Tuesday Randomness

Kids, I’ve got nothin’ today. I hate to say that because it seems to indicate that my creative well has dried up and I sure hope that’s not true. But the fact is, if I start talking about writing, I’m going to whine and I’m so over the sound (or the visual) of my own whining . . . there are no words. Plus, it's my birthday week and I feel like sharing some cool things with you because . . . well, they’re cool.

If I've told you this before, please forgive me, but here’s a fascinating article about the French and how they eat–I think there’s something to be learned here. Two big things that Husband and I try to practice are portion control and eating simply. Because his dietary restrictions keep him from eating processed foods, we pretty much keep to all-natural foods with lots of fruits and veggies and whole grains and fish and chicken. Since he retired, our mealtimes are also no longer rushed affairs. We linger over coffee and conversation and devotions in the morning and generally take at least an hour to eat supper at night, two if it includes wine. I think there are probably people in this world who might think we drink too much wine, but hey, look at the French. They (and we) are doing just fine. (In the interest of full disclosure, I’m eating a piece of chocolate-iced angel food cake while I write this . . .)

Are any of you old enough to remember The Dick Cavett show? I just ordered his book Brief Encounters: Conversations, Magic Moments, and Assorted Hijinks because I adore Dick Cavett and always have, I got a great Amazon gift card for my birthday, and I need to read something besides fiction right now. I loved watching his show with my mom when I was in high school and I remember feeling so intelligent because I could actually follow his conversations and I got his very dry wit. Sometimes he could be so snarky and because sarcasm was practically a second language in our house, he was very appealing. Husband and I continued to watch him after we got married, and funny, I kinda think that’s why we enjoy Garrison Keillor so much, although he’s more a storyteller than a pundit, but he’s a dry wit, too, and very entertaining. Anyway, Dick Cavett is still around and doing interviews for HuffPost and others. Go to his website for some fun.

I recently bought Scrivener—a writing program that’s supposed to make you be a better, more organized writer by helping you "write, structure, and revise." My goal for this winter is to learn how to use it by writing my new novel with this program. My buddy, the brilliant podcaster Alastair Stephens told me once that it’s fabulous, so when Literature and Latte had it on sale for $40 for the program, I figured why not? For what it’s worth to you, it’s on sale again for $40—use the link here and give it a try. Now and again, I’ll keep you posted on my progress with it.

If you’re a Gilmore Girls fan (and if you aren’t, why aren’t you!?), then you probably already know that Netflix is reviving the show--four 90-minute specials with nearly all the original cast reprising their roles. I’m so jacked up about this and you guys know, I don’t watch TV, so for me to be excited about a television show is rare. Well, okay, I don’t watch much TV, but you know, honestly, Netflix has changed the face of television for me. I can be choosy, I can binge-watch shows that I missed because, again, I don’t watch TV the way most people do. I’m currently deep into Season 2 of The West Wing—a show that so many people have told me is fantastic and wow, it is. I’ve watched both seasons of Grace and Frankie and can’t wait for season 3 because it’s hilarious and, duh, Sam Eliot. Confession? I may not watch TV when everyone else does, but I’m a Netflix junky.

I also got a giant kick out of Netflix’s presentation of The Little Prince—a book I read in college, in the original French. (Aren’t you impressed?!) Le Petit Prince was delightful and why not? I mean Jeff Bridges stars and he’s great even as an animated little old man. One of my favorite quotes in the world comes from that story, “It is only with heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” Man, isn’t that the truth?

Okay, enough randomness for one day, don’t you think? Do you love these little excursions inside the minds of the Word Wranglers? It’s what happens when we think we're at a loss for words, but, truth be told, we’re never really at a loss for words . . . Enjoy your Tuesday!