Seven things you don't know about me

I'm wearing a mini skirt today in honour of Bob Dylan and the Sixties. Since you ask, yes, it looks okay. And I have people who can back me up on that.

However, that's not one of the seven things you don't know about me. I was recently handed the baton for this and will pick it up soon. Right now I'm on deadline, so look for me next around the 2nd June.

But hey, what happened to five things? Why has that expanded to seven? Actually, I could probably spend the rest of my life writing things you don't know about me, but that would likely be extremely boring. So I'll carry on working on the seven.

Catch u later.

The end of the world?

'The world's never going to end,' says my elder son, 'because it's always tomorrow in New Zealand'.

Well, tomorrow's already been and gone in N.Z., and here we still are. I'm interested, though, in how much interest and buzz there's been around the prediction that the world will end at 6 p.m. today. I believe in the Bible, although, as I understand it from the scholars, some of St. Paul's writings have been compromised and tampered with over the years. But doesn't it all come down to interpretation?

Anyhow, I'd say we humans have a lot more evolving to do before we can be taken up into heaven. I have, for sure. My concern lies around the question of how much longer the earth can go on living (see p.s. for a follow on to a recent saving energy post). Also, there's a kind of confusion, I'd say, around the word 'world'. I'm no etymologist, but presume the world comes from the Germanic 'welt'. And in German there's a distinction between 'welt' and 'erde' (earth).

When I was growing up in the Anglican church, many times I heard the words 'World without end, Amen'. So where does this fit in?? Maybe, instead of translating 'welt' to mean 'world', we should translate it to mean 'universe'? That makes a lot more sense to me.

It's almost a platitude today to say that humankind is destroying the earth. How terrible that we get used to an idea and then, slowly, the urgency of the message fades into the background. In this wonderful season of spring, when we look out on the burgeoning green leaves and can fill our eyes with the sight of beautiful, colourful blossoms and flowers, let's try and be kind to Mother Earth.

p.s. We recently installed a new hot water cylinder because ours was getting past its time. When I ran the hot water tap I found the water was literally burning hot. My husband turned the temperature gauge down once, and then once again. Apart from the danger to the children, we don't need such hot water. The use of a dishwasher provides its own, and so does the washing machine, if we need it to. So, folks, to help save the planet and lower your energy bills, turn down the heat!

The voice in my ear, the voice in my head

So yesterday I had a message on my phone, inquiring about school pick-up status. To respond, I dialed my son's cell-phone. Heard only the ringing tone. That was, until a chirpy female voice told me he wasn't answering, and 'not to take it personally' !! Um, this is my son and I'm not to take it personally?? Actually, I didn't, but rather chuckled at the irony. This got me thinking though, of recorded voices, especially when they're anonymous. There's that rogers guy who states bluntly, 'No one is available to take your call'. I switch off after that. Not literally, because I usually go ahead and leave a message.

But I have to wonder, what kind of karma are these 'voices' accumulating for themselves?

A very long time ago, I was interviewed on the radio. Now I'm hoping that archive has been destroyed. Although I'd be glad to do an audio version of my upcoming novel, I'm hesitant. Do I really want my voice 'out there' once I'm gone?

For a writer, a strong voice is, of course, a very good thing. I've struggled to find mine. When my critique partner would remark 'your voice is very strong here' I'd think 'huh? but there's nothing there!' Stephanie Meyer of 'Twilight' fame gets a fair amount of flak in the writing world, but I admire her simply for this: She has a compelling story-telling voice. And that's a rare and valuable commodity.

Energy cost

Last week, to my great delight, two writer friends were in town and we had lunch together. One of them is newer in my life, the other older. So the newer friend was telling us how she noticed a huge jump in her energy bill for March this year, compared to March last year. And why was that? Because she'd been writing a lot and had therefore been on her computer much more. Who would have thunk it would make such a difference?

So now I'm going to make sure to turn on my computer only when I'm ready to sit down and engage with it. And I'll turn it off whenever I know I'm not going to be using it for a few hours.

Last year I was at a writing conference and attended a terrific workshop given by Don Maass, agent and author of writing how-to books. He's an amusing speaker, but I wonder if he expected laughter when he asked how many of us had left our computers plugged in when we left our rooms. Yes, that cord goes on pumping out energy whether it's connected to our laptops or not. As does those chargers for our cell phones. There I sat among the chuckles, somewhat horrified to think my fellow creatives thought this a source of amusement.

If I were truly diligent, I'd go downstairs to the basement last thing at night and turn off our power bar. However, due to my present hip disability, that will have to wait a while. And meanwhile, posting this has meant, I hope, that I've done my small bit to save the planet today.

Our Material World

It's raining today, which is good, because it's been dry. But this means that our neighbourhood garage sale day is confined to... well, garages. That also means I won't be taking a spin around the streets, but rather that my bike (acquired in this manner last year) will stay in the garage. That's probably also a good thing because, truly, I already have more than enough material goods for my needs. Mostly, I look for what might be useful/fun for my grandsons. One year I found a wooden rocking horse that's been well used ever since. But I also found a fancy grater which has only been lifted down from its high kitchen cupboard once.

Before I get to the main thrust of this post, can we go on a little diversion? Thinking this morning about what I wanted to say, I remembered the days when I used to call my bike my 'camel'. The term originated in this way:

In the early '60s I took a ship from Durban to Venice, travelling up the East Coast of Africa and stopping often. My girlfriend and I took a day trip from the Suez Canal into Cairo. In those days the tourist trade was minimal and we were lucky enough to go into the pyramids and see them standing in all their awe-inpsiring glory in the midst of desert rather than right on the fringe of the city. Also we rode camels.

A couple of months later the two of us took a two-week cycling tour of Holland to see old places and tulips. We started in Rotterdam. The first day was spent riding around the cobblestoned streets of that city. Next day, to put it mildly, we were more than reluctant to get back on our 'camels'.

Okay, so here's what I've been musing about all that surrounds and supports me in my life in a purely material way. How aware am I of what I have? Do I truly appreciate the comfort and convenience? And does it, perhaps, make a difference to the grand scheme of things whether or not I'm more conscious and appreciative? On a purely practical level, it must do, because surely appreciation leads to caring. I try my best to create a good atmosphere in our home, so maybe this is a new step that I'm ready to take. And now, looking around my study, I'm thinking I'd better go do some furniture polishing!

p.s. Blogger was down yesterday, said something about 'mean time'. As you know, I'm always interested in what's going on with our English language. I'm observing some words that didn't used to be split, are now two. For instance, the above, but I've also noticed an increasing tendency to write 'can not' instead of 'cannot'. On the other hand, some words that used to be two are now one. Fascinating!

Walk, or bike?

When I was a child, teenager and even into my twenties, I didn't really enjoy walking. Walking was something I did for practical reasons, not for pleasure. As a child I walked to and from school until my parents could afford to buy me a bicycle. Even then, it was at least one size too large for me. Still, it was a bike, and oh the freedom of freewheeling home downhill when the school day was done!

At that time my parents never suggested we go for a walk, also, I think a carryover. My mother had to walk two miles to the train station and back when she first started working. My dad enjoyed 'going for a stroll' in later life, but she never did.

During my years in England, things slowly began to change. When, at ballet school, I lived at White Lodge in Richmond Park walking out on a weekend meant a change of scene. On a Sunday us older students would walk to the early service in the Anglican church in East Sheen. But for me, inclement weather or chilly winds would often spoil the experience.

My husband's family was completely the opposite, and that too, helped me ease into the pleasure of perambulation. This was good, because family walks with children began to feature quite large in my life. Walking it was for years, and for years I no longer owned a bike.

Then I visited Holland a few times and rediscovered the joy, the easy pace (no, I don't do the racing bit, and also prefer to be upright, not bent forward), the feeling of being connected to nature and the changing skies above.

These days, an arthritic hip restricts my walking. I miss it dreadfully. But my bicycle offers a solution. With gears set to 'easy riding' I can get outside, wheel around and enjoy the spring.

How many Mothers have you?

As I thought about Mothers' Day today, I began to widen my concept. Because there are, or have been, other mothers in my life and not just my birth mother, close to the angels as she was. My mother-in-law woke me up in certain needed ways. Aunts played a big role for me, both when I was a girl and when I grew up. But as I look back, I see two non-family-connected women who were and are vitally important to me . Both of them happen to be younger than I.

This week I'll meet with one of them. She's the woman who's been a mother to me as far as my fiction-writing is concerned. I still have a vivid memory of sitting opposite her at Tim Horton's not very long after we met. Together we worked out a short paragraph summary of my book that I used in queries to publishers and agents. Over the years this was modified a bit, but not much. Now I have an agent and my novel 'Cape Town' will be published next spring. I couldn't have arrived at this point without her.

Then there's the woman who I consider my spiritual mother. Although she lives across the Atlantic, we know we'll always be close, even if we never see each other again in the flesh. She helped me find the path I was seeking and set me right. Without her I wonder if my life would ever have been as rich and meaningful, if I'd ever have found a way to grow into wonder at the world, or found a method to lift my consciousness and develop towards confidence and self-knowledge.

To all of these I send my love and gratitude. Now, how many 'other' mothers have you had in your life?

A Peppery Post

This is our well-loved and used pepperpot, so old it's almost an antique. We love it because of the shape that fits perfectly into your palm, and because it does the job of grinding peppercorns. It came from Knysna, in South Africa and is made of blackwood, not, I believe, an indigenous wood although the trees grew in the forests nearby. Incidentally, there used to be elephants in those forests and were up until the time I was a teenager. I'm happy to say I never had any close encounters when we went on forest walks.

One Christmas, years ago, we were invited to a home outside Sheffield, in England. Our host had recently been inducted as a Master Cutler, so he knew all about blades and things like that. I think it was he who taught us a useful 'how-to', and this is it.

When grinding pepper onto your food, always twist in one direction only. This will keep the grinder sharp and help prolong its life.

I hope you'll remember this if you ever come to visit!

Social and Anti-Social Media

Social media has been one of the themes of my week so far. It all started on Sunday, when I attended a workshop on the subject at my writers' group. The whole question of what kind of web-presence I want, what content would be advisable, and how much time I need to spend on this is looming large because of the fact that my novel will be coming out next spring. Current wisdom is that authors need to be spinning their webs in cyber space.

Then yesterday I heard a fascinating program on the radio as I was driving. The guy being interviewed was obviously hot stuff when it came to the latest 'in' vehicles for connecting with audience, communicating, and generally putting yourself out there. To my surprise, he classified email as 'so 90s'!

But he said, not to ignore it because the trouble with blogs, Facebook and Twitter is that it's conceivable to lose everything you've written, all your contacts, and therefore all the time you've invested. He also suggested email messages should be confined to three sentences. Hmm. I guess he doesn't know what long sentences I can write, especially if I put my mind to it!

I actually signed up for Facebook very early on, but only starting posting a few years ago. And generally my 'friends' consist of family. (I'm glad they're my friends when you think of that saying as to choosing your friends but not your relations!) But now I also have an author page. Not that there's anything really up there, but maybe this time next year I'll get it going.

My being late to the party is likely to continue. I mean, who except for those working on the cyber-edge, and teenagers, can keep up? Do I even want to? (don't answer that.)

I enjoy blogging the most, I think. Being generally long-winded when I write, Twitter is not fantastic for me, and neither is Facebook, although I 'like' and 'comment' fairly often. Feeling connected is special, that's true. On the other hand, when I'm being social on-line, it means I'm not sharing face time with my husband, even if we're sitting opposite each other, both busy with our lap-tops!