From Here, Is Here

Someone close to me told me about him, and I was . . . hmmm. Now I can't wait to see more of his work: I haven't been around much here on this blog or any other one. But this election is getting way too nasty. It's calm over here, isn't it? No chatter popping up when you don't need it. Images of crazy 70-year-olds with weird hair. Nasty trolls with their nasty thoughts. Just . . . this.

writing

An interesting and heartfelt interview on YouTube. Look her up on her blog, which has morphed from what it was at its inception to a catch-all of likes and thoughts and links. I honestly don't know what BroSpeak is, the oddly voiced interviewer. I was interested in Esther only.

Reading II (or trying to)

Why can't I sit down and read without thinking about what I'm going to make for dinner? The other day, I had that night's all planned even and especially including the leftover chicken from the exhausting Grilled Romaine and Chicken Cesar and Cobb Salad, I was in the middle of What Comes Next and How to Like It, when the thought balloon appeared: You need to check out another dumpling recipe. That Gwyneth one everyone liked.

What? Really?? I'm involved with my editing, reading a book (finally), sitting at the sewing machine (rarely), and still this compunction arises to check out an ingredient, another recipe.


Today, I'm corralled, though; L is doing dinner prep and the grilling. The kitchen half of the house smells like a lemon grove. It's 93 downtown, where I'm glad I'm not.

Reading

I was looking through issue 18 of Taproot, whose theme is Preserve.  The piece Recommended Reading: Preserve by Chelsea Slaven-Davis contains an eclectic group of books: Safekeeping by Abigail Thomas, The Coast of Chicago by Stuart Dybek, Full Moon Feast by Jessica Prentice, and Ah Ha to Zig Zag by Maira Kalman.

But it was Safekeeping by Abigail Thomas that caught my attention. I had read her memoir A Three Dog Life about the aftermath of a terrible car accident involving her husband and his eventual death, so I knew what a compelling writer and story teller she was, but I hadn't realized that she had written many other books. And Safekeeping, which is on its way to me, is about her beginnings: young motherhood, early divorce. I rooted around on the  Internet as you do, and googled and discovered this very lively 6-minute tour around her book shelves with her as guide.


I highly recommend Taproot, too. Always upbeat and makes me remember all our forays in western Massachusetts so long ago, esp. the West Brattleboro Farmers Market, ahead of its time, though I didn't realize when I frequented it.

Oh, and because of Taproot, I also have Ann Wigmore's The Sprouting book on the way. Plus I made preserved lemons. Yes, the other ones ended in the bin, but these, well, these will be different.

cutting through all the noise

If you're interested, there seem to be several vids of other pieces the LAGQ played for this particular concert. See YouTube for details.

Something to make when you'd rather you didn't have to

Do I find him slightly annoying in his unending upbeatedness? Yes, I do. But he's breezy and charming in his puppyish enthusiasm. And I have made Martha's version of this, and yes, it DOES work, and it's kind of a parlor trick, but in the end it's a one pot dinner on a weeknight when you'd rather be watching a show shot along the Hudson about a cult.

Game plan

Did I ever think I'd need another one? I guess we are all tripping up over the curb that was supposed to have been ground down to accommodate our various needs. The loss of this particular client is a bit of a blindside; I really enjoyed working on the books, each one so different. I learned a lot; D called each one a "seminar." No one is immune to a job being outsourced to cheaper labor overseas in India. Dear reader, if you have any suggestions for dealing with a sudden downturn of events, please leave a comment. And how to write a punchy cover e-mail; that would help.

It's official . . .

Yes, one of my clients had an internal shake-up and is now using a packager who sends everything overseas to India for proofing and editing. It's a sad,

sad day; this is what we've become as a business/publishing model. When I started doing this freelance, a person could actually earn a pretty good living as a copy editor. Thanks, globalization; thanks neoliberalism. Thanks 1%.

Mending

One of my clients may be sending editing work "overseas." Now I'm looking for a new client. Or two. Or three. I've also been very interested in reviving my sewing machine, now that I can actually see again. I may have all the time in the world to fiddle around with it. Further to searching for jobs: I did find something to apply for at a large magazine conglomerate. We'll see how that works out. Job searches of yore were downright cozy compared with the impersonal form-filling of today, heading off to HR's black hole. Ack. Musings from the chair.

Watch This Space . . . Really

I've had enough of political stuff over on Facebook; too shrill, too clawing, too strident, too fill-in-the-blank. Beyond the local, does it really matter . . . does it? I'm keeping my attention focused on the town, the school board, the zoning board rife with developers and real estate agents (because who's more in the know, right?). I'm going around looking for blogs to read. This one caught my eye. I've already gotten some of Ian Sansom's Mobile Library mysteries out of the library because of a recommendation. Irritatingly, irrationally, my town's library has books 2, 3, and 4 of the series. But NOT BOOK 1: The Case of the Missing Books. Why? Why? I also borrowed Elizabeth Jane Howard's books. Now if only my eyes worked properly, it would be smooth sailing. Happy May, all and sundry.