Hello steady readers. I am here with a postcard from home, where I have been after my seaside holiday with Sister at the end of March. Now I sit down to tap out this post which was meant, as the title implies, for April. I was waylaid you see, by my porch, books, cats, walks, and living in general. Which, as you know, tends to take up enormous pockets of time. But here I am on a fine Saturday morning in May, to finish what I started last month.
What follows is life as seen through the lens of my sketchbook since last I posted.
I fill my pockets with flowers when I walk, then press them in my car’s thick manual I keep on the front seat, and eventually transfer them to my writing journal, into which I make daily deposits as usual. It is alas my sketchbooks that grow lonely.
I’ve said it so many times it doesn’t bear repeating, but I will anyway. Working stiff life is incompatible with my true nature.
Still, I could have been born in a different century and forced by necessity into a factory job, or coal mine, slaughterhouse, steel mill. I did, for a brief time in the late 70’s find a job at a Levi Strauss Factory where I labored long and hard to sew up the crotches of mens’ jeans. I was fired soon after I started. Too many mistakes, not fast enough, bad attitude, foul language, disrespectful towards authority. A story for another day.
Here I am. In this life. Where I’m smart enough to know I have it rather good.
Still. A life of leisure beckons.
Patio lunches are over, but summer is around the corner.
My seaside retreat in late March with sister was heavenly. We stayed in a darling cottage close to the ocean.
How good it was! How good this entire pandemic sabbatical was! How lucky to work from home for an entire year!
Our outdoor patio got a lot of use. We were practically outside from dawn to dusk. Walking, writing, reading, eating, and arting. The usual repertoire of activities.
Here we are exploring Rosemary Lane, home of a splendid group of Moody sister cottages.
And here again is our Carpinteria cottage.
Rocky Nook Park in Santa Babs has perfect benches for journaling and sketchbookery. A canopy of oaks provides shade.
One thing I know without a doubt. Working life makes these breaks all the sweeter, so in a way I suppose I’m grateful for the balance.
If you venture to Carpinteria, do make time for a jaunt to see the Portola Sycamore. It’s an ancient tree that is enormous. A sentient being.
It has real presence. Which it will share with weary travelers in need of some grounding.
From the plaque:
The Portolá Sycamore
Oral tradition holds that this tree survives from
the naming of “La Carpinteria” – the Carpenter
Shop – on August 17, 1769 when the Portolá
Expedition observed the Chumash building plank
canoes at this site.
Our Carpinteria cottage was enchanting.
All too soon it was home again home again jiggety jig.
My porch continues to feed me with a steady diet of love and peace.
With the return to the live classroom I’ve been drawing and painting less. In the morning I teach in-person class to the 7 students who have returned and continue with Zoom in the afternoon for the ones who’ve stayed in the remote program. I’m lucky to be at a school I like surrounded by friendly faces.
Even so, reporting for duty to a job at a physical location is a shock to the system, but I’m adapting. I enjoy the interactions with real children versus Zoom screens. But don’t misinterpret that to mean I was aching to get back to the children and the business of teaching in-person. I wasn’t. The only business I’m hoping to get back to is that of porch sitting and walks under shady trees. Writing, reading, and painting.
I’ve arrived at the tail end of my career and I am eager to be finished with it and start a new way of living and being in the world. To that end, I’ve been keeping my eyes open for windfalls that conveniently fall into my lap, thusly speeding my way down the broad boulevard of early retirement. One must always hold out hope for unexpected marvels.
on my bookshelf
After finishing Ann Patchett’s PSOL I have sworn off further fiction by Ann, unless Tom Hanks is reading it. (Dutch House!) The endings of her books have worked me into a tizzy and after finishing Patron Saint I’ve decided I’m quitting Ann and her erratic choices in character development. But most especially her endings that feel haphazard, poorly constructed, and just wrong. I’m tired of loving one of her books and then being so disappointed by the ending that feels like one of my 5th graders wrote it. However, as you see, I won’t give up her essays, which I think are mostly marvelous.
Pew was unputdownable, but like all my recommendations, don’t take my word for it. My favorite thing about this book is about the power of silence. So much can be revealed about people when they are met with silence instead of the response they think they deserve. I’m almost finished with it.
I wrote those sentences about Pew in April. It’s now May. I finished. Don’t start that book unless you want a crazily obscure ending that would give even Ann Patchett a run for her money.
I’ve just started listening to The Midnight Library. Promising! Addendum: utter crap. I couldn’t force myself to finish.
Hamnet. Sigh. How I wish I was just starting it. I listened to the audio version and it felt like a fairytale. The story is fantastic and the reader is perfectly suited to the telling of it. Can’t say enough good things about it. Well-written, beautifully developed characters, and a thoughtful ending.
If you’ve read any of the above, do let me know your thoughts! If there’s any literary fiction to keep my eye on, I’ll need recommendations. If you know any booktubers over the age of 50 with whom I should be aware do tell.
Keep me posted. On every single solitary thing.
I have to agree about The Midnight Library-so much promise! such a letdown! I just finished Klara and the Sun and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Frustrating to read at times, yet I’m still thinking about it and some of the themes of the book.
It looks like I’m the odd one out as I listened to The Midnight Library and loved it! I’m not sure I should admit that now though! But I’m coming from a position of being bereaved of my only child, suffering depression, core soaking grief and now anxiety and possibly the side effects of trauma. In Matt Haig I find a fellow sufferer, a man who literally walked to the edge. I found that this book spoke to me, that somewhere in it there was a message for me.
Thank you for your post, I loved it, as always, it makes me long to visit California.
Very glad to read your updates. I’ve been in Florida since the beginning of January – enjoying the last of the non-hot weather today. Windows are open at the condo and the wind chimes in the window are dancing. It snowed in Edinburgh yesterday! I saw snowflakes drifting past the windows of the flat via FaceTime. My beloved dachshund passed away in February (in Scotland, with me here.) One minute she was requesting (demanding) her post-tea snack, and the next she was gone. I was not there, but she just went to sleep. It has truly knocked the emotional stuffing out of me. I’ve been doing lots of painting, and realized that after over two years of being retired, I am still adjusting to it. And that’s the odd part – I thought it would be a duck to water process! Friends who had taken early retirement had told me it would take longer to adjust than I might have thought. I thought, “Nah! Not me..I’m definitely not one of those people that love my job.” However, I learned that I had framed my sense of ‘who I am’ around my job more than I’d realized. And that it turned out that one needs a sense of purpose in retirement too. The organizing of the art retreat business has been good in this respect. I would not want to return to my old career. It’s definitely better to be retired, where your time (which still feels quite occupied) is your own more or less. I am hoping it can be sooner and not later for my friend Madame Moss. Fingers and toes crossed there. xo
Well you have my sympathies. I knew retirement would be a big adjustment for me and it still took 4 years! Yikes. But 9 years in and now all is fine.
I completely understand about porches and cats constituting a full time job. Both need so much care and attention.. I absolutely love the mosaic tiles around your front door. Did you install that? Stunning.
I have recently encountered Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. Please tell me every American child has to read this in high school. A black woman publishing in 1937 is an amazing achievement, but the way this author uses language? I thought I had died and gone to literary heaven. I studied a unit of modern American literature at university, and read F. Scott Fitzgerald and William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway, but WHERE WAS ZORA NEALE HURSTON? I think she’s better than all of them..
I read Hurston after it was part (by my own request) of absolutely should read list from my college english professor. I agree!
Absolutely loved The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Frye, loved the second one about Miss Hennessy also. Old friend recommended anything by Gladys Taber and so far have read The Best of Stillmeadow, Harvest at Stillmeadow, Stillmeadow and Sugarbridge (the best) and Still Cove Journal. She was a magazine writer in the 40’s and 50’s. Precious, precious books. Also loved Making A Life by Melanie Falick about who make their living from their hands. I hated Midnight Library and only got through a few chapters. I soooo hope you try and enjoy a Taber book. Jessica
Absolutely loved The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Frye, loved the second one about Miss Hennessy also. Old friend recommended anything by Gladys Taber and so far have read The Best of Stillmeadow, Harvest at Stillmeadow, Stillmeadow and Sugarbridge (the best) and Still Cove Journal. She was a magazine writer in the 40’s and 50’s. Precious, precious books. Also loved Making A Life by Melanie Falick about who make their living from their hands. I hated Midnight Library and only got through a few chapters. I soooo hope you try and enjoy a Taber book. Jessica
I am writing down all the books you have suggested ! I adored Tom Hanks reading of “The Dutch House too! The Carpinteria house and get away look magical . As a kid we would take long road trips up and down the coast usually ending up in Monterey or Carmel . I miss that part of So.Cal.
Please keep writing and posting , I look forward to see all your paintings and book reviews . ( and sister shots )
I always enjoy your posts and look forward to your travels and book recommendations. A friend always gives me her husband’s Wall Street Journals and in a recent “Bestselling Books” fiction column I found “The Venice Sketchbook” by Rhys Bowen. I haven’t read it yet but the library’s description sounds promising, and of course it made me think of you. A book that I very much enjoyed is “Learning to see: a novel of Dorothea Lange, the woman who revealed the real America” by Elise Hooper.
Oh dear, MAM…I love Ann Patchett! I did not like the end of “The Dutch House,” but I “The Magician’s Assistant” is one of my favorite books. I also recommend “Run” and “Taft”. The happy marriage one is good too, as well as “The Getaway Car” (which might be part of the marriage one; I can’t recall?).
I wish I were close to my retirement. Every time I turn around, they move the end of the semester forward. It will almost be the end of June when we’re done. but, we started in early Feb., so I guess it had to be adjusted for.
XO
Glad you got to have an adventure away from home…although, like you, feel like one of the lucky ones to have some outdoor space during this time…retirement will be worth it, guess we have to pay our dues to be able to afford it….and then enjoy it…
Really liked your sketches of the front porch and also the sketches with dark backgrounds inspired by Bloomsbury in previous blog…sycamore tree is the bomb…
Starting to feel a little relieved here on the east coast…and even hitting some of my favorite flea markets and greenhouses….
Got inspired by you tubers (can’t eat the grass , flower hill farm and cottage gardening with Jeri Landers.. to name a few; started some flower seeds ,ranunculus, bare root phlox and dahlia tubers which are getting ready to be planted out…..and have some others coming in fall…always good to learn something new ..
Enjoy your summer….Good hearing from you….
you make me want to start sketching….what a simply lovely retreat for you and your sis
I recommend a book called “The Bottoms” by Joe Lansdale. Its a hard story-takes place in Texas in the 1930’s-a mystery-dealing with death and prejudice ( be warned-there are some awful scenes) -but also has the most wonderful descriptions and characters-laugh out loud characters-my husband and I do read aloud books–well actually I read aloud to him-finding something we both like is sometimes a challenge-but this book is so good. I plan to check out other books by this author
It’s good to find a book one can fall in love with isn’t it?
I am not a fan of crime or mystery novels. My psyche is too delicate (HAH) for the more gruesome scenes. I too enjoy reading and being read to immensely!
I too loved your post. Didn’t want it to end. Take care and enjoy your porch.
hello there jane!
pop over to moss cottage for a spot of tea and a book chat.
i’ll wait for you on my porch.
xo
hello Mary Ann!
a note on the books… i also could not finish the midnight library. seems like some authors think sales are a given if ‘library’ or ‘bookshop’ is in the title. i also agree about Ann P. have you read Miss Benson’s Beetle? it’s quirkily delightful.
someday i will get to carpenteria!
i do love all your posts, travels, and art!
howdy Wendy!
SUPER thanks for the MBB rec. I looked it up and am very excited to read another book by the author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, which I LOVED.
as for Midnight Library, i’m pleased that NPR at least didn’t give it an outstanding review.
carp has a sweet small town vibe, but don’t go in the summer – loads of tourists.
I loved the Beetle book was sooo good ! Great recommendation
Frankly I can.not.wait. until we can travel to Europe again. You gave me such encouragement before I went on my big adventure in 2016 (omg so long ago!). I even tried to move to Prague just before the pandemic. I may just try for Portugal in a year, since they are friendlier to Americans who just want to retire. If I succeed, I will let you know so you can get your free personal tour of whatever city I have landed in! I miss your dispatches from foreign lands probably as much as you miss writing about them.
If you have a Trader Joe’s nearby they just began carrying Portuguese custard tarts – pasteis de nata (4 to a box) . Imported from Belem. I highly recommend. We had them when we were there in 2009 and never forgot that taste!
enjoy your travel dreams. i’ll be heading to venice winter of 2022. goalz.
Anne, let me know where you end up! I live in southeastern France, just outside Geneva. Also can’t wait to be able to travel farther than 10 km from the house!
I too have given up on Ann Patchett’s books. I loved the Dutch House, so ordered the Magician’s Assistant.
I literally drug myself through, surely it would get better? It didn’t. Same author?
I loved Tom Hank’s reading of The Dutch House, too. I have a recommendation for you-the audio book ‘Circe’ by Madeline Miller and read by Perdita Weeks.
THANK YOU for the Circe rec. I liked the sample I just listened to at Audible. Will add it to my library holds!
I laughed when I read your take on The Midnight Library—so true! I started it full of anticipation since it had good reviews, but just could not bring myself to finish it. Maybe OK for a much younger person, but not anyone with any mileage under her belt! I recommend Fresh Water For Flowers ( by Perone, I think) Loved it and wish I knew the main character!
Yes, I concur. A book for a younger person. HAH!
Thanks for your rec..going to investigate at once!
Happy April on May Day to you too. Your post is lovely, as always, and beautifully truthful also, as is your way. Fellow state worker, hang in there. Your pre-retirement practice is strong. One more thing…as a non-native Californian too, I love how you love this state as much as I do. Three cheers for our adopted home.
Cheers.
I like to think of myself as a native Californian who went missing from 1964 – 1989 when I returned for good. But I get your point. California is our true love. Oh yes indeed, Leese! I tip my hat to you, oh fellow state worker. May we both retire soon and enjoy the end of our labors and the beginning of our independent lives free of servitude!
HIP
HIP
HURRAY!
Always love your posts. If you haven’t read them, I would recommend Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart (a hard read emotionally, but so, so worth it) and Milkman by Anna Burns (some of the most delicious language ever). And after having worked in the schools myself for over 20 years as a psych, I DO recommend retirement!
Just as soon as I find that suitcase full of cash, I’m outta there!
Thanks for the recommendations! I’ve heard great things about Shuggie Bain and will investigate Milkman.
I am so glad that you disliked “The Midnight Library” – the darling of every bestseller list. I kept wondering if I had missed the point. I couldn’t read it past chapter two.
I often wonder about the disconnect between shoddy writing and rave reviews. It can’t all just come down to different tastes, can it?
Love the post! And hello to you from San Francisco. Keep doing what you’re doing! Gardening, sketching, traveling, pressing flowers….. working is highly overrated…..
I tried time and again with Ann. I was a misfit. Couldn’t get along with her cadence and other things.
Very disappointing to hear about Midnight Library , it is ready for me to pick up.
Do you ever shop( caveat here) at saint Vincent’s DePaul? I have just found it and love it. I have some really gooey goodness! Throwing that in for free.
Good to get your smoke signal.
the premise of Midnight Library is sooo good, but I just couldn’t get through it. as usual the rave reviews had me wondering how my taste could be SO OFF, but there ya go! I found it silly and poorly written. your mileage may vary greatly!
HAMNET, HAMNET, HAMNET. Oh, YES. What a book. What an achievement. Would that there were dozens of such books I could fall into. Looking for something equallly amazing!
if i find something worthy i will alert you!
Your posts are so honest, well penned and poetic. I can hear your voice as the letters roll out. Seeing your art always lifts and inspires me. I linger on every page. Your photos, as always, are so beautifully composed, but not forced. I cannot WAIT for you to retire. If this pandemic can take its leave, I predict more Moss/Hoffman visits. It’s about time. Love from Colorado. xo
let’s go on a seaside holiday in some remote island with tons of coffee houses, killer whale swim-bys, and wildflower fields. perhaps british columbia. leaving tomorrow. hmmmm.