Archive for the ‘30 days of thanks’ Category
time for reflection
Ah the joys of living in small town southern Italy.
I called Telecom Italia again last night and now before they’ll even connect me with a real person, there’s a recording to remind me that they told me it’d be fixed by “next” Wednesday. (I’m just going to keep believing that they really mean the Wednesday that’s coming tomorrow.)
Um, no they didn’t tell me that, but it was somewhat comforting to know that they’re at least on the case. So I went to talk to one of only four other people in the village who have ADSL to see what he knew.
While I was in there, another of the Lucky Five came in and here’s a paraphrased snippet of the conversation between the two Italians:
Disgruntled Customer #1: So it’s been out for a few days now.
Disgruntled Customer #2: Yes, they’re working on the cables.
#1: I saw that, but I worked on a ship for 30 years. When fixing cables, they put in the new ones *then* take out the old so there’s no interruption of service.
#2: Yes…but we’re in Italy.
And that about sums it up kiddos.
On the bright side, they say that this will give us increased speed once the cables are in–nice since we’re still nowhere near even the speed we were promised when we signed up (we run at about a third of that on a good day).
But on the not-so-bright side, I probably won’t be able to keep up this routine of running to the internet café (yes, it’s a real one with coffee and everything!) every day (a three and a half hour journey because of the bus schedule), so I don’t know where that’ll leave us NaBloPoMo-wise.
Plus, did I mention the computers at the café move ridiculously slowly? I’ve had trouble even viewing my blog, so please excuse any weird-looking things going on. And I hope it’s just that those computers are set for strange color tones or something because my blog is so not supposed to be nearly-iridescent yellow on the sides. Ew.
Today I’m thankful for:
The fact that I can even have these stresses in my life. Sometimes it takes frustrations like this for me to realize just how lucky I am to wake up healthy with a roof over my head, food in the fridge, and loved ones similarly lucky all over the world. I even have two dogs and six puppies to cheer me up when need be.
Sometimes a little down time is needed to really stop and appreciate the basics.
A little time for reflection if you will:
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[tags]telecom italia, nablopomo, 30 days of thanks[/tags]
The Daring Book for Girls
Today my blog is one of the stops on MotherTalk.com’s Blog Tour for The Daring Book for Girls by MotherTalk founders Andrea J. Buchanan & Miriam Peskowitz.
The Daring Book for Girls; Andrea J. Buchanan & Miriam Peskowitz; ISBN 978-0-06-147257-2, HarperCollins Publishers (October 30, 2007); hardcover; 280 pp.
Four words can easily sum up how I feel about The Daring Book for Girls:
I LOVE THIS BOOK.
Now let me take you back to the day when I received it in the mail. I opened the package and saw what looked like an old school textbook: uber-retro from the electric blue hardcover to the throwback font.
And then I noticed the glitter, and right then I knew this was no ordinary “Here’s what to do on a rainy afternoon with your little girl” book.
I opened it up to find even more of the retro style through font choice and drawings, which I just loved. It transported me right back to my childhood, surely one of the book’s goals, and that was before I even got to reading all the good stuff inside.
The Daring Book for Girls is meant to be a manual full of the things that young girls should know; it’s set up in quick, easy to read chapters, perfect for you or the young girl in your life to pick up whenever the mood strikes and always find something interesting.
Now lest you think we’re talking about how to press flowers, making knots and stitches, how to throw a good slumber party (complete with Bloody Mary and Light as a Feather!), and putting your hair up with a pencil–although all of these are in the book too–some other subjects include: building a campfire, tree swings, how to negotiate a salary, watercolor painting, and finance (interest, stocks, and bonds).
For the athletically-inclined, there are sections on hiking, yoga, paddling a canoe, softball, roller skating, bowling, karate, climbing, and hopscotch from around the world. For the more smartypants-inclined, there are math tricks, words to impress, Greek and Latin root words, and a list of “books that will change your life.”
Interspersed throughout this trip down memory lane are history lessons (“What is the Bill of Rights?”) and stories of famous and notable women (among which are Amelia Earhart, Joan of Arc, and a five part series on Queens of the Ancient World), which make this book a fairly complete reference book full of information as well as things to do.
The Daring Book for Girls is 280 pages of fun–a one-stop guide of what the young girl in your life needs to know and how you can teach her.
I have to admit that at first I felt a little guilty getting this book to review when I don’t have any daughters (yet, hopefully), but I quickly realized that’s not a prerequisite to enjoying it. This is a great book even for those of who simply want to take a walk through more innocent times, to remember what it felt like to be out on the corner playing Chinese Jump Rope or doing cartwheels with the neighborhood kids.
And if you don’t remember the words to some of those handclap game ditties? You just might find them here. “Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack, all dressed in black, black, black….”
Oh, and some of us might even still find the section on boys particularly useful.
And so, with my first ever 5 espresso cups out of 5 rating, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone with a special little girl around, who wants a great reference book of what a young girl’s childhood should be about, and/or who would simply love to reminisce with the help of Buchanan and Peskowitz.
It is so comforting to know that all of the silly, innocent fun that I experienced as a child isn’t gone forever; indeed it’s in this book.
Today I am thankful for:
The awesome memories that surfaced while looking through this book, such as:
- endless games of hopscotch, jump rope (Chinese and regular), and handclap games I played with my cousins and the neighborhood kids;
- what it was like when I first started to seek out books to read on my own;
- building forts in the living room with the couch cushions and lots of blankets;
- all of the paintings, drawings, and other art projects that helped pass many rainy days;
- playing football on the baseball field in the winter snow;
- exploring in the woods and picking up anything that struck my fancy from arrowheads to pretty rocks to blueberries.
Those *were* the days.
What are some of your fondest childhood memories?
P.S. I’m posting this from an internet cafe but at least I saw a rainbow on the way.
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[tags]the daring book for girls, books, book reviews, childhood memories, nablopomo, 30 days of thanks[/tags]
for writers who need inspiration (and who among us doesn’t?)
Fellow writer and friend Fango of Bici Vecchia: An Errant in Italy recently sent me a link to an excerpt of award-winning author Wendell Berry’s The Art of the Commonplace.
In a word? Wow.
There is so much good stuff in this piece, I’d love to parse it out and offer my thoughts for discussion here periodically.
Unfortunately, right now all I can manage is the aforementioned “wow,” but I’m working on a more intelligent response, I promise.
I did want to share one particular section, though, as I and thousands of others are trying our darnedest to write 50,000 words in November for NaNoWriMo. Watch my progress in the sidebar, by the way.
So, to my fellow writers whether NaNo-ing or not, I offer the words of Berry:
At first glance, writing may seem not nearly so much an art of the body as, say, dancing or gardening or carpentry. And yet language is the most intimately physical of all the artistic means. We have it palpably in our mouths; it is our langue, our tongue. Writing it, we shape it with our hands. Reading aloud what we have written–as we must do, if we are writing carefully–our language passes in at the eyes, out at the mouth, in at the ears; the words are immersed and steeped in the senses of the body before they make sense in the mind. They cannot make sense in the mind until they have made sense in the body. Does shaping one’s words with one’s own hand impart character and quality to them, as does speaking them with one’s own tongue to the satisfaction of one’s own ear? There is no way to prove that it does. On the other hand, there is no way to prove that it does not, and I believe that it does.
I told you. Wow.
Write on writers!
Today I’m thankful for:
Inspiration. Whether it’s an article or book recommended by a friend, another blogger’s gorgeous writing, wagging puppy tails, or just plain old glorious sunshine, inspiration abounds, and I find myself typing, typing, typing away on my NaNo novel. I’m actually up to 11, 313 words (and I’m not finished yet tonight!), but I can’t get onto my template to update.
Woohoo!
Who knows what I’ll have when I’m done, but at least it’s more than I had on October 31.
P.S. Sadly, my internet connection is even worse than it was before. Hanging on by a thread here, thus the lack of a “30 Days of Thanks” graphic and link [edited: they’ve now been added!] *and* the post just after midnight–I’m playing it safe just in case I lose the whole connection overnight.
Telecom Italia tells me it’ll be back to normal Monday or Tuesday. Wish us luck!
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[tags] inspiration, wendell berry, the art of the commonplace, nanowrimo, nablopomo, 30 days of thanks[/tags]
giving thanks, and that’s about it
Well we knew it couldn’t last. I’m sorry to report that my internet connection is looking quite sad right now.
We had a huge storm overnight, but it’s been sunny and lovely (if windy and cold) all morning and I had been using the internet just fine up until about a half hour ago. Don’t know why it’s suddenly gone awry, but since I don’t know how much longer it’ll be running at all, I’m going to post as quickly as possible so as not to forfeit the day without a fight. Then I’ll hope for the best.
Today I’m thankful for:
My internet connection. Trying to look on the positive here–it could be out altogether instead of just being really, really slow. Mah.
But seriously…for the past nine days I’ve been writing a post and then a related “thankful” item. Today it’s all about thanks, so I’ll simply give a list of things I’m thankful for.
*Each link is now clickable!*
Domino by Van Morrison
being “in cahoots” with someone
Young Mother in the Grotto by Auguste Rodin
“that information…really would’ve been more useful to me YESTERDAY!”
little plastic football helmets from vending machines
sharing the newspaper with someone
laughing so hard your face hurts
Hopefully I shall see you on the morrow my friends!
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[tags]favorite things, nablopomo, 30 days of thanks[/tags]
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
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