Hidden In France

Passage Paradis

She's been there, she's done that but she's not blasée about it.

From the South of France:

 

... to deep into India

to England's countryside:

or city side:

to the California desert

This is my new favorite blog.  Check out Passage Paradis. The soulful writing draws you in, and the pictures make you feel like a globe trotter.

Shitty First Draft

I was all set to compete against myself in NaNoWrimo this year.  But I eventually decided against it for two reasons.  One is that I have been called Jury Duty (one of the booby prizes of obtaining an American citizenship, another is to have to pledge allegiance when I help at my kid's school, a completely archaic, artificial and --since you asked-- reactionary way to instill patriotism on young minds. ) The other reason not to participate in Nanowrimo was that my husband, when I asked him if he thought this was a good idea, said "i'm against it, you're under enough pressure as it" which I heard as  "do you really think this family should be left without clean undies and with only frozen pizzas to eat for the next 30 days?"

But i digress.  

nanowrimo is National Novel Writing Month and a most excellent way to self-kick your butt when you need to write a first draft in a hurry.  The idea is simple: 30 days, 50,000 words.  If you reach 50,000 words at the end of 30 days you win!  What you win is really nothing other than self-respect and what my beloved Ann lamott calls a shitty first draft , the necessary and embarrassing first step I have learned to like. I find that putting a little fire under my fingers by adding a deadline--especially an impossible deadline that can only produce a terrible product-- is the best way to beat delaying tactics.  

The book I'm working on (okay, so i had started it already, which made me ineligible for nanowrimo anyway) has required way too much research because it's a period piece and I don't mean the kind that requires tampons.  I never feel fully prepared, I keep having to stop writing to look up dates (thank you wikipedia) and clothing details (thank you google) and eye witness accounts (thank you public library).  All this research freezes the writing flow, and you know how you can get lost on the internet, because one minute you're googling for first hand accounts of the Armenian genocide and the next one you're watching this:

 

I apologize if this distracted you from your otherwise productive day.

So I won't do NaNoWirMo, but I attempting NaNo&DeWriMo.  That means I'm giving myself November and December to complete my shitty first draft.  I need to average 1500 words a day.  I wrote over 1800 words of pure shit today and I'm happy.

This is Halloween

Not a bad time of the year in LA.

The light and temperature are kinder

(The idea was to give birds seeds and protection from the cat)

A trickster put playdough on one of the fonds of the agave.

I found fresh masa at the Mexican market so I made tamales today.  If you know how to diaper a baby, you know how to make tamales.

Eggplants and peppers still growing strong.

Same for the lantana in full bloom everywhere.

 

We've trained this guard dog to fetch a lot of candy tonight.

happy halloween

The stuff procrastination is made of.

Just peeking my head above a fortress of terribly depressing books to say hello.  What I'm writing right now better be good because the reading I'm doing as research, if history is any indication of the future, has me feeling hopeless for the human race.  

What I mean to say is that if the book I'm writing is crap, then I will have been a masochist.  But you already knew that (especially you Isa.)

Writer's angst has me searching desperately for online distractions.   Alas the mindless and entirely relaxing world of home design now revs me up.  I've come to resent draperies and candelabras and don't get me started on side tables. It's the accumulation that creeps me out.  It's all the STUFF.   It's an addiction people!

 

...all the pretty, pretty stuff.. 

Just one more picture okay, then I go to work.   I needed a boost, those books are soooo depressing.  

I knew if anyone would understand, it would be you.

pictures from the rice catalogue. 

Now for something funny

Chances are I'm not going to get much done today because I've stumbled upon this blog. Move over Sedaris and Dooce; it's a cute 24 year old named Ryan Holman I now want to adopt.  

On people my age wearing braces (i'm getting fitted on Monday, fml)

On women who nurse in public. (Had i any idea  20 something men were ogling me then I would have worn lipstick) 

On people who clap in at the end of movies in theater. (i would never do THAT)

Ryan if you read this:  Add a tip jar to your blog. People will want to pay to hear what's going on inside your brain.

Told him so!

Not to be the kind of person that likes to rub it in or anything, but I did say that this kind of bullshit never works.  

And it didn't. 

.. and on a similar note but as pertaining to decor:  the decorating mistakes we knew we were making. 

Too early or too late?

What the bleep am I doing, blogging at 3 in the bleeping morning?

....lusting after the rice  winter catalog.

... and googling 'femmes officiers de la seconde guerre mondiale"

...and writing a list that includes:  'get an SAT tutor' and 'eat more bananas', and trying to calm the thump of anxiety in my chest over what i can't even tell you.

 

Oh it's just too delicious to be me sometimes.

Especially at 3 in the bleeping morning.