Category Archives: Books

Books

The past week has been a bit of a blur. I was constantly in motion and yet don’t feel I accomplished much. Frustrating.

My parents seem to be enjoying their stay with us. It’s nice to have them here. The house was seeming so big since the girls left that it feels good to be making full use of it.

Our “adopted” daughter, Caroline, came to visit the other evening. We enjoyed sitting outside with a fire crackling in the fire pit. Just a quiet evening, talking about nothing in particular and everything.

I’ve been trying to keep up with my reading. I’m on my 23rd book for the year. I realized a while ago that even if I were to read 2 books a month for the rest of my probable life, it would be less than 1000 books. That’s just not enough so I’ve been making a conscious effort to read more.

Right now I’m into a collection of Janet Flanner essays published in The New Yorker magazine’s “Letter from Paris” from 1925 to 1939 titled “Paris Was Yesterday.” The book I most recently finished was Joyce Carol Oates’s novel “We Were the Mulvaneys.”

I am simultaneously reading a book on violin technique by Ivan Galamian recommended by my violin teacher. It’s been a little tough getting started. My big mistake is picking it up late in the evening, just before bed. God knows I need a help with technique so I think I’d better start reading it in the mornings instead.

Yesterday my sister, mom and I went on an excursion to Woodstock — a little shopping, dinner and a movie, “A Prairie Home Companion.” The Woodstock Town Hall Theatre is an ideal movie venue, good movie selections, small town feel. Next week they’re showing “An Inconvenient Truth.” We will probably go see it, but it might be a little too much reality for me. I only hope it offers some solutions and isn’t just fear-mongering.

Today we are thinking of going to Saint-Gaudens in Cornish, New Hampshire. It is the site of the home, gardens and studio of the sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens. It’s a beautiful place. As a bonus, on Sundays in the summer they have a concert series.

But first … the Wimbledon Men’s Championship! Mom and I watched the Ladies’ Championship match yesterday. I was happy to see Mauresmo be the first French woman to win in 81 years. I thought it was interesting to see the difference in tennis dress of the last French champion, Suzanne Lenglen, and Mauresmo’s. I like Henin-Hardenne equally well, though so I would have been glad to see her win, too.

Today I’m torn. Of course, being Swiss, I like Federer a lot. But Nadal has been playing so well, he deserves to win, too.

Books, Philosophy, Quotes

Il faut cultiver notre jardin

I haven’t been up to posting much lately — such a busy weekend with the Revels yard sale, a Saturday night cook-out with friends, choir and a Revels troupe appearance at Billings Farm on Sunday. And surprise! We forgot we scheduled a renaissance choral practice on Monday. Oh, and I bought a new old violin — but that’s for another day.

Then Dave’s sister arrived for a short visit and I landed flat on my back with a cold and (oh, the indignity!) conjunctivitis. I’m getting better. I can open my eyes again, but now I have a lingering cough. Woe is me and all that. Dave and Cherie had a great visit. They talked, canoed and kayaked. I slept.

Today was a disappointment. Dave saw his daughters for the first time in over a year. His report of the meeting wasn’t encouraging. I haven’t written about the situation before now because it is heartbreaking. It’s pretty hard to discuss without starting to analyze and explain, and sometimes that just doesn’t help. It all degenerates into “she said, he said” stuff that won’t resolve anything. Right now it feels like all the moves available to us are wrong ones and we can’t ever make it right.

So … that leaves me with the title of this post, a quote from Voltaire’s “Candide”:

We must each cultivate our own garden.

I can’t do anything to fix this situation right now. All I can do is take care of my own little patch, tend to those I love, take care of myself, and look for where I can be of use in the world. As my former yoga teacher, Stephanie, used to say “All you have to do is show up, be yourself, and share your gifts.”

Books, Travels

I finally got into the garden yesterday. I weeded the flower beds and planted the dahlia tubers and gladioli bulbs. Dave mended the fence, mowed the lawn and weedwacked everything else. The results are satisfying — the place looks pretty good. Just in time for us to leave.

As usual there is so much to do before a trip. Already I feel the squeeze of anxiety in my heart. Since this trip spans the payroll time period, I need to prepare everything in advance.

But I also enjoy travel. The actual travel days are a respite from ringing phones and everyday demands. I know that with cell phones and ubiquitous internet access, I don’t really have the same freedom from obligation that the absence of technology used to impose, but I give myself permission to knock off a little anyway.

I usually select a new book for a trip. This time I’ll be traveling with Queen Noor of Jordan. I’ve always been curious about Lisa Halaby, an American woman who just happened to marry King Hussein in 1978. At the time it seemed unfathomable to me for a Princeton-educated woman to make such a choice. But I used to know a lot more than I know now.

Queen Noor’s book is my 16th since January. I doubt I’ll keep up this pace, but it’s been nice giving myself permission to read. Okay so there’s a lot more dog hair not getting swept up, but it’s a small price to pay.