Roadkill

Out here in the Haven, we have some interesting residents, one of whom is my neighbor, Pat*.
We were having a nice neighborly deck-to-deck chat about how beautiful our little country community is, when I happened to mention my interest in learning about the wildlife here. "I collect roadkill!" she offered enthusiastically. Um. Ahhh. Geeee. Huh? Not much shocks me, having spent my formative years around a bunch of auto-racing, cursing, pin-up-loving men, but a seventy-something woman telling me she likes to collect roadkill? I was struck silent. I mean, what does one say back? Maybe a cheerful, "Oh really? That sounds like an interesting hobby you've got going there, Pat." Or how about a thoughtful, "Wow. That must be quite a collection after such a long life." DaNG. I just hmmm'd and ohhh'd until the conversation waned and we both went back to our own lives. If I didn't love my life in the Haven so much, I'd be puttin' my Realtor on speed-dial...

*Name is changed to protect the not-so-innocent

P.S. If I don't post for a really long time, would someone call the county sheriff?

I Doff My Cap to Frances

It's that time of the year when I pick a theme for my summer reading list. I've grown to love this little ritual of mine that grew out of reading a whack of Italian-themed books one summer. I was out on the patio one lazy July afternoon listening to "Under the Tuscan Sun"(Frances Mayes) on audio tape. Frances was describing a simple pasta dish she was making for some unexpected guests that showed up at her Italian villa. There was something about the way she described the
fresh ingredients( in her Southern Belle drawl!) that just drew me in. So much so , that I actually
became interested in cooking! This delighted my BeLoVeD who had , reluctantly, grown used to my throw-it-together-not-so-tasty
meals. (I knew I was becoming a good cook when my two dogs actually began showing up in the kitchen while I cooked dinner!) It was right then and there on the patio that my interest in All Things Italian blossomed and my themed summer reading list was born...so hats off to Frances!

Past summer themes and favorite summer book:
*South Africa. "My Traitor's Heart" (Rian Malan) Not an easy read, but enormously fascinating account of Apartheid from Malan, whose ancestors were the architects of Apartheid. This is one of the best books I've ever read!
*Ocean Storms. "Isaac's Storm: A Man, A Time, and a Hurricane" (Erik Larson) Listen to it on audio tape...it's riveting! It's about the hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas, in the early 1900's.
*Girly-girl. (tough summer=light reading!) "The Devil Wears Prada"(Lauren Weisberger) Come on, admit it. You thought it was a fun read, too;)
*Afghanistan. "The Kite Runner" (Khaled Hosseini) Also not an easy topic, but richly written!
*Strong Women. "Without Reservations" (Alice Steinbach) Oh MaN...I'd like to BE this woman! It's a great summer book that will re-awaken any curiosity and adventurousness that you may have lost along the way!

Nature is this summer's theme, and I can hardly wait to get started! I've made a preliminary reading list...which may change upon a whim...or a good recommendation! Here it is:
*A Practical Guide for the Amateur Naturalist(Gerald Durrell)
*The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne(Gilbert White)
*A Country Year: Living the Questions(Sue Hubbell)
*Walden(Thoreau)
*The Country of the Pointed Furs(Sarah Orne Jewett)

A good British mystery and one sea-related book rounds out the summer, usually coming to an end during Labor Day weekend. I'm always a bit melancholy when I read the last page of a summer book, but I find that my summers are more memorable now. Sort of like a song that
triggers a special memory...

Ciao!

Andiamo, Mama!!!(loosely translated: Let's go fast!)

Well, hello WoRLd! Would you believe that ONE day after setting up my Blog, I lost all access to
my emails and anything linked to them? Hey Google, what's up with that?!? So after a frustrating two weeks waiting for my BeLoVeD, Jon, to fix the problem, I'm ready to post something to the Universe...woohoo:D So here goes...

My first goal: actually post something!
My second goal: figure out how to make my Blog look spiffy(like runmoremiles' Blog!)
My third goal: learn how to post pictures of my art and my life in the Haven

I'm a little bit haute couture and horse manure thanks to my lovely, but slightly mismatched, parents.
As I said, Dad was a manly man, as in an auto racing, hunting, fishing and snowmobiling kinda man. Mom was a girly-girl through and through, as in interior design, fashion, shopping and then sneaking the packages into the house kinda woman. She was Martha before Martha was Martha!

Since I was a tomboy by nature, I was assigned to Dad. He had to take me wherever he went, so I
learned all the things a father usually teaches a son, including how to shoot...hence the gift of a
20 gauge shotgun for my tenth birthday( My mom never swore, but I would like to know what she was thinking when he gave it to me). All of this outdoorsy stuff was great fun. But alas, it didn't last.
Here comes the girly-girl part...

My sister Jill, who is six years older and more to my Mother's liking, got married and left home. This caused a bit of a vacuum in my mother's life...what to do with all that decorating/make-over energy?
HA! Let's make-over the still-a-tomboy-to-the-core 13-year-old daughter~it's not too late, I'll get her to wear a dress yet! (I can clearly remember the day when Jill drove out of the driveway, belongings
in tow, and my mother was devastated that the daughter who "got her" was gone. My mom and I were left standing in the kitchen, watching as Jill's car pulled way. We looked at each other as if we were martians from distant & very separate planets.) So, in good old-fashioned Martha style, she straightened up, dusted herself off...and set out to make me a girly-girl! She did a pretty good job, and I slowly made the transition from tomboy to girl. Dad was never the same after that...

So here I am...a girly tomboy, who loves fashion...and the smell of horse manure;) I hope to post
weekly about the things in life that I think are worthwhile, interesting and humorous. Wish me luck!

J.

P.S. Thanks go to Runmoremiles and Candio for lighting a spark under me to get posting...which
led me to light a RaGinG FiRE under my honey to get the computer glitch fixed!!! He doesn't thank
you so much, by the way ;)