6/30: entering an american myth

I've never read the original Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but I'm reading it now.  I'm enjoying a new-to-me Oz that's different from the one I know from the film version.  So far, I especially like the Tin Woodman--in the novel, there's a story about why he has no heart.  I won't spoil it here...but he wasn't always tin.

6/29: a good end to the week

Talking about "The Seven Ravens" with a friend.  He seemed intrigued by the tale, and I was grateful for the chance to talk about it with him.

Looking at some Greek to help a colleague.  It's a fun poem that he had questions about, and I think he'll be pleased with my answers.

Going sailing with Chris.  Or really, sitting in the sailboat while Chris did the sailing!  I don't know how to sail, but I am good at popping back and forth to the different sides of the boat as necessary.

6/28: another persephone book

I spent most of the day reading Noel Streatfeild's Saplings, which (I think) is a beautifully done piece of work.  The only thing that seemed like a misstep in the book was the afterword written by a psychiatrist for the Persephone edition--why couldn't the Persephone folks have chosen someone who actually liked and understood the book to write some remarks?  I include this quibble as a marker of how much I liked the book:  upon reading the afterword, I mentally and enthusiastically rushed to the novel's defense!  I think this was my sixth Persephone title--all six have been books I am so glad to have read but wouldn't have even known about if Persephone hadn't issued new editions.

6/27: 6 things

A very kind email from a friend who dates back to my graduate school days.

Reading a Grimm Tale that was like a German rendition of a Greek poem by Archilochus.
Chris listening to me as I articulated my (many-faceted!) frustration about a book I finished.

Finding Cherry Mash (a kind of Midwestern candy) at a store in town.

Kayaking to clear my head.

Wilkie sitting right next to me as I type this.

6/26: a perfect bird

It's so hot and dry that more and different birds are coming to our bird-bath.  Today Chris called me to see a yellow-and-olive bird (I looked it up later, and I think it must have been some kind of warbler).  When it jumped from the bird-bath to a branch on an oak tree, its colors blended perfectly with the green leaves, brown boughs, and yellow spots of sunlight.

6/25: out to dry

We don't have an old-style clothes-line outside, but we put drying racks on the deck in the summer, and I used them today after I did laundry.  When I gathered my clothes in at the end of the afternoon, they smelled like sun.

6/24: (most of the) day off

There was a standing joke as I was growing up that the only time my father took off was Christmas morning.  He worked a lot in his home office, and one of his theatres plus his campus office were within easy walking distance of our house, so even when he was working he was well within reach:  we saw our father a lot, and we saw him working a lot.  To a large extent, my siblings and I have inherited the habit.  But after some satisfying thinking and writing in the morning, I took today off, off, off.  I had prepared a mental agenda for my Sunday afternoon, but then I decided it could wait until tomorrow.

6/23: exchanging

...text messages & photos with my sister.