Getting Organized

Walking Hunter is a very messy task because he’s a hunting dog and needs to run in the wild. I took advantage of the sale season to buy new rubber boots that could take me where I needed to go.

I got the ones with pink soles and jewelled medallions on top so I would look cute as I was traipsing along in nature.

Makes such a difference that the boots are cute, doesn’t it?

In my new desire to be “equipped in season and out” I was taken (in?) by these designer rubber gloves for doing the dishes. There were various patterns at the store, each more elegant than the last. And I thought I might turn into June Cleaver if I bought a pair.

What better way to get organised than sliding on a new personality like you do a rubber glove?

I haven’t used them though. They’re too pretty and I’m afraid of ruining them. Plus, I always forget they’re there. (Or I’ll see them, but I’m too lazy to put them on).

But I don’t weary of trying. In an effort to fight the post-holiday battle of the bulge, I read up on the “clean eating” plan that a friend recommended. We’re pretty good in this area for the meals in terms of everything homemade. It’s the breakfasts and snacks that do us in. Those are not healthy at all. And I, personally, eat way too much sugar. It all seemed pretty easy to do, so I got out my shopping bags and went out.

Whole-wheat bread from the boulangerie for the non-coeliacs in the house.

Brown rice pasta and gluten-free oatmeal for the whole family.

A large tub (eco-friendly) of fresh fromage blanc to be eaten with agave syrup.

And a visit to the butcher, whose meat is more reliable and fresh than the packaged stuff.

Erm. Fresh being the key word here. Shoulda asked them to hack off the . . .

I’m trying. I’m trying to get organised. But you know, organisation is not my strength. At. All.

I’m a little better at saying thank you. So let me tell you about the two people who wrote reviews of A Lady in France this week: Dr. Jessica Smock wrote a review on Wednesday, and Kerstin Auer wrote one today.

Jessica is a new friend who writes at School of Smock. I got to know her from reading The Her Stories Project, which is an anthology of women writers she co-edited and wrote for. In fact, I’ll be doing a review of that book in two weeks. You can find the Amazon link for her book on her blog.

I felt very humbled and grateful when I read Jessica’s review of my book. I loved her take on memoirs as a genre, particularly from her point of view as an English teacher. And I loved reading that the travel part of my book was still interesting to someone who has not traveled, and the faith part was not distracting to someone who has no interest in God. It was very encouraging.

My favourite post of Jessica’s is on “grit.” Not grits, like a southern thing. But true grit. And this girl has it. She found a way to attend boarding school as a high school student and you will not believe how she did it. Read about it here. Jessica also overcame her reticence about speaking of her short bout with anorexia because she thought it would help people. And she was right – it is helping people. You can read about that here.

*  *  *

Kerstin blogs at Auer Life and she’s German. This might not mean a lot to you, but I feel like she’s part of the family since my mother’s maiden name is German, my aunt was stationed for years in Kaiserslautern (where I went to visit her during my semester abroad in Avignon), and my brother-in-law is German as well. With all these connections, Kerstin and I are quite possibly related!

Kerstin has always been very supportive of my writing, and even graciously gave me an author’s quote for my back cover! This means a lot to me as a fledgling author. Kerstin is similar to Jessica in that she was skeptical of how she would handle the faith aspect once she caught on to that nuance, but did not find it a deterrent. She’s different to Jessica in that she has traveled. In fact she writes travel guides. In German! (Here’s a shout-out to my brother-in-law who could actually understand them).

The first post I remember reading of hers is this one. Go read it. It’s short, and it made me giggle. And I can relate. A more recent one is her 5 Rules for Success post. Since Kerstin earns her living as an author and a freelancer, she has something to say about that. You can read that here.

Thank you to both Kerstin and Jessica from the bottom of my heart for your kind words and your incredible support.

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