KK has been itching to go to the Wenham Tea House for a while, now, and on Sunday she finally convinced me to go with her. I agreed to go despite the fact that it seemed like an extremely girly thing to do because she told me that yes, she was sure that they also served coffee. I drew the line, however, at visiting the Wenham Museum's world famous doll collection.
The circa 1910 building, in lovely Wenham Village, houses the tea room as well as the shops, which include a small bookstore, a gift shop, and an antiques consignment section in the attic. It is all owned and operated by the Wenham Village Improvement Society, a philanthropic organization formed in 1893.
Apparently, some of the original members are still running the place.
Sadly, the tea room is closed on Sundays. Well, when we asked, it was closed. You see, KK and I made the stunning mistake of wearing jeans. We had on nice tops, cute shoes, our hair was neatly brushed and our fingernails were clean. But the dungarees were a big mistake.
The little old ladies of the Wenham Tea House acted as if we were members of a girl gang. They struggled not to make eye contact while also watching to make sure we didn't steal anything, set fire to the place, or try to kidnap any small children.
I bought something for my cousin's son, who will be turning two soon, partly because it was so cute and because I love him madly, but also just to prove to the tea house ladies that I wasn't indigent.
As we left the building, a gaggle of ladies--none of whom were wearing anything even remotely resembling casualwear--pushed us off the walkway and headed inside for tea and a fashion show. The girl gang was not invited. We went back to my Neon, with the wet nose prints on its windows, and tried to exit the parking lot without hitting any Jaguars.
And we almost succeeded, too.
Photo Friday: Prosperity
Today is Friday. I didn't submit a photo for last Friday's Photo Friday challenge. (I always want to write it Foto Friday, even though I know that would be very, very wrong.)
Last week's assignment was "prosperity." It was a toughie. I went out to Marblehead neck to take some pictures of mansions and sailboats. But while I got some nice pictures, none really said "prosperity," you know? Because prosperity, to me, means growth. It has some movement to it, some energy. The houses on Marblehead Neck are too staid and solid and motionless. Too old money.
I think a better tack would have been to go to a mall on the day after Thanksgiving, get a shot of someone in nice shoes carrying lots of shopping bags. Or the mad rush of people going into the stores. But that's never been my thing. I don't like people. Well, at least not crowds of them. One-on-one they're usually OK. Sort of.
Today's challenge is "reflections." Much better. I have a bunch of ideas already. And, thankfully, none of them involves people.
Last week's assignment was "prosperity." It was a toughie. I went out to Marblehead neck to take some pictures of mansions and sailboats. But while I got some nice pictures, none really said "prosperity," you know? Because prosperity, to me, means growth. It has some movement to it, some energy. The houses on Marblehead Neck are too staid and solid and motionless. Too old money.
I think a better tack would have been to go to a mall on the day after Thanksgiving, get a shot of someone in nice shoes carrying lots of shopping bags. Or the mad rush of people going into the stores. But that's never been my thing. I don't like people. Well, at least not crowds of them. One-on-one they're usually OK. Sort of.
Today's challenge is "reflections." Much better. I have a bunch of ideas already. And, thankfully, none of them involves people.
Daily Candy
OK, I'll admit it. I have a thing for handbags. But, you know, I wouldn't exactly call it a problem. Because I could quit any time I wanted to. I swear I could.
Daily Candy launched its Boston edition yesterday. Today's installment features some really cute Boston-grown bags from Tart Industries. All you men out there with fun, funky girlfriends who are looking for Christmas presents: you could not go wrong with any of these. And no, you can not buy them at WalMart. Sorry.
Oh, but I digress. Daily Candy is a hip site focusing on style, arts and culture, dining, travel and gadgets and ... well ... stuff. Fun stuff. There are five daily editions, delivered through e-mail: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, and Boston, plus everywhere. A Kids edition (for "busy and hip parents") is published once a week.
The site also features really excellent illustrations by Sujean Rim and an interesting and engaging writing style. See how I managed to tie shopping and writing together there? Aren't I clever? Doesn't it make you want to buy me something?
No? Well just wait 'till I start regaling you with gift ideas for writers.
Daily Candy launched its Boston edition yesterday. Today's installment features some really cute Boston-grown bags from Tart Industries. All you men out there with fun, funky girlfriends who are looking for Christmas presents: you could not go wrong with any of these. And no, you can not buy them at WalMart. Sorry.
Oh, but I digress. Daily Candy is a hip site focusing on style, arts and culture, dining, travel and gadgets and ... well ... stuff. Fun stuff. There are five daily editions, delivered through e-mail: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, and Boston, plus everywhere. A Kids edition (for "busy and hip parents") is published once a week.
The site also features really excellent illustrations by Sujean Rim and an interesting and engaging writing style. See how I managed to tie shopping and writing together there? Aren't I clever? Doesn't it make you want to buy me something?
No? Well just wait 'till I start regaling you with gift ideas for writers.
Golden Sunshine, Part 2
Here are two more pictures from Tuesday's photo field trip. They almost look like paintings, don't they?
(Click on either picture for a larger, clearer image.)
(Click on either picture for a larger, clearer image.)
Golden Sunshine Fills Your Eyes
(Click on the picture for a larger, clearer image)
The girls and I took a photo field trip yesterday. We went to the beach during that magic hour when the sun is low and casts a golden light on everything. I got some really nice shots. I'll post some this week. See, this is just one of the things I'd like to have time to do in addition to writing.
Lessons Learned in November
November is over, and so is National Novel Writing Month. I finished my novel, but fell short of the 50,000 word count, ending up somewhere in the mid 40’s. I’m still kind of processing the whole experience. But I do know a few things. First, I feel good about what I accomplished, even if I didn’t “win” by writing 50,000 words. And second, I couldn’t have written one more word of the story if you had paid me a million bucks.
It was pretty awful.
Don’t get me wrong. I did a lot of writing and some of it was good. I ended up with a story that had a beginning, a middle, and an end. But, for me, this month-long writing exercise wasn’t really about the story. It was more about doing something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, something I have been putting off year after year after year. It was more about facing my fear of failure. Or of success. Or maybe it was just about overcoming laziness and a tendency to procrastinate.
Here’s one thing I learned for sure. There are a lot of poor excuses for not writing. Doing the dishes. Watching crappy television. Browsing the Internet. Sleeping late. Just goofing off. There are things I am willing to give up for writing. And, it turns out, you can get a shitload of writing done if you put your mind to it.
On the other hand, there are plenty of valid reasons not to write. Taking long walks on the beach and hikes in the woods. Reading. Spending time with people you like. Watching good television. Taking naps. Going on photo field trips. All things I enjoy. Things I had to give up or cut back on in November in order to write all those words. And I don’t actually want to live my life like that. Not to the extreme, anyway, and not year-round. One month out of the year? Maybe. I’m pretty sure that I will take another stab at crossing the NaNoWriMo finish line next November.
This November, I tried to write 2,000 words a day. Some days I wrote less, some days I wrote more. Some days the writing was a joy. Some days it felt like a chore. I think the key is to make time in your life for writing. But not so much time that you start to hate the writing. I figure that I could easily write 1,000 words a day and have plenty of time left over for the other things I enjoy. And even if that’s not 50,000 words a month, it is a whole lot of personal essays, short stories, poems, and pages of a longer work, such as a novel or a memoir or a screenplay. Not to mention blog entries.
So that’s what I’m taking away from my November noveling experience. There’s a deeper lesson in there somewhere about facing your fear of failure and failing anyway and finding out that that’s OK. I should probably be writing about that. And I should probably write about some of the technical lessons I learned about plot construction and character development before I forget them. And I will. Later.
Right now I’m going to take the dog for a nice, long walk.
It was pretty awful.
Don’t get me wrong. I did a lot of writing and some of it was good. I ended up with a story that had a beginning, a middle, and an end. But, for me, this month-long writing exercise wasn’t really about the story. It was more about doing something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, something I have been putting off year after year after year. It was more about facing my fear of failure. Or of success. Or maybe it was just about overcoming laziness and a tendency to procrastinate.
Here’s one thing I learned for sure. There are a lot of poor excuses for not writing. Doing the dishes. Watching crappy television. Browsing the Internet. Sleeping late. Just goofing off. There are things I am willing to give up for writing. And, it turns out, you can get a shitload of writing done if you put your mind to it.
On the other hand, there are plenty of valid reasons not to write. Taking long walks on the beach and hikes in the woods. Reading. Spending time with people you like. Watching good television. Taking naps. Going on photo field trips. All things I enjoy. Things I had to give up or cut back on in November in order to write all those words. And I don’t actually want to live my life like that. Not to the extreme, anyway, and not year-round. One month out of the year? Maybe. I’m pretty sure that I will take another stab at crossing the NaNoWriMo finish line next November.
This November, I tried to write 2,000 words a day. Some days I wrote less, some days I wrote more. Some days the writing was a joy. Some days it felt like a chore. I think the key is to make time in your life for writing. But not so much time that you start to hate the writing. I figure that I could easily write 1,000 words a day and have plenty of time left over for the other things I enjoy. And even if that’s not 50,000 words a month, it is a whole lot of personal essays, short stories, poems, and pages of a longer work, such as a novel or a memoir or a screenplay. Not to mention blog entries.
So that’s what I’m taking away from my November noveling experience. There’s a deeper lesson in there somewhere about facing your fear of failure and failing anyway and finding out that that’s OK. I should probably be writing about that. And I should probably write about some of the technical lessons I learned about plot construction and character development before I forget them. And I will. Later.
Right now I’m going to take the dog for a nice, long walk.
