September: New Season
Bereft! July and August have left me in the lurch, and you know where these next few months are going.
I’m fond of saying February is the longest six weeks of winter, and as I say this, I’m thinking this was the fastest rolling summer I’ve ever (never) experienced.
Where did it go? Equally importantly, what do I have to show for it? Well, I fell down a ‘ship’s ladder’—steep stairs in marine cottages that are death traps to fools like me who don’t obey the First Law of WingWalkers*--and cracked a couple of ribs. This, I profoundly hope, is not my legacy of the summer of 2015.
Instead, I’m going to dwell on life’s small accomplishments:
I baked my son a killer birthday cake: Martha Stewart vanilla cake, seedless strawberry jam filling between the layers, and topped with a double topping of cream cheese vanilla frosting.
I did a reading—two excerpts—from my first two novels at Lee Thompson’s Attic Owl Reading Series. Great turnout and a good learning lesson. The two excerpts I chose were powerful examples of how to commit violent crimes and showed off my writing style. Problem was, both included language I would have preferred not to have shared at that venue. They’ve promised to invite me back, and I’ve promised myself to do my homework more…assiduously.
I built a very small deck: 8’ X 10’, at the cottage. It’s strong and attractive, another project ticked off the list.
I hung out with my son and his family at their cottage in PEI. Charged my batteries, ate lobster, sipped wine, and slept like the proverbial log. LG: Life is Good.
Added several thousand words to my current work in progress. I’ve tentatively entitled it The Body On The Underwater Road, set in Niagara, St. Andrews NB, and New York State. More about that in a subsequent posting.
I learned how to play Tonight You Belong To Me…on the ukulele! So fun.
I’m coming out of retirement (as a musician) to play a wedding gig. Just one song, but I’ll need lots of practice, since I’ve never heard the song before. It’s called Nothing More, and either way, I’ll be a retired musician in another month or so. Guitar, not ukulele, for those of you who worry about such things.
I love my deck, and contrive to visit it as frequently as possible. It’s 34’ X 14’, plus a wraparound deck (6’ X 18’), which, it turns out, is plenty large enough to hold a glass of Oyster Bay Pinot Noir.
I built a raised garden with landscaping bricks. Turned out good. Does anyone want tomatoes? I may organize a Tomatina Festival, the way things are shaping up.
I attended my sister Deb’s 60th birthday, and got to see my BIL’s grand-daughter in PEI. Said BIL, Warren, visited me at my oh-so-humble cottage in Miramichi.
I know I did many other things, but, as I noted at the beginning, I am celebrating the little accomplishments in life. Little events, effectively, are of little interest to acquaintances, and so it should be. You, Gentle Reader, have also enjoyed a fabbo, productive summer, I am certain, but we neither of us actually need to see the pictures of Wednesday’s breakfast and the cat’s tail and she shows her displeasure at the food you served her. So, this will be my first and last celebration of the minutiae of my days. But, you know me; I just had to humble/brag about learning a song on the ukulele. It’s a world-changer. Not.
