Happy In The Deluge

Today I am officially crabby. The only possible walks to take the dogs on are 1) on a trail that's become a stream 2) through tall, non-mowed grass, walking through which is a little like being flayed with cat o'nine tails, and 3) mosquito and deerfly breeding grounds. We have had exactly 3 sunny days here in New England since May. Every day I wake up to clouds, or downright rain. I was flummoxed as to how to maintain a modicum of happiness, until I bethought myself of the solution: reading books set in the gloom of British summers. The Brits somehow manage to survive similar weather, while their wit downright flourishes.

So, this weekend, if you're looking like a wet week at Blackpool, get to your favorite bookstore or library, equip yourself with a good British novel, and hole up through the rain, thunder and lightning with it and a cup of tea. Some suggestions: The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie, by Alan Bradley, Excellent Women or A Few Green Leaves,by Barbara Pym, anything Christie, ditto Dorothy Sayers. Although it's not a British book, The Shipping News by Annie Proulx has some great stormy, rainy weather, set in Newfoundland as it is. Stephen King's Bag of Bones also has a great, really long storm in it, too. Happy reading (and if you're inspired to write your own gloomy summer mystery, get to it)!

Happy With The Roller Coaster

Mark Twain moved more times than I have, and I'm up to approximately 19 times. He made and lost money at a phenomenal rate. Melville moved around a lot, too, and Hawthorne. Neither were rich, and were at times downright poverty-stricken. As a matter of fact, I can't think of one nineteenth-century American writer who didn't have a roller coaster life, including Edith Wharton, who started out quite wealthy. Even she lost her lovely house in the Berkshires. So, I don't feel so badly about my own ups and downs. I've been trying to think they in fact make for a richer life, and more material.

So, this week, let's meditate on the roller coaster of our lives. Where are you now?Are you at the top, a high point, looking down on the lovely landscape of your life? Or are you in the doldrums, at a low point? Now think of all the twists and turns your life has taken. Can you laugh now at a situation you thought was dire at the time? I bet you can. Can you think of the good times and relish them, remembering? Write it, draw it! Revel in the unique challenges and wonders of your life. And look to the future...as Mary Oliver exhorts us, "What will you do with your one wild and precious life?"

Happy Listening

I often use prompts in writing class involving the use of all our senses. We tend to be so wrapped up in what we see, hence what our characters see, that we forget about describing other sense impressions in our writing. It's the same in our lives. At least I remember mostly what I've seen with my eyes, and the other sense impressions kind of go by the wayside.

But this summer, I've been really noticing the amazing sounds I'm surrounded by. Syrupy, trilling bird sounds that waft into my window at first light, then accompany me throughout the day. In our walks, often through meadows, I'm immersed in the swoop-swoop-swoops, the chipperree-ree-rees of the birds, the whirs and buzzes of the cicadas, the hum of all the many bees lazing around the Black-eyed Susans and Cow Vetch and Queen Anne's Lace now. It's like a new country, paying attention to all the sounds.

Then there are the man-made sounds of summer, the Taiko drummers, the polka bands, the crooners in the parks that have freebie concerts. And what would summer be without thunder?

So, this weekend, pay attention to sound. Go to a freebie concert, take a meadow walk for birdsong, go to the park and listen to the kids screeching like gulls, their feet pounding the packed dirt of playgrounds. Then write it. Draw the thunder, if you dare.

Happy On A Field Trip

I'm feeling much better, so am thinking of all I need to cram in during the (possibly) healthy weeks I have until the weather turns again. It seems I am the most unwell when the temperature shifts are forty degrees or more (say, 40 degrees at night, and 80 during the day, a frequent occurence in August, September, etc, around here. So, I'm on the lookout for fun things to do close by, so I can enjoy at least a bit of summer. Which brings me to the subject of field trips.

Remember field trips when you were a kid? Our field trips really were to fields -- where the boys would play baseball, or set off rockets, and the girls would watch them desultorily, gossip about who liked who, or talked about who was hotter, Donny Osmond or Keith Partridge (really). Then we'd all walk to Friendly's for an ice cream cone, and John Fernandez would push me and I'd fall in the gravel and skin my knee.

Thankfully, I am older now, and can do much better than that. Today, I'm planning a trip to Old Deerfield, to gawk at historic houses, take photos, in the name of research for my books. Then get a tea at Rao's in Amherst and do a little writing. Later in the week, I may go to hike Greylock or Hawley Forest, for research as well. That's one of the great things about being a writer. One always needs to do research of some sort. I really should go to Las Vegas, but that's a little much.

In any case, this week search out some fun field trips for this summer. Field trips that are educational, or physically challenging, or in other ways stimulating. Take advantage of your local heritage. If you live near Gettysburg, or a CA mission, or Mark Twain's house but never have been, what's a matta fa you? Go, and write it, draw it.

Happy Outside!!!

Since it's such a fine day, and I'm feeling tramendously sick (stupid fibro!)and onviously can't even spelllll, I suggest we take the weekend off, and just enjoy being outside. Let's cut ourselves some slack and be unapologetic about it!

Happy With a Treat

First of all, this computer is acting wierd again, so no guarantees...why I'm a day late and a dollar short. Well, I'm usually a dollar short, but that's got to change sometime, no?

In any case, the post today is about getting through one's day more happily than might otherwise be expected. I've been feeling really well these past few weeks. Inexplicably the fibro-fog has mostly lifted, and may stay away until at least mid-August when the weather changes and we have 40 degree temperature shifts all the time again. But I've not been exactly jumping for joy, as I've lost my best companion Charming, don't have Sparky to kick around, and have been plagued some days by wretched allergies. So, what do I do when I should feel happy and energetic, but don't? I give myself some treats. It's something I learned from my dogs. Treats always seem to brighten their days considerably. And, like chicken jerky, your treats don't have to cost a lot. For instance, Sunday I went to a free jazz fest down the road in Springfield, at the beautiful Armory grounds. It made me feel great! I think music festivals are the epitome of summer. Today, I'm not sure what my treat might be, but possibly some iced tea at Starbucks, ($1.67 or so) or a soak in the gym hot tub, or fresh flowers (the biggest spurge, at approx. $5.00), but they will last a week or so.

This week, treat yourself, every day if you need to, even if it's summer and the weather is perfect and your life should be perfect. Or at least make a list of all the treats you prefer, so when you're down you won't forget. Then write and draw your treats, it's almost as good as getting them.

Happy In The Rain

We are having quite a rainy summer. It has rained, it seems, every day for weeks. With breaks of sun, actually lovely weather between raindrops. But it does not bode well for outdoor activities, and one of my favorite hols, Independence Day, is coming right up, with its scads of outdoor concerts, picnics, fairs, etc. And of course, fireworks, which I adore. But I have been planning ahead, or trying to, deciding what I will do, rain or shine. And really, the rain is usually gentle warm rain, and although I'd never seek it out, would never go to live in Seattle, for instance, rain has its charms. I love sitting with a cup of tea in my studio, looking out at the tattered clouds racing by or the almost daily branching bolts of lightning. I love having an excuse to read and read, then go to a cafe and read some more. And I seem to be accomplishing quite a bit actually working, as rain is also condusive to writing, and even slogging through the editing of my book.

So, this weekend, if you're unable to enjoy any outdoor fetes, remember the pleasures of a rainy weekend. Observe your surroundings, and your comforts. Luxuriate reading in your favorite chair. Bake something. Take a long bath. Write your memories of other rainy weekends (I remember fine times in Irish pubs, and a few remarkable rainy days camping in the redwoods, as well as in Nova Scotia) Have lots of tea available while you write and draw.