Pwobly a waccoon

A couple unconnected things. First, a weather report from Montana. Last weekend my parents (Nye) & my sister & brother-in-law (Red Lodge) had between 30 & 40 inches of snow. Yeesh. My sister & brother-in-law at Hysham had 125 acres of hay cut, with oh, only 8 inches or so of snow. I haven't checked with them to see if things melted off & dried up enough to actually bale it...

Plus I had a fun experience in a grocery store a few days ago. My purchases included a bottle of wine & I got carded! It took me a moment to register what was happening, because the clerk sounded as if she was saying "Ah day." (That's southern for I.D.) I happily whipped out my driver's license, which shows that I am 49&1/2.

The weather here? Cloudy. Sporadic drizzle. Turning leaves. In other words, perfect.

Blog alternative:
150. Reread a favorite childhood book. (For me, today, that was Rascal, by Sterling North. A lovely book. Plus, since the title character is a raccoon, it reminds me a family story, my niece Heidi, when she was very young, was riding up to Nye with my parents. Whenever they passed roadkill, even if it was a deer, she would nod sagely & say "Pwably a waccoon.")

Tell me a story--& make it a good one

You.
Questioner.
Questions.
Answers.

I don't think I've really talked to you since my return from the International Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough. Having too much fun! It's funny, my friend Cathy (see her blog at Yaypigeons) worries that people will worry if she doesn't post much. I, on the very other hand, worry that you'll worry if I'm posting a lot. What's the matter? you will think. She must not be having enough fun. Grin. Well, October's been a blast, & I have a paucity of posts to prove it. (Say the end of that sentence 3 time fast--I dare ya.)

The festival was great. The weather, the drive, the hotel (does anyone else think Red Roof Inn has a GREAT designer?), the storytellers, the Omigosh food! There's a restaurant on historic Main Street in Jonesborough (The Bistro? that might be the name...) that had the bestest breakfast ever. The owner is the chef & he knows what he's doing. To give you a clue--even the honeydew melon (that typically honey-don't hard tasteless pale green stuff) was sweet & succulent. Sheesh. I had the seafood frittata & my friend had the low country breakfast, which was eggs & grits & shrimp & fried green tomatoes. Also the coffee was great--after liberal application of cream.

Jonesborough was very interesting, historically, as well. It was the first place abolitionist publications were printed & was briefly one of the 3 capitols of the State of Franklin, a tiny bit of North Carolina that broke away & then, after unsuccessfully petitioning for admission to the union, became part of Tennessee instead.

I'll end with a quote from Kevin Kling. Should you ever get a chance to hear him speak, avail yourself of it. (He's from Minnesota, & you know they've got great people there. Grin.) He was born with a handicapped arm & in 2000 had a motorcycle accident that cost him the use of his other arm, so now the little arm is the "good" one. His quote: "There's the trip you plan, & the trip you take. Sooner or later you must give in to the journey."

Blog alternative:
149. Tell the story of your today exactly as you would like it to be. If there are "realities" that are getting in the way of your living the life you would like it to be, don't let them get in the way of the story.

News flash: The future passed before us

Blog alternative:
148. Do something backwards. Eat dessert first, for example. Or write "The End" & start your story from there.

Goodbye. It's been lovely talking with you. E-see you soon.

They say life is lived forward & understood backwards. A friend of mine says, if you want to predict the future, invent it.

Time to put the laundry away & sundry & various otherthings, so

Hello!

Helvetica on my Mind

Habit of Thought
House in Order

I wanted to post this in Helvetica, in honor of the documentary of that name that I just saw, but alas, Helvetica is not an option. I could use Arial, Helvetica's cousin, but that's not close enough.

However--& I find this exciting--the guy who designed Georgia was in the documentary & Georgia is my font of choice for this blog. How cool to meet (in the most distant of ways) the designer. Anyway, if you're into typeface or design or societal impacts of media or quirky people, you may want to see Helvetica.

Another fun watch was Kenny, an Australian flick about porta-potties. But it is so much more... Also seen: the strangely wonderful Lars & the Real Girl. Would you elect a life-sized doll to the school board?

After several years of not having or using a calendar, I bought one today, a little moleskine monthly organizer/notebook for 2009. I have the feeling I am going to be scheduling a few more activities. Author in the school visits. Science fiction conventions. Deadlines for furniture design contests. International story-telling festivals. (Because I'm going to the one in Jonesboro, Tennessee, this weekend!)

Blog alternative:
147. Write down 3 strange & wonderful things you might enter in a future calendar. Trip to (my favorite moon) Titan. Paint mural on back of garage. Lunch with the Dalai Lama.