A few weeks back, my weekend did not start well. I had found out that I was not selected as a host site for Susan Albert's blog tour, and the deadline had passed with no word on whether either of my two stories would be published in the next Story Circle Journal. As I was heading out for Houston, I stopped to grab the mail, and found my first official rejection notice, from GreenPrints magazine. The editor told me the story rambled, wasn't very cohesive, and wasn't that strong. I've always heard they sugar-coat their rejections, so I'd hate to hear what he really thought! I let myself stew for the duration of the drive, then put it out of my head.
On Saturday John took me on one of his surprise outings, where he won't disclose what the plans are (my favorite kind!). We started out at the Museum of Contemporary Arts and Crafts, took photos in the Rice University/Museum District, had lunch at a funky little Thai place in Rice Village, then went to a photography exhibit at another museum. By then I'd all but forgotten my woes.
That evening we met my friend Nicki and her partner Dale at their favorite restaurant, Patronella's. Two generations back, it was a little Italian grocery store and deli. Each successive generation bought up neighboring houses and connected them, forming the very homey restaurant that is there today. It even has a bocce ball court out front. Nicki and Dale have become friends with the owner over time, and he came to our table to visit as we were finishing up. He had something he wanted us to see, and we played follow the leader as he led us through the kitchen and new bar area, until we ended up on a secluded back patio. We stood around an open brazier that he had improvised from a salvaged chimney, while he plied us with free Limoncello and chatted about the extensive fruit, herb and vegetable gardens that he had planted in the vacant lot behind the restaurant. No wonder his food is so delicious, and what a delightful way to end the evening!
One thing was kind of funny though. Dale, who is originally from NY, kept asking me if I had gone bonkers from boredom in Wimberley yet. When I told her it wasn't boredom I was fighting, but becoming too involved, she didn't believe me. People who have only lived in big cities just don't get it, and never will. What I have found is that, just as it's easier to write sonnet than free verse, or easier to do good landscape designs if you are given restrictions, or easier to cook well with seasonal limitations, one also tends to have more fun when one isn't surrounded by movie theatres, restaurants and malls. Why? Because it forces you to use your imagination and come up with novel forms of entertainment. Do you honestly think we would have built the world's greatest slip 'n slide while living in Indonesia, or celebrated Canadian Trapper's Day with log-rolling in the swimming pool and human dog-sled races, if we could have just gone to the mall instead? I think not.
Oh, by the way, when I got back to Wimberley I found an email message, informing me that not just one, but both of the stories I submitted to the SCN Journal were going to be published!
On Saturday John took me on one of his surprise outings, where he won't disclose what the plans are (my favorite kind!). We started out at the Museum of Contemporary Arts and Crafts, took photos in the Rice University/Museum District, had lunch at a funky little Thai place in Rice Village, then went to a photography exhibit at another museum. By then I'd all but forgotten my woes.
That evening we met my friend Nicki and her partner Dale at their favorite restaurant, Patronella's. Two generations back, it was a little Italian grocery store and deli. Each successive generation bought up neighboring houses and connected them, forming the very homey restaurant that is there today. It even has a bocce ball court out front. Nicki and Dale have become friends with the owner over time, and he came to our table to visit as we were finishing up. He had something he wanted us to see, and we played follow the leader as he led us through the kitchen and new bar area, until we ended up on a secluded back patio. We stood around an open brazier that he had improvised from a salvaged chimney, while he plied us with free Limoncello and chatted about the extensive fruit, herb and vegetable gardens that he had planted in the vacant lot behind the restaurant. No wonder his food is so delicious, and what a delightful way to end the evening!
One thing was kind of funny though. Dale, who is originally from NY, kept asking me if I had gone bonkers from boredom in Wimberley yet. When I told her it wasn't boredom I was fighting, but becoming too involved, she didn't believe me. People who have only lived in big cities just don't get it, and never will. What I have found is that, just as it's easier to write sonnet than free verse, or easier to do good landscape designs if you are given restrictions, or easier to cook well with seasonal limitations, one also tends to have more fun when one isn't surrounded by movie theatres, restaurants and malls. Why? Because it forces you to use your imagination and come up with novel forms of entertainment. Do you honestly think we would have built the world's greatest slip 'n slide while living in Indonesia, or celebrated Canadian Trapper's Day with log-rolling in the swimming pool and human dog-sled races, if we could have just gone to the mall instead? I think not.
Oh, by the way, when I got back to Wimberley I found an email message, informing me that not just one, but both of the stories I submitted to the SCN Journal were going to be published!
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3 comments:
I loved that slip-n-slide. I just wish we had a video instead of a picture of dad going down it. If I recall, that sandy hill at the end launched him into a tree about 5 feet away instead of stopping him like it was supposed to.
We had so much fun there. It's been 14 years since we lived there, and I still have dreams that we moved back.
Dang it! Why didn't we take a video? Yes, it did launch him into the air, but I don't think it was a tree he hit. More that he got separated from that little inner tube and came crashing down hard on his tailbone, then could hardly sit down for about a week.
This rather good idea is necessary just by the way
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