag costs $20!
I’m hoping to resurrect Monday’s Maven, an every Monday sharing from me about a product I like/love. Here’s my first new Monday’s Maven post!
For several years I’ve been starting nearly every day with an egg. I got into this habit when I first had fibromyalgia and my muscle mass was diminishing rapidly. I knew I needed more protein and starting the day with an egg seemed like a good idea as it gave me 6 grams of protein right out of the morning starting gate.
But I had concern that this would impact my cholesterol, which has always been nice and low. So, each year I’d make sure to have my cholesterol levels checked. It always stayed the same despite the daily egg.
For my digestive health, and by extension my overall health, I eat gluten free. One of my frustrations through the years has been that I couldn’t eat oats, as they are typically grown near wheat fields where wheat dust is carried by the wind and settles on the oats.
I have been so happy to see in the past year or two that gluten free oats are suddenly available. Thank you to the farmers who have created oat fields that are isolated from wheat fields.
Tasty granolas seemed to be the first form the availability of gluten free oats took. Then plain oatmeal.
I was so happy to find Earth’s Supergrains porridge at Whole Foods recently. It contains:
oats, and the following all organic grains – buckwheat groats, quinoa, teff, amaranth, millet, flax seeds and chia seeds
It’s easy to prepare, tasty good, and best of all – it has zero cholesterol. Not only that, but oats help lower cholesterol.
And this porridge contains 8 grams of protein per serving – more than an egg!
I make two servings when I cook it, and save the second to be reheated and enjoyed a day or two later.
Sorry to say, goodbye daily egg! My breakfast now looks like this:
This is one robust breakfast to kickstart my day!
PS I dip the apple slices in the spoonful of peanut butter! More on that another time! Till then, healthy eating with Earth’s Supergrains Porridge!
Literary Education via David Foster Wallace’s Biography by D. T. Max
Many months ago, I wrote here at sublime days that I’d soon try to start reading D. T. Max’s biography about David Foster Wallace, Every Love Story Is A Ghost Story.
I did start to read the book soon afterwards. But maybe 70 pages into it, I stopped – for two reasons. One, as I had expressed with concern in my 11-10-12 post, it made me sad. But also (two), the author, D. T. Max, kept getting in my way. By that I mean that it felt to me as if his persona were seeping through his words about Wallace, even more than Wallace’s persona was coming through. There’s a lot of ego in the literary world and I found a distasteful amount in the opening pages of the biography – and it didn’t seem to be coming from DFW.
Perhaps I just needed a little more time with the book. But “a little more time” didn’t come till nearly a full year later, during the past two weeks in fact. With the myriad things I brought for my two-week stay at Wellspring House Writers Retreat, the DFW book added several ounces of weight (though no where near the amount of weight had I brought Wallace’s opus, Infinite Jest, instead).
The book I’m writing, working title Kaleidoscope Chips, is hard for me to write. It’s about the destruction that rage from one person within a family can inflict on each member of the family – both physical and psychological destruction. Some of the scenes are laden with emotion, so this book is slow to unfold. I’ve been writing it since 2010. And I’m only at about 23,000 words. That’s s-l-o-w.
The upside of this pace is that during the spells I’ve needed to walk away from my writing throughout the last two weeks, I’ve made a study of writing. Generally, I don’t read anything while I’m at this retreat. I reserve this time for writing only. But with the luxury of two weeks, I did some reading. I’m now at page 215 in the DFW biography. I’ve been away from studying about writing for decades. So, to dive into this book has been a condensed reawakening of stuff I’d forgotten about or never learned to begin with. It’s been great. Thank you D. T. Max. I shall reread the initial 70 pages of the book once I reach the end of the it. I’ll see if I still glean too much of the author, now that I have a more complete idea of the book.
If I could summarize what I’ve learned from Wallace, it is that he feels it is not enough for post-modern literary authors to present – in satire, parable, realism or any other form – only the picture of who we are at any given time or place. It is necessary for writers to offer redemption, to present solutions to help humanity move forward and become better. Wallace sees the American culture as being dominated by television and advertisement – so that our behaviors are ruled by our addictions – to T.V. and material things (things fed to us through advertisement) so that we live not freely but in the midst of a spectacle, a false existence that has made us dullards.
By picking up this book again, I have been put in a writerly frame of mind for the time I’ve been at Wellspring House. It has been both invigorating and inspiring to follow Wallace’s journey along his literary moral path. I’m so glad I brought the book with me. (Though I dread reading the end of it, knowing Wallace’s life came to an abrupt end.)
I have also been reading Dante’s The Inferno (translated by John Ciardi) during the past week. I blush to admit I’ve never read it before. I’m happy to say, however, that I am enjoying it completely.
Early on, way back in my high school and college years, I fell in love with epic poems and verse. Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, the Iliad and the Odyssey were all favorite reads. I loved reading Shakespeare. So, to read The Inferno is to go back to my roots, to that time when I fell in love with the art of the written word and its power to inform and enlighten, to challenge and change its reader – and also to pull the reader more deeply into the tapestry of the history of mankind.
I don’t know if all this study time alongside my writing time has added an ounce of wit to the quality of my work. I do know that to have this time to study writing alongside actually writing has been wonderful.
In Praise of Wellspring House Writers Retreat
My writing desk at Wellspring House
I have enjoyed a fulfilling two weeks at a small writers retreat, Wellspring House, which resides in the bucolic community of Ashfield, Mass., which is a village really, with a population of about two thousand.
I’ve been to Wellspring House once or twice a year for the past three years, but this is the first time I’ve stayed for two weeks.
People often ask me why it is that I can’t create the same circumstances from my home office, now that my family is grown and gone.
To answer their question I start by saying that when I’m here at Wellspring House, there is no cell phone reception. Immediately, that isolates me in a way that is at first unnerving, (for about two days) and then, it’s heavenly.
Also, I don’t have to get the mail and do whatever it is that is required of it. Housework and home projects don’t haunt and distract me and gobble up my time. My “to do” list while I’m at the retreat generally resides in my head and is short: write.
Of course, I have not scheduled any work appointments for the time I’m here, nor doctor or dentist appointments. Unexpected visitors don’t come by and I’m not tempted by a spontaneous invitation from friends to join them for a walk, lunch or dinner.
I do, however, try to walk every day, both for physical and mental exercise. The landscape here is spectacular as you can see in a slideshow I shared a couple of days ago here at sublime days. I have a route that assures a good cardio workout as well as visual pleasure that awakens my reflective nature, my philosophical side. Much “writing” happens in my head while on these walks. Words get “put to paper” on my return.
The wifi connection at the retreat does bring in my email. But I keep all necessary correspondence brief. Ahead of time, everyone knows where I am and why I’m here so the reasons behind my not typical, cryptic replies are understood.
When here, I meet other writers, generally thoughtful, busy and quiet folk who, like me, want to maximize their time here. To be in their presence, each of us behind the closed door of our deliberately sparse (though most comfortable) bedrooms/writing rooms is to be in the midst of a creative energy that inspires me and makes me more productive than I could be at home. I do the bulk of my writing when I’m here. I do the lion’s share of my editing at home.
I have visited other retreats, not as a guest myself, but when visiting someone I know who’s in residence. And I’ve talked to writers about places they’ve been. Often, there is a rhythm to the days at these sites that I would find disruptive to my work. There might be a dining hall that is the source of all meals, and that is run on an exact schedule. There might be nightly readings or presentations of artwork or collaborative and creative performances. It’s hard to skip these optional events when a fellow dining table member is the artist. I know I’d be torn by being supportive of them but needing to get to my own work, especially as I do my most productive work through the evening and into the night.
Some residencies have housing in one building and workspaces in another building. This requires going back and forth throughout the day, always with hope that you’ve not left behind something that’s needed in either place.
So, what I love about Wellspring House is that it’s self contained – everything is under one roof – and the writer/artist can work on his or her own schedule as each of us brings our own food and we each prepare our own meals. It’s a real treat to happen to overlap in the kitchen with other writers. There, the silence of the upstairs rooms is lifted — and enjoyable, meaningful conversations take place – sometimes about writing, or about being a writer, or about books and authors and writing styles, about publishing, or about our home lives. I’ve made wonderful friends through the years at Wellspring House.
Generally, once a week there will be a reading – and always it’s optional.
Ashfield offers a wonderful café/grocery and gift market just a five-minute walk from the retreat. It is the hub of Ashfield. It’s here at Elmer’s (I’ve linked to the breakfast menu, which is an entertaining read that changes periodically through the clever and creative mind of Nan, the proprietor) that you get the real feel for this community, and it is truly a community.
Elmer’s – Ashfield, Mass.
Some of the visiting residents at Wellspring House have many of their meals at Elmer’s. I’ve enjoyed the egg-whites-only version of the Obamalette and the gluten free pancakes twice while here during this stay. The meals at Elmer’s are fantastic, fresh, fun and filling. And the staff is by far the friendliest I’ve ever encountered. Much of the food served and sold at Elmer’s is locally supplied.
I limit myself to going to Elmer’s once or twice a week – so that I don’t cut into my writing time and also so that I’m not so full of delicious food that I get sleepy at my desk!
Ashfield is a tight-knit community and once you’ve been here a few days, you begin to get into the groove of life in rural America. It can’t help but inspire any writer.
Ashfield’s library is between the retreat house and Elmer’s, so it takes maybe three minutes to walk to it. It is a beautiful, small library but has limited hours, so check ahead before visiting.
Ashfield’s library
A two-minute walk from the retreat house (in the opposite direction from Elmer’s and the library) is a gas station/grocery store where any forgotten item can be purchased though at the typical overpriced cost that all small markets charge. And for those who enjoy a glass of wine with dinner, as I do, there is a small selection of reds and whites.
Last but hardly least, the gentleman who runs Wellspring House, Preston Browning, is an inspiration. A former professor of English Literature (at the University of Illinois, Chicago) Preston is a wonderful conversationalist and educator, and a remarkably decent person. An octogenarian for some years now, Preston is busy running Wellspring House as he works diligently on his own essays – messages to humanity about how to preserve our planet and care for one another. Here’s a sample of Preston’s writing:
STRUGGLING FOR THE SOUL OF ONE’S COUNTRY
Wellspring House is a wonderful place. I encourage you to consider it if ever you have need for a quiet, inspiring setting from which to be creative.
A Fall Poem About Spring
Dream of Spring
by Mary McAvoy
Today the sun gives spring-like warmth
and rays of hope after a frigid night.
I turn my face upward and close my eyes.
The sun bathes my cheeks in comforting heat.
My vision swims in the dazzling light that passes through my lids.
I hear the song of a bird
that fools me further, for some seconds,
into thinking that it is indeed spring.
I open my eyes and see the many colors of the leaves
and hear the echo of mauls striking wood.
Both belie the sense of spring that the sun gives.
As I go on my way, crispy leaves crunch under foot.
I’ll have to wait through the long cold season
for spring to truly arrive once again.
Fall Foliage in New England
I’m writing from Wellspring House Writers Retreat in Ashfield, Mass. I love this place. This is perhaps my sixth time staying here. I have a hard time imagining there’s a better place to focus on writing, and studying about writing. I’ve done a lot of both while here. I’ll write more about that in the upcoming week. But at the moment, I’d simply like to share beautiful fall foliage images of the immediate area, photos I’ve taken while out for my daily walks. Enjoy.
Images of Early Fall in Woodbridge, Connecticut
sun-warmed tomatoes in the community gardens at Fitzgerald Tract Trails in Woodbridge, Conn.
Woodbridge, Connecticut is a bucolic town in southern Conn. that offers several outdoor trails for the people of the community. Of the Fitzgerald Tract Trails, a page in the recreation section of the town’s website offers this: “a calm serene atmosphere where one can relax and wile away the hours of a beautiful day in Woodbridge” – and that is exactly what I did with two hours of my day yesterday.
The Fitzgerald Tract has a crushed-stone walking path with slight uphill and downhill inclines, good for a cardio workout. Generally, that’s my purpose when on the trail. But yesterday, with the late afternoon sun angling low into the community gardens and meadows, which are part of the Fitzgerald fields and trails, I couldn’t help pause to reap from the waning gardens and browning meadows a selection of early fall photographs.
Enjoy the slideshow below!
Organic Salad vs Big Mac
85% organic salad
A couple of times a week I make myself a big salad like the one pictured above, which I am eating as I write this post. As I build this dinner, layer upon layer – organic spring greens, organic grape tomatoes, organic tofu, organic sprouts, organic vidalia onion, organic almonds, organic avocado, and non-organic walnuts — drizzled with vidalia onion dressing and then topped with a sprinkling of fresh ground pepper – I wonder at what point it reaches the caloric value of a Big Mac. This question has plagued me for years. (I think the avocado half might tip my salad over the caloric count of the Big Mac…)
I believe my salad is healthier than the Big Mac, but I’m not sure about that.
While caloric value and health value of my salad vs the Big Mac are measurable (here’s more than you probably want to know about the food served at McDonalds), the overriding thing that keeps me eating the salad – its taste – is not measurable since that is a personal preference.
Don’t get me wrong, I think the Big Mac is delicious.* But the salad wins out for taste, probably because it takes longer to eat, so the taste pleasure is longer-lasting!
* This statement is base on eight-year old memory, as that’s the last time I ate a Big Mac. It was in 2005 that I switched to a gluten free diet and had to say goodbye to the Big Mac and the Whopper Junior (my burger of choice at Burger King). Is it possible that out of deprivation necessity I’ve convinced myself the salad is tastier!?
End of Summer Vermont Vacation
Last week, for the whole week, I caught the end of summer in southern Vermont. The days were warm and humid and at some point nearly every day, it rained. I was glad when the rain came at night, hammering the cottage roof as thunder and lightning rocked the night sky.
I laughed in spite of myself as my $40 “white noisemaker” (offering “thunder,” “brook,” “rain”) remained packed in my suitcase as the stream behind the house or the rain on the roof provided the natural drone that lulled me to sleep.
I often thought of Siddhartha as I sat on a rock in the stream and tried to quiet my mind and ride the “Om” as the cool water ran over and around my bare feet.
One day we hiked a trail that was easy for two-thirds of the way and we were rewarded for our efforts of the last third by the majesty of a waterfall. Another day, between rainfalls, we swam with the salamanders in a cool lake.
Throughout the backyard of the cottage and on the rocky banks of the running water, the wild flowers of summer’s end were in full bloom.
Jewelweed and Early Goldenrod announced the coming of fall.
(All photos by Mary McAvoy. If you’d like to see more of my nature photography, please visit SilverLining-MaryMcAvoy, my photo-blog about a small pond in New England that chronicles the four season over the course of five years.)
“Submission Bonanza” at Lightning Droplets
Lightning Droplets has even made this very cool logo for her endeavors!
I’ve just posted at my work site, Syntax and Style, about a “submission bonanza” that the writer at Lightning Droplets (a blog here on WordPress) has undertaken this summer. She has shared great tips in two posts if you are a writer with interest! I certainly am!
sublime days 