BREAKING NEWS on the Unlikely Lavender Queen

For those of you who read my review of Jeannie Ralston's book The Unlikely Lavender Queen (http://www.storycirclebookreviews.org/reviews/lavender.shtml), and are curious about what she has been up to since, here is the latest news:

“THE UNLIKELY LAVENDER QUEEN” LAUNCHES A GIVE-BACK PROGRAM THROUGH AMAZON BOOK SALES

How often can you get and give at the same time?
Through a new book released by Doubleday Publishing, readers can get inspiration for their own lives and give inspiration to others.
A percentage of each copy of The Unlikely Lavender Queen: A Memoir of Unexpected Blossoming sold through author Jeannie Ralston’s website will be donated to an organization that helps change lives—with a different cause chosen every month.
Ralston will implement what she calls The Seed Campaign on her website through the Amazon Affiliate program. For every book sold Amazon will return 4 to 8 percent (percentage increases with sales volume) to The Seed Campaign fund. Ralston hopes to raise $60,000 for various causes in the coming year.
“My book is about making the most of the twist and turns life takes,” says Ralston. “When I realized that the Amazon account was collecting money, I saw it was a great opportunity to reinforce the message of the book—by actually helping other people make the most of their lives.”
The Unlikely Lavender Queen follows Ralston as she reluctantly goes from a journalist in Manhattan to a lavender farmer in rural Texas. Eventually, Ralston turns the lavender farm into a thriving business and her small town into the Lavender Capital of Texas. She comes to embrace the change as the most rewarding adventure of her life, demonstrating how to “bloom where you’re planted.”
Good Morning America has recommended The Unlikely Lavender Queen as a great read, as have publications as diverse as the Dallas Morning News and Fortune Small Business magazine.
For the month of September, Ralston’s Seed Campaign funds will go to St. Anthony’s Alliance, a U.S. based non-profit that started and continues to oversee a project to help a pueblo in rural Mexico to become self-sufficient growing lavender as a cash crop. Ralston, who now lives in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, has volunteered as an adviser to the lavender project for more than two years and feels especially close to the effort since lavender is being grown not just for its scent and beauty but also as a real lifeline for a whole community.
“I’ve seen a lot of stories talking about these poor pueblos barely getting by because all the men have gone to the States to work,” she says. “I love this lavender project because it’s actually offering a solution to the problem. Women are making beautiful soaps, sachets, lavender wands and pillows, and the hope is that one day the men won’t need to leave for jobs in the States and families can stay together.”
In October, Ralston will be donating to the John Dau Sudan Foundation. John Dau is a Lost Boy of Sudan and the subject of the film, God Grew Tired of Us. Ralston will speak at a benefit for the foundation in New York in late October.
Ralston hopes that other authors will use the Amazon Affiliate program (or similar programs on Barnes and Nobles on-line or Powell’s on-line) to give back to causes that dovetail with the subject or themes of their books. “Our words can have great power—even beyond what’s on the printed page,” she says.
For more information on The Unlikely Lavender Queen and The Seed Campaign, visit HYPERLINK "http://www.jeannieralston.com" www.jeannieralston.com.

I'M BAAACK!

Be it ever so humble, yada, yada, yada. San Diego is simply divine. Spending time with precious daughter is perfectly delightful. Saying goodbye to her afterwards, when you only see her about three times a year, just sucks.

Here is what we did while there: walkwalkwalk eateateat shop walkeatwalkeatwalkeat shop eateateat walkwalkwalk eateat collapse.

We stayed at a great hotel this time - the US Grant. It's a beautifully refurbished historic building, right on Broadway amidst a plethora of restaurants, in walking distance to the embarcadero and ferry, and best of all, John got the room for half-price on hotels.com or some such site.

If you were to ask Alexis, John and I each what the best part of the vacation was, you would get very different answers. For Lex, I'm sure, it was just seeing our precious faces (right hon?), and maybe she didn't mind too much having to go out to movies and nice restaurants frequently, since she is eking by on a pauper's salary in one of the most expensive cities in the country. That soft heart still gets her in trouble though. At every restaurant we went to, she'd load up all the leftovers, thinking how much they would help stretch her food budget in days ahead, but somehow the sack would always end up in the hands of some homeless person, before the evening was over with.

For John, the highlight was frequent trips to Best Buy. It didn't seem to bother him at all that our daughter, who is an Interior Designer, has virtually no furniture or decor in her apartment (she just finally moved out on her own, after sharing with four other roommates for the last two years - woo hoo!). No, what drove him insane was that all her electronics were the same lame pieces she'd had since high school. He desperately wanted to buy her a nice flat screen TV, but she refused since, like me, she hardly ever watches the one she has. She finally caved in though, and let him buy some speakers one day, and a printer/scanner another, because we just couldn't take his pitiful face and heavy sighs any longer.

Now, I'm sure this will shock you, but my favorite day was Sunday, when we happened to stumble upon a fantastic farmers' market up in La Jolla. Or at least, it was wonderful once I got past the embarrassment of totally boogering up the pronunciation of said town (how was I to know it's pronounced La HOYA - I took French, not Spanish!) I tell you what, wandering the aisles of a huge outdoor market overlooking the ocean, when it's a breezy mid-70s out, instead of my usual upper 90s, is a delight beyond compare. Best of all, while there I discovered a copy of edible San Diego (only its second issue), by the same publishers as the edible Austin magazine I love so much. A quick thumb through led to the discovery, just in the nick of (lunch) time, that there was a new restaurant in La Jolla that is obsessed with using the highest quality ingredients from sustainable sources. It's called Whisknladle, and what a delight it was. They specialize in gourmet comfort food, with the firm belief that what goes into the pot, is what you get out of it. Not only do they source everything from local organic farms and ranches, they also use an old world approach in their kitchen, baking, churning, smoking, aging, curing and pickling everything in-house. We ordered from a limited brunch menu, and can't wait to return and try the full dinner menu.

So, as you can see, we all had a great vacation, but saying goodbye, first to Lex, then to John, is a bit tough. Thank goodness it's September, and we will soon be on that downhill slide towards the holidays, when we can all be together once again.

BEAM US UP, SCOTTIE!

Greetings sports fans! Just wanted to let you know that hubby and I are off in San Diego, visiting our baby girl. Just to make you Texans jealous, let me point out that the highs here are only in the low 70's right now, and it dips down in the 50's at night. We went to the Star Trek exhibit today at the Air & Space museum in Balboa Park (I'm the lone sane person in a family full of geeks - ALWAYS outvoted!), and we now have pictures of ourselves on the bridge of the Enterprise, and also one that shows us being beamed up, if you wiggle it back and forth. Maybe I'll share those with you when I get home. Well, TTFN. Here's hoping Gustav doesn't prevent us from flying into Houston on Tuesday!

TRADEOFFS

I suspect...no, I am certain, that there are some people who resent the fact that I have mostly just worked part-time. I'm not sure how to explain this without going on the defensive, and sounding like I am making excuses. All I can really say is, we've tried it all three ways, and this is what worked best for us.

As many women found out, once the 60's allowed them to move into the workplace right alongside their husbands, balancing any kind of professional life with home, family, husband and creative pursuits is a very difficult juggling act indeed. Balancing two high-powered careers, where both partners were expected to work extreme hours, and to pull up stakes and move at the drop of a hat, is next to impossible, especially if kids are involved.

Twice now, when we have been living in Indonesia, I haven't been able to work at all. I was somewhat unhappy because I was bored, felt like I was wasting my talents and my brain, and I resented feeling like a kept woman, and having to ask my husband for money just to buy him a gift. I also felt presumptuous making financial suggestions, even though, of the two of us, I was much better at budgeting and saving. The odd thing is that John also resented my jobless status, even though it was entirely his fault! Once again, I had dropped everything to follow him to the ends of the earth, because it was important for the advancement of his career. We were making more money than we knew what to do with, despite my lack of contribution. And, I had no choice whatsoever in the matter, because we wives weren't allowed work permits in Indonesia. Although most families we knew there had two or three live in employees, to take care of their every need, I chose to do all my own cooking and child-raising, and made do with one part-time helper, and still, John left for work feeling pissy each morning, though he had a pretty good sense of humor about it.

On the other hand, when we came back to the states the first time, before we had kids, and I finally got to take a job related to my degree, that opened up a whole different can of worms. I had majored in Clothing, Textiles and Fashion Merchandising, and my first job was managing a clothing store. I absolutely loved it in the beginning. For one thing, I discovered that I was really good at it. I adored doing the displays, and merchandising the store. I had a knack for handling my teen-aged employees, enjoyed being treated with such respect, and I really got off on receiving both verbal and monetary praise from my peers and superiors - something I seem to need and crave, and which one rarely receives as a wife or mother. The downside was that I ended up working 60 hour weeks most of the time, including many evenings, most holidays, and every Saturday. John was not so crazy about that. He hated coming home to an empty house and kitchen. He hated doing housework. He hated the fact that I was rarely available to attend his company functions. Most of all, he hated spending all his weekends and holidays alone. Most people think I gave up that job because the hours were too exhausting, but mostly I think, I was worn down by his disappointment, though he never once asked me to quit, and always said I should do whatever made me happy.

I quit working full-time when Alexis was born, but was able to work as a seamstress from home. After Austin came along, I did part-time work for a caterer, evenings and weekends, when John could be with the kids. When the kids were in school, I discovered contract merchandising, which was very flexible, and allowed me to set my own hours. By the time they were in high school and college, I was the visual merchandiser at a garden center. Not so flexible, but still not full-time, and much more challenging and interesting. I was back working in retail, but with no holidays or weekends, and best of all, no dealing with customers! Gradually we came to realize that we had reached a good compromise. I was half June Cleaver, half Rosie the Riveter, and that seemed to work just fine for us. Yes, we could have traveled more, had nicer cars, a bigger house, and sent our kids to private school, had I worked full-time, but for us, it wasn't worth the tradeoff.

Right now, however, I seem to be the one who is having difficulties. John was very encouraging when I told him I was finally ready to quit my job and move to Wimberley, to have more time for writing, and he hasn't complained once about my paltry earnings. But, who knows when, or even if, my writing will ever bring in the kind of positive rewards and feedback I need, to keep from feeling like a kept woman again. It would be much easier if he were retired now, and I didn't have to feel so guilty about him going to work every day, while I am here, living the good life. In fact, know what would really rock? Some day being able to let John experience being a kept man!

(Thanks to winnipegfreepress2 for the June Cleaver pic!)

BRILLIANT!

There's been a new arrival at our favorite Wimberley eatery, The Leaning Pear Cafe. No, Rachel and Matthew haven't had their baby yet. The new addition is this cute little building that has been constructed at the rear of their vegetable garden. Can you guess what it is? No, it's not a garden shed. It's a Baby Shed! This is where the littlest Buchanan and his or her caretaker will hang out during restaurant hours, so that Mom and Dad can hop in and out whenever they please. Sounds like a brilliant plan to me!

THE SUNDAY SULK

I have always had a problem with Sunday afternoons. They are especially difficult when you have just spent an unusually wonderful weekend, or when you are coming back from a great vacation. Sunday afternoon is that panicky feeling you get, when wondering if you've done everything that needs to be done before heading back to work or school on Monday. It's coming down from a Saturday high, and settling into dull routine, or saying goodbye to a long-distance sweetheart. So, it's easy to understand why one might get a bit blue. What I can't understand is why I'm still having a problem with them, when I have no job or classes to report to on Monday, and it's Wimberley I'm coming back to, for pity's sake!

I went into a funk the minute I left Houston last time, stayed in it for the entire drive home, and right up until I climbed into bed that night. Part of it, of course, is having to leave John behind, but not all. I even experienced this after coming back from my two week care-taking exile in Dallas! I think it must be that, on weekends, and when you are away from home, you are somehow able to shut off that part of your brain which stresses out over the woes of the real world, or over that ever-increasing to do list on your desk, or over where you want your life to go, and how you are going to accomplish that. Then, on Sunday afternoon, the gate swings open, it all comes rushing back over you, and it always takes you a while to get it sorted out again, compartmentalized and prioritized. Or, at least, it does for me. If only I could figure out a way to do this in my sleep Sunday night, then I wouldn't have to keep wasting one fourth of a perfectly good weekend!

HOW TO DATE YOUR MATE

Recently, several people have commented on the fact that John and I are acting awfully mushy these days. One woman, who works with her husband, and sees him all day, every day, told me "I think you and John are on to something, with this living in separate cities. Sure wish I got half as excited about seeing my husband, as you do about yours." So, maybe there is some truth behind that old saying "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." Now, don't get me wrong, I have no intention of keeping this up long term. But for the time being, it has definitely added a certain, je ne sais quoi, to the relationship. It's almost as if we were dating again!

Last time I was in Houston, we had the best of weekends. It reminded me of my sophomore year in college, when John had already graduated and moved off to Houston. Whenever I could hitch a ride in that direction, I would sneak off to visit him for the weekend, and went through all sorts of subterfuge to keep it a secret from my parents. For instance, if they called the dorm at 7:00 AM, as they were known to do, my roomie was trained to tell them that I was in the shower, and that I'd call them back in a minute. Then she would hurriedly contact me in Houston, to give me a heads up.

The best thing about visiting Houston now, is that neither of us has any chores or projects that need to be done there at the townhouse, so we are free to spend the weekend doing whatever we please. On this particular weekend, we started off with a bang by going to see the new movie Bottle Shock, with Alan Rickman. It's based on the true story of a British wine merchant who was living in Paris, and who came up with the world-altering notion of hosting a blind taste test between French and Californian wines. Up until that point, the entire world was convinced that nobody could compete with France when it came to winemaking. When a Napa Valley wine managed to win first place, it turned the entire industry upside down. Nobody can top Rickman when it comes to playing the supercilious British snob.

The next day, at lunch, we tried a great Mexican restaurant down on Washington Ave., called El Tiempo. I think it's probably one of those that has been around forever. They even have their own little grocery store/take out counter next door, where I was able to nab the Cotija cheese I had been searching everywhere for. (I used it to make Mexican Street Corn - Yuuummmm!!!) Afterwards we just wandered around, looking for places to test out my new video camera. We discovered a wonderful little cul de sac of townhomes that were hidden right in the heart of the city, backing up to Buffalo Bayou. "Oh man, this is such a great street," John said, letting out a huge sigh. "You're not having second thoughts about moving away from the city, are you?" I asked. "No, not really," he replied. "That's the great thing about Wimberley. If we get a hankering for museums, movies, music and funky restaurants, we can just head over to Austin like we did on our anniversary, and stay till we've had our city fix. We'll have the best of both worlds." Come to think of it, having a husband and dating him too? Absolutely the best of both worlds!