Read, Write, Make a Bowl

Dear Elizabeth Gilbert,

Hi.  I'm writing because I've just mutilated your lovely book and it seems like I owe you an explanation.  See...

 Umm, yeah, it was that one





Please don't misunderstand this, Liz...can I call you Liz (given ALL that you shared in that book, I sort of feel like I can).  Anyway, Liz,  I really did enjoy this memoir.  Really.  The movie was a bit of a let down (Julia, if you are reading this, that was NOT your fault.  You did a great job.) but the book was really top-notch. It was all the title promised and more.  In fact I liked it so much that it survived our household purge of paperbacks 4 years ago.

But then one day I went to do my morning journaling.  Yep I journal every morning, 3 pages, like it or not.  Sort of my own version of Eat, Pray, Love except that no one wants to read it and  (because?) it consists mostly of to-do lists and bitching about my husbands lack of tidiness....yeah, ok, so it's nothing like Eat, Pray, Love.  Anyway, I went to do my writing and I found that I had NO journal into which I could journal.  Here's where you come in.  I thought, "how can I do my writing, like Liz, if I don't have a journal?!!!"  Yeah, so, I grabbed your book and a fat Sharpie and just started writing over top of your writing.  Well, then, a few months later there was nothing of yours left to read because every page was covered with "pay water bill, buy dog food, ask David to wash the dishes" in rainbow colors.

Well, then after that was already done I thought, "what the hell, Liz won't mind...." so I ripped the book to pieces

 


and now I'm making papier mache bowls out of it.

Of all the things you thought would happen to this story when you were writing it, I'm guessing this wasn't one of them....

On the bright side, I won't be lending this book to anyone any more so any of my friends who haven't already read it will have to buy their own copy. 

There it is, my confession to you.  I hope you're not offended.  Obviously, I've gotten a lot out of your book, so thanks for that.

yours in flour, 

Lynn

When a friend gives you shit

Say thank you.

 

No, no.  None of our friends gave us shit about David's 1994 Fiat Panda.  No one would do that because a) everyone in Liguria has one, and b) because that car is awesome monumental (David has, correctly, pointed out my overuse of the word awesome). No, no,....look INSIDE the Panda.

 

Free shit for the garden!  AWESOME!   STUPENDOUS!

Winter gardening here we come.  

Or, well, here we are....

Two bed done, about 10 to go.  Perhaps you're wondering why we aren't rototilling that shit in with our new-to-us rototiller.  That's because our new to us rototiller became a new-to-someone-else rototiller last spring when it was stolen.  Oh well, rototillers come and rototillers go and shit still gets put in the earth. 

Here's some winter gardening already in progress.  David's growing wheat to grind in the mill to make bread to cook in the wood oven.

 

Sorry, kind of a shitty photo.  I'm still trying to learn to use my new smartphone (yes, I have entered the 21st century at last.  The jury is still out on whether I like having this new technology in my life.  Truth be told, I was sort of enjoying the solitude of my 20th century phone).

Just 'cus some of you asked....here's Ernesto

 

2017

Only the 4th day of 2017 and I've already:

--given Q a bath,  

--weeded the herb garden

--did yoga and meditated

--exercised

--changed the sheets on the bed

--finished two sweaters (started in some other year)

Given that Ernesto (have I mentioned our new dog?) isn't even a year old he doesn't need a bath yet,  it's not a leap year so my car doesn't need to be washed, and I'm currently writing a blog post...I figure I'm about done for 2017. Everything done.  Guess I'll just relax for the remaining 361 days.