Static! Slush!

I
(Insert curse word of choice)

I feel virtuous because it snowed and sleeted (I swear--it was like a gigantic celestial slushy party minus the cherry-flavoured syrup) and I was a good girl and left my flower beds untouched over the weekend so everything was protected by yard waste and dead branches and what-all. April is a cruel month.

The Bumble Book Club meets tonight and we read Atonement by Ian McEwan. I loved it. I reread pages all the way through the book just because of how he'd describe a scene and put me in the moment. It was very stream-of-consciousness at time, reminiscent of Virginia Woolf. But, unlike many literary novels of today, it wasn't pretentious. He didn't sacrifice character development or plot and get all show-offy with metaphoric language and all the other bullshit MFA grads pull when they write. In short, great book discussion tonight and I look forward to it!

I have my 10 pages ready for this afternoon's editing session with my local writing partner. Very excited to read her next installment of her novel (Civil War era) and pleased with myself to have added substantially to my own new work. Monthly accountability is a great motivator for both of us.

Rather disappointing this morning to switch on my portable radio and hear Static! I twiddled and fiddled and got the country-western station slightly to the left and the Wisconsin Public Radio talk station slightly to the right, but NO NPR Morning Edition! I tried replacing the radio batteries. No difference. I put on my shoes and turned on my minivan--same Static! Very disconcerting to begin my day without the gang from Morning Edition--no Steve Inskeep or Renee Montagne, no Brian Naylor, Peter Kenyon, Sylvia Poggioli or Anne Garrels. My morning coffee felt lonely. I fed the children and packed lunches in a weird silence. I encouraged their morning rituals of dressing, brushing teeth, finding Mr. G's toy for day care, administering Mr. T's meds. But it all seemed so empty. So dull.

I think I'll go troll the Blogosphere and try to reorient my senses now...

Posted in: Book Talk, Mommy Stuff