Julia London's Blog, page 70

Pomp and Circumstance

When my daughter was three, she set goals for herself: to play violin, and to go to Paris. I don't know why she wanted these things. When I was three, I'm pretty sure all I wanted was a puppy and a big fat slice of cherry pie (my mother says no, I was determined to go to Mount Holyoke College, the beautiful campus we used to drive around, and I did, so… I guess my daughter gets it from me).

Not quite three, but she was such a cute baby!

In her tenth year (5th grade), my daughter finally got her hands on a violin. Thank goodness we moved to our town, a town that places great value on music education in public schools (and where do you find that these days?). Is it a coincidence that my town has an almost unheard of 98 % graduation rate? She learned with the orchestra (orchestra program begins in fourth grade here), but she also taught herself so well that she won the Orchestra award in 8th grade. This is why we stayed in this town, even though my husband drives 45 minutes to work each morning, and then back. All worth it. (And ending soon, he says with relief, as we prepare to move closer to his work). 

She plays for hours a day, all on her own, because she loves it. By high school, we hired a private teacher so she could refine her technique. And now, she's going on to the university she chose for their outstanding orchestra (among other strengths, like a semester long UN internship).

2nd from right, ready for Carnegie Hall

Paris? Not as fortunate. The French club trip she was supposed to take last year was delayed, and eventually cancelled, due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland. I know she will get there one day. And then her graduation was postponed due to damage from tornadoes in the area. But it finally came! She graduated on Sunday morning, and I was beaming with pride. Beaming! And shedding a few tears of joy.

Paris? Delayed.

Don't tell her, (well, she knows) but she has always been one of my heroes. She does not understand the word "no" (which, believe me, can be very trying for her mother). The girl knows who she is, what she wants, and how to set goals and achieve, and she always has (something I believe she has in common with other Whine offspring). And I admire her beyond imagination.

Elissa and her proud mom

Some highlights of her high school years:

Playing at Carnegie Hall.

Playing at Philadelphia's Kimmel Center.

Being part of the best high school orchestra in the country (It's true- they won the American Prize for their performance at Carnegie Hall. They've  also won Grammy awards. Seriously!).

Raising $25,000 with the Asian Studies and Key Clubs for Red Cross relief efforts following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan by making and selling origami paper cranes

Making friendships that will last a lifetime (this last one sounds so trite, but I value my friends (and family) more than anything in my life, and she does the same).

Well, I could go on but I will stop there. I'm very proud and she is awesome. And now, she has graduated, will be turning 18, and I have to face the fact that I have two grown children. OMG. I have two grown children! What now? (takes a minute to dream of all the writing time in her future).

Do you have children? What are their recent milestones? Are you in awe of how fast time passes? What are your empty nest plans, if you have them? Do you remember your graduation, and did you follow your high school dreams or make new ones along the way?

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Jane Slayre

"Reader, I buried him."

A TIMELESS TALE OF LOVE, DEVOTION… AND THE UNDEAD.

Jane Slayre, our plucky demon-slaying heroine, a courageous orphan who spurns the detestable vampyre kin who raised her, sets out on the advice of her ghostly uncle to hone her skills as the fearless slayer she's meant to be. When she takes a job as a governess at a country estate, she falls head-over-heels for her new master, Mr. Rochester, only to discover he's hiding a violent werewolf in the attic– in the form of his first wife.

Can a menagerie of bloodthirsty, flesh-eating, creatures-of-the-night keep a swashbuckling nineteenth-century lady from the gentleman she intends to marry? Vampyres, zombies, and werewolves transform Charlotte Bronte's unforgettable masterpiece into an eerie paranormal adventure that will delight and terrify.

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In case of a Zombie Emergency…

Zombie School flyer....www.zombieschool.org

I'm currently hanging out at Soonercon, which is a Sci-Fi/Fantasy Con in Oklahoma City. (Was on a romance in fantasy panel yesterday with Candace Havens! Much fun!)

Anyhoo, one of my favorite things to do at SFF cons is to wander through the dealer room. There you find everything from steampunk goggles to comic books (I bought most of Season 8 of Buffy). (Actually, it's astounding that I'm here. I had a conflict with another con and sent that con a cancellation email. I thought. Apparently I sent it to the Soonercon folks. Oops! Fortunately, I was still on the programming grid and in the book, but even if I hadn't been, that would be okay. Hanging out at the cons is fun both with and without being on panels).

Back to the topic: Today, my favorite thing in the dealer room was the Zombie School table. I mean, I hadn't really considered the possibility of a zombie attack, despite the onslaught of zombie books and movies lately. Am I prepared? Do I need to take extra steps?

Are all you Whiners prepared for zombie potentiality? And at the risk of putting a humorous spin on something sad and serious, I couldn't help think that zombies or not, the idea of an emergency kit is a good idea. My heart goes out to all the folks who lost loved ones or their homes or suffered injuries in all these recent horrible storms. Stay safe, Whiners.

Endings or New Beginnings?

All week, I've been wondering what I would blog about on my day. I was thinking something with gossip or fashion or any one of the many things we tend to talk about here. Or prom! My daughter's prom was on Thursday, and it was amazing. Here she is:

 

But then, I realized, we have a theme going this week that seems to coincide with my life right now so I am sticking with it. Everything we blogged about this week touched a chord with me.

Monday: Julie Kenner, Memorial Day. I was celebrating Memorial Day. Coincidence? Well, okay, we all were…

Tuesday: Julia London, on setting goals– as I was packing stuff and telling myself that in my new house, I will be more organized. There you go! There's a goal. Aha! But I was also thinking about diet and exercise, and ways I can improve to be as awesome as Julia when I get to be her age  And writing goals, which keep slipping away as I keep packing. OMG, I need goals. I need to stick to goals.

Wednesday: Kathleen O'Reilly, on weather. Cue huge thunderstorms and tornadoes! Tornadoes descending on MY AREA which is hardly ever threatened by scary weather that is not snow related, on the very day Kathleen blogged about the weather. I was in ignorant bliss on Wednesday morning when I read her blog and commented, just hoping it would be cool enough to sit through my daughter's graduation ceremony on Thursday night. Then bang, the tornado warnings came and neighborhoods right near me were being blown away. What?! Yes. So scary, weird, and unpredictable. And my daughter's graduation was suddenly in question because schools were cancelled and the Symphony Hall holding the event was in an affected area.

Thursday: And then along came Dee Davis, blogging about dream houses just as I was starting to get frantic about moving into mine in time, with all the things I still have to do. Which included my daughter's graduation, planned for Thursday night. But then, at 11 a.m. came word that it was postponed until Sunday.

Friday: If all had gone as planned, I would have watched my daughter (my second child, my youngest) graduate from high school last night. But it will happen Sunday instead, which is good because I will have time to reflect on it again and download pictures for Monday when I blog again.

But it's still on my mind. Graduation is the end of a chapter, but also the beginning of a new one. My daughter is sad to be leaving high school, but also proud of her accomplishments– and so happy to be starting college in the fall, with new friends and opportunities ahead. I feel much the same about moving. We're closing the door to one house (but keeping the memories! Lots of those) and opening the door of another. In this case, one we really love and that suits us instead of one that felt like it would do for now, as all our other houses have felt. Here's the current house, when it was being landscaped last summer:

Cozy, just big enough. And this is it, the new house! Picture taken in winter, unfortunately, because it's so pretty now with everything blooming and green. I would show you pictures of the inside, but I will wait until I have pictures with our stuff. Let me just say, I love my new kitchen. And other rooms. Lots of space, and I'm counting on visitors. Wouldn't it be fun to have all my Whine Sisters come stay with me at once?

 

I'm really excited about it. I just wish I could jump ahead and be there instead of living through this tormented, tedious process of moving. But hey, it will all get done, I keep reminding myself. It will happen. And I had better love it because I think I will be vacationing at home for probably the next twenty years. Anyone have some good, cheap but healthy recipes? Pass them on.

So how was your week? As eventful as mine? Highlights, lowlights? Share your thoughts on beginnings, endings, and everything in between. And I am not kidding about those recipes. Please share!

A Day with the Rockefellers

So this past weekend, in celebration of Memorial Day, we rented a car and headed out to Sleepy Hollow.   Yes, the very same place that inspired Washington Irving's Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  But instead of ghostly non-headed riders in the night, we were in search of history.  Specifically, the Rockefeller's Mansion Kykuit (a Dutch word meaning lookout). Home to four generations of Rockefellers, the house was finished in 1916.   Six stories, (including a subterranean tunnel for deliveries) it was originally built by John David Rockefeller founder of Standard Oil and was ultimately the home of NY governor (and Vice President to Gerald Ford) Nelson Rockefeller. 

Warmer and more intimate than many of the mansions in Newport, Kykuit, a classic revival Georgian structure, is filled with family furniture, keep-sake, art and collectables that give it a lived in feeling even today.  Downstairs in Nelson Rockefeller's gallery you can find art by a variety of modern artists including Picasso and Calder.

The house, built to command a magnificent view of the Hudson River and the palisades beyond,  is surrounded by magnificent gardens designed by William W. Bosworth, including a Japanese garden, a rose garden, a tea house, Rockefeller's amazing collection of sculpture, and numerous fountains.  In addition there is a nine-hole reversible golf course (as in two sets of tees, so that after nine you can play the course backwards for the full eighteen).

After touring the house and gardens, we headed for the magnificent stables, which quite frankly were as ornate as the house.  Oh to have been a horse stabled there.  In addition to a large collection of carriages, there is also a wonderful car collection including a Ford Model T and S.  An electric car dating from 1916.  A fabulous Rolls and Governor Rockefeller's Limousine from the day.

The home is open for visiting from early May to late October, every day except Tuesdays.  Tours offered vary according to the amount of time one wishes to spend as well as one's interest.  We chose the Classical Tour with a concentration on the house and inner gardens as well as the stable.  All in all it was a beautiful day spent high on a hill overlooking the Hudson in a house built for one of America's most philanthropic families.  Well worth the visit!

 

It's Not the Heat, it's the Humidity

Hot, Hot, Hot....

Almost nine years ago, we moved to New York from Texas, and I gloried in the cooler days and nights, the pleasant summers, the electric bills that did not rival the national debt (except in winter). So this year, we had a winter that DRAGGED on, a spring that was a soaker with very few walking days possible, and now, on June 1st, It's HOTTER THAN HELL. ACK.

Last night I work up at 5am, sweating in the sheets, and this was not a) menopause or peri-menopause or b) a little early morning honey-cuddling. Now, this was HEAT. I dragged myself out of bed, stabbed at the thermostat, trying to understand why the little light didn't come on. Eventually my whining woke the Hubster (which had been my devious plan when technology escapes me). He brought in a flashlight, adjusted the thermostat a fully nano-degrees and I climbed back under the sheets, sweating only a little less.

According to the weather center, it's 72 degrees at 9:19AM. Of course, I'm wearing two furry kitties around my neck, which might make things feel warmer than they actually are, but man….

Al Gore, forgive me for ever doubting you. Global warming is here, and it's HELL.

How's the weather in your neck of the woods? I heard Texas was getting some storms. The weather people say that the tornado season is mostly over, and now yes, wait for it, we start hurricane season.

What's Your Goal?

Most of you know that VB and I go way back.  Waaaaaaay back.  So far back that I can't even utter the number aloud. We were best friends in high school.  We were in show choir (think Glee) and drama.  She had a green Datsun and I had a blue Volkswagon.  We did a lot of things we probably shouldn't have done, we went off to college, and we had this dream of being the next Heart.  Remember them?

We were not jocks.  I had to play golf our senior year because I didn't have enough PE credits, and it turned out I was pretty good through pure dumb luck, which has kind of ruled my life.  I am pretty sure VB didn't do anything physical but flirt.

Well, look at us now. But look at us now.  VB is testing for her brown belt in martial arts this week (BTW, she had a birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday, VB!).  She is going to a karate camp this summer to start getting ready to test for her black belt.  Her black belt. And to think she didn't start this until she had creaky knees and a faulty memory.

VB is going to wear this brown belt around her waist, and not on some stupid Tshirt. GO VB!

Three years ago, I started running.  I had walked for exercise for years and I wanted to see if I could do it.  I couldn't.  I ran about thirty seconds and it was painful.  But the next day, I ran 35 seconds.  And then 45 seconds.  A couple of weekends ago, I was the fifth leg in a six-man team marathon relay.  We came in first in our division.  Granted, our division was a geezer division, but it wasn't the oldest!  Live VB, I didn't start running until I had creaky knees and a faulty memory.

Like VB, I have a goal. I am going to run in my first half marathon this fall.  That's 13 miles, kids.  I can't even conceive of it, to be honest.  I have never run over 8 miles, and that almost killed me.  A half marathon is five miles beyond that.  But that's my goal, and it give me something to work toward.  VB's goal is the black belt, and it gives her something to work toward. I think it's super cool that a person can reach middle age and there are still horizons ahead of you.  I dig it.  I want you all to dig it.

I am suspicious of her finish line--we can't see her legs so she might be skate-boarding

My father's brother has a form of dementia.  He was an engineer, always known as the smart one. My dad told me that he had given up, that he knows what is happening to him and he doesn't want it.  I can definitely understand that–I think dementia or Alzheimers must rank among the top three fears for everyone. My dad said he thought that the reason he wasn't wasn't suffering from symptoms like his brother is because he had remained physically active all his life.  He may be right about that.  The experts say that you can reduce all sorts of elderly complaints if you eat right and exercise. You don't have to run, you don't have to do karate.  You just have to walk.

During Oprah's swan song (that seemed to go on and on and on, didn't it?) Dr. Oz said there were three things we all must do to live long and healthy and lucid lives:  At least half your food must come from natural, unprocessed food sources, as close to the ground as possible.  You must have a passion, something to look forward to, something that makes you want to keep going.  And you must walk.

Today is dedicated to all the middle-agers like me and VB who have found a physical purpose.  What's your goal?  What would you like to accomplish?  What's holding you back?

 

Happy Memorial Day!

Just a quick post today to wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day! Our day will be a mix of family time and work time (deadlines, ya know), with hot dogs most definitely in there in the afternoon.

And while we're not attending any parades or visiting any graves, we still honor and thank the soldiers who have died in the service of this country. (I asked my girls and their friends the other day if they knew why Monday was a holiday, and I'm happy to report they all did. None of them thought the day existed for sales, shopping, or to honor the end of the school year.)

A bit of Memorial Day trivia: according to Wikipedia, the holiday began with former slaves honoring Union soldiers, and it grew from there, expanding to honor the fallen of all wars after World War One.

What are your plans for the day?

When Blood Calls

Book Saturday–Write What You Know

Every writer has been told at some point to "write what you know."  The theory behind this advice is that your writing will have more "heart" and authenticity if it's about something you're familiar with.  I took those words to heart when I began plotting my four book Regency-era historical Mayhem in Mayfair series, the first book of which is entitled Sleepless at Midnight (followed by Confessions at Midnight, Seduced at Midnight, and Tempted at Midnight).  The series is about four close friends, two of whom are sisters, who form a book club.    Bet you'll never guess where I got that idea, LOL!  Yes, it just so happens that I'm in a book club–with four friends.  And our love of books has strengthened our friendship over the years. 

 

My four Regency-era characters call themselves the Ladies Literary Society of London because they wish for people to believe they are reading and discussing classical works.  As if!  No, those naughty gals are reading very inappropriate books, and discussing very naughty topics, all of which set them off on Big Adventures.  In Sleepless at Midnight, the ladies read Frankenstein, which at the time was a most scandalous tome.  Not only was it a horror story, it was written by a woman (egad!)–a woman who carried on an affair with Percy Shelley, who was married, and became pregnant by him (which makes Percy sound like a 19th century version of a Certain Governator of California).  Talk about scandalous! The reading of Frankenstein sets in motion a series of events that propels one of the Literary Ladies on her Big Romantic Adventure.   

Now, there's nothing naughty or scandalous going on during my modern-day book club meetings–we simply meet once a month for about two hours during which time we catch up with each other, drink wine, eat cellulite-producing desserts, laugh, commiserate, and oh, yeah, discuss our latest book selection.  Because of my own book club experiences, I well understood the camaraderie and bonding The Ladies Literary Society of London shared, and that understanding was essential in writing the series.  Because, as they say, write what you know J.

If you'd like to know more about the Mayhem in Mayfair series, the first chapters and excerpts from all four books are available on my website at www.JacquieD.com

 

Are you in a book club?  If so, what books have you read recently and what's coming up next? If you're not in a book club, then just share what you're reading now and what you're planning to read next.  Happy reading and a wonderful weekend to all!