Have you ever been at a coffee shop or in a waiting room and you see someone reading a book and the cover looks interesting and you have to try really hard not to try to figure out what the book is? Because, of course, you don’t want to be nosy.

I’m thinking about this today because I visited a blog I like last night, and I wanted to ask the author (who’s bookish, too) what she’s reading. But it seemed funny to ask out of the blue. Especially in the comment section of a post about a spiced falafel veggie burger recipe.

I do love to hear about a good book, though. So today would you please share what you’re reading, and what you think of it so far? You can see my list over there on the left.

(By the way, Audrey Hepburn loved to read and her favorite books included The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Heidi by Johanna Spyri, and Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.)

I love quotations. I love how they take the wisdom of the ages and turn it into bite-size pieces.

So I was happy to see this gift idea from Luke Reynolds in Writer’s Digest magazine. Mr. Reynolds’ wife surprised him with a wooden tea caddy filled with handwritten quotes about writing to inspire his own writing. Quotes like this: “One of the marks of a gift is to have the courage of it” (Katherine Anne Porter). And this: “I write when I’m inspired, and I see to it that I’m inspired at nine o’clock every morning” (Peter DeVries).

Reynolds keeps the tea box on a shelf above his writing desk and before starting a writing session, he pulls out an index card at random, reads the quotation, and lets the words sink in and give him a shot of inspiration.

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My friend Patti has given me some great gifts in all the years we’ve known each other. My favorite is the Magic 8 Ball she gave me the year we turned eight. My second favorite is the lavender neck warmer she got me for Christmas a few years ago. I use it all the time. And so do Tim and Will, who are both manly enough to wear something pink and fluffy.

I had the warmer on this weekend because my neck was bothering me, and of course Will had to have a turn. It’s very relaxing while you’re playing with Legos.

I don’t know if our neck warmer will ever lose its powers, but if it does it’s good to know we can order another one here. Or make one!

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Can I confess something? I deeply dislike drawing. I avoid it at all costs and groan inwardly when someone asks me to draw anything other than a house plan. And I’m totally cool with that—there are plenty of other ways to be creative.

But that’s probably why I’m so fascinated that a child of mine loves to draw so much and is so good at it. I love how Lexie can picture something in her mind and then get her hand to put it down on paper, or in this case, computerized drawing tablet. Even that amazes me: You draw on a metal thingy and images show up on the computer screen!

Lexie is so nonchalant about the entire miraculous process. But maybe one day she’ll have a child who can, I don’t know, juggle or something and she’ll understand how I feel.

Meanwhile, I will continue to be fascinated and amused (why the fake glasses? do they make her feel more artistic?) and happy when she sits next to me at the table, drawing away.

(She’s a little obsessed with Castiel. Here he is again.)

Transitions: Take Two

Before I write
I empty the dishwasher
I make the bed
I start the wash
I fold some clothes
I make the coffee
I feed the dog
I feed the fish
I feed the kids
I load the dishes
I sweep the floor
I check for messages
I answer a few
I pay a bill
I fill out a form
I lift some weights
I take a shower
I pluck my brows
I clean out a drawer
I call a friend
I call my husband
I call the plumber
I water the plants
I bake some bread
I play some chords
I get the mail
And wonder when
I’ll ever start
to write.

Not fiction, really, but trying this from a different angle.
Thank you, Pat Schneider, for the idea.

Oh, this bread. I made a loaf this morning and when it came out of the oven I stood at the stove with my Butter Bell in hand, cutting off warm slices and slathering them with butter. I haven’t done that since the days when my D.C. roommate Amy and I would make queso and scoop it onto chips right out of the pot. But that, as Kipling would say, is another story.

The bread is so easy to make—I just throw everything into the standing mixer, knead the dough into shape, and it comes out great.

The editor side of me thought I should google Irish Soda Bread to make sure this version is authentic. But Grandma Charlotte was mostly Irish and I’m nearly half Irish and this is our bread, so there you go.

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Last week we had a great conversation about “comforting clothes.” Well. On the third Saturday of every month I get to go to book club, which is like slipping into the most comfortably well-worn sweater you can imagine.

No one remembers exactly when our first meeting was, but we do know it was at least twelve years ago. Twelve years! That’s a long time for a group to get together in this busy era, so I asked these book-loving kindred spirits why they think our club has stayed the course. Here’s what they said:

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Snow Day!

Lexie amused herself this morning by creating a clay version of Castiel, the trench-coat-wearing angel on Supernatural. Isn’t he sweet?

Normally I would love a snow day, but I had such a long list of things to do. Oh, well.

Seeing what the kids come up with when they have nothing else to do is helping me relax into this day of not-getting-things-done. Will is over at the kitchen island observing the effects of water immersion on lemon drop candies. Lily (who is not allowed to watch Supernatural) just informed me that she and Lexie are setting up a Supernatural set for their American Girl dolls. Andrew is drumming loudly in the basement. Layla, who loves having everyone home, is dashing around throwing her bone in the air.

And later we’ll go outside and play in this absolutely gorgeous snow. The to-do list can wait until tomorrow.

P.S. Lexie uses Oven-Bake Sculpey for her clay creations. And here’s the real Castiel.