Saturday, March 1, 2008

reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic

reading:
I am currently trying to read "Wings of the Dove".  I did not expect it to be so difficult... I am barely getting through!  As soon as I get in the swing of how Henry James writes, it's time to quit, and the next time I sit down to read, I have to go back over what I read.  It's not the time period; there are plenty of authors from that time, and earlier, too, which present no problem... I feel very slow.
I recently finished "The Glass Castle", which was really crazy - a memoir about growing up with parents who were such free spirits, that they allowed their 3 year old daughter to cook on the stove by herself, and skipped town whenever the bill-collectors came knocking.  It's worth a read - very interesting.

writing:
This.  It's self explanatory, but I guess writing, blogging, whatever, about things that are close to my heart makes me feel more alive.  Taking a pen to paper has always been cathartic for me, and it is the best way, sometimes the only way, for me to organize my thoughts, and figure out where I am.  Talking and thinking seem to spin me in circles, but writing is technical and visual and tactile, and that is how I learn and remember best.

arithmetic:
There's really no math here, but I just like the "three r's", they make me think of Anne Shirley as a schoolteacher. However, I am making a list... that's an activity involving numbers... sort of. I am making a playlist on my ipod.  It has been in process for a few months now... I'm compiling songs from about the last 15 years that make me remind me of the feeling of being in love.  They aren't all love songs per se, they just somehow take me there.  It's proving difficult to arrange old and new songs in a way that doesn't jar my senses,  but this is fun and sentimental.  Can you tell I used to make piles of mix tapes in high school? 
Now that I think about it, knitting can come under the arithmetic heading - lots and lots of counting.  And a little tedious while learning... but I LOVE it.  It is my newest obsession.  I am too easily obsessed.

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