My Summer Timeout From Writing

 

I enjoyed a refreshing respite from the office this summer. When hubby and I weren't motoring around SouthwesternOntario on fair weather days, we spent time together at home. Mostly he worked in the yard while I watched. I think he prefers it that way. He loves trimming, cutting, and planting, so I leavehim to his pleasure without thought of ‘helping’. He has an incredible greenthumb and I LOVE his garden of robust, colourful flowers, not to mention the picture-perfectvegetables he leaves on the kitchen counter for me to oooh over. His offeringof green peppers and tomatoes became stuffed peppers for last night’s dinnerand it appears I’ll have to dust off my squash recipes soon.

With no writing schedulesor deadlines to worry about, we welcomed long afternoon visits with family, friends,and neighbours.  And I especially enjoyeda fun shopping trip with my teenaged granddaughters. We had a greattime together as they spent their summer wages on the 'must have' apparel forthe new school year. We even took in a movie while we were in London. Youguessed it...Barbie!

And, of course, Ioccupied many pleasurable hours reading. I should say re-reading. Yes, Iplucked some old favourites from my bookshelves. That's a comfort thing, right? Reading your favourite books again? It's like eating mac and cheese or drinking tea with milk and sugar. Anyway, it makes me feel good. It had been forever since I read a Stephen King novel. Noticing that TheGreen Mile had been added to the Netflix movies list urged me to select that particular bookfirst. I admit that after I’d finished the book, I watched the movie again.They couldn’t possibly include everything in the movie, but I was satisfied.

Then I reachedfor To Kill a Mockingbird. Loved it – again. And I'm not sure how manytimes I've read Margaret Laurence's classic, The Stone Angel, but it wasmy next choice after Harper Lee. Then I moved on to Nina George's first book inthe Death Trilogy, The Little French Bistro and, of course, I thenre-read the other two books in the series.

I'm currently captivatedby the first book in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. As happened with King’sThe Green Mile, I turned to the film for comparison. I’d only read ahundred pages or so when I spent an evening with Netflix watching some episodesfrom Season One. What a love story! When I’m finished reading The Outlander, I'll return to recently released publications in search of more favourites to add to the collection that I'll reach for again in years to come.

My idyllicsummer was made even better by an invitation to a book club meeting. There’snothing more exciting than meeting readers and answering their questions, andit’s especially interesting to hear their perspective on the storyline andcharacters in Old Broad Road and On The Rock. To make the evening even moreperfect, the members also requested copies of my memoir Hazards of the Trade. What’snot to love about book clubs? A shoutout of appreciation (and a warm hug) to the welcoming membersof all the book clubs who have invited me to spend an afternoon or evening withthem.

It's been a relaxing summer, but now myleisurely timeout has drawn to a close and I’m back at the desk. And that'sokay. I'm looking forward to the business of writing, deleting, writing, anddeleting some more. Because from all that writing and deleting, I'm hoping anew story will emerge.

Hoping you hadsome sublimely memorable hours this summer, too, whether it was reading,travelling, or spending precious time with family. 🥰