Archives - Weekly Update

The Holly Channel is back on XM. I heard ads for it, but refuse to listen 'til Friday. I prefer doing my holidays in order. This morning I was in the supermarket shopping at 7:45. I told my husband we would be done and home by 8:30. He doubted me. I should have bet him; I was right. For some reason that defies me, they were out of fresh thyme and sage, thus there will be a second trip later, but that one is NOT my fault. I think last year it took four trips to get everything. It’s a record that I do not want to beat!

I am in Miami for the Miami Book Fair, where a stellar lineup of author presentations are on the agenda for the weekend. Tonight I am planning to attend two very different events.

The first will be a rocking time when the author of the runaway hit GO THE F*CK TO SLEEP, Adam Mansbach, and the illustrator, Ricardo Cortes, talk about the story behind the book, along with comedienne Jenna Elfman and singer Nikka Costa, who share the story of making their rap video based on the book that’s making its way around YouTube. I know, I know, the title may be too crass and irreverent for some of our readers, but the theme of trying to get a young child to go to sleep is dead-on, and the book has become a runaway sensation. Following that, Nicole Krauss will be “in the house” at 8 tonight talking about GREAT HOUSE and THE HISTORY OF LOVE. It promises to be a really fun evening.

The deer population in our town is out of control. There are times I feel like we live at the North Pole. Our entire yard has a 12-foot black mesh fence around it to keep Rudolph and his friends out. The front of the house has rustic landscaping as I am bored with buying plants that the deer love, aka deer food. Last weekend, I bought two nice pots for the front porch where I moved two mums that had been part of Operation Plant Rescue during the October Snowbration; the front porch looks like a nursery as I snatched all the plants that were on the patio the day before the snowstorm and plopped them there. The geraniums still are blooming!

I have proven that I would have been a really lousy pioneer. Last weekend, when the snow came in and the power zipped off, it was time to test my prairie life skills. I toted wood from the felled trees (including one that dramatically dropped between three cars in our driveway), laid a fire, layered up as the temperature in the house dropped to 48 degrees, and, in general, adapted. But within hours, I was ready to shrug off this charade like it was a Halloween costume. Seriously. It was not fun as the hours wore on. And I am far luckier than many of my neighbors who are on day six with no power, mirroring our nightmare this summer. We lost it for only two days and considered ourselves lucky. All I want for Christmas is a generator!