Laura Benedict's Blog, page 20
May 7, 2017
Things I Learned This Weekend
The moon in daytime. Not nearly as impressive as it was in person, darn it.
Things I learned this weekend:
Wasps can swim.
Black-eyed Susans don’t transplant very well if you drown them instead of watering them in lightly.
I have missed gardening.
Viburnums are a bitch to trim.
Rain makes weeds.
Plants are cheaper at the farmer’s market.
Begonias are my new favorite. Well, they’ve been my favorite for a while, but I haven’t seen many around for the past couple years.
Suited up in wellie...
May 6, 2017
Sunday, 7 May 2017
“Regret is the worst human emotion. If you took another road, you might have fallen off a cliff.” — William Shatner
I don’t know that regret is the absolute worst human emotion, but it certainly can be one of the most destructive. It’s enough to be genuinely sorry for something you’ve done wrong. But then it’s best for everyone to move forward, and look to the future.
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May 6th Words
Journal: 0 words
Long fiction: 0 words
Short fiction: 225 words
Non-fiction: 0 words
Blogging: 86 w...
May 5, 2017
Saturday Serendipity, 6 May 2017
It’s the first Saturday in May. You know what that means: the running of the Kentucky Derby 
May 4, 2017
And Then Everything Turned Green
Happy Friday! It’s been a restful, if wet and dreary, week back home. A little cursory research tells me that we’ve had nine or ten inches of rain in the last six or seven days. When I left for New York last Tuesday, I could still see through the trees to the sky. But now look how shaggy and green everything is. There won’t be any mowing for several days though–the mowing tractors tend to slide down the hills if it’s muddy and that’s terribly dangerous.
It’s been a week of odds and ends, a...
May 3, 2017
Origins: Peyton Place, by Grace Metalious
(My very own copy. Though I first read it in paperback.)
I’m not sure when I first read Peyton Place, but it was early on, surely in my late teens. Written in 1956, it was still a rich, salacious find even in the late 70s. I’m a big soap opera fan from way back, so discovering a murder/sex soap opera in print–one that was competently written at that–was, for me, akin to discovering a deep mine filled with dark chocolate and cheese.
The book was a scandal when it was released, and was on t...
How to Pack Light. If I Can Do it, You Can, Too.
I tried to pack light for my 5 day, 4 night trip to Manhattan. I really did. And I still had trouble lifting my carry-on into the overhead bin. In fact, I have a vague memory of a flight attendant rushing to help me get the last corner up and in. (Thank you, Delta. I still like you, even though you put me on hold for 70 minutes.) But the amazing news is that I did manage to board with only a carry-on bag and a soft Vera tote that I usually use to carry my laptop. The laptop I left at home...
May 1, 2017
A Smattering of New York Moments
I’m so glad to be back with you, my dears. This past week was full of fun and travel and maybe even a little glamor, but I’m home now from New York, grateful and a bit weary. If you’re an introvert like me, you know what a mixed blessing travel can be. There are those moments of worry and feeling overwhelmed, mixed with a kind of euphoria when you realize, “Hey, the world can be a very cool, fascinating place.”
On Wednesday, I was at the Edgars symposium, on a panel about creating villains in...
April 22, 2017
Sunday, 23 April 2017: Expecting the Unexpected
(Two Girls Fishing, by John Singer Sargent, 1912.)
“If you do not expect the unexpected you will not find it, for it is not to be reached by search or trail.” —Heraclitus
This Sargent painting lives at the Cincinnati Art Museum. It’s a stunning painting–despite its obvious artifice, the two girls are so of a piece with their surroundings that they look as though Sargent might have discovered them growing there. But it’s not a natural scene. Only an artist looking for the perfect balance of...
April 21, 2017
Saturday Serendipity, 22 April 2017
Books and critters edition
Today I’m hanging out at the Southern Kentucky Bookfest, in Bowling Green Kentucky. I’ve already take R.L. Stine’s photo! Come by and check out allllllllll the books!
Blood of babies can make the brain younger, aka EVERY SCARY FAIRY TALE IS TRUE!
So the 18,000 year-old Hobbit-like creatures turns out to not be human at all…
Now I can never leave the pups home alone again.
Did I mention this is my very FAVORITE dark chocolate right now? (Not a paid advertisement...
Saturday Serendipity, 21 April 2017
Books and critters edition
Today I’m hanging out at the Southern Kentucky Bookfest, in Bowling Green Kentucky. I’ve already take R.L. Stine’s photo! Come by and check out allllllllll the books!
Blood of babies can make the brain younger, aka EVERY SCARY FAIRY TALE IS TRUE!
So the 18,000 year-old Hobbit-like creatures turns out to not be human at all…
Now I can never leave the pups home alone again.
Did I mention this is my very FAVORITE dark chocolate right now? (Not a paid advertisement...
