A Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY ~ Friday 14th September 2012

Outside my window...I'd love to say it's a beautiful spring day but I'm afraid I can't. There's a drab grey blanket sky which possibly holds yet more rain...it's certainly heavily laden. The cold wind is still visiting and I really wish it would move on to its next destination...it has been here for far too long! Talk about outstaying your welcome!
But there has been some sunshine that has caused stirrings within the bird and plant population. I counted 10 different birds in a high state of activity yesterday on my short walk. I say short walk because it was freezing and I'd not wrapped up enough...will I never learn about Melbourne weather?!?!
I see new shoots and buds about to pop in the garden and thankfully I appear to have not killed off the roses after my pruning frenzy. 
I now see that I've got figs appearing even though there's hardly any leaves open yet...see photo below.
The jasmine has popped along with the wisteria...there's a bitter sweet feeling here because I do adore them but unfortunately someone in their weird and wonderful decision thought that they would look perfect hanging over a trellis near the pool. Very near the pool in fact!
This does give quite a stunning display but hey people do you know how many petals and bits fall off !!! I'm just not looking today....

I am thinking... about my big brother as it's his birthday today. I haven't been home for two years which is unusual for me as I normally return home every six months for a visit. (There's a story there which I may divulge at some stage but not today) I'm hoping he's having a fantastic day ~ Happy Birthday Bro XXX

I am thankful...for my health. It's very easy to take for granted whilst everything is working well...but as you know this can change in an instant. So I'm stopping for a moment to be thankful.....

In the kitchen...bare for now but there's going to be a baking frenzy soon. My daughter is coming and it's my mission to feed her up...well isn't that what Mum's are supposed to do? My boys will certainly not object either. My hubby asked the question yesterday..."does this mean we can have duck fat on our roast potatoes again"?


I am wearing...A Fleece! I know I can't believe it either...still having to rug up here...Ugg slippers are keeping my toes cosy too.  I'm doing the 'hokey cokey' dance with the heating...too hot with it on...too cold with it off...(sigh)

I am creating...an email to present my designs to a publishing company...wow...tummy flip there. Wish me luck.

I am going...on a few mini trips soon so I'll be inviting you along if you're free...get your bags packed ready!

 

I am wondering...why my links within this post and my last post have different colour fonts. It won't let me change the colour either no matter what I try? Its infuriating having different colours...I'd prefer blue and I've tried so many times to correct it but it's just not listening. If you know how to correct this then please can you let me know? Is it me or Blogspot?    

I'm reading... The Paris Wife by Paula McLain (I'm reading it on my kindle)

The Paris Wife

Before I give you some insight into this particular book I must mentioned how much I enjoyed my last book The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society It was a delightful novel of post-war friendship, love and books. If you missed it then all you have to do is click on the link above it will take you to the book review and authors video interview.

So onto this book. I decided that I would use my kindle for this read because I know I'm going to be busy travelling around so it will be ideal. I've enjoyed holding three huge 'real' books (as I call them).

I've only just started it but already I'm enjoying it immensely.

Book Description:-  

A deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, The Paris Wife captures a remarkable period of time and a love affair between two unforgettable people: Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley.

Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

Though deeply in love, the Hemingway's are ill prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, which hardly values traditional notions of family and monogamy. Surrounded by beautiful women and competing egos, Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history, pouring all the richness and intensity of his life with Hadley and their circle of friends into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises. Hadley, meanwhile, strives to hold on to her sense of self as the demands of life with Ernest grow costly and her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Despite their extraordinary bond, they eventually find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unravelling of everything they’ve fought so hard for.

A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that, in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley.

About the Author:-

Paula McLain was born in Fresno, California in 1965. After being abandoned by both parents, she and her two sisters became wards of the California Court System, moving in and out of various foster homes for the next fourteen years. When she aged out of the system, she supported herself by working as a nurses aid in a convalescent hospital, a pizza delivery girl, an auto-plant worker, a cocktail waitress--before discovering she could (and very much wanted to) write. She received her MFA in poetry from the University of Michigan in 1996. Since then, she has received fellowships from the corporation of Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, the Ucross Foundation, the Ohio Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Her first book of poetry, Less of Her, was published in 1999 from New Issues Press and won a publication grant from the Greenwall Fund of the Academy of American Poets. She's also the author of a second collection of poetry, Stumble, Gorgeous, a memoir, Like Family: Growing Up In Other People's Houses, and the novel, A Ticket to Ride. Her most recent book is The Paris Wife, a fictional account of Ernest Hemingway's first marriage and upstart years in 1920's Paris, as told from the point of view of his wife, Hadley. She teaches in the MFA Program in Poetry at New England College, and lives with her family in Cleveland. 

I am hoping...that a magic fairy comes in the night and cleans everywhere...what do you think the chances of that happening are? Yeah I think so too...nothing for it...I'll just have to wear my tutu and get on with it!

 

I am looking forward to...I think you know what this will be. Warmer weather and of course my daughter arriving. Sorry to sound like a broken record here but once she's here and it gets warmer I'll be able to move on ~ promise!
Oh I've just had another thought...a positive reply from the publishers would be good too.

 

Around the house...one cold pooch curled up in her fleece. There is a lot to sort out before my daughter arrives...the usual boring chores but if I get ahead of the game...then I'll be free to do whatever takes our fancy! I've moved most of my art stuff back into the studio from the dining room so both rooms need organising.

 

A favourite quote for today... 'Seize the Day'! I use this quote constantly (not sure where I got it from but it works for me)

 

One of my favourite things...is having my washing machine take all the hard work out of my day. I've completed two loads of washing whilst I've been chatting here with you. Not bad eh?
I remember not so long ago seeing my wonderful Grandmother washing her bed linen in her washing tub outside in her shed...using a podger to move the huge heavy sheets through the water....then folding them through a mangle numerous times to get all the water out of them...before them hanging them on the washing line. What a woman! 
I'm not sure I'd be changing my bed linen so frequently if I had to do that performance each time. 
(Bless you Nanny Pridd  X)

   

A few plans for the rest of the week: Work, rest and play but not necessarily in that order :D  

A peek into my day... The rebirth of a Fig Tree...so someone thinks it's spring!

   Well I better 'seize the day' then...before it disappears....

 So that's it for this week; I hope you enjoyed your visit. Don't forget to pop over to The Simple Womans Daybook and check out the other day book entries

Have a fabulous week and hopefully the sun will shine wherever you are Enjoy!