A Writer's Day

My life seems normal to me, but sometimes I wonder. Today--up early, read papers, and start up bean soup. The ham bone to die for, soaked beans, onions, celery carrots, herbs, chicken broth, all bean soupy ingredients. And garlic. Lots of garlic. Get the soup going and iron all the Christmas napkins, etc. Marathon ironing.

The infamous ham bone!

We run errands for the umteenth day in a row. Huge backlog of errands, still. Finally home and ready to start on the robot fish. Eeek! The CNN video of the Colombian Navy boarding the drug submarine has disappeared. I find lots of other stuff, including some very interesting details about the Cali cartel, and it turns out I have actually intuited lots of good stuff in my In Flight book. Save and print huge amounts of drug trivia and not so trivia. The novel fed the short story and now the short story is feeding the novel and I am learning all kinds of interesting facts about the cocaine trade. Just what every woman needs to know.

S.O. and Annie are taking a nap, and I'm going to sneak upstairs and watch the food channel. So far not one word written but lots of good fodder.

And the soup upstairs, looking yummier by the minute and calling my name.

Grapeshot!

Yup!

Bad Habits of 2008 + My Shabby Little Secret

O.K., so I've been working out during the new year, but not one, but two new habits are gaining ground and it's so annoying.

1) TV Watching

2) Eating after dinner

For years, I barely watched anything. Lost? The Wire? American Idol? Never seen nuthin.'
Last summer I began watching the Glen Close legal series on Fox, Damages, and was hooked. Didn't miss a single one. Fox was pushing Nip/Tuck which I always thought was a reality series. Not so. Loved the ads and the music and started watching Nip/Tuck. It's sick, it's vapid, dammit,it's addictive. I've missed a few, but basically I'm now a Nip/Tuck watcher. Love the Jerry David show, Curb Y0ur Enthusiasm --I laugh like an idiot. It's so weird but I identify with him. My shabby little secret.

What else? The food channel. I read that people hated Rachel Ray, so I had to find out why. Watched her program. Hey, they're wrong! She's fun, she's perky, she cooks dinner in half an hour. What's not to like? I love the Barefoot Contessa, the southern lady, practically homemade or whatever it's called, love Emeril, and Gaia. Have you noticed the cleavage and no one ever wears an apron or splashes or splatters or absentmindedly wipes her hands on her butt, forgetting momentarily she isn't wearing jeans? Love the Food Channel. I watch it while ironing or if I feel like lying down for a nap, which thank god, is one bad habit I haven't adopted.

This eating after dinner. I know where it comes from. Comes from eating a #%^^&**diet dinner, and then about 9:30 the munchies arrive. A substantial solid high cal dinner would never do that. You rub your stomach and groan. First I nip into the cookies, just one, then the chocolate, a small piece, then the nuts--way too many. Hell, I should have had mashed potatoes and gravy.

So I am also watching public TV and the History Channel and the last 30 minutes of whatever movie is on--tonight it was Married To the Mob and always a hoot. In short I am becoming an indiscriminate viewer. Like the Miami Crime Scene Investigation. But then I always liked Miami Vice. Vice is good in Miami, not so good in Boston.

The rains came and the thunder just rolled and Annie the Cat took off out her her rocking chair and ran under something. Today is Friday, remember, Cat Blog Day, and so a mention is O.K. Thisbe has been coming into the home office all week, and Annie chases her out.

Still no bean dip at Roche Bros., but I was vocally lamenting lack and a fellow shopper said, "Stop and Stop" has it, and everyone else has stopped carrying it, so I need to get some before The Big Game. Last night I even watched a Super Bowl program on HBO. I mean, really.

Writers will do anything to avoid writing. But I can't believe I'm watching TV. But now I'm writing. Blog doesn't count. Blogging is what we do to avoid the NOVEL. For shame.

Bye