the poet in you

It was a wonderful Christmas present from my lovely husband, one that I would not have dared to promise another: a bathroom makeover. He spent his precious little time off repainting my bathroom. It started with a big box of beautifully wrapped bath towels. They fluffed up so big after being washed that it made the old ones look like used newspaper, flat and grey. Then there was a little bag containing paint samples, all sunshine-y yellow and variations of; then there was the big can of primer under the (figurative) tree.

Yup. A bathroom do-over. How fabulous. There was a lot of prep work involved before the first coat of paint could go on. It looked pretty good but the second coat was better. And then the third coat worked its magic. It's so nice. I've got new rugs, a new shower curtain and soon, a new faucet for the sink. Oh, gosh; I'm going to be in there forever now. You may never hear from me again.

Middle age is here to stay. I feel like I am repeating the poems. And I may be but then there is nothing wrong with reading a poem twice now is there?

Listen by Miller Williams

I threw a snowball across the backyard.

My dog ran after it to bring it back.

It broke as it fell, scattering snow over snow.

She stood confused, seeing and smelling nothing.

She searched in widening circles until I called her.

She looked at me and said as clearly in silence

as if she had spoken,

I know it's here, I'll find it,

went back to the center and started the circles again.

I called her two more times before she came

slowly, stopping once to look back.

That was this morning. I'm sure that she's forgotten.

I've had some trouble puttiing it out of my mind.

Plans for the New Year of 2008 include:

less tv, more reading

starting a garden

new job search

I'm currently reading A Pound Of Paper by John Baxter and am enjoying it very much. It's always interesting to read about someone who is more obsessive about something than yourself. You get a different perspective. And he has some interesting things to say about the way women, or his wife at least, collects as opposed to the way he collect books. Also, his collecting began in a different era in a different country - Australia in the 50's which is a bit different than the US in the 90's and later.

This is a nice, stout little first edition hardcover that I bought from a bookseller on Amazon Marketplace. I've had pretty good luck with the Marketplace sellers as long as I've heeded the feedback and selected wisely. It's Amazon proper that I've had some disappointment with. Several weeks back, a few weeks before Christmas I placed an order and checked on it 7 days later only to find that my order had not even left their facility. As a seller, I have an agreement with Amazon that when a customer places an order wtih me I have to get it out in two business days. I can't tell you how annoyed I was to find that they could sit on an order a week or more before shipment. I'm happy that my Marketplace order came through fast though and carefully packaged. I still get excited to get books in the mail, a thrill I hope that will never be lost.

My latest order is Italo Calvino's If On A Winter's Night A Traveler. I've never read Calvino and am looking forward to it. Seeing this book on the coffee table is pushing me to get through the Baxter book. Now that I think of it I've never read John Baxter either. He has an enjoyable wry sense of humor. It looks like 2008 will be the year that I introduce myself to new authors or new-to-me authors. Have a blast everyone and here's to discovering what turns you on. Cheers!